When I first saw them on CSI, I thought it was make believe, seriously. One day, I saw our local PD had them mounted on the trunks of some of the Crown Vics, and I thought, cool! Then I thought, oh ****, those are our tax dollars, we don't even have a parking problem in our small town. Then, I thought, hey, wth, we've got like 6 officers protecting Tiger Woods, wth?!!! Ruh roh I think I gave away where I live...

 

Maybe, but our state has those automatic readers and doesn't seem to have a problem just grabbing the image from the rear.

 

The spindle grill does not work for me. Hate to think what kind of mess happens in a minor 6-8 mph front collision. I love the Lexus brand but personally I'm waiting till this latest Lexus style trend is over. I think we are relatively close to the end.

 

Well for sure after my 430 quits I will definitly be looking for a 460 not a 500 ever!

 

The LS430 looked hideous the first time I saw it. Now that I owned one, it still looks hideous. The LS500 looks, well, less hideous so I guess I might own one in the future, but that V-6 is something else to consider.

 

In the words of Colonel Troutman :......." (Rambo) is trained to live off the land......eat things that would make a Billy goat puke...."

Since the Lexus spindle grille made it's debut there have been quite a few sick Billy goats. The new LS500 exterior is definitely something that only Rambo could swallow. I, too, am eagerly waiting the for the end of this edgy, "large mouth bass" design trend that has swept across all of the automakers designs studios and is particularly revolting in the Lexus iteration. I love the inside of the LS500 but I would never buy one just for the interior. It is not just what is on inside that counts. How many posters have been made depicting women with "hot personalities"?

My next new car will be an LX570 for my wife. I have the same problem with the front end on the new LX570 but my wife really wants her red leather interior. I am actually considering "Frankensteining" the front end off the new Land Cruiser onto the new LX570.

Regarding the twin turbo V6 in the new LS500, I think that we should consider that Lexus is going to do the same thing it did when the new GS350 was released. The GS was initially produced with a six cylinder engine for a few years until the GS-F was introduced. Maybe we will see a LS-F with a higher horsepower, NA V8 or perhaps even a twin turbo V8 like the Mercedes AMG variants. This could be the Lexus version of "New Coke" until they bring back the V8 "Coca Cola Classic".

The new LS500 could have a V16 and I would still never buy one.

 

They may transition the style to an even more hideous look. A handful of friends in the 60+ range find the '13+ to be unappealing. One of the discussions I've been having with another car buddy is MB bringing back their I-6 platform. If Toyota didn't kill the 2JZ those variants now would be even nicer. Smoothness and we know how they respond to FI. The design style with the long engine bay looks good.

 

The confident, gravitas filled drive of the 400, 430 and 460, all of which I drove for 28 years, has been replaced with the nervous, jumpy ride of the 500. And the H would make me go forward and backwards as if on a bronco.