Originally Posted by Tony1

Yes and i'm sure the models they had in the early 1900's were more reliable
then the ones are today..

Originally Posted by heffergm

I wasn't referring to anything having to do with reliability or performance. I was simply pointing out that companies that have existed for near a century have a certain cache that some people look for. Lexus can't buy back a heritage they don't have.

Originally Posted by Rockville

Here are a few other Lexus advantages...

drag coefficient IS350 .28 vs. BMW 330's .30
Learjet leather interior vs. standard leatherette
smartkey standard vs. optional type that you still put in slot then push a button..
heated/ventilated seats vs. not available
Homelink std. vs. optional open up the garage door
6 CD changer in dash std. vs. optional open up the trunk changer ( try that while your driving)
turning circle 33.5 ft. vs. 36.1 ft.
17.1 gal fuel tank vs. 15.9 gallon (drive a lot?)
paddle shifters vs. nada
VDIM vs. older Dynamic Stability Control ( VSC equivalent technology)
Mark Levinson optional vs. lesser system
Knee airbags vs. ouch that hurts!
Park Assist front and rear vs. rear only detection
#1 ranking in dependability vs. #11 (better than M-B )
#1 in Initial Quality Survey vs. #3 ( that's not bad at all )
#1 Sales Satisfaction Index vs. #16 (Oops, what happened?)

51 more ponies and 57 ft/lbs. of torque under the hood

Let's just say that BMW is working hard to even up the comparison and benchmarks are made to be broken...

Rock

Originally Posted by Rockville

but everyone scoffed when they entered the Luxmobile fray in September 1989. The new LS460L is another technology leapfrog. You have to keep improving to stay in the game and the rules are changing all of the time. Next you will see the IS350 engine with a hybrid driveline. Heritage is overrated.....

Rock

Originally Posted by heffergm

Maybe to you. But that doesn't necessarily mean others feel the same. I could, in general, care less.

Originally Posted by Rockville

for 6 years in a row. Last year 301,182 Lexus were purchased. That is the all time Luxury import record.....BMW was second and had an excellent year at 266,200. M-Benz brought up the rear with 224,275. All three gained market share which shows that the lux market is still strong. Lexus made signifigant gains with the new GS and IS models and they were the real reason that Lexus sales increased 5.2%. The hybrid factor will eventually increase the Lexus brand dominance even further. BMW and MBZ have only diesels to counter with and face it folks the fuel costs are only going to go up from now on....

The reason that the IS350 spanks the 330i in the video has less to do with the drivers from AMCI (which is an independent co. that works for BMW also) but with the engine technology leap of the new Lexus vs. the older BMW design. It will be a lot fairer when the BMW has a newer and larger displacement engine to bring to the contest. I drove both the cars at the DC event for the Lexus associates and I found the BMW very relaxed to drive aggressively but I wasn't pushing the limits either as it's considered bad form to wipe out the cones. It was different in steering heaviness too. The electric power steering on the IS250/350 is way quicker so it feels lighter automatically. I came away impressed by the 330i Sport package in handling feel. The DC venue was at FEDEX field parking lot. The difference in acceleration 0-100 between these two cars is greater than a football field with the endzones included....Lexus will race the IS350 in this years Grand AM series so don't think it's a poseur either...

Here are a few other Lexus advantages...

drag coefficient IS350 .28 vs. BMW 330's .30
Learjet leather interior vs. standard leatherette
smartkey standard vs. optional type that you still put in slot then push a button..
heated/ventilated seats vs. not available
Homelink std. vs. optional open up the garage door
6 CD changer in dash std. vs. optional open up the trunk changer ( try that while your driving)
turning circle 33.5 ft. vs. 36.1 ft.
17.1 gal fuel tank vs. 15.9 gallon (drive a lot?)
paddle shifters vs. nada
VDIM vs. older Dynamic Stability Control ( VSC equivalent technology)
Mark Levinson optional vs. lesser system
Knee airbags vs. ouch that hurts!
Park Assist front and rear vs. rear only detection
#1 ranking in dependability vs. #11 (better than M-B )
#1 in Initial Quality Survey vs. #3 ( that's not bad at all )
#1 Sales Satisfaction Index vs. #16 (Oops, what happened?)

51 more ponies and 57 ft/lbs. of torque under the hood

Let's just say that BMW is working hard to even up the comparison and benchmarks are made to be broken...

Rock