When Europe Laughed And Toyota Won - 1990 Lexus LS 400
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 พ.ย. 2020
- Toyota saw amazing growth during the 1970s and 1980s especially in the U.S. market. It was during this time that it built a great reputation with its reliable fuel efficient smaller cars. Toyota wanted to compete in the luxury car market but wasn't taken seriously until the 1990 model year. Here's how and why Europe may have laughed but Toyota won big in 1990.
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You still see first gen LS400’s on the road today
Bruh, and half of them are friggin' mint
Can't say the same for the sluggish Mercedes of the same time period.
@@j887276 Somebody said "Mercedes, endless money pits."
lots of them still rolling here in Australia
My brother has a 93 LS400 I have a 2001 gs430
Gotta admit, I see Toyota Camrys, Corolllas, and LS from 20 years ago all over the place.
Good quality cars!
Just a small edit. The first ES in 1990 was an ES250 not ES300. The ES300 came out in 1992.
1989 and 1991, as model years are not literal.
I remember one of the first Lexus LS commercials when the guy was stacking champagne glasses on the hood to prove that the engine was so smooth that the glasses never fell. That was a cool commercial.
Yes it was showed Lexus Quality and how buttery smooth their engines are 😎
That was epic!
60NXNP09 Yes it was 😎🤝
Do you remember the single rain drop commercial?
The fact Toyota made a vehicle this competitive to a Mercedes when they were at there peak of build quality is a great achievement of engineering, Merc's were over engineered at this point, reducing there quality substantially by the late 90's.
The V8 that Ford put into the Lincoln lineup was bullet proof. You still see 80s & 90s Town Cars everywhere
paul tanner Exactly! Many articles failed to put as well as it's durability.
@@8corymix8 Yet they were outdated relics and how did the rest of the vehicle hold up? MN12 or DEW98 could have kept that vehicle alive.
@@jmin8400 outdated? Lol
That's certainly your opinion & not fact. I'm a huge Toyota & Lexus fan, but im also a huge Lincoln fan & have a mint condition 87 Town Car. The 80s & 90s Town Car are beautiful cars. You can find many immaculate examples today in perfect mechanical condition. They have a huge following.
@@8corymix8 I liked the 1990-97 Town Car. In 1989, it was the first body on frame motor vehicle with SRS airbags in the whole automotive industry.
It said 90s upper class America better than any Cadillac could, but it was by far outclassed by European and Japanese competition.
Yet, they held onto the Panther beyond that generation too long. It should've been redesigned in 1997 onto a new RWD unibody basis. Because of FN74 Continental, couldn't do that. Thus, it was hypothesized to make that RWD monocoque instead of FWD.
The so-called TC redesign for 1998 should've been replaced by 2001 at latest with a unibody offering.
They kept it longer than its sell by date and thus, it died and couldn't even be resurrected under Fields, like intended for MY 2021 as an S-Class rival on CD6. Hackett never wanted a Lincoln flagship above the interim FWD Continental.
Cadillac and Lincoln only were successful through the late 90s, then were dominated by imports as Baby Boomers further entered the peak earning years and the younger Silent Generation didn't give a hoot.
I don't live on opinion, I live on reality and not wearing rose tinted glasses. Lincoln could've played on its strengths and taken the TC into the future, while retaining a "Town Car Heritage" if need be into the future.
It became a caricature of itself and truly died in 1997, just as the Lexus LS did a few years ago.
This was amazing when it was released in 1990. It came out of nowhere and impressed everyone. I was astounded when I first rode in one. It was so quiet and smooth plus that magical gauge cluster. I hope to pick up a used LS at some point in my life.
Nice bro do it and I own a 06 LS430 never getting rid of her she is a keeper 😎
That magical gauge cluster use to catch my eyes also! If I caught one going by me at night, I use to always try and take a peek.
Ultimate M 😎
I have one. They ruin you for other cars though. I love LS430s. I wish they still made them. The new LS doesn’t do it for me. The Lexus GX and LS trucks will ruin you for every other SUV on the road though.
True perfection!
Continental Aquatics 🤝😎
Now that’s a timeless classic
If theres any doubt to Toyota's quality Matt Farah had that Lexus LS with over a million miles.
Knew a guy who sold his 1990 Lexus in great condition about five years ago.
That thing ran as smooth as silk even at 25 years of age. I regret not buying it off him.
Regret....
My parents had a 95' LS400, that car made me fall in love with Lexus. My everyday driver for past 7 yrs. has been my 98' GS400, just an amazing car in so many ways!
My favorite GS of all time bro cool I can only imagine how fun and great that car is I own a 06 LS430 and I’m never getting rid of her she is a keeper 😎
This bring back memories of me getting pulled over in my mom's 91 ls400 doing 134mph in Illinois in 1997
I was 9 years old in 1997. But was fully aware .
Lol! Awesome! Was the cop shocked that this sleeper can go that fast! How big was the ticket?
I remember when my uncle bought one new in the nineties and my other family members had the BMW's and Mercedes laughed at him until they rode inside it and the next thing I knew they started buying Lexus cars 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
😂🤣🤝😎
Haha 😆 great story
As the man who owns one!
The original LS400's were so reliable that they were almost boring.
Put them on drift
😂🤣 that’s that good ol Lexus Quality for you I own a 06 LS430 and never getting rid of her she is a keeper 😎
Would rather be bored at how little the car breaks then surprised as to how often the car breaks.
Insta Singing Vids 🤝
When it comes to reliability, boring is good!!
And I still love the original`s LS shape over the newer one
The LS400 was a classy, elegant looking car. The newest Lexus looks like an angry Darth Vader.
True, the classic wins me over
You guys are correct, I've had a few LS's and I quit looking at anything newer than a 2012 LS. To me the newer one's look like the monster in the Terminator.
I agree. This is true of all current Toyota designs, it seems. The new oversize grilles are beyond hideous and look like they want to swallow a pedestrian.
So, true! The current LS grille looks as though Darth Vader and Predator had a child!!!
I meant to say Predator instead of Terminator, but I think you guys got my drift. I went so far as not liking that grill I bought a car with no grill, Tesla Model S. It's different, but I don't think it compares to an LS. My wife doesn't like the Tesla but loves the LS. I just told her when I can get an LS that doesn't look like the Predator I'll buy one
Those rear drive corollas at the beginning of the video were fantastic cars. We still have a 1983 Corolla that belonged to my dad.
👍🏻
So awesome
ae86
My buddy’s mom had a Cressida that she let him drive from time to time. We loved that thing. It had some kind of ECM or ECT button that you could push and turn on and that thing would really scoot after that. Fun ride.
And because the Cressida shared a similar engine with the Supra, it will be sweet to stuff in a Twin Turbo 2JZ under the hood and make the Cressida a cool sleeper car.
The Cressida was a spectacular luxury car. Loved driving it, it was so complicated inside,it had a button to do everything and things you didn't think a car could do at the time!! It was almost German!!
@@mrpoohbearlvr You mean better than German? German cars today truly suck.
I think there was a Twin Turbo version of the Japanese Cressida, The Mark II. It was about 85-86.
I had a Lexus IS series, it was the best car I have ever owned. I’m lucky enough to have owned a few new cars but I kept that Lexus for 14 years. I was loathed to move it on.
Cheers😊
given the option I'm still taking the S-Class W126 with 5.6L motor - but huge Kuddos to the Lexus, they changed the game and status quo.
I agree 100%. The build quality of the W126 is much better than the Lexus. I still see some W126 around today and they look fantastic.
@@kevinowen4083 exactly right, I had 560SL and later 560SEC coupe, they did not make big horsepower but lots of low end torque from that CIS injection set up.
Love the mid/late 1980's Cressida/Chaser/Mark II. The LS was a real game changer in the luxury segment. Now it's Korea's turn with Genesis.
I have one
I love it
I have a 06 LS430 and love mines too as never getting rid of her she is a keeper 😎
When I lived in Denver and found out that there was a Lexus dealer opening up, I went & checked out cars, boy was I surprised at how nice it was, the LS was on the showroom floor and I sat in it and it was a very quiet car. I played with all the power stuff adjusting the mirrors, seat, etc, and found it to be a very impressive automobile. Believe it or not, it’s been my favorite ever since. Right now I’m living in Orlando Florida but when I lived in Delray Beach, I’d gone to the Ft. Lauderdale auto show & for grins sat behind the wheel of the BMW 7 series and thought it was quiet, but the minute I sat in the Lexus, it was quieter, so yeah when you feel that the European cars are all that & more, the Japanese cars are more surprisingly impressive. It brings to mind that back in the sixties, the European cars were the ones to buy for economic fuel economy, the Japanese cars weren’t quite impressive because they were noisy and not very powerful, it wasn’t until the mid sixties that they were making their way to the American shores with a much improved car, the Datsuns & Toyota’s were a sight to see on the road in California besides the Beetle, so who knew that 2 companies from Japan would end up being the cars to buy decades later next to SUVs, trucks and crossovers!!
Such a great car. I’d still love to own one
I own a 06 LS430 she is Great buttery smooth and whisper quiet with Great power/speed I’m never getting rid of her she is a keeper 😎
Thanks Again; I always look forward to your Videos.
Great upload. Good diversity. Lots of classic cars from around the world should be documented on this channel.
They last and last, my sequoia has the 4.7 from the same engine family 2 tundras have a million miles on them with that motor and matt Farah had the famous milion mile Lexus, they are truly great cars
That new Lexis is so over styled as to make it cartoonish. Yet it sells like hotcakes. The Q45 hit all the right notes and looks great to this day.
Such a classic girl.
Still a very nice looking car to this very day.
Toyota an Lexus aftermarket customer support is still far better and a much more pleasant experience than dealing with most other car manufacturers.
Love this channel. Every upload is a treat.
I'm a subscriber of your channel, and have enjoyed all your videos. The 1990 LS400 is by far my favorite Lexus, is the only Lexus that I would really love to own. As a Toyota fan/lover and Corolla owner...would you ever consider making a video about the Corolla? I really hope so. Thanks again.
Proud 1998 Ls400 owner with 350,000km on it here great vid!
Wow 😍 look forward to my 06 LS430 reaching a million miles 😎
Europeans will tell you they make the best cars, but in reality they only held the crown for about 15 years, in the 70s and 80s -having taken that crown from America back in the 1970s and then losing it to Japan back in the 1990s.
Oddly enough the Lexus was called Crown in Japan 😉
The Illuminated One Japan ain't crown kid. Mercedes Benz is always be the 👑👨🏻✈️. The Lexus cries in Japan.
Jay Bee Japan falls too dude.
@@soulfulmoodstring62
"I don't know anything about cars." - Bernard Calma, 2020
Basically the Lexus LS400 made a Mercedes S-class from the same year look 20 years older in design.
Yupp looks like it 😂 😎
In all fairness. The W126 first came out in 1979 so it was 11 years old and almost retired in 1990. In 1991 came the new W140.
I was never prejudiced against any car brand. I owned about a dozen cars of various makes before 2001. Since then I've owned a Lexus SC400, a Toyota Avalon, Lexus ES300 and my current Lexus ES350. These cars are the best built & most reliable I've ever owned. I heartily recommend buying a relatively inexpensive used Lexus with 90,000+ miles. You're guaranteed to get it over 200,000 miles with few problems.
I remember sitting in one that belonged to one of my parents' friends back when it was new & thinking it was just about the coolest car in the world!!!! 30 years later, you can get just about everything this car had in a brand new Civic, not that there is anything AT ALL wrong with that!!! 1:34..........WRONG!!!! The first small Lexus, as pictured, was the ES250, not the ES300.
As an owner of a BMW 1990 750iL and a 1990 535i, I still find the BMW styling to be better but the Lexus was, indeed, a great car!
Thanks for the video! :)
I used to have a white 1990 BMW 750iL and a white 1992 Lexus LS400, both bought used with around 100,000 miles. The BMW was definitely much more exciting to drive, but was a horrible never-ending money-pit in repair costs, while the dependable Lexus was very reliable.
If I had a luxury car budget, I would not buy a European or American car because of reliability issues. I don't like taking my car in all the time to gat fixed, I would buy a Lexus,
At least if one were treated well it would take out some of the sting. Yet multiple bend, turn & cough without lubricant complicates even a lifelong loyalty.
Anything from Japan is great in value and build.
Or if you live in Japan, there is also the Toyota Century since 1967; which to this day still retained a boxy and old school shape for a flagship Toyota car above any Lexus.
Of course you might have to be a highly respected being such as a politician, emperor, a member of the Imperial family, etc. to have a new one, since wealth isn't necessarily considered a factor of social status in Japan.
Or you can find some older examples of the Century for relatively cheap price tags. The second gen Century [G50] from 1997 to 2016 was very unique from the fact it was the only Japanese production car with a V12 engine.
I can still remember seeing tons of LS400's on the roads back in the early 90s, along with loads of Acura Legends.
Even though the Germans have always had excellent engineering, currency is the big difference, causing Japanese vehicles to have lower prices here in the US.
Cool I remember all those when they debuted I kind of liked the LS 400 and the Q 45 but still leaned to Cadillac & Oldsmobile
250 hp out of 4 liter. Pretty good power
5
Yay new video ! Make more videos
It's crazy how ahead of its time it was when it First came out. Many people just see it as an old boring Luxury car, but they forget this was a car that was designed and engineered in the 80's with tech and drivability that makes it feel like a car built in the late 90's/early 2000
These had everything you need in a car and nothing you didn’t. The current LS is a rolling super computer. I love the more analog simplicity of the original LS.
I read an article about the Toyota V8 that went into the LS400, very robust and thoroughly tested. I saw a brand new LS 400 when I graduated from HS and thought it was a game changer and wondered whom made the “Lexus”.
Great video, but the First generation of ES was called the ES250, the ES300 didn't arrive until the 1992 model year.
Toyota made the other luxury car brands up their game. The same with Honda/Acura’s NSX in ‘91. It would be interesting to see a episode on the NSX
Just a quick fact check, the first Lexus ES was the ES250, so named because it came standard with the Camry's optional 2.5 V6. Still a great video though 👍
When you consider the design was created in the mid 80's, the car was WAY ahead of it's time in every way. If you saw a mint 1990 model cruising today, it would turn plenty of heads.
I remember when the Lexus LS400 was released. I would've bought it, or its smaller Camry based car, the ES250.
The ls 400 was a nice looking car very expensive at the time and to be honest I still would have bought a car from one of the big 3
@Uz 33 He was too cheap. LS 400 was out of his budget.
Those early Lexus 4 liter v-8's were good for 1/2 million miles. Bulletproof.
The same thing today is happening with Korean cars, everyone laughed at them years ago but they’re making huge moves in the automotive market today.
The original LS400 is one of the very few true hits (in a tough segment) in automobile history.
I was a teenager when it first came out, I lusted over it then and I still do today in 2020.
I assume well kept ones will rise in value to the amazement of many in the next 15-20 years.
Thank you for this video!. I just bought a 1990 LS 400. It it mint. I always wanted in but could afford one back in the day. I bout from a that owned from time it was new. Ever service record. The guy would have rugs shampoo ever couple of years. There amazing cars.
Back when they launched the LS400 and the Q45, I would have bet on the Infiniti. It was a super luxurious Nissan that was a tad faster and, I thought, had such a unique looks - with the absence of a grill and smooth graceful lines. The Lexus just looked to boring... a big Camry. Boy! Was I wrong. Well done Lexus. Now I yearn for a Lexus and warn people about Infiniti. Thanks for the well thought out video.
The LS400 was no doubt a great luxury sedan, but I feel that the 1st generation Infiniti Q45 was really underappreciated. It had great power and was sporty to drive. Too bad it was overshadowed by the LS400.
The 2021 LS is absolutely stunning in its outstanding proportions, it looks more similar to a Lamborghini Estoque than to its rivals which have normal proportions.
4.0L V8 was a very smooth gem of a motor.
LS430 2001‐2006 the greatest luxury car ever
I was at my boss' house in 2004 when I saw a 1998 LS400 parked at the next house. It was a very beautiful metallic blue with beige interior. The guy wanted $6000 for it. I didn't even have $2000 in my bank account. Back then I wasn't interested in Jags. That came a few years later then in March 2007 I bought my 1994 XJ40. It was also very beautiful with 85k miles. I'd say it's condition was about 90% of a new XJ40. Then I spent my whole 30s working on it and I still work on it if I need to because I still own that car. But who knows what would've happened if I had the money to buy that LS400. Maybe I liked it so much that I would have never become a Jag enthusiast and never bought my 40.
The first LS400 was the BEST Looking Lexus! 😀
One thing often missed in coverage of the 1990 LS - ( which I bought in 1999 & drove 120k trouble-fee miles & STILL didn't use any oil when sold to my Lexus service rep ) - is that, when introduced, 4-valve engines were not in use and only by spending twice the sticker of the LS could you get a V8 in a luxury car ( which would quickly break ). A BMW owner of a 540 derisively called Lexus cars "Clapped-Out" Toyotas. He wouldn't have even had the option of that car had there been no Lexus. My 10-year old LS was far more reliable than his car.
Not trying to be a troll but the Lexus Es250 rolled on with ls400 in 1990. Es300 was a few years later.
The Lexus LS cars (especially the LS400 Gen 1, LS400 Gen2, and LS430) are near the top of my list of all time favorite cars.
like for my lexus
Hey help me out. I love your videos so you may have the answer I need. What was the 60's muscle car that was claimed to be built with perfect parts and carried a special badge? I think it was an olds but can't remember. An old man was telling me about his when I was a kid. If you know can you do a video? Your videos teach so many kids about what made all these cars special. Keep it up. I love watching and taking a ride down memory lane.
Dude never replies.
Lol. Thanks for the info.. Maybe the fog of malted hops and bong water from my teen years will clear up some day and I will remember what that car was called
that was an olds 442 with 'blue-printed engine parts. w30 i think.
Please do more European/Japanese car reviews.. 👌🏼🙏🏼
Fun fact: Lexus is actually an anagram. It means: Luxury EXport US.
That is a fun fact
Lexus name was made from a advertising firm "Luxury and Elegance"
Actually the same car in Japan was called "Crown" years before in made it to the US
@@jaybee2344 Toyota Celsior
toyota denies this.
@@jaybee2344 incorrect. LS were NOT sold in Japan prior to US debut.
Supreme refinememt, luxury, build quality and reliability.
Next: Documentary of American Pimpmobiles/Super Fly Cars especially about Les Dunham who created the vehicles from Lincolns and Caddilacs.
Especially the ones in movies such as the James Bond film "Live And Let Die" , Super Fly, Super Man etc .
2:34 The length of the standard wheelbase Mercedes-Benz S-Class was designed to conform to the ad hoc “5 Meter Car” European standard for full-size sedans.
It still looks good today!
6:11 I respectfully disagree with your assertion that the Infiniti Q45 did not have the class or good looks of the LS400. I was deeply involved with Infiniti in the early days. The Q45 DID have more class and better looks - more accurate to say it had less appeal to the masses - somewhat more “esoteric”. Both dealer networks started out with equal levels of client service, but somehow Lexus started to pull away from Infiniti in sales volume. The vast majority of Q45 buyers were men - successful executives and business owners. It drove like a 4-door Z-car. Fast, with not as much sound treatment as the LS400. On the highway, it just wanted to keep going faster and faster. 90% of the time when Q45 cars came in for service the radio would be on WBZ AM 1030, a business news station in Boston.
i read somewhere that several top level Nissan - infiniti execs committed hari kari for their comparative failure with the Q. 1st year, i recall, the LS sold some 57K units.
the Q a paltry 12 K...
You should make a video on the best classic muscle car transmissions
We bought used one a while ago and thought the previous owners debadged the “LS400” badge but found out the early models didn’t have that emblem in the back
An LS 400 was an incredibly good car that was better on specs than Mercedes and BMW or Audi when the price was weighed. In terms of reliability and build quality, the LS 400 was certainly not the under dog. but in the EU you gave a signal that you had to pay attention to the money, so a simpler BMW or Mercedes was hit higher than the LS 400, so the LS 400 was looked down a bit, and they were no sales hits, and the new models are too styled
nice quality.
That LS 400 design is still alive and well Even after 40 years
2020 minus 1990 = 30.
I've recently bought a I gen IS300 SC (wagon) from 2001. It is not as big as the LS400, and its build quality is a bit lower (but not that much). And I wish they also had the 1UZ with a 6-speed auto. But everything works, has no rust, and can go on for probably next 20 years - the 2JZ is also a solid unit. Seeing BMWs or Audis from that period (or new as well) on the streets, I feel somewhat better off. Maybe I'm just biased towards old Japanese cars, but I'd like to have a MKIII Supra one day.
Great video. Love the history. Happy you mentioned that Honda was the first to launch the upscale sport-luxury division Acura in mid 1985. There is no doubt that conservative Toyota used that intel and copied Hondas' strategy when they launched their brand four years later. The LS400 was very nice but it did not feel as solid or well built as the Mercedes they tried to emulate. And the materials used were not up to the same quality and feel of the S-Class Benz. But good enough for most when one considered the price was $30,000 less. It appears that Toyota/Lexus have lost their way though, as evidenced by the garish, over-styled front ends of the newer models. They look very cheep, like they are using chicken wire and black spray paint from a local hardware store to assemble the front facia.
So rare to see any Lexus in Ohio anymore... folks moved to: Tesla, M.B., BMW... the rare Lexus aka Rustus have beyond rust holes.
I definitely remember when the LS400 and Q45 came out. Both cars were bad to the bone! I remember the magazine advertisements for the Q45. So many nice cars were coming out during this period! Shortly after the LS400 came out, there was a recall because of a bad master cylinder I believe.
Matt Farah approves
His has over 1,000,000 miles still going
That car looks sick ngl.
I like your Avatar, a 77 Cutlass from Templeton motors I believe.
I bought an LS400 a few weeks ago.
Great content, but hard to listen & keep attention because tone is extremely monotone.
Unfortunately, many cars today have huge grille that make them look atrocious.
I remember the first time I saw a LS 400 was beating it up it a video game; Street Fighters I think it was.
Streetfighter 2 👌
Even the infiniti q45 was a great car. The ls400 was more refined , but the q45 was sportier with a lusty , more powerful v8.
I remember how skeptical people were that Lexus could build a car like a Mercedes. Lexus proved they could. You don't really want to own a Mercedes, BMW, or Audi out of warranty because the cost of ownership and repairs is astronomical. Over time the Lexus and a Lincoln Town Car are a lot more reliable and cost effective.
Depends which Mercedes your referring to. The E-Class is very reliable.
I remember when they first appeared and a motoring writer did a report after having one for a year and he had to admit that nothing had gone wrong with it at all in that time.
I love this. Its anti all glamour.
I had a 1992 SC400 and a 1995 SC300 .
The V8 in the SC400 was a head turner when I stepped on it .
Lexus Japanese, Hyundai which has their Genesis Line South Korean makes some of the most reliable vehicles ever created. Mercedes and BMW depending on certain models the reliability is nightmarish.
Seriously thinking about Honda Legend or Lexus to buy
I can respect the reliability and build quality of those old LS models, I just wish there was a manual transmission option, I loathe automatics
The LS400 was derived from a combination of the Japanese Market Highest Spec Toyota Crown & Century models which were only given to top executives diplomats, or the Japanese royal family - and featured in car video, turn by turn sat nav, fully reclining rear seats and voice commands (for some things - Japanese only though!). I test drove the 2011 Lexus GS450 Hybrid in the UK & only the reason it was a sedan and was not a 4x4 put my wife off buying one - the 4x4 RX 300 was not large enough at the time we needed 7 seats and the 7 seater wasn't available on the UK market and the Land Cruiser Prado etc was not in the budget. We bought a VW Touran diesel! Not a great idea Diesel gate etc! Ironically my sister in law bought the 2021 Lexus RX 4x4 & my wife and I just hate the styling now