I have been wanting to write an article on a certain television spot for the Lexus LS600h for quite some time. I originally saw the commercial during March Madness, but have been unable to find it on youtube, or any other site for that matter. Luckily, I have been in contact with the agency that created the spot, and hope to get a link to it soon. I will keep you posted.
In regards to the actual vehicle, a full test just came from Edmunds.com. (Check it out here) I would be lieing if I said I wasn't dissapointed, but I will withold my review until I have read some other automotive publications and driven the vehicle myself.Because this is such a niche vehicle, road tests will have little to no hand in sales. The vehicle is for a very specific group of consumers. It's not being bought by people that will care the LS460 is as fast, with better highway gas mileage. It's all about making a statement. Unfortuantely the biggest statements aren't always made with logic.
I still applaud Lexus for their work with hybrid technology. The GS450h for example, is great. It is faster than it non-hybrid V8 counterpart, but actually receives better gas mileage for both Highway and City driving. It makes a little more sense than the LS600h model. With the GS450h we have a v6 paired with an electric motor thus providing better performance and gas mileage than the same vehicle equipped with a larger engine. The LS600h however, is a v8 just like the LS460. The weight of the hybrid system seems to counteract the benefit of the hybrid system in this case, and since no economy is gained from the use of smaller engine, there aren't any real gains. A LS450h would be more logical, but would not hit the market Lexus wanted to hit with this LS600h.
I suppose in a world of lesser evils, a sign of opulence that's a hybrid might be better than a pure sign of opulence. It might steer a few people away from V12 models (BMW, Lexus, Audi) that get gas mileage in the low teens and put out worse emissions.
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