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Right On Target: Lexus Plans New Hybrid Crossover
Toyota's upscale Lexus brand is considering the addition of at least two dedicated hybrid vehicles to its rapidly expanding product portfolio, including a premium-priced companion to the Toyota Prius as well as a midsize crossover that could be the industry's first dedicated gas-electric CUV, industry sources tell Inside Line.

Lexus currently offers both conventional and hybrid versions of several existing models but does not market a dedicated hybrid-only vehicle such as the Prius.

The next-generation Prius, which is slated to go into production in Japan in less than a year, is expected to make its world debut in January at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.


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Right On Target: Lexus Plans New Hybrid Crossover



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silver1silver1 - 5/22/2008 11:26:38 AM
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But per J.D. Power and Consumer Reports, Toyotas are more reliable more dependable are better than any German Automobile in the Auto Industry. Toyota has quality parts while those German POS has horrible cheap crap parts because they fall apart....

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Agent009Agent009 - 5/22/2008 11:40:41 AMView My AgentSpace
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Silver1- Give examples of German cars falling apart? I assume you can back your claims up.

If recent memory serves me correctly I don't think any German car companies offered to buy back their products to save face. Your beloved Toyota has offer owners sizable bounties for both the Sienna (back doors literally falling off) and more recently the Tacoma for extreme rust out.

Now before you say Toyota stands behind their cars. You need to ask why it happened in the first place, and then wonder if the liability of keeping these cars on the road was motivating factor in the bounties. After all you can buy a lot of the vehicles for the price of just a handful of lawsuits.


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enthusiastx11enthusiastx11 - 5/22/2008 11:59:46 AM
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silver:
how many german cars have you owned? and don't you read your beloved consumers reports? note the german cars on the recommend list.

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auto001auto001 - 5/22/2008 2:24:33 PM
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It's physically impossible to go door to door to each household to take a poll, that's why we have statistics and surveys, and each year, statistical reports tells us Toyota and Lexus are among the best (if not the best) in terms of quality, reliability and customer satisfaction. The general consensus for the German counterparts are not so favorable, as they seem to have much more frequent occurrences of breakdowns (especially with electrical components). No one is arguing against the fact that Germans once built (and is capable of building) much more reliable cars, as witnessed by the excellent quality of pre 90's Mercedes. Mercedes atleast, seem to be on the right track in the last couple of years, as their products keep improving, "cost cutting" measures" are not so prevalent, BMW's were never reliable though :)

Just look around at night and count the cars have the "one-eyed" headlight happening, you can bet it's usually a German make with one light out, this is the first sign of a car that will have and continue to have electrical issue later on. I had a friend that was a computer diagnostics guy BMW, now he works for Lexus, go figure :)

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theoptimisticpessimisttheoptimisticpessimist - 5/22/2008 3:08:06 PM
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According to the latest Consumer Reports "car issue" BMW has a high percentage of recommended models than Toyota.

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Agent009Agent009 - 5/22/2008 3:46:18 PMView My AgentSpace
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auto001- We have A Lot of German and Japanese cars around here. The ones I see with issues are really neither. Typically if it is on the side of the road it is American or a VERY old Japanese model of something. The Japanese models probably are more common due to the shear number of them on the roads.

So I guess it is safe to say whatever issues you are referring to are not disabling issues. However all cars have issues of one sort or another. Lexus is not free from its own set of demons. The IS350 for example has numerous ECU issues, with owners report ECU resets once to three times a month to resolve. No known fix yet, because Toyota tells the dealer to reset the ECU as the fix. Just read any enthusiast forum on a car to get the real feel for a brand. BTW The ECU for the transmission on the IS also has issues.

This does not mean the car is bad, it just means it is not perfect. There are complex machines and there will be issues.



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Homer007Homer007 - 5/22/2008 8:38:00 PM
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How is Lexus IS250/350 a rebadged?
Same goes for LS460L/H and LS600h?
Suppose you would claim that Lexus's LH-A is a rebadged Corolla next?

I couldn't give a damn if all Lexus models were called a Toyotas for that matter...as long as the product satisfy and meet MY EXPECTATIONS.

You, sir are what we call a badge whore.

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hao420hao420 - 5/23/2008 12:10:15 AM
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Wow,only one thing needs to worry,those Toyota dealer not gonna happy about that.....<

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silver1silver1 - 5/23/2008 10:55:51 AM
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"Mini Cooper" is a rebadge BMW and Mercedes is a rebadge "Smart For Two"

I'll Take a Toyota anyday over those 2!

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hao420hao420 - 5/23/2008 12:10:52 AM
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Gangster ride..

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SteedPubSteedPub - 5/22/2008 11:22:12 AM
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Realtors, cheating housewives, and rich liberals rejoice.

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Agent009Agent009 - 5/22/2008 11:42:08 AMView My AgentSpace
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???


silver1silver1 - 5/22/2008 11:27:02 AM
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This car will see like hot cakes

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enthusiastx11enthusiastx11 - 5/22/2008 12:00:32 PM
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it sure will.

there's a victim of marketing hype born every minute.


kpaxxkpaxx - 5/22/2008 11:56:20 AM
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Great!

Now all they have to do is figure out a way to make it fuel efficient under normal driving conditions!

Normal driving conditions = crap in car, friends in car, driving normal-no grandma methods to get mpgs, driving in areas that have hills, driving at normal speeds, driving in cold weather, driving with AC on, driving with heat on, driving on rough roads, driving in snow, driving with crap attached to your car e.g. ski rack, etc...

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_43LE_43LE - 5/22/2008 12:13:43 PM
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Funny, there's a recent test almost like that:

http://www.autospies.com/news/Who-Wins-The-Gas-Sipper-Smackdown-30205/


kpaxxkpaxx - 5/22/2008 1:22:19 PM
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that article doesn't really take into account driving in hilly terrain and driving with lots of stuff in or on your car!and in extreme weather conditions!


_43LE_43LE - 5/22/2008 3:16:18 PM
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Yes, but put a car under any of those conditions and the mileage will suffer. This test was a "real world" test.


_43LE_43LE - 5/22/2008 3:19:48 PM
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By the way, they did go through a mountain pass and most likely used AC. Vegas can be pretty hot.


DROOPYSAKKDROOPYSAKK - 5/22/2008 12:15:14 PM
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wow a re bagged prius zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

i would be impressed of somebody made a hybrid that was fun to drive!

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hatepussshatepusss - 5/22/2008 1:57:48 PM
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They do and it is called Supra HV-R hybrid GT...probably for $2+ Million dollars.

http://www.autospies.com/news/Hybrid-Toyota-Supra-Wins-Tokachi-24-Hour-Race-17693/


adamsaf723adamsaf723 - 5/22/2008 3:55:33 PM
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As of right now, all the Lexus Hybrids use "more fun to drive" as their selling feature.

Lexus has performance Hybrids, not eco-Hybrids. I guess they are trying to get better PR.


DutchmanDutchman - 5/22/2008 12:30:12 PM
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Nothing new here just another re-badged toyota priced for 10 grand more then the donor car......

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JUGNUJUGNU - 5/22/2008 1:29:20 PMView My AgentSpace
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aren't u people tired of this million times repeated things like "just another re-badged toyota priced for 10 grand more ".

that's just too much.

Toyota has done such a brilliant and revolutionary job with hybrids and continue to improve this relatively new technology, instead of praising them or giving them some credit, u haters are nonstop with your bullshitting.

JUGNU

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AnthonyAnthony - 5/22/2008 3:14:01 PM
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Paying a 10K premium for any product that is based on a cheaper product is always the topic when talking about Toyota and Lexus. However, this topic is always taken off the table when talking about any other company, namely, VW.


91z4me91z4me - 5/22/2008 4:36:19 PM
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Anthony,

I believe if you ask about the GM platform mates you will hear more complaining than about any other company, even if they are more differentiated than other models, simply based on the anti-US attitude of many of the members of this site.


EL34EL34 - 5/22/2008 1:47:28 PM
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This car will drive like a hotcake.

:-|

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answeranswer - 5/22/2008 3:39:40 PMView My AgentSpace
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Your posts always stink like an old crab cake.


mercuryguymercuryguy - 5/22/2008 1:54:14 PM
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Test drove the Lincoln MKX yesterday.

What a great vehicle! Great visibility, nice acceleration and power, and the ride quality is very refined. The dash is very upscale with large gauges and LED computer readout.

This thing has everything you could ever want in a crossover. Anyone waiting for the Lexus prototype should give the MKX a serious look.


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RupertRupert - 5/22/2008 6:51:39 PMView My AgentSpace
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Stop trolling! You clearly work for Lincoln, you won't shut about them despite the fact they're awful.


85bmw745i85bmw745i - 5/23/2008 3:05:34 AMView My AgentSpace
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Yeah but I'd rather save the money and get a ford edge since the MKX is just a rebadged edge. Just like I'd rather get a loaded tahoe then spend all that extra on an escalade. My friend just bought a used 05 and the leather is so thin and cheap it isn't even funny. I'm surprised it isn't torn or cracked like all the others, but it onlt had about 30k miles on it. My 02 discovery had far better interior without all that cheao flexing door panels and cheap hollow plastic and the leather is of monumental quality compared to the escalade. I've seen thicker cloth interiors.


auto001auto001 - 5/22/2008 5:57:22 PM
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"it sure will.

there's a victim of marketing hype born every minute."

Hahaha, it's so ironic to hear a bmw owner say that :) if you look up "marketing hype" in the dictionary, you'll find the familiar blue/white roundel logo.

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85bmw745i85bmw745i - 5/23/2008 3:08:10 AMView My AgentSpace
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no you'll find American cars. they have much more marketing schemes and gimmicks than any other automaker. why else did people buy them, especially in the 80's and 90's when they were incredibly inferior to the japanese. Literally going from a buick r ford to a honda was like going to a banz from a lincoln town car.


85bmw745i85bmw745i - 5/23/2008 3:09:16 AMView My AgentSpace
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Sorry for the fat fingers, typing faster than my skills permit me to :-)


eric452eric452 - 5/22/2008 7:57:08 PMView My AgentSpace
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mabey the crossover will be off the toyota venza



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huu76huu76 - 5/24/2008 3:18:41 PM
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steedpub,
Why, is BMW extending making their 1% lease rates permanent?

silver1,
Don't forget the Pacifica/R-Class and E-class/300C.

Bmw can't rebadge because the badge is what gives their cars their value. Without the propellor, it's just an uglier Hyundai.
Same goes for those poser A/B/A3 and 1 series cars. It's pretty bad when your luxury brand is going up against normal Honda/Toyotas. It's no surprise they've been trying to keep this secret from N.Americans for so long.

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mercuryguymercuryguy - 5/24/2008 7:53:00 PM
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Ok, if you say so. The MKX rides on the Mazda 6 platform.

Ride quality seemed good enough for me. The dash and center stack could use more woodgrain. Ford seats have always been major comfortable and overbuilt.

The argument is just about American cars, not on its merits.

I was merely presenting an alternative in the crossover category that is already in the showroom.


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Agent63Agent63 - 5/25/2008 6:27:33 AMView My AgentSpace
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If it's priced strategically it will be a hit. People who buy a Lexus wants bang for buck. I hope they don't forget one of the main reasons why they have been so successful.

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