There's been no problem bringing out the RC when they did. They needed a sporty two-door, which everyone else already has and uses for brand recognition. Having the 3-row SUV is obviously needed, but hardly makes a difference whether it beats the coupe to the market or not. Both were needed and Lexus delivered on one, as they should have.

As far as gas prices, they are still inflated and certainly not affordable here in CA (still almost $4/gallon for premium). So there's some consolation not bringing out another low-mpg vehicle right away.

And I disagree with Lentz about not offering lesser, near-luxury cars. They help the brand, not hurt. MBZ, Audi, and BMW are all enjoying success with their entry models. If they are done right, they enhance the brand. Maybe he's forgetting the CT, or has a bad taste in his mouth due to that model's struggle to reach customers (hatches are a bad idea for luxury cars).

 

Toyota has so much money it can probably build 3 coupe dedicated chassis right now if they wanted without compromising profits. But they like cents and dimes and its obvious as a sky that RC is a compromise between Toyota board and Lexus enthusiasts. For Christ's sake they even made it convertible proof in case they decide to do the drop top variation. Just watch next gen mid size Toyota RWD coupe sitting on the platform of its own.

When it comes to CUV market one of the reason if not the biggest one why Lexus holds the whole market by the cojones is because they took the risk and created the market by debuting RX. Before them there were no luxury CUVs so they didn't go out asking people how would they like to improve their Audi Q3 or X3. They might have sensed that people would prefer more posh SUV instead of crude Land Cruisers, Pajeros , Discoveries and what not/

And as far as the 3 row seater goes they had HPX debut ten years ago and they didn't do nothing about. Someone was afraid to push play thus costing them to enter the market late.

 

Sporty cars bring people into the dealership. Even if they are looking for a big family hauler. People want the car they buy to be associated with the special cars that brand sells.
Then we have the people who really like sporty cars come for a look. They want to know how our sporty car stacks up against the others.
Then there are the sporty car buyers. There are still lots of coupe lovers out there and if Lexus doesn't have one, someone else will.
I sell cars. I can tell you the RC brings in lots of curious people. Many end up buying a GS or IS but really wanted the RC. Then there are the families that come in for an RX but the dad just wants to get a look at that RC he read about. Lentz is crazy if he doesn't believe the RC is important for Lexus sales.

 

It is about getting bodies into the showroom. If there are no bodies in the showroom, how do you sell?

And it is not just the Dads. It is also the boys (and girls) who are attracted by the fire-engine- / Ferrari-red sports cars or convertibles. I probably would not have spent as much time in the showroom if my young son did not want to sit in the IS 350C convertible and operate the roof.

 

Exactly! What do CLS/CL in Mercedes line up do? Certainly not direct sales numbers I can tell you that. They get people in the showroom, spike their excitement and assure them they made a right choice by picking up that medium trim E-class. So what do they do? Indirect sales numbers! They are support products for E and S just like RC is a support product for IS/GS combo. If LFA was around and in non limited production numbers then LFA itself would generate RC sales.

 

the whole idea about "i told you so" sometimes just doesn't work well enough

i hope they will react well

 

Absolutely. The ES proved that. So did the BMW 3-series. So did the 2Gen CTS. And now the C-Class and Audi A4 are also doing it.

 

I don't blame them for the coupe first. Both models are needed if they have any intent to sell against rivals. They know the TX needs to exist, hopefully it won't be too long

 

Well you can sell all the crossovers you want if the market demands it. You can even price them right up there with other premium brands if you can convince enough buyers that the leather, wood and "L" logo is worth it.

The Lexus brand is basically three things: upmarket reliability, luxury and smoothness.

But if you want to play in the Germans' backyard, then you have to go back to your roots which is pricing. When that first LS400 came to the U.S. it was priced well below its German competition.

Sure it was an S class knockoff, but it was a better Benz than the car it copied. Rich people decided that a $20,000 discount might be worth it.

The RC F is not going to stir the auto writers' souls but then they're looking at the price and seeing M4 sticker shock.

A three row crossover? IMHO just buy a Sienna awd and you're done. Most 4wd vehicles rarely see a dirt road or a muddy rut.

 

To further show how important sporty cars are with indirect sales, we have an LFA in our showroom. Men. women and kids all flock to it. They are impressed Lexus has this car. They learn something they didn't know....that Lexus has a halo car the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini. They learn the LFA DNA flows through the brand to the other models. It does impact sales and for good reason.
BMW and Mercedes sell coupes. So does Audi. Why wouldn't we do the same? It's a no brainer.

 

I respect the fact that you work at a Lexus dealership (or are somehow connected to one), but how do you KNOW that having an LFA in the showroom is affecting sales? Did you track sales before and after the LFA was delivered? Sure, the LF-A provides the image of a halo car in the likes of Ferrari and Lambo, but just how that translates into more sales of ordinary ES, IS, GS, RX, etc...models seems unclear, at least to me. The Acura NSX, the Nissan Skyline/GT-R, and the Ford GT, in showrooms (all three of them clearly halo-cars), didn't seem to make much difference in sales for their companies.

 

Have another look at a 1989 LS and a 1989 S-Class. The S-Class was an old fashioned car dragging on from 1981. The LS was far more modern and looked nothing like it. Then 2 years later, MB introduces an all new S-Class looking much closer to the 1989 LS than did the 89 S. So who was copying who again?

 

LOW GAS PRICES?

says who?
we're back up to $4 already

 

Absolutely. Its a cycle of idiots, gas prices go down once in a blue moon people run to get full size SUVs, prices go back up within a quarter they rush to get rid of them for a fraction of a purchased price. How come Lexus didn't see this trend repeating over and over for last decade and introduced a proper hybrid LX or something. If there was one vehicle that would benefit from hybrid setup its LX, I remember posting about it when current LX gen debuted.

But again what's scary in Lentz's interview is the way he implies how this was a choice between three row SUV and two door car. I mean you cant tell me that Toyota cant develop the both at the same time.

 

The national average is $2.65/ gal.

You have your wacko liberal California government to thank for $4/gal gas. That's taxes and the requirement of having all these different blends.