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Sunday, July 24, 2011
Lexus has a problem. Toyota's luxury brand - whisper it - not fresh. The softness and fade the silence of the current LS and ES models have always used a generation whose idea of a big pot on the back nine Country Club and their friends retired. F is the noise could be an interesting reply Ginza AMG sports sedan to be, but the rest of the series is definitely like a car chick. The RX-lux numbers, which has become the leitmotif of the brand in the United States is now the favorite in the race of women modestly affluent suburb of a certain age. (As Toyota has the opportunity to brand with the original Lexus LS, a car so well designed that beautiful Mercedes-Benz squandered set back to the drawing board, heated and has a Toyota SUV, her place to take a different set history) and HS 250h sales lagged far behind expectations. Sales of Lexus 25000-30000 planned year, but he managed last year, less than 11 000 high-spending of the hybrid compact class.
Lexus GS ? The car, which was probably the key market for the Lexus in the United States, is almost invisible against the Germans, who dominate the segment - the 3496 GS sales last year amounted to a fifth of sales of the BMW 5 Series and one-eighth of Mercedes-Benz E-Class volume. In 2008, sales reached almost 16 000 GS units, but still lags significantly delayed Series 5 (about 46 000 units) and class E (almost 39 000 units). Koji Sato, deputy chief engineer of the program the next generation Lexus GS, wants to change the situation. The new GS is roomy inside and aggressive style. But the development costs of high priority, says Sato-san, was to drive the car more fun.
To this end, the 2013 Lexus GS Prototype runs on an entirely new platform and features new front and rear. Compared to the existing GS, the pace of new car and have the same length (112.2 cm and 190.9 cm, respectively), although the proportions were slightly modified, with a reduction of 0, 4 cm in front overhang, and a corresponding increase of 0.4 inches in length from the back of the line center plate of the rear axle. Height greater than 1.2 cm and the width increases by 0.8 inches. The front seats are not on the ground and the GS for the current drive in H near the center of gravity.
The front and rear tracks were increased by 1.6 inches and 2.0 inches, or keep the wheels on the edge of the envelope of the body. The new front suspension assembly is 4.4 kg lighter than the current car, while the coil of the new suspension layout, multi-link rear avoids the old installation and management at the feet together.
We were not allowed under the black vinyl coating formation during our two prototypes Sato-san GS camo'd look great - the car will have its world premiere at Pebble Beach next month - but the tide is not a million miles from that of the LF-Gh removed showed the Car Show in New York in April to the dispute, in-your-face grille and front bumper treatment. Assemblies after the beacon of light shining fire "string-of-pearl", which now seem a must for any self-respecting tailpipes of luxury cars and the further development of the branches of power are highly stylized LS.
