Electel Blogspot

Toyota's high-end Lexus brand continues its model proliferation.  A fairly recent addition to the US market is the Lexus UX crossover SUV based on Toyota's recent  GA-C Global Architecture platform. This post was inspired by the fact that I saw a Lexus UX on the road not long ago, not having been aware of such a thing. I consider the UX a curiosity.  For one thing, it seems odd that a luxury brand would have such a small vehicle in its lineup because it cheapens the brand's image regardless of the small vehicle's qualities.  (Yes, Mercedes-Benz has lesser series such as its "A."  But M-B has long produced a large market spectrum of cars, unlike Cadillac for instance.) Although it is considered a kind of SUV, the UX is an example of those androgynous SUV-cum-hatchback sedan body types such as the Subaru Crosstrek. Clarity is lacking on several dimensions.  Could the mighty Toyota have made a small marketing mistake? Gallery This side view shows the not-qui...

So you want to launch a totally new luxury car brand.  One detail to be decided is the car's styling.  And surely Toyota stylists and management glanced at designs of the new car's intended or possible competition.  How different or similar should it look? The Lexus (Wikipedia entry here ) was launched in the USA for the 1990 model year and was a great success that has continued since. The subject of this post is Lexus styling compared to some potential competitors in production while it was gestating.  Perhaps other brands were evaluated in addition to the set shown below, but those pictured were surly among those studied.  They tend to have similar wheelbases to that of the 1990 Lexus LS 400 (2814 mm, 110.8 inches). Gallery 1985 Cadillac Sedan DeVille Since the US market was key to Lexus market planning, Cadillacs were evaluated.  The current Caddy in the Lexus size range was the Sedan DeVille that appeared for the 1985 model year.  Its styling conti...