BMW Shoppers tempted by Lexus?

BMW Shoppers May Be Tempted by Lexus: Doron Levin (Correct)

Lexus was a newcomer in the U.S. car market in 1989, a name no one knew and a brand few believed could legitimize Toyota Motor Corp. as a maker of luxury.

Sixteen years after its debut, any skepticism has vanished, especially among executives at General Motors Corp., the manufacturer of Cadillac in Detroit, or the makers of Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart and BMW in Munich. Lexus now is the leading luxury make in the U.S. auto market, having passed Cadillac, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in sales.

And having risen to the top of the world's most profitable and prestigious automotive market, Lexus has its eye on a bigger prize, the whole world, where it trails BMW and Mercedes-Benz. (Not that the No. 1 Japanese automaker would be so boastful as to announce such a goal.)

Nevertheless, the debut of Lexus in Toyota's home market of Japan and the rollout of its BMW-fighter, the new IS250 and IS350 models, are unmistakable signs that Lexus's ambition is growing.

Through August, U.S. sales of Lexus reached 196,693, up 4.2 percent from a year earlier. Sales of BMW for the period were 171,579, a 1.2 percent gain, while Mercedes- Benz sales fell 0.9 percent to 138,812. Cadillac sales climbed 11 percent to 166,293.

Target: 3 Series

Lexus's new IS 250 and IS 350 are aimed squarely at Bayerische Motoren Werke AG's popular 3-Series sedan. BMW was second worldwide in luxury-car sales last year with sale of a bit more than 1 million vehicles, up 10 percent from 2003. Though BMW's sales are rising, they still trail DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes-Benz unit slightly for worldwide leadership in luxury sales.

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Lexus - 9/9/2005 11:04:53 PM

+1 Boost

I saw the new IS coupe and I think it is really nice . I was hoping they make a 2 door coupe for the GS model too. It would be nice if they do that, to compete against the CLS and 6 Serie but they also would have to add at least another 60-70 horse to the current 2006 GS430/450 model to be in that class.

I would Not mind paying an extra $6-10 Grand to give it more horse power in the range 60-70 horse power to it current model.

Lexus

Lexus - 9/12/2005 6:28:13 PM

+1 Boost

BMW530i, how are you? see I said it before I like all cars, Aston Martin rank #1 on the list, #2 Lexus, and #3 BMW, I rated bmw behind Lexus is because I relly feel like BMW need to improve the interior. Use more lexury interior material like the one in Lexus, Mercedez, Audi. And performance wise, BMW right now is NO Doubt better than the Lexus in the same class but with this New Model coming out like the 2006 IS350, I think they have a chance competing against the 3 series.

As far as the new GS I was a little disppointment for their V8 it only had 300 power but the in 2007 they will bring out the GS450 with over 300+ horse power. Interior wise I think that Lexus has in it class, but they need to work more on their Performance to make a Real Sport sedan/coupe, hopefully the IS350 coupe will do that, if need hopefully the IS460 with 450+ horse power will.

Lexus

Lexus - 9/14/2005 2:37:42 AM

+1 Boost

The BMW 330i 0-60 in 6.9 second for manual and 7.5 second for the automatic. 255 horse power

The IS350 0-60 in 5.4-5.6 second, wow that much faster than the BMW 3. The Is350 has 307 Horse power.


Like it or not the IS350 is taking over and it going to be the new King in it class. I'm buying one for sure this Christmas.