Lexus is going to start a new design direction away from copying the Germans. You can see it in the new GS replacements in the Auto shows. They are also aiming to sell more in Europe, which means they will start paying attention to what the Europeans like - which invariably will filter down to the Lexus we get in the future. Mercedes can still catch up - they just have to turn their attention from fixing Chrysler long enough to make Mercedes the Mercedes of cars again.