Toyota 75th Anniversary Exhibition in Japan

The Toyota Automotive Museum in Japan has just opened a special exhibition celebrating the 75th anniversary of the brand, and Gazoo has released a video tour of the featured vehicles.
Kevin · October 29th, 2012

Lexus LS Undergoes Brutal Convertible Transformation

Normally, I wouldn’t even link to this video of a second-gen Lexus LS having its roof chopped off during some idiotic demonstration at Stance Wars in Belgium, but I’ve been receiving email about it all day.
Kevin · May 24th, 2012

Last Man Sitting Wins 1996 Lexus ES 300 in Crazy Endurance Contest

As proof that people will do anything to get a Lexus, an Akron, Ohio baseball team let five folks into a 1996 LS 400 for an endurance contest -- the last remaining person will win the car. At last count, this has been going on for 36 hours with two men remaining.
Kevin · June 17th, 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

1992 Lexus LS 400 Commercial: Steel Plate Drum

Let’s switch gears from all-LFA-all-the-time and take a look at this Lexus LS 400 commercial from 1992: I had never seen this commercial before — and it’s a perfect illustration of how The Hard Way is something Lexus has always subscribed to.
Kevin · January 27th, 2011

Comparison: 1990 Lexus LS 400 vs. 2010 Lexus LS 600hL

Lexus is celebrating their 20th anniversary in the United Kingdom, and to show how far the brand has come in twenty years, they’ve released a video comparing the first-gen LS & the current LS hybrid: Here’s a chart that details the differences, just in case they went by too fast: In some ways, it’s hard …
Kevin · December 13th, 2010

First British Lexus LS 400 Returns Home

Here’s a neat story from blogger Mike CJ that combines the first-ever UK Lexus LS 400, Twitter and a whole heap of coincidence — here’s a quote but I recommend reading the full article: Way back in 1990, I was still in my 20’s and had recently been appointed to a role as a Training …
Kevin · July 28th, 2010

The General Lee(xus)

I’m pretty sure no one ever expected to see a Lexus LS 400 painted up like this: This is the General Lee(xus), and it has quite an interesting story — turns out this old LS is an entry into Bangers4BEN, a charity event in the UK for “helping the automotive and related industries provide care and support for …
Kevin · July 22nd, 2010

Lexus LS Generations Desktop Wallpapers

This week’s Autocar review of a 1990 LS 400 reminded me of a desktop wallpaper I’ve had sitting on my computer for quite some time: Select Resolution: 1680×1050 | 1440×900 | 1280×1024 | 1280×800 | 1024×768 I had featured a very similar image some time back, which still stands as one of my favorite Lexus …
Kevin · June 5th, 2010

Autocar Drives 20-year-old Lexus LS 400

In a nod to their 20th anniversary in the UK, Lexus put automotive journalists behind the wheel of an old LS 400 at the annual Society of Motor Manufacturers Test day. Purchased off eBay, the LS 400 had 103,000 miles on the odometer and still plenty of life — here’s a quick review from Autocar: …
Kevin · June 1st, 2010

1989 Lexus LS 400 Featured in Old Top Gear Episode

It’s hard to discount the power of Youtube when you can watch a 1989 episode of Top Gear detailing the introduction of the then-newly released Lexus LS 400 (jump ahead to 1:26 to get there directly): Not a full-on review, which is a slight disappointment, but the praise is astounding, let me quote presenter Tiff …
Kevin · November 30th, 2007

Tony Soprano & The Lexus LS 400

It’s always a blast seeing your favorite cars featured in TV and movies, and what what an appearance the Lexus LS 400 made in the first episode of the Sopranos (Warning: Contains coarse language and violence, viewer discretion advised): I don’t even like my girlfriend driving my car, and she’s not in the habit of …
Kevin · August 28th, 2007

Classic 1992 Lexus LS Commercial: Money in the Bank

As an LS 400 owner, I always get a kick out of seeing the old commercials pop up on Youtube: It’s interesting that Lexus has maintained a very distinctive look to their advertising over the years. Save for the grainy VHS look and the car featured, this commercial could easily appear on TV today. Now …
Kevin · August 15th, 2007

Site of the Week: LexLS.com

For any old-school LS 400 owners handy with a torque wrench and a willingness to get their hands dirty, there is no site better than Lexls.com: This site is jampacked with a range of useful information, with everything from changing your oil to replacing your timing belt/water pump. Each tutorial is extremely well written and …
Kevin · July 21st, 2007

Repurposed 1991 Lexus involved in Drug Bust

How do you transport $1,000,000 dollars of cocaine in a single car? Use a 1991 Lexus LS 400: …nine kilograms of cocaine were found in a 1991 Lexus with Arizona license plates. “This is close to a million dollars in cocaine,” Jones said Friday, holding up long plastic-wrapped logs of cocaine that had been concealed …
Kevin · July 7th, 2007

Classic 1990 LS 400 Commercials

Someone must have been digging through their old VCR tapes, because here’s two VHS quality commercials from the LS 400’s inaugural advertising campaign: Funny story about the first commercial, taken from the book Lexus: The Relentless Pursuit: What the ad didn’t say — and what Team One [Lexus’ Advertising Agency] members didn’t know until later …
Kevin · June 26th, 2007

Autospeed Aero Tests the 1991 LS 400

One of the major design considerations when the first LS 400 was being prototyped was reducing its drag co-efficent (Cd), or the amount of wind turbulence the car experienced when in motion. A low drag helps with fuel efficiency and reduces the amount of energy needed to keep the car moving, and when the car …
Kevin · June 22nd, 2007

How to Restore a First Generation Lexus LS 400

Wheeler Dealers was a british TV show with a very simple premise: buy a beat-up classic, restore it, and sell it off for a profit. In one episode, they tackle a first generation LS 400 (judging by the rims, a 91-92 model), purchased from some poor sod for £1300. Here’s the first part to whet …
Kevin · June 14th, 2007

The 1955 Lexus F-100

It doesn’t look much like a Lexus, but this restored 1955 Ford F-100 owes a great deal to the LS400. Owners Terry & Terri Altman used the ‘91 Lexus LS400 1UZFE engine, along with its steering column and instrumentation in their restoration. As for why, here’s a quote from their interview with Custom Classic Trucks: …
Kevin · June 4th, 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