Gojirra99

but it doesn't have to be, and it will be a more practical car too with the hatchback ...

RX469

iTrader: (1)

I agree. That's my initial thought also.

dunnojack

haha. nice descrip.

the thing does look clumsy

and i have a feeling people will go "$39000 for THAT?!"

dunnojack

i doubt ANY lexus hybrid sells well.
no one knows the exact sales figures. but the RX400 probably sells like crap,
and the GS450 is a complete joke in terms of sales.

no one is gonna rush to buy this 250h.

and I highly doubt prius owners will move up to something that costs almost twice as much, and gives you 1/3 less mileage.

prius folks are more practical than that.

I bet $5 on it.

and of course, it won't sell as well as it could have if it were better looking.

GS69

I think that the HS250h may sell better than you think. The GS450h & LS600h are performance hybrids & green people were not going to rush to that much like they avoided the Honda Accord Hybrid. The RX450h is more of a traditional hybrid & I imagine that it sells OK: last month Lexus sold 707 hybrids & I would think that the majority of those were RX450hs.

The HS250h is a 4 cylinder hybrid so I am sure it will attract that green crowd that have more $$$ than Prius shoppers. The looks so far seem to be the stumbling block & of course the price tag has yet to be seen.

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

To be completely honest...

RX hybrids have historically been roughly 1/3rd of total RX sales, and that was for the previous generation. Since the new RX 450h isn't out yet it's hard to guess but I will predict that it will sell even better than the previous model considering all of the updates and price.

The GS 450h is the only solid selling vehicle in the GS lineup- the only GS there is any demand for or that people care about. 450hs are usually sold before they arrive at dealers.

LS 600hL has always been special order, they have never had a problem selling them, even in this economy.

Considering this, as well as many of the reasons that Paul laid out, I think the HS 250h will probably sell quite well.

Gojirra99

Up here in Canada, the proportion of sales of the hybrid Lexus models to the non-hybrids is even higher. I've heard the GS450h is at least one third of all GS sales IIRC ? I've heard it's even more so in Europe and some other parts of the world. As for the 600hL, it's a very limited production model anyway, they only build a small # of units every year.

When I ordered my LS460L last year, I was talking about changing the interior color of my order, & the time it takes to build my car with the Lexus sales manager in January, he told me that my car should arrive around April, but that he has another customer who wanted to order a LS600hL, but was told by Lexus in Japan that all those who were scheduled to be built shortly were accounted for, & they won't start building LS600hL's again until July, so they probably already filled their limited quota of LS600hL's for last year by then.

dunnojack

it's more like 20% for the RXh. its the only one that sells decently.

the GS450h sells very little, and they are sold because supply is low. if the dealer only orders 2 cars, of course they're gonna be sold. in december, only 51 450h were sold, and that's with the promo sales event. 51/1200 = low.

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

I know it wouldn't have to have looked like the Prius but the chances of Lexus and Toyota taking the easy way would've been pretty high.

IS-SV

Mediocre-looking cars, but the pic of the pool was real nice.

LexFather

RX 400hs sell very well, around 1500-2000 a month. That is more than some other SUV lineups in themselves, including most Cute utes. Pretty impressive.

The GS 450h is a limited production model, initially only 5k allocated worldwide and as MP stated, most are sold as soon as they hit the lot.

The 600hL is also another limited production model.

I hate huge front overhang and the HS has it in spades. Huge front overhang to me just kills the look of luxury. The other part of design I hate for luxury cars is the front door line nearly touching the fender. All fwd cars have this disgusting look and it looks totally out of place on luxury cars (I35/ES/all Acuras/some Audis).

Very underwhelmed.....

ffpowerLN

iTrader: (1)

Facts:

- HS250h is ugly

- A more powerful HS300h with about the same FE should be a better choice

- 95% of the people out there aren't enthusiasts

- Sometimes (most of the times as matter of fact...) enthusiasts are narrow-minded

- A LOT of people just want a reliable and fuel efficient A-to-B transportation

- The previous gen Corolla is even uglier but still sell like hot cakes...

IS-SV

No wonder the HS is ugly, the proportions are not good.
Look at how tall the thing is with relatively narrow track and width. Plus long overhangs.

Gojirra99

Then why won't they just get the Prius ?
If you want to pay premium price for a luxury brand hybrid that actually is less fuel efficient than the Prius, wouldn't you expect it to have at least a little more flair ?

But I still do think it may sell reasonably well, just not for me ...

dunnojack

but it's acceptable because it's CHEAP, and reliable.

i wouldn't pay $30k for a car that doesn't look like $30k.

and lexus would like to keep msrp above 30k for all of its cars.

that said, the HS would be one of the ugliest $30k cars ever