The my.IS community was stunned and saddened to hear about the unexpected death on Saturday 28 June of 23-year-old Michael Roberts (screen name DrpdIS300) and his girlfriend, Whitney Sara Lee. They were driving on I-24 East near Antioch, Tennessee (part of the metropolitan Nashville area) when, shortly after it started raining, the car veered off the road and drove into the woods, where it went into a creek and hit an embankment, then bursting into flames.
Our most sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to Michael's family and his many friends.
Leave it to Forbes to, in an era of are-we-or-aren't-we-in-a-recession?, record fuel prices all over the world and plummeting car sales in the U.S., post an article by Jacqueline Mitchell titled Ten Guilt-Free Luxury Cars. After all, Mitchell quotes Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute, as saying, "(People who drive luxury cars) don't want to be seen as avaricious, ostentatious and self-centered. Eighty-five percent of people worth $5 million or more are self-made [millionaires], and they are very frugal; that's how they got where they are. They are very empathetic to the effects of energy prices on everyday people."
So, what, exactly, constitutes a "guilt-free luxury car"? First, Forbes looked at vehicles priced $40,000 to $90,000 and used Kelly Blue Book to measure each vehicle's projected worth at the end of a three-year lease or purchase. A residual value of 50% to 55% for a three-year period is strong, and is the first step to being considered for this top-10 list. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mpg estimates were then used to further narrow down the list. It is no surprise that the Mercedes-Benz E 320 BlueTec diesel... [Read More]
The renowned consumer ratings firm J.D. Power and Associates has just released its 2008 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study. The study, now in its 13th year, measures owners’ delight with the design, content, layout and performance of their new vehicles. The 2008 APEAL Study is based on responses from more than 81,500 new-vehicle owners and lessees who were surveyed during the first 90 days of ownership, and complements the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study (IQS), which focuses on problems experienced by owners during the first 90 days of ownership. APEAL examines how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive, based on owner evaluations of 10 measures, encompassing more than 90 vehicle attributes.
The Lexus IS was named the highest-ranking Entry Luxury/Premium Vehicle in both the 2005 and 2006 J.D. Power APEAL Studies. The 2007 survey, however, saw the Lexus IS drop to second place behind the BMW 3-Series. For 2008, we are pleased to report that the Lexus IS has returned to its customary position atop the Entry Premium Vehicle category. The BMW... [Read More]
Hot off his victorious 4¼-hour drive at the previous Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen on Saturday 7 June, Grand-Am racing's very own Iron Man, Scott Pruett performed yet another feat of stamina and endurance: a racing double-header on Saturday 21 June at the 250-mile EMCO Gears Classic Rolex Series race at Mid-Ohio and, the following day, on Sunday 22 June at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, driving the #41 Dodge Target car in the latter race.
Friday's qualifying session saw the #01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing with Félix Sabatés Lexus/Riley racer, piloted by Scott Pruett's co-driver Memo Rojas placed in fourth position on the starting grid, while the fellow #3 Southard Motorsports Lexus/Riley co-driven by Shane Lewis and Bill Lester would start the race from 10th position. "I struggled with the tires coming in right away," said Rojas of the qualifying session. "It wasn't until the end of the stint (jumping from sixth to fourth) that the tires were working with me. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's race. We have a strong Lexus engine and we're in a good consistent starting position."
The site itself, by and large, gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from this author. It expands noticeably on the information contained in both our initial and follow-up stories on the F-Sport Accessory line. A Performance Comparison link, for instance, quantifies the improvements in handling on a 600-ft.,7-pylon Slalom course; a 200-ft. Skid Pad; and on a "legendary California" Road Course (presumably Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond) of an F-Sport-equipped IS 250 versus its stock counterpart. The numbers, however, need to be taken with a grain of salt, for Lexus seriously fudged and played with tire pressures in order to maximize the advantages of the F-Sport-equipped car. The stock car ran both the Slalom and... [Read More]
Cars and film, be it television series or theatrically-released movies, have always gone hand-in-hand throughout the history of both. Forget "far-out", one-off cars such as the 2054 Lexus prominently featured in the Steven Spielberg film Minority Report, the Audi in I, Robot or assorted Batmobiles in both big and small screen iterations of Batman, even everyday, stock cars have made a memorable impact on film. Who can forget the Dodge Charger and Ford Mustang from Bullitt? The Dodge Challenger from Vanishing Point? The red Ferrari 308 GTS in Magnum, P.I.? Or the 1959 Peugeot 403 Cabriolet that was every bit as rumpled as its owner's raincoat in the T.V. series Columbo?
In this age of information overload, there is an Internet Movie Cars Database with a listing of all the Lexus IS appearances in movies and TV series, complete with rankings ranging from one star (background vehicle) to two stars (minor action vehicle or used in only a short scene) to three stars (vehicle used by a character or in a car chase) to four stars (vehicle used a lot by a main character or for a long time) to a maximum of five stars (the vehicle is part of the movie). There are also... [Read More]
On Wednesday 11 June 2008, renowned automotive marketplace eBay Motors debuted its Certified Pre-Owned Showroom, which, as the name implies, is a listing of dealers' certified used-vehicle inventories, with said listings being posted at no cost to dealers. Initial participants in this venture are General Motors, Chrysler and Lexus, with the latter named the hub's exclusive sponsor.
A dedicated Lexus page on the site includes an informative Program Overview on the Lexus Certified Pre-Owned program. Just enter IS and your ZIP Code in the Find Your Car box on that page, and you'll have a full listing of the Certified Pre-Owned Lexus ISs in your immediate vicinity. Very convenient, we must say.
The majority of Grand Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype races have a duration of 250 miles (or 2 hours and 45 minutes), with a couple of them lasting an even briefer 200 miles or 2 hours. Strategically interspersed into the schedule, however, are three longer races, at the very beginning of the season (the Rolex 24 At Daytona), right around the middle (Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen) and the season-ender (the SunChaser 1000k). This past Saturday 7 June saw the middle Grand-Am endurance race unfold at New York state's storied Watkins Glen racetrack. Lexus reliability, combined with Scott Pruett's remarkable stamina and driving talents, have generally made these longer races a Lexus forte, last year's heartbreaking loss at the Utah finale notwithstanding. But which history would repeat itself at Watkins Glen for 2008?
The Friday practice sessions were a mixed bag for the Lexus/Riley racers. The #01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing with Félix Sabatés Lexus/Riley car wound up with the third-fastest time in the first Friday session and, with Scott Pruett at the helm, recorded the fastest time in the second Friday session (1:42.589; 119.311 mph). The #3 Southard Motorsports... [Read More]
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The my.IS community was stunned and saddened to hear about the unexpected death on Saturday 28 June of 23-year-old Michael Roberts (screen name DrpdIS300) and his girlfriend, Whitney Sara Lee. They were driving on I-24 East near Antioch, Tennessee (part of the metropolitan Nashville area) when, shortly after it started raining, the car veered off the road and drove into the woods, where it went into a creek and hit an embankment, then bursting into flames.
Leave it to Forbes to, in an era of are-we-or-aren't-we-in-a-recession?, record fuel prices all over the world and plummeting car sales in the U.S., post 
The renowned consumer ratings firm J.D. Power and Associates has just released its 2008 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study. The study, now in its 13th year, measures owners’ delight with the design, content, layout and performance of their new vehicles. The 2008 APEAL Study is based on responses from more than 81,500 new-vehicle owners and lessees who were surveyed during the first 90 days of ownership, and complements the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study (IQS), which focuses on problems experienced by owners during the first 90 days of ownership. APEAL examines how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive, based on owner evaluations of 10 measures, encompassing more than 90 vehicle attributes.
Hot off his victorious 4¼-hour drive at the previous 
With surprisingly little fanfare and without a mention in neither 
Cars and film, be it television series or theatrically-released movies, have always gone hand-in-hand throughout the history of both. Forget "far-out", one-off cars such as the 2054 Lexus prominently featured in the Steven Spielberg film Minority Report, the Audi in I, Robot or assorted Batmobiles in both big and small screen iterations of Batman, even everyday, stock cars have made a memorable impact on film. Who can forget the Dodge Charger and Ford Mustang from Bullitt? The Dodge Challenger from Vanishing Point? The red Ferrari 308 GTS in Magnum, P.I.? Or the 1959 Peugeot 403 Cabriolet that was every bit as rumpled as its owner's raincoat in the T.V. series Columbo?
On Wednesday 11 June 2008, renowned automotive marketplace eBay Motors debuted its Certified Pre-Owned Showroom, which, as the name implies, is a listing of dealers' certified used-vehicle inventories, with said listings being posted at no cost to dealers. Initial participants in this venture are General Motors, Chrysler and Lexus, with the latter named the hub's exclusive sponsor. 
The majority of Grand Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype races have a duration of 250 miles (or 2 hours and 45 minutes), with a couple of them lasting an even briefer 200 miles or 2 hours. Strategically interspersed into the schedule, however, are three longer races, at the very beginning of the season (the Rolex 24 At Daytona), right around the middle (Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen) and the season-ender (the SunChaser 1000k). This past Saturday 7 June saw the middle Grand-Am endurance race unfold at New York state's storied Watkins Glen racetrack. Lexus reliability, combined with Scott Pruett's remarkable stamina and driving talents, have generally made these longer races a Lexus forte, 
