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| The Lexus GS, like all other Lexus vehicles, is maintained and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation. The GS is officially classified as being somewhere between a mid-size luxury sport vehicle and a mid-size luxury executive vehicle, having been used primarily in both regards over the course of its history. The history of the Lexus GS vehicle extends from 1991 to the present and it was introduced primarily as a counter to the BMW 5-Series vehicle, for which neither their ES nor LS models provided an answer. Lexus GS First Generation The first generation of Lexus GS vehicles officially came into production in October of 1991 with the Aristo being offered in Japan with optional 226 HP 3.0Q or 276 HP 3.0V engine options. A year later, they also added a V8 model (the 4.0Zi-Four) to their other two Aristo automobiles and all three enjoyed a modicum of success within the Japanese market. The primary incarnation of the first generation Lexus GS in the North American market occurred on February 22, 1993, when the manufacturing of the Lexus GS 300 began. It started in the Toyota assembly plant in Tahara, Japan and was a car that incorporated all of the latest in safety and technology that the Toyota Corporation had. Unlike many of the Lexus vehicles with first generation sales in North America, the popularity of the car started high and slowly worked its way downwards, with the sales topping 19,000 in 1993 and gradually lowering until the eventual discontinuing of the first generation GS 300 in 1997. This was partially because of the high depreciation value of the GS 300 and partially because of the rising value of the Japanese Yen that forced Toyota to make their car more expensive than domestic rivals from Ford and GM. Lexus GS Second Generation The Lexus GS second generation saw a combination of the Aristo being re-launched in Japan in 1998 and the GS 400 being launched in North America in order to replace the old GS 300 and its sagging sales over the years. A lot of the problems with the original GS 300 were fixed in the redesigned GS300 and new GS 400, not the least of which was the pricing problem due to the Japanese currency heavily increasing its value relative to the American Dollar. Better material and alloys were used as well as a more efficient construction process in order to allow the car to be sold cheaper relative to its features. The GS 400 was given a UZ-series V8 engine that broke the 300 HP mark for the first time in Lexus GS history and this also resulted in a 0 to 60 acceleration time of less than 6 seconds; also for the first time in Lexus GS history. Another addition in the Lexus GS 400 was the addition of an additional speed to the transmission. Where the first generation GS vehicles only came with a four speed automatic transmission, the second generation vehicles had an option for an upgrade to a five speed automatic transmission. All of this fits in with the central theme of this generation which was to increase the power output of the car; something that Toyota was able to accomplish quite well. Like its predecessor, the second generation Lexus GS started off with a lot of sales and a lot of accolades and slowly worked its way down until its eventual mothballing in 2005. Lexus GS Third Generation At the same time that the second generation manufacturing operation was being mothballed, the third generation of Lexus GS vehicles was being introduced at the North American International Auto Show; historically the venue that Toyota has used to introduce most of their new vehicles. The third generation of Lexus GS vehicles included two primary models; the GS 300 and the GS 430. The GS 300 was outfitted with a 3.0 liter V6 engine, making it similar to its predecessor in the first generation, but at the same time sported a sleeker looking design than the car with the same name built a decade and a half previously. It also featured a direct-injection engine, one of the first North American Toyota cars to do so. The GS 300 was really more of a stylish car than a functional car and even today people that purchase it do so primarily because of the look. In the 2007 year, the GS 350 has replaced the GS 300 within the third generation models. Oddly enough, the GS350 is basically as powerful as the GS430. 0-60 and quarter mile times are nearly identical. The GS 430 used a 4.3 liter V8 engine very similar to engines that had been used in the past. It was similar to the 300 in that the changes that had been made to the car were more stylish than functional in nature and this was again shown by the fact that the 2008 year will see the 430 replaced by a GS 460 that has some power and aesthetic upgrades over the 430. The quick replacements of the GS 300 and GS 430 are also partially a response to the rapidly rising currency rate of the Japanese Yen against the US Dollar, something Toyota has had to deal with before but not quite in the same degree as today. Lexus GS 450h and GS-F While not officially a member of a particular generation, at the same time the GS 450h and the GS-F deserve mention in any discussion of Lexus GS vehicles because of the pioneering technology that goes into constructing them. The Lexus GS 450h made history when it became the first hybrid car to be mass-produced in the industry. It contains a power train 3.5 liter engine that is alongside an electric motor and the hybridization of the two has resulted in what is known as a continuously variable transmission. The Lexus GS-F, while less pioneering in terms of the technology, has a lot more power. It is a high-performance vehicle that Toyota is currently working on to join the F-Sports line up of vehicles in 2012. It would theoretically have a V10 engine that was capable of power in excess of 500 HP. |
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