|
Browse by Tags
All Tags » Car Buying » Lexus ( RSS)
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Lexus , Toyota The US auto industry has hit a serious slump in 2008, with overall sales estimated drop by two million vehicles compared to 2007. Even the mighty Toyota has seen sales slip by 7.8%, which is better than the industry average, but a far cry from annual increases of 10%. And times may not improve in 2009 either, as the credit crunch and mortgage crisis have conspired to kick the auto industry in the pants. Toyota sales boss Jim Lentz says the mortgage crisis is the main culprit of tough sledding for the Japanese automaker. Florida and California, which account for 30% of overall Toyota Sales, have been especially hard hit by decreased home values. Lexus sales have been hit hard, too, as one third of all of purchasers in the Sunshine State use home equity to buy their luxury vehicles. It doesn't take an accounting degree to know that houses are typically assets and cars are almost always liabilities. That large amounts of people who were using home...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Convertibles , Coupes , Sedans/Saloons , Supercars , Lexus , Toyota Sales of the bulbous Lexus SC 430, one of the vehicles that kick-started the current hardtop convertible fad in the U.S., have slowed so significantly that Toyota's luxury brand has reportedly canceled its replacement. The four-place, V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive vehicle never fit well into any specific niche, as it boasted neither the sportiness of the ragtop Jaguar XK and Porsche 911, nor the snob appeal of the BMW 6 Series. Through the first six months of this year, Lexus sold only 1,230 SC's, down 40% from last year. What fans the Lexus sport coupes/convertible does have need not worry, however, as the brand will be launching the much more potent (and substantially more impressive) LF-A supercar at some point in the future. According to Inside Line , the SC isnt the only Toyota product without a future. The Avalon entry-level Buick luxury sedan is also on the chopping block. Fans of...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Auction Action , Marketing/Advertising , Chrysler , GM , Lexus Way back in February, General Motors announced it would be listing all of it Certified Pre-Owned vehicles on eBay Motors, and it took until now to actually make that happen. To go along with GM, Chrysler and Lexus have also joined up, with eBay Motors making a special section of its website specifically for CPO vehicles. The new site, which can be found here , went live yesterday and is sponsored exclusively by Lexus. It's also provided at no cost to any dealer looking for another outlet to advertise its inventory. A quick check of the new hub shows that both eBay's classic auction-style listings and regular classified ads are listed together. The site's search functionality allows users to find vehicles located near their zip code, meaning it should prove awfully easy to find that brand-spanking-used Chrysler Sebring you've been foaming at the mouth for. [Source: Automotive News - sub...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Convertibles , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Supercars , Lexus Click above for high-res gallery of the Lexus LF-A Roadster The last time we talked about the price of the Lexus LF-A , we had only the car's price in China and a whole lot of speculation to go on. The car's retail in China was set at $264,700, and based on that a Lexus fan site did it's best guestimation to arrive at a US price of approximately $130,000. Say it with us now: oh boy, was that wrong. Lexus has said the first number of the car's price will be a "2," and Inside Line has word that the car might run $225,000. That is more than either a Gallardo or an F430 Spider, including European delivery and two weeks of vacation in Via Reggio. The LF-A convertible will cost even more . Inside Line says "Lexus is gunning for the Italians." With that kind of price, we actually believe Lexus is sidestepping the Italians and has simply declared, "Your comparisons are futile...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Sedans/Saloons , SUVs , Tech , Audi , BMW , Lexus , Mercedes Benz As we reported last month , it appears BMW and Audi, following the lead of Lexus, will begin to offer eight-speed automatic transmissions in their flagship models. Sources are now saying the transmission will be supplied by ZF Friedrichshafen, a familiar German supplier to both marques. Although we don't know all of the specifics, Audi is expected to debut the new slushbox in the range-topping A8 sedan , Q7 SUV , and their future A7 premium model . BMW will likely debut the new gearbox in their premium 7-Series sedan and the X6 Sport Activity Vehicle , according to company sources. The current Audi A8 and BMW 7-Series both use six-speed automatics. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class utilizes a seven-speed automatic of their own design, while Lexus debuted their eight-speed transmission (used in their LS models) four years ago. Increasing the number of forward gears offers advantages in smoothness, acceleration...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Lexus , Toyota In trying to establish a Japanese-market foothold for Lexus, Toyota has seemingly fallen prey to the same tactic that made the Cadillac Cimmaron such a maroon. When trying to launch a brand, especially an upscale brand, it's not advisable to rebadge existing models and crank up the price. It doesn't seem to matter how good the car is, or how swanky the new $10-million-a-pop showroom is, once an Altezza , always an Altezza, and paying 20 percent more for the same car with a different logo is rightfully galling. Japanese luxury car buyers also have quite a taste for European iron, specifically German cars from the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes. Enthusiasts in Toyota's own backyard echo the universal car-guy complaint that Lexus vehicles lack personality. There's no denying that Lexus cars are well-made and capable, and the IS-F may finally infuse the brand with enough attitude to woo buyers of storied marques. Currently, most Lexus...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Lexus click above for high-res pics of the 2008 Lexus IS F var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/2008_Lexus_IS_F_to_start_at_56_000'; Lexus announced today that its super sedan, the IS F, will hit the market with a base price of $56,000. In exchange for your money, Lexus will give you an IS sedan stuffed with a 5.0L V8 producing 416 horsepower and 371 lb.-ft. of torque at 5,200 rpm, with which you could reach 60 mph in 4.6 seconds if so inclined. Attached to the muscle car-like motor is an 8-speed automatic with lighting quick 0.1 second shifts, and Lexus has fortified the car with a suspension tuned in Germany on the Nurburgring and Japan on Fuji Speedway. There's also bigger brakes, larger wheels and boy-racer bodywork that has yet to grow on us. Let's get this out of the way first... 2008 BMW M3 Sedan : Pricing N/A, 414-hp 4.0L V8 2008 Mercedes Benz C63 AMG : Pricing N/A, 507-hp 6.3L V8 2009 Cadillac CTS-V : Pricing...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Lexus Certified used vehicles are a beacon for new customers considering a brand switch. Lexus has recognized this for a while, and the luxury marque is trying to keep supply up with demand. Due to an apparent influx in certified used vehicle sales, Lexus will be a bit more lenient on what vehicles make the factory-approved cut, but Lexus execs are insistent that the new policies won't degrade the quality of vehicles available. Rather than cutting back on Lexus' multi-point inspection, the automaker will increase the allowable mileage for a certified vehicle from 60,000 to 70,000 miles, while extending eligible vehicles to seven-year old models, up from the current standard of six years. Matt Kaleba, the manager of Lexus' certified used-vehicle program, expects sales of the pre-owned vehicles to increase by about seven-percent, and, more importantly, get buyers back to dealers when they want to upgrade to a brand-new model. [Source: Automotive News...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Etc. , Earnings/Financials It was the best of times, it was the worst of times - it was 2007. Topping the sales figures for the year that almost was are mainly service vehicles, while the more ostentatious, less useful cars round out the bottom-feeder roster. Family cars at the top and niche cars in the basement doesn't tell the entire story, though. Yes, there are some cars that you expect would sell in small volumes. Sporty things like the Porsche Boxster, Vette-in-drag Caddy XLR , blob-tacular Lexus SC430 , and Audi A8/S8 über-sedan all sold in expected tiny numbers for such specialized machinery. Rounding out the nadir of automotive sales, you'll find nearly every Jaguar model, and some dead-on-the-vine products like the Mazda B-series pickups (Ford Ranger) and Isuzu Ascender (Chevy Trailblazer). Hit the jump to read more, and see the list [Source: Motor Authority] Continue reading MSNBC names the best and worst selling of 2007 Read | Permalink...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , SUVs , Lexus , Toyota Lexus has added its bigger, more powerful 5.7L truck engine to its premium SUV, and as a result, the new LX 570 has a bigger price to go along with it. The upscale 'ute's base sticker grows by a knee-wobbling $6,405, starting at a rather monumental $73,800. For those scoring at home, that's about $18,000 more than the Cadillac Escalade , and within $3,000 of the top-end Mercedes GL550 . While the LX 570 surpasses the outgoing LX 470 in both power and luxury, a $73,800 price tag is a substantial pill to swallow, even in this admittedly pricey segment. [Source: Detroit News] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Economy , Sedans/Saloons , SUVs , Trucks/Pickups , Etc. , Cadillac , Chevrolet , Ford , Lexus , Toyota We've all seen the ads in the newspaper or in commercials that say you can get a new car with zero money down and only $299 per month. Quick math tells you that even after taxes and destination, you're only paying about $4,400 the first year to own a brand new car. A recent study by consulting firm Runzheimer International shows that a new car will cost you considerably more in overall operating costs. At 15,000 miles per year, the cost of insurance, gasoline, fees, depreciation, and maintenance can drive the overall cost near $20,000 per year. The 2008 Cadillac STS was tops in this year's test, costing buyers $19,537. The Lexus LS460 was close behind at $19,372. Big vehicles cost quite a bit also, with Ford's E-350 XL SuperDuty tallying a $16,543 bill followed by the Chevy Tahoe LS 4x4 at $15,789. There were some relatively low cost vehicles as...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Lexus Remember when the Lexus LS 600h was on the way, and there was head-scratching aplenty about the $100K+ price and the delay? At the time, Lexus said it only planned to sell 2,000 of the hybrid cruisers per year, and that they already had orders for 1,650 of them. Then the car came out, and in spite of being treated rather unkindly by the motoring press and boasting a less-than-stellar MPG improvement, it has sold 6,093 worldwide through October . The car only went on sale in July. Lexus calls the car the "progressive person's alternative." The New York Times called the car the "new standard for automotive hyperbole." After only a few months of sales, it is far too early to call -- but it would be interesting to see if Lexus has done the same thing with the LS that Toyota did with the Prius: no matter what you might think of it, it allows people to make a statement. While Mercedes and Audi...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Marketing/Advertising , Lexus Cadillac's image resurgence sees it vacating its spot as fuddy duddy transport, which it filled for most of the 1980s and '90s. Quality woes didn't help, but overall, the brand induced yawns. Big, body-on-frame barges are still available at the Lincoln store, but there's also a market for luxury cars filled with technology and quality that invokes a ho-hum response. Yes, folks, that means that Lexus is getting sucked in by the vacuum Cadillac left when they went all Led Zeppelin on us. Well, that's not entirely true - what is happening, though, is the age of the average Lexus buyer is sneaking up. Currently it's at 51 years old, while kids who spent the 1980s learning hair metal riffs on their B.C. Rich are choosing Infiniti, Audi, BMW, or even the somewhat fusty Mercedes. If you were at Yasgur's farm with your Microbus, chances are that you've got a lust to wheel around in an ES350 for your retirement years. The average age of that...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Sedans/Saloons , Lexus Even though we just turned over our Jessica Alba calendar to October, Lexus is proclaiming that the holiday season is right around the bend. In keeping with tradition, the L-finesse'd automaker is teaming...
|
-
|
Filed under: Car Buying , Maintenance , Etc. , Buick , Cadillac , GM , GMC , Lexus , Pontiac , Saturn The General's chief product guru, Bob Lutz, responded to questions regarding GM's reliability in the company's FastLane Blog's most recent video Q&A...
|
|
|
|