That's totally not what I meant. I KNOW there's a market for horsepower lol, but what I was saying was a little different. Who's looking for hotrod power in the luxury car segment? Again, these are not RC F's, ISF's, SC500's or LFA's... We're not talking about M3's or Porsche's. We're in Lexus luxury cars. When was the last time you maxed out your TPS for 10 full seconds, say 20 times in a row. I mean to the floor. Highly doubt your car goes through that. If you want a Hellcat for the weekends at the strip when alllllllll the other chores are done and you actually have time for it fine. But that's not the duty cycle Lexus luxury cars go through. People need to stop trying to compete these cars out of segment, it's not practical or realistic.
And when people try to say our cars have on average of say 25 horse less than the competitors, I'm trying to say that for 7 series cars, Lexus LS's or ES's, or big Cadillacs, that minor upper end HP loss will never be realized, because again, how many times does that 60 year old max his TPS out for like 10 seconds all the way to 150mph, then come back and say "Dam, my 7 series was 2 tenths faster to 150 than my LS." lol. NEVER. EVER. That's the power loss I was referring to. The power loss no one that actually drives expensive luxury cars ever realizes, because you don't even have a stop watch to measure that loss lol. You'll never realize that loss up top, when driving on the highway. People need to stop bench racing these cars, and saying one car has 25 horse more than the other, it must be superior lol.
When I put a few twists of the wastegate rod on my Grand National, and up the horse like 35, I can't feel the difference whatsoever. Trust me in a quiet and composed luxury car like the 328i vs an IS350, neither can you. And again, what are you doing with your brand new Lincoln? Racing it? No you're not... I live right by one of the biggest cruise spots you've ever seen, and I'm there every weekend, and only the middle eastern guys with lots of money and nothing to lose driving the built Cadillac V's and Hellcats actually floor their cars. All the rest of the Lambos, Ferraris and Corvettes never make it over 45mph lol. Trust me I try to get them to race and they never do. And STILL never seen a 7 series line up against a Lexus in a race lol. As long as the car accelerates decent enough on the highway, you're good
Our cars still give the rest of them out there good stiff competition, while also giving great reliability. Honestly I don't think we're giving up anything to the competition at all. Sure the BMW's have a few more horses, but for how long? 5 years before they spin a bearing? That's cool, I'll give up a few horses for 10 years or more of worry free ownership lol.

 

The few times that I've set foot in a Lexus service department, I noticed a couple things. One, the lounge is very busy--unlike BMW, which is almost empty (everyone left with a loaner). The other thing, is there are clearly people likely to be 80+ waiting at Lexus, which leads me to believe that Lexus owners are older, and have money (they are willing to pay dealer prices and wait). If this is your audience, I guess you have to cater to them. Someone threw out a number at me that service makes multiples of sales, at a franchise....

When I first got the 335i, I was comparing it to the Infiniti G35S stick. My cousin told me stop right there, don't expect your BMW to be reliable like an Infiniti. It's not even designed to do that....

When's the last time any of us were invited to a Lexus event with professional drivers instructing us, for free? For me, never. When was the last time BMW did that? Last weekend.

 

since lexus is very reliable and you 'obviously' avoid the dealership as much as possible, they have to pay all those people and keep the lights on and the floors shiny somehow, so 'obviously' service is going to be not at low rates.

 

In my state, we have to pay for state inspections, safety and emissions. Any old muffler shop with a coupon is $50. BMW with a loaner car is $62. Toyota is $74. Lexus is about $80. I'll say they don't charge low rates. Although the brake flush is an anomaly, Lexus charged me $59, which is about $11 less than any old muffler shop. No loaner though.

Again, the great customer service separates them from the rest, but then, the prices aren't too good.