Originally posted by kenbiddulph
Rebadging is becoming more common in Japan, seeking Acura badges for example. Some have even traded JDM for Acura TL for example. I know a friend of mine who did such a thing for Inspire badges.

Originally posted by gilboman
stupidity owns you

Originally posted by 1SICKLEX
Lexus is not sold in Japan yet but it is VERY popular to see Lexus badges over here.
They don't have the V-8 in the GS for example but the 2JZ TT (320hp) but some badge it as a GS 430 (weird) since it's above the non turbo model.

Lexus and Toyota are sharing less and less. Less management, no more design, different technology. So from now one, the LS 430 will be the LS 430, not the Toyota Celsior in Japan and the LS 430 elsewhere in the world (Lexus is already sold in I think 64 countries).
Lexus also wants to triple sales in Europe and break the 300k sales a year mark in the USA. The 100k Lexus is coming soon as well.
Finally, in Japan according to marketshare
1. Toyota
2. Nissan (just recently bumped Honda out this spot)
3. Honda

Originally posted by 1SICKLEX
Lexus is not sold in Japan yet but it is VERY popular to see Lexus badges over here.
They don't have the V-8 in the GS for example but the 2JZ TT (320hp) but some badge it as a GS 430 (weird) since it's above the non turbo model.

Lexus and Toyota are sharing less and less. Less management, no more design, different technology. So from now one, the LS 430 will be the LS 430, not the Toyota Celsior in Japan and the LS 430 elsewhere in the world (Lexus is already sold in I think 64 countries)...

Originally posted by TMQ
Question to 1sicklex, the expert on Lexus: Are they going to introduce brand new models of Lexus in Japan, or just the U.S. Lexus models? My impression is that Lexus' models are already being sold in Japan as Toyota models (Altezza, Celsior etc.), so if it's just badge change, it's nothing special, but if it's a new launch, then it must be hell of work to have 3-4 new models! btw, Lexus ES300 and Camry still look alike in some ways.

I wonder if Honda will ever lauch Acura outside the U.S.

I'm pleased to see Toyota doing well. It gives more incentives to Honda and others to work harder and make us happy.

Originally posted by phile
I wondered about that too. I mean, what's going to happen to the Celsior if the Lexus LS430 is introduced? Or the Toyota Harrier if the RX330 is coming? Somewhere, some models will have to be cut.

Originally posted by F23A4
I wonder if TMC will sell the GS430 in Japan. Unlike the US market GS300 the hp/tq of the I6-TT of the Aristo is close to that of the GS430.

As far as Nissan goes, I would recommend (to Nissan) that they dont use JDM names for the USDM. Most of their JDM names would get "lost in translation" stateside. Names like Cefiro (I30/I35), Fairlady Z (350Z), Gloria (M45) and Cima (Q45) wont be of great appeal to the USDM, IMO. (The Skyline name has appeal to auto enthusiasts but would probably be immaterial to the general public.) $.02

Peace.

LOS ANGELES -- Bob Carter realizes that free espresso ain't what it used to be.

The new Lexus Division general manager knows that his dealerships' once-special touches now have plenty of imitators. For Lexus to hang on to the customer-satisfaction crown, it must find new ways to surprise and delight its owners.

"A free espresso, an explanatory meeting in the service drive and a detailed car afterward was 'wow' back in 1994. But not today," Carter says.

This will be even harder as U.S. Lexus sales peak.

Lexus has sold the most vehicles of any luxury brand in the United States for five years running, reaching 287,927 unit sales last year. Lexus could sell 350,000 units annually by the end of the decade. As Lexus approaches 2.5 million vehicles in operation, and just 210 U.S. dealerships to handle them, it will be difficult to make the customer feel special, Carter admits.

"When you buy a car, it's not relevant to you whether we sold 300,000 others or 40,000 others," he says. "What is relevant is the one that you bought."

As a result, Carter, 45, is looking less at Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar for ideas and more toward Four Seasons Hotels, Tiffany & Co. and Nordstrom.

"When you purchase a Lexus, the ownership experience will be better than anywhere in luxury retail," predicts Carter, who took his post in April. "Not just automotive -- more like the Four Seasons."

This is Carter's fourth stint at Lexus in his 24-year Toyota Motor Corp. career. He was part of the launch team and worked in dealer development and Lexus' field offices. His most recent job was as vice president of sales for Toyota Division.

Near the top

Lexus has perennially been at or near the top of the J.D. Power and Associates' customer service and sales satisfaction surveys. But the brand wants to elevate its emphasis on what it calls "customer engagement."

The idea is not mere advocacy. The goal is to make the consumer feel he cannot live without his Lexus dealer.

To help dealerships meet the challenge, Lexus sponsored a series of three-day summits in April.

Dealers were given reams of data regarding luxury customers compiled by the Gallup Organization. They also were sent to the training center for Four Seasons Hotels employees to learn the expectations of luxury customers.

"This goes beyond a customer checking the survey box of whether their car was washed after an oil change," says Deborah Meyer, vice president of marketing at Lexus. "It's about the way the dealer treats you that makes you want to go back."

Lexus dealerships have to pass those lessons along to their employees, too. After all, a dealer principal may live in a Four Seasons world. But his porters, service techs and receptionists do not.

Putting on the Ritz

One unidentified dealer was shocked, Lexus says, when his employees told him that the pinnacle of customer service was the T.G.I. Friday's restaurant chain.

In response, the dealer is making every employee stay a weekend at the nearby Ritz-Carlton hotel -- on the dealer's dime. After this pampering, the employee shares his or her impressions with the dealer.

Another dealer was impressed by the Genius Bar at the Apple Store chain, where employees answer Apple Computer-related questions.

Lexus is giving no additional financial incentive for dealerships that improve their customer service scores.

Says Meyer: "The reward is in the basis of the business model, when sales and profits go up."