People been saying its being developed under 300b program and was expected to begin production in 2019. However, we haven't even seen a concrete leak or test mule on the road. I really wanted to see the idea of a sporty 4 door coupe, perhaps even a 4 door LC would be awesome.

 

No. GS is dead in the US. No one buys them without massive discounts.

 

 

 

This is what I think we will see out of the 5GS.

As several others have said, the 5GS IS coming, its not a question of if.

 

The validity of the 5GS has been proven here in a few previous threads.

 

I think that would be a cool route to go with the GS. As of right now it looks too much like the cheaper/slightly bigger ES. Most people aren't in tune with vehicle dynamics to appreciate that the GS drives/handles a lot nicer. Those that are that in tune with their car's performance probably want something with a hotter motor than the 300hp V6 in the current GS as well.

Unique styling would go a long ways in differentiating it from the ES. If they do go with the "4 door coupe" thing, I hope they make it a hatchback, that body style is hot right now with the right styling(Kia Stinger, Audi A5 and A7, BMW Gran Coupe) and is a lot more practical than a sedan with a mail slot trunk opening.

 

But in other parts of the world where the ES doesn't exist, the GS still doesn't sell well.
Thus, poor GS sales is not entirely attributed to the presence of the ES.

I have a 3GS and 4GS, and it is a good product, so that's why I purchased them, however - to the mass market, there are a number of characteristics that is holding it back from the 69,000+ units of the 2014 E Class, the 56,000+ units of the 2013 5 Series, and even Lexus very own coupe-like 3GS which amassed 33,000+ units in its debut year of 2005.
The best the current 4GS ever did was 23,000+ units, and last year, it struggled on 7,000+ units.

There are many varying & different opinions as to what must be done with GS to enhance sales, and it's up to Lexus to do their internal polling, and average out the differing opinions to set the guidelines for the next generation 5GS, which I'm pretty sure they have done...

 

 

That may be the problem: The GS was designed for Japan rather than being designed for the rest-of-the-world.

 

2GS seemed to do pretty well and it was designed for Japanese market really.

I think GS just lacks a market niche; as others have said, why would you get GS? There is really no point when you can either choose IS/ES or LS. GS is like the kid that nobody wants for their own team, but one team has to pick that kid because it's the last kid.

 

It's all perspective.

IS - had that, fantastic car but too small for me and my family.
ES - lacks the sportier handling and RWD I want in a car
LS - too big and too soft
GS - Just right!

Without the GS I would no longer be a Lexus owner.

 

i don't think that is a good excuse. The germans sell well in all markets.

in japan, MB sells more than lexus, with bmw neck and neck with lexus.
I'm not sure what the exact sales figures are between the E 5 and GS though.

i think the germans have success because they take a goldilocks approach. There's something 'just right' when they introduce a new model. Whereas lexus takes the 'go their own way' approach to the extreme.

You can have a great performing car without offending people.

hopefully they will get the same reaction from the 5GS as they did with the LC.
My impression is that a lot of people like the look of the LC.

 

It has yet to be confirmed it is dead. It is unlikely Lexus is going to just give up and drop a sedan from a very popular segment, a ES with awd will not be able to compete with a E class or 5 series.

 

Lexus would be stupid to kill the GS. People saying that the ES will be the alternative are nuts! FWD vs. RWD and a host of other distinctions are what keep the two cars unique. You also can't eliminate a car that fills the price gap between an ES and an LS. If people are looking for a luxury car in the $50k-$70k range, and Lexus doesn't have an option in that range, they'll loose a nice chunk of customer base to competitors. The GS will be coming back and I'm excited to see in what form.