Toyota prepares to introduce Lexus luxury brand in Japan

[allscion]

8)
Paul
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http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S=3640848

TOKYO Some 16 years after Lexus debuted in the U-S, Toyota's ready to introduce the luxury brand in its home country of Japan.

For years, Japanese have lived under the ideal that everyone is middle class and most consumers shied away from flashy or luxury cars. Up to now, Toyota officials have avoided using the Lexus brand name at home -- but say a growing upper class is willing to spend for luxury. They hope to initially sell three-thousand Lexus vehicles a month in Japan and grow from there.

Japan's number one automaker says it will try to sell more than a car. It wants to give customers an "experience" and set up luxurious-looking dealerships, complete with hotel-quality service. The first showrooms open in just over a month.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[scionlife]

Hmmm.... finally I can take the Toyota badge of my LS400 and call it a Lexus without having to sacrifice the "JDM" styling. :)

[toyotaholic]

hopefully, this means they'll stop building cars from the same chassis ie camry/es330

[v2power]

i hope they can beef up the LEXUS chassis.