CSB from my family holiday: Has the LFA changed the perception of Lexus.

[2.0T_Convert]

CSB: After coming back from Pinkberry with the family last night we all sat down to watch a movie about a girl with a dragon tattoo that seemed more about how swedes don't believe in central heating and adultery.

Before starting we finished up Fast Five which my younger siblings had been watching. My parents didn't mind as it was the end part with the dragging of the vault and bridge scene. After this we get to see what the fictional cast members spent money on. The Asian naturally bought a black LFA. So after that scene I toss a pop quiz out to the 6 other people surrounding me - what was that car just on screen.

My closest sister: Maserati? Ferrari? Lambo? Maserati oh I said that? Rolls Royce? Porsche? Corvette? I dunno!
My dad: Maserati?
My mother: It isn't sold in the USA I bet.

So I broke the news: Lexus. LFA. Yah really.

My dad: What???? No what is that.... looks up on his iPad. Oh wow is this new? Really been on sale awhile?.. hmmm Lexus has never had a sports car I don't know if I'd spend so much money on a company that has never built something like that....



So TCL - it has been some time since the LFA vs 1.8T and beyond died down.

- Has the LFA made an impact on the general public perception of Lexus?
- Has the LFA helped Lexus sales and or generated more interest from younger drivers?
- Has anyone you know shocked you by even knowing what an LFA is?

[czykvw]

To me the LFA is like the GT-R, almost everyone into cars knows about them.
So I think lexus got what it wanted from the LFA. 5yrs ago I never respected lexus, now I do.
why? cause of the LFA and IS-F mmm

[dieselraver]

To me the LFA is like the GT-R, almost everyone into cars knows about them.
So I think lexus got what it wanted from the LFA. 5yrs ago I never respected lexus, now I do.
why? cause of the LFA and IS-F mmm

truth.

i think we knew the parent companies are capable of it, they needed to make them so that people knew that if they wanted to.they could.

[GTE77]

Its a Toyota.

[71DubBugBug]

To me the LFA is like the GT-R, almost everyone into cars knows about them.
So I think lexus got what it wanted from the LFA. 5yrs ago I never respected lexus, now I do.
why? cause of the LFA and IS-F mmm

I dont think you can compare the two, completely different cars, and I think built for different reasons


I have seen many GTRs, and yet to see a LFA in the wild.

Most people dont even know a r8 is an audi, let alone a LFA is a lexus.

[curvedinfinity]

That woman's legs match that leather pretty well. Maybe they're on to something.

[DJMRDARK]

So TCL - it has been some time since the LFA vs 1.8T and beyond died down.

- Has the LFA made an impact on the general public perception of Lexus?
- Has the LFA helped Lexus sales and or generated more interest from younger drivers?
- Has anyone you know shocked you by even knowing what an LFA is?

No impact whatsoever. Only enthusiasts are aware of it. And most among them don't care either.

The fact is it is waaaay too pricey for most enthusiasts to care when that money puts into reach far more desirable fare.

The story would be different if it were far more within reach of Lexus' buyers and there were enough of them on the street to generate organic buzz.

[2.0T_Convert]

No impact whatsoever. Only enthusiasts are aware of it. And most among them don't care either.

The fact is it is waaaay too pricey for most enthusiasts to care when that money puts into reach far more desirable fare.

The story would be different if it were far more within reach of Lexus' buyers and there were enough of them on the street to generate organic buzz.

Theoretically how is that different than say Lambo or Ferrari aside from the fact those nameplates have more history?

[BENJMNS]

It's not about the LFA's sales numbers. It's about the halo effect now cast upon the ISF and the new GSF.

GSF is a serious contender to the M5 and E63 AMG for me now. Toyota/Lexus already makes the best SUVs in the market.

[Geechie_Suede]

No, because I've completely forgotten the IS-F existed until a friend brought it up yesterday.

[BENJMNS]

No, because I've completely forgotten the IS-F existed until a friend brought it up yesterday.

youd know it if u were jonesin to buy a $60k super sedan

[l88m22vette]

Love the LFA, who cares if people don't know about it? "Lexus" its a badge for fancy Toyotas, and the LFA is arguably the best Lexus ever made, which means its the best Toyota ever made (yea yea there are other great ones). I care about cars, not companies, the Corvette is awesome, but I've always had a hard time caring about other Chevys, at least from the last three decades or so. If anything my perception of Toyota has changed, at least it shows someone has so gasoline in their veins...

[Anon1210]

Car people definitely know about it but the general public?

It's crazy to many of us but a lot of people can't really tell the difference between 90% of cars, they're just "cars".

"Hey look, a GT3 RS!"

"Wha? Oh a porsche right?"

"Yeah man, it's a very nice version, it's like a stripped down, ligh--"

"They're all pretty much the same aren't they?"

[Jan PL S6]

Just caught fast five on tv and watched the ending actually

I'm pretty sure the LFA wasn't meant to be a venture for large profits and such. It was made with very limited quantities and the cost to make them was really high. Unless I'm remembering something else, topgear was saying how Lexus is just about breaking even from the cost of making it. Shame really because its a fantastic car but they didn't really make a huge effort putting it out there. Only one commercial comes to mind where they hung up three lexus's end to end on a crane and parked a yellow LFA under them.

[50fridge]

I think the LFA and IS-F have helped Lexus/Toyota as a company. After the Supra was killed Toyota did not have a high performance car until the IS-F came out. Then when the LFA came out it showed how Toyota still cares about making sporty cars. This is why I see Toyota better as a company then Honda because besides basic transportation they offer world class cars like the IS-F and LFA.

[Benkennedy11]

No, because I've completely forgotten the IS-F existed until a friend brought it up yesterday.

See, I completely forget it exists until people start threads about it in TCL. This place is literally the only place I've seen or heard anything about them.

[DJMRDARK]

Theoretically how is that different than say Lambo or Ferrari aside from the fact those nameplates have more history?

Those brands are world famous for making supercars. So much so that the very word "supercar" automatically conjures up either a Ferrari or Lambo in the of the general public.

[ValveCoverGasket]

Those brands are world famous for making supercars. So much so that the very word "supercar" automatically conjures up either a Ferrari or Lambo in the of the general public.

yup.

while the name "lexus" conjures up images of old people falling asleep behind the wheel of their gs400

[2.0T_Convert]

yup.

while the name "lexus" conjures up images of old people falling asleep behind the wheel of their gs400

So how does Lexus change that image?

Based on some of the responses it appears a few of you don't want that to change. Let Toyota be the racecar division while Lexus just stays boring luxury.

[Peloton25]

I'd say they've failed to make any significant impact with it. I believe they also had trouble finding buyers for them even though they were fairly limited at ~500 units.

Not a flop because technically it did show what they were capable of, however, a commercial of a cracking champagne glass from the exhaust at high RPMs is about all that most people are going to recall.

>8^)
ER

[FlashRedGLS1.8T]

I'd say they've failed to make any significant impact with it. I believe they also had trouble finding buyers for them even though they were fairly limited at ~500 units.

Not a flop because technically it did show what they were capable of, however, a commercial of a cracking champagne glass from the exhaust at high RPMs is about all that most people are going to recall.

[Obin Robinson]

No manual transmission option / no change in Lexus perception / no care about car.

obin

[feels_road]

CSB from my family holiday: Has the LFA changed the perception of Lexus.

absolutely not.

[josh_did_what]

Still dont care. It may be fast but its still a "Lexus" to me. Sure its numerically superior car, but it just doesnt excite me at all. For lack of a better word (and I really hate this word), it has no soul. The GT3 RS is a return-to-basics car, and the 458 is just beautiful, but the Lexus is *still* just a machine for me. Think Clarkson's review on the MP4-12C.

[DIAF]

No manual transmission option / no change in Lexus perception / no care about car.

obin

I've been fortunate enough to drive the IS-F on track - that gearbox is brilliant - it gives up nothing to a manual.

[SSLByron]

I've been fortunate enough to drive the IS-F on track - that gearbox is brilliant - it gives up nothing to a manual.

And while it's true that the LF-A may not be raising awareness outside of enthusiast circles, that's really neither here nor there. The average real estate rookie who leases a 328i doesn't care that BMW hasn't built a supercar in three decades, either.

The LF-A was built to prove they could. The mainstream awareness will come from the F-Sport brand and affordable cars that are more driver-oriented than they have been in the past.

[Obin Robinson]

I've been fortunate enough to drive the IS-F on track - that gearbox is brilliant - it gives up nothing to a manual.

I'm sure it's a pretty good Nintendo transmission but it still doesn't interest me like a 6 or 7 speed option would have. The feature that makes a transmission good should be the quality and innovation put into mechanical linkages; not software.

obin

[PsyberVW]

I'd say they've failed to make any significant impact with it. I believe they also had trouble finding buyers for them even though they were fairly limited at ~500 units.

Not a flop because technically it did show what they were capable of, however, a commercial of a cracking champagne glass from the exhaust at high RPMs is about all that most people are going to recall.

>8^)
ER

Agreed. I still think it was stupid to put a Lexus badge on it and I wish the IS-F never existed. To some degree, I wish the first gen IS never existed either. It was nowhere near Lexus quality when it was ported over and really felt like a step-child. The second gen gave the refinement -by being its own car and finally being a Lexus.

Though Lexus has some racing pedigree, Toyota owns the roots and soil, and the LF-A positioned as a Toyota Supercar makes a lot more sense.

[A.Wilder]

I still haven't seen an IS-F in person. Are they extremely limited?

[evosky]

I still haven't seen an IS-F in person. Are they extremely limited?

not really. they're not common but they're not rare. i'm guessing being in NC, you're more likely to see SRTs and Z06s than IS-Fs

[koko12]

I think the LFA definitely did what it set out to do which was to prove what Lexus is capable of. While it may not have elevated sales it certainly elevated the brand's prestige. The car is an instant classic and collectors item, more so that anything currently produced by Ferrari and Lambo, Porsche, etc...

Now if Lexus really wanted to make an impact with it's costumers they should take that LFA knowhow and put it into a car 1/4th the price, something that would make a good alternative to a 911 or a BMW M6.

[Cousin Eddie]

I just think it's funny that Hahn bought a brand new Lexus LFA then goes to Tokyo to drift and all of the sudden nobody owns a car beyond 2005/2006 model year. Then he dies. Poor bastard.

[Fritz27]

You're not seriously arguing that BMW was harmed by Bangle's styling are you? Audi didn't start doing serious volume in this country until a couple years ago. It had more to do with LED DRLs and action movies than Bauhaus styling and classy interiors.

[thetopdog]

The LFA isn't cheap enough to actually be attainable by all but the richest people, isn't it like twice the price of entry level Ferraris and Lamborghinis? So the general public is likely to never see one (I have personally never seen one and I live in one of the supercar capitals of the world). It's also not fast/good looking enough to be the kind of car that stays on your mind without ever seeing one, like an F40, Bugatti, Zonda, etc. It's kind of just "there". $350k for a front-engined car that looks good but not spectacular and isn't the fastest car in the world either