Lexus front ends... will they change soon?
10-15-17, 01:38 PM
#1
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Lexus front ends... will they change soon?
So you think maybe 2019 Lexus will lose that ugly front end grill etc. ? Its like a step kid that wore out his welcome, they have had that ugly thing for soooo many years now, how will we know what year car it is your looking at? So its like buying a new luxury car that looks 5 years old. If they are going to do that at least make it look like a good old car, say a 1990 LS400.
10-15-17, 02:37 PM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
I personally happen to agree with dicer that, in general, the spindle-grilles look like s*** , especially the huge gaping one on the latest RX. But we also have to respect the views of those like yardie876 who like them, as, of course, styling is usually a matter of subjectivity. Even for me, the spindle-grilles, while undesirable, aren't necessarily a deal-breaker. For example, I strongly considered a new Lexus ES350 before settling on a Buick Lacrosse...though the ES's spindle is somewhat more muted and toned-down than that of the RX, which hits you like a Halloween mask. And, objectively, one cannot argue that they have significantly affected sales, either...the RX continues to sell, spindle or no spindle. True, some of that is due to the general popularity of SUVs, and sales of sedans, in general, are down no matter what kind of grille they have.....people just aren't buying sedans as much.
So.....as to the specific question of whether they will disappear in 2019, that is a moot point, since even if the designers decided to get rid of them, they cannot disappear until the next-generation at the earliest, and Lexus vehicles usually run multi-year cycles before they are redesigned....and they aren't all redesigned at once. So, my strong guess is no.....we'll continue to see the spindles, though perhaps in more muted forms, as Lexus vehicles are redesigned. Acura basically did the same thing....they toned down the parrot-beak grilles in stages, not all at once.
So.....as to the specific question of whether they will disappear in 2019, that is a moot point, since even if the designers decided to get rid of them, they cannot disappear until the next-generation at the earliest, and Lexus vehicles usually run multi-year cycles before they are redesigned....and they aren't all redesigned at once. So, my strong guess is no.....we'll continue to see the spindles, though perhaps in more muted forms, as Lexus vehicles are redesigned. Acura basically did the same thing....they toned down the parrot-beak grilles in stages, not all at once.
Last edited by mmarshall; 10-15-17 at 02:43 PM.
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10-15-17, 04:35 PM
#10
Lexus Test Driver
I don't how many times this question pops up and the thread eventually gets closed. Perhaps they are just bots and trolls paid by the competitors to keep this topic up on the search engines.
General question: Do trolls and shills get paid by word count for every reply?
General question: Do trolls and shills get paid by word count for every reply?
Last edited by My0gr81; 10-15-17 at 04:40 PM.
10-15-17, 04:40 PM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
I don't think it's just trolls. The mods could close the spindle-threads a thousand times, and the issue would probably still keep coming back.....like election issues in the debate forum. Like it or not, the spindle-grille is simply one of the most polarizing issues in the automotive world today. A lot of people (not necessarily you or me, but a lot of others) have strong opinions on it both ways...and want to keep debating it.
My own personal view is.....I won't open a thread on this subject myself, but if someone else does, and asks a specific question, I'll try and answer it to the best of my ability.
Last edited by mmarshall; 10-15-17 at 04:48 PM.
10-15-17, 04:56 PM
#12
Lexus Champion
The spindle won't go away by 2019. That's too soon to make a styling change. This is the direction that was specified by Akio Toyoda and he did it very deliberately to distance Toyota/Lexus from the critics who constantly kept saying that the company's cars were competent but boring. So he and his designers went to a strategy of polarizing the styling to make waves.
The fact that we talk about it and the automotive press talks about it is making Toyoda and his stylists very happy right now. That's what the intent was in going edgy with the style. It's not just about the grill, it's the rest of the styling and shapes on the cars. The RX, the Camry, LS500 - really all meant to convey a, "hey look at me", theme.
It's all an attempt to get younger buyers to look at these brands in a different way. Honda is doing very much the same thing, especially with its Civic line.
I'm not a fan of the current styling of the RX or the LS, and I'm a big critic of the spindle. But I do see that there are fans of this style, especially younger buyers looking for some excitement and edge to their car's looks.
The fact that we talk about it and the automotive press talks about it is making Toyoda and his stylists very happy right now. That's what the intent was in going edgy with the style. It's not just about the grill, it's the rest of the styling and shapes on the cars. The RX, the Camry, LS500 - really all meant to convey a, "hey look at me", theme.
It's all an attempt to get younger buyers to look at these brands in a different way. Honda is doing very much the same thing, especially with its Civic line.
I'm not a fan of the current styling of the RX or the LS, and I'm a big critic of the spindle. But I do see that there are fans of this style, especially younger buyers looking for some excitement and edge to their car's looks.
Last edited by MattyG; 10-15-17 at 05:21 PM.
10-15-17, 05:26 PM
#14
Lexus Champion
Originally Posted by MyOgr81
Do trolls and shills get paid by word count for every reply?
10-15-17, 07:47 PM
#15
Lexus Champion
Not this discussion again! 
Let's not forget that beauty is in the eye of the beholder: What you find ugly, others find very attractive.
The spindle-shaped predator grille has become THE brand signature of Lexus. Everyone now knows a Lexus when they see one, just as people know a BMW by its twin-kidney grille and Audi by its Singleframe (TM) grille.
If Lexus were to suddenly lose the spindle grille, it would be a signal that Lexus has lost its way, not knowing what it stands for or where it wants to go. Lexus would very quickly lose status.
As excellent examples, look at Audi, Acura and Lincoln. All 3 brands tried to establish a brand identity with unique, signature grille shapes (the Audi Singleframe, the Acura beak and the Lincoln split wing). Only Audi was courageous enough under criticism (no one likes change and few like to be different), to maintain and refine the shape (just as Mercedes-Benz has refined the shape of its grille over the last century).
Acura and Lincoln, however, were not courageous enough and gave in to criticism. Acura suddenly gave up the beak, even after a number of refinements, going to some generic, not unique shape. Similarly, Lincoln had refined its split wing, but suddenly gave it up to copy Bentley. No one (perhaps not even the product planners at Honda and Ford) know what Acura and Lincoln stand for or the future of those brands, other than as sellers of more-expensive, dressed-up Hondas and Fords.
If Lexus were to suddenly give up the spindle grille, it would quickly lose status, just as Acura and Lincoln have. Giving up the polarising spindle grille now would be worse than keeping it.
Let's not forget that beauty is in the eye of the beholder: What you find ugly, others find very attractive.
The spindle-shaped predator grille has become THE brand signature of Lexus. Everyone now knows a Lexus when they see one, just as people know a BMW by its twin-kidney grille and Audi by its Singleframe (TM) grille.
If Lexus were to suddenly lose the spindle grille, it would be a signal that Lexus has lost its way, not knowing what it stands for or where it wants to go. Lexus would very quickly lose status.
As excellent examples, look at Audi, Acura and Lincoln. All 3 brands tried to establish a brand identity with unique, signature grille shapes (the Audi Singleframe, the Acura beak and the Lincoln split wing). Only Audi was courageous enough under criticism (no one likes change and few like to be different), to maintain and refine the shape (just as Mercedes-Benz has refined the shape of its grille over the last century).
Acura and Lincoln, however, were not courageous enough and gave in to criticism. Acura suddenly gave up the beak, even after a number of refinements, going to some generic, not unique shape. Similarly, Lincoln had refined its split wing, but suddenly gave it up to copy Bentley. No one (perhaps not even the product planners at Honda and Ford) know what Acura and Lincoln stand for or the future of those brands, other than as sellers of more-expensive, dressed-up Hondas and Fords.
If Lexus were to suddenly give up the spindle grille, it would quickly lose status, just as Acura and Lincoln have. Giving up the polarising spindle grille now would be worse than keeping it.