DShiekhi

Lexus International's Executive Vice President Discusses the Company's F Line



Mark Templin knows cars. He should. He's been in the automotive industry for decades, having worked for Oldsmobile and Lexus, in particular. He's now the executive vice president of Lexus International.

Read the rest on the ClubLexus.com homepage. >>

S2000toIS350

I have met Krew and he is both a terrific guy and an amazing (informal) brand ambassador for Lexus

I would also say that he was too easy on Templin

The GS-F is likely to get zonked by the press and him saying something like we build F cars the way we want to infers that they operate in a vacuum

I would have loved to hear a tough question about the slower than slow power train development or why they can't put a competitive hard top convertible in the showrooms

I8ABMR

when you are right you are right. Not going to be very objective here. Its like saying we dont worry about the competition , we just build what we like. They killed the ISF, and GSF is not nearly powerful enough to make a splash ( they feel that 200lbs less will make up for the 110+ HP gaps ). People still dont know that the ISF is unique and thats all their marketing department. Poor start to the promotion and evolution F line . Still blows my mind that they got rid of the ISF to make a 2 door that weighs more than my 4 door, and then made a GSF that is a 4 door version of the RCF but then power it with the same motor thats in the 2 door. Therefore killing the entry level, much more functional F option. Rather than a 2nd gen ISF we got a porky 2 door and a weak 4 door. Truth . Not saying the GSF and the RCF are not fun to drive but they are not going to lead ........ever......... and we all know it......and thats what makes it sad.

mk4umha

iTrader: (1)

RC-F has no reason to be 4000 lbs when the GS-F is 4000 lbs. That's a ****up IMO. But other then that, the car is awesome.

cino

iTrader: (1)

Lexus should build a real 2 seater.

Dave600hL

I tend to agree with you here. I loved the IS-F, but I was never able to actually compare what it was like to the C63 , RS4 or the M3, so it is hard to make any real comments of value as to if it really was better than those cars or worse.

But, to me, the GS-F is just not something I would consider over say an M5 or the E63, just not up to the task at all IMO.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Since the RC was a mash up of 4GS, IS C and 3IS chassis, its not too surprising the outcome. Now that the RC exists there is a good chance the IS, RC and GS will consolidate to a lighter weight platform come next generation(s). The important part is the groundwork has been laid and its a good first attempt. Should get better with age

I8ABMR

I just think it would have been better to power a new ISF with the RCF motor and drop a TTV8 in the GSF and potentially LSF. That would have been a better approach rather to kill the entry level very functional ISF. Men buy 70-75k sports cars. Men usually have kids. Kids need back seats. Why is this so hard Lexus ?LOL Im sure they have their reasons for doing what they did. I just dont see them.

Vladi

"Vacuum" is an excuse for being behind the curve on powertrains. All this turbo era caught them by surprise while they were still milking on decade old engines. As a matter of fact I think they just did the math instead to see for how long they could go on with same engines over and over again before suffering in sales. It looks like they are on the breaking point right now and 2.0t is almost right on time to replace the unbelievable 2.5V6 that had no excuse to be in a production past 2010, even if that, let alone in 2015. It's obvious they are late to the turbo party but stipulation and implications are still unknown at this point, we'll see in next three years what will happen with sales and cars.

I understand that F engines are not their priority so that's why they used 5.0 V8 and presented it as some extinct-exotic natural aspired species and its pretty much a placeholder for next gen high performance engine which will definitely com out sometime in the future and that's no problem. Big question is what are their real plans for next big V6 and if its going to be competitive down the line. Is the turbo V6 coming out, if so when. Are they going to pull IS300 on us again by updating a current 3.5 V6 until real replacement comes out for next gen IS or GS or maybe even beyond that. Lexus is in the hot seat with their powertrains as well as transmissions. That 8 speed took almost ten freakin years to spread across the board. Is it due to overstock of 6 speeds that needed to be gone out of inventory or 8 speed requires hefty mods in order to accommodate each model I unknown to me. Their 8 speed is a perfect example how you go from being and innovator moving whole industry forward to warming up a bench.

Hybrid technology is even better example how you go from revolution to stale within a decade. All you have to do is look at GS450h, a performance car that debuted in 2007 with a hefty price due to new technology to GS450h in 2015 that carries the same specs and same price tag even though technology is almost decade old by now. PHEV cars with EV autonomy are not even on the road map so to say they are stagnating is wrong, they are regressing in hybrid technology.

By the time they perfect the turbo game, which they will, industry will move onto something else and I highly doubt it will be hydrogen Toyota is investing in right now. Just like the market moved to PHEVs leaving Toyota in the dust while they were milking on two generation old Prius powertrain.

Dave600hL

I just hope that in my lifetime that big internal combustion engines are not dead. After experiencing the S63, nothing can substitute that growling sound and feel that you get with one.