Photo: Lexus/edited by autoevolution
Prior to 2013, when Lexus seriously started revamping its rides, the automaker was known for making soft cars for over-50-years-old drivers. That ended along with the manufacturer’s new sharp design language and that big grille up front that started a lot of reactions... negative and positive.
Lexus needed a drastic change to bump sales and that came along with its new design revolving around that spindle grille which intrigued the old clients but managed to attract new buyers.
Some say it looks like a beard trimmer, others that it’s a crushed beer can, or a meshed fireplace. I say it looks like the Predator’s mouth, which is awesome and represents a ballsy move from an almost obscure automaker.
People are just hating Lexus for being different and trying something never done before. Well, bad news for them, because the automaker told Wards Auto in an interview that their new design style has no expiry date set.
“In order to succeed in the premium (sector), we can’t just build something the same as the German brands, let’s say. In order to stay, we have to basically be different from other brands,” Lexus designer Yasuo Kajino told the publication.
In other words, if kidneys and huge trapezoids are welcomed by German car buyers, the spindle shape can be that too. And it really worked so far as in December 2013, the automaker had its best sales month in seven years, while in Europe the 2013 IS model sales rose by 65 percent compared to 2012.
Truth is there has to be a right car for every client and if some automakers managed to make fins, tiger noses, kidneys, fences and smiling mouths popular, Lexus will do that too with its monstrous gaping mouth.
That’s because the automaker managed to attract young buyers. It did lose a part of the old ones but, as it pointed out in the same interview, not getting after a younger group, would have been a mistake.
Of course, being part of the overall design, the spindle grille could change along with the rest of the lines sometime, but that won’t probably come within two new generations or so.
Some say it looks like a beard trimmer, others that it’s a crushed beer can, or a meshed fireplace. I say it looks like the Predator’s mouth, which is awesome and represents a ballsy move from an almost obscure automaker.
People are just hating Lexus for being different and trying something never done before. Well, bad news for them, because the automaker told Wards Auto in an interview that their new design style has no expiry date set.
“In order to succeed in the premium (sector), we can’t just build something the same as the German brands, let’s say. In order to stay, we have to basically be different from other brands,” Lexus designer Yasuo Kajino told the publication.
In other words, if kidneys and huge trapezoids are welcomed by German car buyers, the spindle shape can be that too. And it really worked so far as in December 2013, the automaker had its best sales month in seven years, while in Europe the 2013 IS model sales rose by 65 percent compared to 2012.
Truth is there has to be a right car for every client and if some automakers managed to make fins, tiger noses, kidneys, fences and smiling mouths popular, Lexus will do that too with its monstrous gaping mouth.
That’s because the automaker managed to attract young buyers. It did lose a part of the old ones but, as it pointed out in the same interview, not getting after a younger group, would have been a mistake.
Of course, being part of the overall design, the spindle grille could change along with the rest of the lines sometime, but that won’t probably come within two new generations or so.
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