I agree with most of what you said...

Part of my struggle had been that people telling me that their car drives like a brand new car after 100k. I had 2 new cars in the past 3 years, I would think I know how a new car drives... Yet my Accord is not at 100k and drives relatively poor. With the stacks of service record my wife present to me, I know the car was taken cared. If it is one person telling me that their car runs like new, I would prob not have believed him, however 1/2 of this forum swears that their car drives new after so many years and so many miles... I even went to carmax to test drive 3 other Accords of similar specs and came down with a conclusion that those people have lowered expectation.

Initially I ordered an A4 3.0 fully loaded with things that's not even on today's car such as rear seat warmer and sun shade for rear seats...etc After a long story, I ended up canceling the order. I have test drove TL and RL before I bought my Lexus. I have looked at 2 TL prior to giving up. I looked at TL and TL-S, both are pretty good, however they both have assembling quality problems. During the test drive, we have also come to the conclusion that my wife doesn't need the type S. Material selection should also be a little more careful. Real wood or better quality fake wood should also be used. For that price range, I don't blame Acura for being that way; but I was shopping for a car for my wife, that's why I am not giving in. Then I tested the RL; again, it is a pretty nice car. The problem with RL is that you can see that RL is build solid with very proven technology (switch gears reminding me of my 96 Accord). In our opinion, RL is also a little more expensive for what it is... We went to Lexu and the GS clicked. Since we were not going for the type S, we looked at the 6 cyl model of GS. We didn't like it initially, cause the suspension was too soft. Then the sales brought out another car with the sports package, and that's the one we ended up with...

Unlike most people, I have no brand loyalty; I swing from manufacture to manufacture. So far I still haven't found one that I am confortable with. Even with the Lexus, I start to find manufacturing defects. So far there are 2 from the inside and 1 on the outside, but that's after careful inspection for almost 1 year of ownership.

Conclusion is that I am putting up with my Accord for now; it is not bad enough for me to not want to drive it. For the operating cost and for the investment I have put in, I am not willing to let it go yet. As for the Lexus, unless if they have a good promotion (ie. putting manual trans into the new GS), it is not likely that I will go back; they also need to make their cars a little more carefully. As for Acura, they need to make their cars more special and more luxurious; with the new TL, they seem to be going down the right path. Rear drive will also be welcome.