Lexus used to be both on the bleeding edge of tech and offering the best reliability and quality. 1994, first OBD-II engine, of course the original LS transformed the auto industry. The original SC is a masterpiece. Prius, way ahead of everyone else although sadly Toyota let their hybrid tech languish instead of using it to transition to full electric. Original RAV4 Toyota invented a whole new class of vehicle.

The auto market is very different then when Toyota and Lexus were in their magnum opus phase.

 

toyota did a RAV4 full electric pretty early on, but that one had so many bugs and poor range there were not that many takers.

 

That one was a Tesla collaboration. Very early EV powertrains. Not that good.

 

I feel like Lexus and Toyota in general has been falling behind since Akio took over. Lots of wasted time and resources. $1b loom, now a racetrack, RC, LC500, GSF, poorly executed LS, IS on its 4000th refresh, GS dead, GX on its 3000th refresh, LX on its 8000th refresh, poor infotainment system, poor fuel economy, engine performance below the competition but hey the price is still up there, NX isnt aging well, UX...why?, ES250 AWD...why?,

 

Toyota has a full electric EV in the UX and CH-R....on sale now (outside of North America)

 

Toyota was the only car company to turn a profit during the last quarter when Covid paralyzed the world so he must be doing something right.

 

Is that really true? Hard to believe Toyota is the only company

 

Toyota had two different EV RAV4s at two different generations They were only available as a lease..

 

The Tesla powered RAV4 EV was NOT lease only. They were initially only offered for sale/lease in California. These were a hoot to drive. I loved taking one out whenever I had the chance. Tesla-like instant power, FWD and an open diff meant plenty of inside tire spinning on corners. These sat on dealer lots for a very long time. Many dealers requested Toyota to take them back. There were super discounted employee leases at the time for anyone that really needed the HOV sticker and could deal with the ultra short EV range. There are 11 used ones on Cars.com now.

 

False! Toyota is a massive company so of course many can't compete with their sheer size. Also Toyota's profit was global, not NA where sales fell. Tesla for one has turn a profit each quarter this year and they're nowhere the size of Toyota. Toyota is best compared with VW. Anyhow for second quarter Ford also reported profit of 1.1 billion .

 

My mistake. But my point still stands that Toyota out of the other car companies has done the best in the Covid era and some of the credit has to go to its CEO Akio Toyoda. Whatever Toyota is doing may not satisfy the car enthusiasts but from a business standpoint, it's outpacing its rivals.

Btw Tesla is still in nett deficit overall as its initial massive expenditure has not been recouped by its later smaller earnings. Some analysts say Tesla is still in its "cash burning" phase in order to gain market share.

 

Seeing that we're enthusiasts you can totally understand our frustrations. Toyota's profits don't mean much to us if they don't fuel development of quality vehicles we enjoy.

 

Review of 17 speaker ML sound system in 2021 Lexus IS350

 

really like the review youtube channel... watched a bunch and subscribed, thanks.

 

I especially like his POV style of reviewing. Gives prospective buyers an almost VR type of experience. Next best thing to personally test driving the car for yourself.