I just saw an article that discussed Toyotas reliability, and it seems there has been a huge spike in problems for the 2004 and 2005 model years. I can’t imagine why anybody believes Toyotas are significantly more reilable or higher quality than other makes. In fact recalls are up over 10 times from 2003 to 2005.

You have to scroll down below the Scion tC.

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060320/SUB/60316014/1111/REG

There is only one GT500 in my mind. And it has absolutely nothing to do with Lexus.

I’ve heard that this car will be $130K + (USD). That’s a little bit too much for a Lexus. I could get a new Aston Martin Vantage for that kind of $$.

Waheed

“GT” is generic enough, imo. Both the Ford GT500 and the hypothetical Lexus GT500 deserve better names, either way. Stupid alphanumerics. Oh, and “GT” doesn’t sound very Lexus-like either.

And when it comes to cars like this, what’s the point of bringing up quality and reliability? Especially when Toyota’s still up there. Their recalls cover more vehicles than legally required (going back to ‘89), and their warranty costs have dropped 30% in the last four years. So there =p.

This isn’t the first time MadCapp has quoted an article to make a point and got it wrong. Reading comprehension isn’t his strong suite. True, quality may be down, but what does it say about your competitors when your quality drops and your still among the best? Some choice quotes from the article he linked:

“Toyota and Lexus divisions still comfortably exceed industry averages in such measures as J.D. Power and Associates’ Initial Quality Study and Vehicle Dependability Index Study, and surveys by Consumer Reports magazine.”

“But recalls are an imperfect measure of overall quality. Nearly half the Toyota recalls last year stemmed from a single repair”

Besides, nothing in his rant has anything to do with the LF-A/GT500, he just wants to hate on Toyota.

Getting back to the article.. This vehicle, and the NSX succesor better perform amazingly well because I don’t see a market for 100K+ Hondas and Toyotas. At that price point most consumers are buying prestige and image. Just reading the comments here at LLN will tell you the only place to get that is from Europe.

I think there’ll be a market. The cars should end up looking a lot cooler than the 911 turbo, for one thing. That car looks just like a $70k car. The Maserati doesn’t look all that special either.
And look at the Ford GT; sure, it may be a different clientele, but it does sell. If it sells on heritage (I’m sure at least half the sales are based on that), then the NSX has a leg up on the Lexus. But there are enough drivers who started with Corollas and Camries and have since become wealthy… some of them will come into the showroom for an LS and end up with one of these.

Ah Ahk-Med, ever the jackass. I’m glad to see that you spend all your time reacting to my lead. I told you I enjoy pushing your buttons, and you just don’t ever disappoint. Shouldn’t you be out tending your goats?

Hmm… I wonder if the “GT500″ has anything to do with a racing class in the Japanese SuperGT Championship (formerly All Japan Grand Touring Championship)?

Woah, good catch Michael!

A V-10 Lexus would fit in the GT500 class perfectly. That’d be awesome.

(For those who need the background: Japan’s big racing series is the Super GT, formerly known as JGTC. It’s split into two classes, GT300 and GT500. The numbers are basically the amount of hp allowed, whether you’re running a 4cyl turbo or a V12.)

Yeah, but its the Toyota Supra, and Lexus SC that participate inthe GT500 class of Super GT (formely JGTC)…this nomenclature i’m willing to bet is pure speculation. I think toyota will have a Lexus team in F1 before they name this car “GT500″

I know Lexus has no soul. That said, why not just give the car a real name instead of ripping off an icon?

Now if they could get it to drive UNlike a Lexus, then maybe it would sell.

Whats next… Lexus Zo6 Hemi? It should have a Toyota badge and be named Supra

I agree wit RJo, this car is supposed to replace the supra, Toyota needs to realize how big of an icon they made with the supra before and call this the Toyota Supra. They would sell way more models in doing so than selling it under the lexus name. This is probably the reason that nissan recently decided to sell the U.S. skyline under the nissan make instead of infinity. Basically my point is this… BRING BACK WHAT IS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE IMPORT CARS, THE TOYOTA SUPRA.

Madcapp, stop showing your ignorance. Simply put..

And unless you’ve actually driven this car, you have no place to judge.

That is all.

Good point Alex… but the Supra and the LF-A/GT500 are aimed at two totally different demographics. The Supra is definitely an icon and I agree that they need to bring it back. I’m sure they will, since Toyota Motor Co. US has one of the most “complete” car lineups (6 SUVs, something like 7 sedans/coupes)… I’m pretty sure Toyota isn’t ignoring the gap in their lineup left by the disconinuation of the MR2, Celica, and Supra (all of which are kind of “iconic”.) Toyota’s been seen testing rear-engine roadsters and coupes recently, so you can almost definitely count on new sports cars. HOWEVER, the Supra is a kind of no-BS kind of car, built primarily for speed and aimed at buyers in the $40k region.

The LF-A/GT500 is targeted at and the $100k plus demographic. I hear people comparing it to the Bentley Continental and Lamborghini Gallardo, some jumping to the conlusion that they’d rather buy the Bentley or the Lambo… when they haven’t even seen the production LF-A yet, which is proposterous (Car and Driver says the production version will look significantly different). While the Gallardo is centered around speed, and the Continental around luxury, I’m guessing the LF-A/GT500 will be a nice marriage of the two, and for that reason it will sell. There has to be a reason why Lexus is the top-selling luxury brand in the US, and with the LF concept cars, there’s reason to believe the brand will continue to climb to the top. It’s a shame people like MadCapp, fail to see that [truth hurts, but I don't take bias seriously anyway:) ].

By the way, I’m sure it will be great, but no judgement yet until it’s out. Seeing from 20 years of personal experience though, I’ve had better quality out of my Lexus than any European car I’ve owned… evident by resale value. I’m confident in this car. [And from the looks of the upcoming LS600hL, I'll probably be trading in my old SClass .]

OH and also… while I agree the “GT500″ name is rather “Un-Lexus,” it’s hardly a rip-off. I mean, unless anyone can seriously proove there was intentional copy-and-pasting off of the Mustang name, then the argument that the name is a “rip-off” holds no water. Lexus names their vehicles by type (the first two letters— in this case GT because of the obvious racing background) and engine size/characteristics (last three numbers— in this case 430 for the 4.3 liter and 500 for the 5 liter). Any coincidence is simply that- a coincidence. With this name, Toyota is also obviously drawing on it’s own history… I’m guessing they’re drawing directly from the Toyota “2000GT”— the Celica/Supra predecessor (you’ll remember it from the James Bond movie “You Only Live Twice”), which debuted the same year as the Shelby GT500.

How about we call it the Lexus Quinientos. Q500