Lexus Is Canceling the GS Line: Fake News or Fact?
Japanese auto magazine sparks rumor of the demise of the GS. And, of course, Lexus enthusiasts lose their cabezas!
The Club Lexus forums has been engaged in a tense debate over whether or not unsubstantiated news that Lexus is canceling the GS line is fact or fiction.
The source of the rumor is a scan of a page from the Japanese auto magazine MAG-X that was posted in the forum of a Lexus enthusiasts blog (not ours!). The article allegedly proclaims that “the Lexus GS may be cancelled after the current generation.”
Of course, once translated into English by a forum member, folks flipped after hearing that the GS may become extinct.
As expected, the buzz led to the blog posting an item about it, with the title: “Rumor: Is Lexus Planning to Cancel the GS Sedan?”
“…we have the news about the development freeze of the vehicle of Toyota Motor Corp,” reads the blog post. “Our scoop department found out that TMC decided to suspend the development of the next generation Lexus GS…But after the close consideration/examination of its image and positioning in the lineup, TMC came to a conclusion that the GS doesn’t/won’t play a desired role in the lineup.”
Sure, adding that question mark at the end of the post’s title pretty much leads us to believe that if they’re questioning it, then we remain skeptical.
‘The GS just never met the demand…I don’t find it ugly at all,
but maybe the target market does…’
However, our Club Lexus forums have been debating the issue all day, and some of the comments are classic! However, although we believe that GS fans have nothing to worry about, the debate remains somewhat equally divided.
“I’ll wait for something official from Toyota/Lexus,” comments Club Lexus JDR76.
“Sales have been poor, so the probability of them cancelling it is possible,” suggests EXE46. “The GS just never met the demand…I don’t find it ugly at all, but maybe the target market does…”
Club Lexus member LexCTJill gets right to the point, countering with: “I highly doubt the GS is going to be canceled.”
However, Allen K. brings up a good point: “Well, they made the IS-F then dropped it in the next gen…”
After careful consideration, Pman6, offered his view: “I don’t know if it has to do with inflation, but within a few short years, the MSRP of the GS has gone up a lot. Less value for the money. My 2007 GS350 was under $45k MSRP. Now you can’t even get a V-6 for that price. The GS350 starts at $51,000. The 2013 GS350 started around $47,000.
“When you’re over the psychological $50k price point,” Pman6 continues, “people probably just say fark it and pay a little more for the German [cars]. I imagine German cars now aren’t as unreliable as they were 10-15 years ago, so buying Japanese for reliability is not a very strong motive anymore, maybe.”
‘German cars aren’t as unreliable as they were 10-15 years ago, so buying Japanese for reliability is not a very strong motive anymore, maybe.’
Lexus fan Udel believes the rumor may true and is definitely not happy about it. “If this is true, which it very well may be, it is a horrible decision. A luxury company needs a mid-level sedan. Lexus will be the only luxury company without a mid-level offering if they dump the GS, and it would be embarrassing. What are they going to do for customers who want a mid level Lexus sedan, tell them to either buy a entry-level Avalon-based ES or spend over $80k on a big LS?!?”
As the debate continues to brew on our Club Lexus forums and across the Internet, we would like to point out that in the original blog post that derived from the MAG-X page scan, the news of the Lexus GS’ possible fate is preceded with the clear-as-day proclamation: “…this rumor is unsubstantiated and possibly untrue.”
Now, that is the most factual thing we have heard all day! Long live the Lexus GS…hopefully!
