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<p>Introduction and Acknowledgments xi</p> <p>Foreword xvii<br /> By <i>Erwin Lui<br /></i><i>Creative Innovation Studio Manager<br /></i><i>Calty Design Research, Inc.</i></p> <p>Chapter One The Toyoda Way 1</p> <p>Chapter Two Searching for Bobos 31</p> <p>Chapter Three Deus Ex Machina 49</p> <p>Chapter Four From Tahara to the World! 69</p> <p>Chapter Five The Lexus Covenant 87</p> <p>Chapter Six Zen and the Art of Automobile Maintenance 109</p> <p>Chapter Seven Something Wicked This Way Comes 137</p> <p>Chapter Eight Lexus Nation 159</p> <p>Epilogue 177</p> <p>Afterword 189</p> <p>Coda 219<br /> By <i>Hisao Inoue<br /></i><i>Journalist and Author of Toyota Shock (Kodansha: 2009)</i></p> <p>Appendix: The Lexus Lineage (1990–2011) 235</p> <p>Endnotes 239</p> <p>Index 275</p>

<b>Chester Dawson</b> has worked as a business journalist and editor at several top media outlets, including <i>BusinessWeek</i>, Dow Jones & Co., The Associated Press and Bloomberg News. He spent 10 years as a foreign correspondent in Tokyo reporting on the Japanese economy and specializing in the automotive and financial industries. After serving as International Finance Editor at <i>BusinessWeek</i> magazine’s headquarters in New York, he entered high finance—first at a Japanese hedge fund and then, most recently, in the institutional asset management unit of a Wall Street bank. Mr. Dawson earned his M.A. in East Asian Studies at Harvard University and a B.A. in history with an economics minor at Ohio University. He spent his junior year abroad at Sophia University in Tokyo.

<b>20 Years of Defining Perfection</b> <p>The author takes us on a breathtaking "<i>genchi-genbutu</i>" (meaning "go and see") as if we are in Toyota City. A must-read for a car nut.<br /> <b>Shin Sano</b><br /> CEO, Sano Research<br /> Assistant Research Professor, Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute of Design</p> <p>With his strong focus on the personalities behind the brand, Chester Dawson has crafted a compelling insider look at Lexus and its whirlwind history, from the company's risky beginnings and earliest setbacks to the current challenges it faces as the number one luxury car manufacturer in the United States. <i>Lexus: The Relentless Pursuit</i> is an essential read that I would recommend to both Lexus enthusiasts and anyone else looking for real insight into one of the world's most successful business stories.<br /> <b>Kevin R.E. Watts</b><br /> Editor, <i>The Lexus Enthusiast</i></p> <p><b>Praise for the Hard Cover Edition</b></p> <p>Toyota is the best car company in the world. From a truck-maker in World War II to a carmaker in the 1950s to a Lexus maker in the 1980s, it excels everywhere. Chester Dawson is a Japanese-speaking investigative reporter who has got the inside story of Lexus and made it come alive.<br /> <b>Ezra F. Vogel</b><br /> Henry Ford II Research Professor of the Social Sciences, Emeritus<br /> Harvard University</p> <p>Chester Dawson brings to life the story of Lexus. This is a tale of invention, consumer insight, dedication and resolve. Dawson tells the story with drama, vision and insider detail. He unlocks the keys to how Toyota took a vague idea and turned it into a flagship brand and a new automotive icon.<br /> <b>Michael Silverstein</b><br /> Senior Vice President, The Boston Consulting Group</p> <p>While Detroit is still trying to figure out how Toyota made Lexus the best-selling luxury brand in the United States, Chester Dawson has dissected the Lexus story in an enlightening way. <i>Lexus: The Relentless Pursuit</i> brings to life the personalities who brought about an automotive phenomenon. This is a must-read not only for car buffs, but for any manager or executive who wants to understand how to create, sustain and expand an elite brand.<br /> <b>Micheline Maynard</b><br /> Author of <i>The End of Detroit: How the Big Three Lost Their Grip on the American Car Market</i></p>

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