Would a Lexus Pickup Make Sense for the U.S.?
Daily Slideshow: With the luxury truck market hotter than ever, should Lexus enter the fray with its own pickup?
Making a Case
It's no secret that customers both in the U.S. and the rest of the world are hot for trucks. Especially trucks that pack luxurious interiors, loads of high-tech options, and plush rides. Many have called these top trim level pickups "the new luxury car," in fact.
Couple that with sharply declining passenger car sales, and you'd think it would make perfect sense for Lexus to at least consider building a truck. It makes so much sense, in fact, that Spanish car news site Motor.es recently made their case, even coming up with a rendering of what a Lexus truck might look like.
Plenty of Precedent
Obviously, there is quite a bit of precedent for this idea. Mercedes recently decided to do the same thing with its overseas-only X-Class pickup. Cadillac once built the Escalade EXT, a gussied-up version of Chevy's Avalanche. And Lincoln once offered its own ultra-luxurious version of the Ford F-150, the Blackwood.
Ahead of the Curve?
Of course, it's too early to know if the X-Class will be a sales success. Both the Blackwood and EXT, however, were unmitigated failures. But could this simply be due to the fact that both were a little ahead of their time? After all, luxury trucks didn't really catch on with the buying public until the last few years. By then, both the Lincoln and Cadillac were long gone.
Little to Go By
Or, could it just be that no one wants to buy a truck with a luxury nameplate attached to it? People have no problem dishing out $50k+ for a Ford F-150 Platinum, Limited, or King Ranch. Nor a Chevy Silverado High Country or Ram Laramie Longhorn. But since the high trim level truck craze took over, we haven't seen a luxury nameplate attached to one, other than the X-Class. And it isn't sold in the U.S.
Pinching Pennies
The difference with all of these trucks, of course, is that they represented relatively low investments. None were/are completely new redesigns, including the X-Class, which is based on the Nissan Navarro. So if it doesn't sell, Mercedes won't exactly lose its shirt. If it does, however, they stand to make a killing and could potentially consider bringing it to the U.S.
Too Easy?
Thus, Lexus could follow the same path by using an existing model and simply adding their own styling and luxury appointments to it. And unlike Mercedes, they can keep this process completely in-house by starting with the Toyota Tacoma or Tundra. When you consider that little fact, it makes this idea almost too good not to try.
Build It, and They Will Come?
Which is pretty much exactly what Motor.es' rendering is - a Toyota Tacoma with a Lexus spindle grille attached to it. Crude and simple? Yes. But also a simple way for Lexus to dip its toe into the proverbial luxury truck water without getting too committed. Sure, it could flop like its predecessors. But like the Lexus SUVs in recent years, it could also become a huge cash cow for the brand. And that possibility alone makes it well worth the risk in our book.
For help with your maintenance and repair projects please visit our how-to section in the forum.