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i was just thinking the same thing, so i figured i'd troll here and be nosy...i am waiting on the 17/18 model and i am sure there was going to be a new body style and or a major refresh...i am patient. i will not buy another until the new style is released... i am sure it will be hot.
Found a new article that comes from a fairly credible source. According to this article, we have to wait until 2017 for a showcase release, which means the new model could very well be a 2018 MY to be in showrooms in late 2017 (although the article says to buy in May of 17, but that seems like a weird month to introduce a new model year).
Yeah, the estimated release date is weird, although it's just speculation.
If indeed it gets released to dealers in May 2017 as a 2017, that means dealers will be stuck trying to sell 2016 model years in 2017. Or more or less, there will be a lengthy dead period.
Maybe they're estimating release in Japan with a fall release in the states, although that's still a huge dead period.
Actually, as soon as they officially unveil it, from that time until it hits the dealers there will be a dead period of slow sales and deep discounts. So I guess there's no getting around that.
In any case, my lease ends in Dec 2018, which means I could hop into a 2019 model year. Early in the production cycle, but I really want that engine. Or I could extend my lease one year or just buy outright and resell in time for a 2020 MY. Wow, that sounds so far away.
This time, however, I'm getting one fully loaded to the T. I just hope it fits in my garage, if it doesn't, then no go.
The Mag X rendering photo was posted by me (Carmaker1) to Lexus Enthusiast, which Carscoops took and muddled the information.
Originally Posted by Rhambler
Found a new article that comes from a fairly credible source. According to this article, we have to wait until 2017 for a showcase release, which means the new model could very well be a 2018 MY to be in showrooms in late 2017 (although the article says to buy in May of 17, but that seems like a weird month to introduce a new model year).
Credible source? That is laughable.
The very photo above and article that I solely provided to Lexus Enthusiast, which was not public due to "Japanese buyer-only" Mag X customer restrictions. Nobody has access to it, unless you live in Japan or made proper Japanese connections.
Carscoops stole that and also got the facts of it wrong, since that fool of a writer Bogdan Zoltan has no real journalism skills. I had watermarked that with "Carmaker1" for a reason.
If it is not written by the Carscoops founder, John Halas, take it with a grain of salt. His writers often seem to be monkeys at keyboards.
For that matter anyway, the LS is not going on sale in May 2017. It is going into production around that time. I had previously wanted to comment in this thread weeks ago and correct some misunderstandings, plus inform people of the fact once again, that it's a 2018 model year vehicle, due to enter production around May 2017.
Production takes months on such a release, likely targeted for a July-September 2017 market launch. I usually do not comment in this LS sub-forum, but I have stated this in various Car Chat threads.
Originally Posted by SW15LS
Looks more plausible.
It could very well be May, they launched the 2013 GS in Feb of 2012.
As the person that provided that photo to Lexus Enthusiast, it is not being released in May 2017. It is a production start date or JDM order acceptance date. The LS is due in European and North American showrooms in the 3rd quarter of 2017 at earliest.
I have said this in Car Chat a number of times, especially as someone that does work in this industry and has some understanding of Mag X's style of reporting.
Whether it is just that I am not considered credible in the least and it falls on deaf ears, as I never seem to hear anything in response, that confirms we are all on the same page.
Instead one sees the same questions being asked again (MY2017 in 2016), as if no one has tried to provide a sensible explanation or any insight.
Originally Posted by roadfrog
So it'll be a 2018 and not a 2017. I thought the release was supposed to be a MY 17.
Either way, I can't afford one. LOL. But it'll be nice to get my hands on a 12 or 13 after they get traded in for the new models.
I figure you probably do not go into Car Chat often, but I have stated for the better part of a year, that the LS would be due for the 2018 model year and no earlier nor later.
There was inaccurate media speculation last year it would be revealed in Tokyo as a MY17. I refuted that and said last June, it would merely be an LF concept and not ready until mid-2017. The LF-FC was indeed shown as I suspected and the reports from Japan backup my Summer 2017 theory.
Today, we received the very first U.S. spy shots of an LS test mule, a less disguised version of the JDM RHD mules shown last May in Mag X. <br > <br >
<br >
The final body design (not above) for the 200B programme LS would've been approved around July 2014. Executive commentary on the design heated up that month and the LF-FC was in development by September 2014, then full-size clay by December 2014.
I have tried to dispel rumours and expectations for a 2017 model year release, but it has been to no success.
I will post more on this later tonight or tomorrow morning, but will say that much of the American automotive media is utterly clueless on things Lexus out of some unwarranted indifference. Automotive News seems to be the only credible source of information.
Don't let it get to you. You can post stuff time and time again and people don't take it and keep posting the same questions.
Don't take this the wrong way, because I find you very knowledgable and enjoy your posts, but your posts are often so long and verbose my guess is most people stop reading about 1/3rd of the way through so what you say in its entirety never gets across.
In any event...it's the LS forums and everybody enjoys talking about the LS and the future LS and you'll always have fan theories, etc that don't equate to the truth.
Nice, thanks for sharing. I had no idea where the genesis of article came from, other than what was shown in the article.
In any case, the production/release date seems more realistic as the dates indicated in the article seemed strange. The whole reason I made this post to begin with was because if we were to see a 2017 model year, someone, somewhere, in our internet-connected world, should have seen a test mule/spy shot by now. So seeing it now just reaffirms a 2018 model year.
I'm really anxious to see what it looks like now. Based on your comments, the Lexus LF-FC will definitely NOT be it, which frankly I'm relieved because I know that won't fit in my garage, lol. I presumed as much, but didn't know for sure.
I love how they taped on lights. It tells me that light design is a key design element and something they want to guard closely, although I'm sure we can make guesses based on existing themes. I think lights, both front and rear, are important elements and can really showcase a car and set its overall look.
The only thing I would wager at this point is the 5 liter engine. Other than that, I'm really curious and I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Well, if this is real, it doesn't seem like much of a change from the current look. I suppose it is too much to expect a Genesis G90-type refresh. I guess designers tend to be somewhat conservative for the flagship since most of the folks buying the new cars tend to be the older crowd.
I studied the pictures for a little bit and they either did a good job of disguising it or there are a lot of similarities to the existing model.
For example:
1. A, B and C pillars looks almost identical to my car.
2. Rear third brake light looks the same too.
3. Door handles the same, although these could be easily replaced.
4. Front hood looks identical in rake and shape.
Actually it looks almost dead on body wise at least in regards to shape.
The only thing that looks different is the rear end.
So, the only conclusions I can draw are:
1. This test mule doesn't have the new body panels and is using the existing model body panels.
2. There are minimal body changes, maybe some sculpting that isn't easily discernible, with the major changes being lights, interior and engine?
In fact, it could very well look like the illustration. An evolution in design as opposed to an outright revolution. The previous 7 and S class versus the current looks very similar so that theme may continue here.
05-04-16, 03:20 PM
