March 2011 – Lexus Enthusiast | Lexus Enthusiast

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Lexus IS F Racing the Fuji Speedway

The Fuji Speedway is a an central part of Lexus‘ new sporting history, with the F-Sport performance brand named after Japan’s most famous racetrack — here’s a nicely done IS F video that shows every twist and turn of the course: Love the slide around the :55 mark — must have watched it five times …

Kevin · March 31st, 2011

Lexus LFA, Ferrari F430, Nissan GT-R & Porsche 911 Racing the Fuji Speedway

From the looks of this video, we can expect a Lexus LFA appearance on a future episode of Japan’s Best Motoring, where it will be competing against the Nissan GT-R, Porsche 911 GT3 & a Ferrari F430 on the Fuji Speedway — the very course that the LFA was named for. Watch the Video

Kevin · March 31st, 2011

Kazama Auto’s 2JZ Lexus IS

Speaking of matte black Lexus IS 350s, here’s a great Speedhunters feature on a two-tone IS built by Kazama Auto that’s out-of-this-world: It’s not just the exterior that’s been remade, but the entire car from top to bottom. Check out this engine setup: That’s a 2JZ-GTE Supra engine pumping out 620hp and mated to a …

Kevin · March 30th, 2011

Akio Toyoda Tours Japan Disaster Zone

Toyota President Akio Toyoda toured Japan’s earthquake disaster zone last week to survey the damage done to the company’s assembly plants, which have remained closed for the most part since the quake. I recommend this excellent recap of Toyoda-san’s visit at Autoweek, which talks in detail about the current challenges that Toyota is facing. (Toyota-san …

Kevin · March 30th, 2011

Matte Black Lexus IS 350

Club Lexus member DarkDuke has put together a stunning matte black Lexus IS 350 — take a look at this pro job: Those WedsSport SA-55M wheels are pure insane — love the blue accents. Brilliant piece of work, be sure to check out the rest of the photos over at Club Lexus. [Photographer: Brent Zheng]

Kevin · March 30th, 2011

Looking at Lexus Sales in China

There’s an interesting article in Businessweek about how Lexus is performing in China — here are some quotes: Lexus sold just a fifth of luxury leader Audi’s tally last year in the world’s biggest car market. It also trails BMW and Daimler’s Mercedes. Although Lexus sales in China grew 61 percent, to 49,000 cars, last …

Kevin · March 29th, 2011

A Look Underneath the Lexus LFA

For all the photos & video of the Lexus LFA, getting a glance at the underbody has been a rare event — that is, until McCall Lexus in Texas decided to raise up their first LFA delivery for a good look. Just like the rest of the exterior design, there’s a clear emphasis on aerodynamics …

Kevin · March 29th, 2011

Preview of Supercharged Lexus CT 200h by Fox Marketing

The New York Auto Show is only three weeks away, and Fox Marketing is starting to tease their supercharged CT 200h that will be part of the Lexus display — here’s a couple videos of the work-in-progress CTh: It looks like there’s something special planned for the interior as well: Best of all, there’s some …

Kevin · March 28th, 2011

Lexus CT 200h F-Sport Desktop Wallpaper

Speaking of the CT 200h & Australia, here’s a great photo of the CT F-Sport from Lexus Australia that I had to convert into a desktop wallpaper: Select Resolution: 2560×1600 | 1920×1080 | 1680×1050 | 1440×900 | 1280×1024 | 1280×800 | 1024×768 I’m such a huge fan of the F-Sport edition, and it’s a great …

Kevin · March 28th, 2011

Lexus CT 200h @ Australian Grand Prix

The Lexus CT 200h Celebrity F1 challenge took place last night in Melbourne, Australia, and when the dust settled, the podium saw Australian celebrities Sav Rocca, Corbin Harris & Luke Ricketson finishing first, second & third respectively. Lexus was also big on advertising during the actual Australian Grand Prix — I took some photos on …

Kevin · March 27th, 2011

Lexus & Microsoft Present Fresh Perspectives

Lexus has teamed up with Microsoft for an interesting project called Fresh Perspectives, which takes six extremely talented artists, presents them with their choice of three concepts, and gives them 24 hours to create an all-new original work. Meant to promote the CT 200h, the series is set to start April 18th — check out …

Kevin · March 25th, 2011

2012 Lexus GS Spy Shot?

Don’t know if it really classifies as a spy shot, but today on Twitter, Lexus Europe posted a photo of two cars under tarps, and mentioned that vehicle and dynamic development engineers would be driving around the UK — wonder if we could be looking at examples of the next-generation GS: From the profile of …

Kevin · March 24th, 2011

Preview of the Lexus CT 200h Celebrity Challenge in Australia

This weekend is the Lexus CT 200h Celebrity Challenge in Australia, and the Sydney Morning Herald has put together a pretty funny sneak peek of what to expect from the celebrity race. (If one of the drivers gets his way, it will be a real-world version of bumper cars.) Watch the video @ SMH

Kevin · March 24th, 2011

Two More Lexus LFAs Arrive in the USA

Two more Lexus LFAs have arrived in the USA, and Flipside909 from Club Lexus was there to witness their arrival at the docks. Of special interest is the blue #047, which belongs to Club Lexus member, gengar, who has been one of the most active LFA owners in the Lexus community. Congratulations to both of …

Kevin · March 23rd, 2011

Lexus Magazine Interview with VIP Auto Salon’s Clark Ishihara

One of the people I had a chance to spend some time with during my trip to California was Clark Ishihara, president of VIP Auto Salon and the main force behind show cars like the Macadamia LS 600hL at last year’s SEMA — reminded me of this Lexus Magazine interview with Clark about his company’s …

Kevin · March 23rd, 2011

Old Lexus LX 470 Print Ads from Australia

In a random search, I stumbled across this set of Lexus Australia print ads for the Lexus LX 470 (click for larger versions): These M.C. Escher-style designs are wild to look at, but relating it back to the LX 470 is almost too subtle — my guess is that it was a combination of the …

Kevin · March 22nd, 2011

Lexus CT 200h Pre-Orders Double Sales in Netherlands

It’s entirely possible I’m reading this translated article wrong, but according to Dutch newspaper De Telgraaf, Lexus Netherlands received 1,000 pre-orders for the CT 200h — a remarkable number considering that last year, only 700 Lexus were sold in the country! The newspaper attributes the brisk sales to the hatchback’s exemption from road tax, but …

Kevin · March 22nd, 2011

Photos from Lexus LFA Driver Development Program

While the full story on my experience at the Lexus LFA Driver Development program is still a couple weeks away, Lexus Magazine has published some of my photos from the event — here’s a sample: It didn’t take long for me to start missing the LFA — I can definitely say with some certainty that …

Kevin · March 22nd, 2011

Lexus LF-Gh Concept to Debut at New York Auto Show

The rumors are true — Lexus will be unveiling a new concept at the New York Auto Show! Dubbed the LF-Gh, this concept will provide a stylized look at the next-generation GS. The current generation, which has just entered its sixth year of production, is expected to be replaced in 2012. While there’s nothing in …

Kevin · March 21st, 2011

New Lexus CT 200h Owner Shares First Impressions

The Kicking Tires blog has an extremely positive reader-submitted review of the Lexus CT 200h that takes exception to the Prius comparisons: “…some people say the CT 200h is an overpriced Prius. I beg to differ. Go drive a Prius, a Ford Fusion Hybrid and Toyota Camry Hybrid like I did and you’ll never want …

Kevin · March 21st, 2011

Lexus CT 200h Lightshows from France & Singapore

Similar to the introduction of the CT 200h in Dubai, Lexus France also did an exceptional 3D display projection on the side of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye: How brilliant that Lexus has managed to “sync” its regional launch events with a global theme. Here’s two more videos of a lightshow from Lexus Singapore — first …

Kevin · March 20th, 2011

Racing with Joe Bacal & his Lexus LX 570

Joe Bacal and his Lexus LX 570 took part in the San Felipe 250 off-road race last weekend, and while the team was unable to place in the final results, they did post some rumbling in-car video from the start of the race — I’m amazed just how close the spectators are to the track. …

Kevin · March 20th, 2011

Lexus Recreates Original LS 400 Commercial with LS 460

Welcome to the power of the Internet — after seeing a Lexus owner’s unsuccessful attempt to recreate the original Balance LS 400 commercial with his LS 460, Lexus and their ad agency Team One decided to try out the experiment themselves: There we have it, proof that the LS 460 is a worthy ancestor of …

Kevin · March 19th, 2011

Lexus USA Places Second in J.D. Power’s 2011 Vehicle Dependability Study

The 2011 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study has been released, and Lexus placed second overall, behind only Lincoln. The study looks at problems experienced during the past year by original owners of three-year-old (2008 model year) vehicles, and includes 202 different problem symptoms across all areas of the vehicle. From that, dependability is determined by …

Kevin · March 18th, 2011

Lexus LS 460 Owner Recreates Original LS 400 Commercial

Here’s a video of a Lexus LS 460 owner who decided to recreate the original “stacked champagne glasses” LS 400 commercial in his driveway — let’s all watch in absolute horror: It might have been a good idea for him to review the original commercial before setting out with his experiment: Never mind that there’s …

Kevin · March 18th, 2011

Lexus USA Tops J.D. Power’s 2011 Customer Service Survey

Lexus placed first for customer satisfaction among U.S. automotive luxury brands in J.D. Power’s annual Customer Service Index — first, here’s an explanation of what the survey covers: The study examines satisfaction among vehicle owners who visit a service department for maintenance or repair work. The CSI rankings are based on dealer performance during the …

Kevin · March 17th, 2011

Lexus LFA Super Carwash

Watching a car being hand-washed might seem like a boring proposition, but Dubai-based EcowashME makes it interesting by cleaning three Lexus LFAs without using any water: To satisfy my curiosity, I took a look at the EcowashME website to see how it’s possible can clean a car without water: How is it possible to wash …

Kevin · March 17th, 2011

Lexus LS 460 Promotional Video

A couple weeks ago, I featured a video released for the launch of the third-generation Lexus LS, and now here’s something similar for the current LS 460: I’ve seen more LS 460s & 600hLs travelling through California these last three days than the rest of my life combined, same thing with the LS 430 and …

Kevin · March 16th, 2011

Quick Impressions of the Lexus LFA Driver Development Program

Today I attended the Lexus LFA Driver Development Program at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, and while I don’t want to give away too much in advance of my Lexus Magazine article on the event, I did want to share some brief impressions. I started off the day’s driving by hitting 118mph (190km/h) on …

Kevin · March 15th, 2011

Lexus LFA Driver Development Program Tomorrow

After weeks of anticipation, five hours in a plane, and two hours in a manual transmission IS 250, I arrived in Sonoma, California for the Lexus LFA Driver Development Program, the full day training program at the Infineon Raceway meant to bring LFA owners a better understanding of their new purchase. While I’m here to …

Kevin · March 14th, 2011

Regarding Japan’s Tragic Earthquake

As everyone should know by now, a terrible earthquake rocked Japan to the very core early this morning, bringing with it a tsunami that has caused immeasurable tragedy and heartbreak. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this devastation — I encourage everyone that visits this website to donate anything they can …

Kevin · March 11th, 2011

Next-Gen Lexus GS to Debut at New York Auto Show?

Autoblog is reporting that the next-generation Lexus GS will be coming to the New York Auto Show: Although it’s unclear whether the GS we’ll see in NYC is a concept or a production model, we do know that it will be underpinned by an all-new platform that will also be used on the next-generation IS, …

Kevin · March 10th, 2011

Custom Lexus IS F Wallpaper by Jason Collin

The minute that photographer Jason Collin shared his photos of a custom Lexus IS F with me, I knew we had to feature this images as a wallpaper — check this out: Select Resolution: 1920×1080 | 1680×1050 | 1440×900 | 1280×1024 | 1280×800 | 1024×768 As for details on the IS F, here’s what Jason …

Kevin · March 10th, 2011

Lexus Global Vision

Early this morning, Toyota President Akio Toyoda unveiled the company’s new “Global Vision”, a strategic plan that sets the ground rules for the next five years. As expected, most of announcement centered around Toyota, but there was some Lexus-specific information, which I’ll quote in full: Lexus Strategy Position Lexus as a truly global premium brand. …

Kevin · March 9th, 2011

Lexus LFA Spotted in New Fast & Furious Movie Trailer

The new trailer for the latest Fast & Furious is out, and if you watch it closely enough, there’s a split-second appearance by a very special guest star around the 1:49 mark: Just in case you missed it, here’s some screenshots: Good to see there’s enough room in the LFA for a furious make-out session. …

Kevin · March 9th, 2011

Lexus LFA Donuts with Scott Pruett

Although it turned out that the previous LFA video with Scott Pruett was actually filmed at the Auto Club Speedway and not the Infineon Raceway, Lexus’ tame racing driver did log some time at the Sonoma, California racetrack during a recent Lexus owners event — in fact, he was filmed by a variety of onlookers …

Kevin · March 9th, 2011

Lexus LFA at Infineon Raceway

The Lexus LFA Driver Development Program starts tomorrow at the Infineon Raceway, and to mark the occasion, let’s watch Scott Pruett Justin Bell tackle the course using an LFA equipped with a very impressive tracking system by Video VBOX: Having the full details on LFA’s speed & steering wheel position is going to come in …

Kevin · March 8th, 2011

Joe Bacal’s Lexus LX 570 Set to Race This Weekend

Lexus USA has announced that it will be the primary sponsor of Joe Bacal and JTGrey Racing’s LX 570 as they work for their second SCORE Stock Full Championship. The full sponsorship is just reward for the dominating performance that the JTGrey Racing team turned in during the 2010 season — taking first in four …

Kevin · March 8th, 2011

Lexus Canada CT 200h Commercial

Lexus Canada has revealed their CT 200h launch commercial, and it’s a racy affair: Just in case you miss it — it’s a different girl at the end (you can tell from the necklace). Scandalous! Update: There’s also a shorter 15 second spot: I’m willing to bet that the CT 200h becomes Canada’s best selling …

Kevin · March 7th, 2011

Site Update: Disqus Comments

In order to bring the comment system some much needed new features, I’ve decided to try out Disqus. Disqus is the same system used by Engadget & Mashable, and makes it easy to respond directly to other comments, along with being able to “like” comments, respond to comments via email, and edit your comments. Besides …

Kevin · March 7th, 2011

Brilliant Lexus CT 200h Launch Event in Dubai

Not to be too sensational, but this video from the Lexus CT 200h launch event in Dubai is easily one of the best car introductions I’ve ever seen: Admittedly, it’s a little too long, but I can see why the designers would want to stretch it out — the colors, the soundtrack, the animations are …

Kevin · March 6th, 2011

Flickr Find: Gold-Plated Lexus GS

We’ve seen gold plated Lexus coming out of the Middle East before, but both have been LX 570s — as a change, here’s a super-shiny GS, courtesy of Flickr user Prince M: I don’t know that I’ll ever understand metallic paints on any regular production car, but you have to give this owner credit for …

Kevin · March 4th, 2011

Three Colorful LFAs

Update: At the request of the photographer, I’ve removed the images of the three Lexus LFAs. The original images he posted at Club Lexus & his Flickr account have also been removed.

Kevin · March 4th, 2011

Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition Videos

The Lexus LFA Nürburgring edition debuted this week at the Geneva Motor Show, and here’s Colum Wood from AutoGuide to give us a brief overview of the track-modified supercar: The LFA looks great up on that stage, here’s a deeper look: Although there’s been plenty of coverage of the orange LFA special edition (Autoblog has …

Kevin · March 3rd, 2011

Matte Black Lexus LFA Die-Cast Model by AutoART

AutoART has done it again — check out this die-cast 1:18 scale Lexus LFA model in Matte Black: This model leaves me speechless, the detail hardly even seems possible. Even better, according to the AutoART German site, we can expect to see both a yellow & red LFA as well. Amazing. [Source: AutoART]

Kevin · March 2nd, 2011

Lexus Taiwan CT 200h Commercial

Lexus Taiwan’s CT 200h launch commercial is in the same vein as the USA’s Escher-inspired effort: One thing I’ve noticed about all the commercials so far is how energetic they are — there’s a very consistent feel throughout all the different global markets.

Kevin · March 2nd, 2011

Lexus Launches CT 200h Website

The Lexus CT 200h now has its very own section on the Lexus USA website, and it contains full specifications, available options, product details, and most importantly, new and highly stylized photos — here’s a sampling: Along with the more standard information pages, there’s also an additional mini-site that gives a full point-by-point 360° view …

Kevin · March 2nd, 2011

Lexus CT 200h Hybrid Commercial, Part 2

Yesterday, we saw the first three US commercials for the Lexus CT 200h, and now here’s the forth: This one is surely the most memorable of them all, especially with its similarity to Inception. Interesting to see the Fire Agate Pearl exterior paint featured so prominently, but it’s not surprising given its uniqueness. (It sure …

Kevin · March 1st, 2011

Lexus February 2011 Sales Report

USA Lexus reported total sales of 13,814 units, which essentially matches sales from last February — here are the model-by-model stats: MONTH Year to Date (*DSR) 2011 2010 % CHG* 2011 2010 % CHG* ES 2,598 2,349 10.6 4,813 5,272 -8.7 HS 183 712 -74.3 469 1,959 -76.1 LS 706 799 -11.6 1,440 1,891 -23.8 …

Kevin · March 1st, 2011

The Wild Ukrainian Lexus IS

Take a look at this mental Toyota Altezza/Lexus IS from the Ukraine that’s been featured on Stance Nation: The blue SSR Koenig wheels with the fresh white exterior is an unbelievable combo — I’m a traditionalist for the most part, but when I see something like this IS, it really gets my imagination going. What …

Kevin · March 1st, 2011

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