Toys4RJill

I wouldn't worry too much about a Lexus being manufactured in a Toyota plant outside of Japan.

Carmaker1

Toyota seems to be making that a pattern in some areas and leaving things as-is, by not adding newer content and sometimes removing previously available equipment. The LS lost APGS in 2012, likely due to the new Remote Touch interface of the facelift not allowing for proper operation of the system. Audi, BMW, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Infiniti (soon), and Mercedes-Benz have subsequently offered it for years now, yet no other Lexus has it. Prii even have it.

Lexus offers less content in the American NX300h Luxury, than what my sister's UK-Spec NX300h Premier has. Some Lexus model updates lose features due to cost-cuts, whether minor or significant. It seems that Toyota investment is being heavily shifted to the upper-end of Lexus.

I am not concerned about US assembly, I am referring to vehicle content in general and if updates will be satisfactory. They wouldn't consider it, if TMMK wasn't even feasible.

spwolf

thats marketing department decision, nothing to do with moving production to USA or "investment shifted". Lexus in US always had less options than worldwide.

In any case, US production wont cover 100% of US sales. Just like with many other Toyota's and RX, there will always be some amount of units imported from Japan.

Toys4RJill

How do you know that? It took Toyota a really long time, but they finally got all Camry production coming from the US. This just happened the last two years I believe. I would bet that eventually Toyota will get all production of the ES and RX coming from North America, my guess is that it will happen on the next redesign

spwolf

RX, Rav4 and probably some others are currently also imported from Japan even if they are producted in NA... Their plans for US production of ES are 20%-30% lower than what they sell per month.

So you can buy japanese RX and Rav4 today, of course people wont see any difference unless they check VINs.

mmarshall

Some buyers already are aware of this, but for those who aren't, if the first digit in the VIN is a "J", that verifies assembly at a Japanese plant.

Sulu

Is there not an easier way? How those 3 magical words in the top left-hand corner: "Made in Japan"?

mmarshall

That is only a typical Toyota VIN sticker....one chosen at random. I've noticed in the past that some "J" VINs don't carry the "Made in Japan" moniker on them like that one. What makes it official is the "J" in the number, not the "Made in Japan" label.

Here's a link, BTW, that better-explains it in detail:

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news...r-vehicle-made

The vehicle identification number (VIN) is similar to a person’s social security number: it follows the vehicle around for life and is used by various government, banking, and insurance agencies for identification. You’ll find a vehicle’s VIN on its state registration documents, insurance card, loan papers, and in more recent models, located in various spots throughout the vehicle as an enhanced security measure.

The VIN is a 17-digit serial number composed of both numbers and letter (alphanumeric). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has governed its use since 1981. Before that there wasn’t a standard system used by all carmakers.

You can tell a lot about a vehicle if you know how to decode the VIN. You can determine the country where the vehicle was assembled, including the specific assembly plant, the year, make, some features of the vehicle including model, drivetrain, and so on—and it’s serial number.

Would you like to know where your vehicle was made? Here are some of the most common country codes. You’ll find these letters or numbers in the first position of the VIN:

U.S.: 1, 4 or 5

Canada: 2

Mexico: 3

Japan: J

Korea: K

England: S

Germany W

You won’t find any signs (&#%@) or spaces in the VIN. You also won’t find the letters “I”, “o”, or “q” to avoid confusion with the numerals 1 and 0. And here’s a tip for using the VIN in conversation: you only need to say “VIN” because saying “VIN number” is redundant.

Added security

Do you remember New York City’s Times Square bomber last year? Faisal Shahzad placed a bomb in a Nissan Pathfinder and left it in Times Square. The bomb did not explode and Shahzad was later caught and sentenced to life in prison. However, the Pathfinder’s VIN played an integral role in Shahzad’s capture.

In an apparent attempt to hide the ownership history of the Pathfinder, someone removed the VIN from the two places most car owners know about: the driver’s door and on the driver’s side of the dashboard where it’s visible from outside the vehicle.

This clumsy attempt to conceal the VIN did not take into account that recent models place the vehicle identification number in multiple locations through the vehicle. This can include the dash panel, firewall, engine, steering column, radiator-support bracket, door or door post, inner fender liner, and other places depending on the manufacturer.

Even though this Pathfinder was an older 1993 model, police were able to trace the vehicle after finding a VIN on the bottom of the engine block. This discovery led to the capture of Shahzad.

Toys4RJill

Its says on the door jam "Made in Japan" or where ever its made. Its not a huge issue

GiantsFan

iTrader: (9)

Since it's cheaper for Toyota to make the ES in North America... We will probably see content INCREASE.

Either that, or toyota just pockets the extra profit

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

i believe only the rxh (in rx fam.) comes from japan? rest is from ontario canada, i believe.

Carmaker1

That's exactly my concern for them and their customers looking to upgrade.

JDR76

According to this they're still building RX350s in Japan for US consumption, but I don't know how many (not much).

http://www.lexus.com/about/corporate/manufacturing.html

Japan built about 18k RXs in 2014, and I imagine a good portion of those were hybrids (107,490 total RX sales in 2014).

My 2013 RX350 was built in Japan, but I think the Ontario plant has been increasing production.

spwolf

right now probably... when new model is introduced, likely some japanese production will be mixed in due to high demand. Rav4 currently has significant Japanese production, something like 30-40% are from Japan.... they cant raise the production fast enough, they keep announcing production lifts every 2-3 years.