Lexus LFA
06-09-2010, 06:35 AM
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My Ride: Late 2005 M5 in Silverstone Metallic II with Full Black Leather Interior. SMG, LOGIC7, Heated Front Seats, Rear Electric Sun Blind, Comms Package, Professional Nav, TV Function, Extended Voice Control, Adaptive Headlights
Well I was in London the other day and as I was driving down Park Lane on the way home later that night, I spotted this...
06-09-2010, 06:49 AM
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Nice, but not worth the price of admission. That car seems to me like a street hooker charging call girl prices. I'd rather have a Nissan GT-R fully modded an you can easily stomp the LFA and have enough $$$ left over to buy a weekend house 
06-09-2010, 06:52 AM
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I completely agree!! I would never part with the money they want for this car!
06-09-2010, 07:29 AM
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My Ride: 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera S Convertible. Midnight Blue, 6 Speed.Retired - 2007 997 Carrera S, Midnight Blue, Grey leather, premium audioRetired - 2007 550i, Monaco Blue over Beige, Navigation, Logic 7, Cold Weather Pack, Comfort Access, Sport Package
Model Year: 2008
Every car they'll build has already been sold...
As for the GT-R, it can beat virtually anything. If that were all that mattered, Nissan would have the market all to itself. But it doesn't. The bottom line is that the numbers are irrelevant. When you're dropping these sums on a car, it is not the actual numbers that drives you to drop your 250K and more on a depreciating asset. As I've posted before, at this level, it's all about the exclusivity, the extensive use of exotic materials, the high-end engineering, the design, the sound, the sense of occasion and the "story".
As capable as the GT-R is, it falls down on all of these criteria.
Buying a car based on just the numbers is tantamount to buying a house based on solely its square footage. That house in the Hamptons might be four times the price and half the size of a similar property somewhere else, but only one of them is desirable and only one of them checks all the boxes. It's much the same with high end cars. There's almost always something faster and cheaper, and in almost all cases the high end buyer really doesn't care. If I had a Gallardo, an LF-A, an F430 or another car in that bracket, why would I remotely care that by some measures a GT-R might be as fast or faster?
Whatever your thoughts on the car, Toyota has created something far more impressive (and far more impressively engineered) than anything BMW or Mercedes currently offer (and in reality have ever offered). From an engineering and performance standpoint this car can more than hold its own against anything that even Porsche has released (including the Carrera GT). It's not the default choice at the price point, but Toyota had the balls to see the project through to completion and for that I think they are to be applauded. Simply put, Toyota has built a better production car than anything the top German marques have ever been able to build.
With the LF-A it's all about the engine and the carbon fiber bodywork which uses a new manufacturing process. It's more of street legal race car than most of the others in its segment. Some question the badge, but the the LF-A has yet to receive a bad review. Personally, I don't have an issue with the car being a Lexus (I own two Lexus cars in full disclosure). That Lexus had a) the balls to make something in the high-end market segment and b) has got orders for every car it plans to make tells me that they did something right.
As for the GT-R, it can beat virtually anything. If that were all that mattered, Nissan would have the market all to itself. But it doesn't. The bottom line is that the numbers are irrelevant. When you're dropping these sums on a car, it is not the actual numbers that drives you to drop your 250K and more on a depreciating asset. As I've posted before, at this level, it's all about the exclusivity, the extensive use of exotic materials, the high-end engineering, the design, the sound, the sense of occasion and the "story".
As capable as the GT-R is, it falls down on all of these criteria.
Buying a car based on just the numbers is tantamount to buying a house based on solely its square footage. That house in the Hamptons might be four times the price and half the size of a similar property somewhere else, but only one of them is desirable and only one of them checks all the boxes. It's much the same with high end cars. There's almost always something faster and cheaper, and in almost all cases the high end buyer really doesn't care. If I had a Gallardo, an LF-A, an F430 or another car in that bracket, why would I remotely care that by some measures a GT-R might be as fast or faster?
Whatever your thoughts on the car, Toyota has created something far more impressive (and far more impressively engineered) than anything BMW or Mercedes currently offer (and in reality have ever offered). From an engineering and performance standpoint this car can more than hold its own against anything that even Porsche has released (including the Carrera GT). It's not the default choice at the price point, but Toyota had the balls to see the project through to completion and for that I think they are to be applauded. Simply put, Toyota has built a better production car than anything the top German marques have ever been able to build.
With the LF-A it's all about the engine and the carbon fiber bodywork which uses a new manufacturing process. It's more of street legal race car than most of the others in its segment. Some question the badge, but the the LF-A has yet to receive a bad review. Personally, I don't have an issue with the car being a Lexus (I own two Lexus cars in full disclosure). That Lexus had a) the balls to make something in the high-end market segment and b) has got orders for every car it plans to make tells me that they did something right.
06-09-2010, 07:37 AM
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Steven, don't get me wrong, it's a great car. But in the price range we're talking about, if it were me, I'd want performance AND exclusivity - something more along the lines of a Gumpert than the LF-A. Also, they have not all been "sold" as they can only be leased for the first 2 years, which to me is another drawback. Sort of like the Ferrari FX (model name eludes me) that you can buy but you can never have in your garage because Ferrari keeps them all at their factory and owners must schedule track time with their cars - ridiculous.
The GT-R is not only capable, but also exclusive - this isn't the Camry we're talking about here. Aside from P'Tom's GT-R I have seen 3 in SoCal, but have seen many other Ferrari's, Lambo's, and Bentley's - LOL there are even 3 Bugatti Veyrons in the neighborhood where I work.
The GT-R is not only capable, but also exclusive - this isn't the Camry we're talking about here. Aside from P'Tom's GT-R I have seen 3 in SoCal, but have seen many other Ferrari's, Lambo's, and Bentley's - LOL there are even 3 Bugatti Veyrons in the neighborhood where I work.
06-09-2010, 07:45 AM
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My Ride: 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera S Convertible. Midnight Blue, 6 Speed.Retired - 2007 997 Carrera S, Midnight Blue, Grey leather, premium audioRetired - 2007 550i, Monaco Blue over Beige, Navigation, Logic 7, Cold Weather Pack, Comfort Access, Sport Package
Model Year: 2008
The lease structure is only there for one reason which is to stop the secondary market for two years from the in-service date. The only thing Lexus does is ask you to wait until 2 years are up before you pay the balance and take title. More high end cars are leased than many people might think so the Lexus approach is far from unique. The only two aspects where it is that it is unusual for a manufacturer to go to such lengths to limit the secondary market and also to screen buyers to make sure that they're the kind of customer who will use the car and thus create the halo effect that Lexus wanted to build with the LF-A. In this respect, Lexus is doing much of what Audi did with the R8 but turning the dial up to 11 in relation to the car's build and price.
For me, the Lexus approach is more transparent than the one where some high-end dealers insist on first right of buyback leaving them able to capitalize on the secondary market and not the customer. Lexus at least is trying to limit that for everyone, and, simply put, if Lexus was off-base in their logic they'd probably never have taken the orders for all the cars they planned to build.
As for the GT-R, I love it, it's an absolutely tremendous car, but it's not exclusive. If you can buy an E60, you can buy a GT-R. By that measure it's never going to be as exclusive as a car with far fewer potential customers due to the higher cost of entry.
For me, the Lexus approach is more transparent than the one where some high-end dealers insist on first right of buyback leaving them able to capitalize on the secondary market and not the customer. Lexus at least is trying to limit that for everyone, and, simply put, if Lexus was off-base in their logic they'd probably never have taken the orders for all the cars they planned to build.
As for the GT-R, I love it, it's an absolutely tremendous car, but it's not exclusive. If you can buy an E60, you can buy a GT-R. By that measure it's never going to be as exclusive as a car with far fewer potential customers due to the higher cost of entry.
06-09-2010, 11:41 AM
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Model Year: 2008
06-09-2010, 01:35 PM
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Every car they'll build has already been sold...
As for the GT-R, it can beat virtually anything. If that were all that mattered, Nissan would have the market all to itself. But it doesn't. The bottom line is that the numbers are irrelevant. When you're dropping these sums on a car, it is not the actual numbers that drives you to drop your 250K and more on a depreciating asset. As I've posted before, at this level, it's all about the exclusivity, the extensive use of exotic materials, the high-end engineering, the design, the sound, the sense of occasion and the "story".
As capable as the GT-R is, it falls down on all of these criteria.
Buying a car based on just the numbers is tantamount to buying a house based on solely its square footage. That house in the Hamptons might be four times the price and half the size of a similar property somewhere else, but only one of them is desirable and only one of them checks all the boxes. It's much the same with high end cars. There's almost always something faster and cheaper, and in almost all cases the high end buyer really doesn't care. If I had a Gallardo, an LF-A, an F430 or another car in that bracket, why would I remotely care that by some measures a GT-R might be as fast or faster?
Whatever your thoughts on the car, Toyota has created something far more impressive (and far more impressively engineered) than anything BMW or Mercedes currently offer (and in reality have ever offered). From an engineering and performance standpoint this car can more than hold its own against anything that even Porsche has released (including the Carrera GT). It's not the default choice at the price point, but Toyota had the balls to see the project through to completion and for that I think they are to be applauded. Simply put, Toyota has built a better production car than anything the top German marques have ever been able to build.
With the LF-A it's all about the engine and the carbon fiber bodywork which uses a new manufacturing process. It's more of street legal race car than most of the others in its segment. Some question the badge, but the the LF-A has yet to receive a bad review. Personally, I don't have an issue with the car being a Lexus (I own two Lexus cars in full disclosure). That Lexus had a) the balls to make something in the high-end market segment and b) has got orders for every car it plans to make tells me that they did something right.
As for the GT-R, it can beat virtually anything. If that were all that mattered, Nissan would have the market all to itself. But it doesn't. The bottom line is that the numbers are irrelevant. When you're dropping these sums on a car, it is not the actual numbers that drives you to drop your 250K and more on a depreciating asset. As I've posted before, at this level, it's all about the exclusivity, the extensive use of exotic materials, the high-end engineering, the design, the sound, the sense of occasion and the "story".
As capable as the GT-R is, it falls down on all of these criteria.
Buying a car based on just the numbers is tantamount to buying a house based on solely its square footage. That house in the Hamptons might be four times the price and half the size of a similar property somewhere else, but only one of them is desirable and only one of them checks all the boxes. It's much the same with high end cars. There's almost always something faster and cheaper, and in almost all cases the high end buyer really doesn't care. If I had a Gallardo, an LF-A, an F430 or another car in that bracket, why would I remotely care that by some measures a GT-R might be as fast or faster?
Whatever your thoughts on the car, Toyota has created something far more impressive (and far more impressively engineered) than anything BMW or Mercedes currently offer (and in reality have ever offered). From an engineering and performance standpoint this car can more than hold its own against anything that even Porsche has released (including the Carrera GT). It's not the default choice at the price point, but Toyota had the balls to see the project through to completion and for that I think they are to be applauded. Simply put, Toyota has built a better production car than anything the top German marques have ever been able to build.
With the LF-A it's all about the engine and the carbon fiber bodywork which uses a new manufacturing process. It's more of street legal race car than most of the others in its segment. Some question the badge, but the the LF-A has yet to receive a bad review. Personally, I don't have an issue with the car being a Lexus (I own two Lexus cars in full disclosure). That Lexus had a) the balls to make something in the high-end market segment and b) has got orders for every car it plans to make tells me that they did something right.
90% of you posts are essays. When I normally see posts like this(from other members), I most of the times tend to be lazy and neglect such posts.
But your posts are always so informative, so knowledgeable and so wise. Whenever I see your name on a post, I always read it all the way. I always learn something new from your posts.
I just wanted to thank you and please keep up the knowledge coming, I am eager to learn. Thank you
Bteljuice
06-09-2010, 01:39 PM
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Swajames,
90% of you posts are essays. When I normally see posts like this(from other members), I most of the times tend to be lazy and neglect such posts.
But your posts are always so informative, so knowledgeable and so wise. Whenever I see your name on a post, I always read it all the way. I always learn something new from your posts.
I just wanted to thank you and please keep up the knowledge coming, I am eager to learn. Thank you
Bteljuice
90% of you posts are essays. When I normally see posts like this(from other members), I most of the times tend to be lazy and neglect such posts.
But your posts are always so informative, so knowledgeable and so wise. Whenever I see your name on a post, I always read it all the way. I always learn something new from your posts.
I just wanted to thank you and please keep up the knowledge coming, I am eager to learn. Thank you
Bteljuice
LOL the man does know of which he speaks