Mercedes also said in the early 90s Lexus could never build cars that could challenge them.
Really? If I remember correctly, Lexus was taken very seriously as a rival then.
However, their later models never reached the same level of quality as the first one. It is said that Toyota, the parent company, didn’t make any revenue on the first one, but only with the later ones…
Sadly, other manufacturers also struggled with declining product quality after the late Nineties. Yes, I‘m looking at you, Mercedes…
Mercedes also said in the early 90s Lexus could never build cars that could challenge them.
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If they (M-B) said this, they were wrong on a spectacular level. Like two ships passing in the night. When the Lexus brand launched, their quality was phenomenal. M-B was focusing on putting 50+ various computerized systems in their vehicles which made them:
-unreliable
-unaffordable
-service nightmare
M-B destroyed their brand. In the 1980’s those cars were bulletproof. I was a M-B loyal owner. They lost me forever, unless I get a 1967 280SL or a 6.3 sedan