my review of taste of luxury event...
11-07-05, 10:52 AM
#16
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Originally Posted by rominl
oh yeah, and one final thing at the event that i want to mention.
so i was the first in line (finally) for the e500. now usually when a car go, you hear some tires chirping, but somehow i didn't hear anything. then i saw this gs300 slowly roll off... and i mean it, ROLL... i will give it 20mph at most..... SLOW
my wife looked in that direction too. and basically i was like "holy cow... what's wrong with that driver, he/she is an idiot? does he/she know how to drive, wtf is he/she doing man, that's not even 20mph on straight....." well, soon after everyone under that tent was dead silently and everyone was laughing and cursing at the driver.....
trust me, that car probably took over 3 mins to finish the course.... the keeper didnt' even let the second car go until the SLOW car get past mid point.... well, a mistake. the second car caught up. wait, sorry, even the 3rd car caught up.... oh no, even the 4th car managed to catch up with the pack before the SLOW car got back......
and the driver held up the WHOLE pack of cars for the whole course, we are talking about 2 e500, 2 530i, 4 gs430 and 3 gs300. 11 cars just for her, what a scene.
with me cursing like hell already, the SLOW car stopped right in front of me.... this girl slowly opened her door and a guy stepped out of the passenger side... a volunteer walked up to her and said something, well go figure what it could be.....
i started to clapped my hands, followed by my wife.... well afterall, we are happy finally it's over.... suddenly the guy turned to me and started going "what the fxxk is your problem, she's driving slow so what? cant' she? what do you want? what the fxxk is your problem?"
i thoguht about asking him why he knew me clapping hands was for them unless he's "used to" that, but i figured i was better. he continued to curse more, and i started walking up to my e500. everyone was dead silent already looking at us, and i just slowly turned my head and said "i have no problem, YOU are the problem" and continued my way....
amazing isn't it? he actually dared to challenge me what the problem was? well i guess if he figured the problem, he wouldn't have let her drive in the beginning? or better that, he should have told her that it was in fact a driving course, not a parking course -- no wonder why she couldn't find the parking....
pathetic... especially when you got so many people cursing you....
so i was the first in line (finally) for the e500. now usually when a car go, you hear some tires chirping, but somehow i didn't hear anything. then i saw this gs300 slowly roll off... and i mean it, ROLL... i will give it 20mph at most..... SLOW
my wife looked in that direction too. and basically i was like "holy cow... what's wrong with that driver, he/she is an idiot? does he/she know how to drive, wtf is he/she doing man, that's not even 20mph on straight....." well, soon after everyone under that tent was dead silently and everyone was laughing and cursing at the driver.....
trust me, that car probably took over 3 mins to finish the course.... the keeper didnt' even let the second car go until the SLOW car get past mid point.... well, a mistake. the second car caught up. wait, sorry, even the 3rd car caught up.... oh no, even the 4th car managed to catch up with the pack before the SLOW car got back......
and the driver held up the WHOLE pack of cars for the whole course, we are talking about 2 e500, 2 530i, 4 gs430 and 3 gs300. 11 cars just for her, what a scene.
with me cursing like hell already, the SLOW car stopped right in front of me.... this girl slowly opened her door and a guy stepped out of the passenger side... a volunteer walked up to her and said something, well go figure what it could be.....
i started to clapped my hands, followed by my wife.... well afterall, we are happy finally it's over.... suddenly the guy turned to me and started going "what the fxxk is your problem, she's driving slow so what? cant' she? what do you want? what the fxxk is your problem?"
i thoguht about asking him why he knew me clapping hands was for them unless he's "used to" that, but i figured i was better. he continued to curse more, and i started walking up to my e500. everyone was dead silent already looking at us, and i just slowly turned my head and said "i have no problem, YOU are the problem" and continued my way....
amazing isn't it? he actually dared to challenge me what the problem was? well i guess if he figured the problem, he wouldn't have let her drive in the beginning? or better that, he should have told her that it was in fact a driving course, not a parking course -- no wonder why she couldn't find the parking....
pathetic... especially when you got so many people cursing you....
Last edited by AsianGirl007; 11-07-05 at 12:58 PM.
11-07-05, 12:24 PM
#17
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Sounds like the SF event was much more crowded then LA's. Even at noon yesterday, the line for the SC430 was about 6-10 people. There was no wait for the RX330, 400H, LX, GX, ES, about 6-10 people for the LS. AThe GS300 had only 4 people the two times I went through there. Clearly the longest wait was the IS350 and GS430.
In the LA event they did announce repeatedly to not bother adjusting the rearview mirrors. I didn't see anyone with car seats but I did see a lot of childern around, but not riding in the cars. As for disqualification when hitting cones, they stated only if you took out the outer tall cones, which makes some sense since you had to be pretty incompetent to take out the tall cones set pretty far back on the curves.
It does sound like the event staff in SF were a little more obtrusive. On the 9 runs in various makes that I took. not once did the starter bother to even lean into the car. Always just a quick chat then a "Go ahead".
An I absoultely agree but how frustrating it is when there is a slow driver on the course. I was frustrated when I caught up to the BMW 330i in front of me while in the IS250.
In the LA event they did announce repeatedly to not bother adjusting the rearview mirrors. I didn't see anyone with car seats but I did see a lot of childern around, but not riding in the cars. As for disqualification when hitting cones, they stated only if you took out the outer tall cones, which makes some sense since you had to be pretty incompetent to take out the tall cones set pretty far back on the curves.
It does sound like the event staff in SF were a little more obtrusive. On the 9 runs in various makes that I took. not once did the starter bother to even lean into the car. Always just a quick chat then a "Go ahead".
An I absoultely agree but how frustrating it is when there is a slow driver on the course. I was frustrated when I caught up to the BMW 330i in front of me while in the IS250.
11-07-05, 01:13 PM
#18
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Dang, I guess I went on wrong day then. Saturday was packed at noon. We spotted not one, but 2 car seat families and both of them were in front of us in line! lol
11-07-05, 01:34 PM
#19
Originally Posted by RX300-BV
Sounds like the SF event was much more crowded then LA's. Even at noon yesterday, the line for the SC430 was about 6-10 people. There was no wait for the RX330, 400H, LX, GX, ES, about 6-10 people for the LS. AThe GS300 had only 4 people the two times I went through there. Clearly the longest wait was the IS350 and GS430.
In the LA event they did announce repeatedly to not bother adjusting the rearview mirrors. I didn't see anyone with car seats but I did see a lot of childern around, but not riding in the cars. As for disqualification when hitting cones, they stated only if you took out the outer tall cones, which makes some sense since you had to be pretty incompetent to take out the tall cones set pretty far back on the curves.
It does sound like the event staff in SF were a little more obtrusive. On the 9 runs in various makes that I took. not once did the starter bother to even lean into the car. Always just a quick chat then a "Go ahead".
An I absoultely agree but how frustrating it is when there is a slow driver on the course. I was frustrated when I caught up to the BMW 330i in front of me while in the IS250.
In the LA event they did announce repeatedly to not bother adjusting the rearview mirrors. I didn't see anyone with car seats but I did see a lot of childern around, but not riding in the cars. As for disqualification when hitting cones, they stated only if you took out the outer tall cones, which makes some sense since you had to be pretty incompetent to take out the tall cones set pretty far back on the curves.
It does sound like the event staff in SF were a little more obtrusive. On the 9 runs in various makes that I took. not once did the starter bother to even lean into the car. Always just a quick chat then a "Go ahead".
An I absoultely agree but how frustrating it is when there is a slow driver on the course. I was frustrated when I caught up to the BMW 330i in front of me while in the IS250.
damn i should have went on sunday maybe
11-07-05, 02:15 PM
#20
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Yeah I went on Sunday. I arrived at about 9:15 am and left about 12:30. The two course with the RX 400h, and the full Lexus model line was absolutely dead. The RX330 was pretty much untouched. They had two ES's one which they just parked and the other sat around with them asking if anyone wanted a drive. I was surprised hardly anyone was inline for the 400h. When I took it out they had 4 just coming back in and no one was in line but me.
The IS 350 did have some ridiculous wait though. Knowing it was only going to get longer, I took that car out first. The BMW 330i didn't have that long of a line but with only 2 cars, it moved much slower. I was surpirsed though that they had 3 IS 250 AWD and only 1 250 RWD. Oddly, all 3 of my IS 250 runs were in the RWD. I asked for it specifically the first time and just happened to get the same car again and again.
The IS 350 did have some ridiculous wait though. Knowing it was only going to get longer, I took that car out first. The BMW 330i didn't have that long of a line but with only 2 cars, it moved much slower. I was surpirsed though that they had 3 IS 250 AWD and only 1 250 RWD. Oddly, all 3 of my IS 250 runs were in the RWD. I asked for it specifically the first time and just happened to get the same car again and again.
11-07-05, 02:31 PM
#21
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Originally Posted by rominl
and just like is250, what the hell is wrong with the brakes... i noticed that the is350 got similar brake setup as the new gs430, but the braking is still bad.... mushy feeling, and it just didn't stop fast enough. ok, i have to admit, i have bbk on both my gs400 and sc430, but imho that's how i can know what's good and what's bad. and imho i just couldn't find as much confidence in the brakes on the is350
11-07-05, 03:36 PM
#22
Originally Posted by rominl
ah man, i am sure you went on sunday then? asiangirl went no sat and her experience wasn't too far off from mine...
damn i should have went on sunday maybe
damn i should have went on sunday maybe
By the time i got there at 11:00am or so, the line were extremely long. The 330i wait was the longest. Also people were losing control left and right resulting in course being shut down frequently making the line even longer.
For 2.5 hours we were only able to get make one pass on the 330i and IS350 and just too much hassle to wait.
11-07-05, 04:10 PM
#23
Originally Posted by chiawei
If you went on sunday at alameda you will probably been waiting a long time.
By the time i got there at 11:00am or so, the line were extremely long. The 330i wait was the longest. Also people were losing control left and right resulting in course being shut down frequently making the line even longer.
For 2.5 hours we were only able to get make one pass on the 330i and IS350 and just too much hassle to wait.
By the time i got there at 11:00am or so, the line were extremely long. The 330i wait was the longest. Also people were losing control left and right resulting in course being shut down frequently making the line even longer.
For 2.5 hours we were only able to get make one pass on the 330i and IS350 and just too much hassle to wait.
about the brakes, i don't know, it's just funny coz' i didn't hear any noise (indicating the pads were going) or vibration (indicating warpped rotors), but the car just didn't stop. maybe my foot isn't heavy enough
11-07-05, 08:12 PM
#26
Lexus Connoisseur
Originally Posted by chiawei
The 330i wait was the longest. Also people were losing control left and right resulting in course being shut down frequently making the line even longer.
11-07-05, 09:34 PM
#27
Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
Great write up. I break it up too, when its hella long like that, makes the reading easier.
Yeah, the event got mixed reviews. Too many damn people.
Yeah, the event got mixed reviews. Too many damn people.
i guess i prbably pissed off couple of people this time...
11-08-05, 11:45 AM
#28
Lexus Fanatic
Great write-up, rominl!!
I went there on Sunday, and I agree with just about everything you said. There were just too few cars to drive and the waiting of 20-30 minutes in every line was just borderline unbearable.
The event had me walk away deeply impressed by the 330i. The car, like everyone else said, once on the road became an extension of my arms and responded precisely and neutrally to my every request flawlessly. The feel of total control was just incredible.
Full confidence wherever I point it to. 
The interior on the other hand was just horrible, however. Everything inside looked dull and uninspiring, although it's good that once on the course I didn't have time to look at it anymore. In fact, I can totally understand why C&D named it the winner even after its several failings during the test. The driving experiene it offers simply makes you forget everything else. 
And perhaps I shouldn't have driven the 330i first, because everything I drove afterwards paled in comparison in terms of driving dynamics. The IS350 clearly out-accelerates the 330i for sure, but it simply did not involve me as much, didn't feel planted to the ground as much, and was just a tiny little bit slower to respond to my steering input. Close, but the difference was there. Of course, the interior had the 330i totally beat. The backseats were cramped probably because I like to sit farther back, but I loved everything else about the interior. Like rominl, personally I'd still choose the IS350 over the 330i just because the IS350 is still overall a better package for me. But for those who puts driving pleasure above all else, it's easy to see why they would go with the 330i.
I went there on Sunday, and I agree with just about everything you said. There were just too few cars to drive and the waiting of 20-30 minutes in every line was just borderline unbearable.
The event had me walk away deeply impressed by the 330i. The car, like everyone else said, once on the road became an extension of my arms and responded precisely and neutrally to my every request flawlessly. The feel of total control was just incredible.
Full confidence wherever I point it to. The interior on the other hand was just horrible, however. Everything inside looked dull and uninspiring, although it's good that once on the course I didn't have time to look at it anymore. In fact, I can totally understand why C&D named it the winner even after its several failings during the test. The driving experiene it offers simply makes you forget everything else. And perhaps I shouldn't have driven the 330i first, because everything I drove afterwards paled in comparison in terms of driving dynamics. The IS350 clearly out-accelerates the 330i for sure, but it simply did not involve me as much, didn't feel planted to the ground as much, and was just a tiny little bit slower to respond to my steering input. Close, but the difference was there. Of course, the interior had the 330i totally beat. The backseats were cramped probably because I like to sit farther back, but I loved everything else about the interior. Like rominl, personally I'd still choose the IS350 over the 330i just because the IS350 is still overall a better package for me. But for those who puts driving pleasure above all else, it's easy to see why they would go with the 330i.
11-08-05, 01:40 PM
#29
thanks man.
and yeah i forgot to talk about the rear seats on the is350. finally i was able to test it out myself. simply, it's nothing better than what i had with my old is300. as soon as i adjusted the driver seats to my likings, i went to the back seat and damn i couldn't even get in the car easy. it's not even small, it's TINY.... even my wife at 5' didn't feel all that comfortable in the back.
and funny that the guy after me, he's probably around 6 foot. he sat in the front and adjusted the seat. later he got in the back and he looked all confused coz' he couldn't even fit his feet in...
and yeah i forgot to talk about the rear seats on the is350. finally i was able to test it out myself. simply, it's nothing better than what i had with my old is300. as soon as i adjusted the driver seats to my likings, i went to the back seat and damn i couldn't even get in the car easy. it's not even small, it's TINY.... even my wife at 5' didn't feel all that comfortable in the back.
and funny that the guy after me, he's probably around 6 foot. he sat in the front and adjusted the seat. later he got in the back and he looked all confused coz' he couldn't even fit his feet in...
11-08-05, 02:48 PM
#30
Originally Posted by rominl
losing control left and right?! how come, coz' it was a bit wet yesterday? i really didn't see much bad out of control on sat, just couple of cones and warning here and there. but maybe it's just norcal having too many people huh?
about the brakes, i don't know, it's just funny coz' i didn't hear any noise (indicating the pads were going) or vibration (indicating warpped rotors), but the car just didn't stop. maybe my foot isn't heavy enough
about the brakes, i don't know, it's just funny coz' i didn't hear any noise (indicating the pads were going) or vibration (indicating warpped rotors), but the car just didn't stop. maybe my foot isn't heavy enough