Autoblog

click above image for a high-resolution gallery of the Lexus LS460L

It's tough to pity Lexus LS owners. After all, Executive-Class luxury sedans don't exactly suck. We wouldn't blame LS drivers for feeling pangs of over-inconspicuousness whenever they see a Camry, though. Understated luxury is one thing, but when you're devoting something like two years of the average worker bee's salary to a frivolity such as a luxury sedan, it'd be nice to have at least some indication to the Serfs that you're the better man.

"Look at Me!" posturing is not what we have in mind. There are Lamborghinis and Excaliburs for that sort of disgusting bourgeois putrefaction. Exuding a bouquet of fine taste, class and craftsmanship shouldn't be out of the question for a car such as the LS, however. The LS 460L we drove failed to portray itself as what it aspires to be; the ne plus ultra shark in the S-Class pool. Spend a few more seconds looking and the sheer size of the big Lexus sinks in, but gosh, from 30 feet away you need to concentrate to see something more than a Camry (or the new Hyundai Genesis for that matter).

All photos ©2007 Dan Roth / Weblogs, Inc.

Sometimes news is just too good to keep to yourself. Just ask GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. With his company supposedly claiming 13 spots on Edmund's Consumers' Most Wanted list, Lutz just had to brag a bit on the corporate blog before the winners were made public.

And he should brag. Most other car of the year awards are chosen by us automotive writers who usually prefer horsepower over hip room. As the name implies, Edmund's CMW awards are chosen by the car-buying public. And despite not voting with their wallets, the car-buying public who visits Edmund's really like their GMs.

The GMC Acadia got Most Significant vehicle of the year, beating out Honda's Fit, the Toyota Camry Hybrid, the Ford Edge and the Toyota Tundra.

Click through to see Edmund's press release as well as the other category winners.

[Source: Edmunds, GM FastLane Blog]

The Lexus LS460 is a technophile's dream car -- it hosts the first eight-speed transmission, a rear-view camera, 19-speaker Mark Levinson stereo and hard disk drive to store 4,000 songs... and it parks itself. CNBC's Phil LeBeau shows us how "hands-free" is really done in the video above.

We've chatted with fellow automotive journalists about the self-parking feature, and most have not been impressed -- and by their accounts, what you see in the video is the best-case scenario. By the time the driver lines up the car correctly, confirms the space in which the car is to be parked, and presses go, the drivers in the cars lined up behind him will be out of patience faster than you can say, "Weren't you supposed to learn this crap in driver's ed?"

[Source: CNBC via Jalopnik]

Speaking of the Japanese Domestic Market LS460, Lexus pulled out all the stops for the luxury's car introduction on familiar ground, outfitting its flagship with an array of innovative features. LS460 technology "world's firsts" include:

• the 4.6-liter V8 sports "Dual VVTi": VVT-iE (variable Valve Timing-intelligent by Electric motor) on the intake side and VVT-i on the exhaust side
• eight-speed automatic transmission - the 8 Super ECT
• a vehicle-front pedestrian detection system
• collision-avoidance steering assist
• vehicle-rear detection system
• an electrically-operated parking brake which can automatically engage and release when the gearshift enters and leaves the "park" position
• a passenger compartment "oxygen level conditioner" to maintain oxygen levels in the cabin
• electric door locks and power windows that can be remotely activated using a cell-phone

Not all of these features will make the overseas market versions of the LS460. More details on all these innovations are in the official press release after the jump.

[Source: Lexus]

Tuesday's launch of Lexus' flagship LS460 in Japan marks a major milestone for Toyota's luxury brand, as the company tries to duplicate its success in the U.S. in other key markets, including its home turf of Japan and Europe.

After unveiling the LS460 in Tokyo, Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe told the assembled press that the new LS would lead the company's efforts to establish Lexus as a global premium brand, saying that he expects Lexus worldwide sales to surpass the 500,000 unit mark in 2007. Lexus sales in 2006 are expected to be in the neighborhood of 470,000 to 480,000 units.

Following on the heels of its Japanese market debut, the new LS460 will launch in North America in October.

So far the Lexus brand has failed to make a big impact in its home market, trailing well behind Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and things will get tougher in 2008, when Honda launches its Acura brand. However, with 9,000 pre-launch orders on the books for the LS460, and with the LS600h due out in the spring, there may be reason for optimism.

[Source: Reuters]

Lexus has already talked about a variety of impressive pre-crash safety systems for its upcoming LS flagship sedan (see our post on the LS 600h L), but so far it has all revolved around the front end of the luxury sedan. Toyota is now saying that the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) version of the LS 460 will get a rear collision detection system, which is believed to be the first of its type in the world.

The system uses a rear-facing radar sensor to detect imminent rear collisions, and illuminates a warning lamp for the driver as it measures the position of the front seat passengers' heads and adjusts the position of the vehicle's headrests accordingly to help reduce the risk of whiplash neck injuries.

More information has also trickled out about the front-collision detection technology in the LS, with the automaker stating that the twin front-mounted "stereo" cameras will use infrared illuminators mounted in the headlamps to provide detection and ranging capabilities. Such a system will be capable of detecting pedestrians as well as vehicles, which will give it an advantage over radar-based systems (the Lexus has one of those, too).

[Source: Japan Times]