GS is in it's last year right? I'm pretty much sure internal redesign discussion has been sealed way before facelift but we have to find out what is the outcome. I still think redesign came at least one year too late to make the car relevant again. Anyway it's not GS that worries me, it's RC. That car has managed to drop by 65% in two model years and it still has four more to go. Numbers will be embarrassing by the time redesign is due. I just hope they will introduce the facelift together with the convertible for the next year to save the sales. Unlike GS I am certain RC is locked for next generation due to platform change so they will give it another shot.

 

I would expect the current GS to be offered through the 18 model year, which would be a six year life cycle.

 

On another Lexus forum there are claims that the car will not be proceeding with another generation.

 

This is interesting, even if they get rid of the GS there has to be a premium sport sedan. GS is a great car and needs a 4 door coupe shape especially since its selling in such low volume.

 

ES Fsport in AWD will sell a ton.

i think the Genesis will benefit greatly from lack of GS.

4 door coupes only make sense if you have a volume midsize sedan to base the car on, then just add $10k to base price and lower the roof: pure profit.

 

I too have read the forum about the next gen GS development halt, and it's a sad thought. If it does come true, my GS may be the first lease I've had that I decide to buy out and keep.

 

We can show all the sales reports we want but it still doesn't answer the question why is Lexus at such a lull? It's not just the GS model, look at the re design IS people are not buying them like they did in 2006 and 2007. I can still remember that excitement back in 2006 on this very forum, it seemed liked everyone wanted the new IS. The forum was a buzz and 2 one 3 pages were all today's posts. I was part of that buzz and waited till 2007 to purchase my IS. Today there is not that excitement. How can Lexus get back to that time of excitement?

 

Xanadu, i think the answer is competition.

 

Honestly, lifecycle of 7 years doesn't make sense anymore. Not even Germans can hold onto 7 years without being affected let alone Lexus who really suffers at this point.

Since modular platform will be pretty much the same all over the board why not change the sheet metal and chassis tuning every 5 years instead of facelifts? Building a car will just get easier and simpler by the day so something like this could happen. I know Lexus tried some tick-tock strategy before, introduce the new model and then introduce the new engines down the line but that really didn't work out for them or it only worked for single model out of whole lineup. Again, today this kind of strategy could work.

 

To be fair, 2006 and 2007 were the years of peak luxury car. It's amazing to see how many fewer models were offered by the luxury car brands yet sales were sky high. People were buying S-class's and LS's with abandon. The economy crash changed things.

 

Maybe but the ES350 Crafted Line was ridiculous.
Actually I didn't like the trim in all models but the ES and LS were the worst..

 

The only sedan that sells in numbers from Lexus seems to be the ES, which is a great vehicle, but is still going on that Camry platform. The smart money short term move would be to eliminate the GS, IS, LS and leave the SUVS front and center. However, short terms moves have a 3 part problem; one what Lexus be without a couple of slow sellers. Two, what would lexus's new found SPORT corporate image be without a RWD entry, mid, high end sedans. Three, suppose gas prices went up through the roof, and the whole suv demand went flat.

At the end of the day, its all business as usual, some models sell well during a certain time period, while others dont. Its normal.

Plus I dont know why, but Lexus although being a massive player in the auto industry doesnt play ball like say BMW with their leasing strategies.

 

Few people with product design experience have told me you need a support from variety of different products in order to sell and one or two products that make you profits. Don't know how true is that in auto business but just having a look at BMW and their 3 series strategy that consists of a sedan, coupe, four door coupe, wagon, CUV and convertible tells me their huge sales numbers are not there by accident. And then you have stand alone IS sedan. Well now you have RC that is a great coupe but it's missing a link to IS somehow.

This is just a brainstorming but what if Lexus could somehow consolidate IS/RC/NX into one line (models should not necessarily carry the same name like MB) but have them instantly recognizable as a segment in terms of looks, little details and the way they drive, but keep 'em individual enough from each other (RC doesn't have to be a chopped rear doors IS like BMW 4). Market them together as a family of entry luxury products, even debut them together. Then have RX, GS and some sports utility as another more upscale family and LS, LC, LX as another and so on. Kind of like making the clear distinction between classes or families in terms of what you get. Naming them would be a challenge if you want to have them as their own stable within the lineup but something like this could work: IS300, RC300, NX300 where the number would note have anything to do with the engine but with the positioning in the overall lineup.

 

The thing with BMW is that yes, they took chances but they also are a established player who can afford to. With Lexus its always been an uphill battle to make it in the big leagues. One of those ways is throwing in their own cash on the backs of leases, which BMW loves to do. In previous years, Lexus GSes were leasing about the same as a mid decked out 7 series hybrid.

 

and 2006 was the low point for the gs with the 'one year' 3rd gen gs300, followed the nxt year by the gs350.

Not for the s class that's still selling great.

about lexus vs others, things have (obviously) changed...
in the '90s and 00's lexus was head and shoulders above others in quality, reliability, value and in many cases, innovation.
now in the '10s can we say they're ahead in any of these?

toyota took a LOT of risks to get into the game and do so well in the first two decades but in the past decade they've either played it safe or taken risks primarily in styling only, which is VERY risky in the luxury segment. and as we know the lifecycle for the ls, lx, gx and es maybe has been ridiculously long. just sticking a spindle grill on everything isn't enough, and sometimes even detracts.

Bottom line, the old competition has caught up and expanded their product lines and there's new competitors. Lexus must step up their game.
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