Whatever you think of the 3G grille, they didn’t do us dirty like Lexus

That's a big, ugly grumper.

 

I like my 2019 Sport grille, then I also, like chrome...

 

Toyota needs to put the ugly stick away.

An Armada is roughly half the price and looks like this:

 

I see your point, that the general audience for Tacomas are probably not buying vehicles like this, but there's always exceptions of course. For the vast majority, it is plainly true and no one can refute it. GX 460 is more akin to the majority of Tacoma buyers, while half cannot justify the extra expense.

I myself, while not necessarily self-made, am definitely a buyer in this segment and I am underwhelmed after 14 years. I followed this development since 2012, when they first updated it for 2013. I also followed development of the LX 570 and was impressed initially in 2007, by how much of an improvement it was over the LX 450 and LX 470, which both were introduced when I was a kid.

My extended family lives for these and although my parents don't own any stateside, we swear by them in the Middle East and in Africa.

That being said, even if feasible by being very careless, definitely cannot justify a Rolls Royce to myself, unless I am at least worth 20-25x the price of one on my own or have 4x the amount in liquidity.

Not only that, they're just terribly tacky. My dad preferred Bentley Arnages for that reason, because the Phantom is too overwrought and the now discontinued Bentley Mulsanne, was just as bad, even if a bit more svelte than the blocky Rolls.

It is a fair point to make, but you aren't the target market for an LX? Large chrome grilles are no longer the rage in North America and never have appeared to be in minimalist Northern/Western Europe since the Berlin Wall fell. This is for Africa/Asia in general, where I primarily group buy/use them.

Haha, well in terms of target demographic for Tacoma, totally.

People who want an extra toy in the form of pickup, well not so much. I am very acquainted with these Lexus BOFs, in terms of Africa and maybe Australia (fiance is Australian). When I am carpooling in the likes of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, South Africa, or Ivory Coast, I typically ride in the backseat of these or Land Cruiser equivalents and absolutely nothing else. I often oversee or advise on family/fleet purchasing of Toyota SUVs or pickups in Africa. I do personally own a J150 Prado, simply because it's manual.

I am not bothered by the new LX grille (too much), because of my often objective nature. I often get to see the design proposals put forward for every generation of Toyota vehicles (that's for another thread) and from what I see, the final choice is much better than the nasty rejected proposals from competing designers during development.

Generally, yes that is the case from what I observe from family and friends, plus some colleagues and associates. A few of us I'd say are the exception, because one gets so busy in life and never has the time space to be online often enough. Partly why I am experiencing problems in my personal life, because of being online too much and family and friends looking down on it. I think this can I apply to just about everyone though, regardless of economic circumstance.

My first SUV after my G35S was a previous generation '09 G55 AMG as a surprise gift for graduating in the top 5 and a lot of people around us admonished me and my parents for that in their social circle. When I took it up to Manhattan that fall, I quickly found it to be an unwelcome issue in some circumstances over time.

Particularly later on in 2012 in a nearly fatal situation and gave it back to my parents in Texas. Some of my more intimidating "friends" had often trashed it on outings, that my dad was livid at the condition of the interior upon receiving it.

I then took back my old '08 G35S and then randomly bought a '13 BRZ to build my own credit, before graduating from undergrad. Sold it 5 months later upon moving abroad, driving mostly JLR products until 2015ish. Since then, I primarily collect vehicles and have a much more humble outlook than the typical person in my shoes. I was an Infiniti guy for many years, until I saw there was no 6MT replacement for the G37 coupe (Q60 is 7AT), so I moved onto BMW M cars.

My current job pays very well (as did my previous), but not enough to carry my overall finances, because most of my vehicles globally are covered by other means and not even in my name. I think only my '20 Tacoma, 2 older Raptors and secondhand BMW Ms, are the only vehicles I have bought in my name the last several years. Everything else is through leasing, work, or etc. Which I either return or keep.

Fair point, because although I own a Tacoma TRD Pro (I spent under half of that and nowhere $100k), I have a very large vehicle collection across various classes and vehicle types. I don't care much for the styling of the LX, but I don't hate it either and understand. The complaints are very over the top and these Spindle Grilles are here to stay, as it honors the heritage of the Toyoda family, who founded Toyota.

As for socioeconomic class, the Tacoma is very much a "classless" type of vehicle, as are Jeeps and probably a lot of Toyota models in general. You get all walks of life, buying a Tacoma to tell you the truth. In various neighborhoods I have been in, such as Bloomfield Hills and Grosse Pointe where I previously lived, seeing TRD Tacomas isn't out of place. Just like Gladiators or Wranglers. I know this even more pointedly in high brow neighborhoods down in the SW, Colorado, Texas, and Deep South.

People who don't want throwaway money and focused more on returns, easily can justify a Tacoma to themselves. Toyota loves that a great deal. It's the demographic at Ford we targeted with the 2019 Ranger, because it is so different now compared to the previous generation Ranger (1992 to 2011), which was very blue collar or college kid oriented.

My most expensive vehicle was/is my 2019 BMW M760i xDrive, which I drive often when not commuting to work (DD is my 2019 Raptor 802A). My Taco is an additional vehicle, which I rarely even drive. Prior to my BMW, I originally was considering an LS 500 in 2015-16, as my first true luxury sedan (sports compacts do not count), prior to it being revealed in 2017. I quickly lost interest when I felt it was a bait and switch and not a V8 like the LC 500 coupe.

Not seeing an LS-F coming nor liking the diluted luxury of the 5th generation Lexus LS in general compared to competition, in 2018 I then considered either a 750i or S560. Hearing about the demise of V12s, I started looking above that instead.

Then upon seeing the ugly 2020 7-Series make its debut in early 2019, I made a snap decision and searched high and low for any remaining 2019 M760is for both my mother and myself, who already had a 2017MY and had her lease return coming up. I found another one in Carbon Black (blue) for her and a heavily discounted debadged M760i for myself in Mineral White, with 5-seats instead of 4 place seating, as I drive myself 24/7. The lease just ended for me and I am keeping it, since I don't like the next generation G70 7er, which drops the V12.

I regret missing the window for an S600, because MB discontinued it for the W222's midcycle refresh in 2017 ('18MY) and relegated the V12 to the XL Maybach models and uber expensive S65 AMG. I barely justified spending above $100k and could not justify those at nearly or above $200k.

Outside of flagship sedans, in my case, I vastly opt for manual transmissions and have never really cared much for supercars/hypercars, preferring much more practical modes of transportation. My M760i and Ford Raptors, are my only automatics in general, save for my Ranger Wildtrak that is parked in a suburb of Lagos.

Not surprised at all, in studying the entire Tacoma purchasing demographic as a professional, including myself and few folks I know personally. This only makes sense with SRs or the most basic Tacomas, not so much decked out TRDs. Even so with 2nd generation owners, who have the means, but might not like the 3G.

I get where @hiPSI is coming from, referencing the majority. I don't comment on $200k+ exotics, because I generally think they are tacky and remind me of many peers I run into in my life, with negative energy. Especially living in Manhattan for a good 4 years and then parts of UK with those types of people. It's like I am allergic to them and the people who drive them. Being someone focused extremely on real estate, getting something like that is just senseless to me if it cannot be written off somehow or absorbed by another entity.

I think the industry has all been doing that since the 70s and 80s, because of vehicle DOT regulations made it too difficult to keep changing up vehicles every year. Check out cars of the 40s/50s/60s/early 70s and you'll see what I mean by that.

Reminds me of the guy who tried to stab me to death in NYC back in 2012, ironically why I gave back my car....

 

Great and real response @Carmaker1. Kudos.
People who can afford a Lexus 600 think different than those who can afford a Tacoma SR5. Neither good or bad but different. It is what it it Is.

 

What the F were serving in the Lexus cafeteria that day for management to give a thumbs up to this fugly ass foreman grill design?!

 

Trisha Yearwood’s chocolate torte I think.

https://leitesculinaria.com/55152/recipes-chocolate-torte.html

 

When the designers asked the Lexus executives how big they want the grille. They said......

 

I think they were sharing a table with the GM boys that day.

 

Gadzooks!!!!!

 

The F-Sport at least tones down the bars but replaces it with void.

 

you spelled ‘stupid’ wrong

 

Goddam. If you hit a pedestrian, he’d think he’d crossed the event horizon.

 

The engine requires sustena--- fuel.