Dan Neil gets his 5 minutes of fame knocking Lexus.

Yes, but they have the appeal of a very pricey public golf course- Pebble Beach anyone?

HAAHa public golf course… I so agree.

Lexus is definitely a yawner. The MB CLS is way better for the same money.

I’ll take an IS or GS lexus over a bmw, benz, or audi any day. But I wouldn’t take it to a golf course because golf sucks.

Nothing we didn’t already know,Lexus(TOYOTAS) are the auto equivalent of a toaster on wheels.

Why is everyone working so hard on parking systems? If I bought a car with a parking system, I would go out of my way to remove it. Learn how to drive, assholes!

I love how all of you idiots are bashing Lexus and the new LS 460 when there hasn’t even been a full review published of the car yet, and the only review that i read was incomprehensive though it did say the car was incredible, simply incredible. and I’m sure none of you have driven the LS 460 yet, so why don’t you stop whining about subjects that you clearly don’t know a damn thing about, because anybody who has been following cars lately can see that Lexus does NOT just make boring appliances, the IS? the GS 450h? You all clearly need to go back to school. car school that is.

Paul,

A CLS is a completely different class of car and does not compete with the LS.

Jon.

Hey Paul, why get the CLS? for the same money you can get the BMW M3, its way better than the CLS…

All I have to do is find a 24ft long parking space, wow, what a convenience……for stevie wonder. Typical Toyota, a boring mundane car for boring mundane people. Buy an s class; cars really don’t get much better than that thing. BTW, gsh, the BMW M3 is the Trans am for euro trash, don’t compare it to the luxury liner CLS.

Doesn’t surprise me, it’s the same Toy Ota junk anyway.

Lexus tend sto appeal to golfers so maybe this fits?

Lexus styling is a bit lacking its not offensive, but its boring.

Dan Neil is just repeating what he’s heard. That’s not what the other reviews have been saying. What it boils down to is the vehicle/company is just too good, so you have to find something negative.

It’s a technical innovation on wheels… and it’ll sell to every doctor and lawyer on the rich side of the train tracks. Lexus knows that the LS is not made to appeal to enthusiasts… that’s what the IS and GS are for, although they don’t quite make it.

hey 2006300C, i was being sarcastic you dimwit

Jesus! C’mon, the LS looks so much better than the S class and 7 seies. If nothing changed on the vehicle and if it said BMW on the hood, you morons would be drooling and it would all of sudden have “soul”. Paaaaaleeeeeeze!

If it said BMW on the hood, it would be a different machine altogether. This Lexus does its designed perpose very, very well.

BMWs do their job very well. 2 completely diffrent cars, these two are.

I just ordered a new 335i Sedan. Screw the STI.

The 335i sedans will be here at the end of October. 335xi in March

If it was the same car with a BMW Badge on the car, people might drool over it, but all the reviews would say “We’re scratching our heads here… a BMW that drives like… well… a Lexus?!”

Sorry, but there’s way more at work here than badges.

If I wanted a $70K-85K luxury car, the S550 would undoubtedly top my list, with the short-wheelbase 750i a very close second because of it’s still-unmatched-by-another-huge-car-dynamics, cheaper price, and what I think is a cleaner look.

if it had a blue and white propeller on the hood… oh wait, you’ve heard this one before.

Is the notion that the new Lexus lacks emotion a new notion when it comes to Lexus? These are the same criticisms that were voiced with the original 1989/90 Lexus LS400. Sure it was an excellent salvo fired at established European marques, however, there was no denying that MB S-Class of the day, the then current BMW 7-Series, and the Jaguar XJ6 all had more emotional appeal. Luckily, for Lexus, they’ve never relied on selling cars based on notion of emotional appeal. After all, Lexus is Toyota – they sell their cars based the fact their excellent. well engineered cars – and with or without emotion, this Lexus will outsell all of its competition.

A car doesn’t need to give me a boner when I look at it. Apparently, Mr. Neil requires such a reaction in his pants. I think Lexus has definitely taken the LS to a level far beyond that of the out-going car, which was already very nice to look at. At this time, no other car in the LS’s class offers the reclining rear seat, and when it comes to businessmen who already get driven to work, that’s going to be a huge selling point.

Let’s face it, Bimmers are God-awful fugly, Benzes have suffered far too many electronics failures in recent years, and Caddy’s are cheap GM garbage with leather interiors. Toyota builds rock-solid vehicles, and outside of enthusiasts, not too many buyers worry about their car having ‘emotion’.

I will reserve final judgment till I drive one myself after taking one in trade but this does not surpise me. The only lexus I have ever driven that had a little bit of soul in it was the original IS300 and even that was not so great as so few were not avaliable with a manual. The GS400 was pretty good too but not as exciting as the IS300.

The new IS series cars don’t do much and neither do the GS series.

You think Lexus would have made their most luxurious car not look like a Camry on steroids?

The LLN excerpt is far more negative than the overall article if you read the whole linked story(reveals LLNs own bias). In fact, it sounds like a sweet car with typical Lexus drawbacks. Dan Neil seems objective and praises build quality, materials, smooth and quietness etc and disses exterior appearance and “passion” factor. It definitely was never meant to appeal to enthusiasts and the LWB version back seat is very Maybach-like. I definitely wouldnt mind sitting back there and being chauffeured around all day…now which one of you will be my Driver?? lol

http://www.mx.autocosmos.com/contenidos/videos.asp i found this page and looks like the 2007 Honda CRV is already for sale in Mexico

“Typical Toyota, a boring mundane car for boring mundane people.”

Be careful on that “mundane” word as they are driven as operation vehicles for top executives at some of the biggest oil and telecommunication US companies. Of course, they also have a MB or BMW in their garages. Anyway, the whole point of the LS is certainly not emotion inducing rage but silent luxury which is parallel to the Toyota Crown, the late king of business suite.

Yes. Very small.

Renton? “Screw the STI”?
You were so on board just a little while ago. What gives?

I still don’t understand how you people on this board can judge a car and know EVERYTHING about it just by some pictures and popular opinion. It hasn’t even been RELEASED!!! It’s just like looking at someone and applying every single stereotype and bias against a person without even asking their name and getting to know them. You guys are going off of assumptions, few of which are substantiated by reliable facts, and are forming an opinion before experiencing it for yourself. But that’s the problem. I’m willing to bet 95% of you have never even driven any of these cars you seem to know everything about.

I’ve driven a Skoda.

Don’t any of you guys read Car and Driver? The LS 460 is slower than expected, 0-60 in 6 seconds. It takes 209ft to stop, 30ft longer than the current LS430. Car and Driver kind of bashed its handling. The styling is pure camry. I have seen two of them on the highway, here in the Northeast. It has a bad version of a bangle butt.

Alex, at least I’ve owned a Fiat, Citroen, Renault, Peugeot, and Holden in the past… I agree about the stereotype thing. They should just keep quiet until they’ve actually test driven the car themselves. Comments on aesthetics are so meaningless so they should not be mentioned either. The only thing that matters are real sales numbers… afterall the point of any business is to make $.

Jon–”Renton? “Screw the STI”?
You were so on board just a little while ago. What gives?”

I still love he STI, its just I never knew the 335i sedan would be out so soon. My current lease is up in November, and the car will avaiable. I even ordered my exact car yesterday.

This could be an all time great car. 300hp and 300 lb/ft.

Renton, Automobile Magazine dyno’d the 335i and found it was actually producing more like 350hp and 360lb-ft. 0-60 in 4.9 seconds, 13.6 sec 1/4 mile.

BMW850/Ricardo Head: and you both need to be anally raped for messing with the dog.

If I want to be anally raped I’ll buy a BMW or Benz.

Ouch. I’m pretty sure that won’t sit right with BMW850, but I’ll let him speak for himself.

mmmmmmm……..I think I’ll have an S-Class, thank you very much.

Quality is there, passion is not. Perfect cars for some people, not for me. It’s not an insult, just the way i see it.

This auto-parking system only confirms that Lexus does not make cars for people who are into the driving experience. It is marketing hype just like the Lexus badge. It is technology for the sake of technology. Their products may give goose bumps to crash test dummies (check out the ES350 commercial), but how about products that cause goose bumps in humans!

I suspect that the Lexus will have a nicer interior than the S Class. The S Class interior (especially around the instrument panel) is about as smooth as a mid-80’s Malibu, ordered for a municipality. Having said that though, if I purchase a car North of $70G’s, it better generate some excitement, otherwise why bother!

All luxury barges are boring and chock full of silly gadgets and gizmos. They are not a passionate automobile.

Anyone who has seen pics up next to a BMW 7 Series can see the cars look identical from the side. Once again, Toyota trying to copy what BMW has already perfected.

I’d rather be caught in a Cadillac DTS…….or even a 93′-96′ Fleetwood

You must be very old BR. Fogeys would rather own a Cadillac, not youngins. I’m old too, but I’ll never be caught dead in a Caddy unless its a Hearse. Caddy is just an overpriced Chevrolet. At least Lexus is smooth, quiet and refined Toyota

I’m 21……and while Fleetwood’s may be old fogey mobiles all around, all it would need is the suspension from the early 90’s Imapala SS and a Northstar ‘V’ series big block to blow this barge back to the east coast country club it came from

“At least Lexus is smooth, quiet and refined Toyota”

Bahahaha! Who are you kidding, boy?

^ Next to a Cadillac, I’d say he’s correct.

Not really. He’s got it back-asswards.

[...] LA Times: Lexus has “emotional appeal of a public golf course” Finally, someone says what I’ve long maintained – Japanese cars are boring. (tags: Japanese automobiles boring appliances) [...]

I’ve said that from the start as well.Excellent robots from superbly efficient,uh,former rice paddy teeming throngs.