Future RXs and GX! Have U heard about this!!!!
05-30-12, 01:16 PM
#1
Driver
Thread Starter
Future RXs and GX! Have U heard about this!!!!
While I was at the Lexus Dealership special ordering my 2013 RX AWD, I was told that Lexus will be coming up with two versions of RXs, one larger than 2013 and one smaller than current version in the next 2 years. Also told that Lexus is seriously considering discontinuing GX models when they have two versions of Rxs! Has anyone aware of this formally? Just curious.
05-30-12, 01:33 PM
#3
There are reports saying the next generation of GX will be car-based instead of truck-based so that can be said as the larger version of the RX - like 3-rows RX. Also, there is reports that Lexus will make a smaller RX. So that what your salemen may have meant.
05-30-12, 05:35 PM
#4
So, are you saying that they will no longer make a car the size of the current (and all the past) RX's?
Why would they mess with their best seller? Hopefully, I am just misinterpreting the OP.
Why would they mess with their best seller? Hopefully, I am just misinterpreting the OP.
05-30-12, 06:53 PM
#5
Moderator
Yes, other posts here on Club Lexus in the last few weeks about a smaller RX in addition to what we know today. Not new speculation. :-). While my new RX450h should be here in the next week or so, I for one would be very interested in a smaller version. I came from a RAV4 to my first RX300 many moons ago and would still love to have a SUV that is just a bit smaller.
Trending Topics
05-30-12, 11:30 PM
#8
Lexus Test Driver
Lexus is considering moving the next-generation GX to unibody car platform and away from its truck body-on-frame underpinnings, Lexus general manager Mark Templin told Wards Auto:
“There is a potential that at some point, when we replace the GX, we can have a car-based SUV,” Mark Templin, group vice president and general manager for Lexus in the U.S., says here during a recent ’13 ES 350 media event.
Lexus has been debating for years a 3-row, unibody, cross/utility vehicle, Templin notes. But the success of the 3-row, body-on-frame GX SUV tempered that talk, he says.
“We were so successful with the GX, nobody wanted to lose the GX.”
It’s not that the GX has no place in the Lexus lineup, but rather that it occupies a position better suited to a different vehicle — there are exceptions to the rule, of course, but the majority of GX buyers have no intention of taking their $50k+ SUV offroading, and would likely be happy to trade that functionality for improved fuel economy and ride comfort.
Something that has always stood in the way of a seven-seat unibody crossover is the RX — a fact that Mark Templin confirms:
“The RX kind of covers a big swath of the marketplace,” Templin says. “We compete with a lot of those smaller CUVs on price point, so we look like a really good value.”
Templin contends the RX also has appealed to those who may shop bigger, 3-row competitors but “don’t necessarily have to have a third-row seat.”
This is a strategy that has made sense for years, but it’s now impossible to ignore the success of 3-row CUVs from Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and now Infiniti with their new JX — adding a model to compete against these vehicles may draw customers away from the RX, but at least they would be staying in the Lexus family.
“There is a potential that at some point, when we replace the GX, we can have a car-based SUV,” Mark Templin, group vice president and general manager for Lexus in the U.S., says here during a recent ’13 ES 350 media event.
Lexus has been debating for years a 3-row, unibody, cross/utility vehicle, Templin notes. But the success of the 3-row, body-on-frame GX SUV tempered that talk, he says.
“We were so successful with the GX, nobody wanted to lose the GX.”
It’s not that the GX has no place in the Lexus lineup, but rather that it occupies a position better suited to a different vehicle — there are exceptions to the rule, of course, but the majority of GX buyers have no intention of taking their $50k+ SUV offroading, and would likely be happy to trade that functionality for improved fuel economy and ride comfort.
Something that has always stood in the way of a seven-seat unibody crossover is the RX — a fact that Mark Templin confirms:
“The RX kind of covers a big swath of the marketplace,” Templin says. “We compete with a lot of those smaller CUVs on price point, so we look like a really good value.”
Templin contends the RX also has appealed to those who may shop bigger, 3-row competitors but “don’t necessarily have to have a third-row seat.”
This is a strategy that has made sense for years, but it’s now impossible to ignore the success of 3-row CUVs from Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and now Infiniti with their new JX — adding a model to compete against these vehicles may draw customers away from the RX, but at least they would be staying in the Lexus family.
05-31-12, 03:48 AM
#10
Driver
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: DE
Posts: 139
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Like I have said before, and it is the reason I might wait two more years before buying myself a rx.
A total remodel is coming. IMO Lexus is experimenting with the release of the new front design for the 2013, and depending on how well it is received, they will more likely change it up a bit more when the car gets a total makeover down to the engine in a few years.
I talked to a dealer and he expects a total remodel in the year 2014 (two years from now).
He also expects a 3 seat version and the f sport to remain its size or smaller. He expects all new engines in the rx as well.
He also expects the AFS to return to the RX maybe as soon as next year.
If I was Lexus I would make three models.
The standard size rx we see today, a smaller f sport, and a slightly bigger 3 seater rx.
But thats just me.
A total remodel is coming. IMO Lexus is experimenting with the release of the new front design for the 2013, and depending on how well it is received, they will more likely change it up a bit more when the car gets a total makeover down to the engine in a few years.
I talked to a dealer and he expects a total remodel in the year 2014 (two years from now).
He also expects a 3 seat version and the f sport to remain its size or smaller. He expects all new engines in the rx as well.
He also expects the AFS to return to the RX maybe as soon as next year.
If I was Lexus I would make three models.
The standard size rx we see today, a smaller f sport, and a slightly bigger 3 seater rx.
But thats just me.
05-31-12, 05:47 AM
#12
I don't think lexus is going to renew the RX350 by 2014 considering the demand and popularity amongst the age group of owners are high and sales are always above. IMO its a big mistake to redesign so soon, maybe they will launch a more compact rx350 in the next 2 years but and the current GGL10-15 will still be in the market.
05-31-12, 06:30 AM
#13
Driver
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: DE
Posts: 139
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't think lexus is going to renew the RX350 by 2014 considering the demand and popularity amongst the age group of owners are high and sales are always above. IMO its a big mistake to redesign so soon, maybe they will launch a more compact rx350 in the next 2 years but and the current GGL10-15 will still be in the market.
They already redesigned the front a bit, so IMO adding a new engine and tweeking the front and interior a bit due to the reviews and feedback they are getting on the 2013 RX for the 2015 or 2016 model wouldn't surprise me one bit. A matter of fact one of the dealers I've been dealing with in NJ, expects it.
I would be surprised to see the current size rx disappear.
Like I stated above, I'm guessing there will be 3 models of rx.
The current rx 350, a extended rx 350 with a 3rd row seat, and a smaller sportier rx f sport version.
Thats my guess from what I heard.
05-31-12, 06:36 AM
#14
The NEW model will be here early 2015 as 2016 model.
05-31-12, 07:13 AM
#15
Driver
Thread Starter
Many thanks for all the feedbacks. Just to share what triggered me to think from the flash went through my mind whether by introducing the rumored CX, based on the CT200h Lexus was signaling us something about their future visions of reengineering concepts?
One can not rule out that Lexus if they diverge to smaller versions of SUV or crossover “unibody” construction, one of their focuses could potentially be to other territories apart from the United States where they are currently lacking their “front-runner” status. This includes Europe and many other emerging Asian markets. However I wonder whether Lexus could penetrate such markets just by modulating the sizing of the vehicle and leaving a vacuum for a diesel engine concept that has proven more torque than the petrol equivalent meaning fewer gear changes and lots of overtaking flexibility in the type of traffic and utilization in those countries. Can anyone envision a diesel powered version from Lexus sooner or later? Just a thought!
Coming back please listen to the following statement from Lexus. “We have been very slow to come to the market with a downsized SUV,” Andy Pfeiffenberger, vice president of Lexus Europe said. “This is an area of our range that you will see develop over the next few years.” Not to mention, such an announcement comes amid an already-evolving Lexus lineup that doesn’t currently compete with the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Range Rover Evoque. Pfeiffenberger didn’t elaborate on what Lexus engineers might be working on, but it will probably be an embodiment of the rumored CX, based on the CT200h. We’ve been expecting something like this form Lexus for a while, but the RX does such a good job of slotting between SUVs like the BMW X3 and X5 that it’s understandable why the automaker doesn’t seem to be in a rush.
One can not rule out that Lexus if they diverge to smaller versions of SUV or crossover “unibody” construction, one of their focuses could potentially be to other territories apart from the United States where they are currently lacking their “front-runner” status. This includes Europe and many other emerging Asian markets. However I wonder whether Lexus could penetrate such markets just by modulating the sizing of the vehicle and leaving a vacuum for a diesel engine concept that has proven more torque than the petrol equivalent meaning fewer gear changes and lots of overtaking flexibility in the type of traffic and utilization in those countries. Can anyone envision a diesel powered version from Lexus sooner or later? Just a thought!
Coming back please listen to the following statement from Lexus. “We have been very slow to come to the market with a downsized SUV,” Andy Pfeiffenberger, vice president of Lexus Europe said. “This is an area of our range that you will see develop over the next few years.” Not to mention, such an announcement comes amid an already-evolving Lexus lineup that doesn’t currently compete with the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Range Rover Evoque. Pfeiffenberger didn’t elaborate on what Lexus engineers might be working on, but it will probably be an embodiment of the rumored CX, based on the CT200h. We’ve been expecting something like this form Lexus for a while, but the RX does such a good job of slotting between SUVs like the BMW X3 and X5 that it’s understandable why the automaker doesn’t seem to be in a rush.
Last edited by hkochat; 05-31-12 at 07:41 AM.
