Lexus IS ready to turn tables on the competition
Carmaker is learning lessons about creating a constant evolution
History is a harsh taskmaster. Not only does what we have done often presage what we will do, but, as the oft-quoted aphorism holds, those who don’t learn from yesteryear are doomed to repeat it.
So, with the dawn of a new IS, perhaps briefly revisiting the history of Lexus is in order for, though successful (at least compared with Nissan’s Infiniti division, which got its start at about the same time), it has never lived up to its initial promise.
And promising indeed was the launch of the 1990 LS400 flagship sedan — along with its ES250 entrylevel sibling — wreaking havoc on the then-moribund German luxury automakers. Of course, the North American brands — namely Cadillac and Lincoln — suffered as well, but not nearly as much as the Teutonic titans. I can remember vividly the despair at BMW Canada’s offices in the early 1990s as they wondered how, and even if, they could stem their Lexus-fuelled downslide.
Two decades later, it is Lexus that flounders. Oh, its overall sales haven’t tanked like the Germans’ did in the ’90s, but exclude the still hot-selling RX sport ute from the equation and it’s obvious that its mainstream sedans are not finding a receptive market. The all-conquering LS, now a 460 and 600 hybrid, is a rare sight, the GS — until its recent rebirth — somnolent and the IS — until this much overdue rebirth — long in the tooth in a segment that demands fresh faces.
Instead, it’s the German automakers — BMW, Mercedes-Benz and, most recently, Audi — that have returned with a vengeance, their sales and market share soaring. How did they do it? Well, a large part of their success has been lessons learned from that previous drubbing by Lexus two decades past: Reliability increased, pricing became more competitive and — do wonders never cease? — German automakers now actually respond to customer input. So what’s a poor Lexus to do? Turn the tables and use the exact same tactics to their advantage. In other words, glean lessons learned from the competition and use it against them.
Copy BMW, for instance, and put an end to the release-and-forget
Lexus should learn to parse out its development cycle so its models are constantly in the news.
product strategy that was so much a part of the first IS’s slide into irrelevance. Lexus’ original sport sedan was released in 2001 to much fanfare and promise, its handling all but as sporty as the then untouchable BMW 3 Series and its interior decor superior. Sporting sedan fans salivated at the future prospects, but it turned out to be a false dawn. Lexus abandoned the poor IS, its initial promise left to wither while BMW et al continuously refined its lineup.
Lexus should learn to parse out its development cycle so its models are constantly in the news. First comes a new 3 Series sedan chassis remake; then, a year later, a cabriolet; then, perhaps a year after that, a new series of engines; and somewhere interspersed in there, a high-zoot M model. Each update might not be a total revision, but BMW’s marketing department — very astutely, I might add — treats it as such, keeping the car fresh in the minds of consumers.
From Audi, the Japanese giant should learn modularity, the company’s chassis and engines interwoven to produce model proliferation with maximum parts interchangeability. An A7 is nothing but an A6 with a plunging neckline. The Volkswagen group’s 2.0-litre turbocharged four is offered in nearly all its models. And, the various guises of S7, S8 and the soon-to-be released RS7 — producing 420, 460 and 520 horsepower, respectively — are all powered by various iterations of the company’s new twin-turbocharged 4.0L V-8, each distinguished by just a little more turbo boost.
And from Mercedes-Benz, Lexus could learn that there is no subset of the luxury segment too small to serve, at least if you use a little of that aforementioned modularity. A CLS is, like its Audi A7 imitator, but an E-Class restyled. Beneath the skin of the sleek — and surprisingly sporty — CLA four-door coupe beats the heart of a B250 mini-minivan. Nonetheless, Mercedes sales continue to soar.
The redesigned IS indicates that Lexus is getting the message. It shares much of its underpinnings with the recently released GS 350. And though new in both body and design, the IS’s carry-over engines could portend a switch to the constant evolutionary refinement I mentioned — if the powertrains get upgraded in the next few years.
As for the new IS, it is truly another great car from the Japanese giant. Let’s hope that Lexus now understands that continued success in the luxury segment requires more than just building great cars.