IF watchers of automotive styling wondered where all the flares, waveforms and undulations went on the latest BMW 3-series, I've found them: They're on Lexus' new IS sport sedans. Inspired by the company's new design language, called L-Finesse — which sounds like the name of a Mexican wrestler — the luxury division of Toyota has managed, not quite consciously, to build the 3-series that Munich would have built if they hadn't gotten a straitjacket on design chief Chris Bangle.
Man, this is one frothy bit of styling. Even the taillight lenses have little meringue-like peaks whipped into them. The cat's-eye headlights are right off Grandma's nightstand. The dorsal contours plunge down the roof rails, onto the hood and into the bumper in the shape of a divining rod over an east Texas aquifer. The triangular fog-light apertures and bumper opening follow the same V-shaped contours, which ultimately has the effect of giving the car kind of a happy, slightly stoned grin. Heading aft, the rising shoulder lines leave the midsection of the car looking thick and slack below the windows and create something like an optical illusion: The rear wheels look smaller than the fronts.
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