The Problem with Lexus

The recent Lexus threads have made me realize something: I thank God that I am not and never will be on a design team or an executive of a car company having to please you guys.
 
TW85 HHI said:
The recent Lexus threads have made me realize something. I thank God that I am not and never will be on a design team or an executive of a car company having to please you guys.
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You got that right!
 
TW85 HHI said:
The recent Lexus threads have made me realize something. I thank God that I am not and never will be on a design team or an executive of a car company having to please you guys.
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Something I said??;):nixweiss
 
Corey Bit Spank said:
Or they could try to make it lighter. :o
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Ehh, when you make it lighter your risk removing the vaultlike feel that makes it feel like a Lexus.



The recent Lexus threads have made me realize something: I thank God that I am not and never will be on a design team or an executive of a car company having to please you guys.
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LOL, I know.
 
GoodnClean said:
Ehh, when you make it lighter your risk removing the vaultlike feel that makes it feel like a Lexus.
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And now we're back to the old thinking that "we'll make cars heavier, and add power and make them seem like they are faster." To a lesser extent, but this seems to be the general theme the industry is taking again.
 
Corey Bit Spank said:
And now we're back to the old thinking that "we'll make cars heavier, and add power and make them seem like they are faster." To a lesser extent, but this seems to be the general theme the industry is taking again.
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Kind of like Mercedes did with the SL600.



"So, we have a 2 ton 2 seat roadster. How can we make this thing faster?"



"How bout a twin turbo V-12? That's bound to make the car go!"



"Brilliant!"
 
MongooseGA said:
Kind of like Mercedes did with the SL600.



"So, we have a 2 ton 2 seat roadster. How can we make this thing faster?"



"How bout a twin turbo V-12? That's bound to make the car go!"



"Brilliant!"
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...and it does! I don't see a problem with a car that has all the wiz bang features carrying around some weight as long as they have some power to move them along. MBZ has stepped up as far as the power goes. There's only so much weight you can shave off a car that has a hard top convertible with all those motors. Please don't take me for a Benz lover, I'm just calling it like I see it. Other side is, I HATE unreliable cars!
 
There's just no comparison for the solidity and smoothness of something thats just plain heavy. Compare the old S class to the current S class, dramatic reduction in weight AND dramatic reduction in the vaultlike feel Mercedes owners had come to love.



The ES and LS sedans aren't designed to be fast or sporty, they're designed to be smooth and quiet, their weight helps to provide that. Take the LS for instance, only 290hp but the gearing and the 6speed auto make it plenty quick, 0-60 times of less than 6 seconds.



In all honesty though, niether one are really that heavy for their class. The ES is about 3500 lbs and the LS is about 3900. Shave much more off of that and the cars would loose their heavy feel.
 
I haven't been following this but regarding the Mercedes being unreliable cars. Go ask my sister up in ole Toronto experience. The last time I saw her, she ranted how unreliable her C320 was and how many times it's been at the shop. This breaks that breaks everything breaks. She leased it and now she owns an IS300. She likes it a lot better in the quality department.



The Automobile Magazine (April, 2005) had a big article that said "Losing the Luster; A few years ago, no one questioned German automobile quality. But these days, a Hyundai is a better bet than a Volkswagen"



Regarding Honda, I'm and very afraid of getting an Accord or TL due to the fact that Honda can't get trannies right. All my friend's who own older Odysseys are on their 2nd or 3rd Tranny. Not very comforting.
 
CarsFreak said:


Regarding Honda, I'm and very afraid of getting an Accord or TL due to the fact that Honda can't get trannies right. All my friend's who own older Odysseys are on their 2nd or 3rd Tranny. Not very comforting.
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My father and I feel the same way about Honda/Acura. They are nice cars, new designs are pretty sweet and a overal good value. But the quality and problems plague their reputation right now. I bought a used 01 Acura CL-S last year and had the tranny replaced at 36K. On the Acurazine forums that im on, LOTS of tranny replacements are talked about. I LOVE my car but before 100k (I only have 47k now) I will be jumping ship. My Dad bought a 04 TL and had nothing but quality issues with the car. all under 6k on the odometer... Headliner fell off one day and was replaced. Inside B-Pillar replaced due to excessive rattling. Chrome inside driver's headlight started to crack and spiderweb. All four tires replaced due to bad batch. Drive vibrations at 50mph and 80mph and up. We tried everything from tire rotations, wheel and tire balancing....everything, with no fix. With 9k on the odometer and having it for a year, my dad traded his TL in, and got a 2006 Lexus GS300. Couldnt be happier!!
 
Yeah, I'm on my second in the Odyssey. The ONLY good thing I can say about it is that they stepped up and did something about it even though many of the units are failing well out of warranty. This is unlike many manufacturers who would likely let it be your problem.
 
SpoiledMan,



Yes, Honda started replacing the transmissions after owners put up a hell of a fight and the numbers were not in Honda's favor.
 
Ask some Ford and Chrysler owners what their standing up in numbers meant. It always takes an uprising when whatever failure is happening often times out of the warranty period.



While I do have a few Honda cars around the house, the current offerings aren't stirring me too much. I will likely replace one of them soon but I'm pretty up in the air for it's replacement. I'm having a real problem with some of the styling that is in the current market. In most cases if I like the styling I can't afford it.



Side note, my sister is complaining about some issues with the tranny in her IS doing some weird things. We will see how many trips to the dealer and finding nothing wrong this will take. I'm optimistic and am thinking 2 trips. The problem is real intermittent right now but.....
 
It still unnerving that a Honda can have such problems. BUT, I do commend them for helping most of the owners with their tranny problems.



However, my friend with a 1999 Odyssey EX with about 80,000 miles had something wrong with her second tranny (4SAT) and she had to fork out lots of $$$$ to get a 3rd. I didn't know why her third wasn't covered but that scared me away.



And I once read on another forum that a TL owner with very few miles had gone through hell with the tranny and claimed that Honda made them sign some papers not to say anything to the media about the situation before getting their Honda fixed.



If he was telling the truth... whoa...
 
In both cases, it's lawyer time *unless* in the case of the Odyssey, there were some lack of service issues. They are all covered to 100k miles.
 
GoodnClean said:
There's just no comparison for the solidity and smoothness of something thats just plain heavy. Compare the old S class to the current S class, dramatic reduction in weight AND dramatic reduction in the vaultlike feel Mercedes owners had come to love.
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Maybe they were just scared when they got in the car and the steering had some feeling to it? :p
 
lol, the point is, they liked what they liked. Mercedes lost a lot of loyalists with that change. What have they gained? Horrible reliability ratings and 4th place market share vs what they were which was the motoring standard of the world. Was it worth it? Probably not.



I know many people who drive their old Mercedes and happily pay to repair them because there is *nothing* on the market they would want to drive. I also know people who have sold their old Mercedes for LS series Lexuses because its the only thing left *similar* to what they had.
 
Lexus actually considered what GA suggested earlier-building an BMW "M"-like division to add performance. They decided instead to build a supercar, the LFA model, to reenergize the brand.
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There are a lot of whisperings that the LFA was the blueprint to the new Supra they want to release. I think thats why the engine figures ( apart from how many horsepower ) was kept under lock and key.



But at the end of the day, Toyota will own the world. Its inevitable - they are the only car maker in the world making any money.......
 
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