Comments by "Tony Sterbenc" (@tonysterbenc) on "Motormouth" channel.

  1.  @MrGrowler20  That's all it takes to make you laugh your backside off? My, you're easily entertained.
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  2. This post 100%, except it's not aimed at young Americans either. It's co-developed by Guangdong and BYD, and aimed squarely at the Chinese market. That's why it not only looks Chinese, but places new emphasis on rear-seat executive seating, because affluent Chinese buyers have a driver. It wasn't a coincidence that unlike all previous ES's, this one was announced in Shanghai only.
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  3. My guess is that they're spelling out the name because Asian audiences sometimes find brand names spelled out in Western alphabet characters to be charmingly exotic. Everything about this car is understandable when you remember it's designed for a Chinese audience, not for us.
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  4. Or people who want an ES designed for them need to stop living in America. This one is designed for Chinese buyers, not Americans. This is not an ES as we know it. The ES as we know it has been discontinued, because of the shrinkage of the American sedan market.
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  5. Yeah, with several recent reviews culminating in this one, these two have lost all credibility with me. There are 10 other YouTube review channels that are clearly better. To name a few: Auto Buyers Guide, Realistick, Savagegeese, Car Care Nut Reviews.
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  6.  @Vinh616  "Lots of those interior plastics probably feel nice in person but looks very cheap." They didn't say it's not "soft touch." You're misquoting johnjames.
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  7. They will. Only thing is, "the customers" will be Chinese. That's who it's designed for, not the shrinking number of executive sedan buyers left in America.
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  8.  @yo2trader539  You've repeated this wishful-thinking falsehood in at least 2 other threads. Again: Although built in Japan, this car was co-engineered by Toyota, Guangdong and BYD for a Chinese audience. The fact that its manufacturing was removed from America, and that unlike previous ES's it was not announced in America but only in Shanghai, is not a coincidence.
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  9. Thank you for this post. Your first two sentences in particular nail it.
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  10. Yes to the "customer swap" comment, except the original is Guangdong and the new target audience is Chinese. But you're absolutely right: This is not an ES as we know it. After 35 years, the beloved ES has been discontinued. There aren't enough US executive sedan customers left anymore to interest Toyota. The bone tossed to us is this rebadge of a Chinese-market Tesla knockoff.
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  11. Lexus has been rocking the copper color in all its recent introductions. it's almost the only Lexus feature of this car.
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  12. "It won't sell in a market already where sedans struggle." This is the point. Lexus is not stupid. Sedans no longer sell in big numbers in America. They're going where the customers are: China. This car was co-developed with Guangdong and BYD, announced only in Shanghail, no longer built in America, and designed inside and out for Chinese tastes. This is not an ES as we know it. The ES is discontinued.
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  13.  @mervinprone  Not quite. The GS was meant to compete with the Germans, as an RWD-based sedan with handling chops and capable engines. This has none of that. The only feature this will have in common with the GS is a price higher than people will see a reason to pay.
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  14. No, because the Camry was designed in America for Americans, and the Camry therefore is proving to be still popular in America. This was co-designed by Chinese for Chinese, and they'll like it better than we do.
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  15. No.
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  16. You're trying to be funny, but you're right, and that's the point of this car. Lexus looked at the numbers and decided there weren't enough of them left to make a profit, so they've discontinued the ES and are replacing it in US showrooms with this Chinese-market offering that will retain a few of those remaining US buyers as a low-cost afterthought.
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  17. No, finally they abandoned the shrinking US market and made a sedan suitable for people living in China. Which is where most of the buyers are now, so it's arguably a savvy business move. It's just not made for people like me, under 70 but with American tastes.
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  18. They're not stupid. They just know where their bread is buttered. But it's not our obligation to believe them.
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  19.  @Shane-zx4ps  He means he's an American. This was designed for Chinese tastes, and Americans are no longer the target audience.
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  20. And not coincidentally, from the American ES to the Chinese ES. We are no longer the target audience for the design of this car. Whether we like it is really pretty irrelevant now.
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  21. Yes, but most of those people will be in China. That's who this is designed for. A shrinking number of America's already shrinking number of executive sedan buyers still will stick with this out of badge loyalty, but it's not designed for Americans and it won't appeal to them in any great numbers, which ultimately doesn't really concern Lexus all that much; it's the RX and NX that keep the lights on now.
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  22. I don't like being boiled in oil either, and I have no intention of trying that out before venturing an opinion on it.
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  23. Yeah, as with the Crown sedan, the lack of a hatchback is utterly pointless. Both cars manage to combine the worst features of a crossover—ungainly height, mileage and handling losses that go with it—without the cargo versatility. The Crown Signia makes more sense than either of them.
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  24. You expect me to mark the words of an anonymous YouTube poster for 10 years? My, but we have a healthy level of self-esteem.
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  25.  @KP-xi4bj  Your question about the world's largest auto market is NOT "speaking of Lexus and Toyota," unless you hold an automaker responsible for how entire nations' economies are doing. But I can tell you how Lexus and Toyota are doing: They're the world's #1 automaker, and in this country at least, their cars have the longest waitlists, smallest days of inventory on dealer lots, and highest percentage of MSRP commanded in actual sale prices of any mainstream brand. I'm not sure I fully understand your point, but that's okay since I'm not sure you do either.
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  26. Worth mentioning: The Envision is made in China.
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  27. Yes, and all the way into Beijing parking lots. This is designed for Chinese buyers, not American ones, and that's who will like it.
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  28. The point of this ES is to appeal to Chinese buyers. You and I are not the target audience for it.
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  29. Because America doesn't have enough upscale sedan buyers to interest Lexus anymore. China is where the buyers are, so this car is designed for them.
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  30.  @oceanzu6585  Mostly agree. The "Crown" name has gotten complicated. The historical Crown is a sophisticated RWD-based sedan that shares its underpinnings with the Mirai. The car sold as "Crown" in the US is an unrelated car on a Camry-related FWD-based platform. This car is related to that one. The Japan-market RWD-based car is better, and I wish they'd used it.
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  31. Well, this is the most original comment in this thread, at least.
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  32. Try the rear door pocket for the owner's manual. It fits there.
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  33. Yeah, they flushed what was left of their credibility with this one.
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  34. Your second sentence nailed it.
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  35. There's a reason for that: This car was designed to compete with other Chinese brands, in China. There aren't enough American ES buyers left for Toyota to bother developing an ES for us. So they've discontined the ES, and this Chinese-market car will be badged as an ES to pick up a few of them without the added cost of developing a new one.
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  36. Except for those who don't. Expect me to be silly, bratty and one of them.
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