jainla

You might also check with your provider to see if there is a software upgrade available. Platform version 4.1 and earlier don't support the full range of bluetooth functionality; version 4.2 and higher do (like address transfer).

Agreed. When I had a commute that was about 60% city 40% highway I got about 18-19 mpg. Now that it's all city driving I'm lucky to see 18; 17 is more likely and during high traffic times I've even seen 16 mpg. Also I think using lower octane gas may lower your mileage in the LS...i use premium.

Usually in CA there's about a 20 cent difference per gallon (although the spread seems to be widening lately) so at about 18 gallons a pop its another $4. After almost 60 bucks another 4 isn't going to break the bank. :) I suspect that most modern engines are fine with either; the Camry V6 (which is pretty much the same V6 as the ES 350) runs on 87 octane while the ES recommends 91+. They have the same 10:8-1 compression ration. The Camry has 268 hp while the ES has 272. I'm sure running the ES on unleaded would probably net you an output of about 268. I can't imagine using regular gas is going to destroy your engine (as long as it's not obviously knocking); over time the variance in effective octane etc. between different grades of gas is something engineers have to account for. However the knock sensor will !Removed! your timing; giving you less power and poorer mileage; so you may end up saving more at the pump but visiting more often. Only thing that comes to mind to me is, if one can afford to drive a Lexus vehicle, one would probably be able to pay the extra 20 cents per gallon at the pump. I am a cheap and thrifty person when it comes to most stuff, but I never think twice about putting premium gas in my car.

I don't think any of them are self-amplified; including the sub. The door OEM parts are expensive but not outrageous; Sewell has the door mids for about $100 a pop: http://www.lexus-parts.com/assembly.asp?id...10&year=164 $300 for the sub though is a ripoff. Interestingly they are the same price as the Pioneer parts. I think Harman makes the speakers (ML, JBL and HK are all part of the same company). Lots of money went into both speaker placement as well as the electronics and DSP processing in the amp itself. The amp I'm sure is designed with the specific limitations and response curves of the speakers themselves; the results of putting non-spec parts in there are probably unpredictable. It's rare to hear about the doors being blown; usually it's the sub (this does happen). You also might check fleabay..sometimes these parts come up there.

I remember because I hit it once looking for the release....and had a momentary panic until I realized what had happened. yes i can still open the fuel door, i had never even payed any attention to the button inbetween i must have inadverntaly hit it. thanks. :D

can you open the fuel filler door? You (or someone) may have inadvertently hit the lockout button between the two buttons. Try inserting a key into the keyhole and turning; it might unlock the lockout and bring the release back to life.

I've had the battery die in my LS and still been able to get into it. There should be a keyslot for the trunk; look on that lip above where the license plate is. You'll be inserting the key vertically. As for the driver's door, the key should open it even if the battery is completely dead. Maybe try spraying some WD40 into the lock? Perhaps something has gotten in there and gummed it up?

Thats great, but its not what we were talking about. We were talking about 2-3 year old lease returns. I've never leased a car but most of my father's family and friends in Miami do. They tell me they tend to take pretty good care of the cars because when they turn them in at the end of the lease the dealer charges them (or their security deposit) for every scratch, nick, dent, etc. Similarly my mom who also leases takes pretty good care of her car. The thing with Lexus (and most Toyotas) is that there isn't really much major maintenance in the first 36,000 miles; save for the fluids change at 30k and maintenance items (brakes most likely). So even if someone just changes the oil and gives the car back at 36,000 miles you're maybe late on the fluids change but not much else. Once you go past that 36,000 mile limit though I agree with Steve; the potential for non-maintenance is much higher; also just the wear and tear adds up; crappy driving and no maintenance for 50-60k miles equals more damage/wear than crappy driving for 30k miles. In my experience though the major problems (engine failure, transmission blowout) are more due to faulty design or extremely abusive driving over many years (misuse, misapplication, no you can't tow a locomotive with an ES) than specific maintenance practice; and most people drive the way they drive no matter what car they are driving. My 240D just had it's slave cylinder replaced; and I've followed the maintenance schedule religiously for the last 100k miles. Parts just wear out; and sooner or later people draw a line as to when to repair and when to throw in the towel.

Funny over the holidays i was talking my my brother's friend who works there (Bose) and he said they were still developing it and trying to figure out if they could get someone to implement it. The system is similar to the Mercedes ABC system and the Infiniti Active suspension system of yore by using an actuator (ram) to raise (and then vehicle weight to lower) the car. The difference is that the Bose system is entirely electric; no hydraulics at all which makes it respond much quicker. Not sure if it has some kind of optical sensor or just vehicle speed and accelerometers but the results are impressive. I bet the Mercedes ABC system would perform similarly in the turns but probably not quite as good over the quick bumps. I also am not sure what the power requirements are; they could be pretty steep.

Here's the post that Jim is talking about. The LX470 (at least post '01) seems to use some of the same connectors as the LS430; they are I believe behind one of the trim panels in the trunk. If you go into techinfo.lexus.com and search for "phone install" you should find the instructions for the IMPS or Dual Mode phone system which details the pinouts and the locations of the connectors. While I haven't been able to prove it I suspect that the bluetooth functionality for later versions of those vehicles was added by using a bluetooth module that replaced the Dual-mode phone module; it might be worth contacting a junkyard or parts dealer to see if that phone ECU is available; I'd be curious to see if it worked in the pre-'04 models...

Huh? Orange plug? that seems odd. What it could be is the Lexus Link system going haywire; it uses the same muting leads as the phone. Does the car have Lexus Link buttons on the sunglass holder? If it does you can try disconnecting the system and seeing if the sound comes back (also make sure you turn down the volume before you do it or you'll blow out your speakers; the rear seat display will tell you what level the volume is at). In my previous post here there is a how-to to mod the audio system to install Bluetooth; you'll see the connector for Lexus link on the right side of the trunk. You should be able to get to it without tearing out the whole trunk liner; at least you can try disconnecting it and seeing if this improves your issue.

Try putting some double stick tape on the back of a credit card or think piece of cardboard and then sticking it in and grabbing it and hitting eject. I had a CD stuck in my ML changer and that worked; it came right out.

As far as I can tell it's normal for the LS to ride a little bit lower in the back than the front; mine rides the same way (as have many I've seen). It may be something to do with the aerodynamics? Also I can't really feel the car lower itself above 50 or 60 mph but apparently it does that. Having the car rise on High setting seems to take a while (the rise is only something like 20 or 30 mm) but it will rise up. I notice when I engage the High mode the ride seems to get a little bit stiffer; and if I drive around for a little while the car does seem higher. But it's not going to be like a Range Rover or anything that really jacks itself up on the air shocks. If the system is leaking you'll know; you'll walk outside and the car will look like a low rider or something....it's quite noticeable. Welcome to the club...let's see some pix!

The sport suspension is a different set of sway bars and bushings (and also I think shocks); also it came with the larger wheels as standard. I've never driven the sport suspension car (they seem to be quite rare) but from the review mentioned by Jim and others I've read it was quite a good blend of ride/handling and firmer than the air suspension set on sport. The High setting seems to raise the overall ride height (as far as I can tell). The ride also gets a little harder when the setting is on High. The biggest indicator of leaking air lines or springs is when the car has sat overnight; if it looks like a low rider then you probably have a leak somewhere; also the shocks inside the air struts can leak; most dealers or service centers will see that. Someone in this forum mentioned something about using the rear sway bar from the sport suspension option as a replacement for the standard sway bar on the ultra. Welcome to the club!

Congrats! You may want to check the AV forums i know some people have replaced the ML subwoofer with another aftermarket product (JL I believe) and have had good results. Sometimes they also come up on ebay. Yeah people may say the LS is a geezer car; then they sit behind it at the next stoplight and say nothing.

Yikes....I'm glad you are ok....sorry about the car though. :( SRK is right though; the car did it's job, you are still here. A couple of months ago I drove past a crash here in LA involving the same year LS. The LS crashed into another car that crossed into the intersection as the LS was turning left. The driver of the LS was walking around the car and seemed fine, the damage didn't look too bad but based on the age of the car it was probably totaled. The other car however was a WRECK. I hope the driver of that car was ok. The original LS400 had the lowest injury claims of any luxury car in 1991-1992 according to the U.S. Highway Loss Data Institute (the previous recipient of that honor was the Mercedes S-Class). Toyota crashed 100 prototypes when designing the first LS to perfect its crash performance; so I think it's safe to say the LS is a very safe car. It FEELS like a tank...glad to know it crashes like one too. I am pleased that you were not seriously hurt and very happy that you shared this story with the forum. This will give me a certain assurance since a number of publications I look at did not have crash testing for 1991 LS's. Crashworthiness is an area which Mercedes has celebrated for a long time, and it is good to know that this was not neglected by TMC as they became one of the premier players in the luxury auto market.

Obviously try cleaning the disk first... :) If that doesn't work these units come up for sale on Ebay occasionally; I'm not sure if a GS or LX unit would work in the LS but it might. Also you might try a more recent nav disk; the first gen units had firmware that was updated in later nav disk versions; if yours was updated and then someone put an earlier disk in it might generate this error. -J

You might want to look for an '02 or '03 with the Custom Luxury package; it includes almost all of the UL goodies minus the rear suspension and power rear seats. The big options you'll want is the Navigation/Mark Levinson package; which was also available those years. Welcome to the club. There is nothing intrinsically more or less reliable about the Ultra vs. other models; they are the same basic car with just more add-ons. The Ultra models have a LOT more toys which can break; but they don't often do. The parts are expensive for some of these toys; but you can shop around online and on ebay. I was told by the dealer that the Air Suspension components on the LS430 should last between 100-150k miles; but your mileage may vary and they are expensive to replace. The dealer told me when I bought my car that he's not seen any problems on an LS430 UL with less than 150k miles; but again anything can happen. I guess it depends on how long you plan to keep the car and how many miles you drive; there are kits that are available to convert the air spring cars to conventional coil springs if you choose to go that route. The only other possible gotcha could be the laser sensor for the cruise control (which some other trim levels also have). It can break if a rock hits it and requires about $1800 in parts and labor to fix so make sure yours is working. However if you are considering a UL model do your homework. In addition to the standard items test ALL of the electrical gizmos to make sure they work (this will take time). Also if you can get the dealer to go a CPO inspection it's worth it; you'll get a list of what they would fix to certify the car a Lexus CPO car and give it the warranty (not sure if they have this in Canada or not). The dealer will know the car better than anybody and tell you what would need to be fixed and an estimate of what they would charge you to fix it. Depends on how much you drive. The typical A service (every 6,000 miles) which is a glorified oil change costs about $100 at my dealer in California; but I'm sure an independent shop would charge half that. Then there are brakes; tires etc. The tires for this car seem to be more expensive than your average tire. Aside from normal maintenance I've had no unforseen expenses (except for a nasty scratch that was probably my fault). The B service is every 30,000 miles (I think) and is a complete fluid and filter change (about $300 down here) but again an independent could do much better. You'd have to drive it. I drove both LS430's at a Taste of Lexus event a few years back (if you search this forum you might find the post) and the difference is small but noticeable. The Air ride cars I've driven actually feel a little firmer than the standard coil sprung cars; but the air ride is 'smarter' than the standard coil spring suspension. I suspect tire choice is the bigger variable; my UL has a pretty firm ride but the tires I have are known for riding firm (and noisy). There are no major mechanical gotchas at this stage; but again it will depend on the particular car you are considering. Make sure the 60,000 mile service was done (or they pay for it). Also see if you can get a record that the car's had regular oil changes; however the UZ series engine is almost indestructible. In these engines the big service item remains the timing belt at 90,000 miles but it sounds like this won't apply to you. In 2 years of ownership I've had zero problems with my UL car but I drive it less than 8,000 miles a year. I think a bulb in the high mounted stoplight burned out; and the dealer talked me into cleaning out filters and the fuel injection system (I'm sure this was probably overkill) but aside from that nothing major has happened. There are a couple little issues in some '01 models; mostly a noisy windscreen gasket and some other squeeks and rattles that are covered by TSB's that you can download off the Toyota service website. There was also a recall for a noisy steering column; the dealer should be able to tell you if this applies to your car or not. Also in some cars the striker plate for the trunk had to be adjusted. But no show stoppers; some '04 cars were recalled for a transmission replacement. Mine is a late model '01 car so it seems to be free of those issues; if you call the dealer and give them the VIN they can tell you when the car was made and when it was first in-service.

Welcome to the club. There is nothing intrinsically more or less reliable about the Ultra vs. other models; they are the same basic car with just more add-ons. The Ultra models have a LOT more toys which can break; but they don't often do. The parts are expensive for some of these toys; but you can shop around online and on ebay. I was told by the dealer that the Air Suspension components on the LS430 should last between 100-150k miles; but your mileage may vary and they are expensive to replace. The dealer told me when I bought my car that he's not seen any problems on an LS430 UL with less than 150k miles; but again anything can happen. I guess it depends on how long you plan to keep the car and how many miles you drive; there are kits that are available to convert the air spring cars to conventional coil springs if you choose to go that route. The only other possible gotcha could be the laser sensor for the cruise control (which some other trim levels also have). It can break if a rock hits it and requires about $1800 in parts and labor to fix so make sure yours is working. However if you are considering a UL model do your homework. In addition to the standard items test ALL of the electrical gizmos to make sure they work (this will take time). Also if you can get the dealer to go a CPO inspection it's worth it; you'll get a list of what they would fix to certify the car a Lexus CPO car and give it the warranty (not sure if they have this in Canada or not). The dealer will know the car better than anybody and tell you what would need to be fixed and an estimate of what they would charge you to fix it. Depends on how much you drive. The typical A service (every 6,000 miles) which is a glorified oil change costs about $100 at my dealer in California; but I'm sure an independent shop would charge half that. Then there are brakes; tires etc. The tires for this car seem to be more expensive than your average tire. Aside from normal maintenance I've had no unforseen expenses (except for a nasty scratch that was probably my fault). The B service is every 30,000 miles (I think) and is a complete fluid and filter change (about $300 down here) but again an independent could do much better. You'd have to drive it. I drove both LS430's at a Taste of Lexus event a few years back (if you search this forum you might find the post) and the difference is small but noticeable. The Air ride cars I've driven actually feel a little firmer than the standard coil sprung cars; but the air ride is 'smarter' than the standard coil spring suspension. I suspect tire choice is the bigger variable; my UL has a pretty firm ride but the tires I have are known for riding firm (and noisy). There are no major mechanical gotchas at this stage; but again it will depend on the particular car you are considering. Make sure the 60,000 mile service was done (or they pay for it). Also see if you can get a record that the car's had regular oil changes; however the UZ series engine is almost indestructible. In these engines the big service item remains the timing belt at 90,000 miles but it sounds like this won't apply to you. In 2 years of ownership I've had zero problems with my UL car but I drive it less than 8,000 miles a year. I think a bulb in the high mounted stoplight burned out; and the dealer talked me into cleaning out filters and the fuel injection system (I'm sure this was probably overkill) but aside from that nothing major has happened. There are a couple little issues in some '01 models; mostly a noisy windscreen gasket and some other squeeks and rattles that are covered by TSB's that you can download off the Toyota service website. There was also a recall for a noisy steering column; the dealer should be able to tell you if this applies to your car or not. Also in some cars the striker plate for the trunk had to be adjusted. But no show stoppers; some '04 cars were recalled for a transmission replacement. Mine is a late model '01 car so it seems to be free of those issues; if you call the dealer and give them the VIN they can tell you when the car was made and when it was first in-service.

I would try these guys. http://www.vaistech.com/ I have their unit in my LS430 for an iPod and it works great. the OEM system is installed in the rear of the car (which you may be able to do with the Vaistech unit if the connections are there) and usually they put the antenna either on the trunklid or below the rear parcel shelf (where the GPS antenna is). It can also be put inside the CHMSL housing. The dealer may be able to do it; I installed the ipod unit myself in about an hour. There are several tuturials for taking apart the dash around here. Good luck.

The ES should have pre-wiring for the Lexus phone; on the diagram you can see the wiring for the "Telephone Transceiver" which is lexus-speak for the trunk-mounted phone ECU. There are these great connectors that will let you tie the mute wire of the kit to the mute wire on the back of the harness without cutting into it; radio shack has several. Depending on what kind of radio you have and how comfortable you feel soldering these guys might be worth a try: http://www.quickconnectproducts.com/Find/find.htm They have a harness for a 98 camry but I'm not sure if that will fit an ES of similar vintage; also it will depend if your car has a separate amplifier (Nakamichi systems usually do) or not. You'll probably have to pull the radio and take a peek to see what's back there. I concur with Jim's suggestion that you go with an external speaker; for a car this old it's doubtful that you'll be able to find the necessary connectors to make your own wiring harness, which is what you'd have to do. If you don't want to splice wires you'll have to run wires all the way into the trunk to get to the phone/ECU connection point (ick). I think it would be a difficult job. But if you insist on plodding ahead I can direct you to my tutorial on how I bluetoothed my LS430; it may give you some helpful hints (thanks again Jim for info and encouragement!). I used a Parrot 3200LS; which is a fantastic kit. You might want to consult the Chilton guide for that year Camry/ES at your local library; it should give you the physical location of the connectors for where the OEM phone would have been connected. Also if you can find an old ECU on ebay or something you might be able to pirate the connectors for your own nefarious purposes....

Agreed; but the new V8 RWD sedan could change that. They will probably have to create a separate luxury brand like Toyota did with Lexus. That's what they are counting on; an objective consumer. Not sure I buy that. Toyota and Honda manage to make high quality autos here. If you think US labor is expensive, Japanese and German labor is even more so due to higher wages those workers typically command. The reason that Japanese and European automakers have opened so many plants here is because as far as skilled labor goes the US is fairly competitive; and the cost of shipping the cars is less. I think it has to do with the mindset of each manufacturer vs. current market conditions. American carmakers see cars as a commodity; and their strategy was to make as many as possible; knowing that any defect cars could be easily exchanged for another car coming off the line. Cars are required in many US communities so the big 3 knew they had a somewhat captive audience. People HAD to have at least one car. As long as the market was growing quickly the big 3 could just churn out more cars. In Europe cars have traditionally been more of a luxury item; in most cities they aren't required at all. Therefore the products had to justify their necessity; so they were made and marketed like luxury items. European manufacturers traditionally have employed a craftsman-like approach to making cars; with (expensive) highly skilled and trained labor assembling the cars. This made the cars expensive but enabled them to offer added value (high quality finishes, precise components etc) not available in other brands. Also everything was designed and engineered in-house. Japanese carmakers focused on the technique of efficient car production; because they knew they were facing a labor shortage, they knew that they needed be efficient (because all raw materials must be imported) and because quality was (is) important to the Japanese consumer. Japanese car makers have focused on automation for most tasks and reserved human labor for specialized tasks (quality assessment). They also outsource and with and work closely with their suppliers (more than the Europeans); enabling them to offer high quality items at a lower price. The current state of each automaker belies the pros and cons of each approach: In Europe the car makers with the best quality (Porsche) tend to be lower volume, high end automakers that support the craftsman model. Porsche cars are still made with lots of manual labor; and are still high quality; and the cost reflects that. The move towards more mass production seems to have flummoxed many automakers as they are more used to making precise mechanical solutions rather than all electronic ones. Also as Mercedes, VW and BMW have ramped up their production they have also had to cut costs and automate and outsource more of it; this seems to have cause some real quality issues as they are not used to working closely with suppliers the same way Toyota and Honda do. In the US the car market is no longer experiencing such explosive growth; growth has contracted to the point where it resembles the European and Japanese markets; so quality is more important and the more efficient (higher quality) the manufacturing process the more successful the company will be. However US automakers refuse to acknowledge that, instead chasing the easy buck (SUVs, trucks) instead of investing for the future. Now that quality is more important, high fuel costs have leveled the playing field and their market shares are smaller their products and manufacturing processes are no longer competitive with imports. They have too much capacity that costs too much to maintain. Japanese carmaker's biggest problem right now is expansion. Because the human link in their chain controls the quality they cannot rapidly expand without stretching that resource thin (fixed number of people, increasing number of cars). All of Toyota's plants worldwide are running at or over peak capacity; so it's natural for quality to suffer slightly as more cars are going through the system than it was designed to handle. But everything is changing; US automakers are finally taking quality seriously; Japanese automakers are learning there are limits to the rate they can expand; and Europeans are getting better at lean production. BMW can offer Japanese style efficiency with the ability to customize each car; not even Toyota can do that. And the Chinese and Koreans are still something of a wild card. European and Asian carmakers also historically have exported a much larger percentage of cars then US automakers; so they are more attuned to the changes in the world markets because a big percentage of their production depends on it being successful in other markets. Like Darwin said; adaptability is the name of the game. I'm not sure I would count anybody out just yet. (wow that's longwinded :) )

Well it's not like it grinds coffee or anything; it just doesn't spring to life like the diesel does. This is supposedly due to the the VVT-i system not being able to precisely position the camshafts when the hydraulic pressure is low (first thing in the morning). Sometimes it takes 2 cranks. Sometimes it doesn't. This is why the LS460 now has VVT that's run by electric motor instead of hydraulic pressure. Yes here in LA it's always happy to start; but sometimes the glowplugs take a while to warm up. I killed the battery a couple times starting it in the cold when I lived in Connecticut and PA, I had to buy a block heater for it. It was the plug-in car before the electrics and hybrids! As compression ratios continue to rise I bet we see the return of the block heater. I was only guestimating at the price; I seemed to remember reading an old CR review that quoted around $20k. I think as the products got more expensive Mercedes compensated by moving the brand upmarket; emphasising the quality and exclusiveness. In Germany Mercedes was perceived as a more mainstream brand than it was here.In some ways I think mechanical precision has become less important in certain aspects of car design and manufacture because of all the electronic controls. Now engines and transmissions can self-diagnose and auto-tune getting them to run smoothly in some sense has become easier; it also probably makes them cheaper to manufacture; I bet on a cost-adjusted basis cars of today contain roughly double the technology and content they did 20 years ago; but in real dollars they are probably not that much more expensive. European carmakers also seem to really have been burned by this move towards electronic controls; historically mechanical perfection seems to have been their first priority. For example VW products for years have had notoriously buggy electrical systems; now that the cars are rolling computers this becomes a much bigger issue; and the reliability reflects that. I still remember how smooth and quiet the engine in my friend's 420SEL ran. In general cars are made much better now than they were 20 years ago; which makes the smoothness of the Mercedes engines and interiors of that era even more impressive. Also there was just less technology in those cars to break down. I bet the development and manufacturing budget for most cars is about the same in real dollars as it was 20 years ago; while the number of systems and components have multiplied. This means that the company that can develop these systems to work well while controlling costs will win. Toyota's deep relationship with its suppliers enables it to bake quality and efficiency in from the start; something the Germans seem to be just catching onto. Factor in currency fluctuations and it gets even more challenging. I don't know about blowing away; the Chinese labor advantage only goes so far because most car manufacturing these days is highly automated. Chinese products are not world reknowned for their high quality and precision; but Hyundai has proved that rapid improvement is possible. There is also the brand perception problem; but remember people were saying the same thing 20 years ago when the Japanese launched a luxury car. Yes but brand loyalty is a powerful thing. It's hard to lose but even harder to regain. I hope Toyota doesn't kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Well I learned from the best I hope people find it useful..that's what these forums are all about.

They won't sync automatically. There may be an option on your phone to send all the contacts to the car, instead of one by one. The car will ask you if you want to over write duplicates or not.

I would have grabbed that 300D. Those cars are getting more valuable b/c of the desire to convert them for Bio diesel. A bunch of the diesel Benzes here have been converted; they all have a "This car is a vegetarian" sticker on the back. All I can say is after 26 years and 195,000 miles my 240D still starts on the first crank, every time. Not even my LS can do that. :whistles: Back in the day they were impeccably engineered cars but you paid for it. The 240D cost about $22k in the early 80's, which probably translates into at least $50k today. The car has almost no electronics; the engine, fuel injection, and fuel pump are entirely mechanical (I found this out when the alternator died and I drove it to Glendale with no electrical power whatsoever). I did replace the timing chain on my mechanic's recommendation at 185K miles but other than that nothing major has gone wrong with it. I do believe it will run forever. The 240D is slow. Acceleration is best described as "stately." 27mpg however is a nice consolation prize. After 12 years of driving it I felt like I was driving a loaded gun when I first got the LS. 5x the HP and 3.5x the torque makes for a very interesting driving experience. Part of me really wanted a W140 or a W220 as my next car. Although I have a great deal of nostalgia for the MB brand the high cost of ownership and the fact that I HATE taking my car to the shop unnecessarily led me to the LS. The Lexus is just...friendlier. The car doesn't feel quite as mechanical and overwhelming; even the new S550 still feels to me like an old man's car. However Mercedes fall from grace and Toyota's recent reliability woes with the Camry and Tundra (see new Consumer Reports) prove that anybody can drop the ball. And there's always someone (Hyundai) nipping at your heels. Being #1 is tough.