Forget about the higher end. That has nothing to do with design. I don't even need to MENTION to YOU why their upper-end sales are declining - so I won't...[/quite]
While there are other reasons for declining Lexus sales at the higher end of the luxury sedan market, do think that the
Predator grill has played a part w/ the more traditional/older Lexus buyer.
The rendition of the Predator grill on the GS and LS look tacked on and don't flow w/ the rest of the sheetmetal unlike, say, for the LF-LC where the design is much more cohesive, along w/ a better rendition of the grill.
Where THAT "issue" isn't as much of a concern - RC, IS, ES - the design is much loved and it's kind of obvious. I see IS' and ES' everywhere - and the RC is becoming pretty popular around here as well...
RC and IS sales aren't where Toyota wants them to be and while the ES is still doing fine, lot's of buyers eschew design over things like reliability and practicality.
The 3G Honda CR-V was one unattractive-looking crossover, but Honda sold gobs of them.
Many people just don't place a high priority on aesthetics (or they have little clue) - hence, a good portion of the population wearing
mom-jeans or
double-pleated khakis.