The theory at Toyota is that its upscale Lexus division has that tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock reliability thing down cold, but that it needs to generate a little heat with consumers if it's ever going to get into their hearts.
It's easy to replace an object that runs well with another object that runs better, I suppose, but hard to give up something that has strings running straight to your heart.
In an ongoing effort to develop those strings, Toyota's upscale Lexus division has tried all kinds of shapes and sizes and spaced-out designo-babble language to explain why you should find the car attractive. Very thoughtful of them, isn't it?
The latest idea is of course L-Finesse design, which debuted recently on the new GS models and is now on view in the IS sedans at the Geneva Motor Show. Instead of re-iterating the verbiage around L-Finesse, I invite you to look at the Gallery section to see what the IS actually looks like and judge for yourself.
The style of the IS sports-sedan seems to suggest the business plan as espoused by various Toyota executives in recent months -- to create a car that can take on the various German sports-sedans on the roads of Europe.
Doing this was correctly seen by Toyota's Japanese executives as being a key enabler in making Lexus a much bigger deal in Europe. Right now, it is a bit player, and Toyota wants it to take a bigger part, much like the brand has done in the U.S. South of the border, Lexus outsells most of the other luxury nameplates.
Here in Canada, Lexus is much less successful. If you look at the brands who sell the most vehicles over a certain price point (say $40,000) Lexus isn't even in the top five. Heck, it's having trouble staying ahead of a not-ready-for-prime-time brand like Infiniti.
In theory, the new IS should do Lexus a lot of good in Canada, since it plays in the deepest end of the luxury car pool in this country, where the cars start around $40,000 and go up from there.
Toyota was frugal with specifics on the IS at its Geneva launch, choosing instead to let the style of the car do most of the talking. After all, there's no use trying to impress people with numbers if they don't like what it adds up to.
Because of the ongoing shift to diesel power in Europe, Toyota understandably chose to focus on an engine we're not likely to get in North America any time soon -- an all-aluminum, 2.2-litre inline-four that is said to be the most powerful in the segment. It delivers 175 hp, which is decent, and about 300 lb-ft of torque, which is way more than decent, especially when you consider that that juice is on tap from 2,000 to 2,400 rpm.
The new engine meets Lexus's exacting requirements in terms of power and refinement (there's that tick-tock-tick-tock attitude again), ''offering exceptionally quiet and smooth operation with superb performance.''
It's easy to replace an object that runs well with another object that runs better, I suppose, but hard to give up something that has strings running straight to your heart.
In an ongoing effort to develop those strings, Toyota's upscale Lexus division has tried all kinds of shapes and sizes and spaced-out designo-babble language to explain why you should find the car attractive. Very thoughtful of them, isn't it?
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| 2006 Lexus IS (photo: Toyota Motor Sales) |
The style of the IS sports-sedan seems to suggest the business plan as espoused by various Toyota executives in recent months -- to create a car that can take on the various German sports-sedans on the roads of Europe.
Doing this was correctly seen by Toyota's Japanese executives as being a key enabler in making Lexus a much bigger deal in Europe. Right now, it is a bit player, and Toyota wants it to take a bigger part, much like the brand has done in the U.S. South of the border, Lexus outsells most of the other luxury nameplates.
Here in Canada, Lexus is much less successful. If you look at the brands who sell the most vehicles over a certain price point (say $40,000) Lexus isn't even in the top five. Heck, it's having trouble staying ahead of a not-ready-for-prime-time brand like Infiniti.
 |
| 2006 Lexus IS (photo: Toyota Motor Sales) |
Toyota was frugal with specifics on the IS at its Geneva launch, choosing instead to let the style of the car do most of the talking. After all, there's no use trying to impress people with numbers if they don't like what it adds up to.
Because of the ongoing shift to diesel power in Europe, Toyota understandably chose to focus on an engine we're not likely to get in North America any time soon -- an all-aluminum, 2.2-litre inline-four that is said to be the most powerful in the segment. It delivers 175 hp, which is decent, and about 300 lb-ft of torque, which is way more than decent, especially when you consider that that juice is on tap from 2,000 to 2,400 rpm.
The new engine meets Lexus's exacting requirements in terms of power and refinement (there's that tick-tock-tick-tock attitude again), ''offering exceptionally quiet and smooth operation with superb performance.''