IS-SV

Ancient history about the LS does not apply. The current LS is superior to any Buick of the last decade, and every bit as comfy. Real simple. And Buick is addressing these deficiencies with new models that are creating a splash for once.

tex2670

Exactly why I would expect the LS owners to be older.

tex2670

I've heard you making this argument for a few years now. It is very true that not all younger car buyers prefer a "sporty" car and not all older buyers prefer a "cushy" car. However, I do think, pushing 40 now, that people's tastes change as they age (cars and everything else), and more people, as they attain and surpass middle age, may feel that they have had enough of the "sporty" ride. I think that people, as a shorthand, tend to just say that Lexus/Buick/Lincoln/etc are "old people" cars--just wait until the name-callers get to that age.

I knew a lot of guys in high school that would have loved a Camaro or Mustang. Somehow, I doubt that, unconstrained by "practicality", that they would have the same top choice 20 years later.

Here on CL, most people would label themselves "enthusiasts", and wouldn't necessarily represent the "average" car buyer.

1KhpWrx

iTrader: (7)

This thread is getting pretty in-depth

encore888

Yes, the average age was 64, with an annual income of $175,000. However since the LS makes up less than 10% of all Lexus model sales, it is less representative of the median or mode age. Yet the ES makes up some 25% of Lexus sales. Again, the data indicate that the average Lexus buyer is in their early-mid 50's.

http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/09/car...hisSpeed=15000

TTAC just posted a discussion debunking the Detroit Free Press article. And as others have pointed out, domestic POV may have affected their reporting, especially with a followup like this:

http://www.freep.com/article/2009083...s-keep-growing

However I'm still tired of the brand bias from publications like C&D which unfairly label 'geriatric' and 'old', 'retirement' etc., Jalopnik stating that the LS 460 SZ will be for 'driving to Boca' etc.

LexFather

The facts are if Lexus sold 90% of its cars as IS-Fs and 16 year olds bought them, the "image" of the brand would be that 10% of LSs. The LS/ES/RX have done so WELL for Lexus they are the vehicles one thinks of FIRST when you think of Lexus. Those 3 vehicles have a higher age buyer.

No matter what the IS/GS does, it simply gets overshadowed by the other vehicles. People are still stunned to see or know what an IS-F is and its been out nearly 2 years now?

On Clublexus and going to meets/events, its clear Lexus does attract younger buyers but most do not buy new (like myself) so they are not included in figures.

We also have to remember the IS 300 at the time had an average buyer of 29, the lowest of ANY luxury vehicle sold and quite an accomplishment.

Companies want and desire a youthful image. To take things further, JAPAN is having a HUGE crisis as the young don't want to do ANYTHING the older generation did. Japan has a dwindling population as there are more older people and less younger people.

With that happening in Japan, I fully expect more youth oriented vehicles since Lexus sells in Japan now and its a HUGE opportunity for them.

mmarshall

When I was young, as a teen-ager, growing up in the tail end of the 60s muscle-car years, I liked BOTH sporty muscle-cars AND big, soft-riding luxury cars. At that time, I owned a Plymouth Barracuda for sport and a big soft-riding Buick for comfort (both used, of course.....I couldn't afford a new car until I was in my early-mid 20s). Though not all of my friends agreed (some did; some didn't) I found a place dear to me for both of these cars.....and similar ones. And, though I wasn't yet writing formal reviews, even at that young age, I was very adept at judging a new car's build quality.

Yes, it's true that our tastes change somewhat as we age.....but not always by choice. For instance, in the mid-70's, the huge increase in gas prices forced a lot of people that liked big cars down into smaller ones (it did me too, to an extent). American muscle cars, once the envy of the whole planet, became emasulated, de-smogged, wimpmobiles whose engines wouldn't even start and run correctly and often stalled and stumbled when cold. And I was also sorry to see the really big, smooth-riding cars go due to the downsizing that started in the late 70's...the lighter, shorter-wheelbase cars that followed simply didn't have the same comfort level. But that was far overshadowed by the later advent of car-based AWD, to which I've become a real convert.....especially Subaru-style.

amdave

I purchased my LS 460 at age 32.

I prefer a smooth ride to the bumpy "sports packages". A luxurious ride just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. I think I am hooked on large flagship luxury sedans from now on.

I8ABMR

I am very tempted to make the LS my next car and forgo the desired GTR. If I get the GTR I will be keeping my GS but I think I will raise her up a bit and do a fat 245/35/20 in front. There is something so right about the LS though

92 SC400

How are these numbers generated? Are the based off surveys or something? If that's the case maybe the older buyers are the only ones with enough time, care enough, etc to complete these surveys?

Affordability and incentives is a good point, however, when I was in high school and people talked about cars they would like to buy, no one ever mentioned a desire to buy a Lexus - at least not at my school or the people interested in cars. They did, however, often talk of owning a new Bimmer, MBZ, Audi, etc; and of course the typical Camaro and Mustang, then as usual the supercars/exotics.

Perhaps that is because some kids already had a Lexus or some of these other makes, but bottom line was no one talked about buying a Lexus after they graduated college or just whenever.

Many people I know to this day (around their mid-20s and not on CL) still don't desire to own/buy/drive a Lexus and this has nothing to do with affordability at all. It's more so about what they have to choose from and I do believe Lexus lacks a lot where other makes thrive; I guess if that just isn't Lexus' market, then so be it, but if it is true that the average Lexus buyer is the oldest (or not getting any younger) in the industry,then I'd fully believe it without a doubt...

IntegresS

iTrader: (2)

"Lexus trying to shake older perceptions
Brand struggling to appeal to younger consumers, experts say, and is following Buick down road to nowhere


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 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, AutoPacific's Stephanie Brinley said.


Though Lexus attracts a younger, wealthier and better-educated buyer than Buick, the brands' owners list amazingly similar things that 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 have emphasized attributes that appeal to older buyers without effectively reaching out to younger shoppers.


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 want more.


"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.


"Lexuses are dolled-up Toyota appliances. 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 HS250h hybrid. The IS-F won critical applause but doesn't seem to have raised the profile for the mainstream IS, which was developed to challenge the BMW 3-Series but hasn't made much of a mark.


The HS250h is to go on sale this fall. If it generates half the acclaim of Toyota's high-profile Prius, it will be a triumph. The HS250h lacks the Prius' arresting looks, however, and its EPA rating of 35 mpg in the city doesn't compare with the Prius' eye-popping 51 mpg. "


Chicago Tribune 10/05/2009
Author: Mark Phelan / McClatchey News
(Copyright 2009 by the Chicago Tribune)


Lexus turning into Buick!??!? AHhhhhhh!

Actually, I was a little surprised to find that Lexus removed the X package and the entire ground effects kit for 2010. =/ I fear for what the next generation of the IS lineup may look like- I just hope they keep aggressive styling instead of making it look like a Photoshop Camry Gone Wrong!!!

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

This article is garbage.

There is minimal truth in it- the fact that they need younger buyers and more interesting products- but the quotes they chose to include show an unbelievable amount of ignorance and shortsightedness.

FKL

Some valid points but sounds like a hit job more than anything else. The takeaway that they are going to follow Buick is a bit delusional if I had to say so.

mmarshall

What too many automakers seem to forget, though, is that today's "younger" buyers are tomorrow's not-so-younger buyers....and, though there are exceptions, in general, the older people get, the more money that have to purchase new cars with. New Lexus products, except for of the IS, have appealed to older buyers simply because it is mostly the older buyers who have the kind of money it takes to get a new Lexus. Same with Mercedes.

Case in point.....us Baby Boomers (which I am part of). We are, far and away, the largest car-buying generation in history. And, we are NOT getting any younger. In general, cars that have an excessive amount of "sportiness" just aren't going to appeal to us....for years, we bought Lexus products for a reason. If Lexus wants to keep selling Lexus products, they will continue to appeal to the Baby Boomers...not generation X or Y. Though the average Baby Boomer is not young any more, he or she is probably at least 20-30 years away from death. That is still going to be several car purchases left in the average boomer lifetime.

And, today's Generation X and Y will be tomorrow's older buyers....they may start to take a second look at many traditional luxury cars that they avoided for years. The automakers had better have them ready....though they may not be traditional gas-powered cars like we have today, but with alternate fuels.

plex

iTrader: (11)

Lexus needs to put a 6spd trans in the IS350 and IS-F.