Plural of Lexus, an often debated topic

[Al D-Much]

And now we have the answer.

The plural of “Lexus” is “Lexuses.” The brand name isn’t derived from Latin, contrary to popular belief, but was an invention of the Toyota Motor Corporation.
In a history of the car, Lexus:The Relentless Pursuit (2011), Chester Dawson writes that “Lexus” was a shortening (and a respelling) of an earlier choice for the brand name: “Alexis.”

In 1986 a New York consulting firm, Lippincott & Margulies, gave Toyota “a master list of 219 potential names,” Dawson says, and Toyota officials eventually narrowed the list to
five. Of these, the favorite was “Alexis,” the author writes, but that “sounded like the name of a person, not a car.”

What’s more, Dawson says, it reminded some Toyota officials of a “femme fatale” character in the TV show Dynasty. (Joan Collins originated the role of Alexis Colby.)
After a little fiddling, Dawson writes, “the group stumbled upon the neologism Lexus.”

How should this linguistic creation be pluralized in English? Like any other noun ending in “s,” it’s made plural by adding “es”—hence, “Lexuses.”
But a bit of googling suggests that a lot of people, including many Lexus owners, mistakenly believe the word is Latin and should be pluralized as “Lexi.”
In fact, Dawson writes, a comedian on a popular BBC radio series “made a running gag of the plural neologism ‘Lexi.’ ”

And that’s today’s lesson in lexi-cography!

[NiCoRe]

Simpler in French : Une Lexus, Des Lexus...no problem 😅

[Scotlex]

Every day is a school day 😀

I only plan to have one Lexus anyway - so not a problem for me 😅

[Rabbers]

I previously thought (and still think) that LEXUS is a compression of the acronym L.EX.US meaning LUXURY.EXPORT.UNITED STATES, by which code was the Toyota corporation originally denoted its project of designing and producing  a high-quality marque initially intended for the U.S. market.  An added bonus derived from a semantic association with the Latin word “LEX”, meaning “LAW”, which carries the connotation of a very high standard to which all employees associated with the project should adhere and prospective customers understand, i.e. the marque purported to lay down the law by which quality standards should be judged.  

Clearly, the association with masculine singular Latin nouns ending in “-us” is purely coincidental, and therefore in no way contradicts the  correctness, in English, of the plural form of the proper noun LEXUS being LEXUSES.  
 

Having said all this I nevertheless continue to believe that one should use whatever plural form of the name takes one’s fancy or trips easiest off the tongue (or keyboard).

[NemesisUK]

There is no plural form of Lexus as there is only one company with that brand name (whatever it stands for*) 

A car park may be full of Lexus cars, or there may only be one Lexus car parked there.

*"Many people believe Lexus stands for “Luxury Export To The United States”, or a similar variation – fitting as Lexus was first released to the USA market in 1989.

However, this theory has been discredited by the Japanese Lexus advertising division Team One. According to Team One interviews, the brand name has no specific meaning and simply denotes a luxurious and technological image."

 

[Malc1]

of course the plural is simply  .......  Lexii   .....  more than the one   "  i  "        to skin a cat so as to speak 

Just keeping it simple 🖕

Malc

[Al D-Much]

1 hour ago, Rabbers said:

I previously thought (and still think) that LEXUS is a compression of the acronym L.EX.US meaning LUXURY.EXPORT.UNITED STATES, by which code was the Toyota corporation originally denoted its project of designing and producing  a high-quality marque initially intended for the U.S. market.  An added bonus derived from a semantic association with the Latin word “LEX”, meaning “LAW”, which carries the connotation of a very high standard to which all employees associated with the project should adhere and prospective customers understand, i.e. the marque purported to lay down the law by which quality standards should be judged.  

Clearly, the association with masculine singular Latin nouns ending in “-us” is purely coincidental, and therefore in no way contradicts the  correctness, in English, of the plural form of the proper noun LEXUS being LEXUSES.  
 

Having said all this I nevertheless continue to believe that one should use whatever plural form of the name takes one’s fancy or trips easiest off the tongue (or keyboard).

That privilege is reserved for Guardian journalists, they also get the extra privilege of not having to spell words correctly too. 

[Al D-Much]

2 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

of course the plural is simply  .......  Lexii   .....  more than the one   "  i  "        to skin a cat so as to speak 

Just keeping it simple 🖕

Malc

Ahh the K.I.S.S. methodology. Each to their own, although wrong, I will defend your right to be wrong under the freedom of expression

[Rabbers]

1 hour ago, NemesisUK said:

However, this theory has been discredited by the Japanese Lexus advertising division Team One. According to Team One interviews, the brand name has no specific meaning and simply denotes a luxurious and technological image."

I suspect this is an evolutionary revision of consumer messaging on the part of Lexus’ ad agency in order to broaden the marque’s original image from being excessively U.S.-centric. I first heard the Luxury Export United States explanation in 1990 as part of a salesman’s spiel in a flagship Lexus dealership in Chicago close to my employer’s HQ, and I don’t think you can get closer to the horse’s mouth than that.  
 

Please don’t get the idea I was in the market for an LS400 as a company car back in Europe (I actually thought it was too big and too flashy).  The price converted from dollars was about twice my entitlement. I had merely tagged along for a lunchtime visit with a couple of droolingly enthusiastic senior colleagues whose hankering for one was ultimately frustrated by our Chairman’s hatred, as a Pacific War veteran with bad memories, for all things Japanese.

[Rabbers]

1 hour ago, Al D-Much said:

That privilege is reserved for Guardian journalists, they also get the extra privilege of not having to spell words correctly too. 

And there was I thinking The Guardian was one of the last bastions of literacy  notwithstanding its contents. 

[Rabbers]

Malc, I’m guessing your sad-face reaction relates to my rude comment about the original LS400, but you should remember this was 1990.  My tastes have moved on since then.  At the time I confess I was more than a little dazzled by the hype and razzmatazz of what must have been one of the first and biggest Lexus dealerships.  Certainly I had seen nothing remotely like it in Europe.  I remember eight well-waxed LS400s, mainly silver, some blue, each with its own set of spotlights, arranged in a circle around a mammoth sales desk from which a salesman of appropriate Japanese-American ethnicity held forth with wondrous, albeit somewhat cloying, fluency.  No doubt it was a vision of Paradise for LS lovers.

[Malc1]

1 hour ago, Rabbers said:

comment about the original LS400, but you should remember this was 1990.

not at all....... .  "sad faced " coz the Chairman of your company had a downer ( quite justified of course ) on Japanese stuff at that time 

nowt would or could turn anybody off the wondrous Ls400 eh !   😇

Malc

[BonzoSPB]

Didn't Alan Partridge discuss this topic a few years back?

[Gary H]

Until I become a Lexus owner in March 2020, I often said "Lexuses" as a bit of a snub to the "Lexi" brigade.

However, since that time I'm very much now on the team "Lexi2 side! 😉

[Malc1]

14 hours ago, Gary H said:

Lexi2 side! 

and should one own  3  ?

Malc

[steve2006]

I’ve never had a problem with my Toyota Celsiors 😀

[PCM]

23 hours ago, BonzoSPB said:

Didn't Alan Partridge discuss this topic a few years back?

He did...

 

[Al D-Much]

On 4/16/2023 at 4:19 PM, Rabbers said:

I first heard the Luxury Export United States explanation in 1990 as part of a salesman’s spiel in a flagship Lexus dealership in Chicago close to my employer’s HQ, and I don’t think you can get closer to the horse’s mouth than that.  

And you believed a salesman?
They sell cars, even to people who aren't buying! They will tell you anything to get you on side, be your buddy, to take what they say with anything but a pinch of salt is naive.

When part-exing my tired old SAAB 9000 I had a Honda sales rep tell me  I've made the right choice, that their cars are better (without quantifying how) than SAAB, as Honda only make cars, and SAAB make jet fighters and buses (not busii) and know nothing about car manufacturing. I laughed in his face and went to Mitsubishi instead.     

[Rabbers]

1 hour ago, Al D-Much said:

And you believed a salesman? …

Usually not, but in this case, given the time, the place, and the product, yes I did.

[Malc1]

3 hours ago, Al D-Much said:

And you believed a salesman?
They sell cars, even to people who aren't buying!

an example in point is the Yorkshire lass Aunty Wainwright  .......  🤣

Malc