The "New" Lexus : are you no longer its target market?
#31
Lexus Test Driver
It's a totally different marketplace than when Lexus was first introduced. Think about it--the BMW 3 Series sedan was still in its first generation. If you wanted a "sporty" car (that wasn't a sports car), you bought a coupe. Period. The original LS had 250 hp from a 4.0L V8; 2.0 4-bangers make that HP now.
#32
Lexus Fanatic
if you don't buy all the everyday crap you too could afford to choose exactly what you want and have the monies to pay for the maintenance and up keep of an older model if you so chose, but i guess you are most likely to busy standing in some Apple line waiting for the new Ipood 37 to drop.
You're a little different too because you're into modding and the VIP scene and all of that. Most of us aren't.
go ask your pops about the LS430, maybe he can school you on enjoying some of the finer things in life. not everyone is chasing the Jones's, just most folks in the DMV area
#33
It's a totally different marketplace than when Lexus was first introduced. Think about it--the BMW 3 Series sedan was still in its first generation. If you wanted a "sporty" car (that wasn't a sports car), you bought a coupe. Period. The original LS had 250 hp from a 4.0L V8; 2.0 4-bangers make that HP now.
Are you saying the new Lexus is no longer a refined luxurious vehicle?
#34
Lexus Test Driver
i couldn't more disagree with you. i am presently of upper middle economic wealth, 33 years old, wife but no kids. we have expensive tastes but are very very conscious about our purchases and i for one prefer mods over new. i highly prefer a modded 2-3 gen older car over a new car hands down. i was one phone call/internet click away from making my most current car purchase a 1981 Nissan President.
really not sure where you are coming from at all, most may be in your target audience but not myself. i have lived in japan the last 3 years and don't watch american commercials nor am i exposed to much commercialism at all cept for what i see on the net and from a few co-workers that are of similar means.
i used to drive a 2005 LS430UL back in 2010 and my license plate was Jones's, not because i was keeping up but i was poking fun at others. i had numerous chances to pickup an LS460 but every time one popped up on my radar and i test drove it, it just wasn't as nice and the styling appealed to me less than my LS430 did.
Newer is not always better and i can't wait for the masses to wake up realize this.
I think the guy on here Jacket posted up something pretty intelligent. it just seems like everything being made right now is disposable/consumable. we need a new cell phone every year to keep up with the new Iphone x+1. btw i don't have a single I product and i am surviving just fine.
if you don't buy all the everyday crap you too could afford to choose exactly what you want and have the monies to pay for the maintenance and up keep of an older model if you so chose, but i guess you are most likely to busy standing in some Apple line waiting for the new Ipood 37 to drop.
go ask your pops about the LS430, maybe he can school you on enjoying some of the finer things in life. not everyone is chasing the Jones's, just most folks in the DMV area
really not sure where you are coming from at all, most may be in your target audience but not myself. i have lived in japan the last 3 years and don't watch american commercials nor am i exposed to much commercialism at all cept for what i see on the net and from a few co-workers that are of similar means.
i used to drive a 2005 LS430UL back in 2010 and my license plate was Jones's, not because i was keeping up but i was poking fun at others. i had numerous chances to pickup an LS460 but every time one popped up on my radar and i test drove it, it just wasn't as nice and the styling appealed to me less than my LS430 did.
Newer is not always better and i can't wait for the masses to wake up realize this.
I think the guy on here Jacket posted up something pretty intelligent. it just seems like everything being made right now is disposable/consumable. we need a new cell phone every year to keep up with the new Iphone x+1. btw i don't have a single I product and i am surviving just fine.
if you don't buy all the everyday crap you too could afford to choose exactly what you want and have the monies to pay for the maintenance and up keep of an older model if you so chose, but i guess you are most likely to busy standing in some Apple line waiting for the new Ipood 37 to drop.
go ask your pops about the LS430, maybe he can school you on enjoying some of the finer things in life. not everyone is chasing the Jones's, just most folks in the DMV area
BTW, i get a new iPhone every year and I pay an average of $50...i just sell the old one to pay for the new one. I could argue thats the same thing...sure i'm out $50 but each new iphone is waaaay better than the last
#35
A lot of my lexus owning friends have moved beyond Lexus and I am the only one left. I feel the current gen of Lexus no longer appeals to me
The styling is too bold and (to me only) ugly. The car's price point has increased to where there is not much difference from its competitors. It used to be Lexus would cost less and better built, now it cost about the same but better built.
Maybe I am getting old but I like my daily driver to be more of a sedated refine look. Right now it's just too in your face.
The styling is too bold and (to me only) ugly. The car's price point has increased to where there is not much difference from its competitors. It used to be Lexus would cost less and better built, now it cost about the same but better built.
Maybe I am getting old but I like my daily driver to be more of a sedated refine look. Right now it's just too in your face.
#36
Lexus Test Driver
Now I fail to understand: how does refinement in NVH = a "softmobile"? A sportier car that gives road feedback and is fun to drive can't be refined? Why can't Lexus offer some sporty cars, and some softmobiles, expanding its customer base and appeal?
#37
Lexus Test Driver
Even Caddy is now going after super sporty.
#38
I wish they could do the same to the engine deparment as they did with the design. Latest RX is the perfect example,: an updated 10 year old V6, no thanks. The 2.0T could be usable in many ways , but I am pretty sure that they wont let us have a CT 2.0T with a modern DSG gearbox or anything else that could be "funny" . I have driven Lexus for 15 years now but I think this is my last Lexus if nothing happens in a year or maybe 2. I like the new design but its not like that the competition is ugly and they offer what Lexus year after year refuses to give us in terms of engines, performance and gearboxes. Cars like LF-A or any other 300 000 dollar concept car with 600 hp that never will go in production are irrelevant here.
Last edited by Mr Bond; 04-03-15 at 08:34 AM.
#39
Back then the best way for better NVH was a softer suspension. If the newer taut suspension still offers NVH refinement, it still appeals to me.
#40
#41
Intermediate
And don't people hang out on car forums because they're into their cars: maintenance, changes, mods, upgrades, etc.? The people that don't give a **** probably aren't registered on the forum. It seems like this audience on CL should be "different" as compared to the Jones'.
One of the vehicles in my stable is a 1996 Land Cruiser. 159k miles. I took a near perfect Toyota utility vehicle, and I made it better to suit my needs, and enjoy exploring the west. Most of it has been rebuilt at least once, so I'm hoping for 15-20 more years. I might be one of the few to survive the apocalypse because I've got my Cruiser. Too bad it's not an LX so I can't show it off here....
So if someone offered me a 2015 Land Cruiser or LX, would I take it? Certainly - because it's worth something. Would I keep it, mod it and become enthusiastic about it? Maybe, or not. I might just sell it, pocket the $80k, and buy an old Supra. Or put an addition on my house. I dunno.
Anyway - probably straying from the point of this thread. Am I the target audience for "new Lexus." Maybe. I've given up on buying new cars because I don't see the value proposition in buying new, and I see my vehicles as hobbies as well as tools so I have different requirements. But I impact the resale value of cars because I'll pay more for a well preserved, used car. And this impacts new car sales since people will buy these cars new with the guarantee of a strong trade-in value. Toyota has largely become the #1 vehicle manufacturer because of this "guarantee."
I care as much about what you can't see in a vehicle as what you can. Lexus will lose me if they stop paying attention to that part.
#42
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
lol @ this thread... as a 'boomer' i was not into a 'softmobile' when i got my GS400 15 years ago, and i modded the shnide out of it. it was loud, fast, and still pretty comfortable. boomers are certainly older now, a lot of them retired, and a lot of them are less into cars i guess.
lexus absolutely has to attract a younger buyer, and more power to them if it's working. while sales are going up i see that happening mainly because of an expanding product line. either way, more power to lexus.
and the polarizing looks is at least generating 'buzz' - the worst thing in the market is to be ignored, and lexus frankly was invisible to a lot of potential buyers in the past.
i still think lexus has to do a much better job on advertising / marketing though - they seem all over the map, and their dealer ads that i see are mostly like the boring/bland past and awful.
meanwhile, mb and bmw (and audi) have stepped up their game enormously, plus new upstarts like hyundai, making a win win for consumers.
lexus absolutely has to attract a younger buyer, and more power to them if it's working. while sales are going up i see that happening mainly because of an expanding product line. either way, more power to lexus.
and the polarizing looks is at least generating 'buzz' - the worst thing in the market is to be ignored, and lexus frankly was invisible to a lot of potential buyers in the past.
i still think lexus has to do a much better job on advertising / marketing though - they seem all over the map, and their dealer ads that i see are mostly like the boring/bland past and awful.
meanwhile, mb and bmw (and audi) have stepped up their game enormously, plus new upstarts like hyundai, making a win win for consumers.
#43
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by Jacket
And don't people hang out on car forums because they're into their cars: maintenance, changes, mods, upgrades, etc.? The people that don't give a **** probably aren't registered on the forum. It seems like this audience on CL should be "different" as compared to the Jones'.
Last edited by mmarshall; 04-03-15 at 09:53 AM.
#44
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by bitkahuna
as a 'boomer' i was not into a 'softmobile' when i got my GS400 15 years ago, and i modded the shnide out of it. it was loud, fast, and still pretty comfortable.
boomers are certainly older now, a lot of them retired, and a lot of them are less into cars i guess.
Last edited by mmarshall; 04-03-15 at 10:04 AM.