Originally Posted By: TTK
Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
You can't beat Japanese engineering...
Unless of course you are German. Then you can't beat the Japanese copying your engineering
Soooooooooo.......what exactly did Lexus copy with the original LS400?
The Germans had to rush new designs when the LS400 started gobbling up their sales.
The cost overruns to get the new S-class to market to compete with the Lexus cost Daimler Benz's Chief Engineer his job. BMW had to rush the M60 V8 out early.
For a "copy", the LS sure made Daimler Benz and Bayerische Moteren Werke scramble about quite a bit.
But to be fair, Cadillac didn't even try. GM engineers said that they couldn't build a car like the LS400. I don't know what Lincoln engineers said. Chrysler had already messed up the hallowed Imperial nameplate by dolling up a Dodge Dynasty and calling it an Imperial. Dynasty is an okay car but it should never be an Imperial.
Exactly what was in the LS400 that GM could not duplicate? Any references for that statement? Perhaps they could not build it at the same price?
The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation: Matthew May
"When the LS 400 was disassembled for engineering analysis, Cadillac engineers concluded that the vehicle could not be built using existing GM methods"
or
http://blogs.motortrend.com/2007-lexus-ls-460-4053-miles-580.html
The LS400 was a new automotive benchmark. Sure, the styling may have been faux-Mercedes, but no other luxury car was as quiet, as smooth, or as beautifully built. None. From the specially developed noise-suppressing steel used in the body, to the way the engine management system managed the torque to ensure near seamless shifts from the four-speed automatic, the LS400 was an engineering masterclass in refinement.
No auto writer talked about panel fits until the LS400. Then, road tests increasingly noted the tightness and consistency of gaps and margins. It became shorthand for quality and precision of manufacturing, and suddenly everyone understood no-one did it better than Toyota. Not even Europe’s so-called luxury automakers.
Conventional wisdom is the LS400 made its biggest impact in the U.S. – its biggest and most successful market. But its effect on Europe’s automotive aristocracy was perhaps more immediate and profound. Stunned by the less-expensive LS400's refinement and quality, Mercedes-Benz engineers were forced into a making a series of last-minute improvements on the W140 S-Class in an attempt to match it.
The W140 ran late and over-budget, and probably cost then Daimler Benz engineering chief Dr. Wolfgang Peter his job. The W140 was the last of the engineers’ Benzes; after the shock of the LS400, Daimler management realized it no could no longer enjoy the luxury of developing cars on its own terms and in its own time. The LS400 helped transform Mercedes-Benz from an engineering led brand to a marketing driven one.
Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
You can't beat Japanese engineering...
Unless of course you are German. Then you can't beat the Japanese copying your engineering
Soooooooooo.......what exactly did Lexus copy with the original LS400?
The Germans had to rush new designs when the LS400 started gobbling up their sales.
The cost overruns to get the new S-class to market to compete with the Lexus cost Daimler Benz's Chief Engineer his job. BMW had to rush the M60 V8 out early.
For a "copy", the LS sure made Daimler Benz and Bayerische Moteren Werke scramble about quite a bit.
But to be fair, Cadillac didn't even try. GM engineers said that they couldn't build a car like the LS400. I don't know what Lincoln engineers said. Chrysler had already messed up the hallowed Imperial nameplate by dolling up a Dodge Dynasty and calling it an Imperial. Dynasty is an okay car but it should never be an Imperial.
Exactly what was in the LS400 that GM could not duplicate? Any references for that statement? Perhaps they could not build it at the same price?
The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation: Matthew May
"When the LS 400 was disassembled for engineering analysis, Cadillac engineers concluded that the vehicle could not be built using existing GM methods"
or
http://blogs.motortrend.com/2007-lexus-ls-460-4053-miles-580.html
The LS400 was a new automotive benchmark. Sure, the styling may have been faux-Mercedes, but no other luxury car was as quiet, as smooth, or as beautifully built. None. From the specially developed noise-suppressing steel used in the body, to the way the engine management system managed the torque to ensure near seamless shifts from the four-speed automatic, the LS400 was an engineering masterclass in refinement.
No auto writer talked about panel fits until the LS400. Then, road tests increasingly noted the tightness and consistency of gaps and margins. It became shorthand for quality and precision of manufacturing, and suddenly everyone understood no-one did it better than Toyota. Not even Europe’s so-called luxury automakers.
Conventional wisdom is the LS400 made its biggest impact in the U.S. – its biggest and most successful market. But its effect on Europe’s automotive aristocracy was perhaps more immediate and profound. Stunned by the less-expensive LS400's refinement and quality, Mercedes-Benz engineers were forced into a making a series of last-minute improvements on the W140 S-Class in an attempt to match it.
The W140 ran late and over-budget, and probably cost then Daimler Benz engineering chief Dr. Wolfgang Peter his job. The W140 was the last of the engineers’ Benzes; after the shock of the LS400, Daimler management realized it no could no longer enjoy the luxury of developing cars on its own terms and in its own time. The LS400 helped transform Mercedes-Benz from an engineering led brand to a marketing driven one.
