Toyota’s Open Road blog has posted a short audio interview of Lexus General Manager Mark Templin & Toyota President Jim Lentz discussing the company’s low sales in June and what it means for the car maker:

Here’s an interesting excerpt from GM Templin on Lexus moving forward:

The good news is that we retained our position as the #1 selling luxury brand, so we feel like we’re doing a pretty good job in a really tough market of doing the best we can do to take care of customers and make profits. We’re also excited about the next couple of months, because all of a sudden, we’re going to enhance our incentive programs a little bit, and we’ll begin our summer sales event on July 25th, which always gives us a big boost during the month of August. And, I think we’ll make it through some tough times in the luxury industry, and we’re doing it in a way that’s going to support the growth of Lexus in 2009 and beyond.”

The #1 position in the US luxury car market is obviously a very important distinction, and one that Lexus is going to fight tooth and nail to maintain. As noted this weekend, Lexus currently has a 5,198 unit advantage over second-place BMW, so it’s still anyone’s guess just how 2008 is going to play out.

If you’re anywhere near Newport Lexus in Orange County, California, you might want to check out their Salvador Dali exhibit, which opened yesterday and runs until June 30th:

Salvador Dali at Newport Lexus, Newport Beach, California

Friday, June 20 8:30a to 9:00p

Largest exhibit of Salvador Dali works ever shown in Newport Beach. More than 75 pieces, including original paintings, drawings, editions & sculptures by surrealist master.

The full details are available on the OC Register.

Count this among the news I missed last week when my head was buried in code, Lexus UK has topped the annual JD Power Customer Satisfication Index for the eighth year in a row:

In the nameplate rankings, luxury Japanese brand Lexus ranks highest for an eighth consecutive year, receiving a customer satisfaction score of 866. Lexus continues to perform particularly well in three of four key measures: quality/reliability, service satisfaction and vehicle appeal. Rounding out the top five manufacturers are Škoda (846), Honda (844), Toyota (836) and Jaguar (833).

With 20 points separating Lexus from its nearest competitor, it’s a commanding lead. What I find most impressive, beyond the eight consecutive top finishes, is that Lexus has won every year it’s been eligible. Since arriving in the UK, the brand has been dominant in regards to customer satisfaction, which is bound to start registering with British customers.

[Source: JD Power]

At first, this video didn’t strike me as anything really, until it just kept going on and on:

Sure, the road surface is slicked down, but it was still good for 45 seconds of amusement.

When John Roca, the chief executive of Lexus Australia, isn’t leaking the future plans of his employer, he’s busy planning the expansion of Australia’s dealer network by more than 50%:

Lexus Australia has announced plans to grow its current 22-strong dealer network by more than 50% by 2012.

Dealers will commit A$230m towards new and existing dealer facilities and sites over the next four years. New outlets will be in a mix of regional and metropolitan centres.

Lexus chief executive John Roca said that the commitment had been made possible by the continued growth of the brand in Australia over the last seven years.

“Lexus locally is in growth mode,” he said. “Demand for our vehicles regularly outstrips supply and our dealerships in their current format are reaching their capacity limits.”

The new dealerships will be based on the recently opened Lexus Perth dealership (pictured above), which has a very nice look. I’m especially impressed by the giant roof overhang.

[Source: Just Auto via Carscoop]

It was rumored late last year, but according to the India’s Economic Times, Lexus is planning to bring their cars into the market by 2010, starting with the LS and LX models:

[Toyota] has started the preliminary groundwork in terms of strategy and dedicated dealership network which will be different from the network that sells Toyota’s existing cars like the Innova, Corolla and Camry.

Sources added that TKM will rope in select dealers for the Lexus range under a new marketing strategy. “It is likely to have exclusive dealers for Lexus, concentrated mostly in metros and major cities. Even the existing TKM dealers shortlisted for the Lexus will operate from a separate exclusive entity to maintain its niche brand value.

The luxury car market in India is just emerging, and it only makes sense to bring Lexus in while brand loyalty is still to be established. Really, though, I’m surprised it’s taken so long, and that there’s going to be such a considerable wait period.

Still, it’s better than selling the cars through the local Toyota dealerships.