word play by Greg Bloom
I told everyone there that I was going to make a reference to The Jetsons and I intend to live up to that… so read on. This, my second invite to a far off test-driving destination was very short, but comfortable from the get go.
Last year, I didn’t know what to expect when Mercedes hosted the ride along in Carmel. I was nervous at first and even more so when I saw the list of esteemed journalists, which included representatives from Car & Driver, The Washington Post, The LA Times, etc. Catch my drift? What transformed into an incredibly amusing, pleasurable retreat helped to not only ease me in to this next go-at-it with Lexus in San Francisco, but to rant with excitement when I got the invite.
Ritz Carlton, San Francisco was room and board for the night and a super phat six course smorgasbord of French cuisine in the four-star Dining Room more than satisfied our travel-induced hunger pangs. Astounding, perfectly matched wines with each course took the edge off and our anticipation for a long drive in the newest pre-production Lexus Sedans had some of us just reeling for satisfaction.
Earlier, some of the more spry individuals in the group spoke of hitting the town after dinner and decided since I was the young gun with the edgy “play time” magazine, that it was up to me to formulate a plan. Though I had originally planned on resting in the hotel to get some work done, the nature of the business that I love so much practically obligates me to adopt ring leader status when nocturnal activity is involved… so I bit the bullet and called in a couple favors. Before I knew it, it was dinner time and orange peel moses, holdin’ it down back in D-Town, had me on three VIP lists while the email I shot to Yossi Goodman (You Know Me) led me later to hook up with some friends of his over at Shine, on 9th and Mission. It’s a sweet little dance club where DJ/bartender Aaron Pope was pouring ‘em stiff and gazing with the others in the room and now our group, at the Burning Man documentary on a large flat screen, getting pumped up for a trip to the desert the following week.
My lively compatriots, comprised of two other journalists from Colorado, one from Phoenix and our hostess, Ashley, and I… though primed enough to race cable cars up and down Mission, decided to call it a night at a reasonable hour in anticipation for the next day’s ride along.
Morning sprung and torture was induced when the 7:15 follow-up wake up call was hot on the heels of its 7 am predecessor. The bed was so damn comfortable, only confessions from fellow scribes at breakfast alerted me that a fire alarm had gone off just a few hours earlier. Yep! Had there been a fire in my room, you might be reading a page in the Greg Bloom Memorial Issue of Image Magazine right now. Good times.
Clusters of sterling silver chaffing dishes blanketed tables all around the Terrace dining room, filled with grips of delectable breakfast items for us all to devour at will. It was a fine launch to “460” Day.
An hour-long education and Q&A forum administrated by top Lexus engineers and publicists filled our brains with more info than any car salesman could ever have connived their way through. These people were truly passionate about their company and had exponential pride in their new gem… the LS460 and LS460L (Longer Wheel Base). It was not surprising to learn that because of the specific attention to detail that, although still a Toyota company, Lexus had been separated and left on its own to flourish under independent management.
We exited the Ritz lobby only to have the chipper bellmen and valets lead us, in pairs, to the recently summoned fleet of hand-made $500,000 LS460 Prototypes… a stellar vision. Four and a half hours of driving pleasure awaited us. We were about to embark on the sweetest ride in the sweetest production car to date. I remember saying more than once during my drive time, “There is nothing wrong with this car.” It was honestly… a perfect ride.
The 4th generation of LS models, the 2007 LS460 comes with the first ever 8-speed automatic transmission. Its behemoth older twin, the LS600h L (scheduled to exit the womb later), will be all that and then some… a bigger motor with the addition of hybrid technology. This model will yield 430 horsepower. The brilliant engineers who put their souls into the design of this model say that the LS represents automotive finesse and style that only the human touch of Lexus’ master technicians can provide. The L suffix refers to the longer wheel base option. You get 121.7 as opposed to 116.9 in the standard 460. The car has emotional appeal like you’ve never known. With 380 horsepower, the 460 gets 367 foot pounds of torque and goes zero to sixty in 5.4 seconds. You can feel it but you can’t… if that makes any sense. It is the smoothest trip from stop to fast I’ve ever felt. Everything is smooth and seemingly works together. Every automatic door and panel, from the glove box to the small console compartments, opens at the same speed, for cryin’ out loud.
And now for some more extras: You can fit 4 golf bags in the trunk (golf claps), there are sensors that measure the tire pressure of not only each tire in contact with the road, but also the spare. In Lexus’ pursuit of perfection, it went a step ahead from this year and improved the Active Cruise Control, which detects traffic with more accuracy and intelligently slows down and speeds up according to your speed and the distance between you and the car ahead. Now we’re talkin’ Jetsons. If you think that’s “space-age,” try this… The reverse navigation system in the new LS will parallel park for you or back into a space, hands free! Judy, Jane, Elroy and Astro may have taken this feature for granted, but we here in Realville are getting to see it in production and in our driveways now for the first time ever. That’s something special.
The wood used in the car’s interior is all from the same tree, in order to maintain uniformity throughout. Music lovers: you’d be a fool not to opt-in to the Mark Levinson Audio 19-Speaker, in-dash 6-DVD changer to flip through your music and movies at will. There are body heat sensors that help maintain desired temperature for all occupants. Last but not least, the passenger side back seat, if you wish, is a remote controlled multi-button massage chair complete with leg extending ottoman. Yeah… there’s that much leg room.
This epitome of luxury cars is going to be the talk of every country club and high-rise parking garage just in time for the holidays.
Lexus.com
