Lexus USA held its annual dealer meeting in New Orleans last week, where dealership representatives had a chance to see future vehicles and learn about what’s next for the brand.
While the new products in the pipeline remain a mystery, Toyota’s Driver Seat blog has some quotes from president Akio Toyoda’s speech at the event:
“For a car guy like me, the promise of Lexus is the fulfillment of every dream I ever had as a kid,” said Toyoda, known for personally test-driving new vehicles as well as competing on the racetrack. “If you’re addicted to the high of driving at 180 miles per hour, then you have some sense of why Lexus is so important to me. It’s why, in fact, I risk my life for Lexus!”
“It’s not just a single element like horsepower,” he said. “It is how all the parts work together, from the suspension, to the acceleration, to the sound of the engine, to the tuning. So we will have horsepower for sure. But we will also look at performance as a whole to deliver a truly superb driving experience for our customers.”
With every speech and interview, the vision that Toyoda-san has for Lexus becomes clearer — although it’s constantly framed as Lexus trying to catch up with the German brands, this transition into high-performance is built on the passion of the company’s leader. That’s a powerful message very similar to the launch of Lexus in 1989, when Toyota set out to prove that a Japanese luxury sedan could compete with the best in the world.
The next year should prove very interesting indeed — Have to say, it’s an exciting time to be a Lexus enthusiast!
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