Today in automotive history, September 1, the first Lexus

September 2, 12:54 AMDC Auto Industry ExaminerRick Trawick

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The 1989 Lexus LS 400 (Lexus photo)

On September 1, 1989 Lexus sold the first LS400 to a retail customer. The Lexus brand was created as a luxury brand to compliment Toyota and give their customers a brand of which to aspire. With a great marketing plan to complement the amazingly well crafted cars, the brand was an immediate success. Many in the press complained about the rather bland styling, but no one could fault the impeccable build quality or the incredibly smooth V8 in the LS 400. (Remember the wine glass commercial, where a pyramid of wine glasses was stacked on a running Lexus engine?)

When launched:

Lexus had 81 dealerships, which sold about 16,000 cars that first year.

There were two models, the LS 400 and ES 250.

The most powerful engine, the LS 400 V8 at 250 hp.

Top sound system, the LS had a trunk-mounted 6-disc CD player with cassette player and 7 speakers.

There were no hybrids.

They had yet to win any J.D. Power Awards

Today Lexus has 227 dealerships that, before the current recession, sold over 300,000 units, for three consecutive years. This year, despite the challenging market, plans to sell 210,000 vehicles.

There are 17 distinct models.

The most powerful engine is found in the 5 liter V8 found in the IS-F with 416 hp and the soon to be introduced LFA will have over 500 hp.

Top sound system is the premium surround sound system with 19-speakers, XM satellite radio, iPod plug-in and a hard disk drive built into the car that can store up to 2,000 songs found in the LS.

There are four hybrid models RXh, GSh, LSh and HS.

They have won 180 awards

Not bad for a 20 year old brand. On the horizon, Lexus has new hybrids and performance models in the works. But keep an eye on the LS, as the Lexus flagship will continue to be the focus of Lexus’ “Relentless pursuit of perfection”.

Note: My editing and research issues delayed publication of this article until September 2.