Lexus: The Relentless Pursuit

A compelling story of how the greatest car ever built was made. Not a Toyota PR piece, Inside and around California and Japan you get the real human story of how this great brand was created. A great book if you love cars.

This book is well written and researched. Its main achievement is bringing together information from a variety of different sources both in English but particularly in Japanese. It briefly covers the history of Toyota before and after WWII and establishes the context for the launching of the Lexus brand in 1989 with the LS400. An alternative title might be: "Lexus: The Relentless Pursuit of German Luxury" since the company's main focus during the initial planning stages was to exceed in quality and reliability but significantly undercut in price the BMW 7-series and Mercedes-Benz SL500. The references are extensive and include the author's own articles for BusinessWeek as well as his interviews with Lexus officials in the US and Japan. It is no doubt challenging to construct a coherent narrative to describe the history of the most profitable division of one of the world's largest manufacturing companies in one of the most competitive global industries. This is particularly so since Toyota has a social and business structure quite unfamiliar to Western readers. Chester Dawson's proficiency with Japanese and links to the Japanese automotive press distinguish this book from that of another related book also written by a journalist: The Lexus Story: The Behind-The-Scenes Story of the #1 Automotive Luxury Brand. That other book provides numerous photos, charts, and timelines which complement the main text well; something which this book does not include. The Coda at the end of the second edition, written by Japanese journalist Hisao Inoue, provides important insights into the internal turmoil during the 2008 financial meltdown which led to the company's dark period of massive recalls and consumer complaints regarding product quality and reliability during 2009/2010. This really ought to have become a separate chapter. The book, which ends coverage in 2010, is in need of an update to describe exciting developments in electric/hybrid drivetrains and advanced driving assistance systems.

Business writer Chester Dawson's 2012 update of his 2004 classic on the history and development of the Lexus brand, the most sucessful new car company started since World War II.

At least I got the answer why the LEXUS is a great product and how the engineers took care of all challenges.

An interesting, if long, read about a fascinating company.The pace varies between boring detail and that which is intriguing. Worth a read for anyone looking to improve an industry or an interest in cars.

I started this book and was really engrossed they dive deep into the original LS400. Foolishly I thought they would continue that detail with other models (like the SC models or the Prado rebadge) It gives a decent job on the NSX but nowhere near as lofty as the LS.A lot about the factories and the company ownership not so much about the models or engines.

Excellent read, should be supplied with every Lexus LS400!

I was very pleasantly pleased to find this book so engrossing that I did not want to put it down!