yowps3

I like that red ambiance ^

spwolf

TMG is fully owned subsidiary of TMC... how can they partner with TMC? They always were fully owned.

I was referring to rumors on how they are designing the transmission - i think thats bollocks. TMG is operating independently, as does every TMC subsidiary, so their wishes and dreams and rumors will likely not become true. Between dreams of TMG president, and rumor happy Aussie press, we always get some "fantastic" sounding news, such as manual transmission hybrid.

p.s. both TS040 powertrain and 1.6l Globar Race Engine were developed in Japan, at Motor Sports Unit Development Division at the Higashifuji technical centre. This is new center that develops all of their road technologies as well.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Enform Remote launches today. On your iPhone and soon Android iirc. First available on 2015 IS, it'll spread to the sedans fairly quickly. ES is supposedly next. It's free the first year, allows use and information of certain vehicle functions from your phone. The SUVs won't have it yet as Lexus is already trying to get away from the failed RES+ debuted over a year ago on the RX.

Also an update to the 5/30/14 post, another name Crafted by Lexus should appear soon. White cars with highlighted accents and Tumi luggage. (Think CT F-Sport Special Edition)

dseag2

The good news is the 2015 (which is SUPER early) has a cabernet interior option with the F-sport option.



Don't tease me, Mike!

Toys4RJill

Pretty cool app.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

The new Lexus Enform Remote App is now available in the Apple App store and Google Play app store. With the launch of certain 15MY vehicles* beginning with this week’s 15MY IS, the Lexus Enform product lineup is expanding. The launch of Enform Remote will connect our Lexus customers with their vehicle like never before using a smartphone application that allows them to view and remotely control certain aspects of their vehicle which includes:

Remote door lock / unlock
Remote start
Vehicle finder
Vehicle status
Guest driver monitor

* 2015 MY IS1, ES(h)2, GS(h), LS(h), RC(F), NX(h) 2 .
1Excludes Lexus IS C
2On the Lexus ES(h), NX(h) Enform Remote is only available with factory installed navigation

TF109B

You must not understand what it is Im saying. TMG is partnering with TMC in terms of road car applications. It really doesnt matter if you think their claims are bollocks. They operate as a motorsport arm of Toyota. They arent a car company. Im well aware of where the powertrains are developed. What you seemed to miss is the connection between the two for applications in future cars. Not sure your point. If theyre a subsidiary of Toyota, then there should be more credence to their claim.

Are you aware of the guys behind THS-R in the TS040? The same ones who ran the hybrid Supra HV-R project back in 2007, now part of the Le Mans race team... at TMG. Have a look at the management of tmg and you see their toyota motor positions as well. Yoshiaki Kinoshlta, Rob Leupen, Hisatake Murata... http://www.toyotahybridracing.com/team/management/ theyre not a wishful thinking group.

spwolf

Well, first of all, I did not mean for that post to be harsh or this below... I am harsh on yellow media reports making big deal out of it, not you personally.


I am not missing anything. I remember clearly how TMG developed LS with twin turbo's with wanting to be Lexus's "AMG" and I remember how that turned out to be bollocks.

Toyota does not operate as a huge single entity. TMG is free to operate on their own, same as other subsidiaries of TMC and they are free to put forward proposals to TMC... and then TMC decides if they want to do that or not. They decided to not go with twin turbo LS. They decided to not go with TMG as a brand for high performance Lexus vehicles. Even Yaris WRC is only in development, not confirmed to run anywhere yet. Those final decisions are made by TMC.

I can tell you right now that them doing manual transmission for hybrids for application in road cars is funny and hilarious. Not because it is stupid idea (it is), but also because powertrain development would not be done by TMG in any case.

All the powertrain for TS040 and 1.6 GRE was done at new Higashifuji technical centre, not by TMG.

GS69

Toyota Luxury Boss Says Sub-$30k Car "Wouldn't be a Lexus"

A senior Lexus executive said that a car priced below $30,000 would not be worthy of the brand, in an indirect dig at German rivals who have been moving downmarket.

“We could go down and build a car under $30,000, but it would be decontented, and you’d be cutting corners. It wouldn’t be a Lexus,” Mark Templin, Lexus International’s executive vice president, told Automotive News.

“To be honest with you, you can’t build a Lexus with the quality, the durability, the reliability, the craftsmanship, the content that we put in a Lexus and sell it profitably under $30,000. You just can’t do it,” he said.

Lexus’ $30,000 line in the sand may hint at a new subtle marketing ploy to undermine its rivals’ reputation for quality by questioning how they manage bargain luxury.

Slap at rivals

Templin’s comments were a not-so-subtle slap at German rivals such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, which are leaning on lower-cost entry models to sell to younger buyers.

Mercedes scored a hit when it introduced the CLA in September at a starting price of $29,900, plus $925 shipping to raise the sticker to $30,825. Through June, CLA sales totaled 10,576, despite supply constraints, to comprise 11 percent of the brand’s car sales.

In other overseas markets, Mercedes trolls even lower with its A-class hatchback. BMW counters with its 1 series, while Audi competes in the entry-level fray with its A1 compact.

“Is that luxury?” Templin asked of the rush to move downmarket.

Other Lexus officials have noted previously that Toyota Motor Corp.’s other brands -- Toyota and Scion -- cover the sub-$30,000 segments so that Lexus need not have offerings for customers in that price range. But Templin’s comments were the first to assert that vehicles priced below $30,000 would not truly qualify as luxury products.

Poor reviews, good sales

Some publications -- including Consumer Reports and USA Today -- have given the new CLA a thumbs down, validating Templin’s point by essentially saying that the sedan is not sufficiently Mercedes-like. But Consumer Reports also was not impressed by the redesigned Lexus IS, which is one of the least expensive models in the Lexus lineup.

The German luxury brands’ smaller, less-expensive cars have helped to boost their sales volumes.

Through June, Mercedes-Benz’s U.S. sales, excluding Sprinter, rose 7 percent to 151,624 vehicles. BMW brand’s U.S. sales rose 12 percent to 157,382, and Audi’s climbed 14 percent to 84,349.

Lexus sales continued their rebound, jumping 17 percent to 138,689.

Lexus lags

After dominating the U.S. luxury sales title for more than a decade, Lexus fell behind the German brands after being hit with Toyota’s unintended acceleration recall crisis and crimped supply in the wake of Japan’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Lexus sales peaked in the United States in 2007 at 329,177. But the brand, which sells roughly half its total volume in North America, remains well behind its German rivals globally.

In 2013, BMW led the pack with global sales of 1,655,138, up 7 percent. Audi followed at about 1,580,000, up 8 percent, then Mercedes-Benz at 1,565,563, also up 8 percent. Lexus’s global sales were roughly 500,000.

Lexus comes closest to the $30,000 magic number with its CT 200h hybrid hatchback, which starts at $32,975, with shipping. But Templin said that nameplates fetching more than $50,000 generate the majority of Lexus’ global volume.

The RC coupe due later this year may nudge the average higher. While it is expected to deliver niche volume, Templin said the United States will be its biggest market “by far.”

The new NX compact crossover, which went on sale July 29 in Japan, starts at 4.28 million yen. That converts to around $41,970 at current exchange rates. Lexus’ U.S. pricing is generally much lower than a straight conversion of the Japanese sticker.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Someone has a brain ! Can we keep him mom ?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

no kidding, i am glad they aren't doing anything cheaper. keep everything above 30k, this is a luxury brand for crying out loud

TangoRed

OK, the Germans are at $29k, it's not like they're that far under $30k. People are patting Lexus on the back like they're holding themselves to some super high standard, when in reality the CT200h starts at $32k. Not THAT far off.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

kind of a false straw man argument. yeah the CLA was announced with the $29,995 starting price (a whopping $5 under $30K) but we all know none are sold even remotely close to that price.

besides, (again), most luxury cars are RENTED, i mean LEASED!

rominl

iTrader: (4)

how much are the a class and b class? i look at this globally. the problem is with bmw and mb is, at least to me, i keep on getting the perception that they are trying to have cheaper and smaller vehicles under their brand to attract more buyers. to me that's a horrible move when they are luxury brands to begin with and have cars well into the 6 figures. we also saw it with the ct, hs, and the nx too, but at least i feel lexus is staying stronger on the bottom line

and to me it doesn't matter if cars are leased or bought. sure a lot of bmw and mb are leased, but i also know a lot of very rich people who only lease because they are rich enough for new cars every 2-3 years. i am not saying this is the case for all at all, especially on cheaper models, there are plenty of people who are just stretching to get their feet into the luxury brand. but i am just saying as much as you can find con arguments on leasing, there are just the same amount of pro arguments. truth is between all these brands? i probably see more rich people in mb brand than say lexus

pbm317

I believe you mean CLA, but yes, agree completely. I've discussed on ClubLexus with others in the past, maybe even earlier in this thread, that in terms of overall transaction price averages, Lexus is still significantly below the main Audi/BMW/Mercedes, and even below some luxury brands deemed to be in a lower "tier" of the luxury sector. Lexus lineup could use a boost of variants and corresponding sales volume in the more premium spaces above $60K.

But to that effect, Templin is a good "face" of the brand and will spin whatever he has to into a positive light for the brand as it currently stands, which is what you want him to do.