The Lada comment is cold. BTW, I strongly recommend anyone interested in movies about Hollywood see "Get Shorty". It's hysterical.
Who's the Cadillac of Hi-End Audio?
In "Get Shorty" John Travolta's character arrives in Los Angeles and the only car available at the rental agency is a minivan. Throughout the film people question why he's driving such an "uncool" vehicle and his character's response is "It's the Cadillac of minivans." By the end of the film everybody is driving the Cadillac of minivans.
Being that cars and hi-end audio have absolutely nothing to do with each other, notwithstanding so called hi-end auto systems, what company do you think is the Cadillac of hi-end audio? What's the Porsche? What's the Dodge Dart? Is any hi-end company as quirky as Saab? For that matter, what's the Harley-Davidson of hi-end audio?
My vote for the Cadillac goes to McIntosh. Both are old school companies with proud histories. Yet each offers products that while not cutting edge, are quite modern. Still, there are no documented cases of anyone under the age of 50 having purchased either brand within the last 30 years.
Except for my answer there are no wrong or right answer responses. Use you imagination and freely express your biases and preconceived notions.
Being that cars and hi-end audio have absolutely nothing to do with each other, notwithstanding so called hi-end auto systems, what company do you think is the Cadillac of hi-end audio? What's the Porsche? What's the Dodge Dart? Is any hi-end company as quirky as Saab? For that matter, what's the Harley-Davidson of hi-end audio?
My vote for the Cadillac goes to McIntosh. Both are old school companies with proud histories. Yet each offers products that while not cutting edge, are quite modern. Still, there are no documented cases of anyone under the age of 50 having purchased either brand within the last 30 years.
Except for my answer there are no wrong or right answer responses. Use you imagination and freely express your biases and preconceived notions.
Showing 9 responses by onhwy61
I recently attended an auto show here in Indianapolis and Cadillac had some very nice products. The CTS and the Corvette based coupe (XLR?) appeared to be fully competitive with the best comparable priced Japanese or German offerings. So maybe, just maybe, my earlier comments about Cadillacs were out of line. But then again, there were crowds at the BMW or Lexus exhibits and the Caddy area was empty. It's going to take some time for Cadillac to change it's image. |
Interesting points raised by Mrmb. I think the failure of GM/Ford/Chrysler wasn't in the engineering, but instead was a fault endemic to their entire corporate structure(s). When Toyota first started the Lexus brand they imported dozens of Mercedes to the Japanese factory and let the assembly line workers use them. Management wanted the workers to know first hand the level of fit and finish that they would have to do better than. It's hard to imagine at any of the Detroit Big 3 management and labor working together to accomplish long-term goals. My observation is that in successful companies management and labor have a mutual respect and trust for one another. |
A number of people have mentioned how certain cars offer a certain excitement when driven. Is this driving excitement analogous to what some audiophiles call musicality? There may not be a logical connection, but the language people are using is so similar. For what it's worth, I drive an 1998 Audi A8 and my previous ride was a 1993 Lexus SC300. They're very different cars and each has its strong points, but one thing is an absolute fact. The Lexus dealer network is far superior to Audi's and this definitely effects the total ownership experience. |
Car & Driver recently compared six luxury sedans (Jaguar XJ6, MB S430, Lexus LS430, Audi A8, VW Phaeton and BMW 745). They highly rated all of the vehicles as great cars to own and drive, but the Lexus nosed out the Jag for top honors. Except for best highway ride the Lexus didn't excel at anything, but at the same time it did absolutely nothing wrong. It's overall excellence won it first place. That plus it's the only car with rear seat headrest massagers as standard equipment. |
Here's a link to an article from the LA Times regarding Cadillac and hip hop. There's also plenty of interesting references to Cadillacs and rock history. |