Much to BMW and Mercedes chagrin, the new Lexus IS-series sales are on fire!

Not too surprising. The IS is a nice car that's very well executed. It's small size in horrible implementation of the paddle shifters were fatal flaws for me though.

I'm gonna make my own prediction... The new G35 will put a serious dent in sales of both the new 3 and the new IS.

WELL WELL WELL !!!!
Maybe now the Lexus Bashers will eat some Humble Pie.
Those Extra sales are comming from MB/BMW/AUDI Dealerships so that says a lot about the Opinions of the Buying Public dont it ??

Handling!!, Feedback!!, No Soul!!, Boring!!, BLah!!, Blah!!, Blah!!

Sales Suggest a lot more people consider Reliabilty, Superior Fit & Finish and Value for Money a lot more Important than that drivel you guys have been Ranting About.

"and" not "in" on my second sentence.

No doubt Lexus has a nice vehicle in the IS, however, there is an unbelievable amount of anticipation of the forthcoming 335i. Looking forward to seeing side by side sales comparisons. I've been Reading some reviews stating the 335 is once again the benchmark in this segment while others will be playing catch up. Let the bitch!n and crying begin!

Just called on a Lexus store here in the mid-west, and sales ARE NOT ON FIRE.....yes, its a nice rice toy, but the German counterparts are still head and shoulders above this new Toyota entry...sorry Lexus sales guys that flood this forum!!!!!!!!!!!

When I sat in the new IS, I was surprised how cramped and small the interior was. The C-Class or 3-Series offered more interior space upfront, didn't try the rear. The dealer wouldn't let me take it out (IS250) on a testdrive though since I seemed to give them the impression that I wasn't really interested in buying it.

Yeah, nice car, for sure, but not for me.

nice try autobahnmeister, no one is buying that load. One store you called does not represent Lexus as a whole. Do I actually have to point that out?

I know I have been ranting lately about manipulated figures (statistics can be manipulated to prove just about any point) but these are raw facts. Lexus is up, BMW is down.

Agent001 submitted on 09/29/2005 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 11:51 PM

No matter what the pundits say (That it is still not as good as a 3-series), AutoSpies.com predicts that within twelve months of its release, the competitors will be wondering what hit them...
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Agreed 100% Mr. Agent 001, sir....there is intelligent life here after all :-)

If you rice fans would read my post I said I called on
a Lexus dealer....several actually(I work for a supplier) not called as in phoned....IN PERSON....and like I stated it's not a bad attempt but still no where near BMW MB or AUDI/VW...the Passat is of better build quality and safer.

The Lexus IS to me is the best looking car Lexus builds. It has all the right proportions. I think it looks much better from 3/4 rear angle than the 4 door 3 series Bimmer. I have driven both and yes the BMW does perform better in terms of handling, and I am not a professional race car driver, but even I could tell the difference. I drove them almost back to back (our Lexus Dealer here is about 2 blocks from the BMW dealer) but the Lexus' interior was by far nicer to me than the BMW. Something about the Bimmer was just low rent. The rear seat backs were hard plastic and some of the plastics inside did not feel top of the line, like in the 5 series. Where as in the Lexus, the interior felt nice just like that of its more expensive GS brother.... And since to me you will spend ALL of your time inside the car, it needs to be nice. That was the one thing that disappointed me about the BMW. As for why their sales are heating up I am not sure, besides it is a nice car and it looks nice on the road. I love a car that handles but I also like a car with a nice environment I have to be in EVERY SINGLE DAY! : )

Why is BMW so hated??? Because they are so damn good.

Since when has Autospies become a Lexus fan site. No seriously does Lexus own this website or something because all I see is Lexus bias. If this continues, many people that come here for the news will be driven away by the Lexus crap.

First of all: Larry, where have you been guy? Did you miss all the Lexus vs. Germany wars that have been going on for the past couple of weeks. Lexus is the company that is really hated on this website, what do you think about that.

Second Torsten - I don't know about Lexus owning this website, but there is definitely more Lexus haters and German fans on this website than the other way around. I believe that all these articles are just in response to all the anti-Lexus articles that have coming up.

"It's better looking than the new 3-series or C-Class..."
Well no kidding, Mercedes is stuck in the 90s and the new 3-series looks too un-BMWish.

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autobahnmeister-
I'm glad I don't live anywhere near you in "your own little world where Lexus doesn't sell". Come on. If you want to lie, make it believeable. The facts are right in front of you, BMW and Mercedes are down (and so is Audi but where they ever up?) and Lexus is skyrocketing in sales. If you really want to do some research, call other dealers and ask them how Lexus is doing.

Torsten-
Lexus has only been the top stories lately because they're releasing their new line of cars this fall. And, because BMW and MB fans are too arrogant to just let the Lexus fans be. They have to bash Lexus when they now darn well that they are clearly better cars.

And, has anyone else noticed that the stories that involve Lexus have more responses than the stories that involve MB or BMW, that's proof that German fans are keeping on their toes and watching Lexus' every move to make sure they aren't better than BMW or MB (which they are).

"not some fictitious thing like "handling"", you just proved that you dont care about performance in your cars.

Autobahnmeister, as you can see, no one believes your lies.

Torsten, Lexus fans have been putting up with the Lexus bashing for a few weeks now, (I think panic set in because Bimmer fanatics were worried when the specs on the new LS were revealed.) Now that sales are in, why shouldnt we gloat? Lexus, once again, kicked Bimmer's butt. Even Audi was up.

BMW/MB/AUDI=A Rolex...end up as a classic and are stored in a jewelery box..........

LEXUS=A Timex...useful appliance but end up in the bottom of your junk drawer..........

I said nothing about people, merely the true value of a high dolar investment 20 years from now............;)

I live here in Orange County, California in Irvine near the border of Newport Beach and I see these cars all the time.

I saw to brande new Ferraris racing down the 5 freeway yesterday and I saw a brand new Lamborghini the other days.

Where I work for a real estate company the guy in a building near by in the complex owns a brand new Maserati 4 door.

So seeing a Lexus IS or BMW 3 are like a dime a dozen around here.

But, I do see a lot more BMW's here.

So Lexus had a record month and still sold 1/3 fewer IS's in the U.S. than BMW sold 3-sedans. This same month that BMW also posted substantial sales increases over 2005 despite many BMW buyers waiting for the 328i/xi and 335i that doesn't come out until October. Kudos Lexus, way to go.

1/3 fewer huh? Fuzzy math. 5500 to 8800. Considering it used to be about 1000 to 10,000, I'd say thats pretty significant. Nice try JRob. Meanwhile BMW fans anxiously await a car that comes closer to being competitive to the IS. Once more, Lexus raises the bar, and the Germans struggle to catch up.

You're right, my math was fuzzy, that's actually 38% less, not just 1/3 less. Thank you for correcting me. Besides, if they were only selling 1000 a month the first time around then they had a POS vehicle and there was nowhere to go but up. Now with (admittedly) a much better vehicle than before, one that incidentally still has come in no better than 2nd place to the 3-series in every comparison test they've been in together, they're still selling 38% fewer cars in a record month. Again, kudos. I've driven the IS250/350 and just drove the 328i/335i Coupe. We'll see how the numbers look when the 328i/xi and 335i sedans come out, but the IS didn't hold a candle to those.

But you guys arent considering Acura sales, who were close on overtaking the E46 3er at before it was replaced. Now sales are not near.
As for Lexus congratulations on the IS. In Europe they could have done better with the IS had they not stripped the 220D of its safety package/features.
I guess even Lexus cuts costs.
Af the the Lexoyota fans, well when the IS reaches > 560 000 units per year, in more than 140 countries (100% legaly) worldwide, then will talk.

I took the IS350 out on a drive, and I wouldn't trade my 2002 330Ci EVEN for it.

After all the rave reviews, I had higher expectations for it. But compared to my 3, it drove like a Corolla with more horsepower. It wasn't even as quiet, or luxurious as my old BMW.

I sell Lexus and we sell everyone we get in before it even gets here.

There are persons who must follow the crowd and can't think for themselves. These people only think about the past and can't seem to see the future. These are MB and BMW owners. Sure these companies have had a great history, but the future is Lexus and no amount of rice bashing will change that.

I first bought a Lexus in 1991 and I can tell you that compared to the German brands the quality and reliability, which is the mark of a truly great car, of the Lexus is leaps and bounds ahead. I challenge anyone to drive a ten year old MB and and ten year old Lexus with over 200,000 miles that have been well maintained and tell me that the MB drives better. I have driven several MBs and Lexus' and the difference is astonishing the Lexus steering feels tight and responsive. The MB have steering that reminds me of a 1975 Chevy Pick up truck.

The quality of the Lexus is truly superior to the MB I can't speak for older BMW I haven't driven them, but Lexus quality of superior.

Hey, you gotta love how when Lexus is doing better than their German counterparts and all of a sudden some people start comparing Lexus to Acura, Infiniti, etc. And the Pro-Germans always had it like "The Big 3 Vs. Lexus. Hmmmmm, since they're all Japanese makes, it wouldn't make much sense to compare the Japanese counterparts. So lets make this the 'Big 3 Vs Big 3 and lets see what the numbers are. I've even come across a thread that read "The Big 3 Vs. Lexus". Wow, if it takes all the German makes to go against 1 Japanese make, then the German's have done something seriously wrong. Anyway, just an unbiased thought.

mausercat, that's a pretty ignorant statement. I'm sure there as many blind Lexus lovers as there are blind BMW/Benz/Audi lovers out there. There are certainly plenty of them on this site of ALL types.

Lexus makes fine cars, and the IS is a fine car. It's worlds better than the old IS. But that doesn't make it a better car than anything else, it just makes it better than the old IS. Every magazine has rated the 3-series higher, and based on sales so have most consumers. I'll choose my vehicles based on what I like, and I have driven the IS, G35, C-class, A4, and 3-series extensively. And I'll take a 3-series, would have even before the 335i came out. Now that I've driven that, there is no comparison. When Lexus makes an IS350 that comes in a stick that you can turn off traction control in that drives like a BMW, maybe I'll consider one again (and before you say "IS500", keep in mind there's a new M3 coming as well). I don't care which one drives better 10 years and 200k miles down the road, what I care about is which one drives better during the 36 months I'll be leasing it. And that's the 3-series IF you like performance driving. That doesn't mean I would get an IS, I'm sure my wife would like the IS just fine.

JRob,
Most people who buy German brands, to my knowledge, always leases the vehicle because they know that as time go by they'll start having problems, but they buy it for the 'fun factor', 'driving dynamics, or whatever you want to call it. If thats what you want, then so be it. But keep in mind that when I drive around in my little Rhode Island state I've seen 3 auto shops that cater to German cars only and thats just in the city I live in, which also sells a lot of used German cars. I've never seen a "Japanese Motor" shop to my knowledge and maybe its because when people buy them..they don't give it back, they actually keep them. If it ain't broke, you can't fix em.

mausercat,

I have driven several MBs and Lexus' and the difference is astonishing the Lexus steering feels tight and responsive. The MB have steering that reminds me of a 1975 Chevy Pick up truck
----------------------------------------

Eh...you do realize that most Mercedes up to the late 1990s had vague steering as a company philosophy. Don't you? Guess not...

195speedingtickets... Anyone with 195 speeding tickets has to be an idiot. Do you work for Lexus? Brainwashed?

I'm getting quite tired of the pro Lexus articles, which ironically, happen to be consistent with all of these Lexus ads (read, Lexus paying off this site). Maybe Lexus didn't get the memo, but here, unlike the general uneducated public, ad space won't switch over German fans. Period. You want to convert customers, go advertise in AARP, or some other geriatric-oriented venue, because that's the only demographic Lexus dominates.

mausercat: I challenge your assertion that BMW, MB are for followers, and rather believe the followers, are people like you, Lexus customers. They are often cheaper than the competition, and with so much alleged quality (garnered through reports that are atrociously flawed), are irresistible to the typical uneducated US consumer, hence the sales.

Myself and many here refuse to be a part of that demographic.

Audiman4,
Apparently, your comment is "atrociously flawed" because this site is not to obtained current German fans, but rather inform people of whats going on in the auto world. If you don't want to be a part of the "Lexus demographic" then don't, nobody's asking you. I, for one, am not a Lexus fan completely because I also like BMW's and Merc's, but I do appreciate the quality that they have put in the vehicles. Unlike you, I don't hate Lexus, like many others are on this website.

BMW is a better lookin' car.

It's the facts we need to get used to around here.

ToyLex has too much of that Pokemon thing going on and BMW has those crips lines like an ironed shirt.

Will, you are correct. Audi spents the least out of all manufactureres on advertising. Unfortunately in the US, clever advertising is more powerful than a quality product. Audi should really spend more on advertising. But on the other hand, money spent on advertising is money not in pockets. I think that Audi will get that and boost its advertising spending.

I love how lexus fanboys use a fictional car like the is500 as a crutch to how much better the germans are at performance and handling.

BTW, IS500 is a fact not fiction, mentioned by some of the American magazines here. If you were near a Japanese bookstore, go there and grab an auto magazine. Some of the magazines feature the spyshots, illustrations, and announcements of the upcoming IS500 this month. In case your next question is "there is no Lexus brand" in Japan. The answer is yes. Lexus Japan branched off Toyota Japan a year or two ago. In case you are still skeptical, go to Lexus.jp.

Living in Europe(Switzerland) i've to say that here the LEXUS is sometimes even more expensive than a BMW. The new IS 250 is defenitly more expensive tha BMW325. But we see today more and more of the new IS.In this case the price is not the reason of choice. I tried both of them and dorve few hudred kilometers with each. BMW 325 is right a great car no doubt. Lexus IS is very sweet to drive and it's also sporty. Honestly if i had money and should chooce between those 2, i should think deeply to choose because i realy liked both of them.

i missed this war!!!

oh plz Will shut up u and ur lexus crap. Look at the new camry..... it isnt a camry u retard is an ES. oh sorry. Ppl buy a Lexus coz they cant afford a BMW. Thats it. And sometimes they convince themselves that their car is better than the BMW in the same league. RUBBISH. sales up .......good for them but the sales will slow when ppl find that their cars r rebadged toyotas or they will find how boring it is to drive a lexus. BMW rules.

You know over in Japan there are restaurants that serve horse meat and they advertise it as American horse meat.

I think I have a problem with them on the issue.

come on! Give Lexus a break! Stop your excuses! you are a pathetic bunch(German fans!). OH! BY THE WAY WHERE IS PLANO? I would like to see his comments.

jackpuls

If you are going to insult someone the least you can do is get his/her name right.
I95SPEEDINGTICKETS As In I-95-SPEEDING-TICKETS As In INTERSTATE-95-SP....

Get the Point ?? YOU FOOL

So the only way i would come to the defense of the IS is if i worked for LEXUS ??
How about the fact that i have test driven it and was pleased with it ??
Maybe the fact that living in the UK all i see everyday are BMWs & MBs and that the 3-Series has Overtaken the Mondeo as the most Purchased/Leased Executive Sedan ( Even Fleet Sales ) ??

There are some of us who prefer to be able to spot our Vehicles in Car Parks amongst all the BMWs & MBs not to mention that a growing no of us are fed up to the back teeth of the Options List growing every year and Standard Features either the same or Declining.

So Finance is the reason people are buying Lexus now ??
I guess my friend in Long Island who has an LX 470 ($71,300) just for the winter months and the BMW 760i ($114,300) for the daily commute to work is too straped to fork out for a BMW or MB ?

EL34,
It seems like you have problem with Japan and not just Lexus. What's going on with this pokemon and horse meat thing, who cares about what they eat and the origin of the meat...

I own a Lexus but I always liked BMWs handling. But I do see the future of Lexus and it's looking very bright. It was awesome change between E36 to E46 for BMW, but not the new 3. Lines are okay but what is up with the 96' Civic sedan's taillights?? If they are so innovative how can they mess up on such a detail? I'm looking forward to see the 335 but I do know my friends who used to drive the E46s are saying laters to BMW until they bring up their quality. Lexus may not steal all of the 3-series customers but other brands will be.

Walt:

Agree on the tail lamps. That's the best description I've heard.

To add to this, there is a very credible all new Caddy CTS due very soon! The competition in this segment is quite interesting.

Guys, is "ricer, rice" etc. an insulting comment? Been wondering about that.

I am personally glad Lexus has gotten more competitive. They are a good option to have, depending on what you're looking for. I have been hesitant to put the trick money down on a BMW. So many people have told me their Bimmers needed extensive work after the warranty was up. I just don't want a TCO through the roof. With that said, I would get a BMW anyway, but if I'm iffy the Lexus/Infiniti brothers are right there ready to take the money for a slightly lesser dynamic feel. I think my situation reflects a lot of people on the fence between all these brands. We like 'em all. It's just whether you can a) plunk down the 20% extra on a BMW and b) take it like a man (or woman) if/when the thing needs a $700 cup holder fix. (True story.)

Those of you who get your BMWs and deal with it, more power to ya!

huu76, BMW isn't in a sale decline, they're up for the year, and in fact, their car sales numbers have been record high. The only thing bringing them down, and again they're still up overall versus 2005, is model closeouts on the X3/X5 SUV's. Both of these models have replacements coming in October.

Don't make up things in public forums unless you know for sure no one else has the real information. It undermines your credibility and renders anything else you say pointless.

wait! i forgot to bash lexus. ok, done.

EL34-
I've been to Germany, they also eat horse meat. The countries way of life doesn't mean they have bad vehicles. And what does horse meat have to do with cars anyway?

Lexus IS350,

The French are the ones who eat more horse meat. Germany has a few meat shops that sell horse meat, but it is not a German tradition to eat horse meat.

So, you've been to Germany? Which part?

BMW530i-
I was just pointing out that what a country eats doesn't make them have bad cars. And I was in Berlin.

Is Autospies running low on real news? This article has been the 'main' article on the site for a while, and I'm getting sick of looking at that IS350 whenever I go to Autospies.

I like the eating horse meat part...very funny....LOL

Lexus just started to make a real performance sport car with their IS350 and the IS500 with 420+ hp. I was just wondering if Lexus is going to do that for of it line up. Lexus GS with 450-480 hp and LS with 550+ hp. Kind of like the MB with their AMG, Audi with RS and the BMW with their M line up. That would be really crazy if they actually going to do this.

Lexus

Crackity Jones: "Guys, is "ricer, rice" etc. an insulting comment? Been wondering about that."

it borders on insulting. most often used by those who really want to say "J_p" but KNOW they'll be called on that.

the irony is, the Tuner PHENOMENON which started in california and hawaii, was mainly by Asian-AMERICANS. (with help from japanese nationals and the JDM.)

most of whom eat more BREAD than RICE.

diablo69:
"Here's the thing: there are enthusiast drivers (20~30% population in my estimation given how people around me perceive their cars and their driving experience) and there are the rest (practical people who look for value and comfort, 70%~80%)."

this is true. also consider, among the "practical people," very few would ever drive their cars outside the 1/10 to 6/10ths range. enthusiasts likely drive in the 3/10 to 9/10ths range. (and 10/10ths IF they can get track time.)

add in the mix, the RANGE of driver skills. not to brag, but i have embarrassed many a driver driving a car with up to 300% more power than what i was driving.

a person with confidence in his driving skills has NO NEED to boost his ego with the IMAGE of cars generally perceived as "drivers' cars."

my personal sleeper favorites: camry or accord V6s, buicks (yes!), and the corolla XRS(?) with the 180-hp engine. (which only comes with a stick, so i've settled for an automatic --GASP!!-- 130 hp LE. still, i have YET to be outdriven on public roads. ;)

i could be happy with an IS250. and likely STILL stay ahead of 95% of ALL bimmer drivers (considering how unlikely i'd come across an enthusiast WITH comparable skills). :)
(and in that unlikely event, if my ego were sufficiently bruised, i mite trade up to the IS350. but likely not.)

huu76, not every person who buys an IS would have bought a BMW, so they're not all lost sales. By your logic then every person who bought a 3-series is a lost sale for Lexus. BOTH vehicles are having great years, as is the Audi A4. I have seen plenty of new IS's on the road, and what I typically see is women driving them, so they're not really eating into BMW's core demographic, and again that's evidenced by the fact that 3-series sales are up, not down. I'll grant the obvious, that SOME of the people out driving the IS bought one instead of a BMW (or Audi or Mercedes or Infiniti, etc.) but if BMW's 3-series and Audi's A4 continue to set sales records then the Lexus increase isn't really coming straight from BMW or Audi, they're coming from whatever car in the class ISN'T selling. Like maybe the Acura TL, which is down quite a bit from a couple of years ago.

But if it makes you feel better to think every IS buyer came straight over from a BMW dealer's lot, so be it. The reality is there's only so many buyers of cars in this class, everyone can't be having record years at the same time. If three of the cars in the class are, a few of them are way down. That's where the increases are coming from.

Good for Lexus in bringing the new IS to the table. Those who buy Japanese cars tend to stick with Japanese makes, and I wouldn't be surprised if Lexus has the most loyal customers in the luxury segment. Consumers want a car AND service that is reliable and worth the price being paid. Having owned many Mercs, BMWs, an Acura, and a Lexus over the past several years, I can safely say that BMW service is the worst of those listed. At least with Mercedes, I get a Mercedes loaner. The Japanese luxury brands know the real meaning of post-sales service, and they make solid cars. The Germans, in my opinion, make more exciting cars in terms of overall driving dynamics and performance-related enjoyment, but you have to be willing to live with what seems to be a combo of lack of quality control and over-engineering.

And for all you brand loyalists on these blogs -- remember it's always different strokes for different folks. Competition is always good since (in most cases) it forces your favorite auto maker to pump out even better cars.

Speaking personally, I totally love my current BMW, but a growing family and a need for better value for my money will probably force me to go back to a Japanese car. Would love to jump into the forthcoming 535i, but I don't want to lease again so I'm seriously considering the Infiniti G35 instead. That should be enough of a balance between performance, dynamics, comfort, service, and value.