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Not everything that glitters is gold, that shooting stars — like Lexus — can break the mold one time too many.
This golden concept, the LF-C2, serves as both a harbinger of design cues for the Japanese premium brand, and the foundation for a grand-touring convertible to replace the aging IS C. The concept rides upon the bones of the RC 350, with a width of 72.4 inches; the former’s length is slightly longer at 185.6 inches.
If the business case is there — convertible sales are falling in the United States, after all — the 2+2 LF-C2 could become an RC convertible, with power derived from the RC 350’s 3.5-liter V6.
101 Comments on “Los Angeles 2014: Lexus LF-C2 Concept Unmasked...”
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Is Lexus recycling the tooling for the cow catchers on steam locomotives?
AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
With the caveat that, yes, I realize that I can be a harsh critic out of the way, but that I also believe some of us have to critical when it’s duly called for (as there are a lot of floating PR, Media and salespeople who gravitate towards auto-related sites):
WTF. WTF. WTF. WTF!!!!
Seriously. Is this Lexus just trolling really hard?
You’re exactly right. That is the ugliest grille treatment I’ve ever seen on an automobile. The Edsel and the “flying vajayjay” Subaru Tribeca don’t even come close.
It reminds me of a photo someone sent me of a guy whose jaw had been forcibly ripped off in a motorcycle accident.
It’s the Walking Dead version of a 3-series convertible, after death, reanimation, and six months of necrosis.
If that is truly a “harbinger of design cues” to come, I’d be selling my Lexus dealership very soon.
The sad thing is from the side it’s actully acceptable, but that front and back….
The sad thing is from the side it’s actully acceptable, but that front and back….
A ridiculous looking car. Are the designers reliving their Transformers past?
See that guy taking a picture with his phone?
He’s thinking “I know they won’t believe me. I’ve got to get proof of this baths!t crazy.”
That was my first thought too. Though at his angle, maybe he’s thinking “Finally! A convertible with a backseat specially designated for double amputees!”
New Lexus electric razor.
No way is that “electric razor” getting anywhere near my face
I was thinking the exact same thing!
Design room conversation: hey what do think about using some design cues from my Norelco Beard trimmer?
Brilliant.
I
Sorry Lexus, but to paraphrase Bill Cosby: “Ugleeee. Fei…so ugleeeeee. Buraaaaaaaaaah.”
Then again, Millennials may love it!
+1 for Bill Cosby effects!
This thing is so ugly, makes me wonder how it’s gonna look next to the “normal” cars when they put a line-up in museums one day.
+2 for Bill Cosby. You’d have to be drugged to ride that ug…what? He what!? No way. Not cool, Bill.
That thing has more grille than a 1973 Imperial, a vehicle whose front end is almost entirely grille.
The Imperial front end was understated, tasteful and dignified compared to this
http://www.miataturbo.net/attachments/insert-bs-here-4/93834d1383661970-beer-day-thread-1972_chrysler_imperial_lebaron_2d-jpg
The vast acreage of that Imperial having nothing to do with enclosing people or cargo shows that the good old days were not without humor.
At the time we just didn’t get why the rest of the world laughed at our cars. We were like “What?! That’s what a car is *supposed* to look like.”
I like that imperial! Covered headlamps FTW!
That was before it got gross looking. Seriously. Just two years later it was considerably worse.
http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1974/mattwappler/74Imperial1.jpg
I was 100% sure that was a photoshop. My goodness that is something else.
First it was the fender sized headlights, now it’s the full bumper grille.
Ha. You must of posted just before me on the photoshop comment :)
Also, check out the fugly rims and the “I can put race harness in if I want to race this luxurious leather interior’ed ‘vert”- seats.
Looks like someone messing around in photoshop. Oh wait, that’s the actual front end.
…kai’s power tools!..
Oh, an absolute classic programme…
That’s a face not even a mother could love.
So the front seats don’t seem very far pushed back and the rear seat leg room is?? 2.5inches??
The center console is uncalled for where do your knees go?
No point in me even tackling the exterior, someone needs to have their job evaluated, that was a massive waste of money to build that “concept” obviously they didn’t build a real replacement and found this POS in the back and decided to improvise. Awful way to waste money, tail-fins are a better fad than the BS this peddles.
>> someone needs to have their job evaluated
I think they’re doing their job just fine since it’s obvious this was done by a mole planted within Toyota’s design department by another auto maker with the intent of sabotaging Lexus.
Since it has an extra 12″ of cowcatcher, they had to give up legroom so that it would fit in the average garage (where the lawn equipment will cower in fear).
Who needs lawn equipment when you’ve got this?
…maybe they’re attempting to usher along the geriatric set’s move from lexus to scion…
+1, Heeheehee!
It appears to me that Lexus’ design team has completely lost the plot.
But then, they aren’t going to be marketing the resulting product of this study to my demographic anyway.
…and what demographic is Lexus going for here? The Edward Scissorhands Fan Club
Okay. Lexus. Enough is enough. With this eyeball-searingly ugly monstrosity, er, concept, you have stepped over the line and revealed yourself to be completely incapable of producing a design with any semblance of style, grace, and elegance. That steaming pile you left of the floor of the LA Auto Show is so deeply, painfully, offensively ugly I am now at a …loss…for….words….
I miss the days when the worst thing you could say about Lexus designs was that they were transparently cribbed from Mercedes. Back then at least that knew they weren’t any good at original designs.
Lexus is force feeding us these monstrosities,but they are impossible to digest.The predator mouth seems to be growing.
So it is the expected RC convertible. Woohoo.
Anyway the grill isn’t that terrible in real life but whatever. This is a niche vehicle that will sell so so. I am waiting for the LF-LC
Kill it! Kill it! Kill it with fire! Kill!
If it came with the hydrogen fuel cell instead of the V6, they could charge $100k and call it the future.
This is a perfect example of groupthink – too many people nodded yes to this horrifying concept.
Looks like the Predator. After he took his helmet off. I believe Arnold said something like, “you’re one ugly SOB.”
If you see one of these prowling the neighborhood, cover yourself in cool mud and lie quietly… :-)
Actually, it was “you’re one ugly motherf**ker.”
The Japanese pirate whale-catchers, despite being caught by everyone from the IFO to Greenpeace snagging whales illegally and then claiming they were doing it all in the name of research instead of gluttony, finally have a corpirate sponsor. Lexus.
Voila! This beached baleen whale snout, crushed by gravity into the rictus of a dead grin nominally inspired by Toyoda power looms, challenges the good taste of normal people everywhere. While waving the metaphorical middle finger at the rest of the world.
It’s not wretched excess like the Maybach, it is an utter nightmare inflicted on the visual senses of the world from some utterly foreign culture, incapable of even realizing how utterly revolting this thing is.
It’s two, two, two Chinese clone jobs in one!
Front loading chipper-shredder.
A fleet of these would make short work of the next Million Man March.
???!
Oops, I wasn’t very clear.
You’d need to remove the grating first.
You gonna volunteer to be a crash test dummy?
I know that this comment was made in jest…
But, seriously? Is joking about the mass murder of black men really something that you think is okay?
Oh, Lord no. I would expect other ethnicities to be represented as well.
“I know that this comment was made in jest…”
I wonder how many black men are laughing?
I laughed. But then, I’m just twisted like that.
Are you black?
Well, “paper-bag brown” is closer to the truth, but they don’t have that option on any forms I fill out. :D
Ok, you’re twisted
LOL paper bag brown. Awesome.
Thank you Lexus for producing cars that should create a ton of desire and want, but yet inspire zilch. Me and my nest egg appreciate it
Yes, that’s it! Lexus is trying to help strengthen the economy by encouraging folks to NOT buy their cars and thus, hopefully, SAVE SOME MONEY!
I think that is right considerate of them.
:)
So, Glen Larson has left this mortal coil (RIP) and THIS is how you repay him? Such a blatant ripoff, yet no scanning red LEDS?
http://www.legionxxiv.org/cylon124/
Of course, you’re ripping off a man once dubbed “Glen Larceny” –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_A._Larson
But, Glen’s TV series has had a lasting impression on millions of fans, but this car?
meh
Ha, ha, ha… He looks like the robot from “Lost in Space” (Danger, Will Robinson!) Which I believe is the true motivation behind the Lexus design philosophy
http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/robot.jpg
The best “Lost in Space” episodes were when the Robot was being super-snarky, throwing insults towards “Dr. Smith”.
There was a whole lot of subliminal camp in that show
It wasn’t that subliminal!
By your command…
I guess the question is: if Lexus was copying a Cylon, why not THIS one?
http://www.blastr.com/sites/blastr/files/six.jpg
You really want a car that looks like that? You’d never leave the garage ;-)
Pity the poor deceased pedestrian for whom this is the last thing they see on Earth.
Edit: I’m done now (Lexus wipes sweat from collective brow)
Anyone else see a corset in that grill.
Yep, with whalebone stays up top.
An Iron Maiden? Yes
I don’t know which grill is more awkward….this or Acura?
Oh, this for sure. Scary ugly is way worse then run of the mill ugly
Everyone has this wrong Lexus is now building commercial mobile vacuum cleaners and can also double as a forest cleaning machine.
LEX LF-C2
GILLETTE FUSION TWELVE THOUSAND
GOOD LUCK CLEANING BUGS
a sporty haiku
It looks like a Buick with a cattle catcher at the front.
looks like a whale ready to swallow some plankton
This could be an optional snowblower feature. No problems getting out of the driveway in the morning – even in Buffalo. Clear a path wherever you go!
It looks like it’s trying to puke it’s radiator out the front end.
Finally, a car that will scoop and sort legos.
I think someone’s seen “Predator” too many times.
http://www.sideshowtoy.com/assets/products/902001-scar-predator/lg/902001-scar-predator-015.jpg
Look at it this way, Lexus has (hopefully) hit rock bottom with this grill/bumper design so it can only get better from here.
I especially enjoy the two headlight under-brows that point directly at the abysmal creation.
That’s like saying Global Warming is past the tipping point, so it can only get better from here
It would appear that Lexus is attempting to become the next Pontiac.
“that even shooting stars”
Nope, its ONLY shooting stars break the mold. Changes the sentiment a bit.
I have scanned the comments. They are 100% negative of the design.
Are people really this oblivious to the idea behind concept cars?
Are people really this oblivious to the importance of drastic designs when fighting as an underdog in the luxury market?
“B&B”
The concept is only a slight exaggeration of current Lexus production models, so I don’t understand what you’re getting at
How is Lexus an underdog?
And, yeah, concept cars are supposed to stir the imagination, but not frighten it into diving under the bed to escape the boogeyman.
Lexus is the self-inflicted underdog, you know like Cadillac
Concept cars are built to gauge consumer sentiment. They are, in fact, mobile auto show focus groups.
Some are outright sublime. See Sixteen, Cadillac.
Some are hideous. See LF-C2, Lexus.
Based on reactions, an OEM will go ahead with a look, tone it down, or scrap it.
100% negative comments are not necessarily a bad thing to Lexus designers. They’ve learned how far they can push the corporate “face” — and this concept proves they’ve crossed the line and need to pull back.
“B&B”
99% negative — I like the color…
You know what the call it, it’s Lexus Yellow Snow Metallic
This grill looks nearly identical to the RC-F. I’m willing to bet it’ll look very similar in production form.
I think everything looks decent on the car EXCEPT the front clip. Same goes for the RC-F, tone down the grill and re-incorperate those nike swoops back in the headlight and they’ve got themselves a nice looking coupe.
>> Are people really this oblivious to the importance of drastic designs when fighting as an underdog in the luxury market?
What about Tesla? It’s definitely not a drastic design. Can you name any underdogs with drastic designs that have been successful?
New Cherokee? Any Bangle BMW? Polarizing design is for upstarts. Conservative, staid ones are for market leaders.
This is certainly an idea that gets taught to designers, but design need not be so polarizing just for the sake of creating a brand legacy. The ’61 Lincoln Continental and original E-Type Jag are not polarizing, and gave their brands life for *decades* after production stopped. The first Audi TT, the first Pagani Zonda, and the Tesla S are all pretty cars that made a statement for upstart makers.
Hat tip sir, so true. Do it beautifully or do it glaringly, Lexus achieves neither. But right you are!
“He told me you killed him!”
“No. I am your father. Chk-shhhhhhhhk. Chk-shhhhhhhhh.”
“No. Oh. That’s not true. That’s impossible!”
“Search your feelings, you know it to be true.”
“Nooooooooooooooo! Noooooooooooo!”
I wonder if the designers at Lexus have Stockholm Syndrome or something… being trapped in an obviously dysfunctional corporate environment where this sort of output is the norm, or considered admirable.
When you come to work and are surrounded by hideousness every day, it probably seems normal, attractive, or even comforting to be around. Sort of like living in the Munster’s house. You stop noticing the smell and the screams.
There can be no other explanation for this, other than “Maximum Trolling” on Lexus’ part.
I do believe we are mixing musical metaphors here. Let’s see…..not everything that glitters is gold…perhaps a nod to Zepplin ( all that glitters is gold) and the other part gets me thinking about Frankie. Goes to Hollywood that is.
Anyways, is Lexus serious? Ugh.Meh.Truck.
I thought this was supposed to be a family friendly site. I can’t believe you guys put goatse on the front page.
When I saw this brand of candies I did a double take:
http://www.goetzecandy.com/
Those candies are very common round here in Ohio. They’re great until the cream center dissolves, then they just taste like old rubber bands. They are basically larger and sliced CowTails.