I found this interesting. Thought you might enjoy. And the LS 400 started it all

Lexus And Toyota Aren't The Same - Here's What Makes Them Different (msn.com

Dennis

 

Dennis - When I was designing for Toyota, Lexus existed. At least at that time, Lexus was Toyota, and simply just another team of engineering, manufacturing, etc. It was more or less, the Top Guns from each design department were rewarded / honored / acknowledged by being elected to the Lexus team. I had just a small honor of being possibly the first, but probably one of the only American staff on the design team (at that team) to serve as the "liaison" for the Lexus team developing the RX 330 and initiating the first North American production of a Lexus at the Cambridge, Ontario plant. I hated it, but in 2004 I left that position ... because wife.

In the pre-production build of the RX 330, I got to solve a rather huge (but simple) seat noise issue with the RX 330. The front seats were making a strange clinking noise when being motor-lowered down toward the floor. I was cheered, carried on shoulders throughout the plant, my name was shouted from on high at the peak of Mount Fuji. The GM said if I hadn't been married, I would have been awarded a Japanese wife too. But alas ... the wife. But in all seriousness, the Lexus guys did have a lot of good praise for me for finding the root cause, proving the root cause, making a corrected sample. It was fun, I really like working for those guys.