Is there a market for a Lexus edition Prius?

In parts of SoCal, that would sell very well!

While we are at it, how about a true biodiesel-electric van/suv/truck? We are supposedly running out of gas, but garbage ferments forever!

 

I just recalled what we did with the solid effluvia aboard my last two warships: co-feed to the waste-heat boilers to provide hotel power and auxilliary electric...

In my neighborhood, they already run 3 different collections: recycle, conventional, and construction site waste bins. In other places, citizens are required to sort the trash in some way, so adding garbage only could work as well.

Add a Lexus badge and get some Hollywood type to hype it....

 

Remember when GM came out with a small Cadillac? The Caddy was based upon the frame from another branch of GM. It was some Chevy.

That car tanked because it was such a "pretend" luxury car.

As for the Prius, the Prius is made by Toyota and the Lexus is another division of Toyota, so if they made a Lexus version it would be not unlike what GM did. So I think it would be bad marketing on Toyota's part.

On the other hand, the idea of super luxury hybrid that seats 5 is a great idea. I wouldn't buy one, but I'm sure many would get sold. But they should make it from the ground up and not just adapt the Prius. Of course, the looks of the Prius are to a significant extant constained by the rules of aerodynamics. So any car with similar aerodynamics would have to have a similar look.

But to modify the Prius for a Lexus, I think that would be bad marketing.

And you know what? I suspect Toyota Lexus is already well along on a project just like you describe. And very high end luxury passenger car hybird to hold 5-ish passengers..

 

You are probably correct on the Lexus project 5 passenger car. The Cadillac Cimmaron analogy can be countered by a more similar Opel to Cadillac Catera (now just CTS) comparison. The Cimmaron was based on the lowest j-car platform...

In any case, notice that Toyota has ceased production of both the MR2 and the entire Celica series. Perhaps Toyota plans Prius-based HSD versions of those 'sporty-types'. In view of the model specific limits concerning tax incentives etc. it behooves manufacturers to expand model lines.

And, just as the 1970s Cadillac Seville and Chevrolet Nova shared parts (I worked the combo production line in Kalamazoo then), what is under the body often is shared even today. (how different are the Lexus and Toyota models 'under the skin' ?)

 

Chevrolet made the incredibly different and innovative Corvair in the '60's which was completely different from anything else that Chevy or GM had ever tried marketing before. After noting the initial acceptance of the base coupe and sedan in 1960, Chevy expanded the Corvair line starting in 1961 to include trucks, vans, station wagons and later on, convertibles and turbocharged variants.

Hopefully, after seeing the marketing success of the Prius, Toyota will look at the Prius as a separate line in itself and perhaps expand it to include a Prius wagon, coupe, etc.

 

What a cool idea!!!

 

Lexus is just a brand that Toyota uses in the US and a few other countries. Until very recently (like this year), there was no Lexus brand in Japan, and the Lexus LS430 was sold as the Toyota Celsior, the Lexus RX330 was sold as the Toyota Harrier, and the Lexus GS300 was sold as the Toyota Aristo. Toyota is just now using the Lexus brand in Japan, opening brand new showrooms, etc (according to a Wall Street Journal article I read a few months ago). The German luxury car manufacturers are able to charge much higher prices than Toyota, and Toyota believes they're leaving money on the table by not selling their premium models under a separate luxury brand.

It's already been pointed out that the RX330 and Highlander share the same underpinnings, as do the Camry and ES330.

$7K would be a steep premium for me. I'd be willing to pay up to $5K more for better seats, a Mark Levinson stereo, better sound insulation, and a more luxurious cabin.

The Cimmaron was a failure not because it shared a platform with Chevrolets and Pontiacs, but because it just sucked in general. Had they been able to build a car that met higher luxury and performance standards, like Lexus has with the ES, RX, and GX (all shared platforms with Toyota models), no one would have cared that the platform was shared with less expensive models.

 

Why not just incorporate all that high end stuff into a Prius and make it a package 7 and charge bucks for it?

I don't think a "T" or an "L" is going to affect it that much.

 

Anyone remember the Lincoln Versaille? I can't say I remember it, but I knew of one in town, when I was growing up. Saw it on the street every now and then. Not a bad looking car, but it looked more like a Granada or Monarch with nicer trim and one of those 70s Ford continental kit trunk lids grafted on it. The problem with taking an existing platform and making it into a luxury car is that you have to make significant ride and performance improvement, along with interior improvements before you can really sell it as a luxury car.

If the Prius were to be moved over to Lexus, it would require major ride tuning, many additional luxury features, standard. Improved trim and color schemes. Leather. Etc, etc. A little different sheet metal, differently shaped dash and I think it would sell. Everyone would know it was built off Prius, but the look and feel should be different enough to convince somebody to pay a $7000 premium.

 

Which was why Cadillac adopted the Opel platform for the Catera and the the 'Sigma' for the current CTS, STS, and SRV

 

Who clains that the Catera failed? AFAIK, Cadillac simply changed the name to CTS to fall in line with their new naming convention of being Cadilllac first, then models CTS, STS, DTS, replacing the old names of Catera, Seville, deVille.

Appearance wise, the original Catera looked too much like a Saturn from the rear, or at least to my eyes;-0

 

I have a sort of luxury edition. It's not a Lexus, but...

Immediately after getting mine (Oct 03) I had deluxe leather installed, including a matching "dog run" front-to-rear for my 28# German Pinscher. I also installed a lot of instrumentation, improved audio, some appearance features, mats, and silencing.

When the Ferrari badge fell off I put a Mustang logo on the rear panel, and other logos and stick-ons have been removed. The license plate is modded to fit within the front grille, side trim matches the paint, minor pinstriping, high quality tinting, and overall it looks much nicer than the standard edition - inside and out.

I've had the CEOs of major corporations as passengers, and they're duly impressed. Perhaps a bit less so now that there are many of these around, but in the first six months it was more prestigious than a Mercedes AMG.

Two colleagues just took delivery of the Lexus 400H, a hybrid hot rod that gets 22mpg. They like it, but at $60k?

I'm satisfied with my Prius - even gloating - especially with fuel at $3/gallon. And in a few weeks I'll drive the HOV lanes, alone!