looknow12

That's resale for you. New they're 95k loaded aren't they.

It's been pointed out clearly here, but I'll say it again, the GS is a different vehicle. If you want a hotrod with 400+hp you need to look elsewhere.

I like the HP for the pass on the highway. That's my thing. My new GS430 will beat 99.9% of all vehicles I encounter and that's good enough for me. Anything more, and I'm sure to get a speeding ticket. :-)

Rockville

Horsepower and Torque and no regard for gas consumption. Hell, the US put a man on the moon and created the computer chip at Intel. There weren't any Japanese cars to speak of, only Datsun pickup trucks. Everybody was surfing, then the skateboard and of course bluejeans came in straight and bell bottom. We used to go hang out at Hot Shoppes drive-in for some Milk Shakes and a Burger. A skinny guy named Leon would show up in his Goat and make sucker bets that he could pull a wheelie in the parking lot. He would then demonstrate his technique and lift 'em off the ground to everyone's delight. Those were the days of drag racing title for title. Drag racing for beer and Sunoco 260 money. You were always working on your car to get any performance edge. Pushrod V8's and Ford vs. Chevy vs. Mopar.

Now we have come full circle. The Lexus is a Luxury car and purchased by many of the same people that used to hang out at Hot Shoppes. Today they are mature successful businessmen or professionals. Not to mention their spouses like a nice car to drive. Their kids are in college or about to go to college. The Horsepower wars are for a narrow segment really. Now I'm glad someone's keeping the flame alive but we live in a different world now... The GS450h will have plenty of performance and is the third variant of the 3rd Gen. GS. There will be more. I've seen more and more BMW and Mercedes owners coming to look at Lexus now then in the last 7 years. They are tired of engine flameouts at highway speed, heater fan fires, warnings not to drive their 6 Series until a new module can be installed.... Talk about disappointed. All of the performance hype is meaningless when your sitting there waiting for the hook or a part to arrive by air express. The new GS is so much more sophisticated then the 2nd Gen and may not need the mods as much as the 2nd Gen either. I'm sure the aftermarket will think of something, they always do.....If you want a menopause car then a Porsche would do nicely...

BacknBlkGS

I agree with Lex2. There is no real aftermarket support for the GS/SCcars. These are supposedly the "sport" line of the make and where are the great things that other manufacturers have for their models (Nissans, Hondas, etc.)? There are nowhere to be found.

Let's face it, we are on our own guys. I don't believe we can look to TRD for any type of true support, the most astoninshing offerings they have provided for the private customer (excl. racing division), is a roots-style (eaton) supercharger for V6 and 4 cylinder applications, basically the standard supercharger that is 20 years old if not older. Everything else from TRD is accessory fluff like strut braces, grills and stickers. Given its history with respect to offerings for the private customer, I don't believe TRD will every be the likes of Shelby, Steeda, Rousch for Ford or a Lingenfelter for GM.

So in the end its left to individuals and privateers/independents to come up with the performance life blood for our cars.

These are sad times for us performance nuts with respect to Lexus

We may have to look to other manufactuers for our adrenaline fix (A LA Pontiac GTO and Chrysler 300C SRT).

Theo

dseag2

I have one question...
Where do you guys live that the streets are so uncrowded you can use 400+hp and sub-5 sec. 0-60 times to fly through the streets at warp speed? I can't even use the power I have now because the streets are so crowded and there are so many morons poking along I can barely get up to 35mph. I don't know of that many North American cities in which traffic hasn't become a problem. Yes, the Germans have the E55 and the M5, but they also have the Autobahns. What's this fixation with "we need more horsepower" when the streets are so crowded you can't even use it anymore?

XeroK00L

There're always highways at midnight and there's always Valentine One.

Just kidding.