LEX-SV

I'm also a bit of a "parking fanatic".

Serious performance mid sized sedan, thumbs up.

These headrests are designed for safety and to reduce serious whiplash/neck injuries.

I drove the Lexus IS via back roads/mountain roads to the Pacific coast yesterday. The 2 month old Hankook tires were a delight in the twisties. A great day trip to start this new year.

I count about 3 tires lost in last 30 years on our cars due to road debris. Note: When using treadwear rating numbers, comparisons are valid when comparing different tires of same brand ( not for comparing different brands ). So back to OP's concerns: . The tires are worn, used car was not likely CPO or tires would be new (to meet CPO criteria) . Anything to report since? Resolution?

Also consider carefully cleaning/waxing original Lexus wheels and storing them safely in garage, they will be valuable when selling car later.

Wow, a very nice F150. Many of my neighbors have a Japanese small pickup or older domestic full sized domestic truck as 3rd vehicle, but few have something like that.

Not the case with substantial compensating horsepower increase, as I mentioned in post #3 regarding RC-F.(I think it was C&D instrumented testing results of previous iS-F and new RC-F and their recent review that I was referring to)

^ Paul - What specific model Conti was that? (so we will know what to avoid) Often OEM tire selections by automakers for non-perf cars are mediocre and largely determined by low cost. Generally I ignore tread wear warranties for tires (and avoid tires that claim to have them), not worth paper printed on.

And Happy New Year 2015! Anybody get a new 2015 model?

Exactly why I have 1 garage queen and 2 levels of dd's. The jungle out there is nothing new, I have realistic and low expectations of most American motorists.

NYC drivers also have the (ugly) big fat rubberized front plate frame thiing to protect front bumper.

I haven't been to India to know how annoying it is, it's not in my future travel plans. I'd like it cleaned up without additional wars please. Lol, my post should be deleted as spam too, it won't be missed.

Only if the trunk is left open.

I buy tough luggage, although airlines have damaged a couple of mine too. Here's pic of the retractable trunk sill protector on the Benz, very effective.

Premium cars including Lexus have nicely finished trunks. All seem to have trunk hinges designed to not scratch fine leather luggage, although I'm not sure I've actually benefited from that thoughtful detail...

Ban the spammer (but I know they keep popping up with a new name)...

Okay, my favorite Toyota/Lexus product owned is the 2nd gen Lexus IS350 Sport Pkg for the following reasons: Pros: 3.5L 60 degree V6 has plenty of horsepower and torque combined with smoothness and refinement, wicked sound with Lexus F-Sport exhaust at mid-high revs. Moderate weight (rwd version), about 3600 pounds wet, so these cars are very quick due to healthy power to weight ratio. Decent fuel economy for this level of performance. Very good handling w/Lexus F-sport/Eibach springs, stock sport pkg shocks, 19's, and acceptable ride quality as configured. Beautifully finished interior. Nice dead pedal, very Porsche-like. Strong 13 speaker including subwoofer sound system. Reliability is nearly flawless. Above average resale value (when compared to other premium sport sedans, mainly due to reliabilty history). Service costs are low for a premium car. Basically a clean body design, a stylish 2+2 coupe-like sedan (with better access to rear seat that traditional coupe because of 4 doors), a style that is more popular recently for good reason as seen with CLS, CLA, Grand Coupe, CC. Right-sized for enjoyable driving on mountain roads, paddle shifters useful in that environment too. Another unique advantage is the availability and relative affordablility of well-designed and proven wheel/tire/suspension mods for these IS's. Careful buyers can get nearly custom fitments and configurations at mainstream pricing for these cars because the market is big enough, a kind of interesting situation unique to IS and 3 series (not Mercedes and Audi). Cons: Steering feel is acceptable (and that's running 19" 35 series summer tires which helps some), not great (Mercedes and BMW sport sedans are better for example). Front seats could use more lateral support and better long distance support too. Interior styling and detailing is a tad conservative. Back seat is small as expected with coupe-like roofline and short wheelbase.

I've owned so many Honda products including 4 Accords, 2 Preludes, 2 Civics, 1 Integra and all were very good cars. Not sure if I classify any as "cars I really liked" or tops in my book, but the '92 Prelude Si did stick in my mind. Sure the styling (both exterior and interior) was a bit wild/modern for the time, but the engine refinement and useful power, slick 5 speed stick, very good ride/handling and trick sunroof made the car a pleasure to drive.

Mini vans are the ultimate (I'll leave it at that)..... Yes, rear doors of SUV's can inflict nasty dings on regular cars. RX is tall at about 66 inches tall (not including roof rack), but much lower than truck-based BOF SUV's. For SUV's that are few inches lower than RX (most are smaller compacts), offerings include X1, GLA, Mecan, Q3, Q5 and Venza.

First gen of Highlander 2002 Limited 3.0 V6 AWD. Finally the latest/current is well styled, 'bout time.

^ Sounds like recipe for top selling Lexus, the RX. I had a Highlander V6 Limited (very much like an RX mechanically, less unattractive) for nearly 4 years and I used it for commute and other mundane duties. I was bored with it by end of day 1, even if I found it to be very useful.

Given the topic here, maybe we can give some examples of Toyota/Lexus and Honda/Acura we liked and what we liked about it/them.

I'd also ran the Conti DWS (all seasons) on a Mercedes C300 rwd with excellent results including low noise level. I'd recommend them too. I ran these tires for nearly 20K miles before replacing car w/C250. I plan to buy these tires again when needed for the C250. My guess is the Dunlops w/25K have significant wear contributing to elevated noise level, for example usually a CPO car with tires that worn would have new tires installed prior to sale. Also I know the Bridgestones spec'ed for gen 2 Lexus ISx50's were mediocre and noisy, so I avoid them.

Same here in CA, where occasionally a local rusting car is seen as result of poor repair. I wish I had the pleasure of owning a Z like this one seen last year in San Jose...