Automobile Magazine: LS460 parking video (hint: it fails to park)

Bill submitted on 10/29/2006 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 4:40 PM
from: www.automobilemag.com

Tags: LS460 parking video (hint: it fails to park)

LS460 parking video (hint: it fails to park)

Automobile Magazine: LS460 parking video (hint: it fails to park)

Jason Cammisa, Sam Smith, and Erik Johnson answer the question of how many automotive journalists it takes to properly use the new LS460's self park feature. The answer? More than three, that's for sure. Will someone call a Lexus engineer? Read Article

Comments:

Images hosted in your AgentSpace can now be posted in the comments section using the following syntax (case matters):
[img]IMAGE URL[/img]
Example: [img]http://agent004.myautospies.com/users/150/Sample-Gallery/sample1.JPG[/img]

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 10/29/2006 5:07:57 PM

+3 Boost

Funny Video

But I think the faliure of the Self Park feature was due to Improper use by the Occupants not System Malfunction.

Just My Opinion

reply to this comment

AUDBMLEXMRC - 10/29/2006 5:17:02 PM

+3 Boost

I've seen few tests and it parks itselt without any problem! These guys relay knows how they should use the system? Did they read how it works? I'm not sure!

reply to this comment

Carboy - 10/29/2006 5:38:20 PMView My AgentSpace

+5 Boost

Thats crap!!!

reply to this comment

EL34 - 10/29/2006 5:41:08 PM

-3 Boost

Let me ask a question to you guys.

You've got this self-parking down pat and you press the button to park the car and as the car is backing in a little kid runs behind the car.

Does the Lexus run over the kid or not?

Yes or No!

reply to this comment

Homer008 - 10/29/2006 6:18:46 PM

-2 Boost

here is your answer:
This is really cool, guys! You just drive up beside the car in front of the space you want -- hit a button, and take your hands off the wheel. You relax and watch the steering wheel spin in one direction and then stops..and slowly spins another direction and burst into higher speed spinning. Best part of the experience is actually being moved back and forth like a prince and you are sitting on a carriage with 20 people below you and moving. Then it slides right into place. There is even a little CCTV to prevent from running over a small object, also! <--TV commercial does not show this little gizmo. Simply awesome! You will love it!
CCTV dumbass.

EL34 - 10/29/2006 6:33:32 PM

-1 Boost

So when the car is parking I have to watch the screen to make sure there is no object in the way?

How often per year do you think you would use self-parking?

I know for a fact, I would not want this option.

S4cabriofox - 10/29/2006 11:19:28 PM

+1 Boost

Well, too bad, it's standard. You'd have to get the LS with the standard Premium Package- you can't NOT get it, and it raises the price to $67K, more in-line with competitors.

mitchatlexusofmarin - 10/30/2006 12:04:58 PM

+1 Boost

Only if YOU fail to brake.

528i - 10/29/2006 5:46:40 PMView My AgentSpace

+2 Boost

they don't know how to use it right.......

reply to this comment

Homer008 - 10/29/2006 6:15:51 PM

+2 Boost

My response to Bell and his relentless pursuit to degrade Lexus and his audacity to find an even the smallest crack in an hours of researched article to post on autospies.

Anyhow here it goes....

I remember BMW car fans claiming that this is a truely "silly" feature and naturally all comments made were aimed at chiping away Lexus's innovation of self parking feature. (pure bullshit bias).

I mock you. Infact, I'll make fun of the BMW self park feature. Don't stop reading yet. Let me explain to you why.

BMW's self parking feature are simply to pull the car into a garage. And that was it! It only goes straight line and it stops.

*you can see the technology isn't BMw's powerhouse, although it is very respectable in many other areas i.e. taking curves while driving w/demonic speed around the corner from a stop sign to the blockbuster parking space. I well mention their hydrogen research, bluetec were showing a good prop. for a little while. However, I think their bluetec crap has fizzled out and I don't really read about them alot lately.

IMO, BMW need to continue to advertise themselves as a being performance driven car instead of "technologically" innovative cars. That my friends goes to the Japanese. Don't make faces.

My point is that if BMW start challenging - Lexus, Acura or Infiniti when it comes to advanced technology, it will lose out even further. It will surely suffer even more in reliability problems as they already are plagued with. This btw is an major embarrasment which should have been fixed 15-20 years ago. Infact in my honesty, BMW, MB and Audi should have never been labeled as a "unreliable, high priced luxury cars". But of course you sour grapes won't ever admit it.

Their plummeting low resale value supports my theory. On the other hand- Toyota/Lexus has consistantly been receiving highest resale, period. Best. Consistantly in #1 spot!

The point is more and more people are beginning to notice "The Ultimate Driving Maching" has NOT paralleled with their expectations.

Now going back to self-parking. I work in metro city area. I want a car that self parks in a parallel space. Lexus has it and by god it works great!

This is really cool, guys! You just drive up beside the car in front of the space you want -- hit a button, and take your hands off the wheel. You relax and watch the steering wheel spin in one direction and then stops..and slowly spins another direction and burst into higher speed spinning. Best part of the experience is actually being moved back and forth like a prince and you are sitting on a carriage with 20 people below you and moving. Then it slides right into place. There is even a little CCTV to prevent from running over a small object, also! <--TV commercial does not show this little gizmo. Simply awesome! You will love it!

And, Bell. I dare you to find an article about BMW's mechanical problems/reliability problems and cut and paste that crap on here

reply to this comment

luvmybmr - 10/29/2006 7:08:22 PM

+4 Boost

actually buddy the bmw doesnt just go straight, get your facts right.

Bill - 10/29/2006 9:19:35 PM

+3 Boost

I didn't even read what you wrote because I know you're nothing but a jealous loser with nothing important to say. Quit posting trash here and do something productive.

Oh, and it's BILL.

Homer008 - 10/29/2006 6:40:56 PM

-1 Boost

My answer: Because technology exist and it works without electrical shortage to explode while you MDalle are in it. I'ld love to see that! Little maggot. I knew it was MB crap, so there..you happy clown?

reply to this comment

luvmybmr - 10/29/2006 7:11:02 PM

+2 Boost

the system cant be that bad, but im pretty sure there are idiots out there like the ones in the video who would take 30 min to park the car.

reply to this comment

markusck - 10/29/2006 7:17:16 PM

+1 Boost

I am amazed that Automobile magazine seems to be staffed with immature high schoolers, these are the folks dishing out commentary on cars as 'experts'? Really opened my eyes. The Lexus gizmo is just that, saw it in action at "a taste of Lexus" this weekend, neat but I would never use it, too many variables will keep it from making life easy...you spend more time pushing buttons then just doing it yourself..

reply to this comment

Mark - 10/31/2006 10:42:34 AM

+2 Boost

^Nice handle there buddy.....

Homer008 - 10/29/2006 7:37:10 PM

0 Boost

luvmybmr: You are right..it doesn't just go straight as, I will now correct myself.

BMW self parking functions like this:
You park the car front of a small tight spaced area ie car garage. You step outside. The car then drives inside of the car garage space by itself. And finally it shuts off the car by itself.

VW had a workable self parking van came out back in 1997 to my knowledge also but then again so did the Honda. Honda version of self parking feature was sold on many low priced version cars as an option for Japanese working in tight spaced metropolitan area which is a very welcoming feature.

If you truely want to see something amazing is the Honda, Azmo. It walks, runs, climbs stairs and even walks backward by itself, truely magnificent machine indeed.

In conclusion, some of you VW, BMW fans are in disfavor of this technology, you just remember one thing: If you bash Lexus, you should also bash VW and BmW also.

reply to this comment

luvmybmr - 10/30/2006 11:15:34 AM

+1 Boost

you just repeated yourself but now you went into detail. yes it does park in a garage. but it also self parks in spaces as well.

Homer008 - 10/29/2006 8:29:49 PM

+2 Boost

Lexus obviously disagree with you MDalle.
I disagree with you MDalle. Many folks who are into the newest technology would disagree with you MDalle. Have you ever thought for once that perhaps in near future..10-20 years from now will be a standard option on many cars that can even drive by itself? ie Honda accord soon to be sold in England will have this feature in 08..why not apply this technology to make it even more hassle free? If you were 75 year old Mdalle, you might have different opinion. This feature is to assist humans. It is just few techno options offered outthere already in existance where in the past..few or many thought as same as you. Why do we need this? Again, I'm tellin ya..Its because if you want to survive in this survival of the fittest and cleverest will survive. Darwin would certainly agree with this. Its making stronger connection with humans and machines which is enivitable. Have you asked yourself why do anyone need a 80gig ipod? when you only listen to 100 of your favorite musics all the time? But think for a moment MDalle..People purchase 80gig ipod b/c we all want more. Perhaps you do have a valid point but you must realize we are living in an era where folks like, myself want morethan just a car with demonic cornering capability you so envy. I on the otherhand could say samething MDalle. Why? Why do I need a car that can corner so fast and well? Its same context when you think about it..when you mention everytime..why do we need a car that can parallel park for you.

reply to this comment

chewy - 10/29/2006 7:57:22 PMView My AgentSpace

+2 Boost

Didn't I tell you this would happen. I bet the VW system on the Touran works better.

reply to this comment

Homer008 - 10/29/2006 8:39:26 PM

+4 Boost

Will, my friend you are correct.

Cheers.

reply to this comment

JRobUSC - 10/30/2006 12:38:37 PM

-1 Boost

so the automotive press loves every technical innovation the Germans come up with, huh? Interesting, I remember iDrive and Active Steering (both BMW innovations) being pretty much universally maligned in the automotive press, no one said "give it time". Fast forward four years and iDrive is much easier to use, and Acura, Audi, Mercedes, Infinity, etc. have all implemented similar systems in their cars. Infiniti just came out with a similar system to Active Steering, too. The magazines don't just love everything German and they don't just hate everything Japanese.

reply to this comment

IamEvilHomer - 10/30/2006 1:10:05 PM

+2 Boost

I like the camera in my S6 I see the need for that. I can see a small need for the auto park in a garage "if it works" but give me the camera in my car and that is all i need. I can back into a spot in a few seconds just following the lines on the picture.

The problem the LS460 has with this is the same problem BMW has with the I-Drive. Tech is good as long as it helps but if it makes your life harder then why have it inless you are just trying to show off.

That being said I am sure you will see this in the high end of most lux cars. Bosh has been developing this for years and the LEX and BMW will be the first cars to buy it.

reply to this comment

awsomeaudi - 10/29/2006 8:35:16 PM

+7 Boost

OMG does anyone acknoledge this is the first (or second) car to use the self parking feature this is bullshit the journalists dont even know how to use the feature P.S. ALWAYS READ THE MANUAL LOL

reply to this comment

audirevolution - 10/29/2006 8:35:38 PM

+5 Boost

i will have to try this out myself before judging it.
However, as others have already stated, I find this system kind of pointless.
I think it will be nice to have though.

reply to this comment

markusck - 10/29/2006 8:35:51 PM

+3 Boost

I don't see this as bashing lexus, (God forbid you have an opinion about Lexus, man people are touchy) yes it is 'technology' and very advanced, but its not on a level of ABS, ESP, Brake Assist, Air Bags, BlueTec, etc, things that matter...again a gizmo, whether its on a BMW or VW. Hey, I hate IDrive..too

reply to this comment

Homer008 - 10/29/2006 8:46:09 PM

+3 Boost

Not disputing with ya, Marksuck but, I've noticed you have blatenly left out hybrid engine, already in production and being sold in state side with an Honda logo which runs on hydrogen power, you've left out Infiniti's lane departure warning systems etc..

You stated that you don't like IDrive. Here is my opinion. Idrive is great. I think it simplifies many crap on the dashboard cluttering ie Saab, Cadillacs, Buicks, Fords and others. Have you ever even tried idrive? If so for how long? Well? Most ppl who complains about idrive are those that doesn't own a BMW. How difficult is it to memorize turning a damn dial and clicking it? I think its brilliant.

lexusis350 - 10/29/2006 8:39:39 PM

+2 Boost

If you ask me, this video looks a little too done up. It seems to me that they were doing this on purpose to make Lexus look phony. For all we know, they could have stopped the car themselves when they said it wasn't working. Something doesn't seem right on this.

reply to this comment

S4cabriofox - 10/29/2006 11:28:06 PM

-3 Boost

Pretty much the same idea that corrupted 60 Minutes back in the late '80s, when people were reporting Audi 5000 models, then a revolutionary styling-leader (it formed the basis for all of today's sedan designs), going forward when they hit the brake, which was false. The pedals were merely too close together. But, 60 Minutes purposely made it so the car went forward when they "hit the brake", giving Audi a bad name. If it weren't for that video, Audi would still be a huge seller in America and there wouldn't be nearly as many people bashing it.

I kind of agree with that, that this was staged. I don't see this as a particularly useful feature (I'm sure it's quicker to park it yourself), but it's nice to know it's there.

markusck - 10/29/2006 8:45:54 PM

0 Boost

Oh, and I would not call these Automobile magazine guys driving this car "journalists", obviously they didnt do their research, just jumped in and started pressing buttons. But it also showed how unnecessary this 'technology' is...

reply to this comment

kart1 - 10/29/2006 8:59:55 PM

+3 Boost

I don't like this video, because simply I don't like the people in the car. They look and act like idiots.

reply to this comment

markusck - 10/29/2006 9:01:20 PM

0 Boost

Nicehomer, exactly, just because I don't like idrive doesnt mean i don't like BMWs, its just not an option I like, not yet anyway and that should be ok. No bad feelings towards BMW.
Again, just because in my list of technology I leave off things I don't know about that happen to be Japanese, there seems some implied criticism...that in some way Lexus, Honda or Infinity are being put down...I also left off DSC and Quattro...I think those of you who like the Japanese brands just get too easily offended when people have opinions that are not 100% pro Japanese and the boards become too much of a us vs. them and go way off topic fighting over who's has the bigger...

reply to this comment

Homer008 - 10/29/2006 9:21:18 PM

-1 Boost

hmmm, perhaps yer right. You have to admit though, shit flies both directions. Japanese car fans commentary is always flowned upon which pisses me off. Every single commentary or article on the Lexus was immediately shut down like a clay pigeons. Therefore, We must respond to you. We shit on German cars also but reality is this. If you truely believe German cars are so damn good with driving dynamic and history crap then not a single of you German car fans should even be bothered in which case this it not true. It does bother yall. You guys give away too much weakness by acting as All german cars are perfect and absolutely untouchable by trying so hard to bash Lexus, Acura and Infiniti..I'm sorry to yall, but you got anther thing comin..and I will bombard your cars as long as you bombard our cars and that is the way it is going to be. Its not Black or white. The dispute will continue forever. Just accept it and move on..and if you can't hang..don't read it and rather skip it to all your glorious fantasies..skip the reality of it all. btw, Lexus is just a Toyota commentary by some of you clowns are so immature and stupid..it makes me vomit.

S4cabriofox - 10/29/2006 11:30:14 PM

+6 Boost

Why don't we all admit that we like every brand here?

Most of us dislike other cars out of envy.

I admit to liking Acura, Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Jaguar, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz models.

markusck - 10/29/2006 9:34:14 PM

+2 Boost

I guess I don't understand this us vs. them when it comes to cars. These are things we buy, drive, sell, and do it again. Its not a personal attack! Sure, you can have preferences, but the extreme emotion involved ("and I will bombard your cars as long as you bombard our cars and that is the way it is going to be") Yikes! Yeah, I like Mercedes but I just went to a Lexus event and had a great time and liked what I saw..still not for me as Lexus is just a Toyata at the end of the day with no soul or history...OK I'm kidding! Just having a little fun..a car, 4 wheels, paint, and gets me from a to b...

reply to this comment

S4cabriofox - 10/29/2006 11:31:32 PM

+4 Boost

Exactly!

No, nicehomer, it's the complete opposite. He's VERY mature. He has an independent POV on this website- he knows that every car deserves a chance if you're an enthusiast.

Anyone who hates on a car, merely because it has a certain badge, isn't an enthusiast.

Mark - 10/31/2006 11:08:18 AM

+2 Boost

^ Sounds familiar to me......

Homer008 - 10/29/2006 9:53:22 PM

0 Boost

markusck, how old are you? You sound very immature with just kidding comment which you have typed in the blotter with "Lexus is just a Toyota" comment. Make up your mind. Because, I really don't give a damn. I understand German cars breaks down worsethan American cars on the average but unlike you, I won't back track it. I also disagree with you about just point a to b comment. Its a to b with safety, performance, dependability, comfort, luxury, the connection you have with your car, stereor and list goes on and on and therefore its not always point a to b for some like myself.

reply to this comment

S4cabriofox - 10/29/2006 11:32:49 PM

+2 Boost

He was being sarcastic about the Toyota/Lexus comment.

The German cars that I've owned have never broken down. In fact, they've been almost trouble free.

It depends more on how you treat your cars than the brand's reputation.

Rupert - 10/30/2006 2:08:00 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

my family has never not had a german car, and the only one that was wrong was a 1988 735. beserk electrics. the following 10+ german cars never had any major problems.

lexusis350 - 10/29/2006 10:36:16 PM

+4 Boost

The people in this video made me think of turning a bunch of chimpanzes loose inside of a car that is way ahead of their knowlege extent. Just the fact that they couldn't figure out how to set up the parking guidence shows that they didn't know what they were doing.

reply to this comment

IamEvilHomer - 10/30/2006 1:13:42 PM

+1 Boost

true but remember most customers will find this hard to use. The typical Lex customer is the oldest "import brand" customer. Can you see the 70 year old grandma using this ? The people that can't park are probably the same people that can't figure out tech. (not ripping on Lex so relax)

luvmybmr - 10/30/2006 1:42:57 PM

0 Boost

^^ thats what ive been trying to say!

Matthew1 - 10/29/2006 11:11:00 PM

-1 Boost

nicehomer,

Do everyone a favour and go away.

No one wants to listen to your immature, drug-fueled ramblings.

We have our official Lexus crusader, and it is Will. At least he speaks properly and is over the age of 7.

reply to this comment

Homer008 - 10/30/2006 2:54:57 AM

+1 Boost

I'm planned to stay as a permanent memeber, Matthew faggot..just for you.

Homer008 - 10/30/2006 2:54:58 AM

+1 Boost

I'm planned to stay as a permanent member, Matthew faggot..just for you.

Homer008 - 10/30/2006 2:55:05 AM

+1 Boost

I'm planned to stay as a permanent member, Matthew faggot..just for you.

Rupert - 10/30/2006 2:10:08 PMView My AgentSpace

+2 Boost

jesus christ

GROW UP YOU PLANK

i bet i'm at least 10 years younger than you but i'm a heck of a lot more mature.
and matthew is right, we already have one lexus crusader, and he is at least polite.

(yay we <3 will)

markusck - 10/29/2006 11:19:21 PM

0 Boost

The one thing Lexus has recently done is gotten over their inferiority complex and have started to act like they belong in the big boy club. Now what they need to work on is their fanbase and get them to believe it too. Only when that happens will discussions like these begin to move into real debates and the emotional cries will cease. The one thing it does for me is create a negative image of the Lexus brand...

reply to this comment

lexusis350 - 10/29/2006 11:43:58 PM

+2 Boost

They have a bigger fanbase than Mercedes, or BMW, or Audi. They don't sell purley on price, there are things that are more desireable about them.

Homer008 - 10/30/2006 3:04:35 AM

+2 Boost

Marksuck, Now what they need to work on is their fanbase and get them to believe it too.<--huh what a crock of bull! Lexus has gigantic and truely loyal fanbase around the world. Wake up and smell the coffee junior and do some research before you go on rambling and making crap up to make you look smarter.
My advise is to you is you should stop smoking hippie lettuce immediately.

S4cabriofox - 10/30/2006 10:12:49 PM

+1 Boost

"They have a bigger fanbase than Mercedes, or BMW, or Audi. They don't sell purley on price, there are things that are more desireable about them."

The only thing I can think of here is reliability. The luxury card isn't much of a player here, because these are all luxury brands, and the average consumer probably wouldn't notice that a BMW has a cheaper interior than an Audi or Lexus.

lexusis350 - 10/31/2006 11:23:23 PM

0 Boost

They are not all luxury brands. Mercedes, BMW, and Audi all focus on performance. They give their cars that only grandpas would drive (S-Class, 7-Series, A8), huge engines with more horsepower an old person could handle. They are more performance cars in my opinion.

huu76 - 10/30/2006 12:09:41 AM

+2 Boost

LOL, that's funny. Did Lexus forget to give them an owner's manual to find out what the arrows and green mean?

I'm actually surprised that it would park like that. I was under the impression it only parallel parked.

reply to this comment

007BIG3 - 10/30/2006 12:39:26 AM

+2 Boost

Automobile Magazine must have the worlds dumbest Journalist its obvious in the video they don't know what they're doing. The self parking feature is only for parrallel parking.

reply to this comment

chewy - 10/30/2006 12:52:23 AMView My AgentSpace

0 Boost

No, it is for both (supposedly) But really fails.

Lexluther - 11/3/2006 7:05:28 PM

0 Boost

It can back into a space vertically too.

watisthat - 10/30/2006 1:03:07 AM

+4 Boost

LOL, the three journalist are really stupid. I wonder were they pick up these three clown from. That the first time i seen someone beside lexus doing a 90 degree. If they are trying to do a parallel park won't that be too small to fit the LS in parallel. That y you dont try to find High School Students.

reply to this comment

watisthat - 10/30/2006 1:03:11 AM

+2 Boost

watisthat - 10/30/2006 1:03:15 AM

+3 Boost

watisthat - 10/30/2006 1:03:17 AM

+1 Boost

watisthat - 10/30/2006 1:04:04 AM

+1 Boost

sorry for the 4 post

reply to this comment

528i - 10/30/2006 2:21:57 AMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

its like the I-Drive from BMW, when people say its sucks, But in the real world it dosen't suck. LS self parking did not fail.

reply to this comment

Omran - 10/30/2006 4:22:10 AM

-1 Boost

i thought BMW was the first for self parking as we all saw before on the 3-seriouse video!! Fingers crossed

reply to this comment

mstangpny07 - 10/30/2006 8:01:48 AMView My AgentSpace

+4 Boost

excuse me?

reply to this comment

Rupert - 10/30/2006 2:11:39 PMView My AgentSpace

+4 Boost

wha?

reply to this comment

S4cabriofox - 10/30/2006 10:14:29 PM

+2 Boost

Pardon me?

reply to this comment

TauronLB - 10/30/2006 9:45:41 AM

+3 Boost

I don't know if it was the car or the guys but it was funny as hell/
T

reply to this comment

CarNut - 10/30/2006 9:53:08 AM

+1 Boost

Haha, its gonna be funny when the VW touran will park by itself and this thing wasnt able to.

But i think its a man made mistake, like when they tested the S-class radar and it hit the car.

But I also think the thing is a POS, because everyone will steal ur parking place while u try to show it where to park, and i believe that people who cant park by themselves should not be allowed on the road...using a manual of course

reply to this comment

Agent63 - 10/30/2006 9:55:40 AMView My AgentSpace

-1 Boost

It also shows how stupid the program is. Perhaps not the technology but the program itself which mobilizez the engineering. Or both the program/engineering is rubbish. It clearly shows that a decent skilled driver can park the car in a fraction of the time of the 'self-park' system. Not only that it moves like a turtle ( not that parking should be fast but look at that speed ). From this video it doesn't look too good. So you Lexus fans quit backing up something that is not user-friendly. You think a middle aged man wants to spend that much time to learn to friggin 'park?' or go back to the dealership complaining about the system not being able to work.

reply to this comment

luvmybmr - 10/30/2006 11:22:03 AM

-4 Boost

"I can only imagine how "flawless" this system will be in a future S-Class or 7-Series. You think following a voice guide with arrows on a touchscreen is difficult, just wait until you have to operate the system with iDrive! ;)"

=======================================================

as far as i can remember Will, the bmw requires 0 driver input. you step out of the car press the button and move on with life. and yes the system newly introduced and i know there will be kinks that need to be worked out. bravo for lexus to implement this technology first, but they should have mastered it before they put it in a production vehicle. something that bmw and mercedes will do.

reply to this comment

luvmybmr - 10/30/2006 1:34:39 PM

0 Boost

whats the matter will , cat got your toungue. i didnt expect you to have a response to that. but it would have been better if you said nothing at all, instead of "lol".

and far as my comment goes about mastering something, there hasnt been many times where something is implemented and the next generation of that item gets worse.

and as far as I-Drive is concerned, i can say the same thing about the new lexus parking guidance system, that its not user friendly.

but i guess you want everything as easy as 1..2..3..
well i cant help but feel sorry for you and the rest of the people who wont bother opening the instruction manual.

reply to this comment

mitchatlexusofmarin - 10/30/2006 12:13:50 PM

0 Boost

For what it's worth, over the weekend we had a firestorm of buying frenzy for the LS460. We sold to the walls, and sold out of most of our incoming units. People were taking anything they could get their hands on, and paying sticker. When the S class came our at the MBZ dealer across the street, they had (and still have) rows of available cars to take home. They are giving deep discounts to help sell them. We are in the 2nd most affluent county in the United States.

reply to this comment

XYZZ - 10/30/2006 2:27:54 PM

+3 Boost

seems to parallel the article about 1st month's sales in japan being 9x initial projections.

and that of MBs piling up in storage lots when the LS400 first came out.

S4cabriofox - 10/30/2006 10:17:51 PM

+1 Boost

The S-Class is the best-selling luxury sedan in the world.

I don't know how it's true, but it is.

It was in a press release.

And I can't imagine why someone would buy an LS over an S, unless they couldn't afford it. They're pretty much equal, but the S has more than just a small edge styling-wise. The LS looks like every other big Lexus that's ever been on the market. They need to get their asses out of 1989.

1995e34 - 10/30/2006 12:25:26 PM

0 Boost

suppose youre on a one-way road and want to park on the opposite side that you would park on a two-way road. does it know that you want to park on that side? how does it differentiate?

reply to this comment

luvmybmr - 10/30/2006 1:37:46 PM

+1 Boost

i would say just park the car by yourself, and save yourself 3 grand, and countless times of hearing "guidance system cancelled"

XYZZ - 10/30/2006 2:35:06 PM

+1 Boost

many people buy more than they REALLY need. i'm not a high income person, but even I do that!

why?

sometimes, to grab a "good buy" if not an outright bargain. sometimes, just to GET THE BEST.

all the arguments about how useless this feature is, is of little to NO relevance.

as mitchoflexusmarin said, people are just snatching up ANY ls460 they can get their hands on. (smart marketing of lexus/distributors to load up initial shipments with many options. but ALL mfgrs do this.)