Polk Reports BMW, Mercedes and Lexus Losing Large Luxury Sedan Market Share to Audi, Jaguar and Porsche

In the large luxury sedan stakes, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus have been the long-time leaders. Five years ago, each brand’s flagship model – the 7-Series, the S-Class and the LS – collectively owned 82% of the U.S. market and Merc’s offering could claim 30% of that.

Between June 2010 and May of this year, however, their collective market share has dwindled some 68% while that of three newer models have grown.

There’s the Audi A8, up 5% and the Jaguar XJ, up 12%. Both of these models could claim next to nothing of the market when they were launched but now look at them.

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Lexus Builds one-off Landaulet LS 600h for Monaco Royal Wedding [with Video]

Whatever your opinion of royal families, you can’t deny that they know a thing or two about spectacular weddings, as evidenced recently by the huge viewership of the Prince William-Kate Middleton tie-up.

Now, another European royal is about to tie the knot: on July 2, Prince Albert of Monaco will stand on the altar besides Carlene Wittstock and exchange vows for richer or poorer (just saying...), better or worse etc.

And Lexus is the one providing the newlyweds’ transportation by building a one-off version of its top of the range LS 600h limo. This version, which has been engineered by Belgian coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet and took over 2,000 hours to complete, is a Landaulet.

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Lexus Wants to Target Younger Buyers with New 2011 LS 460 Touring Edition

How do you attract younger buyers into your showrooms? The easy to say, but evidently hard to follow-through, answer would be to design a vehicle(s) from scratch that caters to the needs of the all important 35-to-55-year-old male demographic.

So what happens when you want to do something about it…yesterday? Well, obviously, the most cost and time efficient method is to enhance the range of your model with a sport trim level. And that is exactly what Lexus is attempting with the latest addition to its top-end model.

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Ad Watch: Renault Wind Roadster and Lexus CT 200h Hybrid

Selling a car through advertising isn’t as easy as you might think. What good is it showing your product nimbly taking on Alpine twists and turns when your competitors are doing the same thing? Here are two ads that don’t really break the mould, but try something a little different. Read more »

Lexus LS 600h L Getting Prepped for the Wedding of Prince Albert II of Monaco

With monthly average sales of around 2,000 units this year, Lexus’ cars continue to be a scarce commodity on Europe roads and we somehow doubt that being crowned the official vehicle of His Serene Highness [very sic…] Prince Albert II of Monaco will help improve the Japanese automaker’s position in the market. Read more »

Sic…Lexus Becomes Official Supplier to HSH Prince of Monaco who will use an LS Hybrid for his Wedding

For those who still believe in the institution of monarchy and the legitimacy of kings, queens and royalty in general in this day and age (…some 2,500 years after the Athenians gave birth to democracy), 2011 will be marked by the royal weddings of Prince William to Catherine Middleton, and to a lesser extent, Prince Albert II of Monaco to Miss Charlene Wittstock.

If you wondering what all this has to do with the world of automobiles, Lexus’ European division announced today that it has received the royal stamp of approval from His Serene Highness [HSH] Prince Albert II of Monaco. The latter appointed the Japanese automaker as the official supplier of luxury cars to the blue-blooded residents of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco.

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Lexus Owner Recreates Epic LS400 “Champagne Glass” Ad from the 1980s

In one of the cleverest ads from the 1980s, Lexus stacked fifteen champagne glasses on the hood of its (then new) LS400 sedan...and then placed it on a dynamometer. Taking the LS400 up to a simulated 145 mph (233 km/h), the viewer marvels as the glasses remain exactly where they should be. The ad ends with the Lexus logo and the words, “The Lexus LS400 is designed to stir the soul...and not much else.”

It’s a great bit of advertising and holds up pretty well even today. There is one question that many would-be Lexus owners may be asking themselves today: are the cars still as good as they were back then? Has engineering perfection über alles survived twenty years of market reinvention and product development?

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VIDEO: Lexus Sets the Bar High, Chains Four Cars on LS in New TV Ad

In another sign that luxury automakers in the U.S. are raising the stakes -or so to speak- with their latest commercials, following Audi's recent A8 ad, Lexus has released a new TV spot as part of an advertising campaign to demonstrate how far the company goes to achieve perfection.

This particular broadcast ad is titled “Chain” and it shows a crane slowly lifting the front end of a LS, which is attached to four more Lexus models (RX, GS, ES and IS) using nothing more than cables and stretch bars. At the end of the spot, a $375,000 LFA comes into the shot and parks directly below the chain of vehicles weighing a total 21,000 pounds.

The key point here is that the commercial is real and that no special effects were used for its creation as Lexus proves in the 'Behind the Scenes" video.

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VIDEO: Lexus Sets the Bar High, Chains Four Cars on LS in New TV Ad

In another sign that luxury automakers in the U.S. are raising the stakes -or so to speak- with their latest commercials, following Audi's recent A8 ad, Lexus has released a new TV spot as part of an advertising campaign to demonstrate how far the company goes to achieve perfection.

This particular broadcast ad is titled “Chain” and it shows a crane slowly lifting the front end of a LS, which is attached to four more Lexus models (RX, GS, ES and IS) using nothing more than cables and stretch bars. At the end of the spot, a $375,000 LFA comes into the shot and parks directly below the chain of vehicles weighing a total 21,000 pounds.

The key point here is that the commercial is real and that no special effects were used for its creation as Lexus proves in the 'Behind the Scenes" video.

Read more »