2014 LEXUS IS Official Debut Discussion (merged threads)
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,874
Likes: 3
From: Canuckistan
so i was looking at the side profile. i get the upward curve of the side skirt detail and the rear side window sill curve, but i just think it's overdone.
also, the actual car side view shot (vs. the photoshop or just car shop
lowered lexus pics on red) show an unpleasant wheel gap.
took a stab at toning down the window sill curve, removing the skirt curve, and lowering the car a bit.
also, the actual car side view shot (vs. the photoshop or just car shop
lowered lexus pics on red) show an unpleasant wheel gap.took a stab at toning down the window sill curve, removing the skirt curve, and lowering the car a bit.
I think all this car needs is bigger wheels:
And of course Lexus marketing being stupid enough to show a car with such complex design lines in white doesn't help things. Removing the skirt curve is not a good idea. What you don't see in your image is that there is a lot of wonderful form language going on down there, one does not simply photoshop that out.
Last edited by Mr. Burns; Jan 10, 2013 at 09:21 PM.
Pole Position
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,602
Likes: 89
From: Singapore
Now that we have seen what the F Sport looks like, we can roughly predict the shape of the base model.
However, I suspect that the base 3IS is too sporty, or too radical for the mass public.
Look at this BMW forum below, at see how other people view our 3IS, and they are a significantly bigger group than us: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=789893
Btw, one rough way to take into account the effect of the ES on IS and GS sales is to total the sales of all 3 models up for the USA in 2012:
ES 56,158
IS 27,708
GS 22,160
Total = 106,026
3 Series 99,602
5 Series [without 6 Series of 8,208] @ 56,798
Total = 156,400
C Class 81,697
E Class [without CLS of 8,065] @ 65,171
Total = 146,868
Thus, even with the ES sedan included, and considering how much cheaper the three Lexus models are relative to their German counterparts, Lexus still trails BM and Benz by a long way.
It helps to have not just more engine & suspension variations, but also more body variations to cater for the different tastes in the mainstream mass market.
Note how the 6 Series & CLS body variations contribute about 8,000+ units each, in sales?
As it stands, I suspect the 3IS won't do well in the mainstream mass market, just like the 22,160 units of the GS against the 56,796 5 Series and 65,171 E Classes.
Even when we take the ES into account, it's still 106k ES/S/GS versus 157k 3/5 Series, and 146k C/E Classes.
The mass market has a more conservative taste, and not so radical.
Sales ultimately increases the profitability to pour back into R&D, and without solid R&D, the company faces a bleak future with delayed 8 speed gear boxes etc etc.
Interestingly, did the GS fail to meet its minimum target of 2k per month?
It's one thing to design for enthusiasts; it's another thing to design for the mass public.
Sales are all about the tastes of the mass market...
However, I suspect that the base 3IS is too sporty, or too radical for the mass public.
Look at this BMW forum below, at see how other people view our 3IS, and they are a significantly bigger group than us: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=789893
Btw, one rough way to take into account the effect of the ES on IS and GS sales is to total the sales of all 3 models up for the USA in 2012:
ES 56,158
IS 27,708
GS 22,160
Total = 106,026
3 Series 99,602
5 Series [without 6 Series of 8,208] @ 56,798
Total = 156,400
C Class 81,697
E Class [without CLS of 8,065] @ 65,171
Total = 146,868
Thus, even with the ES sedan included, and considering how much cheaper the three Lexus models are relative to their German counterparts, Lexus still trails BM and Benz by a long way.
It helps to have not just more engine & suspension variations, but also more body variations to cater for the different tastes in the mainstream mass market.
Note how the 6 Series & CLS body variations contribute about 8,000+ units each, in sales?
As it stands, I suspect the 3IS won't do well in the mainstream mass market, just like the 22,160 units of the GS against the 56,796 5 Series and 65,171 E Classes.
Even when we take the ES into account, it's still 106k ES/S/GS versus 157k 3/5 Series, and 146k C/E Classes.
The mass market has a more conservative taste, and not so radical.
Sales ultimately increases the profitability to pour back into R&D, and without solid R&D, the company faces a bleak future with delayed 8 speed gear boxes etc etc.
Interestingly, did the GS fail to meet its minimum target of 2k per month?
It's one thing to design for enthusiasts; it's another thing to design for the mass public.
Sales are all about the tastes of the mass market...
The true picture will come this year 2013 when the full year's sales of the new ES + new GS + new IS is stacked up against the 3 series + 5 series sales.
Interesting, i will probably skip the fposrt 3IS and just wait for the 2-ISF in a couple years which i can only imagine being a lot sicker. i love aggressiveness and LFA styled dash. Hopefully it has legroom this time around though.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,923
Likes: 4,123
From: Maryland
Exactly. Here we are you, dseag2, myself all posting in here, owning the new face of Lexus, the 4GS. The internet bashed it to death, they didn't care how it drove, they just focused on the new face. A year later the forum is full of great members, the GS is being modified, people are enthused and people are getting used to the looks. The internetz predicted failure.
Just yesterday my GS was parked in a lot backed in and as I was walking up to it from the front I thought to myself "Man, I can't believe I thought that car was ugly...what a beautiful car"
Originally Posted by Bitkahuna
never saw predictions of failure - just those that didn't care for aspects of its looks.
New ES is doing great, new GS is doing great, new LS is doing great...the new IS will do great. Opposed to what some people would say, being the #1 in sales in a segment is not the only definition of success.
Last edited by SW17LS; Jan 10, 2013 at 09:24 PM.
Lead Lap
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 628
Likes: 2
From: Texas
Blueprint...What you said is not wrong but that is one way of the appeasement for everybody...IS could be better but not at this moment! Let see it real life.
Last edited by EthanV; Jan 10, 2013 at 09:37 PM.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,923
Likes: 4,123
From: Maryland
Just for grins...here is the 4GS thread, its like 3,400 posts long...and closed...with multiple members banned from fighting within it:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...-pics-251.html
Some quotes:
This person now owns a 4GS:
Sound familiar?
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...-pics-251.html
Some quotes:
2013 LEXUS GS: FRONT = HONDA ACCORD, REAR = HYUNDAI SONATA, SIDE = INFINITI G37
OVERALL = Bad Design!!!...........Hope FSport Version is better.
OVERALL = Bad Design!!!...........Hope FSport Version is better.
ummmm....pass
Wow surprised it leaked! Still would prefer as well official high-res pics, but this will suffice for now. The white hides a lot of the muscular body lines unfortunately, and the wheel gap there is because its the AWD model, but otherwise it looks good even in white. Even in white you can see how pronounced the fender flares are.
Very disappointed in exterior design. The front is ok, rear reminds me of Sonata. The side profile is too bland. If that is how lexus is going to look for the next 6 - 7 years, good luck with that.
what an utter disapointment. rear stolen straight from a hyundai sonata. LOL
the front lights are so big that it makes the overall front look ungawdly.
sorry lexus... PASS
the front lights are so big that it makes the overall front look ungawdly.
sorry lexus... PASS
Sorry - but the exterior is a big let down. I cannot justify paying $50K for a car like this. They should have retained much of the concepts overall proportions and dynamic aggresiveness in the front - it does not look like a premium vehicle. Just a large CT made into a 4 door sedan. However, the side and rear i could probably live with and dont look that bad.
The front is an utter mess-up.
To their credit, the interior is well thought out and designed. Even though it is a copy out of the europeans playbook
The front is an utter mess-up.
To their credit, the interior is well thought out and designed. Even though it is a copy out of the europeans playbook
Guest
Posts: n/a
Just for grins...here is the 4GS thread, its like 3,400 posts long...and closed...with multiple members banned from fighting within it:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...-pics-251.html
Some quotes:
This person now owns a 4GS:
Sound familiar?
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...-pics-251.html
Some quotes:
This person now owns a 4GS:
Sound familiar?
And that is just here, venture elsewhere and you would think the new GS was raping people
. We even had a thread about people saying the rear looks like a SonataNow this is not to say that there are not good posts or points that we may disagree with. If someone thinks the GS/IS etc is ugly, I can totally understand that. If they hate the new direction, I can understand that. Even if they just hate Lexus blindly, I can even understand that.
But to go overboard is well, going overboard. Which is how some people feel about the Lexus grills today.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,923
Likes: 4,123
From: Maryland
I know, its funny. In real life though, people really like the GS. They guy who put on my clear bra has an M5 (the Clear Bra business must be good!) and he just couldn't say enough good things, had tons of questions for me about it, e stood there and just looked at it and said "Wow...I love it". I have people come up to me a lot and ask me about it, how I like it, etc. Thats never happened to me in a Lexus before.
I suppose the people that hate it keep to themselves without the anonymity of the internet LOL
I suppose the people that hate it keep to themselves without the anonymity of the internet LOL
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and in my chop, i didn't change that point - i just started the waist line curve up further along the side.point you indicate on LS is not over the center of the rear wheel either for example (not that that's bad or anything!)
Removing the skirt curve is not a good idea. What you don't see in your image is that there is a lot of wonderful form language going on down there, one does not simply photoshop that out.
anyway, this new IS (and 4GS f-sport) can never be accused of being bland, which is a BIG change for lexus and is generating lots of buzz... and sales.
Driver
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 108
Likes: 0
From: ca
Man, i love this gen IS in and out. Finally and IS that doesn't look feminine! Bold, Fresh, and the Future. Way to make an aggressive statement Lexus! About the exterior, its really not that crazy. Look at the BMW M3 and M5 front facia and AMG Black series cars from Mercedes, they are just as aggressive. The only difference between Lexus and the Germans cars, is that Lexus uses the L-Finesse design philosophy.
Pole Position
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,602
Likes: 89
From: Singapore
I have been around Lexus forums a long time, not as long as Blueprint and the crew obviously, but the story is always the same.
1. New model is coming out, people post pages upon pages of all the things they hope it will be, want it to be, etc. The vast majority of those things are completely unrealistic.
2. Pictures get leaked, invariably right before the big reveal.
3. Everybody freaks out, "OMG, its so hideous, Lexus has shot themselves in the foot with this one, I would never trade my 1991 ES250 in on that thing", "thank God we have our *insert previous generation of aforementioned model here*, we better keep them forever because Lexus will never build another car that we want to drive". "My car is the epitome of everything Lexus could have designed, if they would just make the new car look more like my car, it'd be hot."
4. People do all kinds of photoshops to make the car look like what they wished it looked like. Most look horrible...some look surprisingly good.
5. People see the car in person...and it looks better than in pictures. The honest folks will post this. Bedlam ensues, people get banned, moderators turn on moderators.
6. The model comes out and...people buy it. It sells better than the previous model!
7. A new subforum pops up, full of happy next generation owners and the community prospers.
And it all happens again...and again...and again. Don't believe me? Read the thread in every subforum about every new version of a model that comes out.
It'll be fine guys, trust me!
1. New model is coming out, people post pages upon pages of all the things they hope it will be, want it to be, etc. The vast majority of those things are completely unrealistic.
2. Pictures get leaked, invariably right before the big reveal.
3. Everybody freaks out, "OMG, its so hideous, Lexus has shot themselves in the foot with this one, I would never trade my 1991 ES250 in on that thing", "thank God we have our *insert previous generation of aforementioned model here*, we better keep them forever because Lexus will never build another car that we want to drive". "My car is the epitome of everything Lexus could have designed, if they would just make the new car look more like my car, it'd be hot."
4. People do all kinds of photoshops to make the car look like what they wished it looked like. Most look horrible...some look surprisingly good.
5. People see the car in person...and it looks better than in pictures. The honest folks will post this. Bedlam ensues, people get banned, moderators turn on moderators.
6. The model comes out and...people buy it. It sells better than the previous model!
7. A new subforum pops up, full of happy next generation owners and the community prospers.
And it all happens again...and again...and again. Don't believe me? Read the thread in every subforum about every new version of a model that comes out.
It'll be fine guys, trust me!
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 7,460
Likes: 232
From: CA
Man, i love this gen IS in and out. Finally and IS that doesn't look feminine! Bold, Fresh, and the Future. Way to make an aggressive statement Lexus! About the exterior, its really not that crazy. Look at the BMW M3 and M5 front facia and AMG Black series cars from Mercedes, they are just as aggressive. The only difference between Lexus and the Germans cars, is that Lexus uses the L-Finesse design philosophy.
