ISF001

Murph,

Good for you! I plan on driving the beast everyday--20 miles or so--7,000 per year for 3 years.

I'll let you guys know when I get ready to trade it for the next gen.

Life's not a dress rehearsal.

Murph145

^ i drive alot myself so hopefully the car last ... i did extend the warranty to 6 years 125K miles so hope that gives me a lil time until my next car

ISF001

I view the IS-F and LFA as trophy cars for Lexus. And I suspect that the limitation on production for both vehicles will relate to the cost of manufacturing and lower corporate profit margins.

They draw the F-Sport buyers to the brand and offset F investments through these sales.

I am sure that Lexus puts a lot of money into producing what we are buying in the F line.

bnizzle87

Lexus, to me, is branching out the F division. It is creating a recognition that is similar to what BMW does with its M and what Mercedes does with its AMG. Though badge placement isn't as prevalent seen on the German counterparts, you do see it with wheels and the additional packages offered. The F logo, on the other hand, is the only one I know of the three that has the actual badge in the areas that would have normally typified an IS F. I know it bothers many not only here on the forums but also on the streets. People correlate any 250 or 350 F-sport to the F. To me, it's paying homage to the track that bestowed this Lexus sport performance brand. Those who really know how to differentiate the F-sport from the F are the ones that appreciate the path Lexus has forged for its future in the luxury sport segment.

LexIS007

iTrader: (1)

I think the "F" brand would get more attention (and respect) if the cars it had in its lineup were a little more.....serious. Not saying the LFA is a joke (mad props to Toyota for such a car) nor the ISF, but I think the ISF could use some more "wild" in its recipe. Let's see some carbon fiber outside like the M3, lets see some aggressive hood scoops and rear bumper air deflectors, etc... I'm not saying let's rice the damn thing, but at least make the difference so apparent, that someone in a F-Sport is not mistaken for an ISF driver. All im trying to say is that, the similarities are very very close aesthetically, and that should not be the case....just like how most of us can distinguish an M3 from a 3 series, an RS4 from an A4, a C63 AMG from a C-class, etc...

TerrySmith

Does not bother me at all. In fact I think the IS250 FS and IS350 FS are great cars and look great. I even have an irrational urge to buy one - irrational since I already have an IS F. I've talked to a few IS x50 owners and they knew the difference between the F and FS and did not seem like posers to me - they all told me they wished they had an IS F.

I think the IS F is a little incognito. I was talking to a friend at work who owns a Vette and he was telling me about how other people treat him on the road - cutting him off or wanting to race him with their pickup trucks and other stupid stuff like that. I told him no one knows what the IS F is and people leave me alone.

If there's anything I don't like, it is the way the whole concept seems to be copied from BMW: F / FSport vs M / MSport. I would prefer originality in car design, appearance and branding. But having said that, branding does not mean too much me. If it was called an IS 500 I still would have bought one.

mordecai

I noticed that the LFA has its own special F logo on the side without the surround that the IS-F has. Do you guys think the next IS-F should have the same logo as the LFA to further differentiate the true F cars to the F-Sport? I think it would be cool, as it would connect the IS-F (and future GS-F, SC-F) to the halo F car while differentiating it from the F-Sport cars.

mugenh22a4

iTrader: (9)

Ferrari F40 or GTO....rare. Lexus IS-F....not rare at all.

VtotheJ

iTrader: (2)

Lol, you drive a IS350. Do you know what it's like to shop for an ISF? I do. It was so hard to find one that I was willing to trek to the midwest to get a good deal on one but luckily found one in NY.

This is exactly what I meant. People here misinterpreted how I used the word "rare"... besides the ISF's that i go to meets with, I've probably seen 1 or 2.

You can't compare the rarity of a Ferrari to an ISF, that's why i said sports car and not exotic. Exotics are in another league.

MMCRacing

The F line is the opposite of BMW's situation. With BMW, true M's are a known, desired set of models. By bringing some parts down to non-M models, they are capitalizing on a desired brand.

With Lexus, not many people know about the IS-F. So we have the opposite effect of getting some brand recognition by making the non-F models more desirable.

With BMW, it is a top down approach. With Lexus, it is bottom up.

flipside909

Couldn't have said it better.

dojoman

iTrader: (5)

I can find 6 used ISF in my area, hardly a rare car. I was in the market for IS-F 2 yrs ago before I settled with 350.

VtotheJ

iTrader: (2)

It's rare in the country, but maybe not in California. Cali was lucky enough to get 16 ISF owners together for a meet, which is virtually impossible on the East Coast or other regions in the US. If the ISF wasn't rare, it would have happened already. Unless you're living in your own world, there are 49 other states you have to consider. In the U.S., It's certainly not as common as M3's, S4's, Corvettes or even the C63. And the direct result of this is that the resale value of a 2008 ISF is still high as opposed to its counterparts.

Weapon F

Not to get off topic here but depending on what part of the country your from isf can be rare car to come across especially in the south and the midwest portions of the country just ask owners that live in states such as tennessee kansas or kentucky how common isf are. if you live in southern california you always see a higher percentage of sports oriented base cars in that area of the country. last week while waiting at a light westchester county police officer stated to me that it was a second F he had seen in person I pulled over so he could check the car out and few question and. two days go while getting gas I pulls gets out of jeep wrangler and asked if it was an ISF I told him yes he said that he had never seen ISF before just read about the car so yes the F is not common car in most parts of country .

Capn

I'll chime in as well and say it doesn't really bother me either. I bought the car knowing what it is. Personally, I'm perfectly content knowing that I know what it is, and it makes me smile when I fire it up and give it gas. That's all that really matters.

Truth be told, 80 to 90% percent of the population that are not into cars won't know what it is anyway, just like they had no idea what the "M5" meant on my M5.

Don't make yourselves sick worrying about it. Just drive the car and enjoy whatcha have. That's my take.