Watcha Think? Lexus Asian Dealers Clamoring For Luxury Mini Van To Complete Line-Up

Toyota/Lexus always has been the leader in the automotive world, as they created crossover segment with RX, and the Germans copied it and made their own crossovers.

Toyota always worked on hybrid, and now the Germans and everyone else are working on it, when they never gave a rat's ass about it before.

So I think if Lexus creates some crossover-ish van, I think that'd sell tons. Mercedes has a van that is practically a garbage version of Dodge minivan, and fails to set any kind of standard or anything (It only sells because it's Mercedes and it's German. Laughable)

Always bet on the Japanese engineering for the "real" cars. ;)

I would think the 1979 AMC Eagle would historically been the first crossover.

If they can some how get rid of the soccer mom stigma that people have with minivans then maybe they might have something here.
We all know mini vans are practically especially if you have kids.
But most guys I know would not get near a mini van regardless of the manufacture for this reason.
So make it sporty looking, and keep the practicality.

Has worked for Buick, but Buick has a better reputation in China than Lexus.

http://www.buick.com.cn/gl8_258/
FYI: The Japanese make appliances, not cars. Cars have character and inspire passion and have emotional aspirations. Zero Japanese cars succeed in this component... Godzilla inspires only those that lust for the GT-R... which is not that many people...

Which is why I asked you the question what makes the Japanese cars mere appliances?

And what is the "big" difference between Mercedes S class and Lexus LS? Can you point out this huge difference that sets S class apart completely?

I'm sure there is no Japanese car that has emotional aspirations, NO WONDER Ferrari and McLaren both have leanred a lot from Honda NSX, and Porsche had to respond to Nissan regarding GT-R's Nurburgring lap time record, because Porsche is sooo much better than Nissan....oh wait..

I actually really feel sorry for you, like I always was. You've never driven a single Japanese car, but you only choose to follow what other badgewhores tell you to follow. Which is pretty sad, to be honest.

If the Japanese build appliances, do Ford, Cadillac or Chevrolet build "cars with passion"? You really make me laugh, all the time.

And you either have no clue what the word "appliance" exactly means, or simply are ignorant about the histories of Japanese auto companies. If you actually have read some books about the histories of Subaru, Mazda, Toyota, Honda and Nissan, you would realize how ignorant you have been all this time.

And Buick and China's relationship goes all the way back. A much longer history than with Lexus. Lexus mainly focused on the U.S. market, not the Chinese. Not to mention the Chinese and the Japanese are not really good friends due to historical issues.

And so what if Buick has a good reputation in China. You would consider buying a Buick? Just so you know, only the old people, or people who are not really interested in cars buy Buick. Why? Because Buicks are what you would call, "real" appliances. In fact, worse than appliances, since they break down like the other Garbage Motors vehicles.

A Lexus Sienna....niiiiiice

Having gotten back to the States after 10 year stint in Asia, I can tell you a 3-row 7 seater with sliding door would do really well in Asia. Don't know how European market likes full size 3-row minivans but the smaller 3-row mini-minivans do really well in Europe. Having said all that (which is a type of vehicle that I prefer due to its practicality), isn't N America the biggest market for Lexus and given the declining popularity of minivans in N America, it may not be a priority for Lexus.

The guy works for Buick and he thinks Japanese cars lack Character? WOW!
I wonder if Buick has anything like an LFA or any of the other RWD Lexus hot rods?
The top of line Sienna is around $46k and is full of luxury appointments way above my wife's Sienna le at $32k. Re-badge the top of the line Sienna and up the price and make the dealer happy.

not a lexus sienna. a lexus alphard. it is the nicest reliable van you can get and they are all over hong kong. they are hong kongs answer to the towncar. workhorses with a lot of space and nice interior.

they are used all the time for 1hr+ business commutes.

i don't see anything wrong with a lexus version of it. sort of a e class version of the towncar.

just because it doesn't makes sense in the usa doesn't mean it doesn't makes sense anywhere.

So it would be based on the Toyota Allfart...and? If this idiotic thing is built, it needs to stay in Asia.

I would absolutely love to have a luxury minivan in the US market. Unfortunately I am confined to a wheelchair. And I only have limited choices of minivans to purchase in the US. The US market is ripe for luxury minivans. In my humble opinion.