SPY PHOTO: Is this what the final production Lexus LF-A will look like?

dont like the front and bak end of the car...it pretty darn ugly but except dat..its pretty awsome!!

Need more real life pitcutes to make a final desicion.

they should have lined it up against the M6 and other 100k cars, 150k seems a little high. Does Lexus have something against manual gearboxes in their top of the line cars? All in all it looks okay, I think the color is garbage, which might not make it look as good as it can.

I think im gonna trade in my Ferrari F430 Spyder for this, not !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. What a joke, Lexus going to compete against Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Bentey, Cadillac V-series, and Mercedes AMG. I would never pay $150k for a rebaged toyota or anything japanese for that matter. What a friggin joke.

Lexus can in no way compete with Cadillac, MercedesBnz or BMW, they were all right to scoff at them. The only reason that they sell more is because they are the best value. And if they didn't count the sales of the RX330 in their yearly totals and only counted their cars, Cadillac would be on top, BMW in 2nd, Mercedes in 3rd, and Lexus would be all the way back in 4th because those three real luxury brands only count cars in their car totals for the year and do not include suvs.

you represent the majority of people that will vote with their wallets.

You bought an Escalade didn't you? And, you consider that quality? Case closed.

The IS 300 in the middle east is the GR V6 Series, the same in the new GS 300. We could really use the 3.0L V6 here in the IS. Obviously though, we will eventually.

three2four:
guess you didn't look at US sales for May 2006 and has almost caught BMWin terms of car sales(i.e. no SUVs/trucks included) If your only definition of luxury leadership is relative car sales in the US then bow down to BMW and Lexus

Car sales by brand in the US in May 2006 (source Automotive News)
BMW 19,645
Cadillac 11,190
Lexus 18,293
Mercedes 15,927

So don't tell me Cadillac is staying number 1, or that Merc can keep up in 2006.

I am so happy to see you guys fight.

There is a difference, Lexus makes Luxury vehicles, but does not mak premium vehicles. You talked about the widespread appeal of Lexus, yes and no. Lexus is VERY popular in the US but is struggling outside of the US in general.

This has been documented several times, here is a typical analysis:

Future of Lexus
Although Lexus has had phenomenal success in the US since 1991-1992 — within 3 years of its introduction in 1989 — it has been struggling outside North America, including its home country, Japan , where the Lexus brand started marketing in 2005 and is still waiting for the arrival of the LS series due later this year, and in particular Europe. Automotive analysts have pointed out that Lexus has been so successful in North America because the wide consumer base of Toyota and in particular the baby boomers wanted something more luxurious as they were becoming older and their surplus incomes were allowing them to migrate to brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The huge success of Lexus was in part due to the fact that its higher levels of quality and cut-rate prices enabled it to retain those migrating customers and keep them "in the family" [3].

However, this also had negative repercussions as Lexus gradually cemented an image of cut-rate brand, which would offer similarly equipped cars at tens of thousands of dollars less than its primary competitors, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The former chief of BMW, Eberhard von Kuenhiem predicted that this strategy would work to some extent in US, but not in Europe, where the words premium and luxury do not go well with cut-rate pricing. Some automotive experts believe that Lexus' failure to woo European customers and its very slow incremental increase in European arena is because of the serious damage Lexus has done to its brand image. This has led some automotive thinkers to believe that unless Lexus prices its products head-to-head with the European premium brands and emphasizes its superior quality, reliability and engineering, it will not be able to succeed globally

They no doubt will sell all of them even at that price. Wasn't it PT Barnum that said "There is a sucker born every minute"?

Valet.

"There are alot better cars putting out 500hp in that target market."

Spoken like a true know-it-all. Think about what you said. Wait, get a brain first. How in the hell would you know if it is good or bad. How in the hell do you know what it will look like. If I can recall correctly, we do not know what it will look like or drive like.

I haven't commented on this car, although I am interested in the FINAL VERSION. You cannot possibly comment on the car's performance, value, price, prestige, sex appeal; neither of these things we know anything about!

Plano! Why are you consorting with buffoons!

Toyota may not have this "heritage" or is not a "premium" brand but they DO have racing history. they may not have Ferrari or Bugatti but they do have 2000GT, Supra, Celica GT/GT-Four and Corolla (WRC).

will Lexus get it's racing tech fron Scion? well think about it. i'm sure the toyota trucks and suvs got some of it's off-road tech from the Corolla which has won a World Rally or two. will lexus get it's it's racing tech from a scion tC? let's see. the tC is powered by the camry 2.4 which is based on the old 2.2 which was used in the MR2 (if i remember correctly)and the Celica GT/GT-Four. two more vehicles which have had success in racing. so i'm sure some of that tC tech will be applied. Lexus. "The Passionate Persuit Of Perfection." won't happen overnight but everything they have learned along the way will be applied. the answer is yes. Lexus prob WILL apply some tech from a scion tC to a $150K car and ppl will eat them up like hot cakes. think about that when you see a Lexus blowing by those "premium" brands with "heritage." silly to me that a "premium" brand has been categorized as something overpriced and fragile. it sure would be nice to be able to drive something i paid $150K for to work everyday and not have to worry about something breaking and costing a few grand. but don't mind me, i'm just a working man.

i'll also comment on something from a previous Toyota/Lexus blog:
someone said something to the tune of knocking a 300 (either IS or GS - doesn't really matter) Lexus for having an engine based on 17 yeard old technology. what they failed to mention was that it was 17 year old Supra technology. i second the person who said they hope that Lexus continues to use that engine. it kills me to see the I6 be replaced by a V6.

and i also hate this displacement war going on in Japan. all that size and power and not much increased performance. they really are becoming Americanized. the good thing is that they continue to have better milage for the size although i'd rather have a 3.0 V6 with 35+ mpg than whatever the current 3.5 is avg. getting back on point...

Lexus has something good here and all the nay-sayers will be silenced once again like back in '89. come 2020 Toyota wil introduce Omega - the "premium" luxury brand everyone is talking about - to compete against Bentley and Rolls Royce and Maybach (hell, if Dodge can do it...) and the naysayers will once again rise in opposition only to have their heads cut off by the prevailing monarchy. Toyota. the "official car maker of Camelot." this is what globalization will lead us to. i don't all like it but we all gonna have to just get used to it.

"There are alot better cars putting out 500hp in that target market."

Again, you are implying that the Lexus GT car will somehow be inferior. In what way? Will it be the handling, style, transmission, acceleration, build quality, or all of them? Right now is too soon to make any sort of judgement.

Trust me, Valet, I know how to read and write. Surely, I know how to better than you do; this should not even be an issue.

I love it when absolutely uneducated douche bag-idiots start to throw the "illiterate" word at me. HAH.

"Yea thats what I'm hoping. I just heard rumours that the IS250 will be replaced by the IS300. Do you know if Lexus is going to do that for sure? "

I don't know for sure, but it is an educated guess. The GS 430 will become the GS 460 and the GS 300 will become the GS 350. After that change is made, the IS 250 will step up to the IS 300. It is a logical move for Lexus, but will only happen once the GS engines are changed up. I foresee this happening in the 2008 model-year. I wish sooner, though.

It would be absolutely glorious if the stuck the Supra's 3.0l TT into the 2nd Generation IS. I would say, "Pure Genius". Add a 6MT, a stiffer suspension, an off button for TRAC, and more steering feedback and you have a REAL driver's car.

I am drooling on my keyboard.

Yes Lexus is struggling in Japan because of a small product line. But the freakin cars are MADE THERE! So what gives. Toyota scared to market this new brand to the home turf? The article stated they are having issues because they are the same as other Toyota models but rebadged. The Japanese see this and avoid the lots.

Actually the article sates they have brought more people to the BMW and MB lots because they desire "Individuality. Something in their eyes Lexus does not do. Something GM in the USA does not do as well. Marketing can only cover so many sins.

But the bigger issue is Europess dismal support of Lexus, simply because they don't perform. 0-60 is only one portion of the equation and Lexus is not up to par in the values they hold dear. They basicallt have the same reputation as Cadillac...too soft too slow too boring.

One car can change the course only if others follow. Acura has found out that the NSX basically did nothing for their reputation.

I have no doubt that if Lexus wants to change it's fortunes overseas, they will.

But the casualty of it may be the profitability they hold so dear. Lexus is a major cash cow, because basically the Americans have accepted the rebadging and bought them in droves. The world market tends to look at it for what it is. Bad roads and higher speed limits put different demands on the vehicles than a posh US highway at 70 mph does. For these new markets Lexus will have to actually do some serious development and spend some of those profits to advance in those arenas.

Simply put, they are not there yet, and if they started today, it would take them 5 years become a contender in those markets. Toyota seems to be grappling with the same issues that GM has had, and this is concerning. Do we give outstanding dividends or do we reinvest in quality and innovation? Right now it looks like we are suffering in the "pay dividends" stage. They have had a few stumbles, but they are nowhere near falling.

It will be interesting to see if these new models for Europe and Japan filter over here, or if we are stuck with cash cows. We typically expect less and accept less. Much to their pleasure.

Lexus will continue to gain market share in the US, Europe and worldwide - why?

Its simple really, here are my hypotheses - feel free to argue with any of them
(i.) the marketplace is evolving and customers put a premium on new designs - check out the US sales figures, newer vehicles tend to sell well
(ii.) it costs money to develop new products
(iii.) profitable companies will be able to develop new products faster
(iv.) Lexus is part of a very profitable company, Toyota
(v.) Competitors such as Mercedes and Audi are part of companies that are much less profitable (DCX and VW)
(vi.) Lexus can afford to make more mistakes in new product design and performance - for example I think the GS is not going to age well - but can reduce cycle times to the next new model so a mistake is relatively less costly to Lexus than say for Mercedes or Audi.
(vii.) Lexus prices in Europe are much much higher than in the US. Anytime Lexus wants additional market share in Europe all it has to do is slash prices and watch the competition squirm.

Thoughts?