Car Throttle

Once upon a time, Lexus made a car called the SC.  It was based on the guts of the legendary 4th-generation Supra, and was an Americanized version of the Japanese Toyota Soarer.  It was a fantastic car: refined to an eery level, quiet, good looking and fast.  Whether it had the 3.0L six from the Supra, or the 4.0L V8 from the LS, it was a road burner, a mile muncher, a fantastic car. They made the SC300/400 from 1991-2000, a sign of how basically good it was.  Then there was the flip-top SC430, which never quite resonated with buyers, and then Lexus got out of the coupe business.  With the LF-LC concept, I see a new SC.  Lexus says it could potentially fit in the

Toyota's Lexus brand has enjoyed an enormous amount of success throughout it's short life. While most Lexus products are mutually exclusive with enthusiast drivers (exceptions like the SC300/IS300 5-speed, IS-F, etc not withstanding), they've done some remarkable things.  They took on Mercedes and BMW at their own game in the early 90's with the LS400, producing a better product with a lower price tag.  They invented the whole "luxury crossover SUV" segment with the original RX300 back in the 90's.  But they've never had much success with the bread-and-butter of the luxury market, the mid-sized luxury sedan (think A6, E-class, and 5-series.)  The Lexus GS is a nice car, don't get me wrong - but it hasn't ever really been a strong seller.

So what happens to concept cars? All the major manufacturers crank out about three or four concept cars a year. About half of them are non-running prototypes, rollers, if you will. I've seen concepts where bits of the dash were clearly made out of wood (I could tell because they hadn't done a very good job of sanding or painting said wood). But then there are the concept cars that are runners. They have engines and can start and be driven. Those are rare, and car companies generally hold onto them, but not always. I know a guy in Sacramento who has a car collection that is 80% Chrysler concept cars from the 40s and 50s. Yes, they all run, and yes, it is a very,