D2-AUTOSPORT

And one of the longest! I have never seen a thread go so long with lenghty posts!!

Just imagine once the car ACTUALLY comes out!

chrisleX

Calling it "one of the most advanced vehicles on Earth," Denny Clements, Lexus Group Vice President and General Manager, unveiled the striking new 2006 Lexus GS at the 2004 North American International Auto Show. Though the general shape and quad headlamps tie the new Lexus GS to the outgoing model, the redesigned car is longer, appearing to be lower to the ground thanks to its long hood, shapely flanks and "slingshot" windows. The roofline is swept so dramatically back that the 2006 Lexus GS barely has a rear decklid, looking more like a hatchback than a sedan.

Inside, the new Lexus GS is simply stunning. Beautiful wood, polished metal and rich leather coat most surfaces, and the three round gauges continue to feature electroluminescent lighting

http://www.autosite.com/Previews/2006-lexus-gs.asp

kwc_diesel

Shoot, was really planning on setting aside funds to prepare for the next generation GS, but it's release is kind of far, and it's exterior rear quarter shots somewhat resemble the new Nissan Maxima. Otherwise, the interior and everything look awesome, but not as nice as the exterior previews of the LF-S, LF-X or HP-X ! Btw, this GS somewhat resembles Toyota Avalon from certain front angles, (front vertical grill lines + head lamps shape) The squarish cut hood, is not really slick. too straight front hood line.

EGainer

eh... been slackin on the gs chops, did this one in the last 2 hours.....

babyGS3

oooooh

theRain04

Just a thought on the new GS. Alot of people have been talking alot about the performance aspect of the new GS, and I have a few thoughts on it. Could it be possible the reason they have not updated the engine and increased HP is due to the fact that they want to maintain a high resale value for their cars ? Think about it. If they changed the body style and engine specs say every 4 years, by the time a lease came back in, a new model with upgraded performance would be out. That lease return would then become an "absolete" pre-owned vehicle and thus the value would drop, costing Lexus money. By keeping the model the same from 1998-2005, they not only have saved money by investing into new technology sooner, but again they keep the resale value high for their customers and for themselves. The fact that the newly redesigned 2006 GS has not changed substantially only reinforces that point. So far as we know, the engines will remain the same except for a small increase in #'s for the V6. Styling has changed, although not radically as one may expect for a model that has gone unchanged for 7 years. By introducing the new GS as slightly different (evolutionary), they keep their pre-owned market VERY healthy as well as those who only want the newest model. I am sure 2 or 3 years after the new model comes out, the engine will upgrade and some minor design changes will be made. It's not that Lexus does not have the technology to present a V8 producing 350+ HP, it is just that they "don't have to" come out with it just yet, so they won't. If you look closely at the competition, they are all in the same power ballpark right now anyway. No need to shock the world with revolutionary design/performance right now when it will only devalue their pre-owned market. Just my .02

amy011079

wow you may have a point there. i haven't thought of that but it makes sense!

sshu

I'm not convinced about the new look yet but I still have to check it out in person before passing any judgements. I'm happy to see the tranny upgrades and the V-6 get some punch. The one thing that is dissapointing is the engine(the V-8). Even if they introduce a mid-model engine upgrade, that would be just too late. How could they possibly use the same engine from the last model when thier competition stepped up thiers, especially when the competition has been out for 2-3 years? Even cars that are 20k less are getting closer and closer to reaching the 300hp mark. If Lexus is actually going to stick to 300hp and be considered a performance seadan, they are going to be laughed at. Is it asking too much to at least match the competitions power?

J.P.

The brand new E 500 has 302, what is your problem? And the GS will still out run it.

Lets say they come out with 325-330hp, big deal? Is it going to make you say OK I WILL buy this car now that it has 325hp rather then 300hp.

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

I like this theory. This way, our current GS still holds the value. If it drops too much,
then the 2nd gen. GS will kinda lose that "exclusivity". You don't want the GS to get
into the wrong hands and have it all over the road like accords, civics, camrys...

babyGS3

no sense in beating a dead horse......

this topic has been discussed extensively... beaten, bruised, stabbed, hung, sliced, and chop-sueyed to death in the stickied thread above... seriously.

but anyhow, in all fairness...the Lexus 3UZFE engine produces around the same power as it's competing naturally aspirated 8-bangers...amazingly with a ULEV status engine. even around the same as some V12 engines. Ahhmazing. what??? do you want Lex to get some Good 'ol American Muscle under that hood? care to transplant a bigbloc? hahahahh

Vladi

New GS has Active Steering indeed. It is closely linked to new VDM system. Look for some articles about VDM and you will see.

looknow12

IMO:

One other comment on the V8 not being AWD. If Lexus keeps the same V8 engine, same horsepower and torque, to add AWD to this would reduce the overall performance in terms of increasing 0-60 and 1/4 mile times. I think Lexus expects to increase the performance just by adding a 6 speed transmission.

It is very possible that we won't see AWD version mated to a V8 until they increase the horsepower. A job they may be working on right now. It may or may not be ready this year, but Lexus is not prepared to committ until they are sure.

SeattleGS400

iTrader: (1)

I think have that extra gear (6 speed auto) puts a lease on the life of the 4.3L 300HP engine. I've read reports of LS430 with the new 6 speed autos going 0-60 mph in 5.6s. I would imagine the new GS would drop that another 0.2 s or so. Nonetheless, as the specs of 300 HP for the 4.3L in the 2006 GS4 were preliminary, I would suspect, they'll bump it up a bit, if not at least utilize a larger engine in it mid-model year. When the new LS gets released (2007?), they might even put in a newer engine it yet (and thus eventually transplants to the GS for the mid-model upgrade).

Lubs

I wouldn't read into the numbers so much. I find it odd that just about every vehicle has these nice round horsepower figures (200, 300, 400). It's marketing. These numbers are being pulled out of a curve, and the curve is more important than the number.

Then there's the matter of how "healthy" horses are. How is it that a 230 hp 330i runs along side a 260 hp G35? I'm going off the top of my head, but i imagine the two cars are of comparable weight, making the power numbers questionable. I wouldn't say Infiniti is overstating their hp, I would suggest that the way BMW and Infiniti report power is different.

Then there's the matter of different transmissions (auto vs manual, 4 speed vs 5 speed or 5 vs 6) making identical power. That doesn't quite sit right with me, although I could be wrong on this.

So although I would have loved to see a higher hp V8 in the GS, I would compare performance numbers before I compare engine numbers. The new 6-speed will surely help performance. As many have said, I'm sure the GS430 can hold it's own against the E500, 545 and M45.