Mark Templin on Improving US Lexus Dealerships

In a presentation at the Automotive News World Congress, Lexus General Manager Mark Templin outlined the automaker’s plans to enhance their US dealerships even further: ” We’re trying to create a feeling in our car dealerships more of a luxury hotel than a car dealership,” Templin said after his presentation. The dealerships also want to …
Kevin · January 22nd, 2008

Lexus Sales Projections for 2008

Considering the current climate of the US automotive market, Lexus US sales projections for 2008 are near identical to the 2007 totals. Lexus General Manager Mark Templin, speaking with the Free Press, announced that Lexus hopes to move 330,000 vehicles in 2008: Lexus was the best-selling luxury brand in the United States in 2007 with …
Kevin · January 16th, 2008

Lexus Dedicated Hybrid to Debut at Next Year’s Detroit Auto Show

During a media reception last night at the Detroit Auto Show, Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe announced that a dedicated Lexus hybrid will be introduced at next year’s convention: “Next year here in Detroit, we will expand our conventional hybrid line-up by staging world premiers of two all-new, dedicated hybrids, one for Toyota and one for …
Kevin · January 14th, 2008

Lexus LF-A News from Australia

Austalian website Drive has posted an interesting article about the Lexus LF-A, including some further verification that the car’s being delayed until the engineers can reach a top speed of 220mph: As for when the Lexus LF-A will appear in dealerships, the company hasn’t set an exact date yet. But Lexus insiders suggest the car’s …
Kevin · December 19th, 2007

Lexus Europe Hopes to Triple Sales by 2010

According to Karl Schlicht, Head of Lexus Europe, Lexus is experiencing great success in Russia and hopes to increase their European sales three-fold by 2010: “If things continue as they are, by 2010 we will have doubled our Russian sales volume, which is currently at 17,000,” said Karl Schlicht, chief for Europe for the brand …
Kevin · November 21st, 2007

Car Magazine, The Lexus LF-Xh, and Some Photoshop Fun

Car Magazine has put in their two cents regarding the design of the Lexus LF-Xh concept, and they like what they see: The concept’s exterior dimensions are similar to the RX400h’s, but crucially massaged in all the right ways to alleviate the current model’s slightly ungainly ‘body-disconnected-from-its wheels’ stance. The LF-Xh is longer and wider …
Kevin · October 25th, 2007

Spy Shots: 2010 Lexus GX 470/4Runner?

Leftlane News has posted spy shots of either the 2009 Toyota 4Runner or the 2010 Lexus GX, you can take your guess picking which. In all honesty, with those extended tail lights, it looks more like a transformer in mid-change — a very effective camouflage job, indeed. The rear looks widened, and even a bit …
Kevin · October 16th, 2007

Hybrid High Performance Coming from Lexus?

Jim Farley has been a busy man over the last twenty-four hours, first dishing the dirt on Lexus’ plans in Europe, then announcing in a Bloomberg interview that Lexus could pursue high performance hybrids aimed at “enthusiast groups”. No details were given, but there’s been rumblings for some time about the possibility of a LF-A …
Kevin · September 27th, 2007

Lexus to Launch a Small Luxury Car in Europe?

Toyota exec Tokuichi Uranishi, in an interview with German car magazine Auto Motor und Sport, has stated that in order for Lexus to compete in Europe’s luxury market, the lineup will have to be expanded, and should include a small luxury car, a la the BMW 1-Series/Mercedes 1-Class. Increasing European marketshare has become a #1 …
Kevin · September 26th, 2007

Lexus’ Future is Upscale Only

Automotive News has revealed a number of significant facts about the future of Lexus, and it’s strictly upscale — with no plans to release a sub-$30,000 vehicle, Lexus will not be attempting to match their German competitors car-for-car, instead focusing their current lineup and all new vehicles at high-end segments. Broken down, what does it …
Kevin · August 21st, 2007

Insider Reveals 2009 Lexus RX Details (Including the RX-F?!)

James Fabin, Senior Product Manager for MyRide.com, has dropped some major news regarding the 2009 RX on his blog. Here’s the specifics: The 2009 RX will be offered in two versions, a five-passenger model similar to the current model, and a new seven-passenger long wheelbase model. A six-speed transmission will be standard. The RX 350’s …
Kevin · August 14th, 2007

Are We Looking at the New Lexus JX?

Edmund’s Straightline Blog has some interesting analysis of the recent 2009 RX spy shots, suggesting that it’s not a RX at all, but an all-new model, the Lexus JX: What’s a JX 460? It’s yet another luxury sport ute, but unlike the softly sprung RX, the JX will be a performance-oriented crossover along the lines …
Kevin · August 10th, 2007

More Information on the 2009 Lexus RX

Today is full of next-gen RX news, this time from Auto Express. There’s the rather swell artist rendering (shown above), along with some speculation on the spy shots released last week: At first glance, it looks like any other RX, but close inspection reveals that the rear lights no longer sit flush with the bodywork. …
Kevin · August 8th, 2007

2009 Lexus RX in the Wild

The redesigned Lexus RX, scheduled for release in 2009, has been caught on camera for the first time, but not without a healthy amount of camouflage cladding that’s very successful at keeping most of the particulars a secret. There are a few details that can be discerned, the most obvious being the significant drop in …
Kevin · August 8th, 2007

Spy Shots of the Next Gen RX

WorldCarFans has scored some spy shots of next generation Lexus RX SUV, which give some hints of what to expect in the vehicle’s future. Judging by the ill-fitting body panels and the extensive taping, the vehicle will be expanding in width and length. The cut bumpers and rear doors would indicate a shift in the …
Kevin · July 31st, 2007

News on the Upcoming Lexus IS-F & GS 460

A user at Autospies has posted up some information on the new IS-F and GS, taken from the latest issue of Motor Trend: Lexus IS/IS-F:”…The first offering in the new Lexus F-series of ultra-perfomance cars, expect the IS-f to have 400-425-hp version of the 5.0L V-8 from the LS 600h, eight-speed paddle-shifted automatic, Brembo ABS …
Kevin · July 30th, 2007