MPalmer

arentz07

This was pretty fun to watch. Somehow, it still left me wanting for something, though. Maybe more POV footage would've done the trick.

Stroock639

it left me wanting less, less cringy cammisa 'showmanship' lol... he makes a good point though, unfortunately lexus just didn't have the cred and reputation to suddenly introduce this halo car more expensive that most ferraris and lambos, this is almost like toyota's Phaeton but on a more extreme level

but of course i'll always click on any high production quality LFA content, actually learned something too! the way they infuse microscopic glass bubbles into the fibreglass panels to reduce weight without compromising structural integrity is seriously next level... i imagine there's just endless minor details like that with this car

credit to akio for pushing through and getting the project green-lit

S2000toIS350

Anybody can selectively use info, like in this case.
Noting there were cars unsold for many years, some of the unsold units were dealership owners parking them on the showroom floor.
If not for the LFA, does anyone think the LC500 would be in my garage.
We have known for a long time the delays in development was one of the issues, the LFA was released against the 730HP F12, and cost more than the Ferrari.
Then there was the who can have one. I received an initial allocation. The number 2 guy at Motorola before they imploded did not. The local Lexus dealership owner got an earful followed by screw you Lexus. I have a sense this story board was repeated many times.
The BS was larger, Lexus said the cars would only go to customers but in reality, of the 17x cars allocated to the US many were allocated to dealership owners.
A bit further, they built many more ring versions ($75K upcharge) than the 50 (of 500 units) they claimed was the lime (and yet the craiest resale premiums go for the ring cars, money follows exclusivity).
I enjoyed one of those rides with Scott at Homestead, there were plenty of customers prior to the allocation hoo haa.
Today a nice low mileage LFA will bring a strong price at auction, much more than that F12.
My understanding is the breakeven was $750K per unit.

MPalmer

Fascinating! I have so many questions I could ask about what you experienced. How was your test drive? And it seems like you ended up not buying one after receiving an allocation... might you share why?

Striker223

Best sounding car I've ever heard in person.

S2000toIS350

The only time I drove LFAs was during the LFA driver training course Lexus did at Sonoma.
This was after I cancelled my order and something I gave myself as a consolation (I believe it was a bit over $3K for the day).
Back to Homestead, Lexus started the event with an orientation on the car, lots of background on development and then car details and what it is like to drive.
They only had the matte black prototype I believe.
Scott is a friendly guy and has been an excellent ambassador for the brand.
The ride was primarily a high speed stability show. He did much of the ride a bit over 100 and then went up, I think we capped out in the 140s and the car was totally steady. The fun was the infield area, there was some curvy stuff set up and a puddle so he was able to kick the rear out and bring it back under control.
Other folks there (a dozenish) got up into the 150s.
Bonus was Kyle Busch (then Toyota Nascar driver) showed up. Had a nice chat with him. He did not see a future in electric racing. He went out solo and the engineers gave the car extra time to cool down after he was done.
Ok, back to allocations, there was the application to fill out and then a wait. Homestead was after the application went in. I think what got me one was the fact that I went to the same B School as Akio, Babson.
I got a call that I was receiving an allocation and then it appeared in the mail with some nice info.
I contacted a couple of local dealerships once I received the hard copy.
The first owner told me the Motorola story and was totally puzzled on how I got one. He shared he got one (up to then the fake story board was not cars for dealers). He asked if I was getting a ring car and my uninformed thought was that car looks bad, costs more and would be weak on resale. Points one and two correct, point three was completely wrong (add GTO to a Ferrari badge and watch the resale price).
I went in with my allocation letter to a second dealer without a call ahead. The sales guy was scratching his head. He took the letter to the owner who came out and said he would be honored to order the car for me. He was not getting one and was pissed at Lexus for charging as much as there were for matte paint (like $30K).
I put my first $10K down with the first dealer as they are only like 3 miles from my condo and had been servicing my 2006 IS350, the only other Lexus I had owned to that date.
One Sunday morning I took my wife to yoga and a guy comes by in a Murcielago doing the Lambo thing. My wife who had green lighted the LFA turned to me and asked if it was going to sound like that. My response was, pretty much and she said she didn't want that. I cancelled my order soon after and got my $10K back.
Prior to that part, Lexus had a local event at the Autobahn Country Club, super nice place about 60 miles from me. The event was for dealers and folks with orders to check the car out (Homestead was pretty limited in terms of number of participants). They had a pro driver take me out which provided a real sense of how the car is in turns, very enjoyable. He even showcased the agility of the car by averting a bird headed for the windshield. They also had a Lexus corporate specialist there with the build kits to help folks decide on a preliminary spec.
For me I had 2 approaches, both being version 2 (no sat radio roof tumor, most cars were built with sat radio unfortunately, very few built with hi fi delete).
Version 1 was white over red seats with black seat backs, black carpets and red calipers (this was the no upcharge approach).
Version 2 was white over blue seats (likely was going alcantara) with saddle seat backs, blue carpets and blue calipers.

FrankReynoldsCPA

I actually enjoy Jason Cammisa and am a frequent listener to the Carmudgeons podcast he does with Derek Tam-Scott. I find myself sometimes put off by their elitist views about cars, but their humor and banter is good. I always learn something interesting.

I did not realize there was still unsold LFA inventory so long after it went out of production.

LH1

Unfortunately I've never heard an LFA in person. My #1 is the Carrera GT.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

camissa's fake flamboyant style gets old to me. i prefer savagegeese's love letter to the lfa...

Toys4RJill

IMO. The LFA was a waste of time and money. Completely pointless in hindsight

LexBob2

Halo cars like this are always high risk and not meant to generate much volume. I'm sure Toyota understood the risk/reward going in.