Koma

iTrader: (3)

+1
The point of a halo car is supposed to express interest in the brand and bring other buyers not just to sell the halo car.

RON430

And the lack of any tangible income relative to the expense of making such a "halo" car is why so few people do it. Whatever Honda spent on the NSX, they didn't spend much while they produced it. And when it went away, they weren't exactly interested in having a follow up ready to go. The may make another one. They may not. This halo reasoning is just as dumb when you apply it to Toyota making the LF-A as the inverse would be for Ferrari to make a Rolls Royce because of all of them they could sell to the people who come in looking for a 612. And I could raise a much better argument that Ferrari shoppers would be more interested in a Ferrari Roller than an LF-A shopper would be interested in an IS.

I would expect the usual posts saying how ludicrous that is because no one looking for a Roller would be shopping a Ferrari dealership. The argument against this bizarre and to me, unsustainable halo effect, is that I don't see very many people wandering into a Lexus dealership looking for a Ferrari (LF-A) and then deciding an RX400h is what they really want. Or getting an ES350 because they are so impressed with the fact that they can look at the LF-As in stock when they bring their car in for service.

Once again, not saying Toyota won't do it. But it also wouldn't surprise me if they decide there isn't sufficient gain to produce it. The closer a car gets to production, the more the costs escalate, dramatically. So regardless of what they have spent right now, depending on where it is in approval to be sold in various countries, it may make sense to put it on the shelf. Not like the masses are really waiting for it.

Koma

iTrader: (3)

Simple. People want to buy the high end performance cars but can't so instead they buy a car that's in the same family. People will buy BMW just so they can have the nameplate. People will buy Lexus for the same reason.
I can't buy the M3 so I'll get the 328. It brings excitement to the brand itself. It's not that people who want to buy an LF-A and can will buy an IS instead. It's because it creates a buzz about the brand.

RON430

With all due respect to your post and in my opinion only, nonsense. Funny how people like to point to BMW or Mercedes about people going in looking for a M3 and leaving with a 335 or AMG and leaving with a E550. The kind of "halo" car we are talking about here is far more aking to those Cobalt sales that Chevy gets because they sell the Corvette.

Once again, Toyota may decide to bring the LF-A out, it is a non event to me. And study halls across the nation may go a twitter if they do. But I find it very credible to believe that they have either put it on hold or stopped it altogether to focus on what it is they really do for a living. Particularly with this economy. If you want to get people in the showroom, advertising will work a lot better than a "halo" car.

encore888

Thanks for the correction. You are correct, however I sometimes think of the LS as having a bit of a halo effect for the rest of the lineup. It was World Car of the Year, after all...

I do wonder though if the LF-A ends up being a perennial show-queen. We have seen it at multiple auto shows, now the roadster has been at Pebble Beach, and Lexus Aoyama, and the LF-A coupe is at Hong Kong...

TRDFantasy

A halo car is NOT about profit or making income. Halo cars are often loss leaders. As a former Honda enthusiast, Honda spent A LOT of time and money developing the NSX. It was a brand-new platform and chassis using a brand-new engine and a lot of new components in general. During development, they also had F1 legend Ayrton Senna help them with the project. Especially when you compare Honda's profits and revenue during the mid 80s, they spent a huge deal of money relative to their overall revenue and profits.

Regardless of the expenses relating to the LF-A, Toyota feels it is worth it to make the car. A CL member in another post has said his dealership has received confirmation that the LF-A will definitely be produced.

I can guarantee you if BMW never had their M division, and the halo of the M division the M3 they would NOT have sold as many BMWs as they have in the past 20 years.

I personally know of people who were ready to do anything for a Ferrari Enzo, could not get one, and settled on an F430. Some of these people I know were new to the Ferrari brand so to speak.

The LF-A so far has been an auto show smash hit. The masses really love the concept of the LF-A. The cold hard fact is most people will never be able to own one, but if the masses merely dream of owning one than the LF-A will have already done it's job as a halo car. That in turn will elevate the Lexus brand overall due to so much word-of-mouth and the "dream car" from Lexus. This is something money can't buy, and marketing simply can't create. You need a truly unique and exceptional product combined with unique and exceptional appeal in order for it to become a "dream car" among the masses.

For example, I can easily picture some people wanting an LF-A, and instead settling on another F-brand car like an IS-F, or perhaps another F car that would be on the market in the future at that point. These would not necessarily be current Lexus owners, but mostly they would be new to the Lexus brand.

You're not very interested in the LF-A, and that is fine. That doesn't change the fact that the LF-A will create buzz around the brand. A lot of people who don't know a thing about Lexus or the LF-A will suddenly be curious about the brand, simply through word-of-mouth.

LexFather

For the record the NSX lost over 800 million

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...hlight=million

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LexFather

And I have to go with TRD that Lexus does NEED this car. Lets be real here, the ISc is a big yawn, the new RX while a techo marvel is another yawn and the HS250h while being a techno marvel, will be a big yawn.

The IS-F CLEARLY shows Lexus can produce SERIOUS vehicles. They really need to exploit the "F" marque or continue to be seen as an older/boring brand.

Gojirra99

That's LESS than 10% of Toyota' usual annual net profit , even the most recent year, they made close to $10 Billion, so they can afford to to have a halo supercar that lose money(at least in the short term), but they may have too much of a bean counter mentality & not enough passion for cars to think that way ...

jruhi4

I have heard this, as well. Perhaps 2009 will bring some news in this regard...

Nao1008

I was thinking about this.... you think Toyota is delaying LF-A to give Honda some time to catch up on production of NSX so that they can debut both cars around same time.? Then, both will get huge marketing advantage. Not 1+1=2, but like 1+1=5 effect. Imagine all the marketing hype of NSX and LF-A coming together plus GTR V spec around same time, This news will be the talk of the year. just my speculation

encore888

^^^
That's an interesting idea, sort of like how the LS 400 shared the stage with the Q45 at its debut, giving arguably more buzz for both.

8speed

This thread is the holy grail

encore888

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=136467

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

As great of a car it will be, I can't get over the name. It just doesn't flow. LF-A.. say it 10 times really fast