According to the February 2015 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report on vehicle crashes, 95% of all accidents are attributed to driver error, 3% of accidents to environmental factors, and 2% are to vehicle component failure. ...
Business Week magazine’s headline read, “Surprisingly Mixed Returns on Lexus.” They were referring to the slow start for the ES250. Our friend Chris Cedergren of JD Power and Associates announced, “It’s basically being proven that the Japanese will not be an...
The Los Angeles Times predicted a “bloody mess” in the advertising market with Lexus and Infiniti pumping $175 million into the luxury car market. Lexus and Infiniti would approach the luxury market with radically different advertising. Chris Cedegren of...
Ready or not, it was time to find out if all the long hours of planning, personal and professional sacrifices, and gut-wrenching decisions would pay off. Our goal was to have 100 dealers open for business on September 1, 1989, but only 70 were ready to...
What would the automotive press write about Lexus? Most of the reviews were good, some bad, and a few ugly. New York Times reporter Richard Stevens set the tone when he wrote, “Lexus is the most critical marketing battle for Toyota since it was first...
The stakes were high. Toyota had spent more than $1 billion developing Lexus, and the dealers had spent over $500 million on facilities and equipment. The anticipation to drive the new LS400 was intense along with a healthy dose of anxiety. Dr. and Mrs....
The automotive press sensed a market war was about to erupt when Lexus went on sale in September of 1989. The WardsAuto Dealer headline read, “Charge of the Luxury Brigade.” It noted that the “upscale luxury market is fast becoming as packed as a New...
Near the end of May 1989, Lexus invited automotive writers Pat Bedard from Car and Driver, Peter Egan from Road and Track, Jeff Karr from Motor Trend, Kevin Smith from Automobile, Richard Stepler from Popular Science, Tony Swan from Popular Mechanics, and Alex Taylor...
After Dick Chitty and I visited Carl Sewell, I got to thinking about a written statement that would articulate a vision for Lexus and instill in everyone the idea that they were part of something very important. When I got back to the office, I wrote some thoughts and...
Carl Sewell was one of the leading Cadillac dealers in the country. His dealership, Sewell Village Cadillac, was located in Dallas, Texas. Dick Chitty and I went to spend half a day with Carl. Carl was soft-spoken and had a humble yet confident manner...
Depending on the wind, it’s an 11- or 12-hour flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo. On a typical flight, I would eat two meals, watch three movies, and take an occasional nap. Japan is 17 hours ahead of California. I would leave L.A. at noon on Monday and...
Be honest with yourself, and you will find the motivation to do what you advise others to do. (Vince Poscente, motivational speaker) It’s easy to give advice. We all seem to like to do that. But, Poscente says you can profit by listening to your own advice: “Walking...