That makes the 2001’s ready in 2009. We all know battery’s fail just when the warranty is up

s mike: "Remember this pig has a battery in it that has to be replaced in 6 or so years for about $6 grand."

Toyota's batteries are going the distance. I visit my local Toyota dealer occasionally for the oil change special (otherwise they'd never see me) and I always ask the parts guy if they've replaced a Prius battery (bear in mind they've been on the road since '01 or so around here). The answer is still "Not yet."

*beeh* Lexus good.. all others bad… Lexus good.. all others bad… *beeh*

You have to give Lexus their due on fit and finish. They are far superior to MB and BMW

The title, Conspicuous Consumption With Green Illusions, is quite appropriate I think. Why? Because you’re getting basically 0 extra mileage for the massive price hike and ‘hybrid’ decal after the weight of the battery (and motor(s?), AWD, etc) is factored in. Green illusions indeed.

This thing exists solely to give Lexus a greener image in the eyes of the ignorant.

460 is a great car, but its no 600. 460 has a 8-speed autobox, which is very good compared to the competions 6 and 7-speeds, but its no CVT. With 460 you still need to use kickdown to get the gears down, revs up and the car accelerating. When the revs are high you can hear the V8, its quiet, but you can clearly hear it. CVT on the 600 is totally seamless, you got endless massive torque available at any moment without any hesitation or delay. And whatever you do with the accelerator pedal – the car is always tomb-quiet. Like driving a car with nuclear powerplant.
With seamless torque you need seamless grip and here’s where the AWD comes in.

Only direct competitor that offers AWD with 12cyl is Audi. Audi A8 6.0 W12 Lang (long wheelbase) has a curb weight of 4729lb/2145kg, LS600hL weighs 5049lb/2290kg. So what’s the drama about weight?

And give me a break reffering to German Auto Motor Und Sport magazine’s test 745d, vs S420CDI vs LS600h. Those guys are so biased that its not even funny. If you get into the details of this test, you will see how absurd it is.
It’s like hoping Japanese martial arts magazine that is testing/evaluating samurai swords is unbiased towards a competing German made samurai sword :)

The existence of the LS460L is what causes the problem here, not this car’s relative value compared to German imports.

I honestly predict this thing will be silently killed a la Honda Accord hybrid–people (mentally) expect a substantial improvement in economy when buying a hybrid. The Accord brought additional performance instead. This thing brings…additional weight and cost, and that’s about it.

It simply does not deliver the goods and is in some ways is worse (e.g. handling). Simply put, this Japanese Emperor has no clothes.

Apart from that, I think that by now Lexus has built its own prestige – in America at least. People wouldn’t be buying it if it wouldn’t stand for great quality and great ride. See the VW Phaeton. It was a great car for a reasonable price, but the VW badge just doesn’t have any prestige.

You miss the difference between prestige and “quality”. A $6 digital timex can be more accurate than a Rolex or Breitling (actually, I’d bet on it being as they’re automatics), but it sure as hell will never be more prestigous. That is how people view this toyota compared to a Bentley.

Further, yeah, most people are paying way more for “prestigous”, STYLISH designer chairs, rather than a very comfy but tacky beanbag chair. So even your example doesn’t really support what you think it does.

So why is the Maybach a failure than?
Presitige is just a word! It is up to you to decide how much meaning you want to give it. The joke is that a great deal of Lexus’ success is due to their ability to punch holes right though the whole prestige arguement.
See. presitige and POS cars that have numerous problems do NOT go hand in hand. Anything that is prone to failure is NOT prestigeous!

So if I design and produce a chair that is far more comfortable that a chair being made by a “prestigeous” company with a long history I guess you would rather sit in the uncomfortable chair because it has “history” behind it.

Well, P.T Barnum did coin a phase about there being a sucker born every minute!

Besides, from the reviews I’ve read (I haven’t driven the Lexus personally), the Lexus even loses against the rivals in its own segment (S-Class, 7-Series) in pretty much every category, especially in terms of ride quality but also when it comes to interior quality.

Simple, years of built up prestige and luxury, compared to the costliest Toyota ever. Appearantly that commands $200k.

Why not?

MB put RR to shame and almost ran them out of business in the late 1970s and the 1980s simply because the then current S-classes were far superior cars than anything RR was making.

Explain to us what is so special about any of the current models offered from Bentley, Maybach, or RR.
I will grant that the RR phantom is the most blinged out car you can buy today and it has a very luxurious interior but outside of that it is close to 6000lbs or not more. I fully expect it to ride wondefully. On the street these things do look rather silly with the oversized chrome barbaque grill attached to the very plastic looking front.

The VW Bentleys are known to have less than stellar rides with their oversized wheels, front heavy desgins and limited suspension travel. Honestly these things are just A8s Phaetons in drag. Put anthor way these cars are nothing more than glorified parts-bin specials.

The older Bentley Aranage is an antique is just about every way imaginable expect snob appeal.

The Maybachs are just glorified stretched S-classes, BFD. It is ugly and plain looking but lacks any kind of understated elegence. The interior is nice but Lexus manags to provide the same 1/3 the price.

So explain how a maybach or RR is a $200,000 better car than a LS600?

I honestly doubt that the Lexus excels a Bentley, Rolls or Maybach in ANY category save fuel consumption.