Why does Lexus have no Z4 / SLK / TT competitor?
03-20-08, 07:18 AM
#17
well the one thing you can always count on toyota doing, is making a car even if it doesnt sell good. as for lexus i think they want to keep selling boring cars, cars that everyone will like since it's profitable, for them who cares if some people think they make boring cars. with parent company toyota heck bent on auto-world domination, even if the reliability and and build quality goes down the drain. Oh wait maybe i shouldn't have said that, before my post mysteriously disappears.
However, I see some fault to your thinking.
Toyota keeps their boring cars because it sells to the masses. Their least selling (but not least popular) vehicles such as the Supra, MR2, and Celica were axed because of minimal profitability and poor resale figures.
Toyota is not about pleasing small groups of enthusiasts. Toyota knows about pleasing the masses. That isn't boring -- that's Business...
03-21-08, 02:48 PM
#18
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I've always wondered about this. You'd think it's about time they'd think about it. Seems to me that this is a very profitable market segment and a great way of attracting younger customers to the brand and hopefully getting them hooked.
So why is Lexus refusing to enter this potentially prosperous-for-them market?
So why is Lexus refusing to enter this potentially prosperous-for-them market?
http://my.is/forums/f41/what-should-...adster-299320/
03-22-08, 03:30 AM
#20
Lexus Test Driver
I agree. I'd rather see them bring back a 2+2 coupe or even a 2-seater GT than introduce a roadster (and these would both be direct underlings to the halo LF-A), although I sure wouldn't complain with any of these options presented.
03-22-08, 05:56 PM
#21
When I park my SC430 next to a Sky/Solstace, Miata, TT, S2000 etc. my car does seem BIG. It's not a little toss-around-the-twisty-bits kind of car but, I don't Lexus intended it to be.
From what I've seen of sales figures, I think the SC430 is in the 1000 units/month area...I think they have sold like 10-12K of them each year it's been out. I don't know if Lexus wanted to/could afford to produce another low-production model.
However, I REALLY like the SC430. While it's not as tossable as say a Miata, it holds up very well as a daily driver in the real world. The trunk space is very usable (if you don't fold the top down). If you do fold the top down, there's plenty of storage space in the leather-clad parcel shelf that the owner's manual refers to as the "back seat". Marketing aside, it's a 2-seater. I didn't buy it as anything but.
I have a friend with an S2000. Wow, what a fun car to drive/ride in! But, it HAS to be your second car. There's not even enough room in the trunk for a weekend bag...let alone luggage for 2.
I can understand why Lexus wouldn't want to get into the "screw practicality" car market...it's very niche.
I also don't think they produce "boring cars", I think they do their best to produce cars that will sell. They're a corporation with stockholders. They're a business; and, at the end of the day, their ultimate goal has to be to sell cars and make money.
From what I've seen of sales figures, I think the SC430 is in the 1000 units/month area...I think they have sold like 10-12K of them each year it's been out. I don't know if Lexus wanted to/could afford to produce another low-production model.
However, I REALLY like the SC430. While it's not as tossable as say a Miata, it holds up very well as a daily driver in the real world. The trunk space is very usable (if you don't fold the top down). If you do fold the top down, there's plenty of storage space in the leather-clad parcel shelf that the owner's manual refers to as the "back seat". Marketing aside, it's a 2-seater. I didn't buy it as anything but.
I have a friend with an S2000. Wow, what a fun car to drive/ride in! But, it HAS to be your second car. There's not even enough room in the trunk for a weekend bag...let alone luggage for 2.
I can understand why Lexus wouldn't want to get into the "screw practicality" car market...it's very niche.
I also don't think they produce "boring cars", I think they do their best to produce cars that will sell. They're a corporation with stockholders. They're a business; and, at the end of the day, their ultimate goal has to be to sell cars and make money.
03-23-08, 06:40 PM
#23
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I've always wondered about this. You'd think it's about time they'd think about it. Seems to me that this is a very profitable market segment and a great way of attracting younger customers to the brand and hopefully getting them hooked.
So why is Lexus refusing to enter this potentially prosperous-for-them market?
So why is Lexus refusing to enter this potentially prosperous-for-them market?
Lexus product planners are very picky. The SC 430 started out selling its entire run 12k then 10k of cars each year. It is already a small Convert.
Lexus of course would use some current platform for this car. I don't think they have one small enough. The IS is based off the GS. The SC is based off the old GS.
I do agree, it would be GREAT to have one but honestly, how much younger people will it bring? Z4/SLK/TT/Boxster cars are EXPENSIVE, these are not 30k cars. So you have to have $$$$ to buy it, which means, you will be older.
Maybe next go round, there are different versions of the SC. I just don't see Lexus entering this limited sales/image segment.
03-24-08, 12:08 AM
#24
Lexus Fanatic
Ultimately, it's not profitable at all.
It helps with brand image (which the Germans understand); but it costs a lot of money to design and produce a sport-oriented vehicle, to market and advertise, and to justify a little-functional car that costs more to insure, with little functionality such as transporting multiple people or hauling luggage/items.
It helps with brand image (which the Germans understand); but it costs a lot of money to design and produce a sport-oriented vehicle, to market and advertise, and to justify a little-functional car that costs more to insure, with little functionality such as transporting multiple people or hauling luggage/items.
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