Totally new models coming from Lexus soon?

If this price is right perhaps the owners of a RAV4 may look into this new Lexus. Why? cause it holds Lexus Badging and is basically the same car maybe with some woodgrain and leather seats.

big deal. snore.

Just more brand dillution

This does not surprise me. I am afraid Lexus is taking on GM and Ford not only in sales numbers, but in design tactics as well....stop the cloning! If you want Lexus to be a totally great company, share the hardware and not let the roots of the vehicle be shown. Too many of Lexus' shared platforms look too much like their Toyota counterparts.

I agree with you too! That's what makes BMW, Mercedes and all desirable. You dont have to worry tha your Mercedes GL Class will look like A Dodge Durango. But the Lexus LX looks like a Land Crusier in Lexus Drag....the ES like A Camry...Lexus I thought was on the right track with the IS (an excellent drive) and the new LS, but then the brought out the ES and now this news. I am not saying Lexus is crappy by any means. Yes they build good cars...but I still believe if they truely want to be an luxury competitor they need to leave out the Toyota stuff from their line-up. Sure if they wanted the ES, use the Camry goods, but hide it from everyone by making the sheetmetal DIFFERENT from the Camry.

The point is let Toyota/Lexus sell the bottom line, and in years time, their vehicles resale value is always less than the competition despite their excelleny build quality. They undermine the Lexus brand by building blatant Toyota versions. The IS is a nice Lexus....and there is no Toyota version of it. My point is that I thought Lexus was truely going to make its brand separate from Toyota (they have been talking abou this of a while now) but chose to make the ES look a lot like the Camry. My point is that Lexus will never be a brand that stands out. And from what I hear some of the quality has been slipping at Toyota (perhaps cause it's built here in the states?) So Lexus needs to go ahead and set itself apart from Toyota so when the day comes that Germans straighten out some of the quality issues and are on an equal playing field, Lexus will have a chance to be taken seriously as a whatever car it wants to be.

I agree with Will. Though I am a true BMW fan, and always will be, Lexus continues to impress me with their unbelievable reliability and uncompromised service. Their cars may not be as exciting as my 545i, but their interiors are as comfortable as can be and their prices are unbeatable (except by the not-so-great Acuras). Im glad lexus is continuing to expand its lineup, and I hope that this new 'crossover' suv/luv they plan to build will take on Infiniti's FX. I own an RX and I love driving it, but a sportier lexus SUV would definitely make me happy.
As for the toyota dna comment, I personally only see it in the ES and LX models. The GS, IS, new LS, and RX models are distinctively Lexus, and though they share underpinnings, I am yet to mistake my brother's GS430 for an Avalon. Its time for people to get over their biases and accept the fact that Lexus is a major player in the luxury market, and will continue to outsell our precious BMWs, MBs, and Audis.

"I agree entirely atomicbri. The sentiment that you have stated is the very reason that many car enthusiasts do not consider Lexus to be on the same playing field as cars like Audi, MB, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, etc."

How bout those Audis! I have no problem with Audis; they are nice cars. But, some of you people live in La-La Land. The land where Audis are not VWs and Porsche Touaregs, I mean Cayenne's are not VWs. I love the Cayennes and the Touaregs, and don't care that they share parts, because they are nice cars, but they SHARE PARTS. Now, where is your logic? Also, try looking at the grille of a VW and then a new Audi, and try and tell me that they are not clones of each other. Land Rover, Ford, and Jaguar also share tons of parts, and engines. Mercedes Benz also shares with Chrysler. The only company that I know of that doesn't share several models with another brand is BMW.

Either way, after all that rant, who really gives a rats ass if there is parts sharing between sister/brother companies if the product is a good one. ES and Camry share a platform, but you don't see the success in the sales figures. If you don't like it, then who cares because you aren't paying the person's bills. Your opinions couldn't matter less! Go and buy the car of your dreams (probably an Audi Jetta or a Mercedes Pacifica) if you can afford one. Just keep on living a lie, and I won't worry about you because I would be perfectly fine driving an IS 350 which isn't shared with any Toyota.

Sorry for the lecture... :P

"ES and Camry share a platform, but you don't see the success in the sales figures."

but you DOOOOOOOOOOOOO see the success in the sales figures!

Sorry, but you are completely wrong.

What are you apologizing for? That is simply ignorance at its worst. I feel rather sorry for you at how uninformed you are.

I would love for you to tell me what mechanics the Corolla and IS have in common. Please do tell.

People like you should have duct tape over their mouth out of fear you might start a rumour that George Bush and Saddam Hussein share mothers.

PS, that is the first time I have heard that said before. BRAVO!

:)

This gets better.

It is obvious that you have never seen a GS or an Avalon in person; perhaps you think you would get cooties if you came near a TOYOTA, who knows. But, back to the important part, the GS and Avalon are nowhere near the same size. Also: GS is RWD, Avalon is FWD.

I suppose you would be one of those people who said,"well I saw pictures in a magazine, so I must know what I am talking about. They are made by the same company, right? And they look the same size on this page."

Remind me not to be drinking something hot when I read one of your posts again.

I give up. You know nothing about cars, I am wasting my breath.

you are talking about similarities in sheetmetal, then I can find similarities in any make and model, and so can a monkey.

A goof boy. Are you talking about the old LS or the new one, because the old one (current model) is the exact same thing as a Toyota Celsior.

First you said that the IS was a Toyota Corolla, then, after realizing you are doing nothing more than spewing fiction say that the NEXT Corolla will be related to the IS. You have zero credibility to your arguments. Any second rate hack can say what you are saying. I would pay credit to your posts if they were backed by facts, but they aren't.

Also, when you say "based on" there could be several meanings to that statement. Point out the mechanical similarities between the Avalon and GS. The backseat of an Avalon could fit 4 people in a row comfortably with their feet stretched out, and driver's seat all the way back. You couldn't fit three people in the back seat of a GS comfortably if you paid them a million dollars.

I dare you to back up your statements with something other than *just* words. Bring some facts into your arguments.

BTW, the second I saw the new Jetta, I swore it was a Corolla! They must share platforms!

:D

I will preface this by saying that I have not exagerated any of the following with my own words. The "actions" that I have added in between dialogue, which is word for word, are exactly what had happened on the TV program Top Gear.

For those who don't know, this is a BBC show (British Television).

Each episode on Top Gear, it seems, Hammond and James give cool ratings for cars on the “Cool Wall” (Ratings: Sub Zero (best), Cool, Uncool, Seriously Uncool (... worse)). They pull out pictures of the subject car and discuss what rating to give it and where to put it on the Cool Wall. Here is what happened when the 3-Series was discussed:

Jeremy: What have you got next?

Hammond: I’ve got the BMW 3-series.

Audience Member (shouts): It looks like a Nissan.

Jeremy: It doesn’t look like a Nissan, it looks like 15 feet of car.

Hammond: It is. It’s just “some car”.

Jeremy: ... Some car. I’m sorry, do you know what? First time ever. (drops the picture of the 3-Series on the floor.)

Hammond: Can’t be bothered…

Jeremy: Can’t be bothered....

Hammond Laughs.

Jeremy (continues): ... to put it on the board.

- Whole Crowd Cheering and Clapping -

Hammond: It’s just some car!

Jeremy: It is mild cheddar.

Hammond: It’s a lump of car.

Jeremy: Thaaat’s what it issss…….

Crowd Clapping and Laughing.

From another episode of Top Gear, Hammond describes the interior: This dash used to curve around like the cockpit of a fighter plane, but now it’s as straight as a piece of celery, and just as interesting... In twenty years that car [the Z4] will be remembered as forward thinking, but this car will be remembered as, well it won’t be remembered... As a machine, it’s fantastic. The engineering might be great, but the snob value of the badge is even stronger. But there’s a problem with that; the very reason you buy a BMW; because it’s exclusive and different; well it just isn’t, not anymore.

Now, they love the way the car drives (and it is justified), but there is a whole lot more to a car than the way it drives, and shame on the people who think that if you don’t buy a BMW, you must not love driving! There really are other options. Competition really is a wonderful thing.

A Top Gear Review of the IS 250:

Lexus has yet again come up with a car that will seriously rattle BMW's cage. It makes the 3-Series look like a rip-off

'After years of trying, someone's made a car that conquers the Three'

January 26, 2006

Features

Pistols at dawn

Watch out BMW, the new Lexus IS is gunning for the 3-Series. And it's good... very good indeed
It's down to badge snobbery. No longer do you have to opt out of BMW 3-Series ownership armed with a caveat.

You don't need an excuse, any inter-pub conversational armour, because the new IS is the car that will make Lexus a force to be reckoned within the UK market.

Think about it; where the small Beemer has become a subdued and almost awkward design study, the Lexus has blossomed, thanks to the new 'L-Finesse' design language.

Where the old IS200 threatened to make inroads, the new car punches above its weight, only lacking the Pavlovian buying response from the general public that the 3-Series has long laid claim to.



'Where the old Lexus IS200 threatened to make inroads, the new car punches above its weight'
The BMW might have the edge in 10/10ths excitement, but I buy an executive saloon to drive every day and a car that is as near-as-dammit silent will pay dividends 99 per cent of the time. Standard kit is lavish, ride is exemplary and the execution of build superlative.

You could argue that the wheels are too small, there's no diesel option and that bits of it can look a little plump.

In answer, I'll point you towards the forthcoming Sport model riding on 18s, and the imminent release of the IS220d in the UK - a diesel engine more powerful than that in the BMW 320d.

As for the plump bit, get used to it - 'flame-surfacing' and 'new edge' are so last year. It's won a Top Gear award because, after years of trying, someone's made a car that conquers the Three, but not by apeing BMW values. It's gone its own way and it's a better car for it.