When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
1. Build more coupes: 86% of the 300+ LCs for sale are convertibles. If the convertible top was a hardtop, then that would be a no-brainer but the majority of people do not prefer softtops and therefore that makes the convertible a dealbreaker for many. If you ask the average person on the street, they'll say a softtop looks cheap regardless of the car.
2. Build more colored LCs: 67% of the LCs for sale are white, black, grey or silver and even the Inspiration Series color this year is white. These are great colors for your everyday Toyota car, but personally, a flagship car should be colorful. I recognize many prefer neutral colors but there's a reason why Porsche makes TONs of money for charging for unique colors (paint-to-sample). People are willing to pay more for colors. My current LC is infrared and I find it stunning every time I look at it.
3. Lose the flower petal wheels: There's no easy way to say this but the new flower petal design looks really tacky and doesn't fit the car at all ( (basically a reverse of the MY18-23 wheel design). The other wheel designs are fine --- any of them as the default option would be better.
I fear the Lexus current LC strategy will lead to the LC being shelved soon and blamed on a lack of buyers / "the market". IMO, there's plenty of buyers including me --- just build the specs that people actually want?
First off, I think your preference for the coupe is leading you to believe that everyone else has a preference for the coupe. I waited 4 years for the NC1 NSX to add an optional convertible / targa top, when they announced the Type S (no removable top) I bought the new LC convertible instead.
Two things to remember about Toyota:
the whole Lean manufacturing thing drives most of what they do. So they build the most common specs that most people want so they can sell the most cars for as cheaply as possible. I'd trust Toyota's data about convertible vs coupe and color preference over your personal preference.
Toyota is run by bean counters who hate cars like the LC. They'd rather sell Camrys and Lexus RX's, stack 'em high and sell 'em cheap. So when the CEO or the engineers sneak through an LFA or an LC, it's a rare thing. Yes, the LC will be discontinued one day. Yes, people will say it's because they didn't sell well. Then about 5-10 years after that, they'll start to go up in value because everything that comes after is less displacement, turbos and hybridized. Have you heard the new Land Cruiser's 4-cylinder turbo hybrid exhaust note? It's a joke.
Fundamentally, I agree with you on the color part. Their bespoke process as it is hasn't worked very well, because the dealers also would rather ask your wife what boring color RX she wants than sit down with you for two hours and help you order a bespoke LC.
p.s. I have a '24 LC bespoke convertible in (otherwise) exactly your spec, it's FREAKING SICK. If your dealer can't get your bespoke coupe done, try another dealer. Good luck!
i ordered my 24LC touring coupe over the phone. I didnt meet my salesman till I picked up the car...He expained:} how the system works. I was very explicit in what I wanted thankfully it wasnt out of the norm and we proceeded and he updated me every step of the way. 5 months later the car shows up..perfect just the way I wanted it.. dont miss the Carrera S at all.
First off, I think your preference for the coupe is leading you to believe that everyone else has a preference for the coupe. I waited 4 years for the NC1 NSX to add an optional convertible / targa top, when they announced the Type S (no removable top) I bought the new LC convertible instead.
Two things to remember about Toyota:
the whole Lean manufacturing thing drives most of what they do. So they build the most common specs that most people want so they can sell the most cars for as cheaply as possible. I'd trust Toyota's data about convertible vs coupe and color preference over your personal preference.
Toyota is run by bean counters who hate cars like the LC. They'd rather sell Camrys and Lexus RX's, stack 'em high and sell 'em cheap. So when the CEO or the engineers sneak through an LFA or an LC, it's a rare thing. Yes, the LC will be discontinued one day. Yes, people will say it's because they didn't sell well. Then about 5-10 years after that, they'll start to go up in value because everything that comes after is less displacement, turbos and hybridized. Have you heard the new Land Cruiser's 4-cylinder turbo hybrid exhaust note? It's a joke.
Fundamentally, I agree with you on the color part. Their bespoke process as it is hasn't worked very well, because the dealers also would rather ask your wife what boring color RX she wants than sit down with you for two hours and help you order a bespoke LC.
p.s. I have a '24 LC bespoke convertible in (otherwise) exactly your spec, it's FREAKING SICK. If your dealer can't get your bespoke coupe done, try another dealer. Good luck!
p.p.s. the del sol is also mine
Wow that is the exact spec I want. Hit me up if you ever decide to sell haha. What color is the top btw?
Also re: convertibles --- I would much rather have a convertible --- in fact most of my sports cars have been convertibles. However, I really don't like softtops and in general softtop convertibles don't sell. that's a fact.
Not that I could afford one new, but of the few complaints I’ve had about the LC since release were that there weren’t more interior color options and that the factory wheels are ugly.
I loved the white/blue/orange interior on the early LC’s, but wished for more two-tone or multicolored options available. Ideally I would like that white/blue/orange interior if I find a used Nightfall Mica LC or one with red seats. The solid black and solid tan are nice but I wouldn’t be truly satisfied. Even something like Sepia from the GX460 would have been cool. It also would have been nice if Ultrasonic Blue and the other fun colors were available earlier on.
The wheels have always been ugly to me. I will definitely go aftermarket once I have an LC but I really liked the wheels the GS-F and later IS-F’s came with. It’s definitely not a dealbreaker for me as that can be easily fixed.
Wow that is the exact spec I want. Hit me up if you ever decide to sell haha. What color is the top btw?
Also re: convertibles --- I would much rather have a convertible --- in fact most of my sports cars have been convertibles. However, I really don't like softtops and in general softtop convertibles don't sell. that's a fact.
The top is sand/brown, but it's only up when I'm on the interstate. I tried to get it in blue but that was part of a package that required a white interior, which I did not want.
The soft top is surprisingly effective at keeping the sound down, it's double layered and I'm not sure if there's extra insulation. I did a Dustball rally a couple of years ago in my '21 -- Denver to Moab day 1, Moab to Vegas day 2 -- and most of both days were spent cruising backroads with the group at excessive speeds with the top up. Then we got to Zion National Park on day 2, I dropped the top and we had the best car for that drive through the park at 25 MPH.
Understood now on your preference for hard-top convertibles vs soft top, my preference is the targa style on the delSol in the earlier picture, I also had a '00 NSX with the same top. I'd have preferred an NC1 NSX with a targa, but it never happened.
Autozero, I feel your pain. It took over 1.5 years to get my coupe LC 500. Worked with 2 different dealers with deposits in with both. I think the main issue is that the LC 500 is too much off brand for Lexus. Most dealers are attempting to sell it just like any other product in the line-up when in reality, it’s a very niche hand built bespoke product in their line-up.
I recall my experiences with various Lexus dealerships. I was torn between Flare Yellow or Infrared. At one dealership, I asked for paint samples of Flare Yellow and I saw the expression of the salesman’s face. Yeah, they did not have any paint samples of Flare Yellow. They had some out-dated binder of plastic paint samples but clearly that hasn’t been updated to reflect their more vibrant colors and the samples were rather dull and looked as if they came off the printed brochure. They were shocked that a customer would even ask to see paint samples. I told them I am used to BMW individual where the dealership has paint samples ready in case they had a customer willing to pay extra for an individual paint. That concept was so foreign to them…because they treat the LC 500 like their other products, we get the sea of resellable colors.
The data really speaks for itself (coupes only sold between 2022 – present): 6 Flare Yellow, 8 Cadmium Orange, 12 Copper Crest, 13 Nori Green, and 13 UBS Mica 2.0 (though from the build, they look like bespoke orders).
It might be too extreme for most LC 500 owners, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Blue Vector or Molten Pearl on an inspiration series LC 500 with a complementing contrast interior.
If Lexus wants to step up their game, offer their version of Porsche Paint to Sample or BMW individual. I’ll pay a handsome premium to get any Lexus color on a bespoke LC 500.
In terms of coupes vs. convertibles…the LC 500H has entered the chat. Just look at the pitiful offering of LC 500H: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...#gid=281224182
(at least they had the decency of making a few in Infrared, CopperCrest, and USB Mica 2.0)
Sidenote: It’s funny seeing all the pictures of bows/ribbons on top of the Lexus. I told my dealer please don’t put the red bow on my coupe on deliver day.
jbuffett, USB mica 2.0 is gorgeous. I am considering a USB mica 2.0…now
In terms of coupes vs. convertibles…the LC 500H has entered the chat. Just look at the pitiful offering of LC 500H: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...#gid=281224182
(at least they had the decency of making a few in Infrared, CopperCrest, and USB Mica 2.0)
Sidenote: It’s funny seeing all the pictures of bows/ribbons on top of the Lexus. I told my dealer please don’t put the red bow on my coupe on deliver day.
jbuffett, USB mica 2.0 is gorgeous. I am considering a USB mica 2.0…now
Considering how good the LC500 sounds, I'm having a hard time figuring out who walks into a Lexus dealer wanting to buy a LC500H. We're not exactly at the "performance hybrid" tier here, the LC500H's hybrid system doesn't work like the one in the NSX. The only benefit to that powertrain in this car is MPG. It's not faster, it doesn't sound better, it's not AWD etc. It's just more efficient, that's it.
I had a Nightfall Mica '21, I went to local Lexus meets and parked next to RC-F's that were USB and wished my car was a USB. Then in '24 we got USB, and I ordered one. To quote the guy who bought my NSX on BringATrailer (which was the 7th highest NSX sold on BaT at the time), "I have a blue car problem".
I had a Nightfall Mica '21, I went to local Lexus meets and parked next to RC-F's that were USB and wished my car was a USB. Then in '24 we got USB, and I ordered one. To quote the guy who bought my NSX on BringATrailer (which was the 7th highest NSX sold on BaT at the time), "I have a blue car problem".
That’s exactly how I felt when I saw USB on an RC-F (with circuit red interior). Exactly how I would have spec’d a LC 500, USB mica 2.0 with a circuit red interior (sadly color combo was not offered). USB just reminds me of one of my favorite blues – BMW’s San Marino Blue Metallic. That’s the perfect depth of blue and being metallic gives it so much extra color. When purchasing a car, I always consider if it comes in blue and always have the intention of getting it in blue, but as fate has it, it never worked out. I came close with the LC 500 finding a lease return Structural Blue coupe with 30,xxx miles in PA. This was in 2021 and the Lexus dealer only wanted 76k and change for it. Decided that I rather have a newer MY22 car with android auto/car play and I wasn't sure if those inspiration series cars came with the DHP.
Considering how good the LC500 sounds, I'm having a hard time figuring out who walks into a Lexus dealer wanting to buy a LC500H. We're not exactly at the "performance hybrid" tier here, the LC500H's hybrid system doesn't work like the one in the NSX. The only benefit to that powertrain in this car is MPG. It's not faster, it doesn't sound better, it's not AWD etc. It's just more efficient, that's it.
I guess I'm one of those guys who is perplexing you! I'm not bashing the V8; it has an amazing sound and I can see where people are desirous of that. But I've never been one for loudness, which is one reason I'm hoping to get my hands on an LC hybrid. My wife has a 2019 ES300h, and we both love the fact that when we start the engine, there's utter silence. That and, as you pointed out, the efficiency.
My three goals of a new car (within my price range) are for it to 1) be fun and out of the ordinary, 2) get decent gas mileage, and 3) have a suite of nifty safety features. The 2024 LC hybrid finally meets all three of those criteria. The quietness of the engine is an added bonus. I'm hoping to be ordering one sometime soon (in USB, no less!), and I'm hoping that I'll enjoy mine as much as you enjoy your V8!
my daughter bought a Tesla.......it is the epitome of BORING and it is SPARTAN on the inside. I slide into my semi aniline seats and IM happy, hear that V8,OMG.
02-26-24, 11:02 AM
