I understand the reasoning behind using "luxury badging" but it seems pretty stupid to me because if someone is going to pay 40k+ for a car they are looking at creature comforts, looks and reliability. Regardless of the brand on the car they would buy a car that meets these requirements.

As for Honda/Nissan/Toyota competeing with various other lines of cars I dunno it seems pointless because these cars are for the most part in an entirely different classification from the Japanese manufacturers and should continue to compete on their own ground. I would take a Celsior over a Mecedes any day...they have much more class and style for the money.