Cars
You're thinking: "Lexus? Lexus?! The Good Car Guy thinks a Lexus is a bad car?" I'm thinking: That's not such a bad question. The SC430 presents a spectacular interior; smooth and serene upon every cruise. Lexus is widely regarded for its relentless pursuit of perfection, and although not perfect, their QRD (quality, reliability, durability) is basically peerless.
But the SC430 is far from a recommended purchase. Upon its debut, Lexus designers said they were inspired by boats along the French Riviera. Clearly, the styling inspiration
was either misplaced or miscalculated. Secondly, the SC430 punches well below its weight
with just 288 horsepower. Yes, I said 'just' 288. This convertible is swimming with the big fish now, and 288 is adequate only for sporting cars multiple classes down.
Finally, the French Riviera inspiration carried over in the wrong place. Especially when considering the SC430's main competition, this French boat-inspired, Japanese hardtop-convertible handles like a ship without a rudder. Steering inputs are helpful suggestions, rather than intuitive commands. Anything approaching 'fun' has been displaced in favour of extreme cushiness.
Lexus rarely takes reckless chances. With the SC430, Lexus took some form of a chance. The Bad 8 makes clear that they shouldn't have bothered.
Alternatives: Porsche Boxster, Jaguar XK, Chevrolet Corvette, Volvo C70, Mercedes-Benz CLK350
Necessary Incentiving To Switch To The Good 12: $9,755 off the MSRP, making the base SC430 equivalently priced with Porsche's Boxster S.
Anything Else? The SC's predecessor was a beautiful, comfortable, classy hardtop-only six and eight-cylinder sports coupe.
- Ferrari California Replica With Real Folding Hardtop Is Based On Lexus Sc430 [w/video]
From the makers of the admittedly convincing Aston Martin DBS replica based on a Toyota Supra with details inspired from the 2008 James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, which we shared with you last year, comes a new project, this time of a Ferrari California...
- Drift Battle Between Scion Fr-s And Lexus Sc430
Normally, a Lexus SC430 wouldn't stand much of a chance against a Scion FR-S in a drift battle. However, the car you see here isn’t a regular version of the hardtop convertible but a gutted out and race-prepped iteration. The two specially...
- Lexus Is 250c Convertible Raises The Heat In Sydney
We can't quite put our finger on it, but there was something scorching hot about the Lexus IS 250C Coupe Convertible that made its Asia-Pacific premier at the 2008 Australian International Motorshow in Sydney motorshow about a week after its Paris...
- The Bad... From The 2008 Paris Auto Show
Thus far, two cars that hadn't yet been displayed on these pages have garnered "good" ratings at the Paris auto show. Audi's A1 Sportback and the Renault Megane Coupe are intriguing, handsome, and properly evolved transportation. (Click to read...
- Regularity Resumes
The Good Car Guy has offered you a well-rounded summarization of twelve cars you'll want over the next year (and perhaps beyond) and eight you want to avoid. The Bad 8 features two models from within the Ford Motor Company (Lincoln Town Car and...
Cars
THE BAD 8 - PART V
Lexus SC430
But the SC430 is far from a recommended purchase. Upon its debut, Lexus designers said they were inspired by boats along the French Riviera. Clearly, the styling inspiration
was either misplaced or miscalculated. Secondly, the SC430 punches well below its weight with just 288 horsepower. Yes, I said 'just' 288. This convertible is swimming with the big fish now, and 288 is adequate only for sporting cars multiple classes down. Finally, the French Riviera inspiration carried over in the wrong place. Especially when considering the SC430's main competition, this French boat-inspired, Japanese hardtop-convertible handles like a ship without a rudder. Steering inputs are helpful suggestions, rather than intuitive commands. Anything approaching 'fun' has been displaced in favour of extreme cushiness.
Lexus rarely takes reckless chances. With the SC430, Lexus took some form of a chance. The Bad 8 makes clear that they shouldn't have bothered.
-----
Alternatives: Porsche Boxster, Jaguar XK, Chevrolet Corvette, Volvo C70, Mercedes-Benz CLK350
Necessary Incentiving To Switch To The Good 12: $9,755 off the MSRP, making the base SC430 equivalently priced with Porsche's Boxster S.
Anything Else? The SC's predecessor was a beautiful, comfortable, classy hardtop-only six and eight-cylinder sports coupe.
- Ferrari California Replica With Real Folding Hardtop Is Based On Lexus Sc430 [w/video]
From the makers of the admittedly convincing Aston Martin DBS replica based on a Toyota Supra with details inspired from the 2008 James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, which we shared with you last year, comes a new project, this time of a Ferrari California...
- Drift Battle Between Scion Fr-s And Lexus Sc430
Normally, a Lexus SC430 wouldn't stand much of a chance against a Scion FR-S in a drift battle. However, the car you see here isn’t a regular version of the hardtop convertible but a gutted out and race-prepped iteration. The two specially...
- Lexus Is 250c Convertible Raises The Heat In Sydney
We can't quite put our finger on it, but there was something scorching hot about the Lexus IS 250C Coupe Convertible that made its Asia-Pacific premier at the 2008 Australian International Motorshow in Sydney motorshow about a week after its Paris...
- The Bad... From The 2008 Paris Auto Show
Thus far, two cars that hadn't yet been displayed on these pages have garnered "good" ratings at the Paris auto show. Audi's A1 Sportback and the Renault Megane Coupe are intriguing, handsome, and properly evolved transportation. (Click to read...
- Regularity Resumes
The Good Car Guy has offered you a well-rounded summarization of twelve cars you'll want over the next year (and perhaps beyond) and eight you want to avoid. The Bad 8 features two models from within the Ford Motor Company (Lincoln Town Car and...