Daily Slideshow: 7 Fun Facts about your Lexus

1. Lexus obsesses over paint

If you or anyone you know ever doubts that Lexus has an obsession with perfection, look only to their painting process for verification. Lexus paint inspectors are required to pass an exam four times a year, and they must check 4,000 points on every car for quality. Additionally, ten master craftsmen known as Takumi oversee the tedious inspection of every Lexus, a job that requires completing an incredible 26,000 tasks. 

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2. LS stands for perfection

When Lexus set out to develop its first model, the LS sedan, it didn't hold anything back. Development began way back in 1983, and the code name for the car was (interestingly enough) F1. Lexus spent $1+ billion over five years developing the luxury sedan before it debuted in 1989. But maybe the most interesting tidbit from the LS's development stage is how far the company went to ensure every button and switch was perfectly designed. To ensure any customer could easily reach and use these controls, one person carried around three different sets of fake nails to test them out. 

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3. Japan had to wait

Lexus, Toyota's luxury automobile division, was launched in 1989. But even though you can buy a Lexus in 70 different countries, you couldn't buy one in Japan until 2005. That's because the Japanese based automaker's products were marketed there under the Toyota marque prior to 2005. When Lexus finally debuted in Japan, it became the first Japanese premium automaker to launch in its own country of origin. 

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4. Lexus uses only the finest leather

Leather is ubiquitous with luxury cars, but Lexus takes things a step further than the competition when it comes to sourcing cow hides for car seats. The leather used is from the hides of cows that are kept in captivity that isn't surrounded by barbed wire. This helps ensure that the ilk of leather used is of the highest quality. 

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5. Lexus makes the most intricate steering wheel ever

Discerning buyers can opt for a very special steering wheel when ordering their new LS - one made using a Shimamoku technique. The wheel is made out of sheets of Agathis wood and takes an incredible 38 days and 67 manufacturing steps to produce. The wood undergoes an incredibly complex layering process in bands of contrasting color, which is pressed and cured in paper-thin sheets. It takes a lot of time and effort to produce, but the results are stunning. 

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6. LS wheels have hollow spokes

Lexus will do anything and everything it can to reduce troublesome road noise, which is why their cabins are among the quietest of any automobile. Interestingly enough, that includes using hollowed out wheel spokes. Lexus engineers discovered that a lot of road noise happens as the result of heat being generated in the wheels, which in turn expands air inside of them. This problem can be eliminated by using hollow spokes, which allow the air escape, silently. 

>>Join the conversation about these and other fun facts about Lexus right here on ClubLexus.com.

7. Lexus air conditioning is like a spa day

You wouldn't really expect your air conditioning system to do anything other than cool you off or warm you up, but Lexus takes things a bit further than that on the new LS and GS. Those models are equipped with air purifying nanotechnology, which not only deodorizes the cabin of the car but also moisturizes the skin and hair of everyone inside. It does this by releasing tiny nanoparticles, or negatively charged ions surrounded by water molecules, through the air vents.

>>Join the conversation about these and other fun facts about Lexus right here on ClubLexus.com.

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