Tesla Model S, X and the forthcoming 3 are not direct competitors with Prius nor Mirai.
However, for a company that long said that the future lies in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell powered electric vehicles, and NOT in battery powered electric vehicles BEVs, then TMC does an "about-face", changes its mind, and President Akio now head the TMC Electric Vehicles division, something must have motivated him to change his mind.

The point being that if TMC's gasoline-electric hybrids, and hydrogen fuel cell HFCEV's don't sell, then bang - Pres Akio now heads Toyota Motor Corp's electric vehicles division!
Likewise, if 5LS sells poorly relative to its peers, then TMC will respond with major refresh to 5.5LS.

Overall, while the number of people who find the 5LS styling thumbs up is merely a handful, the number of members who find 5LS styling below par is absolutely uncountable!!
By comparison, how many haters are there in the LC Forum?

Thus, more to the point, no one is ever perfect.
Everything has its pros and cons.
If the 5LS has a bad point here or there, best let Lexus know immediately, so that they can constructively improve!

The worst thing we could do for the forthcoming 5LS is to:
(1) turn a blind eye to their weaknesses, or
(2) bury the bad points under the carpet...
.

 

I think low gas prices are the real killer. Tesla is another story as there is a certain cachet to many about them. That and the S can hit 60 in under 3 seconds! Still Elon Musk really does seem like a Bond villain and while most definitely irrational makes me reticent to purchase one. That I just don't dig the plug in thing.

 

I agree, to be honest guys, the new LS is really sexy and looks futuristic, a league above the current LS in my opinion. Give it time.

it sux it doesn't have an 8, 415 hp is no slouch and the LSF which we all know will be produced will have an 8. We all need to not hit the panic button so quick

 

This TFLcar review is short but informative because it interviews a Lexus exec.


- The release date is end of the year, not the Fall, so maybe Nov or Dec, nearly a year away.
- Main reason for V6 TT is fuel economy.
- At 1:44, they discuss an AWD option, and the exec says the option is under study. Considering that nearly 40% of LS460s from 2013-2016 were AWD (see Rhambler's thread https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...uild-info.html), the AWD option would be a no brainer. What's to study? Unless they plan to do away with that option too, which would be unbelievable. Then again, many people felt not having a V8 was unthinkable...

 

100% agree- wheels can make a car look completely different. I really dislike the wheels on the LS500 and hope they provide more options when it comes to market. While I don't think it would fix one of the angles I dislike most (side/rear), it certainly would help with the overall stance and presence of the car.

When I bought my LS 430, the first thing I did was swap the stock rims for the 18" 5 stars. And IMO there's no comparison of a '07-'12 LS 460 with the 19" 5 stars compared to the stock wheels. Never understood why they didn't offer 5 stars on the '13's and beyond (if I buy a '13 I'm putting the 19" 5 stars from the '07-'12 generation on it).

 

I want to know what size tires are on it, those wheel wells are begging for a larger wheel. Those 20's look tiny, even though they are flat faced

 

I brought this up earlier, the guy interviewed was wrong. AWD is available from launch, as per the Lexus Pressroom site.

 

Sorry, my bad. So many things have been discussed, I forgot this info . Thanks, Steve.

But this also reminds us that the Lexus folks being interviewed at auto shows may be either misinformed or poorly informed, and therefore not reliable sources (see rumor on Car Chat forum about V8 being considered for the 5LS).

 

Someone posed the question: Do you like the Camry redesign more than the LS500?

my answer is yes. Due to the accounting, The Camry has a larger "war" chest than the LS. And When comparing pictures, it looks like the queen of the kingdom, whilst the LS appears to play Cinderella. Pictures can speak a thousand words. In reality those words may require re-evaluation. But the pictures are the most relevant source today

 

I am not sure that really applies considering the LS is something of a halo. Not to mention, I am sure a fortune was spent on the LS's development so it is not like the design dept was on a tight budget. And of course there is a much higher profit margin on the LS as opposed to the cutthroat segment that the Camry plays in.

I do agree that Toyoda himself is really trying to shake Toyota's image as being "vanilla", but the last Camry was still the number one selling passenger car. (F150 number 1 period)

 

i knew someone would bring up margin. The 400,000 Camry units sold yield at least 5x the profits of the 12,000 LS's.

 

Regardless, with Lexus no longer being pretty much a American only offshoot and now with worldwide distribution, do you really think they would holdout on the design of their flagship and the very model that made Lexus?

I don't disagree that the Camry is a hugely important product for Toyota. That said, it could not be more American centric whereas the LS is sold with little to no alteration all over the world. I just don't think they were restrained when it came to the design of the LS.

While we both seem to be withholding judgement of the 2018 LS until seen in the flesh or metal if you will, I just cannot get behind the Cinderella and Queen analogy. That said, it is thought provoking.

 

Another member mentioned global sales and that led me to the site below. The global picture is not exactly beautiful. Hopefully, the kaleidoscope of Windows borrowed from the 06 RX won't make things worse. This thread should pick up again, when the new LS comes out for its turn in the summer sun

http://carsalesbase.com

 

Will check out the link. I am well aware that Lexus struggles in Europe as reliability seems less important that status/brand loyalty. And obviously the Germans will never be buying many/any.

South Africa is a surprisingly robust market for Lexus and I would think they do ok in China. That said with Sino-Japanese history, I am not positive on that one. I do know the Chinese market is now starting (has been) to impact decisions made for cars sold here as preferences matchup pretty closely (and models) and sales there remain gangbuster. Australia is another strong market that can only be expected to grow with Holden (GM) and Ford pulling out of manufacturing cars there.

 

The new LS market is population geezerville. Twin turbos and a cylon-insired grill isn't going to change that. And it will like alienate a geezer or two. Don't see how this car will survive in today's market.