Now I am ready to say something about what I read in this thread and quite a few others that seemed unfairly critical of people expressing VALID concerns about the future of this brand and what seems to be much more attention being given to the Toyota brand side of things.
It is very easy to accuse a number of us of being blindly negative and using "sales" and etc as an excuse to "bash" the brand when that is not the intention of any of us. There is something called constructive feedback.
I extremely resent the condescending tone being espoused towards those of us who happen to be gearheads, in the respect that we love traditional, petrol-powered ICE vehicles and would've liked for Lexus during the past decade, to have gone where their competition was going and offer more choices and configurations in their product line.
We are the enthusiasts, who are people that will buy a credible top notch effort, if it meets the right targets. When some of the general public sees these halo vehicles in person or an social mediq, does that not help get them into the dealer showroom? As in someone who just might settle for a lower spec version of what nameplate we have or cheaper model, because that F car is unattainable, but maybe a IS300 F-Sport or ES 350 will do?
I also really do not appreciate it when those of us who happen to be enthusiasts are written off in the manner of people who would be like the average contrarian hipster on Jalopnik or The Truth About Cars, that pines and whines after the least popular configuration of vehicle, for the sake of being seen as a "different" so that they can feel special. Some stupidly convoluted cult of Automotive Darwinism.
At the prices people pay for these Lexus vehicles, there is NO reason for them to continue settling for old technology and not have the right to complain about wanting something better and more current, without being criticized for daring to question who is running things.
Or have a limited choice in having luxury features in a sporty trim (look at an M-Sport 750i or S63 AMG that can have all the luxury within it too). Is there a reason F-Sport should mean "compromised" in so many cases? Look at the choices offered IS, GS, and LS F-Sport cars in terms having to make sacrifices, thanks to poorly thought out packages designed to cut costs above everything.
Also, if they are not intent on keeping some of their product up-to-date or competitive, then be prepared to start lowering MSRPs or throwing in the incentives, as your vehicles are further outmatched by your market competition.
Until this past week, I almost didn't log into LE ever again upon reading some things that could've easily been directed at me, as if I was an immature pubescent, who didn't know any better about how the very industry I work in operates.
Lexus is easily where it is because of a difficult executive board at Toyota, a CEO who doesn't want be in a position of fighting with difficult colleagues all the time & makes compromises for shareholder interest, and an ineffective brand president who has since been replaced, but not soon enough to make an immediate effect.
We once had something to be immensely positive about in the early days of LE, because we expected Lexus to deliver on near everything coming off the high of the the amazingly innovative 4th gen LS, the off the walls LFA, the LF-LC Concept, Spindle Grille reinvention, grand promises were made for the future 5th generation LS, new IS sized coupe, new compact CUVs, GS-F, and timely redesigns expected in shift to a new modular platform across different model lines.
People were patient and hoped with the LC500 and new LS coming, the new modular architectures would bring new powertrains (competitive & fuel efficient), massive improvements, new class leading interfaces, and all kinds of things would gradually migrate across the lineup, to make up for what couldn't be done in the early-mid 2010s and was respectfully understood by the majority.
Well, a lot of that just didn't happen, did it? And we people are supposed to swallow that again, after a decade of hopes & promises? No freaking thank you, so please don't insult us nor our intelligence, if we bring up valid points. Lexus personnel already do that to a degree officially, by condescendingly brushing off any possible concerns as molehill.
I have said enough honestly, because I've lost patience in taking an interest in a brand, that doesn't want to stay on their toes and be their absolute best.
A pet project in the LC-F is not going to fix that nor did the one-off LFA. A consistently flowing volume line up of excellent product does that. From CT to LX. Top to bottom. I know they can do it.
I had MANY shares in Nissan, in which my family and I each cut loose last year, in sensing a significant collapse in value (which did happen eventually). Infiniti was a deciding factor 15 years ago when my father originally invested in Nissan.
Infiniti is a shadow of what it was in 2005 and we got tired of seeing or hearing about so many future products, that never hit the dealer floor. Infiniti is a revolving door of employees because of this. Everything there has taken a Nissan brand focus and scarily Toyota is almost echoing that.
I can only hope the appointment of the brilliant LC chief engineer, Koji Sato, can make a turnaround over the next 3-5 years and do things that his 2 predecessors couldn't for Lexus.
But I am not going to wait and see. I have a life and I don't like getting invested in things, which produce little to no results.
I left Jaguar because I didn't want to work at Land Rover branch solely instead and I felt all the work I did was going nowhere.
I give Lexus until end of 2021 to meet all my targets (on new & future product on deck at that very time) or will just move on altogether and not look back as I did with Jaguar and Infiniti.
