Es "new Model" ?

[tigerpilot]

Is there a new model ES coming out soon? I thought someone said Spring '06.

We're ready to buy but willing to wait for something new.

Happy New Year!

[Toysrme]

Yes, the ES 350 / Gen 6 Camry will be out sometime. We still dont' know when... But sometime.

Hang out a year & pay 2/3 the original price for one coming off a lease. I doubt the dealers will have any left at the end of the year 2 buy.

[Aija]

Yep the ES350 is definately comming out before June hopfully. They have revealed the Camry already and it looks alot like the current es330. The new ES350 has no offical pictures.

This is my guess how the ES350 is going to be. Since i have a full loaded lexus ES330 i believe this is what the ES350 will offer.

-A new body

-A new engine 250+hp (to compete with the TL)

-Bluetooth

-MP3

-The automatic steering wheel where the adjuster is automatic

Id recommend to wait for the new ES to come out. 06 is not worth it. 2005 was the year to buy the last of the ES's for a good price and not having to worry about a new model ES comming out. (I generally always buy vehicals in their first year of refresh). However be aware that the ES350 will be hard to negoiate down in its first year.

[wwest]

It appears that outside the US Lexus is dropping the ES series in favor of the IS. Notice that the ES is FWD, hardly appropreate for a luxury marque these days, while the IS is RWD.

Not only that the IS is getting a new optional AWD system that automatically reapportions engine drive/drag (compression braking) away from the front wheels as the VSC's yaw sensor indicates lateral forces are building. Obviously a method of putting a higher priority on directional control than can any FWD or front bias AWD vehicle.

Also keep in mind that the movement is to have more manufacturing in the US, the Camry and Camry hybrid for instance. Will the ES series then constitute a high enough production capacity requirement to keep the Japanese plant open.

And if not will Lexus buyers accept an ES350 built in the US?

Edited January 7, 2006 by wwest

[Lexusfreak]

And if not will Lexus buyers accept an ES350 built in the US?

Or perhaps Canada? ;) The RX 330 (amoung other Toyota's like the Matrix, Corolla & soon to be Rav 4 in near by Woodstock, Ont) is built at the the award winning plant in Cambridge, Ontario. So yes, I think the public will accept other 'North American' built Lexi. B)

As for when the next gen ES 350 will debut, I think many of us were hoping at the Detroit auto show (we know it isn't the LA show) but that does not appear to be the case.......other possibilities include Geneva in March (but if the ES is going to be strictly for the NA market, I'm not sure how likely that is) or New York in April which seems like it will be if the car is to be offered in the spring of 2006 (according to many automotice sources). Expect a Hybrid offering.......with the possibility of AWD & more HP than the Avalon. B)

[Toysrme]

The AWD isn't a big deal. If they wanted to it wouldn't take them any time to revive the AWD drivetrain they've been using on JDM Sceptors/Vistas that was developed for the 3s-gte AWD celica & was an option in the US for the gen2 Camry.

That has continued to be an option in Japan, even to the current generation.

AFA building them in North America, I like Japanese better, but it wouldn't take them much to start churning out a few in Kentucky - that's the Camry plant. Remember they still sell the Windom pretty well in Japan too, and the full size Camry across Asia - which is built in Japan. All three are built at the Tsutsumi Plant. As long as there is a market for them, it would most likely be cheaper to keep all three together.

The public in general wouldn't give a rat's !Removed!.

The ES/Windom itself has never sold well outside of Japan, North America, and some of the island nations in the carribian & south east asia, and the middle east. I think those are the markets where they sell well, but I may be wrong.

[Lexusfreak]

I hope if an AWD option is offered at some point, they develop one in 'partnership' with Subaru now that Toyota has a steak in them.......one would be hard pressed to beat Subi's in the AWD department, that includes Toyota & Lexus. ;)

[SW03ES]

To echo what ToysRMe said, they've never really tried to sell the ES in places like Europe, its always been a North America, Asia thing. As for FWD not being an acceptable drivetrain for a luxury car, I personally prefer RWD or rear biased AWD, but there are people, plenty of people in the US, that will only buy FWD cars because of their assumption that they're automatically better in the snow. The ES is Lexus' second best selling model, second only to the RX330. It outsells everything else and they sell like 70k units a year. Take my manager for instance, makes more money than God, drives a Lincoln Continental. She's always admired Lexus, BMWS, Mercedes etc but has always stuck to Lincoln Continentals because they're FWD. She loves my car when she rides in it, and was thrilled when she found out it was FWD and its going to be her next car.

So theres definately still a market for a FWD luxury car in the US. I'm hoping to buy a new LS in 2007 or 2008, but if for some reason I can't or I like the new ES, I'd still buy another ES even though it'd be FWD.

[Toysrme]

Aisin-Warner (Think Warner, IHI & Borg-Warner - Warner-ISHI) is Toyota's exclusive supplyer of transmissions. Toyota-Warner.

Toyota has modern, AWD transmissions arleady, they don't need FHI to spupply designs. They simply don't sell them in North America beacuse nobody bought them in the first place. How many AWD Celica & Camry's where there here? Not that many. To me, it remains to be seen how many AWD IS & GS's they can sell without putting AWD in with some special car package with other things the masses would more readily want.

[Rx330driver]

And if not will Lexus buyers accept an ES350 built in the US?

Or perhaps Canada? ;) The RX 330 (amoung other Toyota's like the Matrix, Corolla & soon to be Rav 4 in near by Woodstock, Ont) is built at the the award winning plant in Cambridge, Ontario. So yes, I think the public will accept other 'North American' built Lexi. B)

As for when the next gen ES 350 will debut, I think many of us were hoping at the Detroit auto show (we know it isn't the LA show) but that does not appear to be the case.......other possibilities include Geneva in March (but if the ES is going to be strictly for the NA market, I'm not sure how likely that is) or New York in April which seems like it will be if the car is to be offered in the spring of 2006 (according to many automotice sources). Expect a Hybrid offering.......with the possibility of AWD & more HP than the Avalon. B)

My rx330 was built in japan and shipped over...i got it before the plant was made. hehe '04! I remember because i had to wait for it to unload from Los Angeles and then get up in San Francisco

[YouDontKnowJack]

isn't this car supposed to be shown at the most recent auto show?

[SW03ES]

We should be seeing the new LS and ES soon.

As for AWD, I don't know. I see a lot of 4Matic Benzes around. Not so many X BMWs though...

[Aija]

In california, you rarely see AWD. BMW for example. you will only see "i" not "xi". Some people will have xi bimmers have xi models because they bought it used. Im curious as to how the next ES is going to look like. The ES should follow the new market strategy like they did for the IS/GS. Orginally the ES was designed for the baby boomers group (around age 55) for the current model. They are now focusing on a lower age group and want to build more of a perfomance car on all models (aka, better horsepwer)

For me personally, i am done with ES's (i am only 20). Main reason why i liked the ES was because the 2000 Lexus ES was a hand down and i guess my parents wanted to buy a family car and we choose the ES330 fully loaded. I know my parents are trading in the 2000 ES300 for the RX no matter how the new ES looks like. My next car will be RWD since we dont see snow anyways (and RWD is better for my style of driving). IS350 was a disappointment (no stickshift), GS would be nice if it looked nice for my age, so looks i have to wait for the BMW 335 and snag that one in the comming summer~

[SW03ES]

The new LS will give you the best idea of what the new ES will look like, take it and make the face shorter, move the Lexus emblem to the hood and you'll have it.

[ImranS]

I'm afraid to see the new ES...Although each other car released (including the new LS) looks good, I fear the ES will somehow look even more like a camry. The rear of the camry looks exactly lexus like and I don't know what they are going to do to change that. The rear of the camry already looks like the rear of the LS, and the ES is a baby LS.

[Toysrme]

What's the problem with them looking like a Camry? They've never not looked like a Camry LoL!

[YouDontKnowJack]

I'm afraid to see the new ES...Although each other car released (including the new LS) looks good, I fear the ES will somehow look even more like a camry. The rear of the camry looks exactly lexus like and I don't know what they are going to do to change that. The rear of the camry already looks like the rear of the LS, and the ES is a baby LS.

yeah. the butt of the camry does look like the LS a little

the back also looks like a hyundai.

and of course the front looks like a mazda.

[SW03ES]

It'll be fine, trust me. ;)