When shopping a car most people looks at things like features, interior room, cargo space, engine specs, price, ect. Quantifiable things. Value things. Hyundai has mastered the art of this... giving you everything on paper that you could want for a price you can like. Then there are more emotional aspects of shopping a car. Styling, craftsmanship, design. The seductive aspects of a car.

You look at an Aston DB9 and know this thing has no real practical use in your life but all that goes out of the window because, well, she makes eyes at you.

One thing I notice about Lexus is that they seduce you in the details of their interior craftsmanship. The buttery leather, the almost luminescent wood, the way light plays off the surfaces, the smooth, liquid damping of the switches and controls, the whisper quiet operation of the power features. At auto shows I always notice how people respond when they sit inside a Lexus... there's a seduction taking place and I really believe that this is where people get hooked on a Lexus.

Other cars may seduce in different areas. With BMWs and Infinitis I think it happens out on the road, during the test drive, that something clicks in a person's head and says, "you have to buy this car". With Lexus that click seems to happen a lot sooner. It happens in the lot or showroom before the key is even turned. No wonder they sell so many cars.

Agree? Disagree?

 

Lexus interiors are about harmony and balance. I forget the Japanese term for it but they literally have their team study harmonius items, even like a Hummingbirds wings, to design their interiors. A lot of it is small, things most won't even notice.

For instance, when you open and close an ashtray, glovebox, etc, they all open at the same rate of speed. Lexus was first with Electrolumicent gauges and Optitron gauges. They showed the Germans you could do luxury differently, with electronics, not old world charm.

While the mags like to brag about the 5% of driving hard and .001% of people going to the track, the fact of the matter is most of these cars are simply driven around town. I think Lexus understands this better than anyone.

Today, the LS is without a doubt the grandest Japanese car you can buy and the grandest sedan they have ever produced. Its amazing b/c this company is only 18 years old and had A LOT of learning to do. The Germans and RR and Bentley, etc have done world class interiors for decades.

Lexus has acknowledged they have to offer more choices to their customers. They have gone from offering only one style wood in a model to 3 in the GS and LS and 2 in the SC. So in the future look for more leather and wood choices.

 

BMW appeals to the inner child in all of us - the one who wants to go fast and corner at the limit. You gotta admire that. Mercedes went with the "engineering" approach - it is an automobile built by and for Mr. Spock. It is a supremely logical engineering exercise and assembled with fine old-world craftsmanship. Unlike BMW, you know it knows better than you.

Lexus' target was MB from the outset, but the Japanese used a slightly different approach. Rather than rather cool logic, they incorporated a lot of Zen touches - the aforementioned ashtrays, eyeglass holders, and coin trays were only a start. Controls are similarly weighted; buttons, stalks, even the door handles respond with a smoothness that was a part of the design criteria. Not the solid mechanical feel of precision like the German marques, but an almost organic silkiness characterizes the Lexus control feel from the steering wheel to the gear selector, from the turn signal to the radio buttons - all have "weight" and an almost liquid feel that is similar from one to the next.

Rather than a brilliant engineering exercise, Lexus is about brilliance of another sort - a tactile sense of luxury that becomes evident after five or six hours out on the blacktop. Smooth silence, silky controls, a warm, organic presence rather than cool, logical precision.

 

Very well stated! The best luxury marques have a distinct way of making their character known, and thus attracting admirers and customers.

 

very interesting post. I have to agree with every statement. When i first saw a 1995 SC400 it's like looking at my first crush. It's sexy in it's ways but can't be mistaken for a pretty car with that V8 engine to burn the crap out of the tires.

 

Great post.

 

I think I read that somewhere or heard it on TV- You worded it perfect-

There are alot of things that I know I take for granted that come in Lexus vehicles but dont realize it until I ride in other vehicles- Lexus spoiled me along time ago and I still cant keep my eyes off of her-

 

Thank you! Now, for the lurkers at Lexus Corp., I'd like my payment in Neptune Blue . . .

 

After seeing watching something similar to this on national geograhpics/travel channel, it's a lot easier to understand lexus interior than having a more
sport-oriented car

And if you're late, the subway issues you a note to give to your employer

 

I agree with these posts and I'm definitely in tune with the inner child in me.