Lexus Outsells The Germans In February - Is This A Sign Of Things To Come?

Yes, it means that they will be very competitive for the #1 position in the U.S luxury race this year.

Lexus, MB, BMW are virtually tied in February, but it was a moral victory for Lexus.

Lexus' strong months are March, July, August and December, so the fact that they were able to win February was a surprise. But I think because they have a strong line-ups in CUV/SUV and the market is shifted that direction.

This is a wake up call for the Germans. Dare to be different sells. Ditching stale old design theme for new direction sells. New design theme that sparks new model rollouts every six months brings attention to brand and sells. The same old same old German designs (I'm talking to you BMW. I'm talking to you Audi.) are becoming boring and unidentifiable generation to generation. Wake up your creative design juices or be left behind!

The main boost is the in the SUV and Crossover market where the NX and new RX have really kicked in.

PUGPROUD: I'll take stately, elegant, understated, and classic over bold, radical, different, and heinously ugly, any day of the week. At least that's the way *I* see it. To me, Lexus makes eye-sores.

Just as a data point, when I was shopping for a new SUV in early 2015, I went to the Lexus website first. Scary ugly vehicles :-( I ended up getting a new Audi Q5, and I love it. Looks gorgeous (to my eyes), handles beautifully, no defects or glitches (except for disliking the MMI).

I guess I'm not a Lexus sort of guy, but there certainly are lots of people who are!

Actually cars like the NX and ES, two of Lexus' top sellers aren't really "new direction" designs. The NX is very reminiscient of the previous RX and the ES is the most conservatively designed car in their stable. The RC, IS, and GS aren't coming close to the "stale old" German designs. The new RX is selling well, though the major significant difference and departure from the previous design is the winged eye-liner D-pillar.

The picture will change, likely significantly, when Mercedes releases the C-coupe, C-Cabriolet, and, especially, the new E-Class. The difficulty for both BMW and Lexus this year is that they don't have any new, fresh vehicles slated for release.

Problem with the German hybrid SUVs is they look like featureless hatchbacks of years past. If it wasn't for the nameplate grill most wouldn't know them from each other nor from pedestrian brands.

With BMW standing still and with the Audi Q2 ushering in dullness, the Germans mentioned could easily lose ground to Lexus.

When you offer better quality, value and service you win!!!