SW03ES

But the dealer service per hour is cheaper. The Chevrolet is just not a luxury car...its like a Toyota...and Toyota dealers are just as crummy. Then you are in the distinct minority who would cross shop the vehicles, and I would say it was silly to do so. Lets just say if you could use an ML350 for your purposes, you had no business in a Tahoe anyways because the benefits of the Tahoe...mainly towing and hauling...are of no use to you. I've done better...I've driven several Tahoes. Its no Mercedes Benz...but its not supposed to be. I found them very similar to the Toyota Sequoia...which is no surprise because those two are actually designed to be competitive (i.e. Chevrolet never even looked at a Mercedes when designing the Tahoe...would be no point) and are very similar in cost. The Toyota Sequoia is the same cost as the Tahoe...and isn't nearly as nice as an ML350...why aren't you making the same tirade about the Sequoia? Actually if I had a family of 5...I wouldn't even look at a Tahoe, because I would never use it for towing a boat or camper. Only reason I'd buy one is for that. However, if I had a boat or a camper...I wouldn't even look at an ML350. You're assuming a buyer would cross shop the two, and any buyer who would doesn't really need the Tahoe anyways. But why is the Tahoe the best selling fullsize SUV on the market, if its so overpriced? People buy them...a lot of them and the Suburban too. They sell a lot more Tahoes than they do ML350s.

I guarantee this story is why...it has never been explained to me previously.

Your Lexus dealer doesn't balance the tires when they do the rotation? Every Lexus dealer I have ever used rebalances each tire every time they do a rotation. As for the alignment...no abnormal wear or vibration? Skip it.

Buddy...you need to let this car go. You have to think about your safety too, and getting it "to where the trunk will close" is not thinking about your safety.

I live in the country, not like driving in your traffic, not sure I understand the ratings so maybe you can educate me a little. I know the T rating is good for over 100Mph and I'll not see that number. Is there some other reason to get the V rated that is recommended for the LS. The tire guy at Sams Club said they will not put a tire on a car that is rated less than specified, didn't ask why. Speed ratings do not just dictate what speeds the vehicle can be driven at. The higher the speed rating, the stiffer the sidewalls and more robust the tire's internal construction. The suspension geometry of an LS430 is designed around an H rated tire. What could happen? Who knows but by the time you know what the effect was...it has already happened. IMHO...most modern cars aren't designed to be driven on S or T rated tires.

I'm sure you can...but you won't want to. Like Jim said, the nav on the 00 LS400 is archaic compared with modern nav systems, its hard drive based and Lexus stopped offering map updates in 2005, so the newest maps you can even buy are 2005... IMHO you should look at an aftermarket system if you care about functionality at all...

But smooth, the comparison isn't fair. Buyers aren't going to cross-shop a Tahoe and an ML350...not real buyers. Thats like saying why would you buy a Sienna Minivan when the 3 series BMW is the same price. The statement makes no sense. If a buyer needs/wants the minivan...they aren't even ever going to drive a 3 series BMW. Same is true with the Tahoe, if they want a big American truck-based SUV with a V8 that can tow their trailer or boat...they aren't even going to look at the ML350. The ML350 buyer might look at the Cadillac SRX...or at least Cadillac would like them to. Demographically the two vehicles go after entirely different buyers an comparing them is pointless. Go drive a Sequoia and compare it...thats fair. They sell plenty of Tahoes anyways... It also isn't fair to compare Chevy dealers to Lexus or Mercedes dealers. First of all service at Lexus and Mercedes costs like 3 times what it does at Chevy. Compare a Chevy dealer to a Toyota dealer and that would be more fair...they're pretty comparable. The Chevy dealer is not a luxury car dealer...nor does it pretend to be so. Its just like Ford, Toyota, Honda, whatever. Toyota has plenty of $50k+ models...and even a $70k model...the Land Cruiser...with the same dealer quality as GM. Actually the new 2010 SRX no longer has the V8 option and is cheaper. Its FWD/AWD like the RX. The previous SRX was RWD/AWD.

People hate lots of things and make jokes about lots of things. Hurts the brand? Hardly. The fact is the Prius sells REALLY well. They sell every Prius they can build, and it has one of the lowest on-the-lot times of any car currently sold in the US. They physically can't build enough of them to keep up with the demand. Now they have Honda copying the design with the new Insight which is a virtual clone. I think our '04 Prius is stupid looking...but they sell incredibly well. The 2010 is different. Hard to make a case that Toyota did anything wrong with the Prius. In fact the Prius is so popular Toyota is planning on creating a Prius sub-brand, like Scion and introducing other vehicles to the Prius line. Anyways they already sell a more normal sedan Hybrid, the Camry Hybrid...which the Prius handily outsells despite being similar in price. Whatever car you are in, some gomer is going to have some dumb joke to make about it. I get to live my life as me...they have to live their lives as them so I really don't care. I've been saying this for a while. I would have bought an ESh... I think the issue with the ESh would be price. The ES350 loaded is already $45k, the hybrid would have to be more like $50k. They wanted something closer in price to the Prius I think for move-up.

You can, Audi calls their interiors "atmospheres". You can replace all the wood with aluminum trim probably... Lexus does have different colors and types of woods with different interior colors...

Doesn't look awful...but not my thing...

Happy Birthday!

The Tahoe is a much larger vehicle than the RX or the Highlander. You really need to compare the Tahoe to a Sequoia. Comparing a Hybrid Tahoe to a Hybrid Highlander is like comparing a LS600h to a Ford Focus Hybrid because both are hybrids...doesn't make any sense. The Tahoe starts at $36,965, the Sequoia starts at $38,530. Equip them up and an LTZ Tahoe comes in at $56,240 with $4,000 cash bringing it to $52,240. A similar Sequoia Limited is $56,317...$4,100 more. Comparing the Highlander to the Chevy Traverse is more fair. The Highlander starts at $29.050, the Traverse starts at $31,224. Loaded the Highlander Limited is $40,720 while the Traverse LTZ is $44,120 If you are going to compare the RX, compare the SRX vs the RX350. As for the Escalade...I dunno...I see a LOT more Escalades than LXs. Its also not fair to compare the hybrid model to an LX. An LX loaded with the rear seat DVD is a staggering $82,360 A fully loaded Escalade spec'd out the same is $73,035 with $6,000 cash back bringing it to $67.035, making it $15,325 cheaper. I'd agree with you except that 90% of the Toyota lineup is actually built in America. Toyota doesn't have to deal with the UAW which helps, but its not the entire problem. Biggest problem is years of building sh!tty cars that Americans just didn't want.

Actually the Audi A6 has a strip of wood on the dash above the glove box and strips of wood on the doors. More wood than is on the 07-09 ES. Much more similar to the '10.

Those are T rated aren't they? The Avid Touring S? I wouldn't put a T rated tire on the LS.

Yep...thats a total...time to move on to something else...

To be fair...thats not true. The Highlander Hybrid fully loaded is $47k...and the RX450h approaches $60k.

I think I posted all that ;)

Be safe! Good buddy of mine is over there right now too...

Happy Birthday!

Its not a good idea. Tires need to be replaced in pairs on the same axle, and the new ones moved to the rear. Its not so much an issue of drivetrain problems, its a safety issue. Tire's traction, rolling resistance, and tread height change as the tire wears, and if you have two tires on the same axle that are not similar you may experience issues with emergency maneuvers etc. Your tires are the only part of the vehicle that make contact with the road, and they are just about the most important aspect of your vehicle's safety for you and your family. Don't cheap out...replace both tires like you should.

That soft touch paint is really cool. My only issue with that wheel was the plastic they used around those switches was hard and shiny...but that paint solved that...

Oh yeah, I instantly thought of the IS when I drove the CTS...

Nope...can't be done unfortunately...

I've always wondered that about the Prius too lol, although the 2010 is a lot better. I actually like the 2010 Prius better than the HS. I think they want it to look a little odd. The overall shape of the HS reminds me of the Gen 1 Prius.

No problem!