Contender

It is for the reasons mentioned in the article that I LOVE THE LFA !!

Just confirms its true "Unicorn" status !

http://jalopnik.com/here-s-why-the-l...l-t-1651833560

Gojirra99

I have said from day one since they officially announced LFA selling price that since they are losing money on the car anyway, they should have priced it only half as much at most , and try to sell at least 3 times as many of them, so more real owners can actually experience owning the car and enjoy it, rather than just reading about it in magazines or the internet, and of course more will be seen on the road.
And I am not convince they they will lose more money on the car, if at all, if they do it this way, but will give the car better exposure to the public.......

rominl

iTrader: (4)

interesting perspective, i think that's actually a pretty good point

oohpapi44

iTrader: (1)

Agreed. If using Audi as a measuring stick, the guy backs up his argument very well.

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

Definitely. I think I've only seen 1 out in the wild

05RollaXRS

I am simply going to re-post what I wrote on toyotanation:

Another ridiculous article by Jalopnik on Lexus LFA. Happened once before. Nothing surprising.

Article makes no sense whatsoever, but designed to make the haters rejoice and get some controversy going to make it viral.

Some of the greatest cars ever made in history were produced in very limited numbers. That includes the McLaren F1, Enzo Ferrari, Ferrari F40 etc. Many of these were produced in even fewer numbers.

Name of the game is quality. Not quantity.

Lexus built an entire factory for LFA and every LFA is almost entirely hand-built. It would be incredibly difficult to mass produce a car like LFA without moving to robotics for majority of the assembly process.

Regarding brand impact and as a halo car, Lexus LFA has appeared in several "Top 5 Greatest Cars" and "Top 10 Greatest Cars", "Best engine of the year" lists in publishers who did not even hold Lexus in high regard. That all has brought a lot of brand credence and recognition for Lexus.

Lexus LFA is constantly mentioned in articles even 2 years after it ceased production as a benchmark. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has said in many interviews that LFA is the best car he has ever owned and he prefers to drive it over his Enzo Ferrari and Porsche Carrera GT at the track.

All in Lexus' first try. When European magazines are declaring LFA the winner over cars like Porsche Carrera GT, Ferrari 599, Mercedes SLS AMG, Lamborghini LP570-4 etc., it is common sense that such an endorsement is a huge boost to the brand.

I am sure, in 2009 if someone said "Lexus will build a super car that will beat Lambos and Ferraris in driving excitement and dynamics", the listener would have referred him to a mental institute.

He talks about a mass produced Audi R8 done right, which is considered a great road car, but a mediocre track supercar and even after several heavy updates R8 V10 Plus does not hold up well to the much older Lexus LFA dynamically particularly around the track.

An avid Lexus hater Clarkson to this day says "it is the best car I have ever driven" and that he "carries a picture of the LFA in wallet". Whether he does or not, is a different story, but such a thing coming from someone with such a huge loyal following is a huge endorsement in itself for the brand.

dojoman

iTrader: (5)

Jalopnik picks on Lexus brand whenever they get a chance, they're just a bunch of BMW fanboys.

G Star

iTrader: (2)

Jalopnik is the bottom of the barrel in online automotive audience, I wouldn't take anything they have to say too seriously. Just look at the way the author of the article trolls in the comments section. Its awkward.

Vladi

Well R8 is not even close to LFA in any way except the size maybe. Two completely different philosophies from marketing perspective, R8 is here to enhance the brand image, LFA was someone's childhood dream.

BTW I saw 3 different LFA on the road so far Fresh green, white and silver.

Levi68

If the majority/mass hates the LFA, it means something is really right about it, more than any other car. Simple law of life.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i actually think it has more to do with the brand than the car itself

UDel

Have to agree with you and some of the article. I have not seen a single LFA whether at a dealership or on the road, most of the people I talk to, even most car enthusiasts don't even know it exists. I have seen several Ferrari F430s, 355's, 550's, 458's, 911 GT3/turbo's, Gallardo's, R8's, DB9's, Vanguish, GTR's, NSX's, etc but never a LFA nor with the numbers sold will I likely ever see one on the road. It is a nice car and I respect Toyota for going through with it when Honda shamefully killed their V10 sports car but Lexus priced it so high and made so few of them that you kind of ask yourself what was the point? What was the point of making a sports car for a common brand to price it so high and make so few where hardly anyone is even going to get a glimpse of one or even know about it? It is not like it was some performance dynamo when released, a 550hp V10 weighing well over 3000lbs, doing 0-60 in 3.6 to 3.8 seconds was not breaking any records or shocking the performance community especially for 375K. It would have made much more sense to make a few thousand and price around 165K or so, then the performance would have been impressive for the price, many more people would buy one, and you would see it on the road and in dealerships. It would help shoe in more interest and awareness on Lexus F models.

Jalopnik is at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to automotive journalism though, they have to resort to swearing, cheap insults and false generalizations and seem to have a bunch of journalists still in high school. I don't agree with most of the shots in the article or BMW/Audi praise. The shots at Lexus owners being older then the Panama canal is ridiculous, the tape deck and nobody wants a Lexus insults are childish. They are known for attacking Japanese brands and praising German brands.

Levi68

If Lexus made the LFA cheaper and built more of them, it would not change anything, it really wouldn't. People liked Audi before the R8 came. Lexus even if it was the best at everything and looked better than anything, anyway they would hate it, maybe not the car its self, but still the brand. Lexus does it right not to react to people's ignorant provocations. Looks like they are however not getting tired. They should be good marathon runners.

05RollaXRS

0-60 mph is only measure of traction off the line. There are many RWD cars that make over 650 - 700 HP, but cannot crack 3.8 seconds 0-60 mph because of being limited by traction (Hellcat, GT500KR). A $180K Porsche 911 Turbo S is faster in a 0-60 mph than a $2 million dollar Porsche 918 Spyder. I don't see anyone criticizing the 918 0-60 mph times compared to a much lower Porsche model. A $500K 730 HP Ferrari F12 gets spanked in a 0-60 mph by a 540 HP Nissan GTR and needs well over a 1/4 mile to start walking away from the GTR.

LFA was never meant to be just a numbers car and was all about the totality of what the car could offer to the owner (otherwise, Lexus would have given it racing compound slick tires like the competitors). Still, a 553 HP LFA could easily get from 60 - 165 mph in 16.6 seconds in track tests. It was a monster once it fully hooked up all the way to 180 mph. Most importantly, it still holds the record of the fastest Nurburgring lap time recorded of 7:14 on a car with street non-compound racing tires.

I don't have to mention again how LFA's driving experience (sound, response and agility) is considered legendary, which is what the true purpose of the car. If it were that easy, there would be more cars that could offer similar driving experience.

Bottom line is, the way Lexus LFA became great and memorable, would not have been possible, if the car had been mass produced because the engineers would have to make big compromises in the engineering of the car.

These are all of the things that are apparent to someone who drives the car. Unfortunately, all of these criticism come from people who never drove the car and never will get to.

LOL. I cracked up hard when I read that. That must be a bad joke. A relatively speaking sub-par SLS AMG Mercedes that is built by the several thousands costs $230,000 - $250,000. An R8 V10 costs $210,000 - $230,000 depending on the option equipment. Not to mention, the R8 V10 is based on an R8 V8.

You are saying, a much more well engineered, bespoke and dynamically superior carbon fiber Lexus LFA should cost $165,000, if they built a few thousands? Do you realize the LFA V10 alone costs $160,000 to build? LOL

The people who are going to criticize this car, will do that regardless of what Lexus would have done. Even if it would have done 6:57 around Nurburgring, it would not have changed a thing.

UDel

I know you love this car and are the one who posts overwhelmingly in this forum and keeps the forum from being basically dead but people are going to have different opinions on the LFA.

It does not matter other less expensive cars are quicker then more expensive cars, the LFA still has some rather unimpressive performance specs considering the price and how new it was which did not help in its perception. 918 has done 0-60 in a Veyron equivalent 2.5 seconds, have not seen a 911 Turbo S beat that(came very close) and a 918 will be even more impressive at higher speeds then a 911 Turbo. You could say every high powered car is traction limited to 0-60 as an excuse for the LFA, the LFA is not even some torque monster like other high powered cars. 0-60 is not everything and I don't want it to seem like I am putting down the LFA, because I still think it is a good car and I am happy they at least built it, my issue with it had more to do with its price for its performance and such small numbers produced that it is unlikely to ever be seen on the road by 99% of people and won't do much for the brand. It does not make much sense for a common large scale automaker to make a car so expensive and in so little numbers. I makes sense for Bugatti or Lamborghini doing it but not Toyota/Lexus.

Nurburgring lap times have as much to do with drivers/tires/tuning as they do cars and it is a place 99.9% of sports car owners will never take their car to, other performance variables are achievable by 99% of drivers.

Before the LFA was released many even on here were speculating it would weigh well under 3000lbs due to the switch to carbon fiber, outperform a McLaren F1/Veyron, have over 600hp, and cost 160K to 180K, and look more like the concepts, none of which happened, the final product did not exactly meet most expectations and the price was shocking. The LFA did not shock the world, change the way sports cars are made, or put other makers on notice, it more or less came and went without many even noticing it.

The fact is any car company could make a monster supercar priced at 375K.

For a huge brand like Toyota/Lexus they don't have to price a low volume high end sports car to make a profit like Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc they have the money and cushioning from other sales to take a loss on the car. In my opinion I think the purpose of the LFA should have been or was to show the public Lexus can and will be building more driver focused cars and to give attention to the F performance cars, pricing it lower, building more, and having the car visible and seen by more of the public and having one at most dealerships would accomplish this even if it meant selling it at a big loss. Instead they just built 500 at a really high price ensuring 99% of the public will never even see one or know anything about it, many LFA's are/have already been on ebay, others have not even been sold to customers, they were bought by dealerships and just sitting around often hidden from the public.

That being said I don't agree with Jalapnik in that the LFA is the worst Halo Car of all time or their childish opinions on Lexus/Lexus drivers but there are some points in that article and what other posters have said that are true and I agree with, they are not the only ones to be critical of the LFA or its role either.