Comments by "Tony Sterbenc" (@tonysterbenc) on "2023 Lexus LS500h : How is the Model That Launched Lexus Doing in 2023" video.

  1. Poor sales. The ES was stomping it 10 to 1 in the US at the end. I think that was a combination of things: It looked rather nondescript, grafting the cheese-grater grille unconvincingly onto the front didn't fix that, it was down on tech and horsepower compared to the Germans, the touchpad repelled a lot of buyers (including me personally; that was my deal breaker). Above all, though, I think American buyers just wouldn't accept a luxury performance sedan without a German badge.
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  2.  @lexusguy9127  This is the second time in 18 hours you've posted the ridiculous assertion that the ES—a car described by Car and Driver as having "ride quality as soft, comfortable and appreciated as before"—has "a small car ride." Okay, we get it. You have an LS, so yours is bigger, so to speak. I feel like I have to duck when I see your posts coming so I don't get hit in the head by something you're swinging.
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  3. @@japanwatchconnection Lord, your fanboi Mom's basement posts get tiresome. Can't you even be accurate? Is that too much to ask? Even you should know that for all its faults, unlike the ES this car shares nearly nothing with the Camry.
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  4. The maintenance may not be as easy as you think. This is reportedly a very complex engine if you have to open it up. Very un-Toyota in that way.
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  5. None. This is a trend; many of its direct competitors don't have one either.
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  6. I honestly don't think that's the problem; it actually falls far short of the rear seat room of the G90 or S Class. The bigger problem seems to be that Toyota couldn't decide what they wanted it to be, a stately S Class or a sporty Panamera, and the indecision resulted in a car that's neither.
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  7.  @mob4ever  I know what you mean, but the cold truth is that no car in this class provides both a class-leading experience and Lexus reliability, so you have to choose what you'll surrender. And if you're ponying up for this class, you don't want to surrender a first-rate experience, so I get it.
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  8. Your plan is the best one available for what you want. Sorry, because I agree with you.
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  9.  @lexusguy9127  You make an inaccurate statement, then when you're corrected, you double down as if the person doing so is the problem. Sorry, not buying.
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  10.  @lexusguy9127  Edmunds: "(ES has) Excellent ride quality." Dan Neil, Wall Street Journal: '(ES's) ride quality is super-bueno deluxe." It's not all about you and your LS, Guy. Cut the crap.
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  11.  @lexusguy9127  "Small car ride"?! Way to tell me you haven't driven an ES without telling me.
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  12. @@japanwatchconnection "Dreadful"? Don't you ever get embarrassed at yourself?
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  13. This is an uneducated take. The cheaper ES shares a platform with cheaper Toyota family cars, but the LS does not.
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  14. No. Each can vary in strength.
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  15.  @lexusguy9127  Reading ability. It's a skill. The more you know...
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  16. I think they do in some countries. This is a much heavier car, so it's pretty slow.
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  17. Air suspension is an option.
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  18. The recommended weight of synthetic oil, any brand.
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  19.  @philhenderson3516  Wow. Thanks for sharing that. Found a post on a Tundra message board saying a dealer technician was told the problem was a batch of improperly cleaned blocks at the factory that had internal shavings, supposedly fixed before the '24's.
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  20.  @philhenderson3516  Ouch. I'd seen just the sketchiest mentions of this. I've also heard it reported that this engine is much more complex to repair than the venerable old V6. What's the nature of the problems?
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  21.  @lexusguy9127  Then try driving an actual small car and get back to me. It's clear you've forgotten what an actual small car ride feels like.
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  22.  @lexusguy9127  You seem to have this backwards, Guy. Defending your tossed-off inaccurate statements isn't my job. I've driven everything from DTS's to GTI's, and I can assure you the ES rides much more like the former than the latter. Of course I would expect the LS should ride even more smoothly, given that it's got an extra 12 inches of length and $40,000 of cost. But I'm gathering the real point here is that you want everyone to know you have an LS where I only have an ES, so yours is longer than mine, so to speak. For all I know of you as the anonymous Internet poster you are, that may be true, but you sure seem mighty insecure about it.
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  23.  @randy74989  The ES won't replace the LS. In fact, in the mid-term at least, it simply won't be replaced (unless by an electric car or an SUV). There are simply no sales to "replace," as nearly no one is buying it.
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  24.  @jameswhite1319  Yes, and that's important to note. Drain and refill, NEVER flush.
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  25. Reliability, durability and dealer service are not Genesis strengths. But in the categories of interior "niceness" and riding in quiet comfort with limo-like room, there's a consensus that the G90 wins, no contest.
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  26. The latest Lexus models are debuting a mutated version of the grille that's flat on top and has grates only below, like the new RX. But that doesn't necessarily look either more discreet or better.
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  27. This is self-glorifying "Look at me! I got an S Class!" garbage.
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  28. Most buyers agree with you. LS500 sales are absolutely abysmal, and it will be discontinued soon.
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  29. I have a suspicion that the LS was a test mule because Toyota/Lexus knew the V8 would have to go away because of emissions regulations, and they wanted to debug its replacement engine on a low-volume model before they used it in a zillion Tundras.
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  30.  @mob4ever  Your post is not likely to age well, sir.
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  31.  @dinhscot  I agree with you. I was responding to the reply, "No they won't."
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  32. No. Entirely different chassis, Camry is FWD and LS is RWD-based AWD, all different parts.
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  33. I suspect the "Toyota Engine Flush" is the invention of a dealer service department, not an actual Toyota procedure. I'd skip it and keep my money.
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  34. Mirai looks much better, to my eyes. The Mirai has the styling that was going to be the next GS, and I wish to heaven it would have gone that way.
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  35. @@japanwatchconnection As someone who elbows his way into every single one of these threads just to trash on Japanese iron, you're a fine one to talk.
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  36. Either will be fine.
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  37. No, but it is a design that lost its focus. They couldn't decide whether to make a Panamera or an S Class, so they made a mongrel that fell short in both ways.
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  38. Sorry, but pretty much everything you've said here is wrong. Lexus sales stomp Genesis sales. Prius is nowhere near Toyota's top seller (that's the RAV4). Minivans are getting buried in sales by 3-row SUVs, which ARE the hot sales segment. Ford is an awful long-term bet, beset by quality gremlins and depending more and more on niche vehicles like the Bronco; lucky for them the F150 continues to keep the lights on.
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  39. Speaking as an ES owner, that absolutely won't happen. The 2025 ES will be basically the same under the skin as the '24 except for powertrains and a little bit of crash safety updating. Going forward, my expectation is that Lexus won't have a flagship sedan unless it's electric.
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