Lexus Trademarks IS300 and RC300 in United States
Trademarks are an important part of doing business in the United States, and it’s important to protect them. That’s why a company like Lexus goes through the effort of trademarking their makes and models. Recently, they applied for a trademark for both IS300 and RC300. More interestingly, they don’t carry the “h” designation for being a hybrid.
Admittedly, looking at trademarks and trying to predict new models is a bit like reading tea leaves. Sometimes, a company will trademark a name to prevent other people from getting it. Imagine if Toyota decided to build a new vehicle called the Bronco? Without a trademark, Ford would have a difficult case in court.
But let’s assume these are actual vehicles making their way to the United States. What do the new model names mean, and what could be powering these new cars?
Our friends at Kaizen Factor speculate that this is a new effort to downsize Lexus’s current engine offerings. This is an industry-wide trend, and not exclusive to Lexus. They believe that it could mean a newer version of the 3.0L V6 found in the 2006 GS, upgraded with a dual Atkinson-to-Otto cycle and electric VVT-IE.
In other applications, making that upgrade improved horsepower by over 50 and also improved torque. Similar results could be seen in the IS and RC applications as well.
Does this mean the end to the 350? Probably not. These new offerings will likely slot below the 350.
Of course, these trademark applications could also mean nothing.
Chime in with your thoughts on the forum. >>
via [Kaizen Factor]
