what the hell was L-tuned? i dont even remember that crap

and last time i checked high performance in a lexus way… they may as well just add a syringe option filled with novacaine because the driving experience is about as fun as a shot to the leg

Nobody remembers it because it was horse****, just like the rest of Toy Ota’s toasters.

hahaha finally someone who agrees with me

A4: likewise.

A4 we all agree with you its just that you always post what we want to say first.

LOL…..I figured 1c3d0g and A4 would be one of the first to comment. You two have to be the same person. People probably don’t remember it because everyone remembers that Toyota (who makes “toasters”) practically makes more money than all of the automakers put together.

Their mistake was stated above….cosmetics. Hopefully they’ll get it this time. More competition = better products.

a sport IS350 or something like mazdaspeed

You know what though? They could just as easily mess it up and create a performance car that has the numbest steering in the world and over-babied by stability control. I mean, they have before. So hopefully they would change that in their setups before trying to really vie for any true performance setups.

Toyota/Lexus + performance = joke.

Lexus has never understood performance, but then again if Cadillac can do it then who are we to say Lexus can’t. I wont hold my breath though.

Yeah A4 and 1c3d0g (who i am convinced is roughly 10 years old) are most likely related in some way, they both share the same bull**** biased beliefs about cars, are completely and totally ignorant to what the truth is regarding their beloved domestic vehicles (they blow), and of course talk **** about stuff they know NOTHING about.

Regarding Lexus performance vehicles, A4, how many Lexus vehicles have you ever driven? And I can make a long list of the “toasters” that Ford and GM make if you’d like me to, to prove your naive ass wrong.

easy there, I havent driven any lexuses myself, but I respect the opinion of C&D and R&T on the subject of cars. you shouldent be so quick to “talk ****” yourself.

what about the IS500?

uhh i can give you that list of Ford and GM cars too… most of them are crap
and ive driven two lexus’s and two toyota’s and all sucked ass
and also, read acura_el2000’s post… i think C&D and R&T are both relatively reputable sources which i think can be trusted for accurate descriptions of a vehicles driving experience. Look why the GS450h couldnt beat out an M45, 550i, E500, and probably any of its other competitors, and then youll put a sock in it LamborghiniZ.

beloved domestic vehicles… hmm i didnt know VWAG were “domestic” vehicles

and dont forget lambo is included in that group, so go ahead and criticize them, youll only make yourself look like a fool
idiot

To be honest, excellent as they are Lexus’ only downfall is when driven hard. Their fatal flaw imo is the soft and slow response of the tiptronic function. If this L line can compensate that, then they may very well be the perfect all around vehicles.

they can offer to get rid of stability control use turbos better driveline come on toyota did the supra

I think the one thing we’re forgetting is that Lexus has never really made a true attempt to make a performance car. Its always been luxury first and performance second. This was especially apparent when Toyota and Lexus were one brand in the rest of the world. The Soarer was badged as the Lexus SC300/SC400 in the States because it was a luxury coupe, where as the Toyota Supra remained the Toyota Supra and catered to the performance car market.

So yeah, there have been a handful of theoretical performers from Lexus, but they were never designed as performers. We can criticize Lexus all we want, but I think its clear that they’ve had a strategy and its worked fantastically well for them. Up to this point, performance hasn’t really been a part of that strategy. M and AMG will rue the day that Lexus starts getting serious. Not sure when that will be, or if it will happen, but if it does… watch out.

/no

start ruing!

I’m surprised Piablo hasn’t commented either. That dips***’s 1c3d0g’s twin.

toyota??? bring back a turbo??? hahahahahahahah! you wont see any other engine mod besides a 400 pound battery anytime in the next decade.

Moving Lexus beyond a core-appliance brand? They’ve got to be joking.

lol… thats funny… A4 and 1c3dog is the same person… hey who knows… he/she could have easily created 2 accounts and just switches between them. Thats great, this way he/she is the only person who agrees with her/him self

“They could just as easily mess it up and create a performance car that has the numbest steering in the world and over-babied by stability control.”

Oh?  Like AMG?

Lexus Performance is like saying Horseradish Dragster.

I’ll believe it when I see it. The IS350 is a good start. It’s a powerful, if somewhat (for lack of a better word) numb experience.
It’s got to have completely overrideable traction control, decent, responsive steering, and stiffer suspension than even the sportier Lexus models.
It’ll still be heavier than a BMW counterpart just because of what Mr. Carter says.
I don’t see it being an ultra pure sports car (Skyline, NSX, etc), but in my opinion that’s not what Lexus should be targeting anyway. Even though a Lotus Elise is relatively inexpensive, you still don’t see many people driving them. Not enough space for the golf bags, I guess.

Aiming for M and AMG is a very high mark, and Toyota has the technology to pull it off. A Lexus competitor to the C55 and M3 would be interesting to see.

IS500 coupe, fall 07. I’m gonna love to read the future comparos.

“A4 and 1c3dog is the same person… hey who knows… ”

Of course they are the same person, 1c3d0g posted his reply one minute after A4’s. Either that or they are brothers, or buttbuddys, or both.

Too bad lexus doesn’t believe in manual transmissions. (though I guess MB doesn’t either, but atleast their driving experience is not as numb.)

All of you Lexus haters will be eating your words in probably 3-4 years. They’ll have a sports car or sport sedan that makes us all drool.
Toyota doesn’t make mistakes. If they say they’re bringing out a performance division of Lexus similar to BMW’s M, I’d bet good money that the results will be very impressive. It’s just a change in marketing, as they can certainly develop a car with incredible performance. That just needs to be the set goal for the engineers, ’tis all. They’ve already figured out how to make an unbelievably reliable and luxurious automobile. It’s not like adding performance tuning will be that awful difficult, but i’m sure they’ll do it in a much more pleasing manner than just slamming an enormous engine in it.

“There’s speculation a new round of L-Tuned vehicles would more effectively target AMG and BMW’s “M” division by offering tangible performance improvements.”

Funniest quote I’ve read in years. What kind of improvements? Will they include a DVD-A that plays engine noise and tire screeching according to the engine revs? How about a reclining backseat with separate radio and HVAC controls with REAL carbon fiber trim? Lexus performance = oxymoron.

Having used to be a valet, and having gone to all those damn car-company-sponsored autox events, and having driven my friends’ cars, I can definitely say that, although Lexus’s are fun in a straight line, their steering feels unresponsive. *Feels* is the keyword. It’s still responsive, but it just feels loose. BMW’s, older Honda’s like mine, *feel* more responsive. The steering wheel offers more resistance when you turn. You feel like you’re interacting with the tarmac.

With Lexus’s it’s like there’s some giant firewall between the ground and the steering wheel. It definitely feels like it was designed for rich people who don’t want to be bothered by something trivial like, oh, steering. My friend had an IS300, and he drove my car, and the first words out of his mouth: it feels like a go-cart. And trust me, my car isn’t a performance vehicle at all, but the steering just feels more responsive.

Toyota has all the cash in the world to throw at a special line of performance vehicles. What they need to do is add more manual gearboxes to the mix.

you guys are retards i dont even know the kid
god forbid two people share the same disgust for toyota
if i had two accounts wouldnt i do it on EVERY post? or at least a handful…?

Yeah A4, you guys both happen to share the same illogical, biased, bull**** disgust for Toyota, just because they know how to make a decent, quality car. Get over yourselves and learn something about cars, your comments are worthless as you are uninformed

??/WEKS/Phil: how’s that threesome between you three going? Still screaming that you want more? Because before now I didn’t know headless chickens could write, much less post on this board. I should call you the titty triplets.

LamborghiniZ: why all the anger? We all know you support VW since it’s the parent company of Lamborghini.

LamborghiniZ:
“and i can make a long list of the ‘toasters’ that Ford and GM make if youd like me to, to prove your naive ass wrong”

i have never been supportive of domestic vehicles so im unsure at what your trying to prove me wrong for here

and at least ford has the mustang and had the GT, not to mention successful SVT vehicles and official recognition of Saleen and Roush vehicles. GM has the Vette, Z06, the new Camaro, and their decent SS vehicles. Im not saying they dont have their “toasters” as well.. thats usually what their tuned cars are based upon… but the ONLY thing Toyota has is toasters. They killed the MR-2, the Supra, the Celica, and for what? a Yaris, a Prius, and an overpriced hybrid system for ****ty lexus’s? The reason they are so hated is cause they offer NO true performance whatsoever. I wouldnt hate them if they maintained a decent balance, but they are now 100% toaster, 0% fun.

and actually dip****, losing in the comparison does mean that car blows asswater and that you should steer clear of it when you have options such as the M45 out there which costs thousands less and provides much more thrills. The green boner someone gets from having a stupid hybrid fake chrome stick-on on the side of their car is the only thing that could sell this car to someone. So basically, unless your a stupid tree hugging (and for some reason wealthy) hippie, chances are the hype of this ****brick is dead.

Heck, if this is a BMW thread, I’m sure we’ll get Renton and Piablo yapping as well. Ha ha…

A4, I wouldn’t hate a company for not making a single model to my liking. As long as they’re ahead of the competition and are making mucho $, they get my respect for doing something right for the rest of the world. You probably just hate them because you really want a Toyota with their quality and cheap price but something that drives like a Bimmer. Well sometimes in this life you can’t get everything. So maybe you need to get off your selfish ass a little and give credits when its due. Stay off your bias a little and you won’t be grouped in the 15 year old gang like 1c3d0g. Plus, the L-Turned thing isn’t even out yet. I wouldn’t bash them until I’ve test driven at least one.

Veda you’re exactly right, I was going to write a very similar response to A4. Maybe, just maybe, you can respect companies that don’t build cars that you yourself would drive, maybe you can respect them for making high quality, in fact the HIGHEST quality cars on the market. Including Lexus. Highest quality. Not to mention your views on hybrids are, to put it simply, wrong. That’s all there is to it, you’re wrong, in a topic that’s fact based, you. are. wrong. Yes you and 1c3d0g are the top members of the 15 year old gang, because all you do is write flaming biased responses about stuff, instead of being an objective car fan. Get a life you’re “”opinions”" are truly not wanted.

Veda, LamboZ…….My thoughts exactly and that’s what I’ve been trying to say….give credit where credit is due. It’s fine to not like something, but why hate something for the sake of hating???

So what A4 is saying is that he respects a company that makes a couple of “Sports” cars, but is in debt in the billions and their future is uncertain???

isnt that why everyone likes aston martin?

1c3d0g, once again another comment showing you are, at max, 15 years old.

Do I still sense a little bit of animosity there, LamborghiniZ? Why? You obviously don’t like it when I speak the truth.

1c3d0g, with all due respect a post consisting of a full single sentece slander hardly constitutes as “the truth”. But then you most likely don’t know better…

He doesn’t know better, he’s most likely nothing more than a child. If what you were saying was “the truth” I wouldn’t be arguing against it. It is a fact that Lexus makes the highest quality and most reliable vehicles on the road, with unbelievably luxurious interiors, and now they’re starting to make sportier models too, to which I give them huge credit. Toyota while not a sporty car maker makes once again, the most reliable vehicles out there, and it’s an extremely INTELLIGENT car company as well, offering what the public/the masses want, Toyota is smart, while GM/Ford is dumb. Toyota realizes that the average Joe doesn’t give a damn about what car he drives, he wants something that drives smoothly, looks good inside/out, and will run day after day, year after year, with no issues. Toyota makes those vehicles, they know what people want, they build what they want, they do so effectively, and they make huge money off of it, that’s why they’re poised to become the largest manufacturer in the world in the next few years while you’re precious GM’s stock drops in values and its cars are sold thousands and thousands below MSRP and mediocre product after mediocre product is unvailed to little/no acclaim by the press/public. I’m speaking the truth. You, young child, are in denial.