Luxury vehicle and Mercedes-Benz C-Class which particularly emphasize sporty handling. In the United States and Canada these vehicles, and larger premium offerings at the same market position, are known as entry-level luxury cars. The American and Canadian classification of entry-level luxury (formerly dominated by premium marques e.g. Buick, Oldsmobile, Mercury, Chrysler) is a broad category which includes not only compact executive cars, but also midsize to large cars and SUVs such as the Lexus ES, Acura TL, and Buick LaCrosse being similar in price to the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. However, the ES, TL, and LaCrosse do not fall under
Luxury vehicle luxury car, a stylized, mass produced 2 door coupé, relying on standard components. These vehicles were popular from 1958 to 1980. Before World War II, France was a leading producer of powerful luxury automobiles. After World War II, the French government used "puissance fiscale" tax regulations to encourage manufacturers to build cars with small engines, and French motorists to buy them. The Maserati-powered Citroën SM and the Citroën C6 were arguably the last domestic French luxury cars. France is Europe's second-largest car manufacturer and its producers have benefited from the 2007 "bonus-malus écologique - ecological bonus-penalty" focusing on low CO2-emissions