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 and safety. Luxury vehicles are also a status symbol for conspicuous consumption. Contemporary luxury cars also offer higher performance and better handling, which is often known as sport luxury. However, in Europe, where large-displacement engines are often heavily taxed and many luxury buyers shy away from conspicuous consumption, brands offer buyers the option of removing exterior engine-identifying badges. Forbes noted that the reputation of luxury marques enables them to continually introduce many new safety technologies and comfort amenities, such as anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control and DVD entertainment systems, long before they trickle down to mass market cars. Numerous "smart