Cut Glass Door Inserts on New LS

[lexus707]

Took the 460 AWD for one of its rare days out yesterday to the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Great day weather fantastic and looked at some great cars.

The only downside though was I went on the Lexus stand to look at the new LS. The promo guy was of course very enthusiastic about the car, and I listened intently to his speal, that was until he got to the door inserts, which have cut glass inlaid in them, which I personally found somewhat over bling and something the car did not need.

I leave it to you guys on the verdict.

 

 

[Ben01]

I have seen this in the net like week or two ago, and I was "nay", especially for this Kiriko inserts. And I am same now, when you refreshed my memory. In fact, I don't like this LS interior too much. Don't get me wrong, there are fabulous details and solutions (this "koto strips"! and wheel, and armrests, and seats, etc), but other details are a bit ridiculous, and whole picture is: too much, too dense, too many pieces and styles, for my taste of course. Especially in this "flagship" combination on the photo, Kiriko +burgundy +black +silver +whatthehell +more. Some other toned combinations look a bit better.

[Malc]

I'm intrigued by the hand pleated interior door trims ......  was this the same on the first cars too, from 1989 and which we all exisiting owners enjoy to this day ?

Malc

[abdallian]

personally I love the new LS500h interior and exterior. I feel all the new luxury barges find it difficult to differentiate themselves from each other as they are all supremely technologically advanced. Historically they were always the cars where new technology for the brand was showcased. Now, one feels, they introduce certain technologies just for the sake of it as they don't necessarily impact on the way the car drives. They are all super smooth to drive, with luxurious seats and have top notch materials. In that sense, with the interior of the LS500, I think Lexus have just done something really different from the other brands which helps it stand out a bit from German competition

[Ben01]

 My 2pennies: yes, they have to differentiate, and I praise Lexus try to, but why in pimp-my-ride and svarovsky-my-ferrari saudi-american way? The luxury barges around the world are conservative for reason - they shall be reliable and ethernal, comfy and soothe. And old conservative rules of design state like "one trait is boring, two traits (colors, textures, details, etc) are classy, three are complex, more are mess". Like, this is LS500 interior detail, "same" as above, I find different enough and appealing:

But still, even this wood-brown-beige version has too much details and "devices" dropped over dash, in whole picture, for my taste.

Way of trinkets and folded leather, and "visual noise" on dash is far away from japanese wabi-sabi (especially -sabi) and from my expectations for Lexus flagships, in my mind. But probably I am not their target anyway.

[Malc]

I'm certainly not their target BUT I would buy a pre-owned one maybe at some stage

........................ that initial depreciation just would drive me nuts !

Malc

[Ben01]

BTW the LS500 shares some motifs and details with LC500, and THAT is I call interior design 😍 if they have copied LC more accurate, with even better materials and more luxury (like, keep this "koto lines" and more but nice and consistent metal or wood inserts) and even less "devices" and gadgets (or nice hidden!) than LC - I will knee to this...

Yeah, used LS is always an option, but more and more improbable in my life (even GS is mental as daily commuter for one person). Used LC is much more probable and desired. But sadly, when they will be cheap enough for me, probably it will be a few of them in any decent conditions, this is story of my life vs. SC400 market...

[Cotswold Pete]

32 minutes ago, Malc said:

I'm certainly not their target BUT I would buy a pre-owned one maybe at some stage

........................ that initial depreciation just would drive me nuts !

Malc

Malc,  I echo your thoughts, was getting my tracking sorted on saturday so read a few mags while waiting, and one was a review of the LS500.  Reckon on it being worth £47K after 3 years (assuming 10K a year), and I assume nearer 20K after 6 years or so.

The interior is very 'aimed at the Park Lane set', but maybe in 6 years the level of bling will be even higher so the LS500 will seem a tad understated.

Having given my LS a darned good wash and hand wax, I am now seeing more and more dinks and chips in my 18 year old LS, and so the appeal of a 6 year old 500 in 2024 might be too much, who knows. 

[ambermarine]

The original LS circa 89 was lambasted for being plain and underwhelming in the cabin the upholstery was received with praise but not that much in the US as leather was an option and expensive .I am of the view that as the exterior of the present array of luxury marques is reaching the same evolutionary mode designers are moving inside to enhance the appeal of the high end market taking life style of prospective purchasers into the mix.

The interior is fabulous but much too busy for my liking and is a tad overwhelming visually and is starting to go down the road of the 80s Crown from a bling point of view.

[The-Acre]

2 hours ago, ambermarine said:

The original LS circa 89 was lambasted for being plain and underwhelming in the cabin the upholstery was received with praise but not that much in the US as leather was an option and expensive .I am of the view that as the exterior of the present array of luxury marques is reaching the same evolutionary mode designers are moving inside to enhance the appeal of the high end market taking life style of prospective purchasers into the mix.

The interior is fabulous but much too busy for my liking and is a tad overwhelming visually and is starting to go down the road of the 80s Crown from a bling point of view.

Hmmm, 80's Crown, that's a bit of bling I'd be happy with!

[Ben01]

18 minutes ago, The-Acre said:

Hmmm, 80's Crown, that's a bit of bling I'd be happy with!

😁 But which one? This one from begining of '80 was conservative and "classy", that next (S120?) was... was... it was something! I had dash in this '80 "digital era" stylo once, in ford thunderbird IIRC '89 and I remeber I badly wanted to swap to '90 dash 😂

[The-Acre]

2 hours ago, Ben01 said:

😁 But which one? This one from begining of '80 was conservative and "classy", that next (S120?) was... was... it was something! I had dash in this '80 "digital era" stylo once, in ford thunderbird IIRC '89 and I remeber I badly wanted to swap to '90 dash 😂

Any Crown would do me, especially the late 80's early nineties.  In fact the very latest model would do me too! I do believe I could live with this...

 

[Farqui]

I reckon your right with the new Crown Phil @The-Acre, the renderings look pretty good

[The-Acre]

55 minutes ago, Farqui said:

I reckon your right with the new Crown Phil @The-Acre, the renderings look pretty good

As good as it looks I've decided on the latest and very classic looking Toyota Century. Only problem is it's only available in Japan, and only 600 are made each year.   It'll be hard to convince Mrs G to move to Japan just so I can buy a car I can't afford in a language I don't speak.  Still, for better for worse eh?!

 

[Farqui]

Oooh that's too much for a daily.

Unless you're royalty...

[The-Acre]

28 minutes ago, Farqui said:

Oooh that's too much for a daily.

Unless you're royalty...

Oh well, it's nice to dream, and according to my wife I do!  And apologies to Derek for jumping onboard your post with my fantasy world!

[Ben01]

You probably don't believe me and I am not sure now, but I think I was once the passanger in Toyota Century, like on the picture. Once I worked in Japan, like a month, it was danish-japanese joint-venture, some factories, engineering, etc. It is long story, but its critical part was involving a few of people, a lot of sake and karaoke and strange food, and next day I got such hangover chief engineer sent me to the hotel. Point is, they did not call a cab, but simple put me in chairman's car, stand-by at the factory, available at the moment (hotel was close, other side of Tokorozawa). And I think it was this Century, interior looks strangely familiar. But I was too seek to remember exactly... 😁

[lexus707]

9 hours ago, Ben01 said:

You probably don't believe me and I am not sure now, but I think I was once the passanger in Toyota Century, like on the picture. Once I worked in Japan, like a month, it was danish-japanese joint-venture, some factories, engineering, etc. It is long story, but its critical part was involving a few of people, a lot of sake and karaoke and strange food, and next day I got such hangover chief engineer sent me to the hotel. Point is, they did not call a cab, but simple put me in chairman's car, stand-by at the factory, available at the moment (hotel was close, other side of Tokorozawa). And I think it was this Century, interior looks strangely familiar. But I was too seek to remember exactly... 😁

Ha! Do believe you been there done that.

You learn after a while they take you out to get you ****** so you can't work the next day, gives them an opportunity to catch up with there own work and away from pesky foreigners for the day.

Lovely country though and they make great cars.

[Ben01]

18 minutes ago, lexus707 said:

You learn after a while they take you out to get you ****** so you can't work the next day, gives them an opportunity to catch up with there own work and away from pesky foreigners for the day.

Lovely country though and they make great cars.

Definitely lovely country and they make great suff, not only cars (eg cameras and all electronics too IMHO). And lovely people too, of course if you go deeper into rabbit hole, people, society, everything is not such lovely and fine, like exotic Japan from distant or in first view. But still, great people and stuff.

I don't think they tried to move me out of their way for a day 😝 Rather - green gaijin was so disgusting and serious accident possible if somebody faint, so they put into action some samurai compassion for fallen ally. But on the other hand, it is true, on the other occasion, they tried to drink **** out of us. It was ballsy move and they loose badly against our small EU team (two Polish normals and one Danish very experienced player 🤣 and I was definitely weakest link, but still).

[Newbie1]

I like it. It's a strong move away from the funereal European interiors, and back to the kind of bling Japanese cars had in the 1970s and 1980s. Like their external styling, there's a new found confidence to Lexus these days, firmly anchored in Japanese design cues from the past and present.

[Ben01]

11 minutes ago, Newbie1 said:

firmly anchored in Japanese design cues from the past and present

I don't think so. It is firmly anchored in what Japanese think could sell cars in the future, to customers of luxury and sort-of luxury cars in USA, China, EU, americanised Japan, broader Asia. With some elements of tradition and play on Japanese exotics, of course.

[Newbie1]

I should have said Japanese auto design cues. The embellished and textured interiors were very much a feature of, for example, the 1970s and 1980s Crowns and Gloria's etc. It's festoonery, the thing that to my mind, at least, made Japanese cars distinctive. The austere European design aesthetic has had its day.

 

[The-Acre]

5 hours ago, Newbie1 said:

I should have said Japanese auto design cues. The embellished and textured interiors were very much a feature of, for example, the 1970s and 1980s Crowns and Gloria's etc. It's festoonery, the thing that to my mind, at least, made Japanese cars distinctive. The austere European design aesthetic has had its day.

 

I would be more than happy to own a car with that kind of interior.  Wool seats in the Century, although leather is an option.  The thought of doing a long drive with natural wool to rest my boney bott on sounds very appealing to me.

[Ben01]

10 hours ago, Newbie1 said:

I should have said Japanese auto design cues

OK, this sounds much better to me, agreed.

My overall feeling on "subject", included theory of "oldie toyota design cues" implementation in Lexus, is a bit different (and two fold). It is not exactly "austere design has had its day" but rather "if brands started as "luxury" and "elite" have a moment in their life they try to appeal to much wider and "popular" target base, they have to change from austere eternal luxury design to bling flamboyant with-strawberry-on-the-top design". IMHO this is a reason LS 1989 interior looks like, and LS 2018 looks like. Other words, toyotas in '70-'80 had to appeal to common people, but '80 Lexus flagship's interior was "austere" and NOT like contemporary toyotas, because she had to appeal only to people who real though about buy a big merc or jag or similar, and she had to impress their neighbours (BTW impress enough only, because shock-factors were tag price and quality). But now she has to appeal to masses, to crowd thinking about UX or CT (and their neighbours perception) too.

Another "fold" of two-fold vision, is: who is socio-economical "elite" of society (as precise target for LS500, not for Lexus) and how the elite's taste and aspirations changed last 30 years, but it is pretty obviuos part.

[HarryM]

On 16 July 2018 at 6:02 PM, The-Acre said:

As good as it looks I've decided on the latest and very classic looking Toyota Century. Only problem is it's only available in Japan, and only 600 are made each year.   It'll be hard to convince Mrs G to move to Japan just so I can buy a car I can't afford in a language I don't speak.  Still, for better for worse eh?!

 

Draylon seats???