802.11b

Just looked at the Lexus Canada web site and noticed the 2011 is still around. Is Lexus trying to get rid of all the 2011 models on the ground and discontinue it after this year?

rjk212

I believe you are correct. This appears to be the case for the US. Lexus didn't show the HS at the recent 2011 Auto show in Los Angeles. They were closed mouth about it's future.

DDS62

Yes it looks like the HS is history, and the question remains - why? Search the forums and you will be assured the car is worthless, dis-functional, ugly and over priced. One article even places this car as the 27th all time worst car ever built! And all of the opinions come from those with seemingly no experience with the car other than their universal claim that they all were given one as a loaner! Remarkable how every scathing indictment of this car comes from someone that learned of it imperfections through the loaner program.

The car is as good looking as any other Lexus or and other car for that matter. Of course some will not like it, that is true of any car, but there is nothing inherently ugly about the HS. I thought it was is the best looking car in the showroom! Way better than the "RX" which sells like hot cakes and looks like a rat - possible one of the ugliest cars ever produced. The ES looks like a car that has had it's roof flattened down about 6 inches. Only the LS is better looking from my viewpoint, but those things are things of personal opinion. The HS runs just fine with more power than any of us ever expected and with seats that are as comfortable as any seat in any car, and the HS has an excellent interior. I chuckle every time I get a complement on the HS having seen the venom that pours forth here on this very forum. Yesterday some one opened the door for me and remarked "I love cars with heavy doors that shut solidly". That person owned Prius. If you have ever shut the door of a Prius, you understand. Can you say "CLANK". So if perhaps the car is not really ugly, and it runs fine, is heavy and solid and gets good gas mileage and is as reliable as any Toyota ever made - why did the thing not sell - at all? Not just not sell well, but sell at almost the zero level? I would bet Lexus could sell used Pinto's at a higher rate than they did the HS's!

I contend the dismal sales figures are because of a restricted supply. That there is something inherently very costly in producing these cars in any other form than the base models, and Toyota never made available anything other than the base models. There were no premium HS's available when I first visited the showroom. There were still none available three months later, yet I saw the base demonstrator I had driven still on the lot for sale. I finally bought an entry level Premium model the first day it came on the lot and then there were none again. They simply could not get what I wanted, and many here have reported the same. I wonder how many Lexus customers were unwilling to wait 3 or 4 months for just an entry level Premium model? It appears to me this car did not sell because Toyota would not or could not produce the loaded models. They intended this car to be a step up from the Prius and expected the demand to be for the base models at the $33,000 price point, but the customer did not want what they had to sell. My sales man told me straight up he could not get any loaded HS's. Ten months later he told me he wished he could get some because he could sell all he could get. So how does Toyota respond to (at least) my salesman's suggestions? they drop the car from US distribution. Sounds to me like it wasn't customer demand that killed this car it was Toyota. They simply wanted this profit loser of the shelf.

I wonder what would happen if instead of dropping the car, they would simply ship only loaded models to the US?

http://autos.aol.com/photos/50-worst-cars-all-time/

That's my rant. Party on

802.11b

Most of the dealers in my area only stock fully loaded models because they claim most people buying a Lexus want a fully loaded car. At least that is what they told me when we were getting our RX.

The HS is actually very good value when you look at the equipment level and the price.

Are they still importing HS models to North America this year? If they are, it would be interesting to see how big the cash incentives are come June, July, August. They currently have $3,000 cash incentives till the end of the month.

TheAirman

The 2012's are at my dealer. One or two with the Premium Package, one or two without.

Strange how most of the negative reviews come from the Lexus "friendly" site. Not so when you read up at Consumer Reports. They rate the HS at 83 points, beating the Acura TL and the Lincoln MKZ.. The Lexus ES 350 tops it 91 points, which was beat by the Hyundai Genesis at 92 points.

steilkurve

I was at the Montreal Auto Show this afternoon and enquired about the faith of the HS here in Canada as none were in sight. The representative told me they were winding it down. I too like my HS. Too bad they are discontinuing it. Now, they did have the new GS on display. Very nice. Tempting!

moolman

I personally think it may be because they were burned badly by misallocation when the car first came out. I bought mine in May 2011. The brake recall hit and then afterwards the feul tank recall hit. At that time, every Lexus dealer in my area had at least 40 HS's just sitting on their lots. Even the booney dealers had so many cars it was just crazy. I ended up getting a fully loaded one, not special ordered, meaning everything minus the LED and ML stereo. I also have some useless option, like the retarded remote start that turns off the car once you open the door. Premimum floor mats, it's just a thicker mat, etc. They had so many of these fully loaded models and they are not there anymore so obviously someone bought them and I bet they sold them off with a lot of rebates and lost money. So maybe now they are shy about bringing those cars over. I certainly paid way under invoice for mine and they were begging me to buy.

RJQMAN

This seems to be a 'love it or hate it' car. I am not crazy about the exterior style - it sits a bit too high above the wheels, and it needs to be about 6"-8" longer to really look great. And I understand that Lexus enthusiasts don't particularly like the ride. But the interior is extraordinary, and the technology in the fully equipped models is not available in any other car close to the price point. I bought a 250H in September, and in three months have 9,000 miles on it. I am in the process of buying another one now, but I had to search long and hard to find one that was fully equipped. My SW Florida dealer could not get either one of these for me. I bought the first one in Dallas and am in the process of buying the second one in New England. My car has performed flawlessly since I bought it.

My complaints about the interior are 1) I would like to be able to lower the driver's seat by another inch or so, 2) There could be a bit more storage for small junk items, and 3) The synthetic dark grey leather trim on the doors and dash seems to sort of 'scuff' when you rub your hand against it - it leaves a mark that has to be cleaned off. These are minor annoyances to me.

As to the outside, I changed the grille colour to black, and I added some chrome '<' trim to the sides where a vent might be on some other cars to make it look less stodgy on the outside. But the inside just about perfect. I plan to do something similar to the next one I am buying - hope to have it in the garage in a couple of weeks.

The base model is just another car to me. It has the fuel efficiency, though, and it is really comfortable. But the electronics that are (supposedly) available in the tech package are amazing. My suggestion is that if you like the car, and you can find one new or used, get it! It will, in my opinion, be quite some time before you can get all these options in a similarly priced car.

And I share your disappointment that Lexus is apparently phasing them out of the US and Canada, and I share the annoyance that they are not more upfront about it.

RJQMAN

You are so right. But where are you located? I have had a heck of a time finding the fully loaded ones in the SE US.

RJQMAN

I agree with you. But how many ads have you ever seen promoting this particular car? I cannot remember any. It seemed destined to be a financial failure even before it hit the US. I was researching cars and just stumbled on it on some hybrid car website - I did not even know the car existed. Now I own one, and am about to get my second one. But I had a difficult time finding the fully loaded ones - my dealer could not get any for me - I had to find them myself outside of my zone and then go get them because of the Lexus sale restrictions on selling outside of a geographic area.

802.11b

I am located in Vancouver. Someone said one dealer had 40 HS' on the lot. That is probably the amount of stock the four dealers in the metro Vancouver area combined have. The HS works out to be a perfect size for our house because the second spot in the garage isn't that big and parking something the ES' size would be VERY tight.

On a side note, I just received an e-mail today from the GM of a local dealer. He talked a bit about models which would be showing up this year and claims to have seen some redesigned sedans including the 2013 ES. There was talk about how good it looked and how you wouldn't believe it was a FWD car. An ES hybrid was also mentioned so I guess they are dumping the HS for the ES Hybrid which sort of makes sense.

DDS62

Go to McGrath Lexus in Chicago. Look at the new cars they have in inventory. 15 RX's and 5 ES's but 0 HS's. Yet they apparently are still selling the HS if you choose to order one. Now is it a stretch to accuse Lexus of not making the HS as available to the market as they have made the ES and the RX? I have seen no data or statements from Lexus that suggest the Dealers could not sell the HS. But I have seen and heard many accounts that Lexus simply stopped the supply. In the first year (the last two quarters of 2009 the dealerships sold about 10,000 HS's. The next year (2010) sales dropped to about 5,000 for the entire year - that was the year Lexus had to remove the car from the market twice, once for the floor mat interfering with the gas pedal and once for the gas leakage problem from the tail pipe. Those two incidents accounted for at least 3 months the car could not be sold. It was after those occurrences the car sales dropped dramatically and never recovered and the period I tried to buy one and found none available other than the base models. In 2011 Lexus had the Tsunami that stopped sales once again. In August of that year Lexus pulled the plug on foreign sales. the car is still being produce in japan in left handed models and I believe is selling well. I am under the opinion that the right handed model production has been stopped, but there is a supply available for shipment. I suspect the right hand HS line is being rebuilt for one of Lexus' new car introduction for this fall.

RJQMAN

McGrath had one of the few certified used fully equipped models in stock last week. I was thinking of contacting them to buy it if the low mileage one I found in New England has any unexpected problems. My wife is up there now and will check out the New England one tomorrow, hopefully.