I know there will be some silly answer for this question, so, I am in the crane kick position, ready for it:
YTF are voice commands not used/available? A button to pause all car audio when it is held down. "Driver seat heater on 1-10."

 

well, I hope 'new management' @ Lexus, changes that ugly-*** grille, they have cursed all their products with for the last seven or eight years. We almost bought a new GSF a few years ago, it was a awesome car. Couldn't get by that grille. Glad I bought the IS when I did.
Will come back to Lexus when they dump that grille,,, unless they go all 'cvt'

Have a good one!

 

Spindle grill isn't going anywhere

 

I think it is hit and miss. But as time passes, whenever I see a pre-spindle grille, I think they look timeless. The 08 LX570, for instance, looks so good, front and back...New one, I dunno

 

i agree. i honestly don't know all the commands my car has via voice, but it's not that many. but what it does have works well.

 

I don't understand the comment about lack of voice commands. I use mine all of the time. "Set cabin warmer", "set cabin cooler", "send text message", "play Slacker", "find Starbucks" etc.

 

Every once in a while I use voice commands but they are so slow in every car I’ve owned although I think BMW’s “hey BMW” command works excellent but still slower than what I could do manually.

 

Interesting take. After 20 years of Acura, Infiniti and Lexus cars, I did start down the German car route. Since then, I've seen the Japanese premium brands languish to what I suppose are the bean counters, similar to what happened, and is still happening to Cadillac. Whirl you think Toyota would spend the money on R&D with Lexus, it seems they are content with limiting the spend to differentiate from the Toyota counterparts (where they have them) and keeping up with the Germans. For example, I miss a Toyota in-line 6, but that won't happen again, unless sourced from another manufacturer. V10? Yamaha no longer builds these. Twin turbo V8 for the flagship? How about a regular V8?

If Toyota would loosen the purse strings, who knows what could be done. I test drove an LS500 with an MSRP of over $100K, and it still smelled of plastic. I noticed they are still using a ton of that platinum colored plastic for the dash panels as they've done for years. There is another thread about someone test driving a BMW X7. Did you smell anything but leather and wood?

Toyota has great brand loyalty and that carries over into Lexus. That, plus deep pockets, means a turnaround for Lexus IS achievable.

Acura and Infiniti, no chance. My last Infiniti was a 2011 M56x bought new in 2010. It is almost 2020, except for the name and price, it is the same vehicle. And it was not cutting edge in 2010.

 

This is what I'm seeing too.

 

You know what is really sad - the old timers on here, about 15 years ago when LS460/600h debuted, we were discussing whether Lexus will ever have another brand to compete with Rolls Royces of the world. Who would've thought that in a decade Lexus would be reduced to mostly selling wanna be luxury cute utes for pretentious soccer moms.

 

I didn't think that when the LS460 debuted, recall that was the same year as the new MB S550. I did feel that way with the LS430. They instead moved the price up but unsure how they justified the money spent. Toyota can still do that, but, the R&D money they would need to spend, bespoke engines, top tech, etc. they won't see the ROI. Versus how many RAV-4s can they sell with significant margin? I don't blame them. Again the story parallels the other Japanese near luxury brands plus Cadillac. Only Cadillac had some amazing concept cars to show before letting us down.

 

Brand aside, for an LS replacement, has anyone test driven a Genesis G90? On paper, it seems like successor in spirit to the LS430. I know there is a 2020 refresh. I have not driven or even sat in one:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.aut...-la-auto-show/

 

Yes, the G90 is very similar to the LS.

 

pretentious stereotypes aside, when the ls460/600h debuted, i was concerned because of the huge swaths of cheap silver painted plastic in the center stack. the ls400/430 had BEAUTIFUL interiors. the ls460 was/is certainly a better car in other ways though (safer, faster, better handling...).

i drive a 2018. i really enjoy it. extremely comfortable on short and long drives. EXCELLENT in cabin controls (including lots of physical buttons and a 12" screen that isn't tacked on top of the dash, it's integrated in, ambient lighting) and features. every light is LED. love the power shades rear side and rear windows for one thing. google button on mirror is great (find anything pretty much). doesn't have android auto/apple carplay but 2020 does. pretty quiet (and has laminated glass on all windows) although i've read the 2020 is MUCH quieter which i'm very interested in if i decide to do another sedan. i believe it has the new RANC (can't remember what the R is for but it's active noise cancellation). the 2020 is definitely more 'flashy' which isn't what i am interested in, i really like the understated look of mine. i have the 3.3TTV6 which is PLENTY powerful enough and transmission is very smooth. the lexicon sound system is by FAR the best i've ever had... amazing. things i wish it had? air suspension would probably be one, but obviously something has to give to keep the cost down some.

the 2020 by the way is certainly a very big 'refresh', they apparently modified every body panel except doors and roof.

anyway, sorry, i got carried away... this is about lexus management!

 

For that matter, though, except for Genesis, what luxury brand, today, isn't selling mostly Utes...at least in the American market?