AC

An avalanche of ads featuring luxury cars decked with huge red bows, and some without, all send the same message: Give your loved one a fancy car for the holidays. And enough people do it that December is usually a strong sales month. But you begin to wonder what defines a "luxury" car when you see that one Lexus red-bow TV ad features the CT 200h hatchback, which starts at a tick less than $30,000. You can buy well-equipped versions of such mainstream sedans as Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry for $30,000 to $35,000. What makes one vehicle "luxury" and another one not? USA TODAY invited four luxury-car executives — representing Asian, European and Detroit makers with widely varying approaches to luxury selling — to a roundtable session exploring the new definition of luxury. They agree that traditional measures, though still in the mix, matter less. But they disagree on what has taken the place of the old standards that once clearly separated luxury cars from family...