My speculation is that the GS300 will be replaced by the GS350 here too, & the 3.0 V6 will be used in a new IS300 when they upgrade the IS later, there's too much of a hp gap between the IS250 & IS350 right now . . .

 

So the GS in Japan has an Active Stabilizer bar. Is that KDSS???? If so then I WANT THAT!!!!!!

So the new Lexus cars in Japan have a Hard Drive Navi that can store music??? So that means goodbye iPod??? If so then I WANT THAT!!!!!!!

 

I have noticed that on the JP site! Once again we are missing out the finesse of japaniese gadgets in a car. Shame ...

Can you explain me what active stabilizer does?

On a side note, did you check out the crazy color offerings for SC430. That is just sick.

 

I agree. The 430 is superbly smooth and quiet--no ticking sounds or whatnot.

If you lay the two engine plots on top of each other, the 430 has more torque, or HP, or both, than the 350 up to 5000 RPM. Above 5k the the 350 has more of both. Which you prefer might have to do with which side of 5k you like to live.

 

IMO, it would be awesome we kept the GS 300, so we could beat the 5 in sales.....
GS 300
GS 350
GS 450h
GS 460

 

I have a feeling the 3.0-liter V6 is not going away. Like I said, how can you compete against the 5 series and not have an engine with under 300hp. I know the GS is a sports sedan but that still wouldn't make sense. I think there will be 3 or 4 engines in the lineup in a year or 2.

 

I honestly hope so too. I find nothing wrong with the GS 300 and its 245. Sadly, people are just caught up in peak HP and marketing tells companies give cars more power, we''ll advertise and they'll sell.

Advancements in technology have something to do with it too. And I guess it does "Sound" bad when an Accord or Altima has 240hp and an Avalon 280hp.....
Looking at the 2GS 300 vs 3GS 300, the cars pretty much weigh the same, the 3GS has more features and is bigger. The I-6 was swapped out for a V-6, the new engine makes 25more hp and gains an additional gear, easily dropping 1 second in acceleration times. In addition, the engine is 20% better in fuel economy!!

Its weird. BMWs and Benzs have I guess been underpowered in non AMG guise for awhile now but for some reason, people make a huge deal about the 245hp GS 300

 

of course i'm not speaking with any supporting info just for convo sake, but...

i believe that the lineup will remain
gs300
gs350
gs 450h
and eventually the v8 will be replaced with a special (amg,m) v8 to compete strictly with the german specialty vehicles.
a while back lexus stated they are looking into offering a special lineup of sports cars that l-tuned should have been. after the LS comes out i think we will see this. i can't see them dropping the new v6 without making their money on it. this seems to be their volume setup. maybe they can use it in the is or even es? i imagine they will have offerings very similar to the 3,5,7 bmw lineups. many engine, hp, torque options.

p.s. can't wait to try the gs350 and gs450h. both sound awesome.

 

Is the current V6 in the GS300 from the old or new series of V6 engines? If it was from the old series I'll bet Toyota will dump it. It is probably more cost effective for them to have all of their engines from the same "platform". This is speculaton of course.

I really thing that Toyota will do what it did with the current gen 4Runner. They had the 245 HP V6 when it came out. They also had the 235 HP iForce V8 when it came out too. Yes the V8 had more torque but I'll bet a lot of people thought why not get the V6, they have the same power. But a year or two later and the 4Runner has the same 245 HP V8 but the V8 now has VVT-i to boost power up to 276 or something close to that.

I'll bet Lexus will follow the same path with the GS. The new 3.5L motor may not have been ready or they may have not wanted to canabilize sales of the higher cost 430 until the new larger V8 comes out. I guess we will see.

 

The question remains the logic behind the japanese market, where the GS350 will most likely cannabalize the sales of the GS430 because of cost, more hp, and most importantly, less registration/insurance cost due to smaller displacement What is the Lexus marketing dept. in Japan thinking?

 

Well, use the Infiniti M for a precedent. The M35 has a 280HP V6 and the M45 has a 335HP V8. That's a 55HP difference, and if you watch folks who evaluate the two models, the V8 definitely provides enough of a bump to push the performance-hungry folks up to the extra $8-10K it demands. If the 3.5L V6 comes in just over 300HP, I think it's quite likely you'll see the V8 GS go to 350+HP.

As a result, I also think that you'll see the GS350, GS460, and GS450h in the near future. To me the awkward product placement comes from the GS460 and the GS450h, not from the GS350. Any way you cut it, though, we're living in wonderful times!!!

 

Just my two cents. Toyota/Lexus has very seldemly been the hp or torque leader in the respective class. What they give up in performance they have always made up for in refinement. I remember when the ES300 came out. The engine was so smooth people thought it was a dog, since most HO engines were rough. It seems Lexus has heard the masses (me included) about needing more torque at low speeds. They still aren't there yet, but every new model is improved. I think the new V6 is an amazing engine, as it has the same displacement as the one it replaces, more hp, more tq, better mileage, less maintenance costs (belt vs chain). I can purchase any of the cars in the GS classes, but I will buy another GS for the simply fact they are like a brick. Don't get me wrong I love the German engineered cars, they have soul, heart and driver involvement, but I don't like knowing the mechanic, who is a nice guy, on a first name basis.

 

i doubt GS300 will stay - it makes no sense for Lexus because price difference will be small. They will probably want to be the king of HP with GS, with both offerings over 300HP, which is rather good marketing and good for reviews.

In Europe, they might even have both versions, since people dont care about HP that much but do care about MPG a lot more.

 

i keep hearing about the hp race that is on in the industry and while i see big leaps in available hp that is available out there i do believe it's to be taken lightly. i believe the gs300 v6 will be around for a bit and the v6 will probably find its way into is and poss es. it's true that everybody wants more hp and torque but the sales numbers (total number of rl and infinity m) don't support the fact that people are unwilling to buy gs300. we've outsold both easily i believe. cl members definately have a higher focus on performance and mods than the average lexus buyer although it's not to say our opinions are not important but rather that we are a minority in the purchaser marketplace. also, the bmw lineup sold like gangbusters the last several years and both the 3 and 5 had amazing low (in comparison to everybody's crying for well over 300hp to be sufficient) hp numbers. both are great cars with low actual hp numbers and yet they sold and still re-sell like crazy! again my point is just that i think we'll see many options available to us in the is and gs lineup starting with this new v6 as the base/volume seller model.
p.s. i am one of those individuals wanting over 300hp in my ride, but i bought the gs300 in the interim and now and considering waiting for the hybrid gs as my replacement.

 

Well, a 300+ hp GS350 could certainly compete with the under 300hp cars like 530i if it was still priced competitively. If you can still get into a GS350 for 50,000 and under.... that be a huge advantage in value over the other cars. The 530 can easily take you into mid 50's. Not to mention the wimpy 525i that can run you 50,000. Assuming it'll have comparable gas mileage, I seriously cannot see any reason a buyer would discount the GS350 as a buying option because it has too much hp.