The 9 Milestones That Make Lexus
Let's take a moment to honor the marque that utilized the basics of Toyota and pushed them into a direction of innovation, performance and luxury.
1. Eiji Toyoda
Way back in 1983, the chairman of the company, Eiji Toyoda, gave his consent to go ahead with the plan of creating an upscale luxury brand for the American market. Codenamed Circle F, this will be the beginnings of what would produce the first car from this new subdivision.
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2. The LS 400
From the first prototype in 1985 to the first test drive in 1986 with performance testing on German autobahns, the LS 400 has been put through the ringer to achieve new levels luxury and performance in the American market. The LS 400 makes its world debut at the 1989 Detroit auto show and later goes on sale that year in the U.S.
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3. The SC 400
To follow up the success of the LS 400, Lexus looked to offer a grand tourer coupe to give the prospective buyer options in pursuit of staying alongside rival cars such as the Acura Legend coupe and Infiniti M30 coupe. The exterior design of the car went to the Carlty Design Research center in California who used plaster molding which was a departure from 2-D sketch work. The SC 400 made its entrance to the United States on 1991 as a 1992 model and used the same 4.0-liter found in the preceding LS 400.
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4. GS 300
With the decree from the executives at Toyota wanting to move the LS 400 further up in ranking, there would need to be a new model that would fill the empty slot for a mid-level luxury vehicle. Italdesign Guigiaro, a design and engineering company in Italy, had the job of penning the new deluxe sedan that blended elements of the LS 400 and the SC 400 to express melding of those two worlds. The GS 300 changed names from the Toyota Aristo and came to States in 1993.
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5. The IS 300
The IS 300 launched in 2000 and finally gave the new market of younger luxury seeking consumers a car to flock to. The entry level sedan featured an aesthetic that made many in the demographic feel more comfortable than a stodgy C-Class sedan that was offered by Mercedes-Benz.
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6. LF Division
In 2003, the second generation of the RX 330 debut at the market but something the public wasn't aware of was going on as well. The Lexus Development Center was set up with a focus to develop models with the new "L-finesse" language that would take Lexus into its new phase.
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7. The RX400h
The RX had been on the production line since the late 1990's as a compact SUV but later in the early 2000's graduated up to a mid-size crossover SUV that met consumers who found themselves at an impasse who desired the more space than what a sedan could offer while side-stepping a full-size SUV. In 2004, the RX blew minds again when it became the world's first hybrid luxury SUV giving the market more versatility in a vehicle without having to compromise fuel economy.
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8. The CT
The CT 200h debuted in Geneva where the performance F Sport variant was announced as to give consumers options of how they wished to go about navigating roadways via hybrid flavors. Lexus set out to make the CT 200h apart from other hybrids by making it the world's first use of bio-PET, which is a plant-based, low-carbon bioplastic derived from sugar cane.
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9. The RC
The compact premium coupe called the Radical Coupe hit the streets in late 2015 and is the two-door version of the IS, although it carries the majority of design from the LF-CC concept. The car is offered with 4 engine variants including a 5.0-liter heart in the RC F spec. It carries the design language that is current with Lexus models which feature a large spindle grille, and sharp angles.
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For information on maintenance, repairs or modifications of your Lexus IS, RX GS or ES, scroll through our how-to section by clicking here.