GRPFAN

Ever wonder how much Lexus and other car makers could save $$$$ if they wouldn't change designs so offend?

I'm talking mostly on the interior. Just about the time they place certain controls, they move them
in another location.
If it isn't broke, why try to fix something that isn't.

I always laugh when I hear a car manufacture ad that say's:
"New for this model year is completely redesign interior."

I say: "Finally, the old interior was 1 year old"..................LOL

How much more can they change??

Or how about tail lights on cars/trucks.
I think they have to be running out of ideas known to man on size/style of tail lights.

Your Thoughts

rxsuperman

It's all about marketing to attract new customers or to counter the fear of losing existing customers sometimes without due diligence on whether the new design is indeed more attractive and useful than the existing design.

BertL

Yes, I agree. Changes are all a trade-off to keep and attract new buyers -- with what it costs the company to profitably grow.

mmarshall

I'm with the OP.......he makes an excellent point.

Too many vehicles, too many times, for too many "reasons", are changed simply for change's sake, when, IMO, it is not needed. That's one reason why so many vehicles, today, compared to past versions, ride stiffer, lack woodtone-trim inside, have thinner/lighter parts, lack such basic things as hood-springs/struts, body-side mouldings and true spare-tires, and have awkwardy-styled front ends with oversize grilles.

vlad_a

Well, my '98 4-Runner had the cruise control in the same place as my '03 IS300. Same goes for the Prius I owned and '13 RX in the garage. Very little need to readjust between Toyota vehicles.
The only change I noticed is the delay dial on the windshield wipers is now the opposite of what it used to be.
Just look at the digital clock that has been there for decades. I don't think Toyota is a manufacturer to complain about changes in interior.

mmarshall

Over the past 10-15 years, Toyota interiors haven't necessarily changed the control type/placements as much as they have the actual interior materials themselves. Compare the durable materials used inside the superb 3Gen Camry (1992-1996), for example, with those in the 2006-2011 version.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Market dictates they want things new and fresh. Not old and stale. I don't always agree with it, but that just happens to be the way it is with no indication of changing

GRPFAN

I'm just pointing out here how "new and fresh" cost everyone in the long run.

I'm sure the interiors in past RX's are holding up very well.

I just wonder how long this can go on or how much more the average buyer will accept continuance price increases over what is proven to work as you say old and stale.

bagwell

great post OP -- these are still perfectly fine cars -- no reason to change

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I'm not sure, I KNOW they're interiors are holding up. The materials used, fit and finish and assembly is top notch on 2004-2009 RX's. Same thing can be said about the ES which reached it's pinnacle in 2006.

L-Finesse though sexier than past design languages brought with it cheaper materials and questionable assembly for interiors as evident from 3GS rattles, 2IS center console trim, 3RX plastics, 2GX plastics.

Fast forward to today and Lexus is a mixed bag. The 4GS bucked the downward trend and rocketed back to the top in terms of near every category for the segment, including winning a best interior award. The newest ES however became even worse in terms of materials and people still buy the car. Frankly they are settling and their poor choices tell Lexus oh hey we can keep getting away with producing crap for our cash cow

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

the problem with nostalgia is it ain't what it used to be.

Sulu

Five or six years between interior design changes (typical for Toyota cars and longer than that for trucks) is too short of a time between design changes? That is the typical length of time between full model changes for many manufacturers' models, including Toyota.

I suppose Toyota could go longer between full model changes (perhaps 6 or 7 years instead of 5 or 6 years) but there are at least 2 factors I can think of that force a manufacturer to fully change a model on a shorter cycle:

1. The first is marketing: Manufacturers must keep their models fresh or lose market share to other manufacturers that have just refreshed their cars.
2. New technology and new regulations: New technologies like lighter-weight, higher-strength metals and plastics, and new infotainment and built-in navigation systems; new drivetrains like new engines (with turbochargers), new transmissions, new hybrid drivetrains; and new regulations like crash test standards and pedestrian safety standards (that dictate that there must be some crush space between the engine and the hood) mean that the structure and body of the car must change to accommodate these changes.

New in-dash technologies like the larger, higher-resolution screens for infotainment and navigation systems will dictate a change to the interior layout. A new body will also dictate a change to the interior.

And 5 or 6 years between changes is quite a long time compared to the 1950s and early 1960s, when Chevrolet and Ford made exterior styling changes every 1 or 2 years.

Finally, as other have already said, Toyota does not tend to change as often as some of its competitors. Toyota's cruise control lever at the 4-o'clock position of the steering column has been the same lever in the same position for 20+ years now (and the same lever is used on all its models). Honda changes their cruise control design with every model change. Toyota's exterior door handles also have not changed in 10+ years (although there are a number of different models of handles), whereas Honda changes their door handles with every full model change.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

with sales sagging in the market, I think its too expensive to have these 5 year redesigns on luxury models and instead to opt for heavy mid life refreshes

SNiiP3R

iTrader: (3)

I almost fell off my chair........

mmarshall

Yeah....though change is not always necessary, sometimes resistance to it can get carried a little too far. Henry Ford once said of the famous Model T..."You can have it in any color you want, as long as it's black" (Ford, at that time, had trouble with paint drying correctly in traditional colors). Also, on Henry's insistance, mechanical brake-actuation stayed on production Fords too long (1939) before changing over to hydraulic lines.