Will the 2014 Lexus IS doom the F30 3er?!

OK, I just chose that title to stir up trouble.

Just watched video of it being introduced at the NAIAS and had to post....OMG that thing is absolutely butt ugly!! Seriously. What in the world is Lexus thinking?!



Here's the video. It wasn't the photos that I first saw. It was the car in motion in this video. The proportions are just horrible.

You made a funny.

I actually kinda like the way it looks. The unfortunate reality though is that they have once again managed to disappoint. Lexuses look good and by looking at them you'd think they'd be fun to drive. Get in and it's like riding in an elevator. BORING.

Originally Posted by tturedraider

OMG that thing is absolutely butt ugly!! Seriously. What in the world is Lexus thinking?!

+100! Exactly my thoughts when I saw it for the first time!

Japan used to make good looking cars, what happened?

Dear Lexus,
The photoshop smudge tool isn't for designing taillights. Also, Audi called and wants their grill back.

Lexus is grasping for an identity with the advances at BMW, Merc, & Audi...even Infiniti is stepping it up.

I pray that BMW will never adopt this whale mouth vacuum cleaner grill design. It is absolutely hideous.

Originally Posted by Red Lined

Exactly

That's a 1000x uglier than an ATS. Oooops, why did I bring that up?

EDIT: where did that red frown come from? Stupid iPad.

Lexus has a real bad identity crisis.

Through the years; Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porshe have always managed to maintain a signature look.

Lexus, even though they make great cars, has always blended in with the generic look of Asian imports: Toyota, Nissan, Mazda...

This is their attempt at coming up with a signature look. Terrible!

Originally Posted by krash

That's a 1000x uglier than an ATS. Oooops, why did I bring that up?

EDIT: where did that red frown come from? Stupid iPad.

Originally Posted by tturedraider

OK, I just chose that title to stir up trouble.

Just watched video of it being introduced at the NAIAS and had to post....OMG that thing is absolutely butt ugly!! Seriously. What in the world is Lexus thinking?!

They wanted to make sure that Cadillac didn't finish dead last in the 2014 North American Ugliest Car Of The Year award.

BJ

I think the back end actually looks great...I like how the 'swoop' ties into the side

The front...yeeesh....it will be one of the few cars that actually looks better with a license plate to break up the huge predator grill. Way too Batmobile for this 44 year old.

Color will be important too....black will look far better than white as the grill wont be so pronounced. The gray in the pics already looks twice as nice as the white.

Coming from an '08 IS 350 - which I loved.

The new interior looks fantastic! Way different than German/European...but that has always been the case with Japanese cars. LOVE the LCD gauges....love the shifter....love the center stack and console.

I have zero regrets going from IS to 335 IX....but the IS is a very good car.

Originally Posted by Slick Willy

I think the back end actually looks great...I like how the 'swoop' ties into the side

The front...yeeesh....it will be one of the few cars that actually looks better with a license plate to break up the huge predator grill. .

Yes, I was thinking the same thing. The side and rear profiles aren't really that bad, but the front is just horrible.

a retarded audi

Originally Posted by krash

Yes, I was thinking the same thing.... but the front is just horrible.

BJ

Originally Posted by Reedo302

I actually kinda like the way it looks. The unfortunate reality though is that they have once again managed to disappoint. Lexuses look good and by looking at them you'd think they'd be fun to drive. Get in and it's like riding in an elevator. BORING.

Lexus engineers claim they have engineered this car from the ground up for better handling and performance, and it does seem they have been having some success in this regard.

For example, many, many reviewers agree that the Lexus GS is a very worthy competitor to the current 5 series, with equal or better handling, but much better reliability.

Not sure how you can pan this car when you haven't driven it....

I agree the front end on the F-sport is pretty ugly, the non-f sport model is fine.

But the interior, especially the quality of materials, is head and shoulders above the current three series (I just sat in both yesterday at Detroit Auto show, press preview).

Plus, this car will be much more reliable than its German counterparts.

Probably won't out handle the F30, but is much, much closer, as is the new Infiniti, and the new Cadillacs, and likely new products from Acura as well.

BMW has its hands full, and again many have said it has slipped a bit, especially with the current 5 series....

And Audi sales are going gangbusters....

So my point is, this competition is good for all of us....because the days of Lexus building cars for 70 year olds is changing.

If you haven't driven the new GS, try it....you might not like the styling, but every single review I've read pits it very favorably against the 5 series.

The same may be true with this IS...and we know that the CTS and ATS, even if you don't like their styling, have proven to be reliable, good handling and economical choices to the 3 series, whereas in the past they were a joke.

Things are changing....give Lexus a bit of credit....the new IS is much better than you may think.

Same goes for the new Infiniti.....the are struggling with brand identity, true, but if they hit a home run on a design, and offer it cheaper and more reliably, which they can do better than BMW.....BMW could be in real trouble.

They are getting pressure from all angles, including Audi, the Asians, etc.

I'll bet MB even steals some entry level buyers with its new CLA, although that's FWD.

The new IS is not my cup of tea. The ATS on the other hand looks fantastic.

Lexus is going down a slippery here with their new cooperate front end. It sort of remind of the same stubbornness that Acura had with their ugly grille. Buyers need to vote with their wallet, thats the only way Lexus will listen. The new GS, ES and now the IS are some of the uglist new design on the market and this is coming from a once loyal Lexus owner.

Here we go yet again. The latest "3 Killer". Only this one is uglier than all the previous pretenders. Somebody wake me up when the next-in-line-to-the-throne comes up. The only legitimate competition to the 3er is the Audi. And they've come up short, thus far.

Originally Posted by krash

Lexus has a real bad identity crisis.

Through the years; Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porshe have always managed to maintain a signature look.

Lexus, even though they make great cars, has always blended in with the generic look of Asian imports: Toyota, Nissan, Mazda...

This is their attempt at coming up with a signature look. Terrible!

When Lexus first entered the market they made decent looking cars,


The LS400 was somewhat generic and had obviously been influenced by Mercedes but was not what I would consider ugly.



IMO the SC Coupe, which was introduced in 1992, was the best looking car Lexus ever made (I am probably biased because I had one exactly like the one in the picture above). That car felt like it had been carved out of a solid block of steel and was a pleasure to drive. It had a very smooth inline 6 engine, a 5 Speed manual transmission and a suspension that had a great balance between comfort and handling,

But that was then and now is now and Lexus is not making anything that appeals to me.

CA

I found the currrent IS (now fairly aged) to have the best interior in class in terms of driver's seat luxury, sportiness, and functionality on top of quality of materials. BMW took a nice step down on quality of materials in class with the f30 IMHO. The reason I never took a serious look at the IS was the joke of the backseat and the lack of a manual transmission.

Nonetheless, Lexus' 3.6 liter was always cream of the crop for n/a engines. Guess we'll see what they do here.

I find the exterior to be decent. I used to think the f30 front and rear ends were ugly; now I like the front and ignore the rear. I used to think the e60 was ugly. I used to think the "then new" Audi grill to be ugly on the a4 and a6. The new mercedes e-class front end? Used to be ugly to me...

I could go on. My point is simply that I no longer take my own initial reaction as something that's going to hold up.

Originally Posted by CE750Jockey

Here we go yet again. The latest "3 Killer". Only this one is uglier than all the previous pretenders. Somebody wake me up when the next-in-line-to-the-throne comes up. The only legitimate competition to the 3er is the Audi. And they've come up short, thus far.

who is calling this the latest 3 killer?

I think that Lexus caters to a different buyer than BMW.....

If you check both sides of the coin, a lot of the people on the Lexus forum like the new IS, and almost everyone on the BMW forum hates the new IS, and Lexus in general.

In fact, most here have no interest in Lexus, Acura and Infiniti, and vice versa.

I like Lexus because of their stellar reliability, and I have had some problems with every one of the four BMWs I have had....same goes for Acura and Infiniti....

And even Cadillac.

There is no point to these discussions, most of you would be very very hard pressed to ever consider a Lexus/Acura/Infiniti, Cadillac, etc...

Just keep buying the BMWs, if that is what makes you happy. Nothing wrong with that, to each his own.

BMW customers just don't like the Asian counterparts....(but it is amusing to me how many of you seem to have a Toyota, Honda, Nissan etc. as a second car, kid hauler, minivan, SUV etc etc...)

You like the reliability when it favors you, but not in the luxury segment I guess.

Originally Posted by CE750Jockey

Here we go yet again. The latest "3 Killer". Only this one is uglier than all the previous pretenders. Somebody wake me up when the next-in-line-to-the-throne comes up. The only legitimate competition to the 3er is the Audi. And they've come up short, thus far.

It's like playing in the AFC East, isn't it? Swat away the Bills and Dolphins (yawn) another 13 win season.

I'm not sure why so many E46 and E90 owners want to see the F30 fail so badly. It makes no sense.

BJ