CL forumers probably know more about the cars than the average salesperson.

 

It's pretty sad watching Akio Toyoda slowly kill the Lexus brand with his idiocy. He moved the brand from the epitome of luxury, refinement, and quality, "the relentless pursuit of perfection", to spindle grilled pseudo sport. This worked in the short term but will bite Lexus in the *** in the long term as the brand strays further from its core values.

Killing the GS is just mismanagement. We should be seeing spyshots of the next GS, and its four door coupe cousin, not hearing rumors of cancellations. The 4GS will be left to wither on the vine for 10 years like the LS460 was, and slowly yes the brand will resemble Acura more and more.

But it's not due to any fault of its own, Lexus is one of the best and most prestigious brands on the market. It's just starved for genuine product against a German competition that is on an onslaught.

 

LOL, the sales lady was afraid that you won't go through with the 2017 IS350 and hold out for the NEW GS!!! Don't fall for it. Typical sales tactic.

 

I was once told by the salesperson that the 4GS is based on Avalon....... half the time they don't even know what they are selling.

 

This is the one I preferred. Looks like I've been conned.

 

I wouldnt call it mismanagement. Few previous gen GS'es were left to wither as well. They are not in an enviable position with the ES and GS. They can't kill off the ES since its their bread and butter and its an iconic model that helped elevate and grow the brand to where it is. The GS is in no man's land. What they need to do is do a rethink of the GS. Do they want it to be an LS-Lite or IS-Jumbo? The next IS will definitely grow in size to become a real car and the ES will become more luxurious, further squeezing the GS.

 

Thanks for confirming and dispelling the myth of the GS getting axed.

The ES is like the E class for MB, so the formula works for lexus.

I love the 4th gen GS when I had it-no complaints from me.
For some of us who would never get an ES and still prefer the GS for the sporty ride, lexus need to rethink it since there's too much overlap (for the other non-enthusiast buyers to distinguish, if lexus wants to lure more sales) ala CLS or something sporty and different than the ES. If they're going to go the cls route (low roofline, smaller back seat), then people would still complain since many have complained that it's small already.

Maybe we should start a thread here what do we want for the new GS?

 

i always thought the GS was a bigger version of IS (sport) like ES is to LS (luxury), RC to LC...

 

Being squeezed? The LC and upcoming LS are pushing the ceiling. There won't be any cap issues with flagships making inroads towards the future. The 5GS will be based off the GA-L platform, likely similar to how 5-Series rides on 7-Series. It'll likely be more expressive inside and out if the LC and LS are any indication. I agree ES will become more luxurious than its current state but the GS will also be, and yes the IS will be bigger, but again doesn't affect the GS because it'll be more lavish and technical. LS pricing will give us an idea of what to expect, but even then we're still 2 years away. The good news is the GS is in the cards.

Because they shared a similar chassis. ES and LS are completely different. Their comparative stats are usually in regards to both pursuing 'luxury' more, and interior volume. RC is an IS coupe, and the LC shares the new GA-L platform with the LS.

 

It depends right? If Lexus decides to keep it at its current size and price range it will be squeezed by the ES and IS. Then again, if they increase it to ES size, people will be like why does Lexus have two cars in this size category? Even worse if they add AWD to the ES.

 

They're already the same size.

GS:
192.1" L x 72.4" W x 57.3" H with a 112.2" WB, EPA interior volume 113 cu ft, trunk 14.3 cu ft.

ES:
193.3" L x 71.7" W x 57.1" H with a 111.0" WB, EPA interior volume 115.3 cu ft, trunk 15.2 cu ft.

(dimensions taken from www.edmunds.com)

 

Hence the lackluster sales of the GS. Most buyers probably only care about looks and amenities when buying these cars so no surprise the cheaper, similar sized ES would be the volume seller. With this in mind, they should definitely do something more radical for the next GS vs. going more conservative...something like a Merc CLS competitor would be great.

 

I say kill off the GS as a model and then announce a new ES based on a RWD platform. Achieves platform separation from Toyota FWD sedans and aligns IS, ES, RC, LC and LS as a cohesive product line. Now that could achieve more in cost benefits within Lexus and eliminate cannibalism between Camry/ES/GS.

 

The ES and the RX are the top selling models Lexus makes. They're both FWD. That says something about the clientele that Lexus IS catering to for those models. Why change a good thing? It still amazes me every time I see just how much more cabin space the ES has over the GS. While not my personal cup of tea, I see the advantages of a FWD platform when it comes to efficiency, space, and cost. I just pray they don't kill off the GS line for those of us who love it.

 

I agree with this. It's easy for enthusiasts on a forum to dismiss the ES because of the shared FWD platform, but many people prefer FWD. There can be some advantages with FWD in poor weather without the penalty in fuel mileage of AWD. For climates that don't see enough poor weather to justify dedicated snow/winter tires, lots of people will find comfort in having FWD. Not to mention the interior layout benefits of a transversely mounted engine.

Deserved or undeserved, people see RWD as less capable in bad weather. By having both the GS and the ES, Lexus can cater to both crowds. To me this is one of the things Lexus offers that BMW and Mercedes don't. I think the ES sells in great numbers because of the FWD layout, not despite it.