There has been a lot of press this year over those power crazy uber sedans. It just seems like every week you see something about the new M3, RS4(5) or C63 AMG super sedans. These automakers are in a constant battle to one up each other, and produce the finest muscle sedans on the planet. And to be honest their advertising dollars show it.
Face it, press sells cars, and these guys know how to keep their products in public view. Whether it is a head to head comparison, or a silly challenge against a bullet train, we are constantly spoon feed a carefully crafted meal of statistics and spectacular photos.
Almost every month the Germans are in the press, but what about the others? What is missing in this equation?
Not so long ago we saw a similar barrage from Lexus with the then new IS-F. Lexus had finally figured out that performance could be the ticket to a demographic. Powerful, yet refined, this muscle car actually showed promise. Lexus had obviously taken a hard look at the market and had learned a few lessons.
When compared head to head with the finest German sedans on the road the IS-F was right in the middle of group. It was a very credible first shot. To the fans the IS-F, only lacked the most modest tweaks and they could actually beat the Germans at their own game. All in all, it was a marvel the IS-F could be on par this quickly.
All these die hard fans had to do was to wait, until the tweaks would be worked up through the skunk works.
And they waited...and waited.. and waited. And over the next few years rarely a peep was heard about any substantial improvements to the IS-F. Only the introduction of a new limited slip rear end broke the silence. But this was something that should have been included from the beginning.
So what happened? With a rock solid reputation on their side, it seemed Lexus was staged to give a final blow to the Germans by beating them on all fronts, and they did what? N-O-T-H-I-N-G.
So with all of that being said, is the competition still within reach? Can Lexus go back to the drawing board and finally make the IS-F what it should have been? Or was this just another misstep from a company that is starting to lose the "touch"?
Did the IS-F come so far just to be ignored?
2010 Subaru Outback Photo Gallery
2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Photo Gallery
Audi A7 Sportback 3.0 TDI Photo Gallery
MINI Paceman Concept Photo Gallery
2011 BMW X3 M Sport Photo Gallery