Got the call from the Lexus dealer and my car had arrived early. In fact, they already had it tinted and ready to go.

For those who don't know, it's an '08 LS460, with Mark Levinson sound (450 watts, 19 speakers), Nav, BT, heated and cooled front seats/heated back seats, heated wood-and-leather steering wheel, backup cam/proximity sensors, power closing doors and trunk, power folding mirrors, articulating xenon headlights, that self-parking thingy, and a bunch of other stuff. Color is a deep charcoal, a lot like my Carbon Grey RL was, with a light cream-colored interior.

So, my RL and my MDX both now belong to the Lexus dealer and I'm a one-car man for the first time in years. Of course, the wife has hers, but I feel naked with only one for me, and my garage suddenly has an empty bay (that will make a nice workshop ).

I've said it before, but it's worth saying again that this is the most civilized, helpful and informative car forum I've belonged to, and I appreciate the way you guys have tolerated me for the last year and a half or so. If I got under your skin while I was here, I apologize - I didn't mean to.

One last thing - a HUGE shout-out to the mods and admins who keep this site worth going to, and a special one for Neuronbob, who does such a fabulous job making us behave and keeping us on track.

Your RL's are great cars, and I know you'll keep on enjoying them like I enjoyed mine. I'll peek in every now and then, but I'll try to stay out of your hair.

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An RL AND an MDX for a Lexus?!? Yikes.

 

Nooooooooooooooo........

Just kidding. You realize, you owe us at least one pic of the big Lex.

 

Mike, I'm sure you'll enjoy your new ride.. Please come back and visit and share your advise/comments please!!!!!

Now, for the first time (at least for me),

 

Okay - here's some quickly-taken, low-quality shots I grabbed as the sun was going down. Three-quarter front view, distorted by wide angle lens setting:



That beefy rearend:



And the very light interior color I know many of you guys would choke on :




Actually, the leather isn't quite as light as it looks here. And after all, my wife says she likes it, so there you go.

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Enjoy your Lexus. They catch my eye every time I see one. Will miss your posts.

 

Oh, and the black mats you see in front are all-season mats I got as a "bonus" ... the car had to be trucked down from Kansas, and they apparently order them all with all-seasons up there. It's a $150 option and I wasn't expecting them, but they'll be nice on bad weather days.

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We will miss you Mike. Enjoy your new ride. Looks great!

 

Crazy, ain't it?

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where in dallas are you anyways?? we have had a pretty warm winter for the most part lol.. I reaally like youur purchase and hope ya have fun with it.. =)

 

mike,

nice wheels...great color...you will love this car. It is my dream car and prehaps in four years it will be my real car. Lets face it, Lexus & BMW do it right for the leasing advantages to have a car like this. If you pay cash to own the economics towards the LS become more challenged.

Funny as it may sound, when I was shopping ES, I was going to get the granite with the UL package..

i still go to the Lexus websites and I will see you there in the future.

 

Nice wheels! That is one awesome-looking Camry!!! Ooops...slipped already.

Seriously Mike, you have been a great contributor to this forum and we all wish you the best with your new baby.

 

Sweet car. Let us know how you like it. Would love the Mark Levinson system in the RL. Hope to see you back from time to time, especially when the '09 RL is revealed.

 

personally I would have just traded in the RL and gotten myself a used 760LI, you can nab em fully loaded for 70 OTD. Lexus is nice, but the interior I did not like at all, especially the center stack. I hate looking down for the navi screen after my MDX and love the information scroll bar on the top of the RL with the temp stuff. Also you probably have the GAY navi lockout feature while in motion. The LS is a great car, but for the money I rather go used with a 760LI or used A8.

But aside from all of that, congrats on the LS and may it bring you success and prosperity along with the new Year

 

yea the bmw 7 series is very nice but the reliability factor really pushes people away from it... I think some 1 had posted a video about this company buying 3-4 7 series bimmers and using them for a private limo service... well each and every one of them had mechanical and electrical issues which consequently lead them to park the cars in front of the dealership with the keys inside of them... they would rather walk than drive them.. but maybe different years are better than the others so i maybe wrong...

 

Thanks for all of your input, you were/are very level headed and helpful.

Good luck with the new Lex.

 

Wait, it's not even AWD?!?

Well, congrats, and don't be a stranger...you're one of the good guys.

 

Badass....

I think VODoc needs some glasses or he has constant beer goggles on.

 

That is a beautiful piece of machinery. Congratulations! I love the way the exhausts are laid out in the back. I hope you specifically requested PAX tires!

 

Very, very nice. That interior is so pristine, and well assembled with such tight seams. I hope you don't let anybody eat in your car! The seats looks awesome.

I sat in one at the auto show, and really liked the driver's seat with the extending thigh cushions. Poor thigh support kept me away from the GS, and makes my wife's RX300 uncomfortable to drive for long distances.

When you drive it, does it "feel" a step up from the RL? I know when I drive the RL after driving nearly any other car, it just feels more solid and comfortable than anything else. I can almost imagine what the next step up could feel like: incremental increases in everything that makes the RL so nice.

OK: Besides tint, what's your first mod going to be? Chrome wheels? Spoiler? Keep that front license plate off!

See Acura: The Lexus vortex is picking us off one by one..... Do something about it!

Rob144

 

Beautiful car Mike. I am sure that you will more than enjoy it. Do peek in every once in a while and let us know how much fun your having with it

 

You guys are great.

When you leave some forums they criticize you unmercifully and then talk bad about you for weeks afterward. But you guys are too nice for that, even if you disagree with my choice ... and I really appreciate that.

I'll say again that it was tough leaving Acura, and I could certainly return at some point in the future.

And, yeah, Rob, the Lex does feel a 'step up' from the RL. When it idles, you have to look at the tach to make sure it hasn't died. No, really. And the take-off from a stop is effortless, quiet and powerful. That 380hp V-8 is sweet. Fit and finish is impeccable, and I'm of course still glowing over the little luxury touches, even though my Acura had many of the same things. It's hard to deny Lexus just does it better than Acura, but I'll also hasten to say at a price. We're talking a list price $20k higher than my RL, after all.

But I'm going to comment on some of the areas where Acura does it better than Lexus after I get some more wheel time ... I already see some of them!

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Haha, just because you have a Lexus doesn't mean you can't come back here. There are plenty of us who have left Acura for another brand, but remain true to Acurazine because it's just so damn swell .

Love the Lex. Hate those stock wheels though. They don't do the car justice.

 

Congrats to you on the new Lexus LS460.
Very nice car

Don't forget to write the report on your new car.

 

Mike, of particular interest for me is that "self-parking thingy". Curious to hear how it works and if you plan on using it very much. Have to admit that it certainly is intriguing.

 

mike,

beautiful ride! the interior looks awesome! love the look of the exterior, turns my head when i see one on the road. would love to hear your thoughts and impressions, particularly about the self-parking mechanism and the nav lockout. congrats

 

That is one very nice looking car. I love the exhaust setup. The interior looks great. Those cars are built very well. I love Honda/Acura to death and wouldnt' stray but I'm not going to give you any $h*t because Toyota/Lexus are very nice cars as well.

I'm glad you didnt go the German/Swedish route because I think those cars are sloppy, and way too overpriced for what they offer. Yeah, the Lexus is expensive but if you have the cash for it, you are getting a very nice piece of machinery.

Good luck with it, and hopefully you will come back to the Acura family. How the hell could you give up the 07 MDX???? lol I love that truck, it's such a nice improvemnent over the previous gen.

 

Wow it looks awesome and I am sure your going to love it. Like I said in your other thread my uncle has an ls 430 and you find so many little touchs in that car its amazing which I am sure your going to find even more in the 460. There is no question that the 460 is one of the most amazing cars out there. You have to compare it to your RL once you get more miles on it.

 

Well, Treblig and Surfer Rick, I'm embarrassed. I just came to the realization last night that my car doesn't have the self-parking thingy after all. Lexus has two parking options, which they call "Intuitive Park Assist" and "Advanced Parking Guidance System". The last one is the self-parking one, and I have the first one.

I looked at several cars and frankly I got confused about that. The car they finally found for me out-of-state didn't have the self-park and I frankly couldn't care less about it. One of the cars I drove had it and I played with it ... IMO, it's almost unusable in normal driving situations. I guess that's why I overlooked it when they found this car.

Sorry for the error, but things got kinda scrambled there at the end.

BTW, the parking assist thing I have is the front and rear sensors, which display distance via 1,2 or 3 "bars" on the nav display screen, along with warning beeps. Here is a sample of it in action, where the front end is real close to my garage wall:



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I managed a few more pix today, and while I won't bore you with all of them, here is a good one from the rear 3/4:



And here is the driver's side interior:



And this one (almost) shows the great graphics in the info area of the gauge cluster. I say "almost" because it doesn't photograph as well as it looks in person:



Okay, enough pictures. The Mods are gonna toss me off here if I keep this up.

But I will report in soon. There are definitely some things Acura does better than King Lexus, and I'm taking notes.

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WOW that is a nice looking dash. You are one lucky man. Also dont feel bad about not having the self parking. Everything I have read says it sucks anyway and you need something like 4 feet of extra space to use it anyway and i think its like 2 grand extra or something anyway.

Also I noticed how you said Acura does some things better and I am willing to bet one of those things you are going to mention is the Navi system. Almost everyone at Clublexus hates the Navigation lockout. However I read that there is a switch you can buy to trick the navigation system do you plan on buying that for your car?

 

Man I love the exhaust on the LS 460, it is just sharp ! Good luck Mike, hope to hear from you soon in the near future.

 

Beautiful car.
This Lexus is so much more advanced in luxury and technology than the BMW 7 series for the price. You've really got a nice machine on your hands. Acura will miss you, but I'm pretty sure they are taking notes.

Maybe one day, Acura will have the guts to produce a true fullsize flagship. And I believe that when they do, it will be right up in the mix with the LS series. The RL is a great start, but if Acura improves on this car and create a larger real luxury sedan, maybe you will find your way back.

The only way we allowed you to trade 2 great autos(RL and MDX) is because you made great choice. Hope you enjoy the ride and we can't wait for your comparison feedback. Feel free to still drop us some lines. Your posts have been very informantive and interesting.

 

me thinks intuitive park assist > advanced parking guidance system.
the latter sounds gimmicky to me. love the color combination. that interior looks like the lighter tone juxtaposed with black in the 2 tone interior i saw in a photo of the is-f. don't spill any mocha latte

 

mike, keep the pics coming, its ok, makes us wish

 

Just logged on and saw this thread. Beautiful car Mike. Sorry to see you leave the Acura group. I'll miss our debates on leasing versus buying Pop in and give us a 6 month overview on the LS. Best of Luck to you in the future.

 

Mike,

That is an awesome looking car. Bang for the buck in the luxury market, I don't think you could have done any better. Plus, you're going to experience phenomenal Lexus service..

 

Hey Mike, any mods planned?

 

Mike, how can we miss you if you won't go away?


Good luck with the LS - beautiful car.

 

Mike,

I always enjoyed your intelligent posts. Enjoy your new ride and visit us often.

Acura - Take heed...

"...See Acura: The Lexus vortex is picking us off one by one..... Do something about it!..."