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Customers Rate Lexus Number-One in Satisfaction

16 July 1998

Customers Rate Lexus Number-One in Satisfaction for Seventh Time in Eight Years

                    Toyota Division Joins Lexus in Top Ten

    TORRANCE, Calif., July 15 -- Lexus vehicles and dealers once
again provide the most satisfying ownership experience in the auto industry,
according to the independent research firm J.D. Power and Associates in its
1998 Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), announced today.  With the latest
results, Lexus has been ranked at the top for seven of the eight years that
the make has been eligible for CSI consideration.
    CSI measures customer satisfaction with product quality and dealer service
after 12 to 14 months of ownership.  Questions focus on customer treatment,
vehicle repair, dealer service and product quality.
    "Competition among auto makers and retailers has made the vehicle
ownership experience more satisfying than ever before," noted Jim Press,
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. (TMS, USA), Inc. senior vice president of
automotive operations.  "But when it comes to scoring home runs with
customers, Lexus products and dealers are the league's most consistent power
hitters."
    Press noted that TMS' Toyota Division placed in the top ten in this year's
study, one of just three non-luxury makes to do so.  "We believe Toyota's
performance is especially noteworthy, because it is the only full-line volume
car and truck brand in the top ten for customer satisfaction," he said.
    Earlier this year, Lexus vehicles swept the J.D. Power and Associates
luxury car categories for initial quality, with the LS 400 ranked best
premium-luxury sedan and the ES 300 ranked as best entry-luxury sedan.  The
LS 400 also was the top-ranked model of any vehicle sold in the U.S.  Since
its inception in 1989, Lexus has captured two-thirds of the major J.D. Power
and Associates honors for which it has been eligible.