34 Votes

If Lexus and Mercedes Shared The LS and S-Class Platforms Who Would Then Make The Better Car?

Agent009 submitted on 7/2/2009 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 12:30:13 PM

36 user comments | Category: Misc News | Source: | SOURCE: www.businessspectator.com.au

Toyota Motor Corp has denied a report that it was considering building derivatives of Mercedes-Benz's A-Class and B-Class cars on its own platform to better utilise its European plants in the long term.

Citing sources at Toyota, German magazine auto motor und sport reported on Wednesday that the company was thinking about the generation of Mercedes compacts due to follow the upcoming version, which is scheduled to be introduced in 2011.

According to the article, the two companies could also look at sharing development costs and even examine the possible joint production of Toyota's Lexus LS flagship luxury saloon and its Mercedes counterpart, the S-Class, the best-selling car in its segment.

Daimler called the report "speculation", declining to comment further.

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If Lexus and Mercedes Shared The LS and S-Class Platforms Who Would Then Make The Better Car?

About the Author

"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough."
— Agent009 (View Profile)

User Comments

Theyre both ugly. Who cares?
— Obliv (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 12:42:29 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -9

I have to agree they're both a POS.
— american_made (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 1:11:53 PM | | Votes: -9

Agent009... long time no flame war :P

If I said Mercedes would build a better car, the Lexus fanboys are gonna jump on me with reliability.

and if I said Lexus then the Mercedes fanboys are gonna jump on me with prestige.

So I will just be unbiased and say... the 7 series will still beat both! :D
— M53R (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 12:45:33 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -6

Very perceptive my young padowan
— Agent009 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 3:14:52 PM | | Votes: -2

What's the point of such a stupid topic?

Oh wait, flame war...
— Willis (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 12:49:12 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 10

Yep, a slow day at Autospies.
— theoptimisticpessimist (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 12:51:08 PM | | Votes: 9

Tomorrows headline article from Autospies...

"If you were a hot dog, would you eat yourself?"
— henbmw (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 6:04:09 PM | | Votes: 6

Seriously, I heard that because both companies are losing so much money, the next generations of the LS and the S will share not only the platforms, but most of the bodies as well, with differnces in lights, trims, etc. Most people won't notice or care, so they'll both save a lot of money.
— Hachee2001 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 12:55:47 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2

if they shared wouldn't it be the same car yum yum?
— pennfootball (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 1:00:59 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2

Why are you showing an 05 LS and an 09 Mercedes?
— mitchatlexusofmarin (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 1:10:39 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 14

because Agent009 is a BMW faithful and wants to belittle both Benz and especially Lexus :)
— sector (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 1:36:56 PM | | Votes: 7

I don't get it when people do little sh*t like that. You know very well that's not the current LS. Don't purport to be an auto enthusiast and then do something childish like compare cars that are from 2 different generations. What's the point?
— Bmw8ter (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 2:20:11 PM | | Votes: 6

Sector- I just bought a Benz last week so I can't say you are correct.
— Agent009 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 3:16:41 PM | | Votes: -5

Mercedes Benz R&D + Lexus build quality = best of both worlds :)

Since 30% of Benz MSRP is the cost of "prestige" already, they can build 2 versions, a Benz version for the badgewhores who will gladly pay that extra markup to get a three pointed star, and the Lexus version for the more sensible rich folks who won't care as much.

— sector (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 1:35:26 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 6

You do know that on average a auto manufacturer makes about 3000k per car, this includes luxury name plates such as Lexus, BMW, Audi etc. Not sure where you got that figure.

Wait, you probably thought the only cost that goes into the car is the labor and materials to build the car right? ;-p
— kablaam (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 7:17:30 PM | | Votes: 3

Another story involving Lexus...::yawn::
— rxh8me9000 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 3:08:58 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -4

Agent009, "If Ferrari and Lamborghini decide to use the same platform..."Are you an idiot? One could in theory, put any two competitors in that same sentence...
And what's up with Lexus, is Lexus renting space in your head? Can't you find anything else to post? Here is a good example,

"Do the lighter 18' wheels on the M3 offer a better ride and performance than the heavier 19" wheels?"

See, how easy that was, now you try it.

— Inline6 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 3:55:37 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 6

Those are both Mercedes in the pic above, right?
— TurboSpyder (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 4:14:50 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -7

LOL
— theoptimisticpessimist (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 5:03:39 PM | | Votes: 0

I think that was maybe 009's point, because the newer LS looks nothing like a Mercedes.
— _43LE (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 5:08:47 PM | | Votes: 2

"Those are both Mercedes in the pic above, right?"

Till this day i fail to see design similarities between 99-2005 S Class and 2001-2006 LS. To me previous LS had a lot of Toyota family similarities. If you see Avalon, crown, Mark X and then LS430, you'll definitely see clear similarities.

JUGNU
— JUGNU (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 6:47:00 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3

the current LS460 is arguably the BEST sedan (or even car) made today.

in CR's totally objective road tests, it scored 99 out of 100. even the S class only got to the low 90s.

its not clear whether CR is biased towards ride or performance, but they usually factor in both. and they have NO bias toward or against any nameplate, in their road test ratings. (reliability ratings are another matter, and is a result of their suscribers' reports.)
— XYZZ (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 7:57:26 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

This story is too funny, on many levels.
— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/2/2009 8:44:36 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2

I still gotta say, if such thing were to happen, we won't be foreseeing that many fully loaded cars at reasonable prices in the near future.
— WorldofLuxury (View Profile)

Posted on 7/3/2009 2:27:14 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2

GMOYOTA (Pronounced Joy-Mota)

I love what you do for meeeeeeeeeeeeeee GMO-YOTA!!!!!

We have our 2019 Chevorlet Corolla MSRP $24,075 Clearance. 50 MPG!!!!

All New just in, 2020 Toyota Impala, a combination of whopping 369 Horsepower and 42 MPG!!! All for $33,021!!!

GMOYOTAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!
— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 7/3/2009 3:36:51 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0

Hey people cry about GM Fisher Price Plastic, but Toyota puts the same stuff in their cars. I bet they even use the same plastic supplier!!! :D
— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 7/3/2009 3:38:42 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0

LOL!
— Camryman (View Profile)

Posted on 7/3/2009 1:08:44 PM | | Votes: 1

GM was only trying to follow Toyota's Lead yet they get scrutiny. By the way, Im starting to get sympatheic a little bit to GM. That doesnt mean Id buy their car products though, get that straight!!!!
— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 7/3/2009 3:42:06 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

Volkswagen is increasing the pressure on Toyota. They are getting nervous in Japan...all new Toyotas/Lexus in the last two years presented in europe are a flop. Sales figures are disastrous, quality is going down. Toyota = the new GM ???
— tom43 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/3/2009 5:49:32 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0

It doesn't take 3 posts to show us that you are a moron. You should consolidate your posts down, then we can all just skip one post rather then three.
— Timzilla (View Profile)

Posted on 7/3/2009 12:35:16 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

To seriously answer this question...I don't think much would change. Let's say both use the current S-class platform and both have Mercedes' ABC technology to make this apples-to-apples. In this case, Mercedes would still have an appearance advantage to most (IMO)and a more visceral engine (S550 vs LS460). Aside from that, Lexus doesn't have interior packaging that is conducive to spirited driving (not the LS anyway). The LS lacks drive dynamic seats, the lateral support for aggressive driving (not that I condone it), the leather that seems to be built for a harder-edged sedan (often found in MB, BMW and Audi products) and a ....I don't know what to call it, but before I drove the 2007 S550 the steering wheel just felt "right" in my hand(s).

All in all, if Mercedes were to build the same S550 that they do now and softened up the interior to Lexus levels, some things would get lost in translation and the car would not have a consistent purpose. It would be like this..."A car with an active suspension capable of handling the most demanding twists and turns...but with an interior that comforts like a modernized 80's Cadillac."

I love my Lexus...but Mercedes did damn good this time around.
— Lexxxus (View Profile)

Posted on 7/3/2009 2:12:57 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

There is no doubt that the LS in its own right is a GREAT vehicle but the S550 is in a class of it's own.

In 07, I went to a Lexus driving event where they let you test drive the LS460, 750, and S550, all were latest models at the time.

The line for the S550 was triple that of the 7 and LS, and there were 3 of each vehicle to test drive, all operational at the time.

The S series just felt smoother, felt more expensive and looked the part of a full-size luxury cruiser. The 7 felt like a big 5, the LS a big GS.
— kablaam (View Profile)

Posted on 7/3/2009 9:42:59 PM | | Votes: 0

The S-Class and LS are probably the best cars in their class. It can only better.
— Bill (View Profile)

Posted on 7/3/2009 3:05:18 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4

Imagine this...Only Lexus is capable of making a better car than the LS460L or LS600h. Not Merc, not Bim, not Aud, not Cad Only Lexus because that is just what is going to happen in a few years from now. "Man you guys had better open your eyes"! The upcoming LF-A is just the begining of the Japanese Samurai.
— lexworld (View Profile)

Posted on 7/4/2009 3:32:03 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2

only the LS460 has EVER managed to score a 99 out of 100 on the comprehensive CR road tests.

and they are also emerging as a new styling leader. the tasteful chrome trim around the windows is becoming much copied. even by porsche.

the new E-class now has a headlight treatment similar to the GS series. and the C-pillar is becoming more Lexus like as well.
— XYZZ (View Profile)

Posted on 7/4/2009 6:24:10 PM | | Votes: -4

for those who simple-mindedly parrot that lexuses are just fancy toyotas, the Audi A8L got the SAME road test score as a CAMLY LE fourbanger! and was beat out handily by the ES350 and even the regular CAMRY xle V6!
— XYZZ (View Profile)

Posted on 7/4/2009 6:27:21 PM | | Votes: -3

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If Lexus and Mercedes Shared The LS and S-Class Platforms Who Would Then Make The Better Car?

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