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...beginning," says Dave Illingworth, general manager of Lexus in the U.S., which picked up the undisclosed cost of the recall operation. That assiduous concern has paid off in spectacular fashion: from a cold start one year ago, Toyota's luxury division in July swept past both Mercedes-Benz and BMW in the vital U.S. auto market. Although Mercedes retook the lead during August, the Lexus performance sent shock waves through the global auto industry. BMW and Mercedes have seen their U.S. sales dip 29% and 19%, respectively, over the past three years at an estimated loss of $1 billion each...
...Japanese V-8 engine to hit the U.S. market; and the $21,300 ES250, a smaller, six-cylinder sedan. The bulk of sales have come from the LS400, a model that Car and Driver magazine rated as better than both the $63,000 Mercedes 420SEL and the $55,000 BMW 735i in terms of ride, handling and performance. Up against the industry's pedigreed names, Lexus has created virtually instant brand loyalty, a feat unprecedented in the luxury-auto market. Charles Ruffner, a tax attorney in Miami, is a Lexus convert after owning four Mercedes-Benz over the years...
...next marketplace ripe for Japan's "luxmobiles" is Europe. The Lexus went on sale in Switzerland and Britain earlier this year, and in 1991 will hit Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. In an interview early this year, BMW chairman Eberhard von Kuenheim accused Toyota of "dumping" Lexus in the U.S. market at below-market prices, and declared, "Europe is not willing to destroy its own industry" by giving Japan free access. Toyota calls that charge "groundless and meaningless," but spokesman Yoshiharu Tateishi says, "We are fully aware of the trade friction, and our approach will be modest...
...parlous state of the U.S. economy is likely to weaken even the healthiest of countries, since so much of the world relies on Americans to buy its goods -- from Sony camcorders to BMW cars. The U.S. recession either is about to begin or has just started, and rising oil prices promise even slower growth and, simultaneously, higher inflation...
...personal adviser to Chancellor Helmut Kohl, by exploding a bomb along a street as Herrhausen's armored Mercedes-Benz 500SE limousine passed by. Antiterrorist expert Neusel escaped that fate only because his chauffeur was on holiday: Neusel was driving and the blast ripped through the passenger side of his BMW...