http://www.thecarconnection.com/inde...&sid=178&n=156

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Gabriel
CL Type S

 

Not spy shots, gavriil. Photoshopped speculation based on supposed corporate plans from their "inside sources". The article is as rumor mill as one can get.

Frankly, I can't see an IS300 Coupe unless they're abandoning all plans of a future SC300. (What's implicit in that opinion is that Lexus will not put anything less but a big V8 in the super-opulent SC430 platform. It detracts from the cost-be-damned image.) I think they're much more likely to do the SC300, and it's possible that it could be based off the Altezza/IS300 platform, but only loosely so.

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051/LP/SR/LD/HH

 

If they did have a coupe... I would consider it.

It has damn nice proportions as a coupe...

And it is too damn small to be a sedan.

Too bad I couldnt get passed that interior...

But if they lux it up a bit... even add a armrest! And figure out how to get some of them ponys too the ground... then I would definately consider that car if i was in the market again.

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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit

 

I agree! If the coupe version was available, I may have considered it as well... That car is way too small as a 4 door! I think Lexus will come to realize in a few years that they need to beef up the car and make a coupe version available! Look at the M3 when it first came out, or even the CL.... they sure have evolved!

g

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'01 Silver
TYPE-S Navi/Spoiler

 

Wow I am impressed by this good looking coupe, looks even better than the sedan in this picture. I would consider it if it really comes out, but not the sedan or sportcross version.

 

I still don't care for any variant of it...



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Astroboy out...
2001 Acura CL Type S: Comptech: Headers, filter, sways, springs, koni shocks, goodridge braided brake lines, full kicker system
1996 Porsche 911 Twin Turbo: H&R Springs and sways, Bilstein shocks

 

Actually I think Lexus will do away with the SC300 soon.. and focus more on their IS car. Hey Gavriil thanks for keeping us updated.. you sure you have a CL-S? YOu seem to focus a lot on other cars.. esp Nissan's.. just wondering. =)

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2001 Satin silver CL-S
* no navi, spoiler, mudguards
* wheel locks, full front mask
* fenderwell and door trim
* soon Comptech springs and sways
* 5% tint rear side, back

 

Oh.. seems like the Camry is due for a change soon (I know o/t and different class of cars) but here is the link to some newly changed Japanese cars: http://www.mag-x.com/index_ie.html

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2001 Satin silver CL-S
* no navi, spoiler, mudguards
* wheel locks, full front mask
* fenderwell and door trim
* soon Comptech springs and sways
* 5% tint rear side, back

 

I do own a CLS. I bought it last August (black no GPS). I though like to read about automotive news. Especially news that have to do with one of our car's direct competitors (although that is debatable as Acura sees the Mercedes CLK 320 and the Volvo C70 as direct competition). Whatever the case, interesting auto news makes one understand their car better by keeping up with what auto makers are doing as time goes by.


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Gabriel
CL Type S

 

These photos might be PC enhanced but I am sure that they are pretty close to the actual car.

As for the SC comments of yours, I completely disagree. The SC300 will be the SC430 with a 3 liter (or larger) engine. The SC car is ready to go on sale, it is on their web site and most car mags have tested it already.

The IS 300 coupe and cabrio in my opinion will happen for sure. The IS line goes against BMW's 3 series which has both a cabrio and a coupe, the Audi's A4 which will include a cabrio and for the first time will include a coupe and Mercedes' CLK (coupe and cabrio) and C (sedan) classes. I do not understand why you do not see that. It makes perfect sense, Lexus is just a follower here with the IS. Nothing new here. The recipe is simple and BMW owns this market (rear wheel drive, inline 6 engines, sports sedans and coupe/cabrio variants with super accurate steering providing a lot of luxury).

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Gabriel
CL Type S

 

I had heard that the next SC300 was going to be based off of the IS platform... but thinking back, it may have been a "major speculation" type article in some car mag...

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'01 CL-S
Satin Silver

 

Are you claiming that Lexus has announced the SC300 and there have already been media previews of the SC300? Since everybody and their mother already knows about the upcoming SC430, that can’t be what you’re trying tell us. So I’m a little confused as to what you were trying to say.

The new SC430 is a flagship-level Lexus, and it will be the most expensive Lexus to date. With the Mercedes SL/CL in mind, a significant part of the development philosophy was all-out opulence. Unlike the last SC, it’s not an I6 JDM design brought over and Americanized with a big V8. You will not see an I6 in this SC chassis for the same reason you won’t see an I6 in the LS chassis: the current I6 is barely sufficient to motivate these heavy automatics, and that conflicts with the entire point of luxury, which is excess.

If you still contend that there’s still a viable market for low-powered luxury flagships, consider why Mercedes no longer offers the S320 and SL320.

The monkey-see-monkey-do analysis is over-simplistic. Does Lexus offer a V12 LS? No. Is Lexus planning a ground-up M5 competitor? No. Is Lexus planning a ground-up M3 competitor? No. Why is that? Volume. Lexus targets the volume leaders in each car class, and no more. 3-series convertibles are a small percentage of 3-series sales, coupes never sell as well as sedans, and wagons sell even worse.

So at this point you must be gesticulating at the upcoming IS300 wagon. You’re thinking in the wrong direction, or rather, on the wrong shore of the Pacific. Think about it. Sports wagons aren’t popular in the States (SUVs are), but they are in Japan. This is the third year of the JDM Altezza, and like many cars in the middle of its life cycle, it is refreshened to recapture slowing sales. Lexus is bringing this variant to the US lineup only because:

1. It’s been developed already, so will not cost much to add to their lineup.
2. It does not overlap with anything Lexus/Toyota currently offers in the US.
3. It only adds to the Euro-Sport image that they’ve been trying to cultivate.

There are so many JDM Toyotas that would be affected by an Altezza coupe (upcoming new-gen “hachiroku”, Supra, Soarer) that it would have to be developed exclusively for the US and Euro markets. That’s the number one reason why that's not going to be.

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051/LP/SR/LD/HH

 

I could go for the coupe, or even the sedan, if they'd up the horsepower and drop the cost some. Until then.. :: I'd still rather have what I've got or a 330.

------------------
Sundance Gold Type S, bone stock

 

The coupe does not look too bad. The wagon on the other hand is pretty bad.

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True Hip-hop junkie

 

Just to throw a monkey wrench in the SC300 argument...

I have heard from several sources... including a Lexus rep at the NYAutoShow... and from my local dealer... that Lexus's current 6-cyl engine may not fit in the new SC's engine bay.

So who knows... :\

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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit

 

HAHAAA.... that thing looks like the cavalier convertible....


------------------
BODIZAFA
SATIN SILVER CL-S w/NAVIGATION

Dazz Matiz 19x8 wheels/Dark tint all around/All weather mats/Mudguards/Wheel locks/2-12" Apline Bass Subwoofers.

 

Good points. BUT. The monkey do monkey see thought was stated concerning the coupe IS300 not for the rest of the line (V12s and the M5 and M3). Toyota has no V12 engine for mass production and Lexus is experimenting with the "L" line for an answer to the M cars from BMW. Will it happen? Dont know.

As for the SC comments. What I am caliming is that the SC300 will be the same car as the SC430 only with a different engine and maybe less options. This is my opinion cos it does make sense. An SL 320 and S320 are starting to make more sense now more than ever due to the economic slowdown that this country is experiencing so get ready for super expensive models to start giving our rebates or diappear. So the SC300 will make more sense now.

And that is the same reason why Acura is following this new stratedy which has VALUE written all over it. When consumers are spending less they go after value first. Acura is doing the right thing. But a $35K IS 300 Coupe made sense before the slowdown and it makes sense now. It is not that expensive at $35K-$40K.

Finally, Merc and BMW and others are offering Low-Powered (as you called them) luxury flagships in Europe and elsewhere for ever now. The last 9 years this economy has done better than ever but once things start to go south you will see an S320 being the volume leader. By the way, I do not see an S320 as underpowered at all.



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Gabriel
CL Type S

 

1GZ-FE, a 5-liter V12 for Toyota's JDM Century.

Unlike the M-cars, the L-Tuned packages are not ground-up holistic models, but are known as "trunk kits", or performance parts packages that are installed at the dock/dealer. The cost to the manufacturer is much lower, but the end-product isn't quite as refined as a factory model. It's the difference between an Integra Type R and an AEM Civic.

As soopa's sources have noted, the long 2JZ-GE may not fit into the SC430's bay with all the attendant accessories, which jives well with my contention that the concept that drove the design of this new SC chassis never included the possibility of an I6.

Perhaps. But Lexus is stuck with the product that they conceived and began to design years ago. Then again, the Democrats recently illustrated the affordability of a big Lexus for those earning 300K+ with the Bush tax hemorrhage, so who's to say?

0-100km/h in 8.2sec is liveable, but it doesn't exactly say "I'm a major captain of industry" when you're struggling to pass that pesky 5-speed Altima in the fast lane.

------------------
051/LP/SR/LD/HH

 

What is this? Is the name of the vehicle Century? Where is it sold? And what about that engine? Elaborate please.

That may be so but the point is that Toyota IS trying to present something like the M cars from BMW and Merc's AMG. Now, how they do it does not matter to people that are looking for something extra. Stick to the point. Just because they do it at trunk packages or if it is a dealer installed option does not matter to me who is interested to buy a faster GS400 for example.

Who's talking about an I6. Whatever happened to the V6 from the RX300/ES300? I cannot for a moment belive that there is enough room for a V8 but not for a V6.

Automobile sales are goind down faster than anyone had ever predicted. That same with the economy. To guess what the speculative tax cut will even do is just that...speculation. Anything more than $40K will start staying in the lot 10 times longer than the past 10 years if this economy is actually going into a recession. I am not saying it will but right now as Greenspan said GDP is virtually zero (0). That is not good for car sales. And the even the S320 will be too expensive. You know Mercedes is selling an E200 in Europe. That may bearly pass the cost test of a potential luxury vehicle buyer who is getting into a recession. And dont forget, the longer the party, the longer the hangover (this economy has been growing for 9 consecutive years, more than ever before, imagine the what the hangover will be like and how long it will last - now that I am thinking about it, forget Mercedes all together).

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Gabriel
CL Type S

 

http://www.toyota.co.jp/Showroom/All...ury/index.html
http://www.toyota.co.jp/Showroom/All...mechanism.html

It's not me who has failed to "stick to the point", but rather you who have seemed to have missed my point. I expressed the opinion that the IS300 coupe/convertible are unlikely. You are contending that the L-Tuned trunk kits indicate Lexus' willingness to emulate the entire BMW/Mercedes line, and will therefore go the full 9-yards to produce the IS300 coupe/convertible. I am telling you that the willingness to sell trunk kits is nothing like the willingness to produce coupe/convertible variants of a sedan.

The creation of coupe, convertible, and factory tuner variants of sedans are quite expensive, with a comprehensive design revision, establishment of entirely new assembly lines or sub-lines, crash testing/smog certification, logistics, and innumerable others. This cost is a huge business risk compared to cheapness with which a performance subdivision can produce trunk kits, which are often simply contracted from suppliers and shipped through parts channels. Perhaps now you can see why aping BMW's/Mercedes' coupes and convertibles incurs too much risk for the potential profit, while offering trunk kits to supplement the high-volume sedans is both cheap and smart.

If you can fit that transverse 1MZ-FE block to the SC's longitudinal mounts and line it up to the A650E tranny housing, you can have the first new-body SC300!

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051/LP/SR/LD/HH

[This message has been edited by DtEW (edited 02-10-2001).]

 

Damn the Camry looks very agressive! Honda is in trouble (I forgot, the Camry is already kicking the Accord's ass in sales). The rear reminds me of the current A4.