IF You Were An Executive At LEXUS, What Would YOU Do To Make The LS The All-New MUST HAVE Luxury Sedan?

It's been exactly 10 years since the LS bested the S-Class in US Sales. I'm just not certain that people see Lexus in the same light as the Germans at least in the upper-end of the luxury segment. Lexus' sales are bolstered by "entry-level" models with the NX, RX, IS, and ES carrying a huge percentage of those sales, and all starting with base prices below $40k. The GS is an outright sales dud compared to the E and 5. The other problem for Lexus is that the Germans are just getting that much better. Mercedes' S-Class has set the standard pretty high and continues to offer more and more upper-tier products. Audi's A8/S8, despite fairly bland styling, are amazing pieces of machinery that could probably go another 10 years before needing any type of significant engineering redesign/update (notice I didn't say exterior redesign!). BMW's 7 is looking to be a technological tour de force with an incredibly luxurious interior. At this point, the LS is, literally, about 10 years behind and that's a lot of ground to make up. By the time Lexus does introduce a brand new LS, it's likely going to be starting from behind. The other reality for Lexus is that the Germans have significantly improved in their reliability and Lexus has dropped. And, honestly, I just don't know if that is really a make or break factor when it comes to a buying decision anymore. I think the Germans, though not at the top, have improved to the point where their reliability while not overly positive, isn't overly negative, either.

WOAH WOAH WOAH, alright guys as much as I like to be hard on Lexus, I gotta step end and defend them a bit here.

#1 The Lexus LS has no problem outselling the A8 and occasionally outsells the 7 series.

#2 While yes the GS is dead in the water against the E Class, it too regularly outsells the A6 and nips at the 5 series heels

#3 The IS has outsold the A4 all year long and has solidified a solid 3rd place behind the C and 3

#4 The RX dominates the midsize lux market in this country hands down sales wise outselling the X5 and GLE (ML) monthly almost combined

#5 While Lexus does have a hard time appealing to the high end like Mercedes, it has not exactly been a cake walk for Audi and BMW either which both see sales dip significantly the higher up their lineup you go.

#6 Mercedes is the benchmark from which everyone is trying to build. They have the most balanced line up in terms of sales and appeal to the most markets income wise, they just did it right.

Lexus can't beat Mercedes at being Mercedes but Lexus can be the best Lexus which means offering a full size Luxury Sedan, lose that predator grille, again make your cabin one of the most quiet in the market, and throw as many features at it as you can priced significantly less than the S Class and you may have a shot in this game

First, it is pretty foolish to even "think" Lexus can compete with something that comes from Europe. There are Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Jaguar, and practically Lexus has absolutely no advantage against them. The only advantage? Is reliability and price.

And the major problem is that this is a "Japanese" car, meaning that already makes it "trash".

Now, why do I say this? Because I am a racist? No, I am not even a racist, my girlfriend is Japanese, and I like Japan. But I am simply stating a "fact". For example, did you know when Infiniti was first introduced, they presented it as a "Japanese luxury" brand, and put down the decorations that'd remind you of Japanese culture on their dealership? Later on, the Americans did not really like it, and Infiniti almost failed. And in fact, Infiniti is now failing, again.

Lexus, when this garbage brand from Japan was announced, Toyota "made sure" this would not be seen as a "Japanese" brand by the public, as they learned the lesson from Infiniti. Later on, when Toyota did the survey, many Americans apparently thought Lexus was a "European" brand.

Does this tell you something? Yes, it does. It is basically "Impossible" for an Asian brand to even compete with something from the almighty Europe. Let me ask you, what "Japanese luxury" brand can honestly compete with anything from Europe? What Japanese luxury brand is considered to be a "status symbol"? Timepieces? No. Automobiles? Obviously No. Fashion? Oh, of course not. Japan can't even compete with the U.S. in terms of fashion anyway.

So here is my solution, a very good one at that. First, just price the LS down to the point where it can compete with Hyundai Equus or better yet, Nissan Maxima. Just make it an RWD/AWD version of Toyota Avalon or whatever it is called, and put down some gorgeous looking seats that you can get from like Autozone and give around 170~250 horsepowers in the name of fuel efficiency and voila, done. I highly doubt the Lexus buyers would really care anyway, as all they expect is good reliability and cheap price that even the McDonald's cashiers can afford.

And not to mention, people who can spend money on a 80k car usually don't care about reliability, which is why you don't see soccer players or celebrities driving Lexus or Acura. Do you know what Christiano Ronaldo drives? He has LaFerrari and nowadays he drives Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG Coupe. Do you think people like him would drive something like a Hyundai Equus or Lexus LS?

And also, Japan's mega famous comedian Beat Takeshi, he usually only drives Mercedes-Benz or Porsche. It's not just him, either, just take a look at many of Japanese celebrities and see how many of them even own something like a Lexus. I wonder why the big names don't care about Lexus, but only the ones who are so worried about reliability and financially poor?

They knocked it out of the park in 1989 and they're going to have to do it again. Toyota is worth more than Daimler and BMW combined for a reason. It would be foolish to count Lexus out.

Toyota is big because of "cheap" reliable cars, and has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with luxury. Do you think of "Toyota" when you hear the term "luxury"?

Toyota will always be bigger because they "mass-produce" tons of cheap appliances and even idiots know the companies that are able to mass produce cheap stuff have better advantage in business.

Meaning, Lexus will never be greater than the "Toyota" itself, people will always see Lexus as Toyota.

And we now live in the internet age. Everyone now knows Lexus is just a Toyota, and their strategy of making it look European no longer works.

Meaning, 1989 will not happen again.

It's simple. Three things. First, new styling language; move on from the spindle. Second, handling to match the Germans. Third, get back to price advantage over the Germans - somewhere between MB/BMW/Audi and Hyundai

Cadillac has already shown that handling to match the Germans does not sell cars. However - with the exchange rate in their favor - they SHOULD have no problem reducing the price and still rake in big profits.

Since people who buy the Germans will NOT buy a Lexus regardless - they are perceived as old people cars - what Lexus needs to do is identify those who WILL buy Lexus cars (And Cadillac needs to do the same) and satisfy their demands - largely for a more Luxurious but not performance car. The first one that produces a large - very luxurious - and very comfortable car - styles it in the manner of Bentley or Rolls -and uses that comparison for the Ads will win a large market share.

Sorry - but Lexus - is simply another second tier premium brand - that competes with Infiniti - and Volvo - and Buick. The ES series is nothing more than a fancy Avalon. They are perceived as reliable - something Infiniti is not - so they sell well to the Old Buick/Olds/Mercury/Chrysler buyers who are looking for that type of Luxury but NOT performance vehicle.As Rolls says - their power is "Sufficient".

However - in styling - Lexus has - with its Locomotive inspired Cow Catcher Grill - tried to move toward younger buyers - who for the most part - won't buy them. So Lexus NEEDS to get another Stylist for the LS series - and it needs to produce it with more rear seat legroom. An "ELEGANT" style - rather than a cutting edge lack of it would help.

Lexus needs to just focus on being a luxury brand for poor people.

Because really, their garbage LS is not even worth 80k.

First the current LS is sooo dated and boring! I agree that awful predator spindle grill + their new design language gives the Lexus car/suv line the ugliest image of any and all auto companies not to mention Toyota their parent company is a very very close second when it comes to ugly or boring cars that are reliable and that's it. I don't want to go in the garage to see that what a ugly Lexus car or suv I maybe driving and wouldn't be happy driving a ugly or boring car/suv that day or every day. The only people I see driving Lexus LS and I see very few LSs here in CA are the old retired people in their late 60's to late 70's and these seniors who drive them really slow which annoys people trying to drive the speed limit so maybe that's why these Lexus customers don't care about performance because they usually drive them slowly BUT on the other hand I see a lot of new and older model S Classes every where and the people driving those seem to be in their early 50's - early 60's that's a major 10 plus year difference in age of the people driving the S vs LS. When or if I mention a Lexus except for the IS model my friends who are in their 30's - 40's all think Lexus cars are for all the elderly people who don't care about looks or performance just reliability and thats it. I also see the majority of the people who drive the ES, GS and RX are mostly people in their late 50's - late 60's which is another note that people who drive Lexus are old. That said Lexus really need to get rid of their old people image of being the japanese Buick that they regarded as being + get rid of their really awful current and future design language that even though Lexus sells a lot of cars and SUVs just think of how many more cars and SUVs they could sell to younger people if Lexus cars looked nice and where perceived as being cool to drive. I personally will NOT buy or drive any Lexus cars or SUVs so not be perceived as one of the many of the elderly people who drive them just because it's a reliable, tarted up pricey Toyota with a Lexus badge. I know some Lexus owners who admit they WILL NOT ever buy again Toyota because it's a cheap Toyota that anyone can drive but they want the image/perception of "I moved up in the world and can now afford to drive the next tier up a Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, Volvo or Buick". Lexus LS will need a major miracle to ever be even close to the same page again as its german rivals who are years and years ahead of Lexus in design, engineering and performance.

Lexus and Benz are my preferred choice.....All top 2 Luxury brands sale mostly E and C Class and IS. The sales fall the higher you go! I didn't mention BMW ..is because its not a LUXURY vehicles. Audi/VW is just trying very hard..like the ugly fat girl. I always say....people who lease bmw and audi work for people who buy Lexus and Benz. People who drive bmw and audi always drive fast to be at work on time, when Lexus and Benz owners can take their sweet time..they are the BOSS or Owner of the business. NOW THAT IS LUXURY! bmw and audi's -85% are leases...compared to only 40% leases w/ Benz and Lexus.

You can come back when you're done learning English again. And if I were you, I'd do some research, instead of saying nonsense crap that is nothing but your wishful thinking.

The only thing it needs besides a mechanical update is gorgeous styling.

Simple...I would move it slightly more upmarket and literally redesign it to be a more beautiful, Porsche Panamera. (Yikes...is that possible with Lexus' hideous new corporate look?)

Anyway, that's what the LS needs. The old formula that made this car a hit is not in the past. It needs to be redefined, and to redefine what made it successful in the first place.

Redesign the grill, give more power and put more luxury gadgets.

Agreed especially on the grill part! First totally redesign the awful grill and NOT make it a predator grill anymore but a whole new design with style and class NOT one that's influenced by horror movies.

Wow. I never thought I'd be happy that GMCadillac and I had almost the same number of deboosts.

C4L, you may want to re-review your sales figures. The LS is 30% behind the 7 Series YTD which is significant in this segment. The GS is selling HALF of what the 5 Series has been selling YTD. The IS' 3rd place isn't as "solid" as you want to believe. It's very close between the IS (27k units), TLX (25k units), and Q50 (24k units). And you can't compare Lexus' numbers to Audi's. Lexus was the number 1 luxury make in the US for 12 years straight. Audi was never even close and are still in their growing phase, at least that's what Nuttie wants us to believe. So, truly, if Lexus didn't have the almight RX's sales or the dull-as-paint-drying ES, its sales wouldn't be far off from the 2nd tier luxury brands. Again, when we're talking about a brand that used to be #1, they are no longer.

Hey cidflekken, you should take comfort in knowing none of those deboost came from me lol, and perhaps you should re-review my comment.

I like how you conveniently left off A8 sales figures, and no one ever said the LS sales more than the 7 series, but leapfrogs and outsells it here in there. The fact that the 7 series only sales 30% more is quite impressive for the LS and quite pitiful for the 7 series, but again means Lexus is in the game.

The IS figure you posted compared to the TLX, Q50, and TLX is still 2nd place, and the word solid is subjective, I figure 2,000 units more than the competition is pretty solid and as we approach fall and winter, LExus historic months for comebacks I would not be surprised to see that lead grow.

And you saying "if lexus didn have the almighty RX sales or the dull-as-paint-drying ES...", is just like someone saying if BMW didnt have the 3/4 series..., or if Audi didnt have the Q5/A3...., or if Infiniti didn't have the Q50...

Seriously, again no one'e line up is as balanced as Mercedes sales wise, but again Lexus has proven to be a thorn in the German's side, never count them out, Audi is still working to just get their scraps and Bimmer and Benz consistently see them in the rear view, and like last month occasionally overtakes them

I didn't leave anything off. I made the blanket statement regarding Audi, I just didn't specify models because it applies across the board. But the reality is that the numbers I provided to you refute some of the "facts" you stated in your post. Not trying to be rude, just trying to present facts, not conjecture.

The difference in your comparison of the RX/ES to the 3/4, Q5/A3, and Q50 is the RX and ES are divergent from the current approach of the rest of the brand. Therefore, they can be seen as anomalies to the brands. Whereas the 3/4, Q5/A3, and Q50 are very consistent with the rest of their respective brand's lineup. The RX and ES are FWD-based luxury-oriented models where the rest of the Lexus lineup is attempting to be RWD performance-oriented models.

Again cidflekken, you are entitled to your own OPINIONS but not you own FACTS. Saying the ES and RX are not a part of the approach of the current brand would be foolish as the ES just underwent an extensive refresh and the RX is due for an all new model soon, no signs of them killing those two models off.

Just because the Q50, 3/4series, and Q5/A3 are newer, does not make them more relevant to their brands, if anything the KUDOS again go to Lexus for keeping their RX/ES alive and at the top of their respective games despite their age.

Sheeh give credit when credit is due. And concering Audi sales numbers, again i do not care about your OPINIONS, i'd like facts so next time include their sales numbers. If you are going to respond to someones comment, respond to it with competence.

By the Way, you mentioned Audi in your very first comment, so dont get all flip floppy on me, be consistent.

Again cidflekken, you are entitled to your own OPINIONS but not you own FACTS. Saying the ES and RX are not a part of the approach of the current brand would be foolish as the ES just underwent an extensive refresh and the RX is due for an all new model soon, no signs of them killing those two models off.

Just because the Q50, 3/4series, and Q5/A3 are newer, does not make them more relevant to their brands, if anything the KUDOS again go to Lexus for keeping their RX/ES alive and at the top of their respective games despite their age.

Sheeh give credit when credit is due. And concering Audi sales numbers, again i do not care about your OPINIONS, i'd like facts so next time include their sales numbers. If you are going to respond to someones comment, respond to it with competence.

By the Way, you mentioned Audi in your very first comment, so dont get all flip floppy on me, be consistent.

Flippy floppy? Exactly how? You accused me of "conveniently leaving off the A8". I clarified that I included ALL Audi comparisons in one comment.

And I said nothing about the other cars being newer. I said they were inline with the approach of the brand. For you to say the ES and current RX are representative of Lexus' current approach as a brand is ignorant, truly. I won't even explain it to you any further. And I am only stating FACTS, buddy. Know the difference, that is, if you have the ability. Nothing I stated so far is subjective. It's all objective, simple facts. Get it now? Of course not.

Again...you are entitled to your own OPINIONS buddy, not your own FACTS. You can not deem which models are representative of a brands current approach and which are not. An extensive facelift along with an all new model/extended wheelbase model solidifies their "approach" to the brand.

Again, you don't quite understand, show me an article stating Lexus is discontinuing the ES and RX due to the brand going in a different direction...waiting...waiting...THERE IS NONE, so please stop Claiming "So-Called Facts" that are nothing more than your OPINION.

Wow

Last time I checked Lexus was starting to dominate North American sales figures again, they must be doing something right. Projections are that the new model 2016 RX will be a monster seller for them.