Just Who Or What Is Lexus Shooting For With The HS 250h?

Shooting Blanks! :)

Wow planoA4, I meant agent009, you could'nt stand the heat in your previous post trying to make your FWD Jetta look good vs the 3 series, now you come up with this pathetic flame war post.

Not quite bubba... It is interesting that a fellow car blog can drive this car for a week, and still not figure out who this car should be peddled to.

You see this many times by committee designed products with little common focus.

Front wheel drive Jetta vs a 3 series --- Sounds like a great comparison. The Jetta would win.

The Lexus HS250h is probably going down the same path as the LFA. Let's build a car for the the hell of it without a target market. Easy on the Sake boys. Sounds like Ford and Chevy in the late 70's. A little bit of history repeating.

Also, let's flood the American landfills with toxic batteries. Paybacks for all the toxic nuclear waste we dumped on them back in 1945!!

Does Al Gore know the truth about Hybrids or is this to inconvenient for him?

actually the HS250h is quite a neat move from Lexus . its the first dedicated hybrid model for the brand and has an USP . Hybrids aren't only for those pursuing fuel economy, it has morphed into a next gen technology statement. HS250h moved the bar forward in a Lexus way.
I think lexus is going to push forward a few more dedicated Hybrids and push the technology forward. Toyota already has the largest investment in Hybrid drive trains. IP and production systems , it is going to maximize its brand by pushing it forward.
Somewhere there must be a calculation whereby this press for hybrids make sense. Future projections for oil/fuel is going to make hybrids a very viable future technology.

wow...you're really smoking their marketing pipe.

Pursuing perfection? With a Euro market Toyota Avensis with a Toyota Camry hybrid drive-train that looks very similar to a Toyota Prius! This was supposed to be a great move for the Special Toyota brand "Lexus". Toyota really doesn't know what they want to do with the brand. A cobbled together Toyota Avensis is not really focused is it? And when your projected demographic group does not buy it, then what? An obvious really bad move on Toyota's part.

What were they aiming for? People who "need" a Lexus and people who "need" a hybrid.

Lexus aim was for the upscale green buyer. This person wants all of the luxury of MB's and BMW's, but who also wants to be able to look down from the green (high MPG) high ground.

Unfortunately, there is one big problem in acheiving this goal: As soon as you add a better looking but less aero shape, improve the performance, and add all of the luxury toys, the MPG's take a dive into the also-ran category.

Lexus aim was for the upscale green buyer. This person wants all of the luxury of MB's and BMW's, but who also wants to be able to look down from the green (high MPG) high ground.

Unfortunately, there is one big problem in acheiving this goal: As soon as you add a better looking but less aero shape, improve the performance, and add all of the luxury toys, the MPG's take a dive into the also-ran category.

Lexus aim was for the upscale green buyer. This person wants all of the luxury of MB's and BMW's, but who also wants to be able to look down from the green (high MPG) high ground.

Unfortunately, there is one big problem in acheiving this goal: As soon as you add a better looking but less aero shape, improve the performance, and add all of the luxury toys, the MPG's take a dive into the also-ran category.

GREEN???? Here we go with too much Sake again!!! They are not GREEN. They have toxic batteries in them that will end up in a landfill somewhere close to you and your family. We currently have no viable and effective way of disposing of these batteries. Is anyone else seeing this, or is there a way to dispose of toxic batteries effectively???

Also, we heard you the first 2 times.

And by the way, Audi, BMW and MB have very green cars that don't pollute the landfills and have almost zero emmissions. They're called diesels. Audi having the very best. The Japs don't have the technology or its not cost effective for them, so they use toxic batteries to help us. Did I mention the batteries are toxic??

Yes, Toyota has a diesel they put in there psuedo luxury brand we call Lexus in the US and UK. But it isn't clean you moron. They don't have the Japs don't have the technology. When there not piling up toxic batteries on our landfills, they are polluting our air.

2010 Lexus IS220d
Directly from Lexus UK site:

Urban mpg (l/100km) 39.8 (7.1)
Extra urban mpg (l/100km) 58.9 (4.8)
Combined mpg (l/100km) 50.4 (5.6)
CO2 emissions, combined (g/km) 148
BIK (Benefit In Kind) 10/11 rate 21%

2010 BMW 320d ES
The BMW UK site:

Extra-urban (ltr/100km) 4.0 (4.4)
Combined (mpg) 60.1 (53.3)
Combined (ltr/100km) 4.7 (5.3)
CO2 emissions (g/km) 125 (140)

2010 Audi A4 2.0 TDIe
The Audi UK site:
Audi wrote it out for you, instead of hiding it.

The most efficient engine in the Audi A4 range, in fact, with a combined 61.4mpg. But that doesn’t mean a lack of performance. Installed in the A4 Saloon, this 2.0-litre TDIe engine will produce 136PS and 320 Nm of torque, a 0–62 time of 9.5 seconds and a top speed of 134mph. Yet CO2 emissions are remarkably low: just 120g/km, meaning your road tax liability will be lower.

that IS220d is a DOG. gets it's ass whipped by every german competitor. the japanese have yet to build a quality diesel.

Honestly I think the point of the HS250h is to research interest from potential buyers. When Lexus brought the original IS over to the US it wasn't much of a car, the whole point was to see how it a Lexus in the 3 Series segment would work, and it did so they brought over the redesigned IS which was vastly different. I'm thinking the same will happen for the next HS, if enough people seem interested then they can work on the improved version that will be a much nicer car

TOTALLY agree to that! It's a smart move to get buyers into there cars and see what happens. Once the buyer buys the car they'll like it and most likely have loyalty for Lexus, then when the improved version comes out, its a whole step forward, which is good!

Stevez

I don't know where most of u guys live, but these things r all over the place. Especially around Flushing. I even see this wrecked one collecting dust...I thought this thing would look like a Corolla on the streets, but it actually looks good. Especially the white ones. Some ppl who buy this thing probably don't even know it's a hybrid, they'll be sold on the interior and quietness...

The HS is another example of why toyota is not a premium Luxury car manufacturer. This HS does not have the ride or luxury appointments for this to be a verifiable luxury car. The HS is a hybrid for Luxury car posers.

extremely pretentious prius buyers who want a green facade.

why else would anyone pay $15,000 MORE for the same basic car and 15mpg LESS? illogical.

to the deboosters: please EXPLAIN why someone would buy a similar hybrid that gets far lower mileage for more money? really, explain that one.

not to mention, it can be mistaken for a corolla on the road. far less distinctive than the prius.

FYI--badgewhore. hybrids USE GAS. if there's an oil crisis, hybrid drivers are just as fucked. and the HS250 uses a LOT more than a prius. so what's the point?

Just who or what is Lexus shooting for with that new hatchback hybrid on its way here. Thats what "I" want to really know...