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As always, LEXIR is right. Just to clarify, the dimmer is the wheel just to the left of the steering wheel. If it is all the way up it keeps the Nav screen in the "Day" mode.

So in order to be a "Great" country, we have to bomb or kill someone, preferably in another section of the world. So what kind of great are we talking about....Genghis Khan style great. Or Julius Caesar great? Maybe Attila the Hun great. All conquered amazing amounts of realestate,... Got rid of pesky resistance to the will of the "Leaders", and brought "Peace" to those they ruled -.. (oops)that should read- led. Of course there was no right to vote. No right to free assembly. No right to free speech. You get the idea. Gaddafi's is a pig. He has taken many innocent lives. Our own and his own peoples. Were is the United Kingdom? France? Germany? Italy? Spain?, Sweden? China? Brazil. Is it the defacto role of the USA to do everything across the globe? It is a global society and others need to pull their weight as well.

For two months now, Buick has continued to out sell Lexus. Buick is so popular in fact, the United States has suddenly become a secondary market with China buying more than the U.S. This article discusses the brands plan to dominate the low end "Luxury" market. Such as IS and ES. http://autos.aol.com/article/buick-march-madness/

Again I ask, when is a war not a war, and when your sending someones else's kid to fly the jets, will you go to there parents door and say "Gee, to bad, but we made brownie points". I don't want to sound harsh, but we're still in Iraq, we're in Afghanistan, and we're in a standby mode for Iran. How many troops do we have left? Talk about deficit spending! Paul

How do you view the do nothing congress. They are the ones who MAKE the laws and enact legislation. In November they all promised to focus on jobs, jobs, jobs; and the economy. Since then, from both houses, its abortion, same s*x marriage and the next election. The President, regardless of who it is cannot act in a vacuum. It is Advise and Consent. In order to initiate a "No fly Zone" you must first take out all of the anti aircraft installations including guns, missiles, and radar installations. Then continue with shooting down war planes from not only Libya, but other countries that may come to there aid. This has the smell test of another war. How many wars do you want the United States to have on going at one time? But, sense your not fighting them, maybe it doesn't matter to you. Paul

Hi K.C. You are so right about the exits. I'm not sure what the initial thinking was when they designed the exits for the I-95 system, but when your trying to listen to your nav and handling four lanes of traffic with a " turn right, bear left", and trying to look at the screen at the same time, it makes my palms sweat. Paul

The funny thing about these three page 'free for alls' is that nothing is ever agreed upon; Nothing is ever solved; but a great deal of information is thrown back and forth, and it gives a bunch of guys something to do! LOL I too have a Lexus Nav., 2010 version, and a 855 Garmin with voice recognition. Some of you won't like this, but...I like them both. Yes, they both offer excellent features and perform equally well depending upon their specs. I think the reason I like my Lexus Nav is that I did research before I spent the money to have the Nav package added to the ES. By asking a lot of questions and reading these forums I knew what was and what was not possible with the Nav unit. The Garmin voice recognition is more accurate than the Lexus, but has very few commands available and of course is not integrated, so it cannot control any other car system functions. Unlike some of you, both my Lexus and Garmin 855 provide turn-by-turn directions. I would add that the Garmin is also guilty of not providing accurate directions from time to time when there are two right or left turns, one after the other. ( try I95 at 528 in Florida). I didn't mean to say anything about features and comparisons sense that has been beaten to death. May all your turns be accurate, and all your destinations entered before you move your car! Paul

This new campaign to educate the public shows that the Toyota Corolla is the most "American Made Car" in the United States. It shows all manufactuers plant locations, Number of employees, and automobiles made. Toyota employs over 26,000. Remember the sign on the pickup truck that tried to run LEXIR off the road? http://www.whatisanamericancar.com/plants/Toyota Paul Interesting side note; As I looked at the map of plant locations, I wondered why they were all concentrated in a swath from Michigan straight south through the mid-east to Mississippi. Any explanation?

Jack, This is a topic that comes up over and over again. There are a number of threads with answers to your questions so I am recommending a search of the forum which should give you tons of info. I'm not trying to blow you off, but I don't have a 05' and there are differences between the 05 and the 10'. Also, someone else may chime in here and help out. Paul

You make some excellent points. There is no prestige in paying too much. Nor is there any prestige in paying for a badge that has prestige from clever marketing and no substance. I perceive there is substance in my Lexus and Prestige because I can back up the marketing with that substance. In the end, perception is reality. (By the way, I don't like the Camry.) Paul

Per usual, your always so gentle with your suggestions. LOL :)

I think you hit the nail right on the head. It IS a good car, and I will admit that after working hard for many years I am not ashamed to say I enjoy the prestige as a reward.

There may be a reason for the low number of votes. This may be unique to my computer, but when I click on the link, it takes me to the graph of the results, not the voting page. Once in a while it will take me to the voting page, but not very often. Just a thought. Paul

Given the materials in the cat. converter it can't be that, it almost has to be inside that muffler don't you think?

It looks like the majority of you use an independent shop for your oil changes and routine maintenance. And it also appears that the reason is not expertise per se, but price/cost savings. That started me thinking; How much is too much? How do you know when the cost of having the dealer do your oil change is too high and you should go to a indy instead. My new ES350 only has 2311 miles on it so I haven't had it's 5k oil change yet. However, the last time I had an oil change the dealer charged around $75. Is that too much. Paul

Other than the usual Jiffy Lube, Midas, etc, there seems to be a scarcity of independent shops around here. When I had my 05 ES I tried a few indys for oil changes, but was concerned when they didn't know how to reset the codes. Regarding dealer service advisers, from what I have gathered on the forums it really seems to vary by dealer. Does anyone, besides me, have a good dealer service adviser?

The post under "New Members Welcome" titled "Deader than a Doornail," is a perfect example of the issue of indy mechanic versus dealer. Call me crazy, but after 3 indys couldn't give her any idea of the problem, and the dealer at least gave her an 80% solution, I would have gone with the dealer. Now, there is the matter of price. If the independent cannot diagnose the problem without trial and error, is that a less expensive route over the dealer? What are your thoughts. Paul

We have a combo of flurries and light rain at the moment so I won't run out to the garage right now to look at my exhaust tips. However, you know so much more than I do that I'm not sure I can offer much. Is the tail pipe stainless steel or is it susceptible to rust? In the morning I get some moisture out of the tips first thing after starting. Are there tiny scratches in the inside tip finish where that moisture can collect and rust? Is the driver side muffler rusty inside and putting out moisture? I know these are all far reaching but tying to help. Good luck. Paul

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=68704&view=getnewpost Buick outsells Lexus two months in a row!!! BIG WOU!!!!! If you price a car $10 grand below a Lexus you might sell some. Funny though, Buick also outsold Mercedes, Audi and Acura, but not BMW. I find this hard to believe. I've driven Buick's and thats why I drive a Lexus. Paul

It appears you have three ( or more?) mechanics with hands in the air, and one saying they are 80% "sure". It would seem the 80% route would be the choice assuming they won't charge you for the part if it doesn't fix the problem. Paul

Let the games begin!! An article extolling the virtues of dealer or independent for repairs. I have always used my dealer because of the excellent service and customer care, and the relationships I have built with the service advisor's. I suppose it may cost me more in some circumstances, but the quick diagnosis and resolutions of the problems has been worth it. What are your opinions. Don't most of you use Indy's? http://autos.aol.com/article/repair-shop-3-types/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-w%7Cdl6%7Csec1_lnk3%7C205072

Good point.

The best recommendation is to always go with the owners manual specs. Brand and type is VERY personal and you will never get a consensus from this forum.LOL In terms of type, I assume you mean standard/regular oil or synthetic. Many Lexus dealers will use a blend of oil and synthetic. On this forum, more and more folks are using synthetic. It offers IMO, better wear protection over longer periods, longer intervals between changes, and keeps the engine cleaner in most circumstances. I use Mobil 1 synthetic. Paul

OK Is it voice activated? If so does it name the streets turn by turn? Is the map always on the screen? The ES350 Nav is voice activated like the Garmin 855 Nuvi, but better. The Lexus has significantly more commands available such as lowering and raising the cabin temp, and Bluetooth commands. The Lexus Nav can also add new destinations as your driving using voice commands. One thing to note, the voice recognition can be sensitive to different voices. Yes, it tells you the name of the upcoming street and which direction to turn; left or right. It will also show you which lane to be in. After the turn it tells you the distance to the next turn and the name of that street. You may choose to have one of several map types on the screen at all times, or you can alternate between other screens such as audio, climate, or traffic/weather info (by subscription). Hope this is helpful.

420benz- Can you narrow your request down a bit? I have a Garmin Nuvi and Lexus Nav, but without some specific questions we could be here all day. Paul