Lexus LS460 won Car Of The Year Japn

Wow, amazing given the fact that Lexus is having such a hard time convincing the Japanese market that Lexus is comparable to Benz/BMW. Here is an article from LATIMES.COM...Lexus needed this award big time..things could be changing for them...

TOKYO - These days no one scoffs at Toyota Motor Corp., the world's most profitable auto manufacturer with an apparently fine-tuned sense of what drivers want.

Yet in Japan, the majority of luxury car buyers have eyeballed the Lexus, kicked its tires, and said: "Give me something European."

Mercedes and BMW are still the luxury cars of choice in Japan. Mercedes sold over 58,000 cars in Japan last year; BMW has delivered 38,400 through the first 10 months of 2006.

Japan may not be the world's biggest market for premium cars, but it's one with growing demand. When Lexus made its debut in Japan in September 2005, Toyota executives said they expected to sell 50,000 to 60,000 vehicles in the first year. They have sold just half that after more than 14 months on the market.

"The reality is that, ironically for Toyota, Japan is proving to be a difficult market," says Christopher Richter, an auto industry analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific in Tokyo. "Their difficulty here is that there is greater panache in owning a Mercedes or a BMW. In the U.S., the Lexus is a sensible reward for personal success.

"But in Japan, people want something that says, 'Hey, I spent stupid money on a car.' "

Getting that kind of reaction with a Lexus is difficult in Japan, where the Lexus name still means Toyota and doesn't generate much of a frisson. Unlike the U.S., where Toyota established Lexus as an independent premium brand, Lexus models sold in Japan were all previously marketed as Toyotas.

"Lexus models are just changed models of Toyota cars that didn't sell well in Japan," says Makiteru Ishikawa, an auto industry journalist and a panelist who helps select the prestigious Japan Car of the Year.

S-Class in Eight! Ouch!

-Remember this is JAPAN CAR OF THE YEAR. NOT WORLD CAR.

(expected comments 120)

Houstoncutie, this is a list complied by a committee. Does their opinion mean ANYTHING? 8th place for the S-Class isn't bad at all. It's a foreign car in a foreign country and it is very expensive: that probably contributed to its 8th place placement.

Ummm...Houstoncutie, the USSR defeated Germany in World War II. 80% of the German Armed Forces were fighting the Russians while the remaining 20% were concentrated on the Western Front. The US supplied the USSR with weapons and equipment and the Allied bombing effort helped diminish Germany's ability to wage war.

Oh, and Germany had by far the most advanced weapons in World War II. They were leading the field in rocket design, submarine design, jetfighter design, push-pull twin-engined piston fighters, artillery etc. Germany's weapons were so advanced, even your "super dooper Japan" had to buy blueprints for the German Me-163B Komet rocket interceptor and type XXVII submarines.

I'm a history teacher by the way. Don't bother replying. I've already noticed you're a complete moron and troll.

Hey Lexus Dude, read MDalle's post. The Japanese weren't innocent either in World War II. Aside from killing POW's and civilians, they also experimented on Allied prisoners of war.

Read these links, shithead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_8604

citroen in 7th, thats good.
but do they get citroen in japan?

I went on the Lexus website and the Mercedes website and began comparing similar photos of the LS460 and the S-Class and 90% of the time I like the look of the S-Class and I like it's longer wheelbase as well.

Wow, so AutoSpies shut down my account (FOR THE THIRD TIME)!

I missed a few days, and I have to make up for lost ground. Wasn't it weird not having me posting so frequently?

Here is my cycle of AutoSpies accounts:

e--s--f (shut down after about half a year)

efoxS4 (shut down after summer ended)

S4cabriofox (shut down after three months)

Hopefully, "S4cabriofoxone" will stay put. I didn't change my name much for familiarity.

001, please try to fix this problem. It seemingly only happens to me!

chicago i thought?

No, Chi-town baby!

"Lexus will win#1 in a whole lot of awards...The Lexus LS460 was already declared the Most Advance production vehicle ever built in the world..."

Well, first of all, the only awards Lexus wins are the JD Power dependability studies. In the last two years, I believe the Audi A6 and A8 have won more awards than any other two cars from any other brand.

Also- IT WAS LEXUS WHO SAID THE LS460 WAS THE MOST ADVANCED CAR IN THE WORLD! It's pure marketing! Besides, there's no tangible way to come up with that conclusion. People have said the same thing about the S-Class, among others. Heck, when the A8L came out, Audi dubbed it "The World's Most Intelligently Designed Car". Does that make it so? Of course not!

houstoncutie, you don't need to C&P all that because we read it the first time you did it.

Now I like the S-Class better than the LS460 because of styling and that's the bottom line.

The thing about that list I don't get is it's all
over the map with different types of automobiles.

Think about it.

I think the S-Class should've been farther up. I was especially surprised it was beaten by a Suzuki. A Suzuki!

S4, don't bother. The Japanese are as loyal to their cars as the Germans or French. It's only the US where we seem to accept that our cars are generally not on par with the competition.

Wow, surprised the Mitsubishi Outlander isn't on there. It's the #1 Selling SUV there.

I found this quote on the civilized, objective forums that are on edmunds.com's Inside Line:

"Seriously, the award was not a "people's choice award", or any representation of what the Japanese people truly think. It came only from a "committee".

In fact, the LS460 is a very poor seller in Japan, and is noteably rejected by the Japanese people themselves. Who knows better than the Japanese themselves as to what a Lexus really is? And the vast majority of them continue to say "no thanks".

In real Japanese life, it is a fact that the BMW and Mercedes are among their most coveted vehicles. Smart, those Japanese, very smart. "

Interesting.

houstoncutie-

And that makes it any different, how, I ask you?

Well, what can you expect.
Its from JAPAN!
Its pretty biased.
But congrats to Lexus.
Although I do not understand why the S class would lose to the LS.
Maybe the lower price point on the LS?

So when only European cars win the European car awards that is not bias??? The Lexus won get over it.

Well, what's better about the LS than the S-Class?

I just feel like the S550 offers that total package. It's truly a desirable automobile. The new LS460 just doesn't stir the same desire inside of me. I guess it's the styling- extremely bland IMHO. Simple and elegant works on the A8, but Lexus didn't pull it off nearly as well.

the S has SO MANY RELIABILITY PROBLEMS, it is on the CR "Not Recommended" list.

every single toyota model, even the very cheapest, beats out the S on reliability.

lexus is in a totally different class. even m-b admits they are "Five years behind Lexus."

Uh, no, Mercedes-Benz never said they were "five years behind Lexus" in anything other than reliability, if that's even a direct quote. The S-Class, from a design standpoint, is more forward-thinking than the bland LS.

"every single toyota model, even the very cheapest, beats out the S on reliability."

Obviously. The more simple cars get, the more prone they are to being reliable. The S is filled with high-tech features. Even your highly-regarded LS would have worse reliability than a Toyota Corolla.

The S550's reliability specs aren't even out yet, by the way. Bill owns one- he has not had any problems in his first eight months of ownership. If I had an LS, I would be facing a serious problem: boring-ness.

Ummm, not to ruin the party, but Japanese cars tend to win "Car of the Year" in Japan all the time. Anyway, the LS460 deserves it too.

What I find interesting about that list is that the Mercedes E320 CDI made it on there. That's saying a lot considering that the Japanese are very anti-diesel.

Some time ago, I read a little news flash that MB was planning on introducing diesels in Japan. The very fact that the E-Class diesel made it into the top 10 is pretty interesting.

Has that car helped change the Japanese outlook on diesels in passenger cars?

Let us face the facts, the Mercedes Benz S-Class
is a better car than the LS460.

Nuff said.

They're both equal if you ask me, but I think the S-Class has the edge in the driving department.

this lexus deserves an award, it's an acheivement.
i don't particulairly like it, but it's an amazing piece of engineering. not the self parking or anything, but the engine itself, being so quiet. lexus always manage to make superbly relaxing vehicles, just that's not the sort of vehicle i want.

"S-Class is better than the LS460 in what? In Price?"

And in what key factor, BESIDES price, is better about the LS460?

The S-Class's interior beats it in every way- it's far more sophisticated. Maybe they're equal in technology, but definitely not in style. The S-Class appeals to all ages and all types of people. Noone can claim the same about the blue-hair-esque LS460.

I'm with MDalle.
i would love to see that list.
i don't think EVERYONE realizes, especially lexus fanboys, how much better a mercedes is as compared to a lexus.
I don't care that the LS can park itself, its no S class.

Depends on what part of the world you are. I still own 3 MB and 1 lexus, used to have 2 and I can tell you the Lexus is more reliable. Also, where I am the cars come with only like 1 year warranty. My 2001 E320 cost me about US $65K, my 2005 E500 about US$92K, and trust me the trips to the dealer are never cheap. I am actually considering the LS460 instead of the S550, because I don't care much about how it drives, it is a big luxury sedan. I have an E500 with the sport package for that. I am not biased towards either brand as I have owned both. Also I had Bmw's but they seem to be the most unriable of the three and the dealer prices to fix them is extremely high, even higher than MB. By the way we only have 1 MB dealer and 1 BMW dealer in the country.

All you German car boys need to cut that envy crap off already!!Lexus won the Japanese car of the year,and you can't change that by crying about how Mercedes and BMW are better in your eyes,just execpt it!!

Look I'll be the first to admit that all these luxury car brands have something unique like:Audi has great AWD vehicles,BMW has the best handling vehicles,Mercedes has great diesel vehicle,and Lexus has the most technology features in their vehicles!!

Other than a car stereo and self parking, what other technology features does the Lexus have the S-Class doesn'r because I'll will be buying one of these super cars soon?

You see I live in Mercedes country with the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center only 4 miles from my house.

The Audi A6 won the inagural World Car of the Year Award last year, and the BMW 3 Series won it this year. The A6 also continued its trend by winning South African Car of the Year (random, but somehow relevant).

I don't see the LS winning World Car of the Year any time soon. I could be surprised- it may win next year. But I can see the S-Class winning. A little more important than Japanese Car of the Year, no?

(EL34) What about the 8-speed automatic trans.,credit card sized key fob,Worlds first LED low beam headlamp(LS600h),4 zone climate control with temp sensor to monitor each passenger's temp,and a lot more luxury features.

The 2006 Audi A8 was the world's first vehicle to feature LED daytime running lights.

Of course, the Lexus fans will de-boost me for saying this, because it's "biased".

In fact, the 2007 A8 4.2 that I will most likely buy my wife has LEDs as standard equipment- even on the interior. You can set the various lights (which are beautiful) to different stages, from romantic lighting as in a restaurant to eye-bleeding everytime you open the door.

Will, is it true that Lexus implemented that wake-the-driver feature because Lexus enthusiasts were being lulled to sleep at the wheel from blase driving dynamics?

And nowhere did I say it was biased (I know it wasn't directed at me, but still).

The LS does nothing that the S-Class does. Prestige is a huge seller in this class, as well as style. It's not like prestige is some fake trait that German car fans made up- and the S-Class is one of the most prestigious cars in the world. I'd much rather spend my money on a car that's both stylish AND luxurious, rather than just stylish. If you can afford it, it's worth the premium. I see some of these Lexus fans as kind of insecure. S550 buyers truly know that they have one of the best cars ever made, but LS460 buyers repeat it to themselves.

*The LS does nothing that the S-Class does NOT.

Wow. Another typo. 001- PLEASE add an edit feature!

"I'd much rather spend my money on a car that's both stylish AND luxurious, rather than just **luxurious**" is what it should be. The LS is not stylish!

Will, the US Navy uses a form of self parking when they land F-18's on an aircraft carrier at 2AM in the morning, but honestly would you ever use that self parking crap?

And some of the best audio equipment I've ever heard was designed by Rupert Neve.
http://www.rupertneve.com/

Or maybe the million dollar AWS 900 recording console by Solid State Logic.
http://www.solid-state-logic.com/music/xl9000.html

You forgot the Lexus built in hard drive that will let to load 2,000 mp3 songs,An Air Purifier uses ultraviolet light to help keep the cabin air free of dust, pollen and odors,rear massage seat with power leg recliners,nine-inch power LCD screen,rear cooling box,electroluminescent gauges.I can't name all the features found on the LS460!!

mistype:
You forgot the Lexus built in hard drive that will let the (driver) load 2,000 mp3 songs,An Air Purifier uses ultraviolet light to help keep the cabin air free of dust, pollen and odors,rear massage seat with power leg recliners,nine-inch power LCD screen,rear cooling box,electroluminescent gauges.I can't name all the features found on the LS460!!

Neither does the S-class. And the LS does everything the S-class does in a more luxurious manner knowing u have perfection and reliability.

the S does have every imaginable electronic gadget offered in modern luxury cars.

but they seem to BREAK DOWN early and often. in CR Repair Record charts, all you see are lines of black marks on most m-b cars.

I EXPECT MORE FROM MERCEDES BECAUSE OF THE PRICE, AND 8TH PLACE IS JUST PLAIN UNACCEPTABLE. THERE IS NO EXCUSE


Um, Houstoncutie, is it Mercedes' fault that they're in 8th place? The judges voted the cars into their position. Stop talking shit.

And you own a new S550, do you not?

And it's beautiful, is it not?

Hi S4Cabrio (call me Bill),

Yes, I have a new S550 and I love it. I don't care what the idiotic Lexus posters here say, it's a quality car and it is not overrated.

Here are some pictures of my ride which I took in the summer. I gave my S-Class a little spice with the AMG package. Hope you like it!

I think you need to copy and paste this into a browser. Posting images on Autospies with Imageshack doesn't work to well.

3/4 front shot
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/460/img275601nf6.jpg

interior
[IMG]http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/8383/img275603op8.jpg[/IMG]

Your S550 is beautiful!

And that is a truly amazing interior color. Good taste, my friend.

I'll have to post pics of the A8 (Platinum Beige over Sand Beige interior with light Birchwood trim) when we get it, if it's ever nice out again.

The S-class is just overrated and overpriced for the features it has!!Mercedes lost it's prestige when it merged with Daimler Chrysler!!!

I give up the Lexus LS 460 is nicer than a Bentley Continental GTC.

I thought that the Japanese would never ever give the top five spots to cars made in Japan, silly me! Suzuki SX4 or Audi TT, Audi TT or Suzuki SX4, I am confused can the brilliant minds at Auto Spies tell me which one should I pick; Audi TT or a Suzuki SX4??? Now that is a million dollar question!!!

People and children alike dream of owning a mercedes their entire life. An S550 is a desired object. Nobody has dreams or ever will have dreams about owning a lexus, nor an LS460. Why? For the simple reason that the LS460 is as desired as an appliance (kithen appliance in my opinion) and not an emotional object. Thats the truth, houston cutie, try convincing me or the majority of car owners that a lexus ls460 is more desired than a mercedes S550. Doing so is just a mockery to your intelligence.

used to be, manufacturers of other products who tried to make the best, cost no object, would brag that THEIR widget was "the Cadillac of Widgets."

now, they brag of "the Lexus of..." widgets, wurlitzers, or whatever.

i don't recall any maker ever aspiring to be "the Mercedes of..." anything. (Lucas electrics, maybe?)

"Even so, the Mercedes is desired because of its name, nothing else. Admit it."

That's what he was saying, and Mercedes's image is precisely why it's a more desirable car. I'll repeat myself: if you can afford it, there's no reason to buy an LS460 over an S550. The S550 is beautiful. The LS460 is boring.

If a mercedes looked like a Geo Metro,I bet you german boys would still be raving about it as long as it had the Mercedes badge...They are truly blinded by the Badge!!

"Where are the MB supporters have not listed any factual information as to the technical advantages the Merc enjoys over the Lexus.

The MB supporters stand exposed as "Badge whores".

Now Mercedes.What it has which Lexus doesn't.

Styling is subjective.

They have that extra nearly 1 whole litre whose only advantage is an extra 2 BHP over LS460,More weight,more thirsty,Complicated Command system(try one and u will know),crappy reliabilty...no improvment at all(yes still know, check edmunds or any other) and a higher price tag.
That what i can recall now,i am sure there are lots more.

Now call them +s or -s but only these are the things where S class is over LS.

JUGNU

the S class has it WAY over the LS in making people have FOND memories of Lucas electrics in english cars.

Nice, good job Lexus.

We'll find out how well the Lexus does against the BMW 7 Series and the Mercedes S-Class on the race track when the car magazines do a comparison.

LEXUS SUCK!
they couldn't make a decent car if they tried!
look at the abysmal SC, the worst car in its class!
when mercedes do it, they make it a heck of a lot better! the LS interior, full of cheap fake metal! looks horrible! the GS, ugliest in its class! and why do they stuff the interior full of fake wood and plastic? it seems after they actually learnt how to make soft-tocuh plastic they decided to put it everywhere, and it looks horrible! The RX, again the fake metal and wood! lexus are so anydrone, so boring, so middle of the road, so stupidly suburban! no one with a trace of imagination, soul or talent would ever drive a lexus! lexus are for people who don't like driving, who treat their cars as if they were fridges or ovens. electric everything, detached from the road, complete lack of feel from the road. lexus don't drive, they waft on the giant bubbles of air that are in their owner's heads!
houstoncutie, I for one will never want a lexus.

You know when you get down and look into the LS460 exhaust vents you can see in there the unfinished tail pipes that look like they're off an old Chevy pickup truck.

lol

Hey Houston Bitch, shut it.

I'm not jealous, I'm fed up with your lame trolling asshole.

I don't think Bill is jealous, I think he's annoyed with all your trolling like everyone else here including me. Do us a favor and leave.

I suggest people be more open minded. The new Lexus LS460 won the award. It's new style combined with a lower pricing does attract buyers. I was considering the old LS430 vs E500, in the end I chose the E500, not because of the badge, but because I wanted to get a sportier car, having sold my old S class. They were about the same price so it was either LS430 or the new E500 with a sport package, I chose the latter.

Now I am looking at a big size sedan and the S550 although a very beautiful car too, it is more expensive than the LS460, so the LS460 has some positives too, negatives? maybe it doesn't handle as good as the S550? Well, don't know, haven't tested them yet.

a8.
simple answer.
negatives of the LS? horrible interior. looks bland. weird poorly calibrated gearbox. more glossy fake wood than a replica antiques store. and fake-metal plastic.
negatives of an s550? will have on average half an issue more per car per year than the LS. that's it.
get an s550 or an A8, IMO.

(Rupert)
Can you shut up with the fake wood stuff if you don't even know!!The wood is real and was apointed and fabricated by Yamaha's musical instrumental division..
If your going to talk bad about Lexus get you damn facts straight!!!

its a pity such expensve wood can look so cheap.

do you know when they will chang the design of the A8?

Time to interupt this flame fest with a little bit of history trivia!

At the time of the Hiroshima bombing, Japan had a submarine on its way to the west coast of the USA. On that sub they had a German-designed A-bomb. It was to be dropped by a small Japanese fighter plane which was able to take off of the submarine when it surfaced. It was ordered to turn around by the Japanese with less than a few days till it carried out its mission.

OK. Back to flaming...

answer-- there was a book about the japanese working on their own a-bomb. in korea, then a japanese colony. it was the only place they had sufficient hydropower. in the end, they simply did not have enuff RESOURCES to succeed.

can you cite a source, on that I-boat mission?

"...the Russians would have kept on at their own buisness (and sold a lot of oil to the germans)..."

did you guys know that old grandpappy Prescott Bush was ALSO helping the u.s. sell oil and other strategic items to the germans in the 1930s, almost up to dec. 7, 1941?

and now his superpatriot grandson is sending off more americans to be killed in iraq and afghanistan (still an unfinished war too).

OIL profits and politics transcend patriotism.

to the other wwII history buffs--

a most interesting read is Churchill's Deception. written by a brit who was physician at spandau prison. he discovered the final, LONE prisoner, rudolf hess, was a DOUBLE.

the real hess parachuted over scotland, to negotiate a truce. for all his craziness, hitler was also an anglophile! he thot it a crime the brits were fighting him instead of the slavs. intentionally spared brit forces at dunkirk, hoping to work out an armistice that would free him from worrying about the western front.

his invasion of USSR seems to have timed well with hess' mission. why was d-day not until 1944!? allowing hitler to meanwhile concentrate on eastern front. (and exhausting his armies against the russians. churchill later pulled a double cross?)

author came to a dead-end in research, due to "state secrets." but the evidence SUGGESTS some secret deal bet'n hitler/hess and brits. very interesting read.

JAPANESE car of the year
DUUUUUH it's made in JAPAN
not very convincing