CDNROCKIES

All valid points of discussion. This constant vilifying of Tommy is uncalled for as he has not been rude or offensive in any of his recent posts. Just because you don't agree with him doesn't automatically make him wrong or a "hater".

Why can't there be some critical discussion of Lexus' approach? Open minded, objective analysis is valuable in any open forum.

TommyJames

I seriously don't want to rehash this all over, in spite of how you want to twist what I've said repeatedly. The reason I keep repeating myself isn't because I want to, it's because you keep twisting it.

Before you get too carried away, I suggest you look at the Northwest Section photos of TeamSpeed at the Exotics at Redmond Town Center thread. I co-founded that event, and 110 exotics came out in the freezing cold yesterday to open our season. There were more than 500 spectators and they come from all over the world. One collector came from Florida (without cars) just to see it. We do that every week! We don't get the same cars either. Because of the Carz song/video, we will probably double our size this year.

I personally know hundreds of owners, not just a few, not just some in the Northwest and these guys own every brand you can think of from Bugatti down to old American Motors stuff. Yet, so many of you think I don't know what I'm talking about which is fine. I come here for one reason only and this is because this is the only place where they is extensive enthusiasm for the LFA and I'm all about learning about every brand, not just one.

As for Paris Hilton- She's a marketing machine so anything she does, clothes car, anything is suspect because there is always an angle. Anything fashion related with her name sells. But track-inspired exotics? I have my doubts. She doesn't sell guy toys well! Name one other guy toy she's successfully helped? How hard is that to understand?

Second- I can't imagine she will get any car and it no appear in lots of photos. I also suspect that if she did get a Lexus, that someone from the company was trying to make it happen, which I think is a mistake. As I've said earlier, it would have been far smarter if it was someone with track experience, someone who's known as an enthusiast of other brands already. Lexus needs to be clear about where it's taking its exotic brand and if they are behind that move, which I suspect they are, then I think it's another mistake. Yes, one of many on the marketing side of the product.

Lexus as an exotic brand IS something new and the brand is still fragile. It does harm the brand if it's typed incorrectly and it costs a lot of money to correct that image. Lamborghini spent millions to erase the image created in the late 90s with the Diablo. Once you're typed, it's a tough thing to change.

07grIS350

Maybe Lexus is crazy, if PH can sell stuffs to women, then they must be trying to sell LFA's to women. If you're really into the conspiracy thing, maybe Lexus is trying to appease the wives/girl friends of its 100+ male buyers by giving them the unthinkable idea...

Exotic Lexus brand? I think LFA 2 will likely happen in 2040s. However, I hope there are some really nice IS-F, GSF and whatever-F's benefiting from the LFA excercise in the coming years. I think Lexus knows that its bread and butter are the comfy, reliable SUVs and Sedans.

TommyJames

You could be right but exotics to women is incredibly tiny. Everyone thinks that chicks dig sport exotics. The truth is not nearly as much as brands like Bentley, and RR. The cross section is very similar to chicks on motorcycles. They exist, but it's kind of a tiny market.

Also, you make another good point. I know a lot of exotic owners who had to get the wife's approval to buy their car. It is a sad fact.

With regard to 2040, they should definitely think that far out, but they should have a follow-on car to announce just as production nears an end to maintain momentum. It takes years to build an exotic culture. It doesn't just happen with 500 cars. Even Lamborghini who's had cars go through the hands of between 12-17,000 owners in total, (several owners per car) still can't seem to build a solid cultural foundation because they never thought it was important, and now they are suffering as a result. Porsche and Ferrari both have very strong core cultures by comparison.

MR_F1

Why is it so hard to fathom that if this particular sale is a marketing ploy, that it is about selling Lexus(es?) and not LFAs?

TommyJames

Then why not something else like a LS?

TRDFantasy

Because the LFA is now the halo Lexus vehicle, not the LS. The LS in the past was the halo vehicle for the brand overall, but no longer.

Just by looking at discussions on CL and other forums, the LFA is causing a ton of discussion and interest. Whether it is people who don't like the car or people who do like the car, the point is the LFA is causing a tremendous amount of discussion.

With so much discussion about the LFA, and therefore about Lexus as well, it elevates the spotlight of the brand. More people become familiar with the brand.

The LS, being the vehicle that it is, would never be able to achieve this level of discussion or brand spotlight.

darbs242

iTrader: (5)

She rocked a SLR for a few years and i have seen her in tons of photos driving that... I hate Paris having an LFA to no end but it will give Lexus some publicity that it might not have gotten and it could defiantly be a marketing scam

TommyJames

I don't think familiarity of the brand, or brand status is the issue. It's considered the "top three" among luxury brands in most consumer minds already. Lexus has a particularly weak reputation as a performance marque and while the LFA attempts to change all that, Paris Hilton isn't exactly going to help shape the image in the right direction. If Lexus intends to push the LFA as a luxury performer, that's one thing and I've seen little written that they intend to take the brand in that direction. In fact, most of the focus has been to position the car in the opposite direction. When you think of selling the LFA, is Paris Hilton really the one you this is best to get the job done?

TommyJames

Yea, but where is the SLR today? Resale on those "limited production" cars are in the tank. I wouldn't go so far as calling it a scam. Celebrities have been given "favorable treatment" with luxury goods for hundreds of years. It's just a matter of positioning that I think is the mistake.

05RollaXRS

It was not limited production. It was intended to be a mass produced car. Total of almost 1200 SLRs were built and the production only ended because Mercedes wanted to sell 500 SLR per year and it did not in the 4 year production run.

TommyJames

It bombed. In 2008 I was offered one new from an LA area dealer for a very heavy discount.

TRDFantasy

I'm not talking about familiarity of the brand. To clarify, I'm talking about increased spotlight and status of the brand, which is a bit different.

I'm also talking about this overall, not just specifically with regards to Hilton. Yes, while a lot of people know Lexus, in terms of status it is still regarded by some as not being equal to Benz or BMW.

Hilton herself having an LFA in and of itself may not be a great thing, but it attracts A LOT of media attention. That makes the LFA familiar to a lot of people that may not know about it. Furthermore, it elevates the status of the brand when people see that Lexus has an exotic supercar. Hilton getting one is good mainly in terms of how much media attention this is receiving. For some people, the status of Lexus will increase in their minds, when they find out Lexus has an exotic supercar, and also that a famous celebrity has actually bought one. It increases the status of the brand in the eyes of many.

G Star

iTrader: (2)

Ok, that is based on your theory that Lexus purposely contacted Paris Hilton for a publicity stunt. Unless you know it is a fact, please stop continuing to lay new theories over old ones that are not true or false.

TommyJames

??? When you look at the paragraph you just highlighted, which part of that is theory?