Hello everyone, this is my second post to this forum.


I just like to share my thoughts about the comparison tests/articles on RCF and M4. I used to work in Japan for a while and several of my close family members pretty much live in Japan for their whole life.

Coming from this background, I have to say many of the articles/youtube video reviews by Cars and Driver or .....etc do not really understand where RCF is coming from.


But in my opinion, and given what I know about Japan and its culture and social trend, most of the articles and reviewers seem to overlook several key points. And I feel obligated as a new club lexus forum member to help some of you gain a clearer and better insight into what is really going on. I hope this will help you love what you have even more !!!!



1. If you go to Japan, you will find that on the street, whether day or night, Tokyo or rural areas, there are really not much Fast and Furious twin turbo supra with fire coming out of the tail racing going on LOL! Nearly 80% of the cars are SCION-like ultra environmentally friendly cars! sports cars are rare scenes!!

2. Most of the young people in Japan do not like sports cars! They are more interested in other stuffs. Car culture is only for small group of people. Indeed, there are illegal street racing here and there. And we do see some fixed up cars on street. BUT BUT most of the time, they do not bring them out until midnight. They do not drive around their modded cars with windows down and stereo cranked all the way up....etc. It's very unlike in California, where car culture is very widely popular.

3. Japan has one of the most advanced if not most advanced public transportation system anywhere! To give you an idea, a train's TOTALY marginal error is less than 1 minute for a 10-year span of time ! this means the train is nearly 99.99% on time, on the second ! So most teenagers really do not need a car. Grownups even more so the case !

4. German cars are rare scenes in Japan. Japanese people love their country and love to use their own products. And to your amazement, they do not trust the quality of anything foreign. Even when American and German cars already passed the domestic and international standards, whatever cars that are imported to Japan, even Benz, Ferrari....etc, NEEDS to go through a whole new set of testing by the Japanese government cuz they think only when those cars pass Japan's standard, they are considered safe ! (if you ask them how they like BMW or BENZ, most ppl will smile and say they are nice and expensive cars. BUT many wonder how come germans cannot make cars that don't break down LOL)

5. Toyota or Lexus or Acura....etc now do not make many sports cars in Japan because sports cars DO NOT SELL in JAPAN. Yes. They don't! So most of the sports model you see in America are really designed and made with Americans and Europeans and other Asian countries. Big engine, Many horses....etc. Like I mentioned earlier, Japanese people, in general, do not drive sports cars cuz they think it's hurting the environment.

So, my point here is, most of the reviews/reviewers say RCF is too gentle, too heavy, too this and that compared to the ultra edgy and track ready M4 BECAUSE they are viewing RCF from a Eurocentric angle. They really have to know that Lexus is only allocating a very small part of its human resource to make ISF and RCF and they are only making it mainly for oversea markets. They make huge huge profit from making appliance cars and export them to every corner of the world because making such cars are most profitable.

So if we factor in the cost of making it, its current performance and comfort, and the fact that BMW is really mainly making sports cars for the world, you will be hugely impressed by Toyota/Lexus and their engineering team!!! They really have the capacity to make cars that can instantly beat M4 but that just don't make any economical and business sense to do so cuz it does not justify their cost...etc
Not because they can't, but because not many will be buying it except us gear heads in America and Europe and some Asian countries. IT just does not justify the cost and .everything.


I have a friend whose brother is the engineer for Mitsubishi. He told us a real story about a Toyota engineer, age 32, one day just collapsed right in front of the subway station and died on his way back home. Stories like this happen often in Japan. Reason? Overly worked himself to death. His job? He had been devoting nearly 7 years of his time, day in and day out, on researching and developing how to make the WATER TANK last longer!!! That was his job. And Toyota has the greatest number of engineers around the world working around the clock for it. If you go to Japan, you should really drop by their factory plant and see for yourself. You do not even find one shred of paper or dust in anywhere of the plant. It's spotlessly clean.

And just for your info, if you ever visit the Lexus dealer in Japan, you will find the following intriguing things:

1. When you purchase a new car, by the time you sign everything, the sales and store personnel will have already reserved you a room, with flowers and decorations and even a poster or board with your name and picture with the car on it! and they will take photos for you just like the way you do in the photo place in the mall.

2. Once you leave the dealership, whether it's for new purchase or service, the service manager, and any personnel that are present at the time when you are there, will stand in a line, bow to you, and remain that way until you cannot even see them in your rear view mirror. I kid you not. That's how they treat their customers there! I was there with friends whose Lexus was at service, even when we already drove away, and made several turns, we could still see the manager and his team bowing to us and then waiving at us until they were nearly one street away from us. That's their policy. They will be in your rear view mirror smiling and respecting and appreciating you for trusting them with your purchase and car until you totally drive away.


Knowing this makes me really appreciate what I have and I just want you all to know that whether you drive a Lexus ES350 or ISF , or RCF, you are really driving something others spent so, so much time and effort in making. And that makes it reliable and bring us many years of joyful ownership.


I hope my post helps here

 

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.

 

Awesome perspective worth its weight in gold - thank you.

First and foremost, I love the design/look of the RCF and then the build quality.

 

Thank you. Perspective is important. When all these cars are compared on a few narrow dimensions of performance to declare winners by tiny margins at limits seldom reached by your average dude, it can miss a lot of what individual drivers value. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

 

I lived in Japan for 10 years myself, so I thought I would just add a little extra detail and clarity:

1. True - most people drive very small cars with 600cc engines due to tax incentives.

2. Not much car culture though richer people want to be seen in some kind of badge.

3. Actually, zero teenagers need cars and very few even have a license. It is a painful and expensive process and the minimum age is 18.

4. German cars are not that rare due to the richer wanting to be seen in a badge. American cars are as rare as Italian cars here in the US.

5. Boxes are what is popular in Japan. Nissan Cube and such have been around for a very long time over there.

Regarding your point - Yes, but all car manufacturers live and breathe and product designed for the US. Japanese manufacturers do make so many more different models, though many are just small differences marketed as different models, that are not sold here in the US. The only reason we ever got the turbo Supras and such is because of A. the bubble in Japan and B. Sports cars were particularly popular in the US as well during the late 80s.

Though not unique to Toyota, dying from overwork is a thing in Japan for sure.

2-2. True, but standard business practice in Japan. Lexus is not special here.

 

Why the Toyota FT-1, then? And why would it not make good business sense to produce an RC F that was truly superior to the M4?

I appreciate and respect your views and thank you for taking time to post.

 

I agree that something superior to the M4 would have been the better business plan.

Sports cars seem to be making a comeback, don't you think?
Besides, car companies have re-learned the value of having a halo car.
Toyota, specifically, is trying to change its image and appeal to younger buyers.

 

thats whey the es350 shifting to kentucky is going to be a major mistake
no way it will match the realibitly and build quality of japaanese

 

Nice write up CalboyF & Thanks for Sharing it with the Forum! I also understand about the stereotyping, most people up North think we all have alligators as pets in our backyards in La.

 

RCF of Japan is awesome. I like all the innovations of it than M4. It would be better if they decreased the weight to beat M4 for good and a lil bit less harmful to the environment as mentioned.