Lexus is again the U.S. luxury-auto sales leader, overtakes Mercedes-Benz

Nice! :D

It's an never ending battle. However if the battle goes international it's obvious what's up. There's a big world outside of the US.

You keep bringing up world sales. If you do you have to factor in Toyota's worldwide sales too. Mercedes and BMW sell Toyota priced vehicles in europe. They are not the heavily optioned versions sold in the US. They are mere shells of the models sole here. Much smaller engines as well. Hell Mercedes are used as taxi cabs. The US is the only level playing field and LEXUS wins again.....SUCCA.......

@knowitall1985

There are no Toyota-priced BMW or Mercedes' models in Europe. That's a stupid myth.

Also, Europeans, unlike Americans, don't want useless crap in their cars that they'll never use - even in luxury cars. We want to option our cars out with feature that we WANT. To us that is luxury. Lexus gives us a car with stuff in it that nobody really wants/needs here. Useless gimmicky features might be important in the US but not here in Europe. Furthermore, only cars like 1 series/A3 and A/B-Class and to a certain degree 3er/A4 and C-Classes are lightly equipped. Beginning with the E-Class/5er/A6 and upwards you have vehicles that are well-optioned out. Anything else people want they can always order. And people here would rather pay for stuff they use than have something in their car they'll never touch. Lexus cars are fully loaded here, eh? And their sales are what? At the bottom. People here don't care about that shit.

Small engines? Big deal. To most people here the performance of a smaller-engined luxury car is completely adequate. I've driven most MBs with smaller engines when I had a summer job with them and I have no reason to complain about their performance. It's completely sufficient. Hell, I drive a 143-hp BMW 118i and the performance is completely adequate to my needs. I hate it when Lexus fanboys try to make Mercedes, Audi and BMW look bad with stupid retarded comments like "_____ have small engines and those are 99% of their sales bla bla bla...". Hey moron, maybe if your overpriced and badge engineered Toyota's offered SMALLER ENGINES in Europe, Asia etc. they might actually be MORE COMPETITIVE in those markets.

Mercedes' are used taxis? Thanks for reminding us of another market that Mercedes dominates. Audi and BMW cars are used as taxis as well? Want to know why? Because they offer models that are efficient and low cost, spacious and comfortable. Try using a Lexus (sans the IS220d or perhaps the CT200h) as a taxi - man those fuel costs are gonna kill you. Add to that the fact that most Lexus cars are CRAMPED as hell (IS, GS)and have small trunks (and embarrassingly lethargic payload capacities). The fact that these cars are used as taxis has not done their sales any harm. Hell, a taxi isn't anything to be ashamed about since taxis in the 1920s, 1930s and even in the 1950s Europe were mostly luxury cars with scaled-down engines geared for efficiency.

Americans care about value - and Lexus offers great value. That's the reason they're number one in the US. Big f_cking deal. Aren't 60% of US sales due to the Camry Deluxe (ES) and the Toyota Harrier (RX)? Wow, I am impressed...

I'm so sick of how OVERRATED Lexus is.

I own two German cars and have had zero problems. In fact, I've owned many European cars (mainly Mercedes' and Audi) and there's a reason I keep going back to them - because they've treated me right.

I've owned Japanese premium cars (mainly Infiniti) and a few Toyota's in the '80s and early '90s and I've honestly had more issues in them than in my German cars. Maybe I'm the exception, but I've had better experiences with European cars than Japanese.

Lexus? Good cars, but awfully boring and to Toyotaish for my tastes.

That's that dumb American way of thinking that we are all accustomed to. Big engines = more prestige. Well we're talking bout sales here so numbers are numbers. Lamborghini's are used as patrol cars in Europe but it's a Lambo so it's different playing fields right? it's not as top spec as the American models right? That's odd.

Just because they are used as taxi's doesn't mean everyone's driving a 'taxi'. Just in recent history Lexus in North America were Toyota badged in Japan so who's trying to fool who? No one has ever denied services bought locally made cars, no reason to hide, it's their native country. I've already seen the Lexus HS used as taxi's so what's your point? the Lexus HS is a Prius/Corolla trying to look upscale. Whereas A4's, C-Classes, 3 series that are designated to become taxi's are sold without luxury amenities, by order.

There aren't millions of german taxi's in the world so it doesn't mean much when it comes to global sales. Majority of the sales are not for taxi use.

If Lexus cars were used more often as taxi's Lexus fanboys would defend them like "well at least their reliable"..

Anyways it doesn't matter what we debate about here. Globally we know who is luxury royalty. Lexus is an American-Japanese brand that was made up to take on Cadillac but in Japan they were merely high end Toyota's. The Prado in Asia is a Lexus GX... still basically rebranding vehicles to fool American's. Marketing do wonders.

I still have an LS460 but I'm not crazed over it. It's a good car and that's why I got it. In Asia my car is used for a limo service company. But I don't feel crappy about it.

so? I hope they keep just pumping out vehicles and disregard craftmanship. I do not know how anyone can drive a lexus. Honestly. They are so boring and so are the people who drive them.

Drove and sold BMW for 6 yrs they are not special. They do have a little more feel and responsiveness,but they break alot and in real world driving most people don't drive their bmw anywhere close to it's limits. Unless you autocross or drive on a racetrack alot of bmw virtue's are lost.People buy Lexus because of their lack of NVH, service and attention to details. The value quality and reliability are proven over 20+ years now. No car is perfect but they are the BEST....

they are also the most boring luxury cars on the planet. for those of us under 65 years old who can handle NVH, we won't be buying a floaty, rolling sofa.

Hey knowitall1985,

I live in Germany and my family has owned a lot of German cars from European Fords, VWs, an Audi 80, 1985 Mercedes 300SE, 1989 Mercedes 500SL, 2002 Mercedes E320 Sport and a 2010 Mercedes E350 CGI Sport and a BMW 118i and none of these cars has ever given us any major trouble. We keep our cars for many years and usually sell them with almost 200,000 km on the odometer. None of these cars has given us any problems whatsoever, or at least problems that would drive us mad. Our '85 300SE needed a new light generator at around 170,000 km and the only problem we've had with the '89 500SL was a not-locking roof. It needed adjustments three times at intervals of about 50,000 km. It's currently at 200,000+ km and I personally don't consider this a reliability problem. It's a friggin mechanical adjustment/tune-up.

What bullshit are you referring to about BMWs breaking down a lot? My BMW 118i is currently at 40,000 km and I've had NO ISSUES whatsoever. Seems to me that the only BMW with mechanical issues are those equipped with the N54/N55 turbo inline-6 engine.

In my experience, German cars are GREAT. When people claim that German/European cars are unreliable, I cannot comprehend why. My friends drive European (which includes Italian, French etc.) and they love their cars. These cars are very reliable to us. Maybe Americans think a broken cup holder has something to do with reliability. *Sarcasm*

Why do people here in Europe buy European cars? One, because these cars are perfectly adapted for the European market and second, because we have great experiences with them. Period.

Boy truth hurts......I like german cars. They drive great. I still think Lexus is the best luxury car for the money.......

German car's in europe don't have the electronics they have in the US. That's way they are more reliable. Body structure and drivetrains are some of the best in the world. Electronics....well we all know who does the best on that. JAPAN.......

Why would German cars have different electronics in Europe and in the US?

IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE (financially or mechanically).

Either this is a FACT or just something you made up right here and right now to help your argument.

Recalls 1990-2011
Lexus-168
mercedes-358
bmw-792 http://www.mycarstats.com/reports/recalls.aspx
acura-223
cadillac-247
infiniti-148

If a car company resists issuing non mandatory recalls, how does that make the company better?

days per year of fun driving in a proper german sport sedan: 365
days per year of fun driving in nearly ever lexus: 0

I meant the ammount of electronic options.....The cars in europe are bare bones less to go wrong.....

congrats lexus, last year i got my first lexus after 3 straight bmw's an IS-F, lexus is a great car company and they really do offer you more for your money, but after 1 year i got rid of lexus ( going back to M3), nothing wrong with them, but i really didnt enjoy the drive as much as i did my 3 bmw's..

call it magic feel or what ever, but there really is something that is special and fun about the german cars.. the only time i can understand getting a lexus over a german car is when you get the LS460, not that i like it more than the germans, but the people who drive them want a soft quiet car and the ls offers it at an attractive price and it is more reliable.. when my family and friends ask me whats a better luxury car to buy i always tell them go with a used lexus over used bmw, benz, audi... but again, thats only if its used..

People have different tastes. Toyota makes a good luxury product, as does Nissan, Hyundai, and Honda. But for me, as a German car owner, its the smell of the leather, the sound of the engine, the telepathic steering, and well proportioned styling that has me hooked.

No, it's probably the advertising.

That is good for them, still don't want one. If I want performance luxury, it will be Infiniti or BMW.

Being number one in sales in the US is a mixed bag. While any business strives to be a market leader in a territory, you have to look at all of the separate markets combined to see how an individual manufacturer is doing.

Being number one, though numbers can be manipulated, only means one thing:

"There is no where to go but down"

I could care less about Mercedes my moms friend bought a brand new 2009 Mercedes Benz s550 that crap had piston slap and always broke down because of electrical issues. We stayed taking her to the dealer there just unreliable the transmission didn't shift ontime. I currently work for BMW assist and do you know how many people call in because of transmission issues for example just yesterday I recieved two calls a lady had just bought a brand-new 2011 3 series coupe with a v6 and she drove her car 12 miles from the dealer and her tranny light illuminated and the transmission was winning and smoking brand new the car only had 38 miles on It. I've always bought luxury Japanese cars my red 1989 Acura legend coupe dealer mantained has 437,000 miles on it extremely quiet you can't hear it running. My moms 1996 Lexus es300 has 279,000 miles on it still rides new and fast gotta love it. Theres another lady had a 2009 bmw 750 or 760 series and the car wouldnt go into gear because of some issue and her steering kept make a poping noise so i her a flat bed and a tow to the dealer. People who always say a Lexus is a Toyota but it's a not just a Toyota, because toyota takes it's time building Lexus so it can out live a Toyota.



If you think about it the most unreliable car brand tend to have the roadside assistance hence BMW Assist, MB Assist, Cadillac onstar. While the Japanese knows they can build a car to perfection and last a longtime.