[mojo]

Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz says Lexus lost out big time by building the RC instead of a three-row crossover. I'll tell you what Jimmy, go moan to Akio because I'll guarantee Jim Lentz has zero pull in terms of product development vs the big man.

“In hindsight, if I was making this decision 10 years ago, seeing what I see today, the three-row [crossover] probably would have been the better play to come out first,” said Lentz, who has stationed himself at an office in Texas as Toyota prepares to move its headquarters to a new corporate campus here from Southern California.
He added: “Strategically that’s a more important vehicle to have than necessarily a lower volume, higher priced image product.”

Jeff Bracken:

Lexus wouldn’t confirm last week whether such a vehicle is under study, but dealers have been clamoring for it. “Third-row seating is the No. 1 issue we hear from dealers,” Lexus division chief Jeff Bracken told Automotive News last year. “We feel like we’re missing a 35,000-units-a-year opportunity. We’re working hard to rectify that.”

They both speak from a volume first, growth is king approach, which is ass backwards in this day and age. Consumers buy 'experiences' and 'emotions', YoY sales growth just isn't sexy to the consumer.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20150511/OEM02/305119948/lentz-on-lexus:-few-regrets

 

[LexMex]

So when do you think they'll bring out a three-row crossover?? Do you think this would have made a big difference for Lexus if they built a three-row crossover as stated by Mr. Lentz?

 

[mister]

It might have sold better than the RC Coupe, and it might have made them more money. It's good to build those high er profit vehicles first so that you can use the profit to invest in lower volume vehicles. Perhaps they just should have reversed the development order.

 

[David]

Seems like its time to talk platforms they might use for the crossover and from how I see it the RX's platform is perfect for this!

 

[mojo]

Dealers want everything right. They'll ask for a convertible pickup truck if they know they can line up a sale, so sometimes its not always best for the brand to respond explicitly to what the dealers ask for. I think we'll probabaly see a three row something next. I'm surprised they didnt give the RX the option at least, but the two big boys are the next to go. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them is killed in favour of a 2 row and 3 row single model, like the Escalade and Escalade plus (or whatever the bigger trim level is called)

 

[Kennedy]

Dealers want everything right. They'll ask for a convertible pickup truck if they know they can line up a sale, so sometimes its not always best for the brand to respond explicitly to what the dealers ask for. I think we'll probabaly see a three row something next. I'm surprised they didnt give the RX the option at least, but the two big boys are the next to go. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them is killed in favour of a 2 row and 3 row single model, like the Escalade and Escalade plus (or whatever the bigger trim level is called)

That's why car makers have research and development teams to see what people want and what will actually sell

 

[mister]

It does seem like Lexus listens to their dealers a bit more than they should perhaps. Dealers are also asking for a 3-row crossover, so lets just hope that they have done the market research and everything so they don't end up walking back their decision again. It doesn't look good when a company admits a strategic mistake like this. I think they just should have kept their mouth shut.

 

[Kennedy]

It does seem like Lexus listens to their dealers a bit more than they should perhaps. Dealers are also asking for a 3-row crossover, so lets just hope that they have done the market research and everything so they don't end up walking back their decision again. It doesn't look good when a company admits a strategic mistake like this. I think they just should have kept their mouth shut.

Actually, it's good when a company knows where they have gone wrong rather than one that stays stuck in what they think was right.

Now they know what to do, time for them to get too it.

 

[mister]

Actually, it's good when a company knows where they have gone wrong rather than one that stays stuck in what they think was right.

Now they know what to do, time for them to get too it.

It's good that they know what they did wrong, I'm just not sure if they should have admitted it in an interview. It's not like it was a glaring mistake or something to do with safety. They should have just said that they are excited to start working on a 3-row crossover. Why say you made a mistake when otherwise people wouldn't even know?