By James R. Healey and Chris Woodyard
USA Today
November 13, 2011
When Toyota was preparing for the 1989 launch of Lexus, the man appointed to birth the luxury brand, J. Davis Illingworth, often said: “We don’t have a single dissatisfied customer.”
Disingenuous, of course, because the gestating Lexus had no customers at all. But the strongly implied remainder — “… and we intend to keep it that way” — helped raise the bar for luxury car brands.
But now, after phenomenal growth that made Lexus the top-selling luxury auto brand in the U.S. from 2001 through last year, the marque is tumbling. This year, it’s unlikely to finish better than third behind BMW and Mercedes-Benz…
Click the link to read the entire article which includes a quote from Milton Pedraza, CEO of Luxury Institute: http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/story/2011-11-11/toyota-lexus/51188682/1
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