I hear people refer to the XF as a poor man's Mercedes. I feel offended by this, even though I know I shouldn't because everyone has an opinion about everything. Everyone has a bellybutton too, but we don't necessarily want to see it either.

I feel the car is unique for several reasons:

Its made with Mercedes quality parts, but its not a Mercedes.
Its made by a quality manufacturer (Karman), but its not really a Chrysler. That's not a shot at Chrysler, I think they were smart to have this car to their product line.
Its produced in small quantities compared to other cars so there are fewer of them and they are noticeable and don't fade into the background like the other cars do.

Lastly, its not a cheap car. Certainly not a poor man's car anyway. Lot's of people have Mercedes when they want to get a nice car. When I tell people I have a Crossfire, their eyes light up.

I kept my mouth shut as the person saying this was a good customer for the company I work for. Too bad he's too big to fit in one so he will be denied the pleasure of owning and driving one. I guess in the end, the laugh is on him.