Conventional wisdom would dictate that the growling, 416-hp IS-F signals some kind of directional change for the silky and mellow Lexus brand, but let us explain why this car does no such thing. One of the pillars of the Toyota Way is "No Waste," expressed in everything from its just-in-time supply chain to its legendary mandate that company executives sharpen their pencils all the way down to the erasers. And to Toyota, there are few things more wasteful than a car that doesn't sell. "No Waste" is why Toyota has made itself better than anyone at researching and testing and analyzing the widest band of customer preference in each segment, better at giving the people exactly what they want. Unlike most other carmakers, which are guided by internal engineering compasses and house style, Toyota is mainly a reactive enterprise, finding hot spots in the market and chasing after them like a terrier after a Grand Am. (Of course, Toyota being Japanese, there is a countervailing impulse, a Yang to the Yin - calculated risks like the Prius and the FJ Cruiser and the Scion brand. But these examples sit on the roadside of Toyota's march toward world domination, categories unto themselves.)
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