Sal Collaziano

So what is it that makes a Lexus LS so soft-riding? Is it special shocks? No.. Struts? I don't know.. What is it exactly? Some strange alien technology?

What do you think makes a Lexus LS ride so soft and smooth?

Phil

Without a specific reply - I would rack it up to "Qualifty Engineering"!!

Sal Collaziano

But.. I don't even think Mercedes has as soft a ride...

Brett

Mercedes being German should not have a soft ride like a Lexus. The LS has more of an americanized suspension, taken to the ultimate form. As I told a friend of mine the other day, when he asked why i didnt buy another Cadillac. I told him simply Lexus IS the new Cadillac. Everything they were, Lexus is....and Cadillac is not completely sure what they want to be.

Lexkost

Lexus is a Smart Mans Mercedes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

leosls400

High quality components and one hell of an engineering group.

eblue

I see it a slightly different way-Toyota (correctly)viewed the US luxury car market in the 80's as a market they had to enter especially with the success of Acura division of Honda and Mercedes Benz. IE,the Lexus division was specifically made for the US market.Knowing they were targetting the US market, they took the best product design ideas from others (as good Japanese manufacturers are wont to do) and amalgamated them into the division. I think they tore down several E-classes(I think they sold more of the E than the S then in the US) part by part to replicate the various quality aspects of German engineering-sheet metal thickness; rigid body construction; trailing link rear axle assembly,etc.They borrowed from Honda's innovative double wishbone suspension technology. Then when it was up to figure out what kind of ride characteristics for the LS(their first car), I have to think they asked themselves-what would the American driver like?-an Autobahn cruiser with tight anti-roll characteristics of MB,BMW or AUdi OR something cushy reminiscent of the big car days of that old American icon, the Cadillac. Voila! It had to be simplistically elegant. Why not ensure success in your target market by giving it what it historically wanted! Big American roads demand cushy rides.

In hindsight the "cushy ride" was diluted down the product line-ie the LS had it more than the eventual IS to suit market segmentation needs. Obviously, BMW was on their mind when they introduced the GS.Also Lexus product strategy is evolving and more so as we have seen with recent announcements.

In the end what truly differentiates Toyota from the rest is that it is the most successful car company to develop a fully vertical product line that initially started from the bottom (mass market) up to luxury division without external acquisition, and attain a level of wordwide mass production at a consistent level of perceived unsurpassed high quality from inception. We cannot say this of MB, BMW,Volkswagen,GM or even any other car company in Japan.

Sal Collaziano

I completely agree.. Lexus IS what Cadillac WAS - and probably never will be again. Cadillac build-quality till be back on par - and so will performance - but they'll never have the soft ride they used to. Most people will like that, though.. Buick will replace what Cadillac used to be in America...

BrickHead

I think part of the smooth ride people experience in their LS can be contributed to the general vibration free/smoothness of all the moving components within this car. One thing I rarely feel is the vibration of the engine. My 98 LS is 6 yrs old/88,000 miles and runs more smoothly than most new cars on the market today. We are a spoiled bunch.

Phil

We ARE a spoiled bunch aren't we? Someone HAS TO own and drive the big L.

Phil

Sal Collaziano

I believe Acura actually puts something beneath the seats to minimize vibration and soak up some of the bumps felt while driving. Does Lexus do this as well?

SRK

I can't really say for BMW as they made the Isetta mini car for a while, and VW is still on the comeback trail after nearly buying the farm in the 90's, but Mercedes for around a century was a leader in automotive technology, and to an extent remains so. It is good to compare the product offerings of almost any manufacturer to those sold by Mercedes in the late fifties to early sixties. Compare the "Toyopet" as they were known then to the 1962 Mercedes 220 SEb sedan. Who knew more about cars then? Check out a Honda S600 and put it against a Mercedes 230SL. Contemporary cars. The Japanese make a fine product now. They didn't always. Mercedes has, by and large, remained consistent in producing high quality autos from inception. I will never own another, but that doesn't mean I have lost repect for what they have done.

Read David Halberstam's book "The Reckoning". It explains very well the roots and development of the US and Japanese auto industries. Should be required reading in school.

eblue

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SRK
[B]I can't really say for BMW as they made the Isetta mini car for a while, and VW is still on the comeback trail after nearly buying the farm in the 90's, but Mercedes for around a century was a leader in automotive technology, and to an extent remains so. It is good to compare the product offerings of almost any manufacturer to those sold by Mercedes in the late fifties to early sixties. Compare the "Toyopet" as they were known then to the 1962 Mercedes 220 SEb sedan. Who knew more about cars then? Check out a Honda S600 and put it against a Mercedes 230SL. Contemporary cars. The Japanese make a fine product now. They didn't always. Mercedes has, by and large, remained consistent in producing high quality autos from inception. I will never own another, but that doesn't mean I have lost repect for what they have done.


I regard MB as the no.1 technology car company for over a century- heck, these guys patented things like disc brakes, the air bag, the safety passenger cage with the collapsing front and back, etc-things that we now take for granted in all cars. When I young, my father's first and only car was a MB 1958 180D and it was built like a tank. That was the other differentiator that MB had up to the late 1990's-they probably had the best build quality.

In contrast, Toyota largely has relied on other companies' technology innovations to put into their own cars, and probably had more innovations in manufacturing technology than the car itself. They did sell Toyopets in the US that initially rusted early in their life, but they learned and here we are. Their build quality is better than the Germans IMHO.

I actually think that I may buy an MB in the future. The problem that MB,BMW and VW have is that they realize they have to increase volume sales to the magnitude that a Toyota does or will do. The only way you get there is that you cover both mass-market and luxury segments. MB did it by acquiring the mass-market segment (Chrysler) but with a lot of baggage; but at the same time they wanted to regain foothold in the luxury segment by introducing a plethora of new models/innovations to fight the long-time rival (BMW). They also went thru a schizoid period of relegating their vaunted engineering focus to second over a couple of years in the late 90'2. They also started assembling cars in the US. These last 3 points
porbably triggered a slew of chain reaction snafus that has been bigger than Stuttgart HQ could manage.
Now,they can't even stabilize quality in their electricals.

But I believe they'll pull thru and eventually produce a superlative product line worthy of Karl and Gottlieb's heritage-"Engineered like no other car in the world".It may take some years though, that's why I've bought Lexus for now.

daryll40

I really don't give a rat's **** as to who designed something or who invented it. I want the best product and the best value regardless of heritage. Heck, RCA invested the first TV but the truth is that almost all TVs today are Japanese or have Japanese (or Korean) components. Do I care that RCA had the first color TV in 1955? Or that Inifinit had the first backup camera in 2001?

Mercedes today is an inferior product. I suspect with a little attention to detail they can regain or at least tie Lexus again for quality king. But until that happens, if ever, I'll stick with Lexus.

The bottom line is this...in 1989 I bot one of the very first LS400's in my area. Foolishly, I "moved up" to Mercedes in 1991 and never looked back...until someone I knew bot Lexus and and I had a flash back...that that 1990 LS400 was "thee" best car I ever owned. It's been 15 years and the LS is still the king. So I did it and glad I came "home". I "got it" this time.

LexFather

Amen bro.