Joaquin Ruhi

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I like Road Show by CNet's commentary on the Lexus Enthusiast "Minivan at Shanghai" news story:

Lexus rumored to be readying a luxury minivan for Shanghai, report says
Minivans are big business in SE Asia, so could Lexus be looking to get in on that game with a fancy people-mover of its own?
BY KYLE HYATT
MARCH 29, 2019

Here in the US, the minivan has started to fall by the wayside, relegated to its place in history as the butt of lazy jokes, as the SUV becomes the de facto family hauler. In China, however, that's not the case.

That's why when Lexus announced that it would be debuting a new vehicle at the Shanghai Auto Show next month, it got some folks thinking that rather than a new RX or GX, maybe it would be a real deal, no B.S. luxury Lexus minivan.

No, wait, stop laughing. We're serious.

The folks over at Lexus Enthusiast convinced us. See, not long after the brand made its teaser announcement for Shanghai, the Lexus Taiwan Facebook page posted some cryptic text talking about "Luxury of personal space" and so on, language which -- as Lexus Enthusiast points out -- is regularly used to sell minivans in Southeast Asia.

It's like the people of China and SE Asia saw Get Shorty back in 1995 and took the whole idea of "Cadillac of minivans" thing to heart. The boxy people-conveyers aren't just sold to harried parents there, they are seen as real luxury vehicles for people with means and taste.

This idea of a Lexus minivan makes even more sense when you consider the fact that Toyota has intimated that we could see a brand new Sienna on a new platform by 2021. An announcement of a new luxury van now means that its release could coincide with that refresh.

Obviously, this is all a bunch of wild, tinfoil hat-wearing, bicycle conversation in A Scanner Darkly-style crazy speculation, but wouldn't it be kind of cool?

Lexus didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/lexus-minivan-shanghai-auto-show-rumor/
 

spwolf

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The Alphard already is the best luxury minivan, period. The Alphard is relatively new and got its facelift last year with updated powertrains and interior. They cannot improve its competitiveness any further because there is no competitor.....

keep in mind there are still ways to improve Alphard, even if competition doesnt have anything better... Lexus should be way nicer.

Toyota-Alphard-Interior.jpg
 

maiaramdan

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You forgot the Mitsubishi Pajero.

Toyota is not Mitsubishi by any means, at least for now

But with they stubborn late future schedule and keep postponing everything they may face the same fate

Tundra
Seqouia
Land cruiser 200
LX
Prado
GX
4 Runner
GS
Mark X

All with 10+ years and they need every single car in this list
 

GSCT

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This has got to be the ugliest front end ever. Looks like a bloated Cadillac grill.

Even Cadillac never fell this low and we haven’t seen what a mess the spindle grill could add. If it’s not real careful, Lexus could come out of this with a blow to its style/performance image so carefully cultivated over the last decade.
 

spwolf

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Even Cadillac never fell this low and we haven’t seen what a mess the spindle grill could add. If it’s not real careful, Lexus could come out of this with a blow to its style/performance image so carefully cultivated over the last decade.

So Lexus China should not offer a minivan that Chinese people want to buy, because you in USA or me in Europe think minivans are not cool?
 

GSCT

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So Lexus China should not offer a minivan that Chinese people want to buy, because you in USA or me in Europe think minivans are not cool?

Well, I know it sounds arrogant, but basically yes. I can’t imagine we will ever see a BMW or Audi minivan.
 

flexus

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I agree to this broaden your horizon.
So Lexus China should not offer a minivan that Chinese people want to buy, because you in USA or me in Europe think minivans are not cool?
Never heard about MB B or V? Maybe BMW 2? I think they're ugly but Germans like them.
 
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