Car front view, halfway lit, with 15 champagne glasses stacked on the hood to form a triangle.
In 1989, Lexus showcased the smoothness of its V8 engines by placing champagne glasses on the hood of a revving LS 400.
In 1989, after an extended development process involving 60 designers, 24 engineering teams, 1,400 engineers, 2,300 technicians, 220 support workers, around 450 prototypes, and over US$1 billion in costs, the F1 project was completed. resulting flagship, the Lexus LS 400, had a unique design that shared no major elements with previous Toyota vehicles, with a new 4.0 L V8 gasoline engine and rear-wheel drive. Testing locations for the LS 400 included the German autobahn.
The LS 400 debuted in January 1989 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The following September, Lexus vehicles officially went on sale at a network of 81 new Lexus dealerships across the U.S.The LS 400 was sold along with a smaller sibling, the Toyota Camry-based ES 250.The launch of Lexus was heralded by a multimillion dollar advertising campaign in both television and print media.
At its launch, the LS 400 was widely praised for its quietness, well-appointed and ergonomic interior, engine performance, build quality, aerodynamics, fuel economy, and value,although it was criticized by some automobile columnists for derivative styling and a suspension regarded as too compromising of handling for ride comfort. The LS 400 debuted at US$38,000 in the U.S. (in some markets, it was priced against mid-size six-cylinder Mercedes-Benz and BMW models) and was rated by Car and Driver magazine as better than both the US$63,000 Mercedes-Benz 420 SEL and the US$55,000 BMW 735i in terms of ride, handling, and performance. The LS 400 also won major motoring awards from publications including Automobile Magazine and Wheels Magazine. Despite being an upstart, Lexus established instant customer loyalty and its debut was generally regarded as a major shock to the pedigree luxury marques. BMW's and Mercedes-Benz's U.S. sales figures dropped 29% and 19%, respectively, with BMW executives accusing Lexus of dumping in that market, while 35% of Lexus buyers traded in a Lincoln or Cadillac to make their purchase.
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