Johnhav430

btw I saw that too and wondered

MattyG

^^^ Hate is too strong a word and is overused here in this thread. Criticism or critical remarks about a car's styling/auto manufacturer's direction/value for money etc. is more accurate. But forums tend to be very tribal and you're sorta supposed to go along with the program to a certain extent, otherwise you're going to hear from the core defenders of the flame. It's just how things are.

Nothing wrong with Lexus going all out sporty with handling and a roaring V6tt. It's just that it may not be the top choice in a segment where the other guys already did that and got the t-shirts. That's ok. It's not the end of the world.

southernx

Lexus LS 500 RHD

Lexus LS 500 RHD

In Comfort mode on the highway, the Lexus LS500 can lope along and eat up the kays in an easy manner that will have you re-thinking the need to fly between cities. Barely any road noise makes its way into the cabin, although the staggered rubber – the F Sport uses lower-profile 275/40-spec Bridgestone Turanza rubber down the back compared with 245/45s on the front – allows some noticeable roar into the rear passenger seats.

Flicking the Lexus LS500 into Sport or Sport+ modes unleashes a bit of the saloon’s inner beast. All of a sudden the throttle sharpens, the tacho inside the circular instrument cluster thickens, and kick-downs from the 10-speeder become more urgent and hold longer as the stability control light flickers as the six-step electronic brain tuned to rein it all in works its magic.

It’s better to use the plastic – disappointingly, they’re not cold-touch metal – paddle shifters to pick gears, because left to its own devices the gearbox will take an aeon to skip up the range to 10th after a stretch of twisty road straightens out.

In the rear, the svelte coupe styling has its drawback for taller passengers, with the sweeping profile robbing them of headroom. There’s a pair of Rolls-Royce-style vanity mirrors that drop down from the roof, and the centre armrest folds down to reveal seat climate controls, heaps of storage and a pair of USB recharging points. The comfort in the seats back there is even better than the front ones.

Safety is as you’d expect from a flagship, with numerous active driver aids available. However, the radar cruise control has picked up Toyota’s low-speed gruffness, meaning in heavy traffic it’s better to turn it off than suffer its jerky response to throttle inputs, and it won’t automatically limit the speed on downhill runs until quite late in the game. Forward-looking cameras, and a mode that gives a bird’s eye view of what’s surrounding the LS, help in car parks and other tight spaces where the saloon’s heft looms large.

The Lexus LS500 F Sport’s main game is to now look very different to the Teutonic establishment, which it pulls off quite well. It’s a bonus, then, that the big Lexus’s drive experience has followed suit.

MattyG

^^^Source of that review: https://www.whichcar.com.au/reviews/...f-sport-review

Baur Media, Sydney Australia. Highly odd to post this in this thread though. There is already a LS 500 thread about reviews IIRC.

spwolf

I am correcting your uninformed post about Lexus Chinese sales, where you posted few posts above how you dont think Lexus sells in China and then how it is limited to only few cities or something like that... I am glad you know it all by now.

They got the numbers from several different trade publications. Reason you dont see Lexus numbers in China when you search on google quickly is because most mags report only chinese produced vehicles, not imports... imports are separate category and reported differently, but still easy to find in trade mags, reuters articles and similar.

MattyG

And once again... source? Where are your numbers? Which trade publications? Don't care to directly quote or attribute? That's the first rule of any kind of reporting/journalism.

peteharvey

In 2018 last year, Lexus sold 701,078 motor vehicles globally.
In the US, 298,310 Lexiis were sold, of which 9,302 were LS's.
In China, 164,707 Lexiis were sold, of which 4,569 were LS's.
In Europe, 46,170 Lexiis were sold, of which 636 were LS's.
In Japan, 55,096 Lexiis were sold, of which x number were LS's.
Lexus sold just over 1,200 vehicles in Indonesia, about 500 vehicles in New Zealand, and about 300 vehicles in Vietnam.

The US is Lexus' biggest market.
China is number 2.

I doubt that delving into scarce global Lexus data will save the all new 5LS.
Right now, I'm sure President Akio knows what's going on, and his team are hard at work - they are adamant that Lexus will not become another Infiniti or Acura...

nicedude

I called OP a troll for creating the same thread two months in a row on Car Chat and not at the 5LS section. The Admin told me not call people names, so I called OP out for "hating" on the 5LS. Trust me, it is not that serious. Different lingo for different generations. When you create a separate sales thread called "Luxury sedan sales for March 2019" to effectively rail on the 5LS, that is called "hating" in today's internet lingo. Borderline trolling imo, but whatever. At least I understand why he would dislike the 5LS coming from a 3LS.

I encourage OP to create a new thread at the 5LS section with April 2019 sales numbers because you have sales proof that you are right. As long as you keep the discussion civil, the Admin won't lock it up. If I was OP, I would rather hear from actual 5LS owners in response.

Toys4RJill

I truly do not understand why you are calling the OP a troll or are so bothered by the thread. I have found the thread a very interesting discussion and I really do want to see how the LS500 pans out long term. Interesting enough, I saw one on the road yesterday, probably the 4th one I have ever seen on the road. We have also had some more deeper discussion (thanks to me) with the expansion of China sales (thanks to me as I kept pushing on those numbers until someone found them) and other markets. I did not know that Lexus sells more cars outside of the US than it does in the rest of the world. Seems to me that the new LS was designed for a different demographic that does not exactly fit the description of the LS460 shopper.

nicedude

As for Steve Harvey, I commend you for making the same points over and over again. Let me summarize your points for you so that I don't have to read about parts number changes for springs again. Haha.

Previous generation Camry and ES were harsh riding. The refresh tried to fix that and the current generation fixed it.
Current GS generation had the same issue, but the refresh tried to fix that.
The 5LS has the same issue and Lexus needs to fix it for the refresh. 5LS was made for millenials and they are not buying the 5LS.
"White elephants" are bad.
Lexus will become Infiniti and Acura if they don't fix everything above.
Blame all this on Akio for wanting everything sporty.

All your random ramblings aside, I will focus on the 5LS.

Here are my points:

4LS sales were good in the first two years in 2007 and 2008. 4LS sales dropped dramatically after the launch of the Model S and Panamera, while the S Class and 7 Series sales were also affected, they were able to eventually maintain market share after the launch of their latest generation offerings.

5LS is released in 2018 and is really different than the 4LS and more in line with a Panamera. 2018 sales were decent relative to the market, third place behind the Model S and S Class.

You disagree that the Model S and Panamera is why the 5LS is so different and want to blame it on only Akio's desire for everything sporty.

Here is an actual Lexus VP saying that the Model S has stolen market share from the 4LS in 2014. This was five years ago.

https://insideevs.com/lexus-might-lo...-marketing-vp/

"Brian Smith, vice president of marketing for Lexus US says that, despite sinking sales of the Lexus LS, the automaker isn’t concerned:

“We don’t feel it’s a problem with the car. Many of the buyers in that segment want what’s new and they’re trying it.”

Want what’s new…that’s the Tesla Model S, apparently.

Smith admits that the Tesla Model S is bringing in buyers in the Upper Luxury Car segment in the US, stating:

“They’re right behind Mercedes in volume.”

But Smith doesn’t seem convinced that Model S buyers will stay loyal to the Tesla brand:

“I think the question remains to be seen how many people will buy a second Tesla.”

According to Smith, Lexus is probably losing some buyers to Tesla, but as he says:

“They’ll probably come back [to Lexus].”

Doesn’t sound that convincing now, does it?

According to Ward’s Auto:

“Sales of the LS, which was all-new in ’07 and last refreshed in ’13, were down in the same period, 19.7% to 2,149 units.”

“WardsAuto estimates Model S sales tallied 4,600 units through May, down 6.2% from the same period year-ago.”

So, the Model S is easily outselling the Lexus LS through the first 5 months of 2014. The Upper-Luxury Car segment is seeing improving sales too

“…sales rose 4.0% through May to 23,818 units.”

Meanwhile, Lexus LS sales are sinking.

In its launch year of 1990, Lexus LS sales (few competitors existed at the time) hit 42,980 units. Of course, LS sales have no chance of ever returning to that lofty mark, but could it be true that electric automaker Tesla is already stealing sales from some of the most established luxury automakers? We think so, but as Smith asked, will Model S owners “buy a second Tesla?” Of course they will. Lexus is in trouble and by not acknowledging that most current Tesla owners will be loyal to the brand for life, Lexus is setting itself up for disaster.

Lexus could solve this problem with ease by making a 200-mile luxury EV, but that isn’t gonna happen anytime soon. It seems that Lexus/Toyota just doesn’t get it. Electric is the future. It’s time to join the EV train for real."

So there you have it. Time for Lexus to make a full electric LS to get those former customers back. You and OP won't be able to complain about the noise level anymore with a full electric LS. Haha.

mbarron37

I encourage OP to create a new thread at the 5LS section with April 2019 sales numbers because you have sales proof that you are right. As long as you keep the discussion civil, the Admin won't lock it up. If I was OP, I would rather hear from actual 5LS owners in response.[/QUOTE]

Problem is they are few and far between. Lol 😂

nicedude

Just saw your post, Jill. I explained it pretty clearly in my post. OP made this thread to "hate" on the 5LS, not to discuss about monthly luxury sedan sales. Where do you think 5LS discussions about its intended market, potential failure, worldwide sales, and etc. should belong at Club Lexus? At the 5LS section obviously. Not saying you OP can't create a thread about the 5LS in Car Chat, but lets be clear about his true intentions. We have a 3LS owner harping about its failure two months in a row. Stay in line. The first thread got locked up for a reason.

Toys4RJill

I agree. The new LS has hybrid, but at the very least, it should of been a plug in. I doubt we will see a full electric LS. Hydrogen is supposed to be coming.

nicedude

I think they would rather be driving their cars in real life than talk on internet about some other generation that was not known for being fun to drive. 4LS sales were not great after 2008 so I wouldn't be making sales jokes. Lol.

Toys4RJill

Currious. What are you driving now? I have no idea and maybe you mentioned it in past posts. I ask because You have nothing in your signature.