Lexus Australia Dealerships to grow 50%  by 2012

When John Roca, the chief executive of Lexus Australia, isn’t leaking the future plans of his employer, he’s busy planning the expansion of Australia’s dealer network by more than 50%: Lexus Australia has announced plans to grow its current 22-strong dealer network by more than 50% by 2012. Dealers will commit A$230m towards new and …

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Kevin · April 8th, 2008

Lexus LS 460 Commercial: The Life of a US Open Tennis Ball

I remember hearing about it last year, but this is the first time I’ve seen this Lexus commercial detailing the life of a US Open tennis ball after its day in the spotlight: Quirky and cute, it’s a neat take on the standard sponsorship advertisement, and makes you think, what really does happen to all …

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Kevin · April 8th, 2008

Details on Lexus’ Future Lineup

John Roca, the chief executive of Lexus Australia, just can’t seem to help himself when it comes to leaking new product announcements. In an interview with The Australian, Roca dropped information about a number of new vehicles in the Lexus pipeline: Lexus will be expanding the F lineup to include the GS-F, which was rumored …

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Kevin · April 7th, 2008

Technophobe Falls for the Lexus LS 600hL

James Martin, an automobile reviewer for the Daily Mail, has an aversion to car technology, and was pretty sure he was going to despise the Lexus LS 600hL, but then something strange happened: I’m not even into technology on cars. Four wheels and an engine is complex enough – after all these years, it still …

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Kevin · April 5th, 2008

Car & Driver Comparison Test: Lexus IS-F vs. BMW M3

When I saw that Car & Driver was running a comparison test between the BMW M3 sedan and the Lexus IS-F, I knew it was a forgone conclusion, the BMW was going to come out on top. After all, the 3-series, which the M3 is based on, has been a fixture on C&D’s 10Best list …

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Kevin · April 3rd, 2008

The Real Lexus Numbers in Japan

Last month, Business Week published a story detailing Lexus’ lack of success in Japan when compared to its German competitors. As a respected magazine, it was easy to take their findings at face value, but by using some actual numbers obtained from the Japanese Automotive Dealers Association, the story looks to have been sensationalized slightly. …

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Kevin · April 2nd, 2008

Companion Video from Auto Express’ IS-F/M3/C63 Comparison Test

Here’s a video to go along with Auto Express’ comparison test of the Lexus IS-F, BMW M3, Mercedes C63 and Audi RS4, though the RS4 is omitted from the footage, due to the fact that it’s been discontinued: It’s nice to see all three cars as they cut a line across the same track, but …

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Kevin · April 2nd, 2008

Lexus USA March 2008 Sales Report

The automotive manufacturing recession was in full swing in March, making for another month of sales drops. Here’s the per model breakdown (please note that GS sales are now being grouped): 2008 2007 % Change IS250/350/F 4,798 5,077 1.8 ES350 6,019 7,444 -12.9 GS350/460/450h 1,668 2,103 -14.6 SC430 271 370 -21.1 LS460/600h L 2,125 3,134 …

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Kevin · April 1st, 2008