Luxury vehicle car" features were found on luxury cars as early as 2009. Front mounted longitudinal engines with rear-wheel drive (FR) is a common layout of luxury cars. European marques like Mercedes-Benz , BMW , and Jaguar have almost never adopted front mounted engines with front-wheel drive (FF) and retained a lineup mostly or entirely made up of FR cars. Japanese brands such as Lexus and Infiniti also have predominantly FR lineups. The FR layout, while more expensive than the FF, has been retained by these luxury manufacturers as it allows for higher performance engines (particularly the straight-6, V8, and other engine
Luxury vehicle an export powerhouse during this period, building on success with the Mercedes-Benz brand, later joined by BMW, which now owns Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, and Volkswagen, which now owns Audi, Bentley, and Lamborghini. In the United States luxury market, Cadillac and Lincoln Motor Company had long been the best-selling and second best-selling luxury brands until 1998, when they were overtaken by Japanese and German brands. These cars were not relevant in most export markets; they were tailored to the U.S. market - moderate price point luxury vehicles not constrained by gasoline pricing. The U.S. developed a special vehicle category, the personal