L for Lexus, L for luxury and L for leather?

The name Lexus is not all that well known in Thailand, but in other parts of the world, where Toyota can see a market share, the brand name Lexus is aggressively marketed. I remember a few years back getting a Lexus 400 for a road test and the sales rep insisting that I put one hour aside so that he could show me all the features. That was the days when FoMoCo and GeeEmm would leave the key at the sentry box and you just drove away in the test vehicle. Lexus (Toyota) knew how to create “mystique” for their new brand.

Our Down-under correspondent John Weinthal has just been for a run in the new Lexus IS 300. Here are the words from Weinthal.

“No car has earned so outstanding a reputation in such a short time as Lexus has over the past 11 years. The Lexus name already stands alongside - some believe above, in some spheres - the likes of Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar and Volvo when it comes to build standards, equipment levels, reliability, ride quality and resale values. When it comes to customer service and privilege, Lexus more than leads the way, especially in Queensland, my part of Australia.

“In the US, Lexus already easily outsells the prestige German makers. In Australia we are proving a little more conservative. But Lexus is making more than steady progress in Australia. Toyota has a clear plan for quality and timely Lexus dealership development, expansion of the Lexus model range and subtle yet sure protection and promotion of its upmarket social cachet.

“Lexus currently offers four distinct and independent car ranges in Australia, plus the ultimate LandCruiser in the guise of the Lexus LS470. There are other Lexus models we Australians cannot buy yet, but be sure they are on their way.

“This lead in brings me to the latest Lexus available here - the IS 300. This is the power brother to the hugely and justifiably praised IS 200. The essential difference is the power plant, but alongside that, the IS 300 has all the engineering upgrades required to match the silky smooth, six cylinder, 157 kW engine’s greatly enhanced performance potential. This engine is shared with the highly desirable and larger Lexus GS 300.

“The IS pair are the compact cars of the Lexus range - think BMW 3 Series and you are about on the button. Time and again one is likely to think BMW 323 and more as you unravel the magic of the Lexus IS Series marvellously responsive and balanced chassis. At AUD 74,000, the IS 300 is very competitive with its more obvious competition like the mid-range 3 Series, the more powerful of the new Mercedes C Class range and Volvo’s excellent 60 Series.

“This is a compact, balanced, assured, mid-performance sedan of impeccable build quality. It is loaded with equipment to dazzle the neighbours and, in general, enhance the driving and passenger experience.

“I am a little guarded, only in that while the external styling is conventional - conservative with the odd touch to distinguish it a little, I am still left cold by the interior. I must say immediately, however, that many, especially younger riders, were highly impressed by the way it differed from the norm. For me it seems somewhat contrived - different for difference’s own sake. The test car’s crowded internal look was exaggerated by the addition of a sat-nav system set above the fascia where it also proved to be a real distraction at night. The actual sat-nav directions also fell short of the standards set by various Philips systems I have tried. The controls are fidgety, and I felt they were more complex than other systems.

“The only other disappointment on a car of this price and ambition was the absence of fast up and down on all but the driver’s window, and auto wipers would be nice too. That’s the limit of the harsh stuff, and much of it is certainly personal to me. Others will disagree, as did some among my passengers.

“Nobody will fail to be impressed by the five speed auto with its steering column mounted buttons to whip up and down through the gears when one switches to manual mode. The cruise control holds station impressively. The white light, high intensity discharge headlamps are simply a revelation. The sound system is up with the best.

“It’s hard to imagine anyone being disappointed with this car, especially those who appreciate fine handling, a hushed luxury ride and an overwhelming feeling of quality.

“If the IS Series is a little small for you, there’s always the GS and LS models, as well as the much older Camry-based ES models. Each is highly desirable and represents real value in its class.

“Lexus’ latest will certainly enhance the reputation of a marque which, as I said, has earned its place alongside the most admired of cars whose heritages stretch back even before my time.”

Autotrivia Quiz So to last week’s quiz. You can have it in any colour so long as it’s black - the famous saying attributed to Henry Ford. There was another manufacturer between 1945-52 who did the same. I asked which company was it? It was jolly old Citroen, that’s who! They produced the 11CV’s and the 15CV’s only in black, with the sole ‘light’ relief being cream wheels. The early 2CV’s were all produced in grey, so there’s some real trivia for you! By the way, the previous week’s MR2 question, I accepted Mid engined, Rear drive and Mid engined Runabout as well as Mid engined Recreational. MacAlan Thompson from Bangers was the first in too. Sorry about the fact that the first web version that went up did not have the Autotrivia quiz in it. I wasn’t trying to penalise the overseas contestants. Now to this week’s question. The Mazda Cosmo was an interesting motor car. In the first six years of its production, they built 1176. It featured the twin rotor Wankel type engine and was good for 210 kph on a straight road. The car was a design exercise for the rotary engine, having been designed around it, not an existing vehicle that they just dropped the rotary into. (For engineering interest, the “crankshaft” is in the middle of a rotary engine, not at the bottom of the engine as in a conventional piston engine, so there is a drive line positioning problem - as we found out when we put rotaries into our Ford Lotus T/C Escorts in 1980.) After that rather long winded introduction, what else made the Cosmo a historic vehicle in the history of the motor car? For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct answer to fax 038 427 596 or email [email protected]

Ordered a new Roller?

One of the many fall-outs from the World Trade Centre disaster has been a reduction in new car orders. This has really hit home at the (VW owned) Rolls Royce plant in Crewe, north-west England. Officials at the company say that US sales have plummeted 60% since the WTC, September 11th terrorism and the Roller plant’s 800 workers will be forced to go on a three day week as from the end of October. However, they did say that this would be with no loss of pay.

At this stage the company is also saying there will be no job losses, but the British workers will be sitting on their hands very nervously over the next few months.

R-R produce around 2000 cars a year, of which 900 go to America, their largest market place.

Sex sells Well, if you’re trying to sell a Mazda Protege, one of the plainest vehicles currently in the market place, then I think I’d drape a lady over one too. The picture is from the Mazda brochure, and they are to be congratulated on managing to give the girl more coverage than the car.

After the Lexus - motoring minimalism Photographed this veritable automotive gem along Jomtien Beach Road the other afternoon. It has been slowly getting to this stage of debility over the past few months, with everything which does not make the vehicle go forward or stop systematically being removed.  The end result, as you see it, is an engine, chassis, seat and steering wheel. This is really what you could call getting down to basics.