The New Language Of Lexus Design

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Lexus’s GS-series of sports sedans has been a perennial sales dog for years now, winning Toyota’s luxury brand few converts from its 5-Series, E-Class and A6 competition. In fact, it’s a testament to Lexus’s successes in building unconventional luxury niches with the RX and ES lines that it’s been able to become a major US market luxury brand without a popular full-sized luxury sedan. But with luxury sales competition heating up under pressure from BMW and Audi, it’s clear that Lexus isn’t willing to let the GS’s underachievement continue unaddressed.

With the LF-Gh concept, set to debut at the New York Auto Show, Lexus using its next-generation GS to show off its newly-aggressive evolution of the L-Finesse design language. But will expressive creases and Audi-esque headlight bling be enough to make the GS mare than a forgotten also-ran, or is the Gh’s hybrid drivetrain a hint that Lexus is moving towards a hybrid-only approach to stealing E-Class sales? Or will the German’s strongest segment continue to be the Waterloo of the Japanese luxury brands (See: Inifiniti M)? After seeing the teasers, we were tempted to give Lexus credit for gambling on a less-conventional design, but now that the whole design has been revealed, it’s clear that the changes aren’t as comprehensive as the detail shots suggested. Is that another missed opportunity we’re smelling?





Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

More by Edward Niedermeyer

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 64 comments
  • Ponchoman49 Ponchoman49 on Apr 13, 2011

    So sticking an Audi grille with bottocks is supposed to increase sales from these throw away bland luxury cars? I think instead they should concentrate on reduced recalls for defects, better trunk and interior space, less copy cat exterior styling and more modern engine tech by using SIDI so that premium fuel is not required. Even people with money are compaining about this one. And to think that many other companies are copying Lexus styling is pretty sad.

  • Nrd515 Nrd515 on Apr 14, 2011

    Why don't they just go all the way and get it over with: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQrBwN39LJI

  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
Next