Originally Posted by bitkahuna

looking at these two pics, are they actually the same front end?

Originally Posted by eightysix

absolutely not feeling it :s
Was so looking forward to the new IS but now.. disappointment
The interior is way too messy and crowded with different materials, shapes and colors. there is no serenity and it doesn't breath luxury. For me the materials for the radio look also cheap..
it's like they just randomly placed external devices and buttons.. like gps doesnt look integrated.. and whats up with the placement of the start/stop button?
compare this with the e-class or 3 series interior and you'll see what I mean.

I think the exterior has no elegance, if you told me this is the new KIA or Hyundai I would def believe it ..

Originally Posted by bitkahuna

have you seen it in person?

by this logic, the pontiac aztek should have sold like hotcakes.

guessing critics here have been a wide variety of ages.

i know not directed at me, and i'm not sure it will, but you have repeatedly said that more edgy designs don't do well over time.

it is? tell that to a drifter.





well, this IS looks VERY little like the LF CC to me (particularly from the side) except for the giant front grill, aka, the shnoz.



i disagree. i think that title goes hands down to the HS.

Originally Posted by peteharvey

At its peak, the IS sold 54,933 in 2007 USA.
3 Series peaked at 142,490 also in 2007.
C Class peaked at 89,607 just last year.

Sure, it is mainly the name/badge/image, and not necessarily the car.
All the manufacturers market pretty well, so I can't see marketing playing a major role for the IS to match the C Class, or the C Class to catch up to the 3 Series...
.

Originally Posted by peteharvey

We're both humans - and it is normal for two people to have different tastes.
I could say to you that you want a sporty bias, and that there are other options non-Lexus for you too.
It's just two different opinions from two different people.

Thus, it's better to comment on our own opinion of the car, rather than trying to "quote" and put down another member's opinion.
It would be better if we all try to have some etiquette, and avoid quoting others negatively, and making remarks like:
"John Smith you are wrong".
"I disagree with you".
"I believe that"...
We could all do without these negative quotations and phrases.
It is better if we can all just focus on voicing our own opinions, without having to deny another person of their opinions, and trying to put their opinions down...

Originally Posted by cino

Ultra White is F-sport exclusive exterior color.- According to Hoovey.

Originally Posted by Blueprint

I posted the pics of the LF-CC and IS one after the other already so go back and READ. It is very close. Many of us are Lexus enthusiasts and interested in the 3IS FYI.



Pete the 3 series is their volume car, it has coupes and convertibles and the IS will never sell like it. The C class also has coupes. The IS just has the IS convertible, no true coupe.

The 3 series and C class have decades of well deserved prestige. I think Lexus is happy with their smaller share of the pot and the sportier image the IS brings to the brand along with younger buyers. It is crystal clear after all these years that all the cars co-exist, they all sell well, they all are well received they all are successes for their brands.


lol....agreed. Which is why I could care less about what people think about how the car looks. No car can visually please anyone and this IS is clearly going for bold, futuristic and is not going for bland or blending in.

Besides we know how it goes with Lexus on the internet

-Lexus is bland, car is boring
-No, now Lexus is way to sporty, that is stupid
-Lexus is dumb looking like that
-OMG I feel asleep looking at that
-That car looks so ugly, OMG, Lexus makes the ugliest cars


We are enjoying our predator face GS-F sport.

Originally Posted by dseag2

Well, said, and the 3IS could look like an Aston Martin Rapide and the guys over at Bimmerfest would bash it. Give them something controversial, and it's on!

Originally Posted by SW10ES

I have been around Lexus forums a long time, not as long as Blueprint and the crew obviously, but the story is always the same.

1. New model is coming out, people post pages upon pages of all the things they hope it will be, want it to be, etc. The vast majority of those things are completely unrealistic.
2. Pictures get leaked, invariably right before the big reveal.
3. Everybody freaks out, "OMG, its so hideous, Lexus has shot themselves in the foot with this one, I would never trade my 1991 ES250 in on that thing", "thank God we have our *insert previous generation of aforementioned model here*, we better keep them forever because Lexus will never build another car that we want to drive". "My car is the epitome of everything Lexus could have designed, if they would just make the new car look more like my car, it'd be hot.
4. People do all kinds of photoshops to make the car look like what they wished it looked like. Most look horrible...some look surprisingly good.
5. People see the car in person...and it looks better than in pictures. The honest folks will post this. Bedlam ensues, people get banned, moderators turn on moderators.
6. The model comes out and...people buy it. It sells better than the previous model!
7. A new subforum pops up, full of happy next generation owners and the community prospers.

And it all happens again...and again...and again. Don't believe me? Read the thread in every subforum about every new version of a model that comes out.

It'll be fine guys, trust me!

Originally Posted by Blueprint

The internetz predicted failure.

Originally Posted by bitkahuna

so i was looking at the side profile. i get the upward curve of the side skirt detail and the rear side window sill curve, but i just think it's overdone.

also, the actual car side view shot (vs. the photoshop or just car shop lowered lexus pics on red) show an unpleasant wheel gap.

took a stab at toning down the window sill curve, removing the skirt curve, and lowering the car a bit.

Originally Posted by peteharvey

Now that we have seen what the F Sport looks like, we can roughly predict the shape of the base model.
However, I suspect that the base 3IS is too sporty, or too radical for the mass public.

Look at this BMW forum below, at see how other people view our 3IS, and they are a significantly bigger group than us: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=789893


Btw, one rough way to take into account the effect of the ES on IS and GS sales is to total the sales of all 3 models up for the USA in 2012:
ES 56,158
IS 27,708
GS 22,160
Total = 106,026

3 Series 99,602
5 Series [without 6 Series of 8,208] @ 56,798
Total = 156,400

C Class 81,697
E Class [without CLS of 8,065] @ 65,171
Total = 146,868

Thus, even with the ES sedan included, and considering how much cheaper the three Lexus models are relative to their German counterparts, Lexus still trails BM and Benz by a long way.
It helps to have not just more engine & suspension variations, but also more body variations to cater for the different tastes in the mainstream mass market.
Note how the 6 Series & CLS body variations contribute about 8,000+ units each, in sales?

As it stands, I suspect the 3IS won't do well in the mainstream mass market, just like the 22,160 units of the GS against the 56,796 5 Series and 65,171 E Classes.
Even when we take the ES into account, it's still 106k ES/S/GS versus 157k 3/5 Series, and 146k C/E Classes.

The mass market has a more conservative taste, and not so radical.
Sales ultimately increases the profitability to pour back into R&D, and without solid R&D, the company faces a bleak future with delayed 8 speed gear boxes etc etc.


Interestingly, did the GS fail to meet its minimum target of 2k per month?
It's one thing to design for enthusiasts; it's another thing to design for the mass public.
Sales are all about the tastes of the mass market...