we've had this discussion... so the es isn't a real lexus because it's fwd? anyway, not going to happen, tons of people love the es and lexus loves the profits.

could be they throttled back crv production and used the capacity to make new civics?

 

I can't see people looking to buy a SUV will cross shop with a car unless said car has AWD also. Besides I would assume they have higher profit margins on an SUV anyways.

 

not saying it's either/or - while cuv/suv exploding trend is there, sedans aren't going away and the es is very appealing to many who have no interest in an suv. and awd isn't needed in warmer states at least regardless.

yes but that doesn't mean the profits on the es are worth tossing away. the es almost outsells the entire rest of the lexus sedan line-up in model volume, plus it pulls people into dealers who may end up being upsold to other models, even suvs i would say the es is VERY important to lexus.

 

I don't think I'd want to be the guy at the board of directors meeting to suggest getting rid of the ES. "I know we sold 65k last year, and 72k the previous year in the U.S. alone, but I think we can make up that volume on other models". Not gonna happen.

 

they are not getting SUV because it has AWD anyway, so AWD hardly matters...

I would call Jan 2016 sales report as "death of the car" report :-)

Everyone is going to focus on SUVs next... Toyota is missing 2 - small SUV which will be introduced this month in Geneva and start selling in few months in Europe, early next year in the USA, and large 3-row SUV for Lexus... next CT might end up getting SUV version as well.

 

Oh no I was replying to your comment about lowering production on CRV to make more Civic.

 

I remember when I had my RL and people on Acura's forum would also post monthly sales numbers and they would get excited when more than 50 RLs sold in a month lol.

I was never really bothered by the low sales volume of my old car and in fact liked it more the less were sold simply from a selfish rarity perspective. I would hardly ever see another RL and with low sales I was actually kind of happy as the chances of seeing another one didn't go up that much lol.

I feel the same way about my LS. These top-tier sedans, regardless of brand, are always kind of low in volume and I personally love it. SUVs are EVERYWHERE. In fact, I saw three MDXs in a row at a light the other day. Two black ones smashed by a silver MDX in between. It was like a silver Oreo of SUVs. Yeah, no thanks.

 

gotcha. well i wasn't trying to imply there's crossover [sic] shopping there, just that perhaps honda wanted to have a lot of civics in dealers for the launch and something had to give.

 

Nope, because it's an Avalon in fur coat.

 

Ding ding ding

Drop the ES and pour proper resources into the GS.

 

I have been calling for the death of the ES for last 10 years.
Lexus should pour money into GS line and develop A7/CLS/6Series fighter using that chassis.
Lexus could also use GS chassis for a sporty SUV to take on X6, Cayman, SQ5, new GLE.....

 

Don't even get me started.

 

Why would they kill ES? I dont get it. You dont kill car that makes you money. It would make more sense for them to kill GS. Which they wont. So nothing is getting killed.

As to the coupe, I guess they did one better and made LC.

As to the SUVs, what they will do is CTx and TX, within 2 years max. Until they move it to TNGA based platform, Coupe version of RX does not make much sense.

 

If they kill the ES, the buyer base will split itself between the GS and Avalon, with a small net loss of buyers.

I guess it depends on if the ES is a higher profit car than the GS, which would justify them wanting more buyers for ES despite GS' higher price.

 

personally i am not sure if it will be split that way. and if that happens, that won't look good on lexus considering the drop in overall sales number

as much as i don't feel anything about the es, i just don't think it makes sense for lexus to kill it.