mmarshall

Many of us on CL joined when we were Lexus owners, and simply liked the forum (or were asked to stay by others on the forum), when we no longer owned Lexus products. That's one reason why Car Chat is such a big sub-forum, with so many posts.....you've got a lot of both Lexus-owners and non-Lexus owners all chiming in (or potentially chiming in) at once.

situman

No matter how negative the comments are, we all just want Lexus to step up its game. Sure there can be what I perceive to be friendly bantering around here, we are all just having fun at the expense of each other or Lexus. Lexus definitely deserves flak for its "new"est IS, for example but no one is getting mad at each other.

LexBob2

Here's the heading at the top of the page explaining what Car Chat is:

Car ChatGeneral discussion about Lexus, other auto manufacturers and automotive news.

babaijebu

Drink some tea and chill out. You can call people out if they go to the RX forum to bash it. This is a general car chat, opinions are expected to be varied. At the end of the day, we are all rooting for Lexus.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

winsalem (and Freds430) - sorry you guys feel this way. couple of points.

1) in THIS sub-forum, Car Chat, all brands and models past present and future are obviously vigorously debated, and as long as it's not personal, political, or over the top in some other way, it's generally ok. if it's not for you, then you don't have to read/post.
2) moderators are volunteers. if you would like to step up to be a moderator, that would be GREAT and you would be honestly considered. as volunteers (and even professionals) we're not perfect, but with the team we have we do catch a lot of stuff that's deleted before you even notice.
3) generally the lexus model-specific sub-forums (rx, es, ls, etc.) will provide a less combative and more supportive discussion to those respective models. are there strong debates there too? yes.
4) "grammar *****" are generally not welcome as it's petty. i for instance gave up on upper/lower case years ago as i don't think it adds value and wastes my time. when i post on my ipad though it does capitalize start of sentences so generally you'll know if i'm posting from that device.
5) winsalem does make a good point that people should label what is clearly OPINION as such, and not state as facts.
6) while point 1 says Car Chat is about all brands, that does not mean it should tolerate a 'bash fest' on Lexus, which this site is based upon. threads are often closed and posts deleted when they start or progress to that. most on here have owned or own a lexus, respect what has been accomplished and hope the best for Lexus going forward. i know i do!

tex2670

Some of us are neutral. I used to own a Lexus, but I sold it 5 years ago. I stayed on Car Chat because of the general automotive discussion topics. I would not say I "root" for Lexus. I'm indifferent; I would say there are plenty of people on Car Chat that feel the same; but there are also still plenty of current Lexus and Toyota owners that do inherently care about the brand.

AJT123

Okay about the grammar etc this is really pushing it.

I am a writer with published online automotive content; I majored in English in college. I’m worthless, beyond worthless in math etc but I can type up an A+ paper on basically anything in 5 minutes.

I messed up my back and don’t use my laptop
anymore for these forums and I’ve noticed that the mobile phone app or whatever posts mistakes even when you don’t make them when typing. I don’t lose sleep over it.

Even if I didn’t own a Lexus I would never leave
these forums.

JDR76

These days I tend to spend more time on model specific forums, as they tend to be less heated, but I still enjoy Car Chat. I do think it gets a bit negative on here toward Toyota and Lexus, but it's not all undeserved. I think many are just disappointed in the direction Lexus seems to be moving and the frustrations come out on here.

I still love Toyota and Lexus, but can't hide my disappointment with what Lexus seems to be doing lately. I would have been happy continuing with Lexus ownership but the reality is that when I am ready to move on from my current GS, there won't be anything that Lexus offers to a buyer like me, who wants a mid-size luxury/sporty sedan. If that's the direction Lexus feels they want to go, then so be it, as that's their right to move in any direction they see fit, but it's disappointing to me nonetheless.

There is a lot of great information on Car Chat so I enjoy it for the most part. There are a few posters who I personally feel only post negatively, so I just ignore those as it grows tiresome, but that's their right to express their views. If I find it inappropriate and against CL forum rules, I just flag it for the moderators.

UZ214

you missed the GSF? worth checking that out. has a GS400 in the old days and I love the F...But they are being discontinued. Mercedes all their sedans look the same but they are nice.
Most people I know the love affair only last with germans till the warranty is there.

Toys4RJill

Mercedes actually has more FWD sedans than Lexus does

Wilson2000

I agree with the OP on some points and disagree on others. Certainly there could be a lighter air in CL; sometimes posters take themselves and their opinions too seriously. After all, we are all ordinary people sharing information and opinions, I hope. Regarding prefacing comments with statements such as "IMO," "I feel," or, "for me," (I feel) it's superfluous! Unless we are citing a source, or quoting statistics, we are all simply expressing our opinions, so why do we need to keep identifying them as such? In other words, it should go without saying.

One thing that specifically bothers me is when people take offense to one of my opinions, and respond as if I put them down. Who cares? Each person is entitled to an opinion, or an contrary opinion. Posters should simply move on without getting flustered, or, respond with evidence that backs up their own opinion. We can only work toward the truth when concepts are supported or challenged (while checking one's angst at the door).

All public forums have issues; it's the nature of the beast. When people are posting anonymously like this, they don't tend to exhibit the manners they would in face-to-face conversations, or in correspondence with friends and family. Perhaps they should. Generally, I find CL entertaining and informative. If we could also make it more fun, we would have a trifecta!

TRDRAV4

+1, many Lexus owners aren't the same type of enthusiasts that peruse Car Chat, so they take criticisms of the brand the wrong way. Even some Lexus enthusiasts were jilted by the Bloomberg article late last year about Lexus losing US marketshare to BMW and Mercedes, while worldwide they actually grew in other markets such as China. The average Lexus owner may not care nor realize those things if they see tons of ES and RXs in their local sphere, but a lot of the old timers and enthusiasts, know that Lexus isn't the same company as it was when they first joined CL.

Wandl

I was going to type something then decided against it - this is a reflection of our current society as a whole, absolutely.

Some people will only be happy when this becomes a Tesla-esque fanboy "Toyota can do no wrong" vibe
Some people view this as a genuine conversational platform to talk about the other brands not mentioned in the model-specific subforums.

Just because someone states "Lexus doesn't do XXX, because of that I won't buy it" doesn't mean it is bashing.
Someone stating "Mercedes does better in YYY" doesn't mean Lexus sucks

Teeth

I guess I'm joining CL at the wrong time, but even now, it's far more civilized and informative than any FB group that I've joined. Hopefully, it doesn't keep doing downhill. I've always looked to forums for help and contribute when I can.

AJT123

The Facebook groups are beyond outrageous. Beyond.

Welcome to CL!