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lol. I highly doubt that! They do not lose money on every LC produced. You really think they would do that for over 6 years?
It’s not an LFA!
There’s a bazillion LC on used market and plenty of ‘23 sitting on dealer lots they can’t sell.
[QUOTE=NickL;11631701]lol.They do not lose money on every LC produced. You really think they would do that for over 6 years?
It’s not an LFA!
not so sure about that ! as mentioned, this is a "halo " car, meant to attract buyers into the showroom, to show off other, greater volume cars.
have you looked closely at the stitching along the leather dash ? obviously not done by machine, with subtle irregularities that result only from
human hand work. i have no experience in industrial production, but the start up costs to produce a machine like this must be in the hundreds of millions;
if you calculate the cost of producing each unit, times the total production to date, do you think the net on all of these units covers these costs ? doubtful.
lol. I highly doubt that! They do not lose money on every LC produced. You really think they would do that for over 6 years?
It’s not an LFA!
There’s a bazillion LC on used market and plenty of ‘23 sitting on dealer lots they can’t sell.
LFA sat unsold for years too and with some heavy discounts at the time.
I’ve read somewhere to develop a new car, it costs automaker somewhere close to 750 million to 1.5 billion dollars. Chassis, engineering, certification, labor, testing, marketing, etc etc. on a lower end model
much much more on a high end halo car like the LC. I’d say closer to the 3-4 billion dollars mark due to all the engineering of this brand new chassis, body style, etc
let’s say average transaction price is 100k (not all that 100k goes to Toyota either, so let’s say they profit 60,000 per car). Globally how many LCs have shifted since 2018 ? 20-30k ?
A halo car to attract customers to the showroom and yet have 6 of them sitting on the lot with 8k off msrp?
you got that exactly right ! the customers attracted by the halo purchase other models;
and the reason the LC doesnt sell ? ... its too expensive for them
LFA sat unsold for years too and with some heavy discounts at the time.
I’ve read somewhere to develop a new car, it costs automaker somewhere close to 750 million to 1.5 billion dollars. Chassis, engineering, certification, labor, testing, marketing, etc etc. on a lower end model
much much more on a high end halo car like the LC. I’d say closer to the 3-4 billion dollars mark due to all the engineering of this brand new chassis, body style, etc
let’s say average transaction price is 100k (not all that 100k goes to Toyota either, so let’s say they profit 60,000 per car). Globally how many LCs have shifted since 2018 ? 35k ?
they barely make back their development costs so far if not lose money on each car.
lets say a bill: 1,000,000,000 / 35,000 units worldwide nets around 28.5 each; 100k - 28.5k, less material and production costs (btw, notice the lexus logo on the door bolts), promotion, dealer's profit, etc, and you dont have much left over on the table, for the shareholders
It for sure had to be more than a billion for developmental costs as a billion would be a mid cycle refresh of a Corolla. A brand new platform with that level of sophistication is gonna be a lot more.
but you’re right, even at a billion and 35k units total it’s still not much left on the table.
still cant get over the lexus logo on the door bolts; hopefully, someone has checked all the other bolts for this secret sauce.
Q: why did the LC engineers go to this subtle yet costly expense ?
A: because they felt like it ...pure, hidden performance art
do we know of any other cars like it ?
the LC is a unicorn. that's why i got one. i wouldn't doubt that lexus loses money on them, but doesn't want to cancel it because it's the only lexus that brings some 'wow' factor.
NickL, your profile says you're in massachusetts which might explain why a dealer has 8 on the lot (it's frigging cold and wet/snowy/icy ).
it doesn’t matter how many they have on the lot. With the current interest rates nobody is buying anything. In Canada I think the interest rate for a lease is at 8.9%. That’s utterly insane. 0 down at 8.9 is over 2700 a month with luxury tax.
that’s more than a lot of people’s mortgages before and will lead to very few sales. When I bought mine they told me the interest rate was 4% and I thought that was high so I elected to pay cash instead.
Assume NickL is talking about Lexus of Watertown. They are a volume dealer with 269 new Lexus vehicles currently in stock. They have 5 Lexus LC500s, 4 2024 models and 1 2023. All convertibles, no coupes. As mentioned convertibles don't sell well in the winter months in Massachusetts
As for why I bought my LC, my previous car was an ISF that I modded. I kept that car for 11 years, I fell in luv with the 5 liter engine due to its versatility, design, build quality and the ease of modifications. Also knowing it was the end of the line for a V8 OHC ICE engine. The ISF was my first 4 door sedan and I wanted to return to a coupe configuration. I also wanted a well rounded GT car and one that I could modify easily and that handled well, was luxurious, and good lookin'. The LC fit the bill My LC has met my criteria in spades
I agreed LC500 is a great and a unique vehicle on the road but a far cry from being a unicorn when they’re all sitting on dealers’ lot and on the used market. The notion of it being “ala LFA” and Lexus is losing money making them is laughable. LFA was a fully hand built limited production vehicle. LC500 are mass produced and have the same engine as an IS500 for crying out loud.
And the truth of the matter is, if Lexus ever produces the next coupe(LFR?) as a twin turbo V8 or the rumored 2sec 0-60, the LC would be even more irrelevant.
the LC is a unicorn. that's why i got one. i wouldn't doubt that lexus loses money on them, but doesn't want to cancel it because it's the only lexus that brings some 'wow' factor.
NickL, your profile says you're in massachusetts which might explain why a dealer has 8 on the lot (it's frigging cold and wet/snowy/icy ).
lol. I think you can actually drive a convertibles through December here. It has been mild for the past 5 years. And I have seen some on the road. Today was close to 60.
Assume NickL is talking about Lexus of Watertown. They are a volume dealer with 269 new Lexus vehicles currently in stock. They have 5 Lexus LC500s, 4 2024 models and 1 2023. All convertibles, no coupes. As mentioned convertibles don't sell well in the winter months in Massachusetts
As for why I bought my LC, my previous car was an ISF that I modded. I kept that car for 11 years, I fell in luv with the 5 liter engine due to its versatility, design, build quality and the ease of modifications. Also knowing it was the end of the line for a V8 OHC ICE engine. The ISF was my first 4 door sedan and I wanted to return to a coupe configuration. I also wanted a well rounded GT car and one that I could modify easily and that handled well, was luxurious, and good lookin'. The LC fit the bill My LC has met my criteria in spades
they had those since May!
Each of the dealership here still have at least one ‘23.
I get really sad for this ‘23 everyday as I drive by it. It sits outside in rain, heat, snow, and road dust. The car deserves better.
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicle/687563552?allListingType=all-cars&city=Westford&makeCode=LEXUS&modelCode=LEXLC500&newSearch=false&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fall-cars%2Flexus%2Flc-500%2Fwestford-ma%3Fzip%3D01886&searchRadius=25&state=MA&zip=01886&clickType=listing
12-15-23, 02:52 PM
).
My LC has met my criteria in spades