2013 Lexus GS

Precisely two weeks remain for the official presentation of the all-new 2013 Lexus GS 350on Thursday, August 18th at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and the Japanese automaker decided it's time to enter the teaser photo game with the release of a single, partially blacked out image of the mid-size luxury sedan.
There's not much to say about the Lexus sedan from the photo other than that it looks a lot like the LF-Gh Hybrid concept we saw at this year's New York Auto Show.
For those of you that would like to see a bit more of the new GS than what Lexus has to offer, hit the break to watch the first test drive videos of the car by U.S. magazines Motor Trend and Road & Track.

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Mercedes-Benz Tops Secret Shopper Study of U.S. Dealers

Mercedes-Benz dealers were number one for customer treatment in the US according to an independent study by survey company Pied Piper. The California-based company hired 3,524 “secret shoppers” and sent them to US dealerships in order to determine how their salesmen were performing in anything from explaining a car’s features to closing a deal.

This is the third year in a row that Mercedes-Benz, which looks set to top the sales charts this year in the luxury segment, has topped Pied Piper’s study.

The German firm was followed by Jaguar and Lexus dealers, who tied in second place. According to the survey, Toyota and Chrysler’s Ram sales representatives were ranked the best among mass-market carmakers, while Mitsubishi and Suzuki finished at the bottom, as did Lincoln in the luxury segment.

According to CEO of Pied Piper, Fran O’Hagen, in general the brands that scored the poorest were those with the worst sales per dealership. O’Hagen added that’s easy to explain, as these brands cannot retain competent salesmen for a long time.

He also commented that reduced staff has had a negative impact in customer satisfaction now that sales are on the rise again and dealers don’t have the necessary staff to cover their needs.

However, as O’Hagen pointed out, the secret of success in this particular business is not really a secret at all. Good dealerships focus on a customer’s needs, get to know them and ask a few questions about their driving habits – and that takes skill and time.

The “secret”, according to O'Hagen, is to "think not like a salesman, but as a customer".

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Lexus Loses Top Spot in US After a Decade

Lexus has been the top-selling luxury brand in the US for the last 11 years. But in 2011 the luxury division of Toyota looks bound to lose the top spot to both BMW and Mercedes-Benz and be relegated to third place.

The earthquake and Tsunami that hit Japan in March and disrupted production is one of the reasons, as Lexus manufactures all bar one of its models (the RX) in its homeland. However, the production problems aren’t the sole reason for Lexus’ declining sales.

Last year’s recalls and the publicity they received had a negative effect on the brand. Moreover, arch-rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW are expanding their US line-up and offering bigger incentives – plus let’s not forget, the Germans also manufacture some of their cars locally in the US.

In an interview with the Dallas Morning News, Mark Templin, general manager of Lexus, commented that the media is giving too much attention to market leaders:

“In the 11 years Lexus was number one, we ‘ve never once bragged about it. When we had to reduce production, it pretty much guaranteed that we would be challenged to remain number one in sales”.

He also dismissed all the talk about luxury car ranking: “All that doesn’t matter. All we care about us being number one in quality”.

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Lexus Calls UK Buyers to Enjoy the Summer with IS 250C

While Britain may not be the ideal place to enjoy an open top model, Lexus is calling UK buyers to take a look at its new limited edition version of the IS 250C coupe-convertible. Exclusivity for the IS 250C Limited Edition comes in the form of a distinctive black and red semi-aniline leather interior along with a numbered badge fixed inside the glove-box.
The special edition model is based on the regular SE-L and as such comes fitted as standard with 18-inch alloy wheels, cruise control, electric one-touch easy access to the rear seats, eight-way electrically adjustable front seats with built-in ventilation and heating plus climate control that automatically adjusts temperature settings when the roof is down.
Available for order now, the IS 250C Limited Edition is priced in the UK at £39,990 on the road.

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VIDEO: Lexus LFA By Translogic

Bradley Hasemeyer has driven sοme unique vehicles. We have seen him take the helm οf a Tangο EV, the dolphin-shaped Seabreacher and the electric Z-Kart.

Nοw, Hasemeyer gets behind the wheel οf a vehicle that hits a little closer tο our Autοblog hearts, the Lexus LFA.

Dο not expect a smοky, sideways review of the car – after all, this is Translοgic, and the gist is tο dive into the technolοgy behind the machine.

What yοu can expect, though, is a well-made videο filled with great informatiοn... and that's exactly what is waiting fοr yοu

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2011 Lexus LS 460 Touring Edition

Lexus has aimed its 2011 LS 460 Touring Editiοn at a less frumpy crοwd, giving the ride new 19-inch wheels and a sportier bοdy kit. The Touring Edition gοes οn sale later this month with a sticker price οf $73,000 before destinatiοn charges.

Tο keep things looking fresh, Lexus is adding a special mica paint jοb tο the limited-productiοn sedan.

The Touring Edition package alsο features spοrt seats, matte-finish wood paneling and black leather uphοlstery with saddle leather accents.

Lexus says this thing will be built in limited numbers, but dοes not say hοw limited. Want οne? Get in line nοw.

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VIDEO: Lexus LFA Wows the Crowds at Tokyo Drift

A bespoke sports car priced over than $370,000 and of which only 500 will be produced worldwide, isn’t something you normally expect to see at a drift event. But in the Land of the Rising Sun, everything goes when it comes to burning tires and wowing crowds.
Making its appearance on the sidelines of the 2011 D1 Grand Prix Tokyo drift was this stock Lexus LFA, which you can enjoy in action in the video that follows after the break.

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Renault Wind Roadster and Lexus CT 200h Hybrid

Selling a car through advertising isn’t as easy as you might think. What good is it showing your product nimbly taking on Alpine twists and turns when your competitors are doing the same thing? Here are two ads that don’t really break the mould, but try something a little different.
First up is this one for the open-top Renault Wind. I’m a big fan of this car; I think it’s a funky and decidedly French take on the compact convertible. Still, there’s something disturbingly I Am Legend about this particular ad from the firm Publicis Conseil. The eerily vacant streets, the shuttered windows and the presence of a dog sitting on a street corner all at up to the expectation that Will Smith should be running through the scene pursued by monsters.
Next is the spot for the Lexus CT 200h hybrid hatch by firm Saatchi & Saatchi. A little boy sits in the back seat while his mother asks him the sounds various modes of transport make. It’s very cute, especially if you have children. You can check out both these ads right here and then leave a comment in the section below if you wish.
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Audi Challenges BMW, Mercedes and Lexus with new Ad Campaign

Audi of America has launched a new advertising campaign that will most likely generate a similar response from the competition in the premium segment. Under the tagline “Car Carrier”, the two Audi commercials feature a BMW owner that goes nuts when he sees a truck full of brand new automotive metal from Ingolstadt.

The driver gets out of his BMW 3-Series through the sunroof and jumps on the truck only to discover that the cars have already been claimed for by people like himself (i.e. desperate to get their hands on an Audi). Therefore, he has no choice but to settle for the passenger seat.

The voice in the ad explains the situation: “More people are leaving BMW, Mercedes and Lexus for Audi than ever before”.

Fact or marketing fiction (we incline towards with the latter), expect to see a reply in the form of a campaign from one of Audi’s rival brands in the very near future. But until then, scroll down to take a look at Audi’s TV spots.

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Lexus Loses Big In the U.S.A

It took eleven years for Lexus to earn the title of top dog of the U.S. luxury car market, and roughly the same amount of time for it to lose it. As a result of parent company Toyota’s accelerator pedal recall saga and the fifty percent drop in production capacity caused by the Tōhoku earthquake, old guard automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz have left the Japanese upstart gasping for air in third place.

According to automotive forecaster IHS,Mercedes-Benz will most probably sell 254,100 cars and SUVs in the States topping BMW’s estimated deliveries of 250,400 units. Lexus is projected to drop to third place with 192,900 sales.
Eric Noble, President of automotive consulting firm The Car Lab, recently told Bloomberg news: “The house was on fire at Lexus before the earthquake hit. If the current situation wakes them up to that, then some good may come from it.”
Though it has sunk a lot of money into the LFA supercar and CT 200h hybrid batch, Lexus’ supposed mainstay models – the IS, GS and LS ranges of sedans – have all been stagnating. Its rivals meanwhile have been ramping up U.S. production, developing new or refreshing older models and sinking hundreds of millions in improving its stateside manufacturing facilities.
Bill Visnic, an analyst at Edmunds says: “Lexus is in a sort of lull in their product cadence. [The Lexus GS] is aging and doesn’t hold a candle to what BMW and Mercedes are doing.”
Though Lexus has long held a strategic position in the U.S. market, its sales outside North America have been lacking. As was the case with Volvo and safety, reliability is now pretty much a given and excellence in customer service has become integral to the vast majority of the world’s luxury automakers. With Lexus’ current woes, the result is, as you’d expect.
As Alexander Edwards, President of consumer research company Strategic Vision says: “For people who were sitting on the fence about Lexus, we saw them remove the brand from the shopping list.”
Take Audi for instance, a long-time market leader in both Europe and China. The brand’s recently revamped A6 model is doing well overseas, and the German automaker hopes it’ll have similar success stateside. Alexander Edwards again:
“The most interesting change hasn’t been with those three, but with Audi. Audi has seen very strong movement forward, capturing some aspirational [sic] interest among Gen-Y buyers, the younger consumer group that everyone wants to attract.”
The battle lines have been drawn, and three titans are ready to fight for the number one spot in 2012. Unfortunately, it looks as if Lexus will not be one of them.

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Lexus LF-Gh Concept

Today’s the day for Lexus to formally lift the wraps off its new LF-Gh hybrid concept ahead of its global debut at the 2011 New York International Auto Show, which runs for the public from April 22 to May 1. The Japanese firm’s latest concept is for a premium grand tourer that previews a new design direction for the next generation of Lexus models.

Even though Toyota’s luxury division won’t say it, the LF-Gh’s also hints at a replacement for the GS given the proximity in size between the two models as the concept measures 192.5-in. long, 73.6-in. wide, 57.1-in. tall while riding on a 112.2-in long wheelbase. In comparison, the current GS is 190.7-in long, 71.7-in. wide, 56.1-in tall and rides on the same 112.2-in long wheelbase.

Lexus says that through this exercise, it redefines its L-Finesse design philosophy, which debuted in 2001, adding that it represents a bolder styling that “unites hard and soft; and energetic and soothing elements”. Needless to say, the LF-Gh has borrowed many styling elements from Lexus’ first supercar, the LF-A, including the body surfaces as well as the shape of the tail lamps, headlights and front grille.

“Customers have been waiting for a bold concept like this from Lexus,” said Mark Templin, Lexus Division group vice president and general manager. “We look forward to their feedback and integrating some of these exciting design features into future Lexus vehicles.”

We only get a glimpse of the interior in these photos, but from what we can tell, the LF-A also played a role in the styling of the cabin and dashboard. According to the Japanese automaker, “it is an interior designed to respond to the needs of customers who know true quality, and are particular about details”.

The only information we get about the powertrain setup is that the LF-Gh features a hybrid propulsion system.

More details will be released next week during the car’s world premiere at the New York Auto Show.

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