SW03ES

There ya go LOL. Did you ever look at the 07-09 ES? Even less trim...

I agree, you can't design something to guard against anything someone could possibly do wrong with it. If you did that...we would never have any new technologies. When you get out of the car it goes BEEP...and its a loud mechanical machine banging and clicking away when you walk around it. To me...I don't see how you could leave it running...

People agreed to disagree about the world being flat too, doesn't make it any less round ;)

I mean...it yells at you pretty loud when you get out and shut the door with it running. And the engine isn't quiet from the outside when its idling...especially in a garage with a closed door. You'd have to be daffy to walk around it in a garage and not know it was running. Unless it was a hybrid or something...

We all love dcfish!

I actually sold my '03 to my aunt, she doesn't drive much and it will last her a long time. I get to see it from time to time...she loves it and babies it the same way I always did. That reminds me I do have to change my signature. For a while we were pretty Lexus overloaded LOLI had both ES's. My Mom still has my Dad's LS430 that she hasn't decided what she wants to do with yet. We're going to sell their house this spring, so once she gets into a smaller place we'll have to think about finally deciding which of their cars she wants to keep. She can't bring herself to drive the LS without thinking about him so we'll probably find a new home for that, although he would have liked her to keep it and enjoy it. I always liked the ES350 from the exterior and from a ride and drive perspective. What I didn't like was the spratan interior, they addressed a lot of that in the 2010, I still have some issues but overall its a big improvement. I get my iPhone tomorrow! Yeah I love the LS, but I dunno. When you think about the fact that they cost twice what the ES costs...its tough. I'm sure I'll own one someday too lol. Keep me posted about that thing thats up my alley!

My guess is its the Michelin tires. The ES comes with the MXV4 S8 which has terrible snow traction reviews. Mine has the Bridgestones.... When it comes to deep snow though, its just a function of it being too deep and building up underneath the car. The ES has a low chin...

Living here in Washington I know a good many scientists, and have a good many friends and business contacts that have spouses who are scientists, etc. Scientists aren't like that, they aren't "money driven" people. In fact...I've found they care very little about money at all...they are perfectly happy to be in a lab discovering things...drive their Prius or Subaru...go home and read journals and articles...and do the same thing the next day...and thats it. They don't really care about wealth or what have you. Thats the political statement that is thrown out there, but its really not the case. Anyways, without scientists and grant money we wouldn't have any of the medical advancements we have today, the technological advancements we have today, we would still think the world was flat and the sun revolved around it. Is it of significant cost to the taxpayer? Yes, but also of significant benefit. Its much cheaper than nationbuilding and occupying foreign countries we have no business being in, thats a fact. Whats the solution? Cut off all funding for scientific research unless the findings suit our purposes? This isn't Iran. Its actually quite the opposite situation, you've got LOAD of special interest groups and corporations that pollute trying to spread the idea that the whole notion that pollution is bad for the earth (and thats really all Global Warming says) is some crazy fringe idea propogated by people who want to steal our money. Thats nonsense, its not a crazy fringe idea, its overwhelmingly accepted in the scientific community as a fact. You somehow think a lobbyist for chemical manufacturers has your best interest more at heart than a scientist in a lab at UC Berkeley? Come on. Its not a political thing, its a question of common sense and the preponderance of the evidence. Evidence that greenhouse gas emissions effect the climate of the planet is overwhelming. Evidence that the global climate is changing is overwhelming. Common sense agrees, these things are not released into the atmosphere by nature in near the quantities we release them, and it simply makes sense that those gasses in those concentrations would upset the proper balance of the atmosphere. If you look at the earth's history you see LOTS of examples of times when global calamities threw chemicals and ask into the atmosphere and it effected the climate of the planet. Ice ages, meteor impacts, volcanic eruptions. Google the "little ice age". You wont find any research anywhere, that doesn't come from a politically or business backed source, that refutes the statement "Pollution is bad for the atmosphere of the earth and is causing long term changes to our climate". Thats all the idea of "Global Warming" is. We can either listen to people who have degrees and have studied the climate of the planet and the effect pollutants have on it their entire lives, or we can listen to people who believe the earth is 2000 years old and we're all descended from one man and one woman. Thats really the two sides of this argument.

Happens to the best of us!

Well today my 2010 ES350 rolled over 10,000 miles in just over 6 months. Was actually kind of funny, the yellow exclamation point light came on and "OIL MAINT REQ'D" came on the info screen, the nav screen showed I needed an oil & filter change and a tire rotation. When I got home I had a letter from Lexus of Rockville asking me to schedule my 10,000 mile service. I guess the Enform must let the dealer know when its getting close to service because I drive more miles than normal, with my 300 the letters I got from the dealer never reflected my actual mileage. The car goes into my independent mechanic on Wednesday for the 10k service, first time he will see it. Been overall very happy with the car. I REALLY enjoy driving it and it makes me feel like a million bucks, which is surprising because I've had Lexus vehicles for so long. Really an upgrade from my 300 IMHO in both ride and drive, size and road presence. It feels like a more substantial car, and actually I don't know whether I would pony up the extra dough for an LS after having put 10,000 miles on this car. I enjoy it that much, which was never something I could say about the 300. Its a great car too, but I always wanted something bigger and more substantial... I get a LOT of compliments on it, in fact one of my friends at work bought one today after riding in mine, I helped him negotiate the deal and I was surprised to find that he bought the EXACT same car as mine color and interiorwise, just without nav. High points have been the audio system which has grown on me a lot, I love the upgraded nav system and iPod integration (even if it needs the firmware upgrade to stop selecting the top track or playlist on the list). I love the fact I can adjust the vehicle settings from the vehicle as opposed to having to go to the dealer. I love the keyless entry and start.Love the backup camera and parking sensors. The paint quality seems much better than the 300, I have some small chips I've touched up (to be expected on DC roads, especially in winter) but nothing major. Power is a big upgrade too. I'm surprised actually that I've used the Enform service quite a bit. Entering destinations while traveling, looking for restaurants when traveling etc. Passengers are always very impressed with that. I might actually continue that after the year. XM NavTraffic is real dissapointment, probably will cancel that although I do like the weather. I find it tells me about traffic after I am sitting in the traffic, and when travelling outside of major metro areas (north of baltimore on 95 or south of Woodbridge on 95, etc) it has no coverage, so you can't detour on trips which is a big downside for me. I'm surprised theres no coverage on the NJ Turnpike or Parkway... Those are my thoughts after 6 months...comments are welcome...

I've learned never to be surprised by anything LOL

Actually I thought my 350 was pretty good in the snow, certainly better than my 300. What kind of tires do you have, the Michelins or the Bridgestones? I mean...its no AWD car but I wouldn't be afraid to drive it in 4-5 inches of snow.

Interesting...can someone who has had the update done post the TSIB#?

SWB stands for Standard Wheel Base. Have you spent any time in the backseat of the SWB car? Really I don't see the purpose of the LWB if you're not going to be driven around. The SWB car has enough room to sit in the back with your legs crossed without touching the front seats in front of you. Plenty of room, and all the LWB car does is increase that distance adding issues with garages, etc for no reason IMHO. SWB cars are much easier to find

Yeah I was very surprised with the differences. I have a coworker who has a Camry Hybrid and I expected it to drive and ride pretty similarly to the ES, but was surprised that it was hard riding and a good bit louder. Toyota interior quality has slipped in recent years too, compared to an Accord or Hyundai Sonata the Camry has very cheap plastics and seat materials too...

LOL true enough! ;)

I'm just picking on LEXI and dc...

LOL

Is your only reason for wanting the L the rear screens? You can get them on the SWB car too... The Ls are also much harder to find.

Good lord...what a nut job...

Do you guys have PhD's in climatology that we've never heard about? ;)

The new nozzles are just single stream and can't be adjusted...and they are underneath the edge of the hood lip, so they can't be replaced with older Lexus nozzles.

Good to see you! They are just the standard IS350 wheels, no fancy name ;) Not sure what they call the finish, a lot of Lexus' new wheels are that dark silver finish...

Just looking at the clearances I'd be leery of chains. The wells are so tight that the long handled brush I use when washing the car to clean the wheel wells doesn't fit between the tire and the well down at the bottom of the wheel well. I'd be afraid you'd damage the car. Have you ever thought about getting something a little more snow-friendly? If I made trips to the Midwest in the winter I'd want something with 4WD...

That car is going to be pretty hard to find. The executive seating package is a custom order option package...