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A Tour of the Lexus LS L-Select Program in Japan


While in Tokyo last year for the opening of INTERSECT, I also took the opportunity to visit two of the city’s Lexus showrooms, the Lexus Gallery Takanawa and the Lexus International Gallery Aoyama.

Both showrooms are amazing in their attention to detail and level of attentiveness, and both have displays dedicated to the Lexus L-Select program, the Japan-only custom interior package for the flagship LS sedan.

To illustrate possible combinations, the L-Select program has six “presets” — here are the four that I saw.


Japanese Modern

Lexus LS L-Select Japanese Modern

The white-dyed bird’s eye maple in the Japanese Modern combination is beautiful, and the red carpeting brings a serious splash of color to the elegant interior.

See more information on the Japanese Modern L-Select package


Royal Therapy

Lexus LS L-Select Royal Therapy

Orange in an LS is a weird fit, but Royal Therapy balances it with a light shade of grey. The feather pattern in the wood is something else.

See more information on the Royal Therapy L-Select package


Wild Beauty

Lexus LS L-Select Wild Beauty

As the only LS F SPORT example, the Wild Beauty combination is rather understated despite its purple leather.

See more information on the Wild Beauty L-Select package


Escape Journey

Lexus LS L-Select Escape Journey

The only L-Select at the Lexus International Gallery Aoyama, the Escape Journey combination is nautical in theory and completely unbelievable in reality — what a crazy way to color an LS.

See more information on the Escape Journey L-Select package


There was also a more general display showing all the possible color combinations, here’s some photos:


Despite some color combinations that my North American sensibility found jarring, L-Select is an amazing program that bumps up the prestige level of the Lexus flagship sedan.

Owner personalization is arguably one of the biggest trends in the luxury automotive market, and will only be more important moving forward. There are certainly some logistical issues with bringing the L-Select program to markets outside of Japan, but Lexus managed to pull off something even more complex with the LFA.

Is there a global market for this level of customization for LS buyers? What do you think?

Special thanks to everyone at the Takanawa & Aoyama galleries in Japan, and to my hosts at Lexus International for accompanying me on my tour.

Lexus LS: Fourth Generation
Comments
L
  • L
    Levi
  • April 3, 2014
I hope Lexus fixed the logistical problem with the individualisation of their cars. My mission at Lexus Europe?
B
  • B
    Black Dynamite
  • April 3, 2014
I fully expect the "L-Select" program to launch in the U.S. when the LS is redesigned.... BD
    M
    • M
      Mike DeLorca
    • April 3, 2014
    I agree. This is overdue and moving forward into the future of new Luxury, it its a must ! BESPOKE is needed to bring LEXUS into a higher tier Luxury Brand.
    S
    • S
      swickrem
    • April 4, 2014
    @disqus_lZH2CKEDGm:disqus What are your thoughts on when that may happen....the LS redesign?
    J
    • J
      Joshd
    • April 4, 2014
    Bring it on Lexus! Can't wait to see what the next flagship sedan looks like.
    F
    • F
      F1orce
    • April 5, 2014
    Fingers crossed. This is what I call tasteful
H
If the "L-Select" got started in the Middle-East, the sales of Lexus will get high!
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  • P
    PG
  • April 3, 2014
Seriously, what's Lexus' problem? Every brand that takes luxury serious has a customization program. And they offer it worldwide.
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  • V
    VossenWheels
  • April 3, 2014
Nice, I also got a tour in January and would love to see this here! Great write-up!
F
  • F
    F1orce
  • April 5, 2014
Japanese Modern is sweet!
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  • J
    Justin
  • April 6, 2014
Lexus have been slow to offer individualization, although the logistics of Japan's distance from North America and Europe could be a simple explanation. Customization has been a big trend for about five years now - just look at the Fiat 500! Audi, BMW and Mercedes offer individualization even on their smallest models (A1, 1 Series, and A-class). Toyota are also now finally onto it with the new Aygo, but for Lexus to do it would most likely need a lot of dealer involvement. The dealer may have to change over interior trim to meet the customer's requirements, for example. But why not? Don't let the Germans have all the fun!

J