glamglam

There’s some very good news coming directly from the Lexus regional northeastern headquarters to the people in here that live in the northeast who are waiting for an ES350 Ultra Luxury allocation. The general sales manager at my dealership was in contact with Lexus regional headquarters this week and Lexus told him that ES350 Ultra Luxury production for the US northeast region will start in April. To whoever is located and lives in the northeastern US that is waiting for an ES350 Ultra Luxury allocation, Lexus will start UL production in April for the northeastern US region. You will hopefully get your Ultra Luxury vehicle by May or early June if it’s built in April.

wmoor004

You should be excited. You have been the leading voice in the production ramp up campaign.

ATL350

Good news! I live in the South and am waiting for my UL to be built…hopefully we’ll all get our cars in the next month or two!

glamglam

I believe that the South has been getting Ultra Luxury models throughout the year during the winter months because it doesn't snow down there. The northeast however hasn't been getting any Ultra Luxury models during the winter months up here in the northeast because of the snow and bad weather that we get up here. I've been monitoring the Ultra Luxury models and most of them are currently located down south in Florida, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Alabama and Southern California.
Now that Spring has already arrived up here and we aren't getting any more snowstorms, it would be logical for Lexus to start producing the Ultra Luxury vehicles for the northeastern part of the USA. I could be wrong about this, but I think that the middle or the end of the year production for the Ultra Luxury model will begin in April and there's a good chance that it will last thru May, June and July. Then in August, September and October, the beginning of the year production for the Ultra Luxury model will begin for the new 2023 model year.

mickbrown

What exactly is it about snow and bad weather that the UL can’t handle? Are they less robust that the base or Luxury ESs?

glamglam

There's absolutely nothing bad about snow and bad weather that the UL can't handle, The UL is also definitely more robust than the Base, Premium and Luxury ES's. The UL has a lot more options in it than the Base and Premium model ES's. The thing is that most ES'S that are produced are sold down South and on the west coast in southern California where there's better spring like and summer weather all year round in those particular regions. Most people that want the ES's live down south. Also, there are a lot of older people down South that buy the Ultra Luxury model. There aren't as many people up in the northeast and in the Midwest that buy the ES's and that's probably more likely why there are not many ES's and ES Ultra Luxury and ES Luxury models shipped to the Northeast and to the Midwest.
I also think that the market demand opens up for the Ultra Luxury during the Spring, Summer and Fall months only because of the Panoramic Glass Sunroof that Lexus builds all Ultra Luxury models with. There's more demand for the Ultra Luxury model for its Panoramic Glass Sunroof during the late Spring, Summer and early Fall and that's more than likely why Lexus ships the Ultra Luxury model up north only during the Spring, Summer and early Fall months. The Panoramic Glass Sunroof can be used only during the late Spring, Summer and early Fall in the Northeast and in the Midwest when the weather is warm or hot. You cannot use the Panoramic Glass Sunroof during the winter months in the Northeast and in the Midwest because of the bad winter weather. I think that's why you don't see many Ultra Luxury ES's up here and that's why most of them are all down South.

ionian

Interesting theory on why more Ultra Luxury model are down in the South. Like a lot of models regardless of brand few buyers go for the base or the top trim and majority go with the middle of the road trim and add options to match their needs or budget. The dealers stock them accordingly. My ESh luxury came with a boatload of options.

mickbrown

How exactly is the UL “definitely more robust than the Base, Premium, and Luxury”?

LexBob2

Good question.

glamglam

The Ultra Luxury model comes with more options than the Base and the Premium models. The Luxury and the Ultra Luxury aren’t that much different with the options that come with them. I think that the Luxury model has 3 less options on it than the Ultra Luxury model. I forget which options that the Luxury model is missing on it that the Ultra Luxury model has on it. However, there’s not really much of a difference between the Ultra Luxury model and the Luxury model with the options between the two.

ESh

UL is the same as the others, but with more options. It is not more robust than the others.

UL has only two options that the others don’t have: the lateral damper and the door shades.

ionian

If I recall correctly I think UL also has power folding mirrors at least for the 2019 and 2020 MY in the U.S market.

glamglam

I believe that all models starting from the 2021 model year and beyond all have the folding mirrors. I also think that the Base and Premium model doesn’t have the 360 degree monitoring system that the UL has.

ionian

My 2019 ES300h luxury came with 360 camera as an option.

ESh

No 2019 ES had power folding morrors, that came in 2020.