The following is a message from Karl Schlicht, the former general manager of global Lexus product & marketing planning.
Dear Lexus Enthusiasts,
First off, I must say it has been a honor to be involved with Lexus Enthusiast, and also having the chance to write the occasional blog post this year.
The relationship between Kevin & I started last year at the Lexus GS debut, when we two Canadians met by chance in the same shuttle ride to Pebble Beach. Right then and there, our ideas began to flow.
The people on this site — you — are tremendous, and so very passionate!! Led by Kevin’s constant and fast (and sometimes too fast) updates on anything Lexus, you truly motivate and drive us to do better — so thank you.
I will be heading to Europe, where I will be overseeing both Lexus & Toyota in what is arguably the toughest market for Japanese brands. I have held a Lexus post five times now (basically half of my career), and Lexus will always be my main passion within the TMC umbrella.
You will be in great hands back in Japan, as Mark Templin takes over the reins along with the extremely capable Andrew Kirby — both of whom hopefully take what we’ve started here at Lexus Enthusiast much further and better.
Lexus is on a roll — we have worked so hard to bring you some new world-class-leading models, all of which were developed during our toughest and darkest hours a few years back. We will never give up on our Relentless Pursuit, but now we want to push the boundaries even more and deliver Amazing. We want to give you amazing design, amazing interiors and amazing leaps in driving pleasure, just like what we’ve done with the GS (the next IS will be even better, I can personally confirm this). Of course, we want to do all this and continue to bring the best dealer service on the planet.
Thanks for being our inspiration — keep talking to us, and challenge us when we need to do better.
I will be watching!
Regards,
Karl
Prior to his appointment as a managing officer of the Toyota Motor Company and executive vice president for sales at Toyota Motor Europe, Karl Schlicht was in charge of the Lexus worldwide product and marketing planning division. www.lexus-global.com
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