Live From Pebble Beach: The Lexus GX And Infiniti JX

Well, you’ve already seen the OEM-approved press shots of the Lexus GS and Infiniti JX, but TTAC’s tame Californian, Alex Dykes, is on hand to bring us all the pomp and pagentry of Pebble Beach. Hit the jump for a full gallery and a few of Alex’s on-the-spot thoughts.

Alex writes that Pebble Beach is “nothing like any other car show I have seen.” Well, so far so good, right? Er, no. Apparently it’s “so disorganized” Alex was not even able to obtain a schedule, “not even a generic list of events.” One presumes that at Pebble Beach, if you have to ask for a schedule, you’re probably just not meant to have one, if you know what I mean. And speaking of the upper-crust disconnect from reality, Saab may not be going to the biggest auto show of the year (Frankfurt), but it’s got a tent at Pebble. Probably with a donation box inside. Alex notes dryly:

Saab made it to Pebble Beach? Isn’t Frankfurt closer?

The Lexus GS, says Alex,

isn’t as boring in person as it in in pictures, however it is still very sedate

I keep thinking that, with cars at or under $20k looking as good as they do these days (for some reason I’m thinking of the Kia Optima and the VW Jetta), big luxury sedans really have to knock your socks off.But as Alex points out, modern designs have to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.

Luckily, the same is not true about the GS’s new interior. Based on Alex’s notes, it seems that Lexus may be doubling down on its plush, rather than sporting, image… and the GS is becoming more of a “baby LS” than anything else.

The changes seem much larger on the inside, it makes me wonder if the LS will grow soon because the new GS has HVAC and radio controls for the rear seat passengers. The new 12.3″ infotainment cluster is ginormous and looked quite nice in person. Overall the interior has a more BMW flavour now than before with the million-way seats that have an adjustable back contour as well as angle, etc. They also cribbed tech from the LS in the form of the heads up display, eye monitoring system with pre-collision braking. The new lane keep assist now uses the EPAS to steer you back in the land instead of the ABS,

Finally, Alex writes:

The thing I found most interesting was that the GS still uses the same old 3.5L V6, and the same old Toyota 6-speed instead of the new 8 speed units. They cribbed the sport select knob from the ct200h, lets hope it does more in the GS. When pressed about an F-Sport model, the Lexus reps implied a V8 F Sport would début at SEMA. Not sure I’d take that to the bank yet,

And the Infiniti JX? Well, Alex didn’t really write anything about it, but if you’re desperate for knowledge you can read the press release here. I’m not sure if Alex just isn’t inspired by crossovers, or if the JX is just that dull, but it does look good as Alex captures its cover being whipped off. And that’s really what Pebble Beach seems to be about anyway: not information, but spectacle. So sit back and enjoy the show!