8. Lexus SC430
January to October '07 sales: 3,311
Vs. January to October '06: Down 33.2%

With a V-8 engine and sophisticated hardtop convertible arrangement, plus the Lexus reputation for top-shelf service, you might think the SC430 is a shoe-in for warm-weather scenesters. But luxury coupe buyers are a finicky, style-conscious bunch, so it's really no surprise the SC430 is falling out of fashion, six years after its introduction.

Link to article

 

That is no suprise.

The SC430 is no longer aging gracefully. It's outdated by more efficient and powerful engines, and you can get a hardtop convertible (G6, Eos, Sebring) for near $30k nowadays.

Of course, the SC430 still dominates in material quality and unsurpassed reliability, and that is what you are truly paying for.

I don't see it staying for another year. I definately see it being discontinued.

 

Still out selling the $100k XLR. What were they thinking when they released this pig.

 

Forbes fails to mention.
1. It has always been a limited production car.
2. It is an expensive coupe, NO expensive coupes sell in high numbers.
3. Its old compared to the competition.

 

IMO, where Forbes fails is that they "named" it. They shouldn't name it, should be a solid conclusion from statistical analysis.

 

When it comes down to it, there are no reasonable alternatives. The XLR, BMW 6 series, MB SL500 are so much more expensive. The EOS, G6, Volvo are boring and uninspiring. The Corvette is too crude, the XK8 is too uncomfortable and unreliable (although beautiful in the right colors), the 911 is too old and archaic, but with great performance. Why should one spend 80K on a 911 and then add in another $3300 for FULL leather, not to mention all their other options that can add another $25k easily to the sticker? Toyota has spoiled me. Porsche still charges an additional $825 for metallic paint! I know the 430 performance is not in the same league, but in our real world, how often does one get use it? The best SC430 feature is the entire experience and that says a lot for the product and the commitment of Toyota to obtain and retain their customers. I just hope that Toyota (Lexus) keeps a two-door in their line-up to keep me as a customer.

 

Then I'll take "old and archaic". You make some good points, but I disagree with that one.

 

Yeah the 911 is only 3 years young and its selling better than ever. That car is tops in class, its superb!!

 

I definitely see the SC staying around for a long, long time. The next generation of course will be the SC 460, no doubt about that. Toyota/Lexus needs coupes I highly doubt they will discontinue the SC. The only model Lexus ever discontinued was the SC 300. It definitely never made it to the SC 350...

 

The car is so old.

I just wish Lexus wasn't so conservative, with releasing new cars. Minimum for them should be 4 years and maximum 6 years. Not a bloody decade.

 

Whats funny is that I just saw the sales report on Toyota for this month and the SC out sold the v8 GS's. Whats even better is that the GS just came out with the newer V8 and its not the time to buy a convertable but yet the SC beat it.

Lets face it, thru out all of time, people have always flocked to the cheaper models. So if Lexus wanted to sell more SCs, they would just put in the cheaper 3.5L V6 and drop the price. But they don't because they don't care. Its a low volume car and its owners are happy with them. If anything I wish Lexus would release a high-performance version the SC, but please don't give it the ugliest hood on the planet like the IS-F. Yuck..

 

unfortunately you can't compare the sc430 to the gs430 (07) because lexus simply didn't produce many gs430. they were pushing the gs450h and intentionally made the gs430 to be an order only car when they were busy preparing the gs460

the way i see it, it's a fact that lexus doesn't care about the sales of the sc430, because they have had their run, they have reached their goal, and they are busy working on the NEXT sc.

 

I agree! Well said dogwalker


You mean 30 years young?
911 History

I love the new 911's they are bad ***, yet archaic by historical statistics.

 

Hi folks,

I didn't mean to cause a stink about the 911, as I've owned two. I love them and think they're the best performance bang for the buck, with the possible exception of a Corvette. This is not the dispute. The issue is around ergonomics and daily living with the 911. Here's a little of my ownership viewpoint; AC is marginal (I live in the south), the dash layout is better than in the past, but not up to the Lexus level. I've tried finding a dash **** at night with marginal lighting, going 75MPH for example. The rear and front overhangs are long, to the point where it's easy to drag either end going over uneven pavement, speedbumps, and driveway entrances. The noise level is still high, making a conversation at highway speed difficult. I guess that I'm just getting old...happens to the best, I mean marginal of us...

 

Thanks for the kind words 1TYTESC!