Tell Me About The Platinum Edition

[Beth Lamenskie]

Hi. I appreciate your message. Yes a lot of people don’t buy sedans anymore. But my 3 adult children all have them. I actually sold the car today. A man who had written me before about it bought it. I did take less than I wanted. But he was there with the cash and it has been for sale for a month. I ended up taking $4,850. Broke my heart not to get more but that’s how it is. Such a beautiful car. I said I would never sell it but just didn’t need. Thanks for your help. 😀

Beth 

[M.Yasir]

Hi Jim

I believe we are not driving LS and expecting it to be loaded with the tech of this 21st century, its not fair to compare, i have driven the following

1. Ford Mustang GT 2006- 4.6 litre V8 (brother in law owns it)
2. Nissan Patrol 1999- 4.8 litre I6 (elder brother owns it)
3. Nissan Armada 2006- 5.6 litre V8 (brother in law owns it)
4. Lexus RX 330 (sister in law owns it)
5. Lexus LS 430 2001 (elder brother owns it)
6. Lexus LS 400 1998 (i own it)
7. BMW X5 2015 4.4 litre V8 (my wife's sister husband owns it)
8. Audi Q3 2014 3.2 litre V6 (my wife's sister owns it)
9. Toyota Camry sports edition 2015 (elder used to own it but now sold)

Out of the above 8 cars, in my personal experience i would pick the LS 430, why? simply because the ride is so much smoother (than the LS 400) but that can be debated with brand new cars but what cannot be debated is the cabin noise

Even in BMW X5 and Audi Q3 which are still under warranty they have so much of cabin noise, (by cabin noise i am referring to the engine noise which can be heard every time when you accelerate from 0, this becomes a headache when you are into a number of traffic signals or there is a bumper to bumper traffic congestion) what our LS offers is the best ride experience and great silent cabins (i know i have not driven a lot of cars but it gives you an idea, what i have heard is Chrysler 300 C has a more dead silence cabin than the LS) and packed with power punches which will go from 120 km/hr to 180 km/hr without hesitation which is again a huge advantage with these natural aspirated engines compare to others

I raced with a Range Rover and we both were at 180km/hr, both accelerated from 140km/hr and we were at the same position along the way up until we reached 180 (this i did with my 98 LS)

I know i am going a little off topic here but since you mentioned that LS are now old with the tech., yes indeed they are old but with amazing ride even with the old tech, now regarding reverse camera parking although its a great added advantage but i would still pick up the old school optical way to park the car by using car mirrors, you should just know the thumb rules how to use them, it will keep you active in a sense that once you are used to reverse camera and due to some reason you are driving an old car or an old truck you will find difficulty, In my opinion Jim parking/proximity sensors are just the right balance (although i dont have them but thats what i feel since you will still be using mirrors to park your car)

And as you said "who really wants it" i believe Jim those are the exact words, and that person will the pay the right amount ,you just have to find one

In the end yes new car from showroom is always a new car and cannot be compared

[Endugu]

"backup camera, Bluetooth phone and audio, radar cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and a system that nudges the vehicle back into its lane if it drifts out.  A few bucks more gets blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic assist and parking sensors.  Our 2000 LS400's have none of those features"

 

All of those features seem lame to me.  The last thing I want my vehicle to do is beep at me, brake or move the wheel. 

[1990LS400]

1 hour ago, Endugu said:

"backup camera, Bluetooth phone and audio, radar cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and a system that nudges the vehicle back into its lane if it drifts out.  A few bucks more gets blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic assist and parking sensors.  Our 2000 LS400's have none of those features"

 

All of those features seem lame to me.  The last thing I want my vehicle to do is beep at me, brake or move the wheel. 

Well I guess you're going to be buying older vehicles for as long as those are available.  In the three years since I wrote that, these features have become standard equipment on vehicles made by Toyota including their Lexus vehicles.   Other car makers have gone in the same direction and have or are implementing these features and much more.