In its latest promotions, Lexus is moving further into the market for hybrid vehicles by linking its reputation as a luxury car manufacturer with the eco-friendly merits of hybrids. Lexus claims to be the first carmaker to focus on this relationship between luxury and environmentalism and in its ads (seen online on various websites), the company talks about how:
One should not have to choose between luxury and social conscience.
Lexus is positioning itself to the luxury car buyer who is not willing to sacrifice design and performance in order to be environmentally aware (sort of like die-hard coffee fans who are unwilling to sacrifice taste but want to buy fairly traded products). Lexus’ tag line argues that it gives more to the driver and takes less from the world. This may be true, but it’s a little hard to swallow when its most expensive hybrid only gets 20 miles per gallon in city driving. Nevertheless, the company is engaging with issues that many other luxury companies aren’t. Just this week Lexus launched an online forum to discuss the impact of hybrid cars on society.
January 1st, 2008 at 2:16 pm
I have always been cynical about the Lexus hybrids, too, considering that the system appears in an SUV and its top-of-the-line sedan. Toyota, as a group, has even opposed some of the fuel-economy standards that California wants to impose. The Lexus hybrids are a “better than doing nothing” approach, but not one that definitively addresses the problems relating to greenhouse gases.
The real clever approach would be to build a luxurious and smaller car with a distinctive, futuristic bodyshell, though efforts such as the Cadillac Cimarron (and I would even say the Lincoln MKZ) show that that is not always easy. However, mated to a hybrid system, this could be a useful way forward.
January 2nd, 2008 at 4:02 am
While Lexus might be the best option for those looking to “save the earth in style” (to quote 3Luxe’s very complimentary Lexus GS 450h listing), I tend to be a bit suspicious of a true eco-friendly luxury car.
That said, it is better than doing nothing - and I’d certainly like to have my suspicions proven wrong!