Hello,

I'm new here and currently drive a 2001 Mercedes CLK 55 AMG Coupe. I am seriously considereing getting a Lexus SC but probably not until the 2007 Model Year. I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping some of you might have some insight on:

Will there be any major changes to the 2007 Model?

Specifically:

1) New engine: I heard rumors of a 460 engine that might go into the Lexus line across the board
2) New Navigation (Version 5? like the one that in the current model GS, etc.)
3) Start/Stop button and Keyless access like the current GS, etc.

Also new color combinations. Personally I love thsi one that's on the Japanese lexus site:

http://lexus.jp/models/sc/

silver with red interior. hopefully they bring that one over...

Thanks in advance for any clarity on the above.

1) next yr (end of 06) you will see gs460 and ls460. would we see sc460? i don't know really... somehow it tells me they will switch when they redesign the car, but it's just my wild guess
2) hee, your guess is just as good as mine. i hope they do have the gen 5 nav though with dvd playback but maybe not coz' it seems like it needs to go with the new ML systems too?
3) unlikely imho unless the car is redesigned. that's a lot of work just for a "facelif" which is done this yr already

remember lexus promised more updates quicker or could be 1997 all over again, when the refreshed SC came out with the same engine <higher HP> as the previous year but new face/tails/wing, then in 1998, brand new powertrain <along with the LS and the all new GS..>...Now the key factor here is that the 06 gets the 6speed but it could be for the whole <conspiracy> 'ah! this years is faster, ah! next year is stronger, ah! year after is prettier, ah!......

based on facelift being done this year, I would expect full redesign for MY 2008...

so you think the facelift will only sustain for 2 yrs huh

based on what Toyota is doing - yes. by 2008, most of the lineup will refreshed and they will come back to SC.
I know lots of guys are repeating 7-8-9 years of model life, but thats not going to happen anymore. Toyota knows it has to be aggressive and more aggressive than others in order to go beyond. Only reason Lexus did it differently is because Toyota couldnt do it sooner. And you cant see it is wrong - both IS and GS, for last 2 years of their life were really hard sells. Land Cruiser 100/ LX470 is really an hard sell now too.

you cant even start to imagine how much effort they are putting into all this, we have so many new cars that they are artificially pushing back release dates just so we have enough time to do proper product marketing. Good thing is that you can forget about waiting for long about popular cars, expect gazillions of Rav4's, Yaris's and FJ's available at launch. Thats also why you can relativly easily get an IS, Toyota does not like waiting lists - while they sound good to the press, they are not good customer experience... of course, thats not the point of this discussion anyway, heh...

don't get me wrong, i agree with you. peronsally i think the last generation sc300/400, gs 98-05 gs, and the 01-05 is300, their generation cycle were way long. especially the 04 and 05 gs sales, it wasn't that nice imho.

and actually i read a while ago that lexus said by 07 and 08, all lexus lineup will be refreshed. that's very aggressive considering that we are going to hear "something" about the sc, lx, and gx as well.

but seirously, with the new 460 engine coming out next yr (and the gs and ls both taking it), the sc430 probably won't stay too long, coz' lexus would be doing the 430 engine JUST for the sc430. this is under the assumption that the 460 engine will be quite a bit different from the 430 engine of course

You think they'll make a SC600h too ?

umm, personally i kinda doubt. if anything we will probably see gs600h first?

But isn't the SC supposed to be the Lexus 2 door coupe/convertible flagship ?
IMO it's still kinda weak to have only the 460 engine, when the competition have SL55/600/65 & the M6 . . .
I might not even want to spend extra to buy a SC600h ( I feel the same way about the LS600h), the SC/LS460 are probably good enough for me, but I still prefer to have a higher powered model as a choice.
They probably won't sell as many GS600h as SC600h if they make them, if the current sales #'s of the GS430(Brand new) is any indication, the much older SC430 is still outselling it.

Somehow I still don't think Lexus is trying to be in the market with high end Luxury AND high end performance a la SL/M6. I think Lexus is still highly successful in just the high end luxury market, and I would expect the SC to stay that way with an upgrade in performance, but nowhere near the SL/M numbers. Not yet anyway, and definetely not if Lexus proceeds with the LF-A, which would capture that segment and leave the SC to its current market.

LF-A is supposed to be a true sports car, judging from it's appearance. The SC will always be more of a luxury cruiser with a convertible hardtop. Actually, if they put the V10 of the LF-A inside the new SC, that would even be more desirable to me than a SC600h hybrid. It would be a good idea to put the V10 to good use in more models than just the LF-A. They don't put the 55/65 AMG engines in just one model neither.

I agree, but take a look at most (?) of the current SC430 drivers. Do they really look like they care if there is a V10 under that hood? I know around me, every SC430 I see has got an old fart behind the wheel, no offense

We don't have too many of those here on CL (I think ). But we're talking about the new SC, build them with both a V8 & a V10 & you'll attract more (& different ) buyers.

There are no lack of old farts behind the wheels of SL55/65's btw Usually, those are the kind of demographics that can afford them . . .