As far as I know, every Lexus made says "Made by Toyota Motor Corp" on the door jam

 

Steve means there are two tiers of Lexus, the ones sharing platforms with Toyota, ES/RC/NX. And then Lexus unique platforms like GS/LX. Having owned many of them, I can clearly tell there are certain difference between them.

 

^^
Is this what you were intending to state?

 

No, every "Lexus" is a "Lexus"...theres no "fake Lexus", its just like blacksc400 said, there are two tiers of Lexus vehicles and they compare to different competing manufacturers vehicles, which causes confusion about what sorts of vehicles "Lexus" compares to. The ES for instance (I've had two ESs by the way, this is not a disparagement of the ES) competes with near luxury and non luxury brands, such as Lincoln with the MKZ, Acura, Volvo, Buick, even Toyota itself with the Avalon, Chevrolet with upmarket Impalas, Kia and Hyundai... when you look at Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, they don't have a vehicle that competes with the ES....only near luxury and nonluxury brands do...if you compare an ES to what is comparable sizewise in those companies lineups you wind up with an E Class, 5 Series, A6, XF, those cars are significantly better cars for significantly more money...if you're looking for a FWD entry level luxury sedan for $45,000, you have to look to Buick, Lincoln, Kia, etc.

Same is true of the RX, for example. It compares well with other FWD based crossovers...but where do we find those sorts of vehicles? Gotta look to the same manufacturers, Acura, Buick, Lincoln, Volvo...when you compare an RX to say a BMW X5 or a Mercedes GLE, those vehicles are much better for more money.

When you get into the Lexus only platforms like the IS, GS, LS you find that they compete only with what you find from full luxury brands like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar, etc.

Thats why there will always be a question as to whether Lexus really 100% competes with those brands, because the lower end of the lineup lives in a different circle. People look at an LS, and what they envision is that consumer cross shopping an ES with a Buick Lacrosse and it makes them take pause...

 

There should be a difference from a GS platform or LX platform compared to a ES or NX platform, if one can't tell the difference than Toyota is doing something wrong with their higher tiered cars. . After all the price point is much higher. As for the platform sharing, I do not see it as that big a deal, the higher priced Lexus models share parts from lower priced Toyota models. The LX uses the same exact engine as the one the in the Tundra regular cab 2WD and the Tundra 4.6 is pretty much the same as the LS engine except it does not have some of the tech that LS has. What is most unfortunate for the higher priced Lexus models is that their platforms and engines are so damn old, that reminiscent of the type of thing GM used to do.

This new LC is exciting as its a new Lexus on a new platform at the higher tier.

 

Look at it as a lower tier if you wish, but I see the CT, ES, NX and RX as the entry-level models to the Lexus brand, and it is something that all the luxury brands are doing now, including the Germans.

Audi has its A3, which shares its transverse-engine platform with the VW Golf.

Mercedes-Benz has been selling its FWD A- and B-Class cars, and its tiny Smart Fortwo for 20 years now; as these new FWD cars are introduced they are sharing components -- even a platform (Fortwo) -- with Renault-Nissan.

BMW's small models now share a FWD platform with their MINI brand.

So why all the crying about platform sharing? All brands are doing it now, and must do it, due to the extremely high cost of modern automotive engineering.

 

This is the perfect way to put it.

 

I'm not crying about it, I'm just saying it's going to always give Lexus' detractors ammunition for their argument that Lexus doesn't really have that same level of prestige.

At the end of the day it's about making money and selling cars though. And they sell a ton of these cars and make a ton of money, so it's not likely to change.

 

In other news, Lexus has been consistently boosting the LC hybrid advertisements on Facebook. Looks like they're building up for something.

I do hope the Hybrid version is more affordable than the v8, that is the one I am preferring right now, if not the v8 sounds good too.

For anybody that has driven the LC (rominl or others) did you guys notice interior sound funneling from engine/exhaust sounds?

 

Yes that is 100% correct. But Toyota still has not updated some of their top tier Lexus platforms which is a bit of disappointment. LS460 and LX570 date back to 2007/2008 model years.

 

Tough call. But if you look at the spec sheet (what has been released so far). It looks as though the entry level V8 version has less options than the entry level hybrid version. But the performance of the V8 is still a bit ahead of the hybrid. It should be interesting.

 

And if you notice, their December to Remember commercials feature a red LC in the middle of other white Lexus models at the last frame.

 

I still don't understand the hybrid in a top tier flagship car costing near $100k. Perhaps the price befuddles me. When the batteryjuice runs out you're left with a $100k car with a weak 250hp V6, presumably these will be driven hard and petal to the metal, how long will the battery power boost last to maintain performance befitting of this level of a car? This engine makes sense in an RX or GS or even LS, but the RC...I just don't understand.

 

Situman

My take on why hybrid is:

Lexus has woven hybrid models into their line up for a long time and it is an extension of their Toyota DNA

The hybrid provides a something extra to the customer. You get the gas mileage improvement, you get the performance boost above the ice, you get the fun feeling that happens when you are running on juice alone (kind of a strange one but as a owner of a Q50S hybrid and an NSX I can assure you that the feeling is real), you get the sense that you are using some forward thinking tech.

We all understand that with the LC you are paying for a lot for less performance in the hybrid. Some LC customers are going to be more about the exquisite experience of seeing, driving, riding in the LC than how fast you can burn out the rear tires.

 

i can't wait for the new lexus lc. does anyone know how much HP it will have. and if there's gonna be an LC F