ydooby

I would be very surprised if the new GS hybrid actually gets 380hp, assuming that the new GS hybrid maintains the same 3.5L displacement AND switches to an Atkinson-cycle engine to optimize for fuel economy, which the current GS hybrid is criticized for. I personally predict 360hp just like the M35 Hybrid, which the increase coming mostly from a more powerful electric motor.

MR_F1

I fully endorse all of the content of this post.

**sigh** was Hoping it'd more like 320hp for the V6. Leaving business on the table for Joe?

Agreed, however, if they can maintain a weight advantage the 20-40hp difference might not be that noticeable. The problem is, after the batteries run dry, those ponies are only going to be about 300 or so, and thinking about that makes me depressed that their won't be a real V8.

Mike, how does your 450h run on highway pulls and for how long before you are left without juice?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

and that car is very slow!

rominl

iTrader: (4)

regarding the v6, 310 and i am ok. in fact even the current 303/306 i am fine too. it's plenty of power for that engine and that group of buyers. buyers in that group don't look very closely at speed. but of course, i still point out on the 6 speed, that's a bummer.

if the 4gs doesn't have v8, then i think it's good if they can boost the hybrid to the 380hp mark. they probably need to, although not 400hp, but at least get close and compete. otherwise it will be lost like that easily.

true that with the hybrid, if the batter runs dry it's back to a very heavy v6. but it's not very easy to run it dry imho. if you run it on the track, i can imagine. but for highway driving and occasional punch it should be all good. keep in mind, on normal highway it's all gas engine, only when you punch it it kicks in the electric

Justin2JZ

Yeah its kind of a let down but we just have to see how it performs.

lostnspace

I'm still miffed at the fact Lexus engineers had all these years to bump up to a 7 or 8 speed automatic (and V8) but still want to stick around with the 6 speed, to me its seems quite lazy and not forward thinking. Lexus says they want to compete but to slowly roll out the big guns and important updates to GS, is insane to say the least. I think the days of incremental updates in a luxury Lexus cannot afford right now. In some aspects, I think Lexus is still out of touch with what the consumer really wants. Or maybe I'm just the vocal minority

Justin2JZ

I'm telling you they'll probably do a update the second year the 4GS is out.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

no you are not alone, i think lexus can definitely reach out more to hear what the market and generations want. mb is spending a lot of money to hear what specific group of people / buyers want in the future cars, years ahead of production. same with bmw from what i know. lexus has something similar, but from my understanding the scale is quite small. unless they are reaching out to a completely different group that i am aware of.

we will see how lexus plays this game. but with the drivetain having minimum touches, they will need to make up somewhere else

rominl

iTrader: (4)

lol i still remember how a lot of 06 gs300 owners #*&%#(*3 about the gs350 updates when it was announced

Justin2JZ

And that's how its most likely going to be with this generation. I wouldn't be surprised.

lostnspace

That's just it, does Lexus really have the "luxury" to do this again? How many times can Lexus alienate its dwindling consumer market. Also with sales declining and the earthquake/tsunami further hurting sales...shouldn't Lexus be fighting like a fat kid over the last piece of cake rather being the kid thats willing to settle for crumbs

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

sure... when you're selling hardly any anyway, you have lots of options, lol.

not really, the gs, while a style direction for lexus, has never been a huge seller. it is still likely to be only 10-20% of rx sales i'd bet, even if a 'home run'.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

in lexus defense though, the gs300 was a huge disaster because the engine was so underpowered (not even funny). i think it was 240hp or so, which was very bad. on top, back in japan home court, lexus came out with gs350 the very first year already (don't ask me why), indicating that the 350 was coming for sure very soon. all those news masked out a lot about what the 3gs had to offer.

looking at the 4gs, the engine and hp numbers are pretty respectable already, so that's why i think it's "ok". the tranny, that's another story.

LexFather

I also would like to see the 8 speed but again, when the LS debuted the 8 speed many people were saying its silly. Its funny how things change.

One great thing about that 6 speed is its rock solid and it has paddles in the IS so having paddles in the GS should be great. At least we can say while the tranny is carryover at least they really seemed to do their H.W and take it to another level with sport, the interior and options.

Also note (I think someone mentioned it) the GS will be lightest in class so while it may be short on the HP rating, it should more than hold its own.

Vladi

I don't see it as a letdown because it's already faster than most of the cars on the road so if they shave off another 0.5 seconds it will not mean anything. But if they leave performance as is and increase city MPG by 3-4MPG that would mean a lot.