Comments on: Review: 1992 Lexus SC400

By: nealb

nealb — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:00:45 +0000

in the original article it was mentioned that if a sc300 with manual tranny can be found, let you know. well it is here: http://kansascity.craigslist.org/ctd/1370748075.html

beige/tan 187K clean $6000 asking price. good deal?

By: SuperCoupe400

SuperCoupe400 — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:06:03 +0000

Jim D, I am almost envious of you. I’ve got a ‘93 SC400, but would love having the manual tranny to throw a turbo onto. I love the sound those blow-off valves make. And you just can’t get that same sound with a turbo on an automatic.

You lucky dog.

By: JimD

JimD — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:55:08 +0000

I bought my 93 SC300 new in July 1993. Black, with tan interior, and a 5 speed manual. I still have it and it is almost perfect – just a couple of small stone chips and only 41,000 miles. The only repair it needs is to replace the struts that hold the trunk lid open. Other than routine dealer service it has never needed a single repair! One of these days I may find someone willing to pay me what it is really worth and I might actually sell it. Until then I just drive it and smile!

By: Brock_Landers

Brock_Landers — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:53:09 +0000

SC400 was so cool in the 90’s that it earned 1992 Playboy’s Car of the Year title :)

Those electro-luminescent gauges were thing of the future back then, Germans started using similar technology on their displays 10 years later.

By: Mazdarati

Mazdarati — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:31:53 +0000

I had a 1992 SC 300 with the 5-speed leased new for for 4 years. It was the only leased car I’ve ever had that was worth more than the residual at the end of the lease! It was a great car and I should have kept it. By the way, it has an inline 6 not a V6!

By: LexusHaterNowSoarerLover

LexusHaterNowSoarerLover — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:43:49 +0000

I’m a convert.
Let me tell you my story.
Back in 1996 in Virginia most people I would see drive the SC300/400 were gangbangers who would bling these cars out with chrome and stupid colors. Actually most Lexuses, but especially the SC. I took a real dislike to them. Also I thought the car looked like a boat and with a V8 figured it naively to be a Japanese wanabee American Cruiser. I think every time I saw one I negatively associated it with something bad from the era.
Fast forward 10 yrs, moved to Tokyo. Looking for a second car. At this point was walking and biking but really needed the second car. I heard someone at work was junking a car. talked to him @ it. He said he had transfered the car over in his name from someone who had been fired (i heard it was drugs) to sell it for him, well he wanted too much and never sold it, the JCI was due and he would not pay it. (at that time Japanese metal was high so you would get Y60000 to Y100000 for recycling) To this day don’t really now why, but he just let me have the car. Never asked for anything in return. But when he told me it was a Toyota Soarer, I looked online and saw it was the SC; I did not want it. Had I not already agreed to take it from him I would never have accepted that car; even for free. I’m serious, I remember feeling mad and so stupid at that time because I would now be stuck with an SC. The car had sat under a tree for 5 months in Tokyo smog and filth. So it was actually worse than I imagined. And the guy that had the car was this caucasian wanna be gangster, rapper, so the car was even more blinged out than any I had seen. that car change me. I’m getting there…First day ,spent @ 9 hrs ripping the stupid accessories from this bling king. Spent 3 months washing & waxing it back to life. Slowly I bean seeing the car differently. Then it happened; this car nut friend of mine talked me into going driving with him in the mountains surrounding Tokyo: Skyline GT-R R34 and 3 others. another Skyline GT-R R32 a Silvia and a WRX. I didn’t even want to go because I thought my car would leave shamed and ridiculed. I was totally wrong not only could I keep up. I was kicking their asses except for the R34 or in sharp turns where the road was slick. It was a surreal awakening. Not knowing what I had the whole time. It was love at 3 months sight, never looked at my car the same. Toyota Soarer 2.5 TT. I loved this car, for 2 years, then fate would pay me back for my previous lack of respect for it. I had to leave on unforseen business with my JCI coming due. Everyday I worried I would not make it …Got back 2 months later with 3 days left on my JCI but my passenger side window motor had gone out. The only component that went bad since I had it and there none anywhere…I lost. My car would be…destroyed! By this time the Japanese economy took a shit and you don’t get Y1 for junking a car. Nevertheless, I was able to get Y30000 solely for the engine.
So I got what I deserved in the end.
For all of you that never have known the Soarer; it is truly one of the best cars ever made
Period

By: rushmore9

rushmore9 — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 02:57:02 +0000

I wish you’d told me a couple of years earlier when I had a nice bright red one from ‘95 but was the inline-six sc300… and a 5-speed manual.

eh, needed a 4-door so i’m pretty happy with my tsx now. But still, I do think about her…

By: buddhaflow

buddhaflow — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:20:56 +0000

Funny..I saw a particularly nice one of these on craigslist and was trying to convince my mom to trade in her snoozy 1.8T Passat for it..she’s definitely got quite a bit of “automotive intertia”, and the crummy MPGs of this car doesn’t help, but maybe this will help ;)

By: bmr12

bmr12 — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:49:58 +0000

I believe Car & Driver called it “possibly the most perfect sports car on the planet” or something similar (sorry–can’t find a reference on the web easily). Lusted after one for quite a while.

By: Travis

Travis — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:07:48 +0000

If you can find an SC300 with an all too rare manual tranny in it. Call me first. I’ll buy it and be your new best friend.

http://www.houston-imports.com/forums/showthread.php?t=503115

Less than 100k miles as well. Stock.

By: eh_political

eh_political — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 06:13:25 +0000

@Flyersfan:

RF’s interest in an IS-F made me wonder what my own current wish list looked like, and like you, I found an inordinate amount of excellence in the early 90’s stuff from Japan. Here’s my llist of worthwhile whips:

ls400 90
prelude 2000
nsx early model
mr2 gen 1
crx gen 2
tsx gen 1
93 camry wgn
93 es 300
09 accord coupe
93 altima
crossfire
08 pontiac g8
miata hardtop
first gen fit
suzuki cappuccino

By: theflyersfan

theflyersfan — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:34:12 +0000

Everything from Lexus during that 1st generation era just screams that they had to lose money on each and every one they sold.
Case in point, besides the SC in this article – I have some family members that purchased one of the first Lexus LS400 models dropped off in Ohio. I remember being a 15 year old car nut riding in that Lexus for the first time and thinking to myself that this Lexus was quite possibly the best car ever screwed together and that they would have this car for ages. I’m 2 for 2. They still have the car and drive it on a part-time basis in Florida…and it has well over 200,000 miles on it. The ONLY glitch it had over 200,000 miles was a faulty coolant level light, but that was traced to old glue that kept the sensor in place. That’s it. Gas/tires/oil.
When I drove it last, I noted that the leather still felt soft and looked great (especially for SW Florida), there were NO squeaks and rattles, the stereo was still powerful, and the engine and transmission was as smooth as anything built today.
Of course it’s still wierd to see an analog odometer buried under the steering wheel and having only four gears to shift through with a luxury car, but it was par for 1990.
I still think that 1989-1993 was probably the high water mark for Japanese makers with amazing cars like this SC/LS, Maxima, 300ZX TT, RX-7, Lexus-like Camry, Integra, Legend, and Supra. They were loaded with soft touch plastic, great engines, and lasted forever.
It’s a crime to see what Lexus has done with the SC now.

By: golden2husky

golden2husky — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:50:16 +0000

One thing you might add – the Nakamichi sound system was fantastic.…
Ah, the Nakamichi. I still own a Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck. With a Nakamichi ZX tape, I can make copies of CD’s that are virtually indistinguishable from the original. It was pretty cool owning such a killer deck in college.

Plus, they switch to “fresh” when you change to defog. It’s asinine, but some engineer thinks it’s the right design. I’d rather run the A/C on recirc with the temperature set to whatever’s comfortable.
…
The windows defog much better without recirc and the A/C compressor running. That is why virtually all manufacturers disable recirc in the defog mode. You would think that high humidity outside air would be worse than inside humidity, but often it is not. Picture four people wet from rain, plus moisture expelled with breathing…much worse than your typical rainy day. I had a coworker who groused that her new Accord (this is 10 yrs ago) didn’t clear the windows like her prior GM car did. Her old car automatically engaged the A/C and used outside air. Her new Accord had a very flexible HVAC system, but you had to push the A/C button in those days or the compressor didn’t run no matter what. She no reason to use the A/C in cool weather so she suffered until I showed her how to properly use the controls. I think most cars today automatically engage the compressor with the defrost/defogger on.

By: salhany

salhany — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:58:46 +0000

There are several of these in what appear to be very good condition on eBay. If I only had a little extra scratch and the garage space for another car…

By: NickR

NickR — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:26:16 +0000

I can vouch for the longevity…a coworker who commuted ridiculous distances bought one of these to ease the pain. He got rid of it with over 400,000km. He anticipated that at some point something big would go and he’d just dump it for whatever he could get. Instead it just kept going and going and eventually he sold it because he wanted a change (a sharp contrast to me…I’d have driven it ad infinitum).

By: MX5bob

MX5bob — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:01:12 +0000

James2: Why does the Toyota-ish ‘automatic’ climate control automatically revert to external ventilation mode when you’ve previously selected the recirculation mode every time you’ve restarted the engine?

Just about every modern electronic climate control system does this now. Plus, they switch to “fresh” when you change to defog. It’s asinine, but some engineer thinks it’s the right design. I’d rather run the A/C on recirc with the temperature set to whatever’s comfortable. That’s always defogged the windows pretty well for me.

By: highrpm

highrpm — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:54:18 +0000

@James2, It’s really not fair for you to compare the entry level ES330 (super nice Camry) with Lexus’ flagship vehicles. For its time, the SC300 and 400 were the most thoroughly engineered and developed vehicles you could buy at any price.

Today, that honor probably falls on the LS600h. Everything on that vehicle has the attention to detail that you’d expect after seeing an SC400.

By: argentla

argentla — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:06:20 +0000

I love these cars. I don’t like the tacky chrome strips they added to the taillights of the later years, or the faux grille (!), but it’s got such purity of line.

A lot of the odd, bespoke engineering was not done out of a Mercedes-like obsession with perfection, so much as the fact that the shape was nightmarishly hard to produce. For example, engineering the headlights and other under-hood ancillaries to fit under the low, curvaceous fenders and hood line was a real challenge. But management loved the look (one of the first products of Toyota’s CALTY design center), and they didn’t want to compromise it for production.

This car is Exhibit A when I hear people saying the Japanese companies don’t create designs as radical and attractive as the Europeans or Americans. (They often don’t, but, as GM constantly reminds us, there’s a big difference between can’t and won’t.) I think it’s a future classic.

By: Davekaybsc

Davekaybsc — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:26:59 +0000

I bought a ‘96 SC300 in 2000 with 69,500 miles on the clock, sold it a few years ago.

The good: It had by far the best steering of any Lexus until the IS300 came along. Very nicely weighted with nice feel. The driving position was great, thanks to plenty of seat travel and the electric tilt and telescope steering wheel. The thin pillars and low dash allowed for great visibility. The center stack ergonomics were brilliant, with the large temperature and volume knobs within very easy reach.

The bad: The transmission was awful. Even if you booted the throttle to the floor, sometimes it would kick down and sometimes it wouldn’t, so you never really knew how much power you were going to get. The four ratios also simply weren’t enough. It couldn’t make it up a hill in 4th, so it would kick down to 3rd and you’d get to listen to the sound of drone at 4200rpm until you reached the crest.

My car developed large cracks in the vinyl trim under the windows, and a large crack in between the center air vents, common SC problems. Another common problem – the rubber gaskets around the headlights failed, and they filled with water when it rained, eventually ruining both headlamps. They were replaced at a cost of $450 each. Less than two weeks after I bought the car, the check engine light came on – bad O2 sensor. This was foreshadowing of things to come. It burned through O2 sensors at a rate of 1 to 2 a year. Those things ain’t cheap.

By: noreserve

noreserve — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:24:11 +0000

My supervisor bought an SC300 with the manual transmission when they came out. It was black with a tan interior – absolutely gorgeous inside and out. I still remember Prince on that great Nakamichi the first time I heard it. Very smooth ride – maybe the first true luxury car I’d experienced – same for the excellent stereo. It really gave me my first taste of what Lexus embodied.

He got the SC300 instead of the SC400, simply because it had a manual transmission offering. The sound of that V6 was like ripping silk. Brings back memories. Thanks for that Steve. To hear that they were engineered that well and hold up like they do only reinforces my first impression of it.

By: wmba

wmba — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:52:52 +0000

Yup, a great car. Friend of mine had one and about 2 years ago bequeathed it to his bro for 10K and 110,000 klicks, not miles. What a deal. It’s all black and extremely gracefully styled.

In fact, why aren’t newer cars styled as well as this? Modern cars strike me as generally, plain ugly. They look like startled bullfrogs these days. I give all the current stylists except the Jag and Aston boys a big F-.

By: stuki

stuki — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:33:14 +0000

50 years from now, I think these will still be looked upon as among the all time greats. It was truly awesome when new. And makes me feel old realizing how long ago that was.

By: Areitu

Areitu — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:39:31 +0000

I’m a big fan of these cars, even down to the door hinges. Thanks for the review!

By: Thabo

Thabo — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:07:29 +0000

Here’s one on Craigslist – nice wheels too ; )

http://tinyurl.com/byfdzz

By: James2

James2 — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:35:15 +0000

The red needles on the dash wear out and turn black; the entire display may follow.

That’s the thing about these Lexus electronic displays. It happened to my b-i-l’s ES300. (he hasn’t spent the $$) to fix it. It probably will happen to my parents’ ES330. When it first came out the ‘wow’ factor was nice, but that’s all.

This is my capsule review (ha!) of the ES330. I’ve studied the Lexus dashboard design for some time now (having spent a lot of time riding shotgun) and I strongly dislike their use of ‘reverse’ LCD displays (black digits on a greenish background). I really hate the reddish, plasticky wood used on the dash.

Why does the Toyota-ish ‘automatic’ climate control automatically revert to external ventilation mode when you’ve previously selected the recirculation mode every time you’ve restarted the engine? I don’t know about the current models but my folks’ 330 came with both a 6-CD changer AND a cassette player. How 20th century.

Next time I take a ride in the 330 I will have a look at the door hinges, but given that this is a restyled Camry I have no great expectations. (I suspect, however, that a very favorable yen/dollar ratio of the era allowed the engineers to indulge themselves.) I will say, however, that the ES330 is a very poorly packaged car for its size. It is cramped inside, imo. Toyota/Lexus should figure out a way to squeeze the thickness of front seatbacks a couple of inches–would do wonders for the sense of airiness in back.

The styling of the previous ES300 was/is superior to this car. It is bloated and there is a fish face-quality in the nose–not attractive at all. I don’t get Toyota designers’ fascination with a low roof coupled to a high beltline. It doesn’t look good on a Tacoma and it doesn’t look good here.

Whatever. My parents don’t give a sh*t about cars, so this thing is perfect for them. (Though I keep urging them to go for the Jaguar XF when the stock market rebounds. )