The Lacrosse got a place on Ward's Ten Best Interiors list.....the Avalon and ES didn't.



Cadillac has tried too hard to be BMW, and it has hurt them.

Cadillac has a XT6 competitor for the RX.[/QUOTE]

A typo, Jill.....that's the XT5.

 

Not really a mystery as to why.

"Each year’s field of nominees consists of interiors that are all-new or have been significantly improved from the prior year."

 

For the record.

The 2013 Toyota Avalon is on the list.

 

I think the GS and ES can coexist, but I wouldn't be opposed to seeing more dramatic styling in the GS similar to the A7/BMW GranCoupe/CLS as long as they keep pricing where it is currently. Not much development needs to go into making the GS since they can just use a shortened LS chassis and take the TTV6 along with it. I don't think they will make an ES F-sport...the grille on the spyshots might look like an F-sport grille, but I think Lexus is moving away from the horizontal bar grilles and moving towards an intricate weave grille (as seen in the new LS). They might put in the 3.5L (311 hp) V6 from the GS to keep the ES competitive performance-wise in its class of full-size sedans, but it'll never get the TTV6 because it'll make the ES too similar to the LS. The ES will never be able to replace the GS; the ES is just too big to appeal to everyone. Lexus needs to continue to make the GS so it remains competitive in the midsize luxury segment.

 

Lexus lost a lot of sales with the big mouth spindle front grill. Hopefully they will develop a smaller one.
My doctor brother just bought an Avalon for this reason and
I personally bought a low millage 2013 whose front end is proportional to the rest of the car.

 

Lexus sales have been doing pretty good overall. And that new Avalon has the same big mouth grille as the ES, if not even bigger. But I'm with you in liking the smaller grilles from the not too distant past.

 

not really. And most lost 'sedan' sales have migrated to Lexus s CUVs.

 

Yes. I thought the Avalon had an even bigger mouth than the ES.

 

not sure what you're reading. it's true that the addition of the nx helped lexus a lot. without the nx though, lexus sales have tanked - mostly sedans down (ct, is, gs, ls).

 

Really? I haven't followed the Lexus sales thread for about half a year. They were doing quite well a while ago. If it's tanking, this happens every single time their mainstream sedans reach the end of their careers. Has happened the last three times. I've always said, it would be wise for Lexus to stagger their redesigns, rather than have them all grow old and be redone around the same time.

 

Nah, it's because sedan sales are tanking worldwide. It's the same trend in North America, Europe, China and East Asia and Lexus is lucky to have the NX and RX to ride the wave. CUVs and SUVs are hot right now because people want taller body styles and they're not penalized by higher fuel consumption because gas is cheap. Large luxury sedans still sell in small numbers because large luxury SUVs don't really exist but even then, there's a trend of Audi Q7s and Benz GLs replacing S-classes and 7-series.

 

Chromedome, yes, suv/cuv sales have exploded and some sedans have dropped off, but mainstream sedans like accords, camrys, etc. still sell in giant numbers. As for luxury, i disagree with you that the drop off for lexus is due only to suv/cuvs... it's crazy that genesis g80 outsells lexus gs 2:1 or 3:1, although the gs woes are partly because the es eats a lot of sales. But other non lexus lux sedan sales like mercedes e and s class are still very strong.

 

Actually sales are up, not down. Yes sedan sales are down in favor of SUVs, but that's an industry thing, and isn't due to the grille since the SUVs have the biggest grills of them all.

The Avalon has a huge gaping grill lol

 

Blaming the spindle grill for sedan sales decline is wrong. The ugly RX with its ginormous spindle grill sells like hot cakes. Sedan sales are down because people have migrated to CUVs and the sedans are in clear need of a revamp. The GS sales are abysmal because it's power train options are lacking and the tech is ancient. The IS isn't as bad but they Lexus seems to give it more refreshes than the GS.

 

What tech and powertrain options does the IS have that the GS does not?