First Pics! Fisker's $80K Hybrid Hits the Road
05-12-08, 09:40 PM
#17
Guest
Posts: n/a
Well I posted the pics b/c Chris said why can't hybrids look regular. Thus I posted the pic.
Now lets see here. The GS 450h is more powerful than my 430, 30% more fuel efficient and 10% faster while running cleaner than anything other than another hybrid.The main loss is trunk space. Hell it weighs just as much as other V-8s in class so its not even heavier.
It is not just Lexus but the worlds FIRST Luxury RWD sport hybrid. We are used to every Lexus selling well and being a home run but sometimes it just doesn't happen.
It is a low production vehicle and to date, it has sold the 2,000 allocation to America every year thus far.
In Luxury and Exotics and Sports Car International, the GS 450h was hailed as the anti-hybrid, it can look good, go fast and be fun relatively speaking.
Look no further than the discontinued Accord hybrid for a true disaster. The GS seems to have its share of buyers who like it.
In Summary the first generation of Lexus hybrids were more about offering more power than just economy. Maybe the 2nd gen will be different, I am not sure.
We do know the dedicated Lexus hybrid will be different but I fear it won't look like a "regular" car but like a Prius.
Now lets see here. The GS 450h is more powerful than my 430, 30% more fuel efficient and 10% faster while running cleaner than anything other than another hybrid.The main loss is trunk space. Hell it weighs just as much as other V-8s in class so its not even heavier.
It is not just Lexus but the worlds FIRST Luxury RWD sport hybrid. We are used to every Lexus selling well and being a home run but sometimes it just doesn't happen.
It is a low production vehicle and to date, it has sold the 2,000 allocation to America every year thus far.
In Luxury and Exotics and Sports Car International, the GS 450h was hailed as the anti-hybrid, it can look good, go fast and be fun relatively speaking.
Look no further than the discontinued Accord hybrid for a true disaster. The GS seems to have its share of buyers who like it.
In Summary the first generation of Lexus hybrids were more about offering more power than just economy. Maybe the 2nd gen will be different, I am not sure.
We do know the dedicated Lexus hybrid will be different but I fear it won't look like a "regular" car but like a Prius.
05-12-08, 09:40 PM
#18
Lexus Fanatic
Hate the ugly mustache grille, but otherwise looks great, especially the profile.
However, choosing to believe Tesla's accusation of Fisker's shady practice of stealing technical designs from Tesla during Fisker's contracting job, I simply cannot bring myself to support anything Fisker makes anymore.
However, choosing to believe Tesla's accusation of Fisker's shady practice of stealing technical designs from Tesla during Fisker's contracting job, I simply cannot bring myself to support anything Fisker makes anymore.
05-12-08, 09:46 PM
#19
Guest
Posts: n/a
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=6790
'll cut right to the chase. After diddling around with an Excel spreadsheet to retrieve the ultimate cost-per-mile result of our long-term luxury performance hybrid, I nearly choked as I uttered the result in the solitude of my office. "Eighty cents per mile from a gas-sipper?" The idea of this sounds closer to a taxi fare than an environmentally inclined vehicle of personal transportation. Now, no one has ever really touted hybrids as being bargain-bin shopping items, but this unexpected per-mile premium had to come from somewhere.
All environmental ruminations aside, Lexus has engineered one heck of a car that has blazed an entirely different path for hybrid cars. The V-6 GS 450h was never meant for stellar 40-plus-mpg city/highway cruising and yet its performance-
focused nature doesn't negate the fact that it has averaged better fuel economy (25.2 mpg) than 73 percent of the cars we've long-term tested in the last five years, 20 percent of those cars equipped with 4-cylinder engines. Rising gas prices have played a role as our previously tested Audi A3 2.0 T burned the same amount of fossil fuel during its 50K stint as did our GS 450h, yet the GS 450h's gas bill was $148 more.
Adhering to the Lexus-recommended 5K maintenance schedule meant relatively frequent visits to the dealer usually at a minimum of $144 per visit, but nothing out of the ordinary in cost compared to other luxury marques. In fact, our Lexus undercut our recently tested Chrysler SRT8's routine maintenance by $498 and our Cadillac CTS-V by a whopping $2272, largely because we needed to replace the Lexus' run-flat Bridgestone Potenza RE040s only once.
Slideshow >>
So where is the hidden cost? Resale value. According to Kelley Blue Book, our hybrid GS dropped nearly $19,000 during the course of our 555-day test — and that's before factoring in the mileage. To offset the costs purely through fuel savings compared with those of our late Chrysler SRT8, one would need to drive this hybrid another 51,318 miles.
This cost analysis, of course, only holds water should you want to trade the GS 450h in for another vehicle — so don't. For current owners, I probably need not explain why this is a non-issue. If you've been following this test, you already know that we've had only a single issue with the car, a bad O2 sensor (covered under warranty at 15K miles). To not hear a creak or a squeak since then from any area of a first-generation vehicle is an amazing feat. And with as many electronically controlled features as this car came with, not a single function went awry.
Seated in the GS while making final notes on wear areas, I was in disbelief that the interior had actually seen 50,000 miles of action. The leather interior, even in its cream hue, showed almost no signs of fatigue save for a couple of spots on the driver-seat's left bolster. All the charcoal-colored wood trim from the dash to the armrests is in excellent condition and free of delamination. Even the console buttons and window controls look as if they've not been used by passengers. In fact, the only real blemished pieces I could find were the light gray floormats, which would set you back about $110 for a new factory set of four.
Should we have the power to change anything on future generations of GS 450hs, a unanimous decision (and one we've almost beaten to death) would be the placement or size of the battery. This is the one really big limiting factor in long-distance travel as the trunk is barely large enough for two medium luggage cases. This converts this comfortable 5-seater city car into a 3-seater GT if your passengers come with any luggage.
Slideshow >>
An item up for debate is the drop-drawer on the dash that provides a home for 14 additional control buttons (trunk and fuel-door releases, mirror adjustment, etc.), which some found cumbersome to access or painful if left open and bumped into. Personally, I found the panel a good solution as you would have to otherwise find 14 individual locations for the buttons within the cabin.
Last but not least, as enthusiasts, we're never too pleased to have our freedom policed by the invisible reins of stability control. In this case it was Lexus' aggressive VDIM (Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management) that, especially with such a potent hybrid powerplant at our disposal, led us to believe that the GS 450h's sporting potential was never fully realized.
We know you are changing your direction, Lexus, the new IS F being proof of this, and we like where you are headed!
http://www.roadandtrack.com/assets/i...1654508340.jpg
'll cut right to the chase. After diddling around with an Excel spreadsheet to retrieve the ultimate cost-per-mile result of our long-term luxury performance hybrid, I nearly choked as I uttered the result in the solitude of my office. "Eighty cents per mile from a gas-sipper?" The idea of this sounds closer to a taxi fare than an environmentally inclined vehicle of personal transportation. Now, no one has ever really touted hybrids as being bargain-bin shopping items, but this unexpected per-mile premium had to come from somewhere.
All environmental ruminations aside, Lexus has engineered one heck of a car that has blazed an entirely different path for hybrid cars. The V-6 GS 450h was never meant for stellar 40-plus-mpg city/highway cruising and yet its performance-
focused nature doesn't negate the fact that it has averaged better fuel economy (25.2 mpg) than 73 percent of the cars we've long-term tested in the last five years, 20 percent of those cars equipped with 4-cylinder engines. Rising gas prices have played a role as our previously tested Audi A3 2.0 T burned the same amount of fossil fuel during its 50K stint as did our GS 450h, yet the GS 450h's gas bill was $148 more.
Adhering to the Lexus-recommended 5K maintenance schedule meant relatively frequent visits to the dealer usually at a minimum of $144 per visit, but nothing out of the ordinary in cost compared to other luxury marques. In fact, our Lexus undercut our recently tested Chrysler SRT8's routine maintenance by $498 and our Cadillac CTS-V by a whopping $2272, largely because we needed to replace the Lexus' run-flat Bridgestone Potenza RE040s only once.
Slideshow >>
So where is the hidden cost? Resale value. According to Kelley Blue Book, our hybrid GS dropped nearly $19,000 during the course of our 555-day test — and that's before factoring in the mileage. To offset the costs purely through fuel savings compared with those of our late Chrysler SRT8, one would need to drive this hybrid another 51,318 miles.
This cost analysis, of course, only holds water should you want to trade the GS 450h in for another vehicle — so don't. For current owners, I probably need not explain why this is a non-issue. If you've been following this test, you already know that we've had only a single issue with the car, a bad O2 sensor (covered under warranty at 15K miles). To not hear a creak or a squeak since then from any area of a first-generation vehicle is an amazing feat. And with as many electronically controlled features as this car came with, not a single function went awry.
Seated in the GS while making final notes on wear areas, I was in disbelief that the interior had actually seen 50,000 miles of action. The leather interior, even in its cream hue, showed almost no signs of fatigue save for a couple of spots on the driver-seat's left bolster. All the charcoal-colored wood trim from the dash to the armrests is in excellent condition and free of delamination. Even the console buttons and window controls look as if they've not been used by passengers. In fact, the only real blemished pieces I could find were the light gray floormats, which would set you back about $110 for a new factory set of four.
Should we have the power to change anything on future generations of GS 450hs, a unanimous decision (and one we've almost beaten to death) would be the placement or size of the battery. This is the one really big limiting factor in long-distance travel as the trunk is barely large enough for two medium luggage cases. This converts this comfortable 5-seater city car into a 3-seater GT if your passengers come with any luggage.
Slideshow >>
An item up for debate is the drop-drawer on the dash that provides a home for 14 additional control buttons (trunk and fuel-door releases, mirror adjustment, etc.), which some found cumbersome to access or painful if left open and bumped into. Personally, I found the panel a good solution as you would have to otherwise find 14 individual locations for the buttons within the cabin.
Last but not least, as enthusiasts, we're never too pleased to have our freedom policed by the invisible reins of stability control. In this case it was Lexus' aggressive VDIM (Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management) that, especially with such a potent hybrid powerplant at our disposal, led us to believe that the GS 450h's sporting potential was never fully realized.
We know you are changing your direction, Lexus, the new IS F being proof of this, and we like where you are headed!
http://www.roadandtrack.com/assets/i...1654508340.jpg
05-13-08, 12:32 AM
#20
Well, I didn't exactly say look regular, although I do welcome more standard regular looking hybrids. What I said for this topic was why can't hybrids look this cool and nice. The GS and LS hybrids are nice cars I give it that. However, its nowhere near as nice or cool looking as this car IMHO.
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