2011 hasn’t been the best year for Lexus on the North American market. The world crisis combined with the massive earthquake that shook Japan to its core in March 2011 hurt the company’s sales and made it surrender its 11-year reign as the best-selling luxury brand in the United States. However, Lexus has plans to make a major comeback, announcing plans to offer nine new or updated products to hopefully increase their sales by about 21%. This translates to 240,000 units compared to 2011’s 198,552 units.
"We will grow more than any other luxury brand this year. Our base plan is 240,000. But we think we can exceed that by a pretty good margin," said Mark Templin, Lexus General Manager.
The list of new models includes the GS 350 and GS 450h sport sedans arriving in February, followed by reworked versions of the ES 350, the IS 250 and 350, the LS 460, and the 600h. The LX SUV will also be refreshed in 2012.
But the biggest news for 2012 is the LF-LC Hybrid Concept shown at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. This concept will be immediately followed by a production version priced somewhere between $100,000 and $130,000.
After seeing tons of teaser images in the past few weeks, we are finally able to get a good look at the new Lexus LF-LC concept during its world debut at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. The concept was designed by Lexus Calty design studio in Newport Beach, California and previews the future design language of Toyota’s luxury arm, bringing in elements from the LF-A supercar and the recently launched GS 350.
The concept features a bold interpretation of the signature Lexus spindle grille and rear architecture and is defined by a long engine hood, daytime running lights shaped like an "L", a 3D spindle grille, and functional air intakes in the bottom corners of the grille.
"Crafted from a clean sheet of paper at the request of Lexus headquarters in Japan, the LF-LC blends both high technology and organic shapes to connect the driver to the machine," said Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager. "The clean lines of the vehicle emphasize motion, creating a distinctive look for this futuristic sport coupe."
UPDATE 01/26/12: Lexus has unveiled a new video that presents the designers talking about the interior and the exterior design of LF-LC concept. Enjoy!
The whole point behind creating extravagant, informative, and creative commercials is to get people to buy, use, or sell your product. Of course, then there’s the bragging aspect where people air out all of their achievements in the hopes of allowing customers to realize just how fantastic their company is. Lexus has chosen the latter route with the creation of their "Engineering Amazing" consisting of five different commercials. These commercials detail the company’s accomplishments of the past few years in terms of technology, safety, and performance, and show how they have produced technology that will be relevant not just today, but 10, 20, or even 30, years from now.
When discussing the new campaign, Dave Nordstrom, Vice President of Marketing for Lexus said: "This isn’t just a campaign, it’s a statement that, for Lexus, the best is yet to come. It’s not about simply making incremental strides and improvements, but about taking giant leaps in innovation. The first evidence of this came with the recent unveiling of our LF-Gh hybrid concept car."
Check out the other four commercials after the jump.
Lexus recently unveiled the compact hybrid LF-Ch Concept earlier this year at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The forward thinking hatchback is a preview as to what the future of luxury will be all about, set to compete head to head with other efficient space saving luxury vehicles like the the BMW 1 Series and Audi A3 when the LF-Ch makes its scheduled debut sometime in 2012.
In an official statement, Lexus General Manager Mark Templin said that "There is a group of buyers growing up now who won’t buy cars by the pound. We have already seen a structural shift to the smaller and lower-priced segments of the luxury market over the last couple years." The compact premium segment has been strong in congested urban areas for years, especially in Europe. The challenge that not only Lexus but a host of other automakers are setting for themselves is how to get the American market to warm up to the idea of paying mare and getting less. One of the steps that will most likely be taken when the LF-Ch becomes production ready is the use of a conventional power train in order to pass the savings along to the customer, but with any success you can expect Toyota to release a hybrid versions shortly after.
The Japanese luxury automaker Lexus is planning to unveil the all new LF-Ch compact hybrid hatchback at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week, the LF-Ch will compete head to head with other luxury compact models like the BMW 1 Series and the Audi A3. However what sets the Lexus apart from the crowd is that the production version will be offered exclusively as a hybrid.
The Lexus LF-Ch combines stylish design cues with full hybrid technology in a practical 5 door compact package that should perfectly fulfill the needs of even the most demanding premium compact customers. The LF-Ch will feature a bolder Lexus grille that sits atop a deep, bulging front bumper complete with a trio of intakes giving it a perfect balance of both precision and power. The sharply sculpted, aerodynamic front fenders flow into the front bumper to create a wide set of arches and a deep set of brake cooling ducts that give the LF-Ch a powerful and purposeful stance.
The LF-Ch benefits from having an electric vehicle mode, a key aspect of the Lexus hybrid drive train, allowing the luxury hatch to operate as a zero emissions vehicle and allow for a virtually silent urban driving experience.
