I wonder if this means the Skyline in Japan is dead as well.

 

Ever since Carmaker1 reported on the cancellation of the FM platform successor development in 2018, it was obvious the Q50 wouldn't see any successor until a full EV replacement. Kinda sad of how the Q50 languished.

I was hoping Infiniti would at the very least give the Q50 a very heavy facelift like Lexus did with the 2021 IS, to keep it fresh but seems they can't afford to or have no incentive to.

 

Not shocked the Q50 is dead. Infiniti has a new QX80 and what else? Wouldn't be shocked if the brand is dead in a couple years.

 

Is it? It's been the same platform for 10 years.

 

10? More like 20. The Q50 is just the G35/G37 by another name and they've been on the FM platform for 20 years.

 

It is a shame in the sense that the Japanese have totally given up on the idea of a 4-door RWD platform that isn't a body on frame truck. Soon the aging IS and LS will also be on the chopping block.

 

LS will be axed first. IS may live on a bit longer.

 

if lexus axes the LS i think the brand itself will suffer.

 

Not having a flagship luxury sedan could be damaging but LS sales are so terrible. 1,370 sold as of July. On this trajectory they may not even crack 2,000 this year. I'm guessing 2025 may be the final year for the LS?

 

just because it's bad now doesn't mean it couldn't be better. could even mean they make the ls more 'suv'-like (heresy i know ).

 

5LS did not sell poorly because it's a sedan.
5LS sold poorly because it was too sporty..
Nowadays, 5LS is also selling poorly because it's too long in the tooth.

Just as S Class sold 14k recently, an all new 6LS would have sold better than recent S Class, because traditionally, all new LS's have outsold all new S Class equivalents.

https://carfigures.com/us-market-brand/mercedes-benz/s-class

 

...and too small inside. Despite only being available in a LWB model, it's dramatically less roomy than the smaller ES. It's the first flagship sedan I've ever sat in where I've felt cramped.

 

It is pretty obvious that consumers are wanting crossovers. Sedans really are a hard sell in the modern era The lack of a flagship sedan really is irrelevant now as the younger generation have grown up now with crossovers. Smart to move on from them.

 

Yes, pity they had to switch from 1-4LS's traditional RWD layout to the 5LS's front mid-engine layout for even nearer 50/50 weight distribution in the name of superior handling, which heavily compromized cabin length for SteveLS.







My 3GS which I passed onto my staff had lovely soft spring and damper rates for a record 33,500+ units sold on debut in USA.
Akio Toyoda was an avid racer at the Nurburgring with his friend the engineer Dr Ulrich Bez as former CEO of Aston Martin, who heavily brainwashed Akio into thinking that TMC products were "bland", so when Akio took over the reins of TMC in 2009, Akio vowed "No more boring cars".
Hence, my 2015 4GS RWD was so firm riding - though I admit that the 4GS RWD almost handled like a compact sedan!
The GS450h hybrid did have a softer ride, great bottom end torque and economy, and I was tempted but I could not accept the small trunk with no cabin pass through for long thin cargo.
I have never driven the AWD version, although normally AWD's are matched with more compliant suspension for superior traction in the snow.

At the midlife refresh, probably due to consumer feedback or whatever, the 4.5GS did an about face and softened the suspension and increased the sound insulation too.
Hence, my RWD with a very tiring ride, I had to retrofit 2016-2020 RWD coil springs and shock absorbers which were much softer - though still only medium soft, and not as genuinely soft as my old 3GS.
Hence, I also had to downsize twice: 1" into 18", and then another inch into 17" to get a decent ride.
Now, it rides so smoothly, I could drive all day and never get tired nor bored...

My advice to Koji Sato is to copy off Benz and Beamer and only fit sports suspension to their F Sport trims.
Meanwhile the Luxury trims should have appropriately softer suspension.
Please do NOT fit sports suspension standard across the range, because this will cause sales will suffer too.


Below, different suspension part numbers with different spring & damper rates used across the 4GS Series.




Below, notice how the 2015 RWD front coils have 1" shorter unsprung axial height than 2016-20 RWD front coils - yet the same ride height?
The longer the unsprung axial coil height, the softer the coil spring - given they are designed for the same ride height...




Below, OEM 235/40 R19:
Handles almost like a compact sedan, but a tiring ride.​​​​


Below, 1" downsized to 235/45 R18:
Intermediate all rounder.


Below, 2" downsized to 235/50 R17's:
Unfashionably tall side walled, but finally a beautiful ride.
Plus, fractionally quicker acceleration, fractionally better fuel economy, superior wet traction, and very cheap replacement tires.

 

Except the weight distribution is exactly the same as the 460L:





The only reason the LS500 had the long hood was so that it could accompany the (cancelled) TTV8. Essentially the vehicle we have from Lexus is a half-baked product that they gave up on in the middle of development because Akio has the product planning skills of an ADHD child, which is also why Toyota cancelled the GS without being able to engineer the ES to accompany an AWD system with the V6.