Revered by an aging owner base but lacking exciting vehicles to draw new buyers, Toyota's luxury marque is beginning to look like another prestige brand that followed its original customers to death's door: Buick.
"Lexus is Buick in training," said Rebecca Lindland of IHS Global Insight. "Lexus made its name with baby boomers. They're aging, and the average age of Lexus owners is increasing with them.
"Lexus hasn't been able to supplement the baby boomers' loyalty with younger buyers. They've tried with vehicles like the IS sport sedan, but they haven't been able to penetrate younger buyers."
The median age of a Lexus owner is 56, according to data from consultant AutoPacific. That's more than a decade younger than Buick, but years older than the median BMW, Infiniti or Audi buyer.
Lexus is in danger of becoming an "exit-level" brand, the vehicle people buy between retirement and the grave, said AutoPacific's Stephanie Brinley.
While Lexus attracts a younger, wealthier and better-educated buyer than Buick, the brands' owners list amazingly similar attributes when asked what they want in their vehicles.
What's notable isn't what buyers want -- everybody expects quality, reliability, comfort and safety in a new car -- but what's missing: Any association of the brands with style, performance or excitement.
"Neither Lexus nor Buick got into business to build the perfect car for retirees," Brinley said, but both brands have emphasized attributes that appeal to older buyers without effectively reaching out to younger shoppers.
The most notable difference in the list is that Lexus buyers rate the brand and vehicle's reputation highly as reasons to buy. "I'd bet Buick buyers had that view of their brand 20 or 30 years ago," Brinley said.
Lexus built its reputation on comfort, quiet, dependability and a fine dealership experience. Those factors all matter, but they trump everything else for older buyers. Younger buyers -- which a brand needs to stay relevant -- want more. Lexus has to convince them it's got that, too.
"Part of the problem is that Lexus doesn't have a good entry crossover SUV like the BMW X3 and Audi Q5," Lindland said. The RX 350 -- Lexus' best-selling vehicle by a wide margin -- is about the same size as those vehicles, "but it's seen as a mom-mobile, darned near a minivan," she said. "You expect it to be driven by a woman with children.
"Lexuses are dolled-up Toyota appliances," Lindland said. "They're built for reliability and dependability, not to generate excitement."
Lexus has tried to change its image with two recent vehicles: the IS-F performance sedan and HS 250h hybrid. The IS-F won critical applause, but doesn't seem to have raised the profile for the mainstream IS sedan, which was developed to challenge the BMW 3-series but hasn't made much of a mark.
The HS 250h is to go on sale this fall. If it generates half the acclaim Toyota's high-profile Prius hybrid does, it will be a triumph for Lexus. The HS 250h lacks the Prius' arresting looks, however, and its EPA rating of 35 m.p.g. in the city doesn't compare to the Prius' eye-popping 51-m.p.g.
"Toyota is facing a lot of issues that are new to it," Lindland said. "They don't have their head in the sand. They know there's a problem, but I don't know if they've got a solution."
For the younger folks such as myself we can barely afford any car and barely afford to do anything else substantial because we have less (relative) money compared to our parents, student loan debt, and more competing priorities. Luxury and performance vehicles are largely outside of our ability to buy right now...maybe when we're 40 or 50...maybe. I consider myself lucky to have been even able to afford the XRS Corolla I did with the deal I did....cars aren't cheap.
This is a no brainer. Not only Lexus has this problem, Toyota has this problem. Scion had a good start but they started to go "Toyota" on their ass and now its just another "Toyota." I know there are articles about this. Toyota knows they have gone off the core path of what Scion was supposed to be.
But as we all know Toyota's line up more so U.S. line up is so dull and boring. The Yaris hatch is the only car I like. But as far as sporty or any remotely exciting there is nothing. I'm such a disgruntled Toyota fan.
Toyota better do something. Lexus and Toyota are the Japanese Buick which we've been saying for years on this forum.
But there is hope, hopefully. WIth the new president being a car guy. It's good that Toyota wants to go "green" but have some exciting cars in the mix. Econo cars don't get most young people. Or hybrids
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U.S. media is a systematic censorship on free speech. They don't like what they hear they don't report. Don't want to upset the political and advertising sponsors. Its so corrupted. While they don't have to agree with certain views, its their job to report and let US decide.
Toyota might actually want to see what GM did with Cadillac to possibly find a solution to their problem. Remember the Cadillac whales from the 90s? Cadillac was nearing extinction until they destroyed the Cimarron's curse with a surprisingly dynamic car called the CTS.
If they want a Japanese example, the Infinity G35/37 is another one. I almost forgot Infiniti existed until the current G series cars showed up. In contrast to the past...did anyone remember what the G20 looked like?
Has anyone taken into consideration that maybe younger people cannot afford a lexus? I'm 26, I would love have an IS 250 but i cannot afford one. My brother wanted to get a used Lexus a couple years ago when he was in college and he paid 2Gs for a 1995 ES 300 with 250,000 miles on it, messed up leather and a crack in the windshield. Lexuses are expensive and retain there value very well making them unaffordable to the younger crowd. Now my cousin who is the same age as me buys Mercedes and BMWs he is always able to find used ones for real cheap cuz they dont hold their value like Lexus.
Has anyone taken into consideration that maybe younger people cannot afford a lexus? I'm 26, I would love have an IS 250 but i cannot afford one...Now my cousin who is the same age as me buys Mercedes and BMWs he is always able to find used ones for real cheap cuz they dont hold their value like Lexus.
That's the thing with the new cars: Toyota doesn't see a need for a "cheaper" model because anything cheaper is at the Toyota price point, and wouldn't be a "Lexus".
I haven't done comparison of prices, but I'm sure a used Lexus costs as much or little as a used BMW/Mercedes.
That's the thing with the new cars: Toyota doesn't see a need for a "cheaper" model because anything cheaper is at the Toyota price point, and wouldn't be a "Lexus".
I haven't done comparison of prices, but I'm sure a used Lexus costs as much or little as a used BMW/Mercedes.
Location might mean the difference between the resale rate of these sort of cars. Where I am Acura, Lexus and BMW have some of the highest resale rates in the used market while Mercedes depreciate a little bit more than those three.
What I do know what gives Mercedes and BMW an advantage over Lexus is...financing options. I could go to a Mercedes dealer right now and get a fantastic lease rate on a C-class, a significantly better deal than if I go to even just merely Toyota and Honda not even including Lexus. Mercedes particularly is very happy to lease cars, Toyota and Lexus offer pretty unattractive lease rates. The only reason I know is because my mom's friends got an unreal lease rate for C-class Mercs just a month ago.
Well, I dont know who can afford a lexus out of the box in there twenties...
But, I think Lexus should take a look at the Infinti marquee. Look at the relative success of the G35 coupe, create a coupe in the Lexus line up.
No hate to Scion, but make this coupe platform completely different from the tC's platform. The tC's platform is awful is my opinion, just a volume seller that does not have good quality, rather just a niche, that killed IMO a better car, the Toyota Celica. The tC's platform is aging and doesnt even offer enough in my opinion, I feel a Cobalt SS would be a better choice for a car if I was looking in that area. But, the tC filled its niche, its not meant to be remotely near performance but be a volume, rather generic seller that appeals to youth.
Lexus, create a sport coupe, so it can slot up against the 3 series, etc. and a 'F' model to bang up against the M3.
Here comes the dreams, kill the tC, use that Lexus coupe platform to bring back a Celica platform & throw the Camry's 4 banger in it.
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i love my 1992 Toyota Camry LE 2.2L 5S-FE - 73K
9005 NIGHT GUIDE LOW BEAMS|FOG LAMPS|PIONEER HU&AUDIO|KEYLESS ENTRY 1995 Acura Legend LS KA7 3.2L C32A - 87K
SADLY, SHE HAS MUCH MORE MODS...
LF-A is a good start. Develop first a halo supercar and then use the technology, experience and development of engine, suspension design etc. to trickle down through Lexus cars.
Lexus has been trying to please the performance oriented people without losing their core customers that demand stale, numb and uninvolving driving experience. That is why Lexus GS and IS failed to make an impact in the young performance oriented crowd since they are too stale, numb and boring.
Create new performance oriented cars that are start out as performance tuned cars and make them daily drivable rather than taking a normal commuter car and trying to making it feel and perform like a performance oriented car.
__________________ SSM 05 Corolla XRS 6 Spd VVTL-i 2ZZ-GE /04 Corolla S 1ZZ-FE (sold)
LF-A is a good start. Develop first a halo supercar and then use the technology, experience and development of engine, suspension design etc. to trickle down through Lexus cars.
Lexus has been trying to please the performance oriented people without losing their core customers that demand stale, numb and uninvolving driving experience. That is why Lexus GS and IS failed to make an impact in the young performance oriented crowd since they are too stale, numb and boring.
Create new performance oriented cars that are start out as performance tuned cars and make them daily drivable rather than taking a normal commuter car and trying to making it feel and perform like a performance oriented car.
^i agree.
for the current lineup, abuse the new-found "F" designation. "F" the fuck out of every model as a stepping stone (save the es and ls). add some sport packages to the GS line and really set it apart from the normal bunch.
for the next iteration of the IS and GS, really do some homework on sportier suspension (read bimmer). nuremberg laps. more track and sport oriented geometry. manual transmissions. at least come up with some genuine sequential manuals based on actual manual trannys. make the IS lighter and further differentiate it from the ES. any normal [non-informed] consumer would just see the IS as a sportier looking alternative to the ES (the website doesn't help).
new ads wouldn't hurt either. the current IS ads are a nice start, but too little and too late imo.
Create new performance oriented cars that are start out as performance tuned cars and make them daily drivable rather than taking a normal commuter car and trying to making it feel and perform like a performance oriented car.
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