# Lexus vs Mercedes-Benz: Who Copied Whom?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lexus-vs-mercedes-benz-who-copied-whom/387094>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [January 8, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lexus-vs-mercedes-benz-who-copied-whom/387094 "2007-01-08T00:01:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lexus-vs-mercedes-benz-who-copied-whom/387094/1 "2007-01-08T00:01:32Z")

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Looking at M-B vs Lexus cars, they look very similar-in fact it is hard to tell the C\_series M-B models from Lexus. My question: did Lexus copy M-B. or was it the other way around? Seems to me that Lexus is a better car (reliability-wise), is M-B losing ground to them?

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**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lexus-vs-mercedes-benz-who-copied-whom/387094/2 "2007-01-08T01:02:58Z")

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Toyota owns the DMV in Japan. All cars must be submitted to the DMV before they can be driven in Japan. Several years before.

Mercedes designs cars on a seven year cycle. Toyota’s cycle is shorter, on the neighborhood of four years.