KKelly

Figure of speech. So, with Lexus' first foray into the "F" or "M" market or whatever you want to call it, let's just say performance cars, "reliability" is its competive edge. Okay..... good luck with that. That is not how these cars are compared and given that the average buyer these days keeps cars for only 3-4 years and most are under full warranty during that period it should not be.

gengar

Well, if you're going to quote me, you might as well, you know, quote the whole thing. Reliability and quality are how Lexus gains competitive advantage throughout its product spectrum and my point, as clearly stated, is that failure to do so in the F brand will reflect poorly on the Lexus brand.

Besides, the IS-F is already getting raves about its quality, so I don't see how you can deny that it is a competitive edge. As just one major example among several reviewers, either the R&T or C/D review stated that the balance between ride quality and performance is phenomenal. Another magazine quoted on another forum thought the balance was better than BMW. Winding Road called it the "biggest achievement". Only edmunds didn't like it (saying it was too harsh ), and probably because they were comparing the ride quality to the LS or something.

Tell that to Lotus in the 80s/early 90s... heck, Maserati in that same time period, too. Or me, for that matter; it's going to take a lot to get me back to AMG, not after my experience with the C43.

KKelly

This assumes that to develop a true high performance 5.0 V8 would compromise reliability and quality. I don't think it would.

Toyota is hamstrung by a rigid corporate culture that just wouldn't take the extra step. All big companies are guilty of it, including BMW which sold two generations of three series without reinforcing the rear shock mounts (maybe it was a Quandt grandson's design or something). It is just too bad that for this one product offering (which likely won't be really high volume for Lexus) they didn't just pull out the stops.

gengar

You're the one that suggested that Lexus was taking a different approach to satisfy buyers' different priorities, not me. I guess we've come full circle.

Of course Lexus could develop a reliable, high-quality, performance V8. That's never been in question. But the issue is not if they can maintain quality and reliability while doing so, but if they can do that while maintaining the price point of both the car and the maintenance. I assume that would be why, as you said, that accountants were involved in the decision.

AlexusAnja

Yawnnnnn... C&D sucks... MT sucks... Automobile sucks... my own opinion is all that matters and consumers who buy the IS-F and love it are all that matters.

miniround

i only listen to jeremy clarkson

vraa

iTrader: (2)

Only because he's funny.
I feel sorry for anyone who has to have another mind to make up their opinion

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

If I had all the time in the world to test drive cars, I wouldn't bother with reviews. Since I don't, I'd rather have a few interesting reviews that take me a half hour to digest rather than drive 5 or 10 different cars and deal with 5 or 10 sales pitches to decide which one I like.

is-fan

I'm not sure why so many people pay so much attention to what all the mags and web sites have to say about their reviews. Given two different reviewers, they will give different reviews and express their opinions. Some will hate a car while others will love it.

Some listen to what Jeremy Clarkson has to say. He is just on TV for entertainment and I wouldn't pay attention to anything he has to say. He is like the Simon Cowell of the auto world, but the difference is that Simon Cowell is a truthful a-hole and Jeremy is just an a-hole.

The only opinion that matters is YOURS. Don't let it bother you just because you don't agree with someone elses opionion. Test drive it and let the performance speak for itself, not some potentially biased reviewer that may be on-the-take.

flipside909

It's okay to have critics. Not everyone likes the IS-F, and not everyone hates it.

LexFather

My rant wasn't with the article itself, it was a good piece. I might change the thread title.

Its not just them, the IS-F is simply not on any covers for the most part. The GT-R is getting the cover stories!