2013 Lexus GS Tees Off At Pebble Beach

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

In a press release announcing the new 2013 Lexus GS, Lexus group vice president and general manager Mark Templin explains the sports sedan’s mission as follows:

Today, buyers in the mid-size luxury segment want a more engaging driving experience, styling that makes a statement, and a roomier interior package. With the all-new GS, we’re giving them what they asked for, and more.

And if the new GS looked more like the LF-Gh concept, we might agree. But with its toned-down looks failing to move the game past its foregettable forbears (at least in these 2-D images), it seems as though Lexus listen too hard to the customer (for example, creating more space with the same dimensions) and missed an opportunity to create a design that makes a statement that buyers didn’t yet know they couldn’t live without. Tarted-up midsized front-drivers are one thing, but this class of larger, rear-drive sports sedans demands bold yet sophisticated looks… and I’m not convinced this Lexus is “there.”





Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • 200k-min 200k-min on Aug 19, 2011

    This car will still get absolutely dwarfed in sales by the 5 series and A6's that I see all the time. Why is the GS so invisible? I suspect it isn't styling, but rather an image problem. Lexus just isn't a "sports" luxury brand. While the ES works fine for what it is and the LS is a decent competitor in the large lux sedan market, the GS just doesn't carry the cache that BMW does in the "just made partner at the law firm" crowd. At least Nissan is doing a better job at the sports lux segment with the G37, all be it not quite as high end as the Lexus GS. Maybe that would be a better route for Lexus...an ES Sport.

  • Carguy Carguy on Aug 19, 2011

    It certainly doesn't have the visual presence of the 5 or A6/7 but maybe that is what they are aiming for. I'm sure it will drive much like the old one but since an excessively insulated and remote driving experience is now standard in this segment, that shouldn't matter.

  • Ted “the model is going to be almost 4 inches longer and 2 inches wider than its predecessor”Size matters. In this case there is 6” too much.
  • JMII Despite our past experience with Volvo my wife wants an EX30 badly. Small, upscale, minimalist EV hatch is basically her perfect vehicle.
  • Dukeisduke Is the Volvo EX30 even on sale yet? It was pulled from the NACTOY awards because they were having software problems with the vehicle.
  • Wjtinfwb If you've only got 5k to spend on transportation, I cannot imagine a worse way to spend it than on a GM orphan from Sweden that's 15 years old with 150k on the clock and limited plus expensive parts availability and dwindling techs who'd even want to work on it. Go find a similar vintage Camry or Accord with 150k miles or even a Ford or a Chevy, whatever. Hell, even an old Jaguar is less of a crapshoot than a Saab. At least you can still get parts.
  • Kwik_Shift Brands that were considered from China include BYD, Dayun, Great Wall Motors, Maxus, Nio, Omoda/Chery, Seres, XPeng, and Zeekr. KG Mobility from South Korea also made the list of candidates.That's a lot of car companies from there ready to head here.
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