I agree.
LS and ES put Lexus on the map. Now it seems like Toyota is uplifting Toyota and letting Lexus die.

So sad.

 

I agree. It’s weird because they’re selling more cars than ever before too.

With the Century becoming it’s own brand above Lexus and GR getting the cool stuff it feels like Lexus will just be a premium SUV/Crossover brand, with the LX and GX still being the kings of the luxury overland world. It feels like they’ve given up on being better than the Germans and are doing their own thing.

 

Lexus is doing better than ever by the numbers, they have achieved their goal of being a premium appliance maker.

They never wanted to be a car maker.

That has been made very clear again and again and again, they even went so far as to deliver the ultimate mockery of those who wished they would push the boundary and really be a top tier brand. The LFA will forever stand as their greatest work and biggest insult to enthusiasts.

 

I'm not too worried about it. They have a lot of popular offerings, quality is there, and reliability and service are still tops.

 

i disagree with the thread title. lexus is certainly a funny brand with shockingly great cars like the LFA and LC but their bread and butter is the cuv / suvs and the ES. the LS ending was sad but really the result of the market changing and lexus was never going directly after the S-Class which is really a tiny market.

lexus is really doing what they always have and doing better than ever. no need to shed tears.

 

I wouldn't say the market is very small or that was never Lexus' goal. Remember Lexus started with the LS and the LS was a direct play to the large german luxury sedan market.

The market for the large luxury sedan has greatly diminished, but that market has moved on to SUVs and THAT is a big market that Lexus ignores. The new luxury sedan is a high end crossover like an X5/X7/RR Sport GLE/GLS/RR and Lexus absolutely could and should play in that market. If they had a proper GA-L platform 2 and 3 row high end crossover they would still be a player against the Germans. They have a great platform and a great engine...its a shame they have abdicated that space for the lower end.

I likely will get an SUV next time and I would love to get a Lexus but my options are to step way down to a FWD Toyota based RX or TX or go BOF in a GX or LX and neither appeal to me. So, the Germans or Range Rover.

 

I humbly disagree with the portion I put in bold. Lexus set out to make perfectly engineered, high-quality cars and later crossovers that undercut the world's finest. Along the way, they turned that perfection-chasing into creating some of the most fun-to-drive vehicles on the market.

That being said, it's very clear that the company has shifted its goals to "luxury adjacent" for almost all of its models, and this strategy towards pretty nice, mid-luxury crossovers and a couple of capable body-on-frame SUVs is working much better than when they were chasing BMW M cars.

 

They always wanted to be a luxury appliance maker that produces sensible, very high quality products.

A car maker does things like BMW, Mercedes, VAG does, totally outrageous non-profitable projects solely because they want to make exceptional cars for people who actually like cars.

They never chased M cars, that's just cope Lexus owners lie to themselves with. If they were actually chasing then their crazy concept cars would have actually hit production and they would have offered a factory supercharged GS/LS to go against the M113K cars etc etc

The much lauded ISF for example is pitifully behind its contemporaries because Lexus didn't fully commit and instead did a parts bin special with a different engine that wasn't something fundamentally different like a ultra high rev V8 with ITBs or a V10

 

I love driving around and "coping" in my IS 500 UE. Coping never felt so good!!!

 

Great to hear!

You try a 340i before choosing the IS? Many people prefer the IS solely due to the engine so it makes sense if you also picked it for that reason. It struggles severely vs cheaper rivals for performance and driving ability though, that's mainly Lexus fault though for continuation of a 20 year old platform and not giving the enthusiasts anything new.

Now the IS is next to die after 15 years of being behind the curve, Lexus could have at least done one major platform update but no. Just a 3rd refresh

 

I bought it for the naturally aspirated V8 engine sound, rwd, steering feel, comfort, buttons instead of all screens, good audio system. We've had faster cars...718 GTS, M550i, 992 Carrera S. I like front engine rwd handling. Front engine rwd cars will only go so fast 0-60. To go much faster you need turbos, awd, mid engine...or all of those. It's just my preference after having those configurations to go back to old school front engine rwd naturally aspirated setup. I find it more playful for street driving.

 

Good to hear it works well for you, did you ever consider one of the manual RWD V8 options?

 

No, but I can only imagine the fun that would be! I drove manual transmissions for my first cars (BMW and Honda) back in the 90's. Just like the ease of an auto now I'm older. FYI, I like your W12 cars!

 

Ah was just curious if it crossed your mind, I've found manual cars to be insanely fun no matter what they are and a high power manual is a riot!

I have a beater Jetta TDI (for weather like this) that if automatic would be the least fun car I have, with the stick it's a group favorite.

A factory manual offering UR engine car would have been awesome to experience.....people have done the swaps but it's rare

 

Who at Lexus hurt you?