Lexus Is In A Midlife Crisis - What Would You Do To Get Them Back On Track?

A new grill that doesn't look anything like the predator! Smaller dealerships that don't look like and operate like department stores. A new SC430. A new GS that isn't the clone of the Camry. Big easy to use controls for all the boomers headed their way this next decade!

Dump the deplorable electric shaver grille and stop making vehicles look like silly origami eyesores.

Time to try timeless elegance in design and ditch the origami creases.

Indeed -Styling sells cars. There was a time when the Styling department was the basis for GM sales and you could depend on GM to come up with a major timeless style every two or three years. Today - GM style is hideous and is getting worse.

Their biggest issue right now is their horrible infotainment system which is a huge factor in auto sales these days. Their traditional quality of reliability doesn’t matter so much in the luxury segment since so many of the sales are leases. Their exterior design is also too garish. To right the ship they need to come up with a class leading infotainment system and move forward with EV development. They have the resources at hand to beat the Germans if they want to.

No. Their biggest issue right now are products that have missed the mark for sales: LS, LC, LX, GS, IS, and RC.

Get rid of that stupid grille, and style in general. Reserved, sporty styling continues to win.

Get rid of that hideous “predator” front grill!

Drop the GS, IS, RC, and LC.
Reposition the LS to a $60K base. Sedans will sell is they are advantageously priced.
Reposition the ES to a $35K base. As above.
Dump the 25-year-old-design LX for something based off the Tundra and go for the Escalade rather than being content with a vehicle that simply does not sell.
Dump the unsafe-at-any-speed GX.
Replace the GX with a larger RX but keep the RX price
Enlarge the NX but keep the NX price.
Enlarge the UX but keep the UX price.
Create a "Model S"
Ditch the ugly face.
Ditch the busy, Pontiac-surface-excitement school of styling.

If Toyota had brains, they would make Land Cruiser a BRAND that aims at Jeep and LR/RR.

@MD- Making the Land Cruiser a sub brand is a good idea. They have diesel models for sale in Australia and other regions which are more hard core stripped down SUV's. They can sell here too and compete with Jeep.

Not a sub-brand but a BRAND.

Lexus was never perceived as a performance brand - it is basically a Japanese Buick. However - it is priced above that market - in territory where it does not compete.

What they need to do it come up with a New Styling theme - not just the cow-catcher grill which is no longer needed. (By Decades). Much more conservative. THen they need to offer the models as Luxury vehicles -stressing the ride and comfort (Could compare to Rolls for instance)- and offer comparative models with MORE interior room than the class they are in - especially in the rear seats.The seniors that buy these cars often drive with passengers and the rear seats have to have enough room for people whose Joints do not allow major movement to get into the cars.

However - the loss of the CT6 and XTS from cadillac will fuel LS sales for a while if they watch the prices.

on virtually every story about "what's troubling one of the Japanese luxury brands".

Nobody:

Tom M: "Infiniti is essentially a Japanese Bu... oh wait, I meant Lexus. Lexus is basically a Japanese Buick...near-premium...priced above market"...blah blah blah"

Lexus fan/driver here:

-Updated infotainment
-A new GS that is again as good as an E-Class (even if it does not sell in big numbers)
-A new slightly bigger IS
-A new RX (no más yearly updates)
-Agree with the comment above re their dealerships. Throw away all that tacky beauty saloon/massage chairs lounge crap and fill the space with cars
-Keep quality job number one. These cars are rock solid.

Lexus was one of the first to embrace hybrid tech, if they electrified their entire lineup (at least one "e" option per car) that would create a lot of buzz. The downside is none of their cars are built from the ground up to be EVs, they would all be conversions.

Toyota did hybrids and then rested on their laurels. Then they did the "Asian thing" of thinking that hydrogen was the miracle technology rather than EV. So not only have Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai-Kia gone down the wrong path, they also have nothing to show for it. You'd have thought that pragmatic Toyota would have done EVs as a hedge. But, #NOPE.

Yeah, I was a bit surprised they didn't hedge their bet a bit, especially since they used to be a Tesla investor and could have taken advantage of the supplier relationship. I have a feeling Hyundai-Kia will course correct faster than Toyota or Nissan. The Niro and Kona EVs are pretty nice already, just a bit overpriced.

Lexus styling was always derivative of other luxury car styling, especially Mercedes. Since they went their own way, they have lost timeless in favor of trendy. The new LS does not convey gravitas like an S-Class.
They have two ancient SUV/trucks that need to be dropped. Actually MD's idea to create a Land Cruiser brand has a lot of merit. In most markets they already have two sizes of Land Cruiser.
They have the successful EX crossover and two smaller, Toyota derived crossovers. They need a flagship crossover like the LF-1 they showed a few years ago.

The LF1 is desperately needed in place of the horrible GX/LX.

Lexless needs to make a much LARGER grill covered in barbed wire.

Lexus needs to find its identity plain and simple. What does Lexus represent?

Is it a luxury brand? Many would argue Mercedes-Benz does a better job there.

Is it a sporting brand? Not when BMW's M and Porsche are compared.

Is it a reliable brand? Yes, but other companies offer strong reliability too.


Lexus to me is just a reliable alternative to Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz but that isn't good enough. You can't win on reliability alone. Lexus's design, technology and performance need to support that reliability advantage but have missed the mark for the last 5 years at least.

Stop making ugly boring cars.

Could it be that consumers finally realized that they're just souped up Toyotas? When you buy a Mercedes, you get a Mercedes for better or worse. Same when you buy a BMW. Not so when you buy a Lexus or Audi, so their sales have tanked!

Nevermind, the consumer is too stupid.

Need actual performance models, not just F badging.

Lexus needs an LC shooting brake to save the brand.

When they went all Predator-face ugly I dropped them from consideration. Period. I'm guessing I'm not the only one.