But his point is they aren’t Lexus customers because they don’t buy new Lexus vehicles from Lexus. They aren’t unimportant customers, they aren’t customers period.

EVERY carmaker is announcing the same thing one by one. There won’t be anybody for them to lose customers to.

 

What's probably (eventually) going to happen is that there is going to be a good market for used ICEs, particularly in the middle of the country away from the coasts, if one cannot get them brand-new any longer. They will actually start appreciating in value instead of depreciating. But we'll have to see if the gasoline-supplies for them keep up.

 

There's more to cars than just going fast. My LC is plenty fast enough even if some tesla models can go faster in a straight line. tesla's still aren't special enough to me for the money and trade offs yet. I AM very interested in electric vehicles though.

 

I almost expected you to get one this time. Your LC, though, offers the build-quality missing in many Tesla products.

......a LOT more.

 

I totally agree about Tesla’s. That’s not because of EV tech though, it’s because of the product itself which just doesn’t do it for me.

 

Gas vehicles aren’t going to appreciate in value lol. You remove the impediments to buyers, and it becomes easier and better for most people to drive an EV, there will be little demand for ICE cars.

 

I at least partially disagree. Whether they do or not (and IMO they likely will) depends on several factors. But, one of them is going to be an adequate charging infrastructure for BEVs. I've said it before, and I'll go on record as saying it again......that infrastructure will be absolutely crucial to BEV sales. Without it, you can take it to the bank that people are going to keep wanting ICEs even if they are no longer available brand-new.


Agreed.....but are we actually removing those barriers? IMO, not at anywhere near a fast enough rate. Companies like Tesla (which, to an extent, has already done so), GM, Volvo, and others committing to all-BEV production will dump more BEVs into the market than charging-facilities and/or electric-power-grid generation will be available. It is not a pretty scenario....and a lot of people are being sold a bill of goods on this one and will have their eyes suddenly opened.

 

Absolutely the barriers will be removed. For most drivers they will never need to recharge anywhere but home. Condos and apartments will build charging spaces and allow owners to install units to their spaces, this is already happening.

When you have 4-500+mile range on an overnight charge, that is all the range the vast majority of buyers need for a week, let alone a day. That range is basically here now. Imagine in 5 years. 10 years.

 

Hey.....I'd like to see that myself, but I see little evidence of that actually happening in private-apartments/condos. Most of the charging stations are going up in businesses....which may or may not be available for their customers. WaWa convienence-stores, to their credit, offer them to customers...but you aren't going to get a full charge in just 15-20 minutes, at least wth today's technology.

Agreed......but how many BEVs can produce that kind of range? I don't know of even any Teslas that can. And, remember.......running a BEV with lights, wipers, electric climate-control, and other energy-consuming accessories on greatly-reduces its range, unlike an ICE.

 

The Model S base version has over 400 miles of range. The Plaid+ has 520 miles of range. So the Teslas are already there. The Lucid Air will also have 400+ miles of range. Why do you even need that much? The new generation of batteries coming out will give you 200 miles of range in 15 minutes...that's all most people will need. Some may need the crazy 400 miles of range but a wide variety of different ranges will offer enough choices for the consumers.

 

Good. Lexus has been stuck in a rut recently. They need to do something different and move forward. Tesla is slowly taking over their sales.
What I'd like to see is at least a hybrid IS in the U.S.. Something that looks sporty on the outside, luxurious on the inside, and gets some decent mpg's. That would serve my interests perfectly, but I'm probably alone on that.

 

once you get to a certain speed though you start to remember it again, not necessarily feel you need an engine but the acceleration starts to taper off and become less exciting... i'm sure that will improve over time though, something like the rimac concept 2 is probably fast enough lol

i also still appreciate the sound of a good engine, i've heard people say it's just an association thing but i think there's more to it than that... in principle an engine/exhaust setup really isn't much different than a wind instrument, and going through the gears as the pitch constantly changes is like the movements of the composition lol... engine notes also give a unique characteristic and distinguishability between car models and cylinder configurations, every electric motor just makes like the exact same (frankly kind of boring) sound

toyota literally used the music division of yamaha to specially shape the exhaust and intake on the LFA to achieve that spectacular V10 howl, that's an entire aspect of car design that will pretty much become obsolete

 

Well, the PHEV NX/RX + based on the RAV4 Prime drivetrain are undoubtedly going to be well-received. The only question is if TMC can make enough.

I would not expect an IS hybrid though in the USA given they never brought the IS300h to the USA. I do think that was a huge mistake.

 

In that case, there shouldn't be overreacting or jumping to the conclusion that Lexus is supposedly turning all their vehicles into EV's, because that's nothing more than a general off-hand statement with the sole priority being to talk about that EV concept that we already have another thread about.

I wouldn't mind Lexus going full electric, but that's not going to happen for years, and will likely be years after everyone else in Toyota fashion. Until then, we'll be enamored by their various selection of FWD hybrid crossovers.

 

Lexus going electric is fine with me. It is an inevitability now for all manufacturers within a few years. What I am most interested is in HOW they will design their various electric cars. Silly 0-60 times of 2 seconds are not really all that interesting to me (although I do prefer 0-60 in 5 seconds or less in a quick luxury coupe).

Rather, given how much the chassis architectures will change with batteries, inverters, chargers, motors, etc. I am interested in how the more special and not so mainstream designs (ie: coupes, sedans and other potentially fun vehicles) will be implemented as to still offering driver engagement, driving focus, handling, driving pleasure and fun. Acceleration in a straight line is not a problem with EV's. Making the special models fun driver cars in creative ways is the bigger challenge.

For example I would rather they not take the design and driver interface direction that Tesla Motors has taken across their lineup. Teslas may have hilarious special limited-use launch modes on some models but they aren't at all what someone would call a driver's car. In fact they're the total opposite of a "driver's car".

Only some Lexus models over the years can be called that but the brand does have experience with such offerings at different price points during different decades.

So far I like Porsche's first steps into their version of EV luxury performance with the Taycan but I look forward to seeing how Toyota and Yamaha want to do it their own way. I have some hope with Toyoda still at the helm.

Lexus core sales will not be composed of such vehicles but it will be very annoyingly disappointing if they go ALL bubble-shaped crossover and SUV's once their hybrid offerings give way to all EVs.

The electric drivetrain technology they will bring to the table is very exciting to me! I just want to see them make some more EV concepts that show they aren't only looking into making SUV and living room on wheels type luxury offerings in the near future.