gyrase321

...except Jalopnik as a site does not proffer "differing opinions" about Lexus. It bashes Lexus from different angles, but bashes it all the same. Lexus cars are either weak relative to the German competition (RCF), or if they are not weak they are too expensive (LFA). Different writers expressing the same anti-Lexus editorial slant. The hypocrisy here is that if you want Lexus to produce a powerful car, it already did. That was the LFA. It was available for you to buy just a few years ago. If the critic who says Lexus makes weak cars didn't even buy the LFA when it was available, that exposes the critique to be lacking in credibility.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

looks like a done deal to me so it won't be 'ready'.

but it's still the BEST GS performance config ever made, which is big progress.

true.

not everyone wants 'sporty' or in your face grills. think of the realtor driving people around in an ES or RX.

amen.

true!

that's preaching to the choir though. gaining some incremental sales, mostly from those already convinced lexus is for them. for lexus to expand its reach it will need to compete with what else is out there.

of course not. 'need' isn't relevant with performance vehicles. a corolla is all you 'need'.

amazing how some want them to do their own thing yet every month declare 'victories' in largely meaningless sales number comparisons.
and amazing how some defend them no matter what they do.

a little constructive criticism isn't a bad thing. lexus is making strides though.

i don't think we have any choice.

if he had said glowing things about the RC-F many, perhaps including you, would care a lot.

evident

They did praise the IS350 FSport...

jbuffett

I suspect that any car Chris Harris owns that is older than 6 years old is a classic, and any problems with that car are written off because the car "has soul".

So as with most car journo's, the focus is always on what's new. Like the crazy-in-bed girl you meet at the bar, that is great for a month until you find out she's a hoarder. It's Chris' job to write the article at week 3. People like us buy the car then have to live with a hoarder.

I don't own a Lexus for its performance, I own it for its reliability. Can you get both performance and reliability? Porsche comes the closest historically, but when they do break, have fun. How many here would want to own a Mercedes Benz or BMW at year 7? I wouldn't. The price I pay for this is giving up a little bit of horsepower. I assure you, my GS460 has enough for what I do with it.

The IS350 should have beaten the BMW 330 in 2006, but it didn't. The Lexus had 50 more horsepower and the BMW was plagued by electrical problems. It was brand spanking new. In 2013, the Lexus did win...with the same engine as the 2006 car, and the BMW equal on horsepower. What sense does that make?

I agree, the GS-F is underpowered considering its competition. If it's anything like the GS460 I love, they'll build ~1600 in the first year and then make them special-order-only for the next 3 years -- 50 cars or less per year -- until being canceled. A select few of us will buy them for half price 3 years later with low miles and enjoy them for what they are. M5-ish without the hassles of actually being an M5.

If car journalists actually married the reliable farm girl rather than serially date her slooty cousins, they'd understand the reasons why so many of the rest of us who can't tolerate or afford the latter choose the former.

vlad_a

Take away reliability from Toyota and there's no content left. They are trying, but they just don't have the [current] experience or will to make it happen, and hence a miss after miss. Can't make a model out of a "farm girl".
I am afraid of pulling a trigger in buying a German vehicle. But sooner or later, it will happen, because a "farm girl" is just not good enough when it comes to cars. Why not date a needy supermodel if you can afford it? Germans have been banking on it for years.

I also see a lot of Gen 1 IS250 in Europe. Toyota, take a hint! That was a fun car from your Supra days, even if speed is not its forte. I drove 2x IS300s for 14 years because it was so good.

gsintensive

I have to say I agree with him completely and this is coming from a die hard Lexus fan that has owned the awesome GS430, SC430, RX350, and current gen IS. No one is expecting Lexus to blow the competition away on first try but at least some try to make it interesting.

GSF and RCF have just been huge letdowns but I hope this is just the transitional stage for Lexus for something greater to come.

Chariotz

My 2 cents.... Car enthusiast are still winning in the end because of their direction they took, we now have an even wider selection to choose from.





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spwolf

thats kind of funny considering that both new IS350 and GS350 have been winning car comparos for their good driving skills, and thats against german competition too.

And not to mention that you own 3RX, which has to be the blandest Lexus in existence. 4RX looks like a huge improvement over that.

EZZ

in 2006, the BMW should have won. The 330's main advantage was awesome handling and a superb chassis. I really didn't like the 2IS suspension tuning...really soft and no feel. I liked the look and considered one very strongly but couldn't pull the trigger due to how it handled...the tiny back seats didn't help either.

Fast forward to today and after test driving many cars numerous times, the IS350 F-sport had GREAT handling and just enough power to make me happy. The BMW had the power but its handling got worse than the 2006 version...sad. The Q50S...yikes did they screw that one up compared to the G37. I think its way to soft now...

rominl

iTrader: (4)

sometimes i am quite puzzled by people saying lexus is just trying to do their own things. sure, that might be true if we are talking about the ES and RX, and actually for that matter i think they have done a ridiculously great job (just look at the sales numbers on these two models making up big part of lexus sales).

but i am pretty sure lexus made the IS, GS and LS clearly to compete with the germans in the respective segment. i don't think anyone can remotely deny that. and suddenly with the gsf it becomes they are doing their own thing again. that sounds like a moving target to me. it's like saying umm not powerful enough, let's say it's a fun car. umm, let's say it's cheaper too. ummm....

again i like lexus a lot, they have done a lot of right and i have bought so many lexus for a reason. but there are just things i think they made not-so-good decisions on

DFGeneer

It is very obvious that they do their own thing. Lexus could have easily fitted a TRD supercharger to the 5 liter V8 if their primary target was to beat the germans on power. Or even that TMG developed twin turbo version good for 650 bhp.
But then the price would have been quite different.

situman

I still say they are constraint by the LFA. The fact that Lexus still parades that car around after production ended a few years ago, means they still view it as their halo car, and it should be. You won't find any other Lexus breaking the 500hp barrier any time soon, not within the next 3-5yrs at least. Not much of a halo car if a lowly RC makes 550hp with a turbo V8. Hp, perception and semantics still matter even though they are different kinds of cars.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

love how you say they could have easily done that.

it's far from easy.

interesting pov. the lfa though, sadly, is really pretty irrelevant now as it's not sold, not updated, and not competitive.

Gojirra99

That's really asinine if that's what they are thinking. If horsepower is their idea of what makes a halo car, then even in 2011-12, the LFA did not impress as a halo car at all, since even then, there were no lack of cheaper cars from other brands, some of which with even more prestigious brand name than Lexus, with more hp than the LFA and cost less.

The LFA has never been anything special at all if you only look at its horsepower

TF109B

I dont hang on journalists words, good or bad. This article wasnt constructive criticism, it was just criticism. Sales are what makes money, so how exactly is that meaningless? Chasing ONLY sales... then youd have a point. As for preaching to the choir, increased sales goes in hand with debunking that statement. In order to increase sales, that means you are attracting NEW buyers. Even if all luxury brands post sales increases, its important to look at what model and what percentage the increase actually was.