Fourth generation Lexus LS sedan in Detroit
The motoring scribes from GoAuto were
present at the 2006 North American International Auto Show
in Detroit and the top shelf Lexus LS 460 certainly
impressed many. The current Lexus has certainly started to
show its age, by now 17 years old, so it was more than time
for a new car to be released. The current LS 430 had its
last revamp and skin change three years ago and received the
higher-torque, 207 kW/430 Nm version of its all-alloy 4.3
litre DOHC V8.
Though the Toyota luxury brand’s new
fourth generation flagship is virtually identical to the
LF-Sh hybrid concept shown at Tokyo in October, it is the LS
460’s preliminary specs that are the real news.
This new 2007 LS 460 is powered by a 4.6 litre V8 that
drives the new sedan’s rear wheels through the world’s first
eight-speed automatic transmission and offers an “estimated”
285kW.
While there was no sign of the rumoured all-wheel drive
system at the Detroit show, Lexus did reveal its first long
wheelbase version of the LS – dubbed unsurprisingly the
LS460L - which offers four seats and is 122mm longer between
the axles and overall, at 5150mm. The standard LS 460
measures 5029mm long, while both derivatives are 1875mm wide
and 1476mm high with coil suspension. At this stage it is
not known which countries will get the long wheelbase model,
or the mooted hybrid Lexus, to be called the Lexus LS 600h.
Replacing the Tokyo concept’s electrically-assisted petrol
V8 powertrain in the production-ready LS at Detroit, the new
Lexus V8 also delivers a more serious 500 Nm of torque and
is claimed to accelerate the new model to 100 kph in less
than 5.5 seconds. That is very quick for a luxury sedan.
Built on an all-new platform featuring new multi-link
suspension systems, including a five-arm IRS, the new LS
also incorporates electronic power steering and
next-generation Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management
(VDIM) systems.
The latest VDIM stability system
integrates the Electronic Power Steering (EPS) system with a
new Electronically Controlled Brake (ECB) system, plus
Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Anti-lock Braking System
(ABS), Brake Assist (BA), Electronic Brake-force
Distribution (EBD) and engine torque via its electronic
throttle.
As expected, Lexus says the redesigned LS combines new
levels of performance, sophistication, styling and luxury
refinements.
“The Lexus LS460 was designed to expand the definition of
the full-size luxury sedan,” said US Toyota Motor Sales
president and COO Jim Press at the Detroit show.
“The new LS is the product of an advanced production process
developed specifically for this vehicle with remarkable new
levels of accuracy, refinement, precision and craftsmanship.
Considering our record for quality over the last 17 years,
that’s quite a statement,” he said. It should be noted that
Lexus has won the awards for quality almost every one of
those 17 years as well.
New features include a heated steering wheel (I think we can
delete that one for Thailand!) and seats trimmed in one of
four tones of semi-aniline leathers matched to one of three
coordinating wood grain trims.
Rear occupants will enjoy power reclining seats equipped
with power leg rests and a massage feature, while body heat
sensors help maintain the optimum temperature for all
occupants.
A fold-away table, matched to the interior wood grain,
provides work space for rear passengers, while a nine-inch
roof-mounted rear monitor and new 19 speaker Mark Levinson
sound system delivers a cinema-level entertainment
experience. A self-closing boot and rear doors will also be
available.
On paper, this new Lexus has everything that other luxury
car makers are offering, and provided Toyota (Lexus) follows
the original pattern, there will be a price differential
which favours the Lexus. In the past I have criticized the
large Lexus for being too quiet and comfortable, having lost
road ‘feel’ from the driver’s point of view. However, this
new model sounds as if it has put this back into the
driver’s seat. We shall await road reviews with interest.
Autotrivia
Quiz
Last week I mentioned the Diablo, which was released in
1990. For my money this was probably the most flawed Lambo
ever built, and the thumping and banging suspension (or lack
of it) probably gave me a bad back for life. But didn’t it
look great! When the Diablo was built, the design and
development costs were reputed to be USD 84 million. I asked
who picked up that bill? The answer was the (then) owners
Chrysler.
So to this week. Hands up all those who remember that
wonderful film ‘Genevieve’? It was released in 1953 and was
loosely based around the London to Brighton Commemoration
run, organized by the RAC in the UK. There were two cars
that were the (automotive) stars of the film. One was a
Dutch Spyker, and the other was Genevieve, a 1904 Darracq.
The film was very popular, and Genevieve became known all
over the world. However, with fame there often comes people
who are ready to show something seedy in your past.
Genevieve was not ‘really’ a 1904 12 hp model, but had been
built from many Darracq’s and the radiator was actually from
a 15 hp model. But of even more interest for the film buffs
was the fact that the producer Henry Cornelius wanted a
British Lanchester in the starring role. The question this
week is why did he eventually use a French Darracq instead
of the British Lanchester?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email auto [email protected]
Good luck!
Classic car movement
spreads through Thailand
With the classic car movement spreading (Hua Hin,
Bangkok, Pattaya), Classic Cars of Lanna has decided on
their very first Sunday Run after the monthly social meeting
at Chiengmai Gymkhana Club on January 5.
According to my source in the North there was a good
attendance (well, immaculate classics like a Mercedes, VW
Beetle and Thailand’s ONLY Triumph Herald convertible graced
the car park) and they decided that January 29 will comprise
a gentle tour of the “Samoeng Loop”.
Starting from close to Wat Umong (Daniel and Kelly kindly
offered their spacious grounds, plus tea or coffee from
10.30 a.m.), the route will go south down the Irrigation
Canal Road towards Hang Dong before turning northwest on the
beautiful, winding semi-circular Samoeng Road towards Mae
Rim. A stopping point along the way is to be organized
before they reach Mae Rim, turn south on the main road
towards Chiang Mai, but not for long! A sharp left into
Green Valley will get all assembled at the excellent
clubhouse there for refreshments light or heavy as the mood
takes us.
There is no entry fee for the January 29 run, but if you are
unable to make it, the next monthly social meeting will be
the first Thursday in February at the Chiengmai Gymkhana
Club on February 2. Further details available from David,
email [email protected]
Hardly a “classic”, but
the First One!
“Firsts” are always memorable,
such as one’s first ‘real’ girlfriend. You remember, the one
that finally proved to you that there were reasons for the
anatomical differences. Ah yes, I’ll never forget
whats-her-name.
In motoring terms too, you never forget your first ‘real’
car. Mine was a black 1949 Austin A40 Devon sedan, instantly
recognizable as a ’49 by the fact that the 1950-51 models
had quarter lights. Such brilliant engineering
breakthroughs! A technical tour de force! The new model was
such a step up, and so memorable!
Ah yes, it was 1959 and I
was a medical student and the A40 represented two years of
work as a night watchman during the week and two years of
working two days every weekend pumping petrol. This lad was
not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. On recollection,
I can’t even remember having a spoon!
I called the A40 “Geronimo” because it made ‘Injun’ (engine)
noises, but it did not take long for the A40 to show its
true age and condition and the distance travelled. It folded
a piston and I was suddenly a pedestrian again. My father,
bless his memory, bought me an instruction manual, and at
that moment, well by page 14 at least, I became a mechanic.
Removing the cylinder head was not too difficult and the
awful truth was laid bare. To use a very technical phrase,
it was knackered! The wear in the bores was so bad you could
practically slip your hand down the side of the pistons and
check the crankshaft bearings. Piston rings, if present at
all, were broken. It was a sorry sight. And so was I.
Covered in a pall of misery, I was walking past the local
garage on the way to the train yet again, when Jack, the old
mechanic there, asked me why I looked so glum. I told him my
tale of woe and how I could not afford four new pistons and
rings to fix it, but he suggested that perhaps all was not
lost and he would come and look at it, privately – away from
his job at the garage.
He came round that night, nodded in agreement over the
engine’s diagnosis, and towed the A40 to his home. There,
beside the house, was a tin shed inside of which was a
veritable mountain of second hand parts, nuts and bolts and
motoring bits and pieces. Jack had apparently never thrown
away all the parts removed from vehicles at the garage and
had brought them home, for the one day when they could be
resurrected. For the A40 and I, one of those days had come.
Jack and his wife, with one twin baby on each hip, scrabbled
through the oily steel and aluminium offerings and came up
with four pistons, with rings, a set of not so bad bearings,
a couple of valves and a (newer than mine) timing chain.
What a treasure trove this was!
Every night I would work with Jack, while his wife would sit
on an upturned engine block and watch us while breast
feeding her numerous children (she had nine under the age of
seven, so Jack didn’t work all the time). I cleaned, filed,
scrubbed and rubbed while Jack assembled. It took one week
of nights, but it was finally fired up, an (almost) totally
reconditioned engine. “How much do I owe you, Jack?” I asked
while A40 purred. “A tenner’ll do,” was the reply. For ten
pounds and the sympathetic nature of an old mechanic, I was
a motorist again.
We need more Jacks in this world, a true gentleman of
motoring.
