| FEEL LEXUS |
ONE OF
THE WORLD'S LEADING AUTOMOTIVE INNOVATORS
Established in the early 1980s and launched in 1989, the
Lexus marquee has promptly established itself as one of the
world's most respected names. Lexus has distinguished itself
not only as a brand associated with quality, luxury and
style, but as a company offering superior levels of customer
satisfaction.
The brand reputation has grown quickly and in the US, Lexus
is firmly entrenched as the number one luxury import.
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In
the beginning, Lexus laid down objectives and
formulated a formidable set of working principles.
These ideals keep every designer, engineer, worker
and dealer steadfastly committed to the original
philosophy. The Lexus Covenant guides every decision
we make, every car we create, every service we
provide.
THE LEXUS COVENANT
Lexus will enter the most competitive,
prestigious automobile race in the world.
Years of automotive experience
has culminated in the creation of Lexus cars.
They will be the finest cars ever built.
Lexus will win the race because
Lexus will do it right from the start.
Lexus will have the finest
dealer network in the industry.
Lexus will treat each customer
as we would a guest in our home.
If you think you can't, you won't...
If you think you can, you will!
We can, we will.
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Lexus
vehicles have been built in Japan since 1989. The first
plant was a purpose-built facility near Nogoya, Japan
representing the pinnacle of Japanese automotive production
capability.
Today Lexus vehicles are produced in six plants in Japan and
one located in the Province of Ontario, Canada. This
facility began producing the RX330, the luxury sport utility
that was the Australia's Best Cars Award winner for 2003 and
2004 and one of the top sellers in the Lexus portfolio.
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| Before
development of the first Lexus began, design teams first
journeyed to the US to live in Laguna Beach. They visited
upscale shopping centers, visited country clubs, watched
shoppers wearing tennis clothes loading shopping bags into
the boots of their cars.
To understand
the driving experience of women, designers first had false
nails applied in order to fine tune steering wheel designs.
They interviewed women talking about the homes and their
lifestyles.
Designers
studied prestigious hotel suites and the cabins of luxury
yachts. They examined the techniques of Swiss watchmakers,
and the craftsmanship of guitar and watchmakers.
They lived in
the Cote d'Azur, villas in the South of France, scrutinizing
the lifestyles of the world's most discerning individuals.
LS400 test
prototypes were sent to an Arizona company that specialized
in inflicting vehicle damage. Cars were left for months in
the searing Arizona desert, with the windows down, along
with other luxury marques, to critique their durability.
Then, the
chrome plating thickness was increased and 6 coats of paint
applied which, remarkably, even contributed to sound
proofing.
While most
new car development require five or six full scale clay
models, Lexus created fourteen to develop the first LS400
with its aerodynamic body.
In total,
around 450 test cars were built, driven millions of
kilometers, from autobahns to snow bound test tracks, to
develop the first Lexus.
A hundred
cars were crashed to develop the safety systems.
A super
computer calculated precise body fitment tolerances.
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| Our tireless
commitment to the environment has grown out of a genuine
respect and concern for the earth and future generations.
The focus of Lexus design efficiency is to build a vehicle
that is exceptionally lean in its use of raw materials, its
fuel, and its impact on the environment, while pushing the
boundaries of performance, luxury and quality.
The design of
lighter-weight vehicles means greater natural resource
conservation, better fuel consumption, less emissions,
reduced brake wear, improved handling and braking
performance, and less scrap disposal. Lexus works to reduce
weight without weakening the vehicle or eliminating
desirable features through sophisticated computer modeling
that allows excess material to be designed out during
engineering. Extensive testing validates the strength and
durability of each component before it goes into production.
Lexus pushes
the frontiers of vehicle aerodynamic efficiency, using
wind-tunnel-tuned, computer-modeled details to reduce
aerodynamic drag. Engine and driveline sounds are analyzed
and tuned exhaustively, and airflow sounds are investigated
in the wind tunnel and on the road. Plastic components used
in the interiors and exteriors of Lexus vehicles are molded
of a highly recyclable and lightweight material. Lead and
mercury, two of the more challenging substances to deal with
when a car is dismantled, have been largely supplanted by
environmentally preferable materials. |
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