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Lexus RX 450h Review

My three month winter road test of the 2010 Lexus RX 450h wrapped up last month, and it’s safe to say that the experience has changed my opinion of Lexus’ most popular vehicle. It’s not that I didn’t understand the success of the RXh — from a purely practical point, it’s easy to see how …

Kevin · April 11th, 2010

Lexus RX 450h Service Appointment

Last week, right before my long-term Lexus RX 450h loaner was set to be returned to Lexus Canada, I had the opportunity to bring it to my local Lexus dealership, Performance Lexus in St. Catharines, Ontario, for its 8,000km oil change.

Kevin · March 17th, 2010

Lexus LF-Ch Interior Photos

At last week’s Toronto Auto Show, I had a chance to take some interior photos of the Lexus LF-Ch, and it was an amazing opportunity to get a close-up look at the handcrafted and one-of-a-kind concept car. Before entering, I was asked not to touch anything—the interior is delicate and not built to be handled—even …

Kevin · February 16th, 2010

Interview with Toyota Canada’s Stephen Beatty

I had a chance at last week’s Toronto Auto Show to have a quick chat with Toyota Canada’s Managing Director, Steven Beatty, about the growing Canadian Lexus sales and the possibility of a production LF-Ch coming to Canada (keep in mind that this conversation took place before Lexus’ announcement of the CT 200h). TLE: In …

Kevin · February 15th, 2010

Toronto Auto Show Coverage

I’ll be attending the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto today and will be bringing you coverage of the Lexus exhibit along with plenty of photos (as usual). My major focus will be taking interior photos—every single interior picture I snapped at the Detroit Auto Show didn’t turn out due to my insistence on using …

Kevin · February 10th, 2010

(Re)Introducing the New TLE Comment Moderator

Much to my excitement, The Lexus Enthusiast community has been growing steadily over the last few months. There’s now dozens of frequent commenters with diverse insight and strong opinions, and it’s been one of my favorite things to watch as the site builds in popularity. In order to best serve this community, I’ve asked frequent …

Kevin · February 9th, 2010

2010 Lexus RX 450h Long Term Review: Week 8

Even with the winter weather, one of the real pleasures during my time with the 2010 Lexus RX 450h has been driving at night. It all starts with the on-demand all-wheel drive system—there hasn’t been a single slip, really nothing more than a flash of the yellow traction light, and that brings a lot of …

Kevin · February 7th, 2010

Lexus RX 450h Long Term Review: Week 5

I’m now halfway through my time with the 2010 Lexus RX 450h— after six weeks, the interior controls and options has become second nature, and that familiarity has increased my appreciation of the design decisions throughout the cabin, particularly with the steering wheel layout.

Kevin · January 26th, 2010

2010 Lexus GX 460 @ The Detroit Auto Show

The Detroit Auto Show was only my second time seeing the 2010 Lexus GX 460, and I came away just as impressed as the first time—it’s the side profile with the muscular wheel wells that makes the new GX so appealing: Now, I didn’t mind that the side-opening rear door was retained from the previous …

Kevin · January 17th, 2010

Detroit Auto Show: 2010 Lexus LS 600hL & LS 460 Photos

The 2010 editions of both the Lexus LS 600hL & LS 460 were at the Detroit Auto Show—the LS 460 was optioned with the Appearance package option that adds the LS Sport grille and ground effects: Really liked the Sport grille, it looks 100x better up close than in photos. The body kit didn’t look …

Kevin · January 14th, 2010

Lexus NAIAS Detroit Exhibit Photos

I’m now settled back at home after two days at NAIAS in Detroit, faced with the task of going through the 700 photos stored on my camera’s memory card. In a very real way, the auto show was overwhelming—I don’t know that I was prepared for the scope of it. Of course, getting to see …

Kevin · January 13th, 2010

NAIAS Live Coverage

This morning, the North American International Auto Show has opened its doors to the worldwide automotive press, including myself, and I will be bringing you a Lexus perspective to America’s autoshow. I will be updating throughout the day as I go over every square inch of the Lexus exhibit, including the LFA supercar & the …

Kevin · January 11th, 2010

Lexus @ NAIAS Detroit Auto Show

The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit opens its doors on Monday, and while Lexus won’t be debuting any new vehicles or concepts this year, they will be trying something new with their exhibit—from the press release: Gone is the previous two-story structure with sweeping staircase. This year, the exhibit has a “landscape” …

Kevin · January 8th, 2010

2010 Lexus RX 450h Long Term Report: Weeks 2 & 3

Travelled: 1077km (669 miles) Gas Mileage: 8.8l/100kms (26.7 mpg) The second and third week of my 2010 Lexus RX 450h road test blended in together as I powered through day after day of holiday visiting, a pile of snow and ice, and a lengthy head cold. It was in this blur of activity that I …

Kevin · January 4th, 2010

Happy New Year!

2010 is ringing in all over the world, I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy New Year! Much happened over 2009—we saw the introduction of the LFA right in the middle of an automotive market meltdown, the LF-Ch and the promise of a compact Lexus, the long awaited …

Kevin · December 31st, 2009

Happy Holidays!

The festive season has arrived, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish every one of my readers a safe and happy holidays! Regular posting will resume December 28th with a report on how the RXh handled the holidays, along with some year-end wrap-ups and what to expect in 2010. All my best, …

Kevin · December 24th, 2009

2010 Lexus RX 450h Long Term Report: Week 1

Last week, I took the delivery of my first long-term road test vehicle from Lexus Canada—a 2010 Smoky Granite Mica RX 450h: This is the full deal—an RX 450h with the Ultra Luxury package that includes Heads-Up Display, rear entertainment system, LED headlights, and fifteen-speaker Mark Levinson audio system. As far as I can tell, …

Kevin · December 21st, 2009

Lexus GX 460 First Impressions

I wanted to wait a little while after the Lexus GX 460’s introduction before weighing in with my own impressions of the SUV, which I had a chance to see for myself at a Lexus Canada sneak peek dinner a couple weeks ago. Much like the RX redesign, the new GX is a more masculine …

Kevin · December 3rd, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of my American readers a warm and plentiful Thanksgiving! Please drive safe if you have travels ahead of you, and enjoy this time with your family over the holiday weekend. All the best, Kevin Watts, Editor, The Lexus Enthusiast.

Kevin · November 26th, 2009

Lexus Enthusiast 5.0

Welcome to the latest edition of The Lexus Enthusiast! Developed over a two-month period, this is the fifth redesign of the site since its debut in May 2007. First off, some key points: The entire site navigation has been simplified and reworked—gone is the needlessly complicated model database, and in its place is a simple …

Kevin · November 21st, 2009

Lexus HS250h Photos from Winnipeg

Given the short time frame, I wasn’t able to take too many photos during the Lexus HS 250h event in Winnipeg, but what I lacked in quantity I made up for in quality: {embed=“site/gallery” gallery_id=“1389”} I found the HS 250h in Matador Red very easy to photograph—unlike the Aurora White Pearl that absorbed all light. …

Kevin · October 19th, 2009

2010 Lexus HS 250h Canadian Preview

To mark the Canadian release of the Lexus HS 250h, Lexus Canada invited media from across the country to test drive the new hybrid sedan in Winnipeg, Manitoba, one of the most environmentally friendly cities in Canada. The event took place over two days, where we were blessed with some exceptionally wonderful weather and plenty …

Kevin · October 15th, 2009

Lexus Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Lexus! On this very day in 1989, opened the dealership doors in the United States, and has since gone on to become the bestselling luxury brand in the country, and the fourth largest luxury car brand in the world. To mark the occasion, I thought it would be fitting …

Kevin · September 1st, 2009

Spending Time with the 2010 Lexus HS 250h

Recently, I had a chance to get a quick look at a Lexus HS 250h prototype that was being used to develop dealership training materials by the people at Lexus Canada. Glenn Alkema of the Lexus Academy was nice enough to give me a tour of the new hybrid, which will be introduced here in …

Kevin · August 31st, 2009

2009 Lexus IS-F Review

As the story goes: the Lexus IS-F began as a secret project by Lexus chief designer Yukihiko Yaguchi, who wanted to build a Lexus that could rival Europe’s top sports sedans. Yaguchi, who also worked on the last Toyota Supra and the first generation LS 400, saw a unique opportunity to extend the Lexus brand …

Kevin · August 5th, 2009

Driving the Lexus RX 450h & Lexus IS 350C

This past Friday, I attended a Lexus Canada press event in Kingston, Ontario, where I had the opportunity to test out the 2010 RX 450h and the IS 350C convertible. After an a quick briefing, we all loaded up into our first vehicle of the day and set out on a route through the surrounding …

Kevin · June 23rd, 2009

Spending Time with the 2009 Lexus LX 570

Late last week, I picked up a review LX 570 from Lexus Canada with more than a little anxiety. After all, this is a two ton, sixteen-foot tank of a vehicle, immense in every sense of the word, and I had to jump straight into big-city traffic immediately after taking the keys. Intimidating. Of course, …

Kevin · June 3rd, 2009

New Beginnings

Hello, and welcome to The Lexus Enthusiast, otherwise known as the new and improved version of The Passionate Pursuit. As promised, the name change is the first step in some major improvements coming to the site, in fact, today’s changes also include a move to a new software platform. WordPress, which has powered the site …

Kevin · March 25th, 2009

Healthy Start

Regular readers may have noticed that the Lexus news hasn’t been all that frequent lately, and I’d like to explain just what’s been happening “behind-the-scenes” here at TPP. First of all, I’ve been extremely sick these last three weeks, having been hit by an extremely nasty cold that made it hard to do much of …

Kevin · March 9th, 2009

Happy Holidays from The Passionate Pursuit

Festive cheer is kicking into high gear, so I’d like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy holidays! Regular posting will resume on the 27th, and then next week, I’ll be taking a look back at 2008’s top stories and outlining just what we can expect in the new year. All …

Kevin · December 24th, 2008

Welcome to TPP 3.0

Welcome to the new and improved TPP! At first glace it might not look like a big change, but I’ve made a big switch with the software powering the site, moving from Drupal back to WordPress. Don’t worry, even if you don’t know what I’m talking about, the difference is going to be apparent. Let’s …

Kevin · November 25th, 2008

The Quantum of Lexus

I found this promo video for the Lexus LS 600hL a few days ago, but decided to wait on posting it until today’s release of Quantum of Solace — while they’re totally unrelated, but the music is straight out of a James Bond movie: (Been looking forward to this movie for months — so much …

Kevin · November 14th, 2008

Lexus Chile Likes My LS 400

Lexus Chile has honored me by featuring my LS 400 in their history timeline: My photo: I’m not entirely sure why my ‘94 LS is filed under 2001, but you won’t catch me complaining.

Kevin · July 28th, 2008

TPP: One Year Anniversary

Today marks the first anniversary of The Passionate Pursuit! It’s funny the way time works, at times it feels like I’ve only just started, and in another way, it seems like something I’ve always done. I’ve learned a lot over the past year, running this site is a very rewarding experience. To mark the occasion, …

Kevin · May 30th, 2008

Welcome to The Passionate Pursuit 2.0

After extensive development, the new version of The Passionate Pursuit is ready. First thing’s first, if you’ve visited the site any time recently, please be sure to hit the refresh button, otherwise things might look pretty strange. The most significant addition to the site is the Lexus database, which contains every model built by Lexus. …

Kevin · May 11th, 2008

TPP 2.0 This Week

Update: The new site design will be launching Sunday evening, and things will be quiet around here until then. The site will more than likely be down for a few hours on Sunday as we prepare for launch. Thanks for your patience! If you’re a regular visitor to this blog, you may remember the mention …

Kevin · May 10th, 2008

A Weekend Away

Just a quick note, I’ll be away from a computer for the next couple days and will resume posting on Monday. (Hopefully the GS-F isn’t announced this weekend!)

Kevin · April 11th, 2008

The Passionate Pursuit Version 2.0 Coming

Before launching this site in June 2007, I made up a list of rules that I wanted to follow, and the very first thing I wrote down was “Leave the site design alone for six months.” As a professional web designer, I have a tendency to tweak sites obsessively, but in this case I wanted …

Kevin · February 9th, 2008

Happy Holidays from The Passionate Pursuit

No matter how unsubtle my hints were, I have some real doubts that I’ll be getting an Lexus LS 600hL for Christmas, December to Remember or no. Hopefully, some of you out there have better luck! (Posting will resume on Boxing Day December 27th. Santa left me the flu for Christmas.)

Kevin · December 24th, 2007

Lexus ES Shopping

It’s been a long time coming, but tomorrow begins my search for a suitable car for my girlfriend, Karissa. Having driven a 1993 Toyota 4runner for the last five years, she’s looking for an upgrade in comfort, gas mileage and safety. Of course, it’s going to be a Lexus. Now, there was talk of buying …

Kevin · December 12th, 2007

Site of the Week: Autopia

If you’re anything of a car buff, and I’m going to assume you are, you’ve probably already come across this week’s site: Autopia. In a nutshell, it’s the place to go when you want to get your car in tip-top shape, inside and out. When I bought the Lexus last year, I spent days here, …

Kevin · July 28th, 2007

Start

It all started with the LS400. I remember the first time I noticed one, admittedly mistaking it for a Mercedes, only to see that silver L and think I’d seen something rare, like a Ferrari or a Lamborgini. Of course, that wasn’t the case, but the truth impressed me even more, a Japanese Luxury brand, …

Kevin · May 29th, 2007

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