Lexus GS450h

very nice post

 

I think that review was great.

Toyota is attacking every venue with the hybrid technology. Luxury & Performance to fulfill every desire, while at the same time delivering at least SULEV emissions, is what will shake up the industry at its very foundation. We all know about the efficiency benefit, but to strike them where it really hurts so early in the game is absolutely brilliant.

They should have known this was coming anyway. It's not like they weren't warned. Heck, they even responded with a smug attitude of their own, claiming hybrids were a waste of resources... nothing but a "stop gap" solution. But now, to do this before they even get going with their basic models clearly shows just how serious and confident Toyota is. No more barking. It's bite time now.

Sometimes, they just need a good kick start. No more debating. If they want to survive, they have to begin to participate. Toyota made the decision easy for them, by proving it was realistic. Engine-Only technology simply doesn't make sense anymore. We can expect a whole lot more in the 21st Century.

 

For all those very important people that have to get to the next red light a bit earlier, so they can continue their blackberry chatter, it's excessive with or without HSD.

For all those successful stiffs who think it takes torque to keep their testosterone levels above zero- just get your cialis refill already.

 

Uh, got baggage? Jeez. People who consider the GS hybrid, whether they be important blackberry users speeding from light to light or not, are in the market for a luxury sport sedan. One would think a Prius fan would be happy that out of all of the choices in that market, there is one that has better gas mileage and lower emissions than its counterparts.

Or, you can just keep hatin'.

 

I'll bet Mercedes is jumping for joy at the release of that Lexus. They couldn't buy that kind of good press. I'll bet they will take prospective luxo diesel buyers to the Lexus showroom to show them what they are getting in the new high tech Mercedes diesel sedan. The Lexus buyer will spend a big lump to get a hybrid that will gain him nothing over three years. The Mercedes buyer will break even very quickly, for a much smaller hit for the diesel upgrade. I wonder if the gasoline hybrid just does not scale up very well.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LowCO2 @ Nov 6 2006, 10:28 AM) [snapback]344480[/snapback]</div>

If I could afford a gs450 I would get that over say the Mercedes diesel. Why because you put out lower emissions and when you are stuck in traffic you put out almost 0. also around here we have a lot of 25 and 30 mph zones so you just stealth through those. Why does everyone who wants a performance sedan or car have to be a self-indulgent wiener? Like everyone who drives, a truck is just some dumb hick who needs to feel big about himself. Would you rather people buy the 8 and 12 cylinder vehicles to sit in traffic in? if you can make a car that can perform when people want it to and get low emissions and great gas mileage when not being used in the performance mode then great. If you do not want a fast car or a performance vehicle don’t get one, if you think they should not be made then im glade you think that and I hope that someday the only thing that other people want and are allowed to buy is what you want them to have.

 

In overall use you think the Lexus produces less emissions than the Mercedes diesel? If you have mostly stop and go innercity driving you're right. If the mix is more highway driving you could be wrong. I own a Prius but it's because I could not find a diesel commuter car. I think they are both solutions , just different approaches. The diesels are comming and it will be interesting, in real world applications how they both compare.

 

Well if they make a low emissions diesel hybrid now that would be cool. For me the cars that I see with huge engines the 4liter and up v8’s and v12’s are right next to me at 5- 10 mph in stop and go traffic or at bridge openings. So even the low emissions diesel is putting out more emissions than me. now my questions is this can that diesel out perform the hybrid sports sedan. I like the fact that you can race the car around still getting better mpg than a v8 and then when stuck in traffic you don’t sit there and idle and put out emissions like the others around you.

I am not knocking the possibilities that diesel is another temporary option. I want to ask you if you wanted a diesel commuter car why not get the VW Jetta tdi. There are so many ways that we can begin to break the need for oil but I think it is going to take time.

The ev will probably be a hard sell to most. For many reasons like me and many others wear would I plug it in would I get an extension cord and run it 12 floors down and out to my car. Making the ev work for most people means it needs a range of 300+ miles, it also needs to recharge in 5 to ten minutes. what about the millions of us who don’t have a garage to park in are we going to require that the city put in a plug near the sidewalk ever standard car link. What about the times I drive to visit relatives more than the range of the car (lets assume 300 miles) I need to plan my trip so that I have a place to charge every time I run out of power. So hoping that the hotel lets me plug and right now that full charge would take many hours from like 8- to 24 hours depending. So every 200 miles averaging out that you would not want to push for 300 every time just incase I need to stop for many hours. So now the fact that I can hit 600- 800 miles in a day with a gas car would take the ev 2- 4 days. We could make rapid road side chargers that can recharge a car in 10- 20 minutes but then I need to buy 3- 5 k worth of batteries after I kill the ones in my car. Then there is the ac and heat issue, my prius eats up the battery with the ac on and needs the ice to make heat. so now we have to electrically produce both when needed so what the ev that had a 300 mile range now is down to 50- 80. there is no way I would drive 1500 miles at 50 miles a day because it is hot as heck in July in those areas. Then there is the places that get really really cold there battery performance would drop like a rock and some would be lucky to get 20- 30 miles on a charge. Unless you think people in places that get down into the negative timps don’t really need heat and the people who live in areas were the timp gets over 100 humidity or not don’t need ac.

 

A diesel hybrid would be an interesting problem. Diesels like to be warm and don't do frequent starts as well as a gasoline engine. There is an expression called 'wet stacking' to describe how terrible diesels are until warmed up. Diesels are best when working hard.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LongRun @ Nov 25 2006, 08:21 PM) [snapback]354068[/snapback]</div>

http://www.wired.com/news/planet/0,2782,66...tw=wn_tophead_6
http://www.wired.com/news/autotech/0,2554,65273,00.html
http://www.hybridcenter.org/hybrid-transit-buses.html

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(roguenode @ Nov 7 2006, 09:32 PM) [snapback]345209[/snapback]</div>

It's NOT garbage or hate. I don't think either of your two points are invalid. Yes luxury is nice ... mpg/power is nice ... etc. But the truth is, advertising agencies tell us it's way more important for us than reality dictates, to be able to scream into the next turn, like we're in a race. We DO buy into a lot of GM / type junk advertising beliefs that are based on nothing more than balogne ... 'because the Ad boys are wanting us to spend more. Wants versus needs.