Word: lexus
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...first, it sounded like a major marketing disaster in the making. Last December, only three months after the highly touted Lexus LS400 luxury sedan had been introduced in the U.S., Toyota announced the recall of all 8,000 cars it had sold at that point. The news sent a shudder through Lexus' spanking new North American dealership network. "My first reaction was, 'Oh, my God, here comes trouble," ' says Ken Meade, owner of Lexus of Lakeside in suburban Detroit...
...taken its sweeping action on the basis of just two consumer complaints, one about a defective brake light and the other concerning a sticky cruise-control mechanism. "The company didn't run and hide," recalls Meade. "They stepped right up" and made changes in all 8,000 cars. Lexus owners did not even suffer the inconvenience of a trip to their dealership: within a few weeks, their cars were picked up, repaired and returned to them. To serve 10 Lexus owners in Grand Rapids, 150 miles away, dealer Meade flew in technicians, rented garage space, fetched the cars, fixed them...
...opportunity to cement our relationship with the customer right from the 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...
...habits, of course, die hard. Even bargain hunters can get carried away when confronted with tempting prices. And many shoppers still rationalize luxury purchases as investments. In Santa Monica, Calif., the local Lexus dealer cannot keep the $40,000 Toyota sedans in stock. Customers say the car is worth much more than its sticker price. Posh shops on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills continue to be packed. But the days of wretched excess have passed for most consumers. Some of the same folks who dropped expensive brand names like credentials last year are impressing their friends by rattling off discount...
...piquing interest is not always the same as sparking sales. During the last two months of 1989, Infiniti dealers in the U.S. sold only 32 cars a day, far short of the 134 sales a day of its archrival, Toyota's new Lexus (base price: $35,000). "On the other hand," quipped comic Jay Leno, "sales of trees and rocks are up over 300%." Now Infiniti's ad agency has released new ads originally scheduled to appear later in the first quarter. Prominently featured: cars...