Modeler

You can deduce the number of GS450h sold in May by subtracting the number of RX400h sold from the total number of Lexus hybrids sold in the month. It comes to 181 (I figure there were no LS600h sold in May yet). That's great news because it means that GS40h still remains a very unique car. Since I bought mine in January I've only seen two other 450's in our area (D.C.).

The older I get, the more I enjoy driving something that's a bit off the mainstream. I bought my 2004 Acura TL right when it came out, but a year or two later I would typically see at least five cars that were exactly like my, including the color, in a given day. It may sound silly, but somehow it took away from my enjoyment of that car. I know for sure that it's not going to happen with the GS450h...

Yang1815

iTrader: (1)

Hopefully not yet, but there sure are many GS's around though!

LexBob2

Wow, 181 cars in a month for the U.S. and Canada, that's not many. I wonder what Lexus' sales target is for the 450h?

timeToy

iTrader: (11)

I, too, enjoy the little out of the ordinary of the 450h...
I only saw one other 450h in San Diego around the February time frame, since them, I saw only one... mine !

Kesem

All the sales must be on the westside of LA. I see 450hs every day. Yesterday there were three parked in a row on Beverly Drive. All three were black by the way!

kenji4861

I don't get why this is a good thing. Car remains unique? I suppose that's a good thing.

Acura RL has a problem with selling and how did Acura deal with this? They lowered the price on it and also the next year models, they introduced cheaper options.

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I personally I don't get why anyone would buy the GS 450h. The mileage you save is not worth the extra $10k+ you pay for the car. I think the sales figures supports this thought.

Yang1815

iTrader: (1)

Getting a hybrid is not about saving money actually, it's more eco-friendly and people need to realize that. In addition, in the case of GS450h, you get the power of a V8 with the fuel efficiency of a V6.

Gojirra99

No I think he meant 181 GS450h's just for the US in May. That's pretty close to their target as I think their target is about 2000 a year in the U.S.
These are limited production cars & I think they don't have the production capacity to make a lot more than that.

LexFather

This is correct, 2k a year, limited production.

steverhode

That's why I'm not convinced that the GS460 will sell very well. Sure, it'll be a bit faster than a GS450h, but, at least in my state, the cache of driving a GS450h gives you a great greener-than-thou status that's hard to beat. I'm really not trying to be sarcastic; I'm just being honest. Both cars will go real fast, but one will give you that I'm saving the planet pseduo satisfication while the other will cost about the same and be about as fast but just be another car.

Modeler

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, of course. But let me point out a few things:

1. The price difference between the GS450h and GS430 configured with exactly the same equipment (except for the hybrid engine, of course ) is only $6,000. Go ahead and try it on carsdirect.com. My car was something like $60,200 MSRP, and configured like mine the GS430 is $54,260.

2. Personally, I got over $7,000 off MSRP (I paid $53K), which made my car over a $1,000 cheaper than GS430's MSRP. Given that the invoice on that 430 I mentioned above is $51,260, my markup over the best price of 430 is less than $2,000!!!

3. The 450h is significantly more powerful than 430. Also, due to the unique CVT transmission, it is also a lot smoother accelerating. I really enjoy this feature of my car; there is no interruption in power delivery.

4. The difference in fuel economy is very significant. My average of the last 2,000 miles has been 24 mpg. I'm guessing that comparable mix of driving would have produced mileage of about 15-17 mpg with my heavy foot on the 430. At the current Premium gas prices of $3.30, I would save over $2,000 in gas in just three years.

5. Though the tax rebates have been mostly phased out, there are still some monetary benefits to be had this year. I'm getting over $700 back from the US government. My friends who live in an adjoining county in Virginia do not have to pay annual car tax on hybrids. On a GS450h that's an annual $1,200 savings!

6. Living in DC area I get to rid in HOV lanes in my Lexus for another year. That's a benefit that's hard to value, but I believe there's been a study that attempted to do just that in LA area. They used to have some sort of non-transferable sticker for hybrids that allowed them to ride in HOV. They ran out of those stickers awhile ago. Now those hybrids that have it sell for over $3,000 more than the ones that don't.

7. I get the bragging rights of owning one of the most technologically advanced luxury vehicles on the road.

8. Last, but not least, I get to feel better because I'm not driving a V8 that gets 15 mpg and pollutes the air way more than my hybrid.

You decide whether these financial and other benefits outweigh the marginally higher cost...

Jace7

I heard that in most states "if" your hybrid is 25% better than it's 100% gas counterpart than you get to drive in the HOV lane.
Is the GS450h, 25 percent better in fuel economy then the v6 GS350 RWD?????????

bobbyt01nc

MR "GREEN", I just wanted to point my actual observation of owning the gas guzzling, way more polluting V8 in my GS430. I average 20MPG in city and when I just drove from Jacksonville to Miami last weekend, I averaged 23MPG on one tank of gas to go 350 miles each way. I also averaged 83 MPH, according to my trip meter, to get down there so I imagine the 23 mpg would improve if I drove like my dad in his avalon. This also included 2 suitcases in the trunk along with a cooler and 2 other shopping bags tucked in there...can the hybrid fit that much in the trunk?? 24 MPG in a hybrid is nice but isn't the GS350 also averaging about the same?
I guess the $54K MSRP on the GS430 was based on a non NAV/ML pkg...mine was closer to $59K and I bought mine with 7K miles on it and OTD paid $45K..so I feel much happier about saving $17K (w/tax) up front for the same look/feel and plenty of torque on the car and not losing the off the lot depreciation immediately.
With that said, I probably would buy the hybrid over the 430 if money was no object

Modeler

In the case of Virginia, fuel economy plays no role in the HOV exemption decision. It's all about level of pollution produced by the car. GS450h and a handful of other vehicles are certified as some sort of "super-duper ultra extra unbelievably low emission vehicles". Not all hybrids qualify under this law; either the Toyota Camry hybrid or Accord hybrid don't (can't remember which one).

The Virginia Loudon and Arlington counties' car tax exemption is also based on the emissions, not fuel economy. Unfortunately I live in Fairfax county, which doesn't have this exemption.

Yang1815

iTrader: (1)

Some people also love the grunt and torque delivery of a V8. We shouldn't be comparing the 450h with the 430, but the upcoming 460 actually.

After all, all three engines of GS have their pros and cons of course. I can personally argue for GS350 for being my best choice since it comes in AWD, etc.

Lastly, all GS's are pretty unique already and many of the incentives for buying a hybrid would come to an end in a couple of years (tax, HOV, etc.)