autoevolution
 

Lexus Shares Origami Folding Tips on Youtube, Nobody Cares

How-to videos are integral part of the car world. You can learn how to fix a dent, change a bulb or something more complex like oil changes. The Japanese luxury automaker has done its fair share by showing us tips on phone pairing or the use of the navigation. However, this next how-to video surprised us in a bad way.
Lexus Shares Origami Folding Tips on Youtube, Nobody Cares 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
It teaches you how to fold an origami cat with your non-dominant hand. How much time do you have on your hands if it's important that you can make a cat with your left?

This is only the last in a line of embarrassing videos from Lexus. A few months ago, they explained how the RC 350 coupe is better than the BMW 435i because it has 5 more HP. They didn't say it was slower and much heavier.

There's something about this origami video that just screams defeatism. I mean, does a competitive car company have time for this sort of stuff? And does this say anything about the sort of customers it wants? Because the sort of perform who folds paper for a living probably doesn't care about performance very much. He might as well ride a train and have extra time to dream up a folding lion or a dancing crane.

We feel this is relevant for the Lexus car lineup. The latest NX 300h compact SUV takes 9.3 seconds to reach 100 km/h using its 197 PS, while a BMW X3 xDrive20d requires 8.1 seconds. And it's pretty much the same story no matter what Lexus you look at, leading up the recently launched GS F. Supposedly a performance saloon, it goes to battle overweight and seriously underpowered.

Why origami is actually German

While reading about origami for no good reason, we discovered some very interesting facts. The art form was started in the Edo era, around 1600… or so, but used to contain unevenly shaped paper and cutting. After Japan had opened its borders to the West in the 1860s, they imported the German's Kindergarten and with it their ideas on folding papers without cutting.

What we know today as origami was actually started in the early 1900s while, in the 80s, the mathematical properties of folded forms lead to the complex shapes we know today.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories