LEXUS IN JAPAN - By The Numbers

Competing in the luxury car sector became much more difficult once Lexus reached North American shores in 1989. Toyota revolutionized the way high-class sedans were perceived and proved that buyers on this continent weren't nearly as brand conscious as we all thought we were. In addition, Lexus changed the way BMW; Mercedes; and Audi built and marketed their vehicles and drastically altered the typical after-the-sale procedures.  

See all Lexus-related posts with a simple click here

In the year 2000, Lexus became the top-selling luxury brand in America and hasn't ceded its crown yet. Topping the world's largest market has not, however, enabled Lexus to become the world's best-selling automotive luxury brand. Though it might seem strange to the casual reader, Lexus only began competing in Japan in 2005. Sure, the same - or at least similar - cars were sold in Toyota showrooms (see Kijiji Find Toyota Soarer) during that time, but Toyota was fearfully held under the impression for quite some time that a prophet is never received in his home land. With a quick look at the Numbers below (with help from BusinessWeek), you'll find Toyota's fears were righteous.

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60 - percentage of total initial sales targets reached by Lexus in Japan in its brief existence

34,800 - total Lexus sales in Japan in 2007

3 - total Lexus offerings when the brand began sales in 2005, with the IS; GS, and SC being previous Toyota-badged models

80 - percentage of new Lexus buyers in Japan who were former Toyota owners

5 - percentage of new Lexus buyers in Japan who were former Mercedes-Benz or BMW owners

10,000,000 - cost, in dollars, of each new Lexus dealership built by Toyota

160 - total number of new Lexus dealerships in Japan

4 - total Lexus offerings at this time, along with the performance-oriented version of the IS (IS F) and a hybrid version of both the LS and GS

8 - total Lexus offerings at this time in the United States where the RX crossover, GX & LX sport-utility vehicles, and ES are all sold - as well as three hybridized versions and the IS F

39158 - equivalent cost of a base Japan-spec Lexus IS in USD

30555 - cost, in dollars, of a base US-spec Lexus IS

TWO CARS, TWO SIZES, TWO WORLDS

Cadillac and Fiat have little connection. Apart from $2 billion, that's billion with a b, that Cadillac's parent GM gave Fiat not to buy it, Cadillac and Fiat do not enter into the same equations.

Word is reaching our ears, however, that Cadillac is fast-tracking a V12 engine closer to reality for a future XLS, aka the Sixteen concept. That would be one of the larger mass-produced cars on the planet. This news comes on the heels of photos of the Fiat 500, one of the smallest cars you'll see.

Fiat made the first 500, commonly remembered as the Cinquecento, nearly 50 years ago. Cadillac debuted the outlandish-but-intriguing Sixteen as a concept in 2003. If Cadillac ever wants to revive its ability to call itself 'The Standard of the World', they must offer something that competes with the best in the world. Fiat's full revival depends, as it always has, on its small cars. The Panda and Grande Punto have paved the way of excellence, but Fiat's most famous model will attract buyers, image, and a little money.

Cadillac will have to invest a large amount of money in a large car, with its accompanying large engine and large price to compete with Mercedes S-classes, BMW 7-series, Audi A8's and Maserati's Quattroporte. Investing large sums of money without impressive results equals large losses of money. If Cadillac insists on going forward, it is imperative that they enter the arena as the best, just to be considered.

Risk and reward. Cadillac could gain so much by a successful production version of the Sixteen, yet the losses could be awful. Fiat does not risk nearly as much, nor will they gain as much. They're chances of success is greater, but the success does not have the potential magnitude.

Cadillac and Fiat joined at the hip? Not so much.
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The Good Car Guy is on an extended test-drive, a short-term vacation. Check back regularly, updates will always be attempted.

THE GROWTH SPURT OF ASTON MARTIN

In the two decades ending in the late 80's, Aston Martin had produced about 5,000 cars. Or, to put it another way, not as many cars in 20 years as Camrys sold in America in a week.

Now, fortunately for Aston, exclusivity and exotica go hand in hand with expense. Because a typical Aston Martin costs 5 or 10 times as much as the aforementioned Toyota Camry, selling fewer cars still makes for a reasonable business operation.

Aston Martin, recently sold by Ford after almost a couple decades of involvement, has a Porsche and BMW-bred boss, Dr. Ulrich Bez. Ulrich... or rather Dr. Bez, pardon - is an intelligent man. He says, "In 2000, we built 800 cars and if I had told you then that we would build 7,000 cars in 2006, you would have laughed at me." We may have, but, we would stop laughing now and admire the business model. A small lineup of the most beautiful cars; all sports-oriented; all purchased on emotional highs; all debuting to worldwide appreciation; all secondary stars to 007; all... you get the point.

Everybody likes a formerly forlorn British automaker that can complete a turnaround so impressive that money-losing Ford uses it to earn serious cash. Forty-score cars in 2000, 7 x 1000 this past year. That is an amazing rate of growth, and it is likely to hit a wall for two chief reasons: Aston Martin selling 5000 Vanquish's a week would be so very unexclusive and there are only so many consumers of $200,000 cars on this planet.


To make it nice and complicated, understand the point this way: to achieve the same growth spurt over a similar amount of time, Camry sales in the States would have risen to over 3 million. Put every person in the capital of Brazil in a Camry and you'd have it.

You can see why Ulrich...sorry, Dr. Bez, feels an connection with Toyota. Says he, "Toyota has carried out the same strategy that I introduced for Aston Martin in 2000. The foundation is quality, usability and reliability. Their strategy is very simple and they make very logical steps."
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Beware, The Good Car Guy is on a long-term test drive (aka short vacation) starting the 22nd. Updates will be attempted. Check back regularly.

FAST CARS, CHEAP CARS, LUXURY CARS AND HEALTHY CARS?

Recent studies by Healthycar.org have shown the Chevrolet Cobalt to be the healthiest vehicle you can buy in the North American market. Chevy's own Aveo does abysmally on the test, but not as bad as the Nissan Versa.

Healthycar.org the most concering chemicals in cars include: "bromine (associated with brominated flame retardants); chlorine (indicating the presence of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC and plasticizers); lead; and heavy metals. Such chemicals have been linked to a wide range of health problems such as allergies, birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, and cancer." Heat and UV rays cause the chemicals to break down and begin circulating.

It may all sound wonky to you, but these chemicals are used to increase the rigidity, durability, or flame resistance of the plastics and non-metallic parts in your car. Healthycar.org also says that these chemicals can do more than damage our health when we drive the car (for an average of 1.5 hr a day) but also when the cars are sent to junkyards, landfills, and incinerators.

The group used a portable X-ray Fluorescence device to analyze the basic composition of interior parts in over 200 vehicles. They do not claim that driving a Nissan Versa will make you cancerous or that a Chevrolet Cobalt will refashion your immune system to its best-ever state. They say the report is just a guide for comparison purposes.

These chemicals are contributors to that new car smell and help create the good feeling the automotive press has when they sit in a car with nice plastics. Some manufacturers are discovering ways to do this without the chemicals, and some manufacturers which display low chemical usage have yet to spread the doctrine to all factories.

TOLD YOU SO... KIND OF

I was going to say I hate to say, "I told you so", before I realized that I love to say "I told you so," but then I realized I don't have full rights this time around. The World Car of the Year awards have been announced at the New York Auto Show, and The Good Car Guy was sort of/kind of/almost/mostly correct.

The Audi R8 did win performance car of the year and world design of the year. I said it would, despite the Volvo C30's right to the latter. This page also said the BMW 118d would win GreenCOTY and the Mazda 2 was a deserving overall winner of car of the year. However,  the keyword 'deserving' didn't match with my call of the Ford Mondeo. On that count, I admit, I didn't tell you so.  Check out the evidence right up on in here.

HARD-TOP CONVERTIBLES STARTING TO LOOK GOOD

Hardtop convertibles are spreading like wildfire. In the modern era of carmaking, Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot started the trend with their two smallest convertibles. The trend has pushed past trendy and is now de rigeur. Ford's Euro-Focus has, in its model lineup, a hardtop cabrio. Peugeot and Renault both offer hardtops. Daihatsu has made the Copen, which looks to be a miniature version of the Audi TT... but with a hardtop.

BMW's next 3-series cabriolet will be covered in metal, and not cloth. Even GM has gotten into the game with their Pontiac G6 convertible. Mazda now offers a hardtop version of the venerable Miata, probably the best-packaged hardtop available. There are others, but yesterday I feasted my eyes upon one of the most, if not the most beautiful variations on the theme.

Volvo C70. Hot car. No, not the best handling convertible you can buy, not the fastest for the money, not the cheapest in its 'class'. However, the top is integrated wonderfully, the rear end has not taken on ungainly proportions, and the whole car has an aura of class that others can't match. Clean lines, nice detailing, proper proportions. Job well done by Volvo.

ED PEPER AND TAHOE HYBRID ON CNN AM

Kiran Chetry didn't exactly nail Chevrolet boss Ed Peper in any sort of Stephen Colbert fashion. It's not as if CNN's American Morning or others of its ilk is the place for testing the mileage claims of General Motors' most talked about SUV of the year. On the other hand, the moment where Kiran asked Mr. Peper about this 30 miles on electric power only and he confirmed it struck me as beyond odd and misleading.  

Possible? Perhaps in a controlled scientific atmosphere. Any serious amount of throttle, the sort of throttle one needs to merge with traffic, powers up the Tahoe's V8 to the tune of at least 4, but more likely 8 cylinders. 

Check out The Good Car Guy's test drive of the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid right here, or read about dinner with Mr. Peper with a click

Ed Peper is a relatively straight talker with a kind and considerate manner-of-speaking. He's a great representative for General Motors and a believer in his brand. On the other hand, Peper didn't make use of aggressive driving maneuvers while merging the Tahoe Hybrid into a traffic circle outside CNN's New York studios.  

Therefore, he was very able to keep the Chevy silent.  The "few" trips Kiran Chetry hoped to make around the circle before the segment ended turned out to be less than one circle.  

Also, while Mr. Peper and GM love to point out that the Tahoe Hybrid falls into the price range of normal Tahoes, there's no denying that financial savings can be had with a basic Tahoe (about $35.6k) and its greater fuel consumption more easily than with the $50K Tahoe Hybrid and its impressive fuel savings.