Luxury cars from the likes of Bentley, Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce are among the most opulent vehicle's money can buy. But while these European automakers produced some brilliant cars over the years, American manufacturers did their own thing to ensure that they could keep up with them.
Updated April 2023: Luxury cars are becoming all the rage these days among those who can afford them, but for most of us, the world’s most premium cars are beyond reach. Happily, old, used luxury American cars remain well within the bounds of reality. What’s more, they can often be purchased at a fraction of the price that Asian or European competitors command. This article has been created and kept updated to ensure that readers have the best possible options to choose from if they want to get their hands on some serious luxury.
While much of the world believes the build quality of American cars is the prevalent reason for their cheaper pricing, you can’t ignore the value-for-money that American cars provide. We think gearheads should consider buying the Dodge Challenger Hellcat, which is currently circling the region of $80,000 - that’s a lot of car for the money, considering an equivalent BMW M5 can fetch a fee of over $110,000.
There are a few instances where American automakers spent the extra few dimes and had a go at making a proper luxury car to rival the Europeans. Cars like the Cadillac DeVille and the Lincoln Town Car are among the most famous instances. These cars weren’t fast, but they were comfortable and relatively expensive. The most important part was that they carried a sense of wealth during their production years. That got us thinking: which are the most luxurious American cars ever made? Here’s our list:
8 1965 Chrysler Imperial
Despite the fact that the Chrysler Imperial Crown fell short of Cadillac and its offerings at the time, it has come to be appreciated as a seriously lavish, open-top cruiser in for the modern age. It existed between 1926 and 1993 in various forms, with the name being changed from the ‘Chrysler Imperial’ to just the ‘Imperial’ in 1955 when the Chrysler Corporation wanted a super luxurious model to compete with the Cadillacs and Lincolns of the time. The Imperial survived six generations before production stopped, but the last model was a sad try to keep the idea alive.
The 1960s Imperial is the most well-known model of the lot, mostly thanks to the fact that it starred as Black Beauty in the Green Hornet comics. It also starred in the 2011 live-action movie of the same name. Chrysler wanted to revive the Imperial nameplate in the late 2010s but axed it due to the economic recession. Interestingly, the Imperial Concept looks not too dissimilar to the Aurus Senat – prompting one to think that some copy and pasting occurred.
7 1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V
The Lincoln Continental has always been the fanciest and most luxurious model produced by the Ford Motor Company – and we think the Lincoln Continental Mark-IV in particular was awesome. The Continental survived through nine generations, before getting discontinued, revived for a tenth, and then discontinued again in 2020. The best of the lot was the massive Continental Mark V and its never-ending length and ridiculous front and rear overhangs.
The Continental Mark V sold as a two-door hardtop or a four-door sedan, and was 232 inches long in 1975 – more than 20 inches longer than the current Mercedes-Benz S-Class LWB. It featured either a 6.6-liter Cleveland or a 7.5-liter Lima V8 and had multiple different color choices. The interior could be completely covered in leather, with some interesting color combinations also on offer. A light blue one was driven by Jeremy Clarkson in The Grand Tour’s Lochdown Special, with one hilarious scene begging the question: will Jeremy and Richard get their American cars out of Edinburgh?
6 2022 Cadillac Escalade
The Cadillac Escalade has been one of the go-to luxury vehicles in the US since its second generation debuted in 2002. The Escalade is currently in its fifth generation and is better than ever – even featuring a supercharged V-version to go with the other Cadillac V-cars. The Escalade-V is extremely quick for an SUV of its size, but is still outrun by the even more ridiculous Dodge Durango Hellcat. Better still, the 2022 Cadillac Escalade SUV is extremely reliable.
It has morphed from simply being a re-bodied Chevrolet Silverado with some more striking styling to having its own identity, despite continuing to adopt the Silverado’s platform. It is even available with a turbo-diesel inline-six, which gives it a huge range per tank of fuel. A super efficient diesel engine in a large luxury SUV may be weird in the US, but it’s pretty much standard in the rest of the world.
5 1995 Lincoln Town Car
A staple in the American luxury automobile industry, we think the Lincoln Town Car is still cool on so many levels, despite being discontinued in 2011. The model started production in the 1960s as the Lincoln Continental Town Car, before becoming its own model in 1980. It used the Ford Crown Victoria platform, but with a fancier body and more interior goodies.
The best generation is the second, manufactured between 1990 and 1997. It featured either a 4.9-liter Small-Block V8 or the 4.6-liter Modular V8 designed for the Crown Vic. It may not have been powerful — or fast — but it had character, and many US presidents used the Town Car as their personal transport before Cadillac took over. It’s still an excellent choice today, driving around wealthy people to conduct business in sprawling metropolitan cities.
4 2006 Cadillac DTS
The Cadillac DTS – which stands for DeVille Touring Sedan – was the brand’s biggest and most luxurious vehicle between 2005 and 2011. It wasn’t too expensive, but had enough luxury and comfort to steal sales away from the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the American market. While it never really took off in Europe, the DTS remains a credible option, given that a used 2011 Cadillac DTS can be had for well under $10k.
Cadillac used the GM G platform for the DTS, meaning front-wheel-drive and a transverse engine layout – much the same as the Volvo S80 V8. Luckily, GM also chose the 4.6-liter Northstar V8 as the power plant, which produced between 275 and 295 hp. It was a great car, perfect for long-distance cruises or chauffeuring people about in a town or city., and we’d have loved for it to be reborn as one of the best EVs and hybrids coming in 2023.
3 2006 Chrysler 300C
The Chrysler 300C was the revival of the Chrysler Letter Series of cars, and the 2005 model entered the market with a bang. Here was an American luxury car that looked like a Rolls-Royce or Bentley, but had a starting price of just $35,000. The 300C emerged after the Chrysler merger with Daimler, so the 300C gained components from the E-Class and S-Class, and contributes to our stance on why we disagree with Top Gear’s verdict on the Chrysler 300C.
The imposing styling and huge grille gave it a menacing look, and the relatively powerful engines provided adequate punch. Chrysler then launched the SRT-8 model with a 6.1-liter V8, which even rivaled the likes of the Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG in terms of performance. But most importantly, it did so at a fraction of the price. In its current form, we think the Chrysler 300C is the ultimate four-door muscle car, and justification isn’t required here. That’s a shame, given that the 300C will be discontinued for good soon.
2 2022 Lucid Air
The Lucid Air aims to be the one of the very best electric luxury cars on the market, and certainly stakes a claim for being better than any electric car from Tesla at present. Built by a bunch of ex-Tesla, BMW, GM, and Mercedes-Benz engineers and designers, the Air is one of the few electric cars that’s not only fun and engaging to drive, but seriously quick. The Air range is set to expand to a rear-drive model soon, dropping the price slightly and allowing more people access to this fantastic car.
The 2023 Lucid Air is currently on sale for around $87,000, and is available with various power and range outputs to suit a variety of lifestyles. Most versions will compete directly with the equivalent Tesla Model S in performance and range, and with the Mercedes-Benz EQS in luxury. It can be specced to a price tag of close to a $250,000 if the Sapphire-badged high-performance model is selected as the base, which is currently in pre-production, but is already streets ahead of the Model S Plaid.
1 2023 Cadillac Celestiq
The Celestiq is not far off now, and has one eye on elevating Cadillac to Rolls-Royce status among US manufacturers. Despite costing $300,000 apiece, and offering personalization options that reach the stars, we think the Cadillac Celestiq is worth every penny. Along with the Lyriq, the Celestiq introduces Cadillac’s new design language, which has been reimagined for the electric era. Not only does the car look stunning, but it will also have some clever technologies to make the ride more interesting and comfortable, while isolating the occupants in a beautifully-designed cabin.
Cadillac reports that it will have around 600 hp thanks to two electric motors that power each axle. There is no word on the range yet, but it will feature the same platform as the Lyriq SUV, most likely with a slightly larger battery pack. There’s no doubt that its European competitors, like Bentley, will be sweating, knowing that the Cadillac Celestiq could set a new benchmark for luxury EVs.