Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday? It Makes Sense to Lexus

On a guided tour conducted by Jeff Bal manager of motorsports for Lexus we saw racks of hats shirts and hoodies and a display of race cars amp8212 plus the production performance vehicles such as the RC F and the LC500 that consumers can actually buyamp160 The Lexus philosophy as noted on its racing website is thisamp160 quotIt is our goal to develop a motorsports culture that inspires passion in our engineering teams as they adapt to the track have success racing and ultimately build the performance and credibility of the F brandquotGofast fans can buy the fiveliter 472horsepower RC F Track Edition as close to the racecar as possible for streetlegal vehicles but only 100 are being allocated to the United Statesamp160 quotWe39re dying for onequot said Steven Richard parts manager at Lexus of Watertown the largest dealership in Massachusettsamp160 Race days are also perks for dealers and that39s one reason Lexus had set up a large hospitality areaBal said that Lexus IMSA Racing in its third season is succeeding in its mission of getting the message out that the brand is evolving into something more than a smooth ride and luxury appointmentsamp160 For cars such as the RC F quotwe had difficulty getting the word out last year but now there are a lot of handraisers more than we can actually accommodatequotLexus has some catching up to doamp160 quotWe don39t have 70 years of experience in racing the way some of the other companies doquot Bal addedamp160 quotOur blind polls a year ago showed that people didn39t know we were involved in motorsportsamp160 But now that39s changing and people are becoming awarequotThe most telling data that the company has amassed is a big jump in NASCAR fans who recognize Lexus as a performance brand and would consider buying one for their next car purchaseRacing also has the benefit of developing cuttingedge technology that finds its way into production cars explained David Wilson president of ToyotaLexus performance division TRD USA Toyota Racing Developmentamp160 That39s definitely true amp8212 TRD is even selling a dynamic simulator it developed to other racing teams amp8212 but changing the company image and helping with marketing seems to be the key motivatorRacetracks do attract affluent performance buyers and there were rows of supercars for sale adjacent to the trackamp160 But Lexus is taking the FSeries cars to consumers as wellamp160 According to Bal the RC F GS F and LC500 went on a fourcity tour in June and July to Charlotte NC the Mint Museum Chicago 19 East event gallery Napa Valley Bardessono Hotel ampamp Spa and New York the company39s own Intersect experience center The locations were identified as having a high percentage of purchase intenders via demographic dataTRD39s Wilson in an interview said that while racing is a highdollar proposition and that Lexus BMW and Porsche support their teams financially finding outside sponsors is essentialamp160 He declined to say what percentage of Lexus Racing is subsidized by the companyamp160 quotOur primary role is supporting Toyota and Lexusquot he explainedamp160 quotWe don39t specifically push the TRD brandquotWilson affirmed the intent of Lexus39 IMSA racing in partnership with race team AIM Vasser Sullivanamp160 quotWe39ve been in it since the start of 2017quot he saidamp160 quotLexus is building some exciting products and the aim is to put credibility behind the idea of it being a highperformance brandquotOf course highend cars for luxury living with fine dining and deluxe travel as part of the mix are still a big part of the brand tooamp160 That explains Intersect by Lexus in Manhattan39s Meatpacking District which complements similar quotexperience centersquot in Dubai and Tokyoamp160 The New York location is primarily a restaurant for gourmands with rotating international chefs and an art galleryamp160 Lexus took the race drivers there before the Lime Rock eventOther brands Porsche included have tracks at their experience centers but until recently that wasn39t Lexus39s approachamp160 Today though Lexus is operating a performance driving school at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Californiaamp160 Winning professional driver Scott Pruett is the company39s brand ambassador and hosts the driving schoolLexus ads are starting to emphasize performance tooamp160 A 2019 spot for the IS quotLegacy in the Makingquot has the car dodging falling boulders on a twisting mountain roadamp160 quotMore powerful than respect given is respect earnedquot the ad39s voiceover saysamp160 But quotOne of a Kindquot for the UX SUV goes in the opposite direction amp8212 for the cuttingedge urban hip and dramaticamp160 quotIf you39ve got it own itquot the ad proclaimsWill Lexus plug inamp160 Toyota hasn39t yet signed on to Formula E electric car racingamp160 Nissan is the first Japanese brand taking part this yearamp160 The company has tended to emphasize hydrogen power over batteries but that could changeamp160 In an interview Lexus driver Townsend Bell was fairly disparaging of EV racing because the cars don39t provide the visceral sounds audiences expect quotRace fans want noise going fast and seeing stuff blow up amp8212 it39s like men and firequot he saidBut automakers Toyota included are heading towards electrified fleetsamp160 And once that goal is reached it may not matter what fans want amp8212 because automakers are going to want to race vehicles like those they39re actually sellingamp160 Wilson acknowledged that Formula E has quota lot of traction now and a lot of companies are getting involvedquotamp160 But he said quotWe have no plans either locally or globally to do Formula EquotAs it happened although the company has a fairly good IMSA track record Lexus didn39t do all that well in the Lime Rock race 14th and 21st in a field of 21amp160 The Northeast Grand Prix took place under extremely adverse conditionsamp160 It was over 90 degrees Fahrenheit at the track and 140 degrees inside the cars where cooling lines in the helmets try to alleviate some of the worst effectsBut Lexus was there with cars and marketing and for the future of the brand that39s the important thingClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday? It Makes Sense to Lexus

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Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday? It Makes Sense to Lexus

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