Lexus LFA- Discussion, Pictures & News (new colors gloss black, blue, yellow)
06-04-10, 06:12 PM
#1727
My apologies for the gap in posting as I have been in a funk due to giving up my allocation.
The reason, loss of wife approval factor.
The circumstance, the Sunday after the event in Joliet, it was a phenomenal Chicago day. Plenty of nice toys hit the street. I picked my wife up from her Yoga class and coming the other way was a Gray Murcielago, sounding like it should. My wife starting going off on how she hates those cars and then moves to the LFA and how she would not like having that around. That was when I new I was kaput. I let the Lexus folks know and that was that.
Regarding this recent talk about the numbers, here is my take. I was told the US got 170 cars based on negotiations and the fact that Europe took fewer allocations than expected. My sense is, Lexus has positioned the recent communication to go around that reality. It is not a surprise that they did well in Germany as they have the right combination, rich people, high speed roads, a love for super fast rides and tech savvyness.
Back to the US, I am still unclear where the cars for US dealers fit into the story. I was told by Lexus, dealers would get cars if there were slots left at the end of two years. My recollection from dealer discussions, they are expecting 50 cars (either 170 or 220 total for the US).
From the recent re-opening of the process, it looks like Lexus burned through folks they offered allocations to (500+ interested customers) without reaching 120 or 170 money down situations and we will have to see what additional info leaks into the web.
Regarding the breaking glass ad, Kudos for taking an image from the past and reshaping it to work with the radical nature of the LFA.
The reason, loss of wife approval factor.
The circumstance, the Sunday after the event in Joliet, it was a phenomenal Chicago day. Plenty of nice toys hit the street. I picked my wife up from her Yoga class and coming the other way was a Gray Murcielago, sounding like it should. My wife starting going off on how she hates those cars and then moves to the LFA and how she would not like having that around. That was when I new I was kaput. I let the Lexus folks know and that was that.
Regarding this recent talk about the numbers, here is my take. I was told the US got 170 cars based on negotiations and the fact that Europe took fewer allocations than expected. My sense is, Lexus has positioned the recent communication to go around that reality. It is not a surprise that they did well in Germany as they have the right combination, rich people, high speed roads, a love for super fast rides and tech savvyness.
Back to the US, I am still unclear where the cars for US dealers fit into the story. I was told by Lexus, dealers would get cars if there were slots left at the end of two years. My recollection from dealer discussions, they are expecting 50 cars (either 170 or 220 total for the US).
From the recent re-opening of the process, it looks like Lexus burned through folks they offered allocations to (500+ interested customers) without reaching 120 or 170 money down situations and we will have to see what additional info leaks into the web.
Regarding the breaking glass ad, Kudos for taking an image from the past and reshaping it to work with the radical nature of the LFA.
06-04-10, 08:59 PM
#1728
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
Thanks for the update, S2000toIS350, and ah well, whatever it takes to keep your loved ones happy. Now indeed, lol, Lexus cannot entirely say that the LFA is fully sold out, they have at least one allocation available near Illinois! 
Hope you find some other outlet for your exotic car energies.
As far as the Automotive News report is concerned, saying that the LFA is "sold out" with 1/3 of Euro demand in Germany, perhaps it is a European source without knowledge of the US market. Clearly, the LFA is sold out in Japan, as evidenced by Dave600hL's quest to obtain one; the 10 in Canada appear spoken for, as are the 2 each in several Asian countries. The US market is the only one AFAIK where the lease gambit is being tried, so technically speaking there is no 'sold out' until 2 years later, 2013-2015, but corporate sources may count it differently.
Hope you find some other outlet for your exotic car energies.As far as the Automotive News report is concerned, saying that the LFA is "sold out" with 1/3 of Euro demand in Germany, perhaps it is a European source without knowledge of the US market. Clearly, the LFA is sold out in Japan, as evidenced by Dave600hL's quest to obtain one; the 10 in Canada appear spoken for, as are the 2 each in several Asian countries. The US market is the only one AFAIK where the lease gambit is being tried, so technically speaking there is no 'sold out' until 2 years later, 2013-2015, but corporate sources may count it differently.
06-04-10, 10:02 PM
#1729
My apologies for the gap in posting as I have been in a funk due to giving up my allocation.
The reason, loss of wife approval factor.
The circumstance, the Sunday after the event in Joliet, it was a phenomenal Chicago day. Plenty of nice toys hit the street. I picked my wife up from her Yoga class and coming the other way was a Gray Murcielago, sounding like it should. My wife starting going off on how she hates those cars and then moves to the LFA and how she would not like having that around. That was when I new I was kaput. I let the Lexus folks know and that was that.
The reason, loss of wife approval factor.
The circumstance, the Sunday after the event in Joliet, it was a phenomenal Chicago day. Plenty of nice toys hit the street. I picked my wife up from her Yoga class and coming the other way was a Gray Murcielago, sounding like it should. My wife starting going off on how she hates those cars and then moves to the LFA and how she would not like having that around. That was when I new I was kaput. I let the Lexus folks know and that was that.
... What is it about "those cars" that she doesn't like? I hope she knows the LFA is nothing like "those cars"... And next time she wants to buy a designer handbag, tell her you don't like "those bags" and the people who have them...
06-04-10, 11:45 PM
#1730
agreed with your point, pretty much what i (and some other people) have been saying. they exhausted their list and they don't have enough buyers. and that doesn't go in sync with what they say about allocating more cars to the US region.
the 2 year lease deal is definitely one big problem to get commitments from buyers. there are strong markets out there (japan, middle east, germany) where a lot of people would want the car. i still say if lexus has extra cars, allocate to those areas. dave600hl would likely get one without thinking twice. but the US market is the tough one where it seems they are out of buyers right now
06-05-10, 07:10 AM
#1731
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That's terrible news S2000toIS350. My wife was/is against the idea too, but I convinced her that sooner or later I would give in to my midlife crisis and acquire an exotic car, so why not a rare Lexus? Fortunately, my wife is also a fan of Lexus, so I am getting my toy in 2012.
06-05-10, 02:43 PM
#1732
Lexus Champion
That's kinda sad and funny at the same time. Glad I'm not married. I feel fine just having a g/f, don't know so much about the marriage thing. Anyway, did anyone pick up that issue of CAR magazine i was talking about? I still haven't had the chance to. I think I will later on when i go out. I like the 2 page spread of the SLS and LFA.
06-05-10, 08:48 PM
#1733
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
06-05-10, 09:11 PM
#1734
Moderator
What AMG's Dev Chief thinks about SLS, SLR, LFA, and CTS-V
VS THE LEXUS LFA
MT: So how about the Lexus LFA? Do you think it is an SLS competitor?
TM: Actually I don't know. It is quite hard to calculate how good that car is... I saw it on the Nordschleife for the 24 hours race. Ahh. I don't know. It's not a competitor, because they are talking about what, 500 cars? That's what I read in the press kit. I don't think so. It is too expensive. It's not a competitor. No.
MT: Performance wise?
TM: Maybe it's fast on the race track, I don't know. But if you have 9 years of development -- well, okaaaay. You have fully carbon fiber everything, and nobody cares about the money you invested in the car... But I don't know, maybe it's fast. It could be, but it is such a small market.
We're not nervous about that car.
You know, when the C63 hit the market, everybody asked me about that Lexus, ah...IS... I don't know what it's...
MT: IS F?
TM: Yes. IS F. And it was not a problem -- never, ever. It never won a comparison or anything else.
MT: Did you ever have one in as part of your test fleet?
TM: I had the chance to look at one. And then I drove one a year ago or so. But it's a different car. The IS F is a car like the C55, which we had 4 or 5 years ago...
Read more: http://blogs.motortrend.com/6573022/...#ixzz0q2hNN6dW
VS THE LEXUS LFA
MT: So how about the Lexus LFA? Do you think it is an SLS competitor?
TM: Actually I don't know. It is quite hard to calculate how good that car is... I saw it on the Nordschleife for the 24 hours race. Ahh. I don't know. It's not a competitor, because they are talking about what, 500 cars? That's what I read in the press kit. I don't think so. It is too expensive. It's not a competitor. No.
MT: Performance wise?
TM: Maybe it's fast on the race track, I don't know. But if you have 9 years of development -- well, okaaaay. You have fully carbon fiber everything, and nobody cares about the money you invested in the car... But I don't know, maybe it's fast. It could be, but it is such a small market.
We're not nervous about that car.
You know, when the C63 hit the market, everybody asked me about that Lexus, ah...IS... I don't know what it's...
MT: IS F?
TM: Yes. IS F. And it was not a problem -- never, ever. It never won a comparison or anything else.
MT: Did you ever have one in as part of your test fleet?
TM: I had the chance to look at one. And then I drove one a year ago or so. But it's a different car. The IS F is a car like the C55, which we had 4 or 5 years ago...
Read more: http://blogs.motortrend.com/6573022/...#ixzz0q2hNN6dW
06-05-10, 09:21 PM
#1736
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Posts: n/a
That was actually an old interview, we had a thread about it here. Guy is a gotdamn douchebag.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ody-cares.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ody-cares.html
06-06-10, 09:20 AM
#1738
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That was actually an old interview, we had a thread about it here. Guy is a gotdamn douchebag.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ody-cares.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ody-cares.html
06-06-10, 11:24 PM
#1739
Lexus Test Driver
170 does seem to be the figure that Lexus is still throwing around - I have now heard it from people in several different divisions of Lexus, but of course this may be another one of those numbers that just gets repeated over and over. In any case, I am very surprised they did not allocate more to Japan... it's still the home country, and the way Dave600hL has described the process, it seems that demand is exceeding supply by probably around 5:1 on average at their dealerships. Of course, given I received an allocation, I should probably not complain about Japan not getting enough.
In my last post, i said that EVO magazine had an article on the LFA vs. the SLS, but I was wrong, i had the wrong magazine. it was CAR magazine, a british publication that has Supercar World Cup as it's title. It has a section on the LFA vs. the SLS AMG, I'm going to try to pick it up later on today and if anyone else picks it up maybe you could post some of the excerpts here? I'll try to.
Sorry to hear it. Have you considered changing your approval factor of your wife?
06-07-10, 03:38 PM
#1740
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The limit of allocation in Japan might have something to do with keeping it more special, lower number available in Japan makes it even more desirable (I know its only 500 worldwide, but if half them are in Japan it doesn't make it as special)