PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Supply and demand. Supply is low and demand is high, so Lexus can charge a premium right now. When supply is high and demand is low, Lexus loses money.

I think Lexus will find a comfortable medium by the end of the year, when most IS will have significant discounts. If you have a specific setup in mind, might as well Special Order it now, rather than waiting 4-6 months hoping that the right setup will arrive.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

same damn thing always happens, and people continue to whine its actually funny how some dont see it, remember when new the TLs came out, when the S2000s came out, same stuff, either going for MSRP or going higher than MSRP

brewkp4

I go to a fairly small college, Wake Forest University. There are currently 2 new IS's on campus. One is mine. It sucks though cause they got the same color as me! haha oh well, other than that I havent seen any around at all.

lesman01

Charlesmsn: I've only seen 3 on the streets in Atlanta. I have a 350 Tungsten. Wonder if you saw me? I saw a Matador Red 250 this morning on the way to work on 85.

LexFather

True, the IS may sell 40-50k a year, which is 10% of a Camry's yearly total, but this is NOT a low production car. I.E Lexus wants to SELL them.

The SC 430 was low production, 12,000 made its first year and 10,000 each year after. And that is still high when you consider real low volume cars, like exotics.

Some companies don't sell 3k cars a YEAR.

diablo1

Yes, I think the OP is wrong in his assumption that Lexus is "intentionally" making this a "low production" car. Lexus is building and selling these cars as fast as they can. I do not think they are intentionally restricting production in order to drive demand or boost the car's reputation. Something like a Ferrari, on the other hand, is a different story. They intentionally limit production, to keep their brand exclusive, and they usually know they will sell out of every production run long before it is finished. As for Lexus - they just have a hot car that a lot of people want to buy.

daveortega

The 335i is actually supposed to REPLACE the 330i. Rumor has it that the price won't be dramatically different.

NINEZeRO

The IS is not necessarily a "low" production car. BMW sold over 100,000 3 series in 2005. By the way things are looking, Lexus may sell over 100,000 in a single year during the life of the car (i guess til 2010 or 2011). That is not a low production car at all, even if they sell 50-75k a year) America's best selling "car" camry sells just over 400,000 (maybe closer to 450,000 i dont remember exaclty).

Big Andy

If there were a plentiful supply of IS very soon the dealers would start discounting heavily and we'd all be on here complaining that we paid list price. Then when we came to sell the car in a couple of years time the residuals would be poor and we'd all be complaining again that Lexus had flooded the market and we might as well have bought something a lot cheaper.

jlin101

The IS is in no way a limited production car; on the contrary, Lexus intended it to be a volume seller, like the ES. It's normal for supply to lag behind demand early in the production cycle, for most new cars. If the manufacturer floods the lots with enough cars so everyone can just walk in and drive one home, people would think that nobody wants the car. People pay a premium over the MSRP just to get a Honda van or SUV.

caromero

Well that is the difference between Honda and Lexus. If you want a car that is mass produced to the point that everyone can have one, then Lexus just isnt the right product for you. Having a car that is limited in production makes it more exclusive and desirable, therefore it holds its value much better than if it's readily available to anyone.

Tony1

Thats true, ive only seen 2 other IS's and they were both 250's..

mcfly

I've only ever see ONE on the road. And I live in NoVA, where there are bimmers and porsches and an occasional ferrari, oh my. You'd think there would be more around, but so far, nada.

mtnduc

I live in metro Denver and I've only seen one other 350 and it's across the street in my neighbor's garage.
3 series BMWs(including M3's), 3xx MB's and Acura TLs are a dime a dozen around here and I drive by the Ferrari dealer daily so I usually see a couple a week in the summertime.
In my opinion, there are currently no true limited production Japanese cars being sold in the US. And yes, I'm including the NSX, they're really not that difficult to get if you have the $$.

Big Andy

When I'm out driving round town I keep seeing out of the corner of my eye, an identical car to mine, cruising alongside, keeping pace with me, turning where I turn - then I realise it's my reflection in the shop windows..

Good looking car too, the owner looks after it.