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I HIGHLY doubt Lexus is going to change the formula on the ES. That has always been a great seller for them, and very profitable basing it on the Camry chassis with the Camry engines/drivetrains. Besides they spent a bunch of $$$$ tooling it to move production from Japan to the Kentucky Camry factory, I think they're committed to building the ES there on the same line.
As for the headrests, its a testing mule, they put parts from other cars in there that won't be seen on the final car just to get it on the road and test other systems not related to the seats/headrests.
I will say the camo tailights are rather interesting. I'm sure we aren't going back to 50's Cadillacs in terms of tailight design, I'm sure its a red herring to hide the real styling of the rear end/tailights.
Fair enough. But the past formula was for Lexus to build the ES off the smaller Camry chassis and not the larger Avalon size. And they were always built in Japan. Now in the USA. So Lexus has in essence gone away from the classic ES formula.
There has to be some inside engineer joke to them putting on such whimsical headlights and taillights! That is just outrageous and unlike any detail I've ever seen on any test mule!
Fair enough. But the past formula was for Lexus to build the ES off the smaller Camry chassis and not the larger Avalon size. And they were always built in Japan. Now in the USA. So Lexus has in essence gone away from the classic ES formula.
Actually I think going to the larger Avalon platform was the right idea. I remember back in winter of 1999/2000, I was 15 and we were family car shopping, kind of a rare occurrence as my folks were the type to buy a new car every 10 years and straight up wear out the old one before buying another new car. Anyways, we had narrowed it down to a Toyota Avalon or a Lexus ES300. The ES300 was like 8k more than a basic Avalon with very nice cloth seats(parents weren't much on fancy options like leather, auto climate control, etc). They both drove about the same, the Avalon had WAY more space in it, so we went with the Avalon. The ES did have nicer trim inside, nice leather, nice wood, cool gauges, but it wasn't worth the extra $8,000, especially when you considered that it was way smaller inside with a smaller trunk. Honestly if it were as big as the Avalon, we might have bought the ES instead.
I HIGHLY doubt Lexus is going to change the formula on the ES. That has always been a great seller for them, and very profitable basing it on the Camry chassis with the Camry engines/drivetrains. Besides they spent a bunch of $$$$ tooling it to move production from Japan to the Kentucky Camry factory, I think they're committed to building the ES there on the same line.
If the popular ES went RWD, that would make the already slow-selling GS redundant and Lexus would really have no choice but to kill the GS. But I don't think that it would be that simple. The ES is successful as an entry-level, aspirational vehicle for those who have owned and happy with the Camry or Avalon, but would not mind an easy step up to a Lexus. Making the ES RWD would move it out of this entry-level niche.
Originally Posted by Aron9000
I will say the camo tailights are rather interesting. I'm sure we aren't going back to 50's Cadillacs in terms of tailight design, I'm sure its a red herring to hide the real styling of the rear end/tailights.
Those headlights and taillights are just temporary, testmule pieces. By using these pieces, the real headlights and taillights can remain hidden behind the camouflage. Otherwise, there would have to be some semi-transparent mesh over the lights or the camouflage cut to allow the lights to shine through.
Originally Posted by LexsCTJill
Fair enough. But the past formula was for Lexus to build the ES off the smaller Camry chassis and not the larger Avalon size. And they were always built in Japan. Now in the USA. So Lexus has in essence gone away from the classic ES formula.
The Avalon and ES (just like the Highlander and the RX) are all built off the Camry platform; there is NO separate platform for the Avalon or the ES (or Highlander or RX). A successful platform can support a range of different wheelbase and body lengths.
Although the Avalon and the ES share a similar wheelbase, I do not believe that they are a common floorpan. The ES has greater rear legroom, but less hiproom and trunkroom than the Avalon; it looks like the rear seat in the ES has been moved further back than the Avalon. Platform does not equate to floorpan.
Lexus has merely lengthened the wheelbase of the ES; it still shares a platform with the Camry.
obviously the head/tail lights are a big part of a car's attraction these days, so lexus doesn't want to give away the reveal, but has to have lights on it. with LED designs these days, there would be no way to 'tape them up' and not give it away.
The brakes and some fender/body lines reminiscent of the LF-FC are kind of a give away to a short wheelbase 5LS. The wheels are pretty darn close to those IS300 ones...
Last edited by Hoovey689; Jul 28, 2016 at 03:55 PM.
The proportions are beautiful! I hope Lexus can get the details and execution right with their flagship car. Otherwise with the pace of industry nowadays, I feel like Lexus will be pushed to develop the 6LS after a shorter 4 year cycle.
The brakes and some fender/body lines reminiscent of the LF-FC are kind of a give away to a short wheelbase 5LS. The wheels are pretty darn close to those IS300 ones...
Did you mean a later version of the IS? The original IS300 (I owned one) came with either 5 or 6-spoke alloys, depending on tire-package...not the 10-spoke wheel you show here.
Must be an inside joke or something among the engineers. It's a good use of a disguise! It looks like a Morgan (If Morgan was to build a 4-door sedan) with those temporary exterior lights.
Must be an inside joke or something among the engineers. It's a good use of a disguise! It looks like a Morgan (If Morgan was to build a 4-door sedan) with those temporary exterior lights.
Yes, the old cat-and-mouse game of digsuising-while-testing goes on forever, but it's unusual to see it carried out to that extent.
