1990 LEXUS LS 400 WAS A GAME CHANGER // FIRST LEXUS LS FROM TAHARA FACTORY IN JAPAN
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ต.ค. 2024
- The very first Lexus LS 400, introduced in the 1990 model year, was a true game changer. Built at the Tahara plant, the LS 400 created a whole new luxury market and things have never been the same since then. David goes over the original and first Lexus LS 400 right inside the Tahara plant in Japan, bringing back many memories at the same time.
Automotive Press is owned and managed by David Koichi Chao, a global expert in the field of automotive evaluation, engineering, and strategy. With over 35 years of engineering experience, David is able to review vehicles from unique perspectives utilizing technical and specialized methods. David is a board member and a director at AJAC (Automobile Journalist Association of Canada).
David is known around the world as an authentic specialist of Lean/Agile Thinking, and travels all around the world to review vehicles and teach latest engineering methods. Born and raised in Japan, David has an engineering degree from University of British Columbia and post-graduate education from MIT and Harvard Business School in Boston. - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
I just recently bought a 2005 LS430, and it is stunningly well made, even with 170K miles on it. They remain an incredible value.
That LS came from this plant in Tahara. The best auto planet in the world bar none.
I owned one of these in 1990 and had upgraded to newer models through the years. Truly an amazing car and experience at the time and since. Just bought a 2022 LC 500 and the amazing quality and experience continues. Still behind on the cameras and user interface now though.
David, This LS 400 is such a timely reminder of the glorious days 🥳🥳when sedans were proud to be sedans and not pretending to be coupes. Since the Mercedes CLS came on the scene, sedans have been shaving the rear roof line to the point where headroom for adult back seat passengers is AWOL. The sloping sedan roof lines and decreased practical appeal have been accompanied by a downward slope in sedan sales. I wonder if the few remaining sedan builders will ever understand the correlation. 🤔
Magnificent😍😍😍
Since my childhood, Lexus is my first Love❤❤❤
Especially the 1990 I wish I could afford one, one day🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I have my dad’s 1995 LS400 with about 172K miles and it still runs like a champ. I’d say that second generation LS400 is the best LS ever made.
It is more angular than the first gen LS400 and therefore has a slightly more timeless design.
That LS you show in this video is the 1993 version because of the wheels. They also modified the side skirts on that 1993 LS. I noticed that particular one seems to have a lower lip on the front bumper with some cutouts in it. I never saw that lip on US LS400s.
I want to restore my LS400 but at the same time it might not be too practical to do so. It needs a new paint job because the clearcoat on the Ebony Teal Pearl has peeled off. So much for Lexus’ 32 step paint job from those days.
I will say the back doors have the most satisfying door close of any car I have ever seen. You can slam that thing as hard as you can and it’ll still close with the same sound as if you closed it with ordinary force. It has a great sound.
Way better than the door close sound on a G Wagon I say 😂.
Thanks for sharing David!
thanks for the video. The original LS400 is one of my favorite cars.
The V8 engine in the LS 400 was built so good it was approved for aviation use.
Correct! An aircraft engineer told me about that!👍
That’s a huge deal
@@allenzillmer1917 This aircraft engineer who told me that the 1UZ-FE was good for aircraft use designed his own home made supercar around this engine. Oh…this was his second home made jobbie, the first one he sold me for a bottle of single malt scotch. That was powered by Alfa Romeo twin-cam four.
@@kallekas8551 That's a fantastic story! And what a deal to get something like that for a bottle of scotch! I have my A&P but have not worked on planes in decades. Trying to imagine this engine in an aircraft. I assume it was still liquid cooled? That would scare me silly to worry about coolant leaks.
@@allenzillmer1917 The first car he built was back in 89. Steel tubular space frame, mid engine, double wishbone suspension all round with adjustable coil overs all round. Body in aircraft grade aluminium which was his own design reminiscent of a cross between a Lotus Esprit and De Tomaso Pantera. All up weight was 550kg, torsional stiffness was 3600Nm/ per degree. Alfa twin cam twin carb with Alfasud transaxle with custom bell housing. Unfortunately I split up with his daughter who was also an AME and the beast went with her…😩 Funny, i don’t miss the girl so much, but her old man was a legend. It would be nice to catch up with him to see how the Lexus engined project went…
The 1989/1990 LS 400 was a game changer in the automotive luxury segment. While it may be argued that Lexus took some design inspiration from Mercedes at the time, Lexus had its own DNA, spirit, and sophistication that exulted class. The fit and finish was miles ahead of GM or German's at the time. From the thin, eloquently designed headlights, to the unobtrusive grill and perfectly sized, restrained logo perfectly centered. Lexus is renowned for their robust engineering, high-quality materials, and precise manufacturing tolerances. The engine produced well below 100 horsepower per liter, which was considered a modest output focused on smooth linear power delivery and refinement over maximizing specific output. This being the main advertising poisoning used by Team One of the ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi at the time in their Balance TV ad. it goes without saying it was over engineered to be the best. To this day the Lexus LS 400 remains an icon of quality automotive manufacturing.
Well said!!
The LS was a home run from the moment it went on sale. They sold in 1990 for mid $30k. It definitely made the German’s step up their game.
I remember when the LS 400 first came out, the auto media all said that the Germans had to go back to the drawing board.
It would be great to see video of Tahara building this LS or other models of this generation
David, can you talk about the Chinese EV industry, your opion. What Toyota plans about it ? Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Had three of them. Toyota Lexus still number 1. We know that they are not perfect. But they are the closest that a vehicle manufacturer will ever come to being perfect. No other car manufacturer in the world can't say that.
I worked on the development of that car. Also blew the engine on an Infiniti Q45 when the timing chain broke. Nissan had to replace the engine because the Q ship was still under warranty.
You have to share some insight on the LS development. Did you guys know Infiniti q45 was also in the works? It was interesting how both cars came out at the same time w very similar spec and dimensions.
Yes we did. But while Nissan was going after the BMW 7 series, we were going after the MB 450 SEL. I really don't know who Honda was going after with the Acura brand. But we all knew each other at Nissan, Honda, Toyota, BMW and Mazda. And would sometimes get together occasionally. But we NEVER talked about future products. Even Ford showed up a few times. GM and Chrysler were not very friendly. And we would also see each other doing "thermal testing" in Death Valley.
@@dtna did you guys know the LS was going to be a major success. Were you guys worried of the competition, esp infinite? I was a kid when the LS came out and loved it! Dragged my dad to test drive it and it was so quiet and smooth. It was so different from anything else I’ve ever been in.
The 1990 LS is approx the same length was a current 2024 ES. How come the LS looks so much bigger outside and roomier inside?
LEXUS WILL ALWAYS BE #1
I wish I could buy a clean LS 400 currently 😢
I own a 1996 LS400 in Nori Green and I daily drive a GS400. Getting in and out of IS350s, GS350s, last updated LX570s and I was just recently in a new LS500; the build quality is definitely night and day difference. It's embarrassing how toyota literally gave up on the "pursuit of perfection" and is just cranking out typical high volume build quality. Softex or whatever Lexus calls their version absolutely ages terribly in high use areas like arm rests. It's sad that my 1989 Cressida has a better sounding door slam than the current models of most Lexus vehicles. Ironically my cheap $30,000 msrp FJ cruiser sounds more satisfying to shut the door than a new $50,000 msrp ES. It's sad that in order to get a very good interior quality build you need to buy the LS500 when the old Lexus vehicles in the 1990s stared very similar build and material qualities.
I totally agree with you they definitely have fallen off but surprisingly Lexus it’s at the top in some categories for dependability and reliability according to consumers reports and jd powers and associates
Was the SC 430 also built at Tahara?
In my view, the Japanese and the Japan assembled vehicles make the best quality and most reliable cars in the world. I am hoping the two top Japanese automakers return to making these luxury sedans again in the near future.
Better panel gap than any FCA or GM garbage
When they built fantastic “relentless pursuit of perfection” automobiles. Now not so much….
so why can they not continue to have the same body quality now?
Reminds of Street Fighter 😝
❤
"It has its own character. It's not German, it's not Italian. It's Japanese." Acura and, perhaps, Infiniti had their own character too. Acura for a few years in the 1990s sold more Legends than Mercedes and BMW sold cars of all models (e.g. BMW 3-, 5-, 7-series, etc.) Integra was a breakout success as well. But then Acura and Infiniti decided to listen to go Euro, taking the advice of European product planners to homogenize their lineups right down to the alphanumeric model names, eliminating successful nameplates like Legend and Integra. Which confused potential buyers. Infiniti already had alphanumeric names, but it had a particular model--the G35/37, which was well-loved and recognizable. Well, Infiniti subsumed the G35 in its Q lineup, eliminating its iconic, sporty design in the process. Lexus wasn't immune either: there was a 'Lexus look' that quickly became classic, but Lexus eliminated that too, especially in the LS--the model that put them on the map. Seems like Japanese carmakers love doing this.
The first gen Lexus cars were all over engineered
If you have an inside line to Mr. Toyoda let him know his engineers are ruining the brand with poor Toyota quality and engines as of late. Get rid of the lawnmower engines and go back to their roots. Us loyal Toyota/lexus customers don’t care about the outer worldly technology we care about craftsmanship and reliability.
Lexus is so vanilla with exceptionally outdated interiors.