1992 Lexus Sc300 Premium Sports Car In Excellent Condition Inside And Out No Res on 2040-cars

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Why the Lexus GS death rumors aren't surprising

For months, rumors have persisted that the Lexus GS is dying, to be replaced in the lineup by the ever-growing ES. After spending some time with one, we can't really figure out why it hasn't happened sooner. For a long time, the smaller, less expensive, more efficient front-wheel-drive Lexus ES has been growing in size and dominating the rear-wheel-drive GS in sales. As customers move from sedans into crossovers, Lexus' five-car lineup of the CT, IS, ES, GS, and LS is looking a bit too crowded. We shouldn't lament the loss of another rear-wheel-drive sedan. Lexus customers sure as hell haven't. There are better options available. Outside of the GS F, the Lexus GS isn't a car that encourages you to drive in a way that would take advantage of a rear-wheel setup. In the rain and the snow, the front-wheel drive ES is likely to be a more stable and sure-footed car. If you want power, the less expensive ES 350 actually has a more powerful engine than the base GS 200t. It's nearly a second quicker to 60 mph as well. Stepping up to a GS 350 puts a nearly $12,000 divide between the ES and the GS. Yes, you can get the GS with all-wheel drive, but how many people well and truly need it? Size-wise, the ES is nearly identical to the GS, with the ES being longer but narrower by just over an inch in either direction. Being front-wheel drive, the ES has better rear packaging, meaning a roomier rear seat. The GS does beat the ES on cargo capacity, but on nearly every other measurement the ES is roughly identical or better. Another editor noticed the exact same thing when the current ES debuted nearly four years ago. That goes for pre- and post-refresh models. The ES isn't quite as handsome as the GS (as long as you ignore the spindle situation up front). From some angles, the ES looks like nothing more than the tarted up Toyota Avalon it is. From behind the wheel, the GS fails to convey any sense of excitement or occasion. It's simply a shoulder shrug of a car. When competition like the BMW 5 Series or Mercedes-Benz E-Class offer both refinement and a decent infusion of fun, it's hard to make a case for the Lexus. The ES isn't any better, but with a base price of $39,895 it's a far more reasonable proposition than a $47,305 GS. Our test car was starting to show its age, as the competition has long sailed by when it comes to noise, vibration, and harshness. Lexus quiet this GS 200t was not. All that said, it seems that customers have already spoken.

Mazda and Lexus crowned with KBB 5-Year Cost To Own awards

We report on a lot of awards, some of which are given out based on more solid criteria than others. This one, the Kelley Blue Book 5-Year Cost to Own awards, seems like one that new car shoppers should pay attention to.
The cost of a car goes far beyond what you pay for the actual metal, leather and rubber at the point of purchase. Fuel, insurance, maintenance and repair costs, and the cost of fees from the state and financing will all weigh on your wallet while you own the car. That's not even taking into account the biggest cost: depreciation, or the amount of money you lose based on what your car is worth years from now versus the day you bought it.
KBB tracks these sorts of things, and they've compiled a list of winners for 2013 models. On the brand level, Mazda and Lexus earn the 5-Year Cost to Own award for having the lowest overall projected five-year totals (though, curiously, we note that Mazda and Lexus each had only one segment winner). There are lots of winners for all the various segments, so we'll just pick out a few surprising ones to share and you can view the rest here.

UPDATE: There are 5 unsold Lexus LFAs left in the U.S.

UPDATE (April 9, 2019): This year has been a solid year for LFA sales with three more finding homes. Interestingly, all three were sold during the month of January. By our count, that leaves five of the supercars left unsold.UPDATE (January 3, 2019): The countdown of Lexus LFA sales continues. In the time since our last update, Lexus sold another of the supercars. That means we're down to 8 LFAs unsold in the U.S. Check out the whole story on unsold LFAs below. We'll also continue to monitor LFA sales to see if/when all are sold.UPDATE (April 5, 2018): Since we first ran this post, Lexus has actually sold 3 more LFAs, meaning that there should be 9 more remaining for sale in the U.S. Read on to learn more about how there are still a few new ones on the market. While we were digging through automaker sales figures for July, we found a few odd sales of discontinued cars, but the strangest by far was the inclusion of the Lexus LFA in Toyota's numbers. Apparently, a dealer sold one in July, and even more amazingly, six were sold last year. This is remarkable because production ended for the LFA way back in 2012, and there weren't many examples to begin with. So we reached out to Toyota for more info, and we have good news, sort of, if you missed out on buying a new one when the car was, well, really new. According to a Toyota representative, there are currently 12 9 8 5 LFAs around the country that are officially classified as dealer inventory. We also asked about overseas cars, but apparently those numbers weren't available. Still, 5 technically new LFAs is a shocking number. The representative also gave us a detailed explanation from Lexus International on how this might have happened. Basically, for the U.S. market, Lexus said the company intended to only take purchase orders on LFAs from customers to avoid price gouging and speculation. However, in 2010, orders started to drop off, and to make sure cars weren't sitting at the factory, the company allowed existing LFA holders to order a second car, and also allowed dealers and executives to order cars for themselves or for selling at dealerships, and some of the dealer-ordered cars still come up from time-to-time as new sales. So the cool news is that you might be able to still buy a new LFA if you really want to. But that's a big might.