Join getAbstract to access the summary!

Lexus - The Relentless Pursuit

Join getAbstract to access the summary!

Lexus - The Relentless Pursuit

How Toyota Motors Went From "0-60" in the Global Luxury Car Market

Wiley,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Text available

What's inside?

Toyota set out to create automotive perfection using innovative design and engineering. The result? Hello, Lexus.

Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Well Structured
  • Overview

Recommendation

This is a great manufacturing love story in which Toyota, an automaker clearly in love with its product, decides to go after the U.S. luxury car buyer, a suitor who has repeatedly ignored its advances. To get America’s attention, Toyota must first re-invent itself. It must make itself more handsome (through better styling), improve its physique (be faster, stronger and need less maintenance) and prove its financial management skill (by selling great cars for less). Because time is fleeting and the buyer has many other suitors (Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, Nissan, Volvo), Toyota must work fast before its intended lover makes an irrevocable decision and buys someone else’s car. Like some other love stories, this is repetitive and suffers from some plain old sloppy editing. But it makes you want to test-drive a Lexus to see what causes such a sensation. getAbstract recommends this book to CEOs and sales and marketing executives who dream of producing revolutionary, successful products for the global marketplace. And who would mind getting a little consumer love?

Summary

Pedal to the Metal

Toyota executives made a huge gamble when they decided to throw the firm’s reputation and resources into building the world’s finest luxury car. At a secret meeting in August 1983, they agreed to take on the challenge of creating a world-class luxury car, excelling in performance, styling, comfort and value. Toyota made this decision for the following reasons:

• To protect its reputation and keep its engineers stimulated.

• To keep pace with loyal Baby Boomer customers who had embraced cheaper Toyota models as young buyers. As they aged, they would want luxury cars. If Toyota still lacked a car in that category, it would pass its best customers along to another brand. • To capitalize on a great opportunity. Competing European luxury carmakers were not in contact with the changing needs of a younger generation.

Researching America’s Luxury Market

Toyota’s senior car building team took a preliminary American research tour to meet potential buyers. The team’s members wanted to know which luxury cars were most popular, who owned them and why, the width of streets and bridges, dealership service quality and how valet parking services...

About the Author

Chester Dawson is an editor at BusinessWeek and has been a frequent contributor to auto industry coverage since he joined the magazine in 2000. He spent 10 years in Tokyo covering Japanese corporations for BusinessWeek, The Far East Economic Review and Bloomberg News. He is a graduate of Harvard University and Ohio University.

Comment on this summary