me myself i can only talk about CA area, but personally i won't be surprised if that's the case for most part of the country.

what i can tell you is by walking into a mb dealership here, i can easily walk out with a s class by paying 1000 bucks (or at most 1100) a month without much hassle

 

My friend just leased his S550 for 36months @ 1250 a month, MB is getting much more aggresive. Earlier this year when I was comparing it to my LS earlier this same dealer wanted 1500-1650 for a similar car.

 

My guess would be the addition of AWD, or at least I hope Lexus has the market sense to add AWD to the regular LS. We already know the mechanical AWD on the LS hybrid is compatible with the regular LS and because it's a compact system it will fit no problem on a regular LS. It can also handle a lot of power and torque (designed for the LS hybrid) so that wouldn't be a problem either.

The GS and IS both offer AWD, and it would be very strange for Lexus not to offer it on their flagship sedan.