Rockville

The first question someone comes up with when we discuss Hybrids is "Do you have to plug it in?" Of course Hybrids never need recharging because they charge themselves. The next wave of Electric vehicles will be Hydrogen fuel cells. Hydrogen fuel cells produce electricity, there is no combustion at all. That was what I was referring to. I am not politically aligned at all. I'm just stating the fact that there's about 50-60 years left of petroleum and then it's going to require everyone to adapt to a new circumstance. I won't be alive when the ---- hits the fan and even my children will be quite old. It is undeniable about the global warming being caused by human effluvia so I don't know why you haven't heard about it since you have a computer and you're hooked up to the internet. Try a Google search and you'll find the weighty evidence that was recently published. The Chloroflourocarbons were banned for their Pac Man like eating away of the ozone layer. You are an anachronism already my fellow CL member. I love V8's too because I grew up during the muscle car era but Times they are a changin'.....

LexFather

ALl I know is gas is $2 a gallon here in Atlanta and gas mileage is actually going to be a purchase factor for a change and I can't be happier that Lexus either has some of the best economy gas only, and will be offering hybrids.

Skulinex

there will be an american GS350 but we dont get it NOW because...

-A GS350 with 280 hp <and awd, mind you> would make the GS430 with 300hp non sense saleswise

-USUALLY, not til the the LS430 gets a bigger or better v8<see next>, will the GS430 get one

-Lexus Japan launch is in August, <with the new LS following soon after > yes they announced a v6 3.5 and a v8 4.3 but they haven't said yet IF the 4.3 will be double VVT-i or not....

now they have done it before, the completly redesigned body style ES300 came out in march or so 2002 with still the same 3.0 v6 as its previous model , by July or so of 2003, the ES330 was announced... my 2 cnts

jroosh

Gas here is Mpls today is at $2.259 for premium. All I can say is that I am impressed that my 300HP GS430 gets EXACTLY the same mileage as my 215HP IS300 used to get.

Probably a combination of the IS being a bit of a gas guzzler (or maybe just the way I drove it) and the GS being pretty efficient for such a big engine in a fairly big car.

flipside909

You aren't too far off. The IS is a performance "G" head engine from Toyota. It has higher flow injectors than their "F" head counterparts. The "G" head Toyota engines usually are put in the performance oriented vehicles...hence "G" head (true DOHC) design were only found on certain inline 4 and inline 6 models only (i.e 4A-GE, 3S-GE/GTE, 2ZZ-GE, 5M-GE, 7M-GE/GTE and etc.)

I'm jealous the 3GR-FSE V6 in the new GS gets way better mileage than my 2JZ-GE IS300, but then again, that's advancement in technology for you! At $2.59/gal for Premium here in SoCal, it hurts the wallet greatly.

Rockville

I had a young man looking at the IS300 yesterday and he really liked the way it drove. He said that he has convinced his Mother to buy one for his Birthday. Nice present I'll say. The first thing he wanted to do is modify the engine for higher output. I told him to check out my friend Mohammed Choudhury at Swift Racing. They have factory approval for their designs. Power adders are popular to bolt on and get improved acceleration. Lexus developed VVT-i as an alternative to Turbos and Superchargers. Now we have dual intake/exhaust VVT-i and direct injection running very lean so we get more power and better fuel economy. Next we will get a Hybrid/V6 combination. Then we should see a new generation V8 and you could make a case for a V8 hybrid at some point. Lexus is not bound by any traditions of the past so forget about previous trends because they no longer apply. Lexus wants the GS to have market penetration and performance. It could easily get the performance technology first. The LS430 is selling very well and leads its segment already. I brought up the Gasoline price factor because there is some folks who don't see the value of Hybrids due to their increased cost. Do they have some guarantee what the price of Petrol/Gasoline will be in the next five years? NO. It will be inevitably higher but who knows how much? If you are an enthusiast and enjoy performance then a hybrid will be a perfect solution. If you have deep pockets then wait for the next generation V8 to arrive as it will be more fuel efficient too. Did you know that they used to make Cadillac V16's? Hybrids are the ultimate power adder right now.

flipside909

Hmm i dunno about that. The experiences a few people I know out here that have had to fix/replace certain turbo and supercharger kits almost on a regular basis. Sure they are known, but some of their attitude and customer service practices from what i've seen aren't that great especially in the way they expressed themselves in another message board. Needless to say that person I know with that kit gave up on them. but that's for another topic.

I'd have to disagree, factory approval? I dunno about that, because if they were factory approved, they would be warranted with the factory powertrain warranty.

Rockville

We haven't had any complaints locally. I was generally discussing power adders not advocating a supplier. I should have said that Lexus provided information to Swift for his design and that they had a relationship. You are absolutely right about the fact that warranties are voided when modifying your Lexus. That is why I like the Hybrid idea so much as it is under all factory design and the battery is 8 year 100K.

jroosh

Adjusted for inflation, gas prices are still cheaper than they were in 1980. Adjusted for inflation, gas in 1981 was $2.94. While I agree that no one can predict gas prices, I think it's fair to say that they will continue to grow at a rate at or below inflation while wages will continue to grow at or above inflation.

My GS, driven more city than highway and driven fairly aggressively gets 17-19 MPG. Show me a 300HP V8 engine from 1980 - I know...no such thing so show me any V8 - that got that kind of MPG, and as emissions-friendly I might add.

Sometimes technology is developed for technology's sake. Which is fine - our economic system will reward or penalize each new development based on demand by consumers.

You'd probably have to drive 100K miles per year to justify the premium paid for a hybrid but then the car would wear out before you'd break even.

For most consumers, considering the small percentage gasoline plays into their budget, they'd have to triple or quadruple the MPG to make a significant impact on their monthly budget.

Having said all that, the novelty of the Hybrid that is pretty cool is the increase in MPG and acceleration. That's pretty amazing. If they did the same thing with a V8 as you suggested, then I might be interested.

Rockville

So Americans still get a good value at the pump. Hybrids clean the air as your GS430 did much better than the GS400 did in that respect. Did you see that the Glaciers in the world are disappearing at an alarming rate due to Carbon Dioxide released by us? The meltoff is accelerating faster than your V8! I have a puny 3.9 V8 in my daily driver and it's not fuel efficient like yours is jroosh. The next generation of Lexus V8's will use the new advances in power and fuel efficiency to their advantage. Hybrids just don't raise the sea levels like my old V8 does. SULEV is the way to go.

jroosh

You apparently believe that human activity is causing what the press and the liberals have coined as global warming. There are as many experts that believe that recent, slight, and gradual rises in temperture - a half degree in that last century (yikes!) - are part of eons of cycles of warming and cooling that were occuring well before we arrived. I happen to be one of them.

However, neither theory has been proven to date.

Rockville

and in the last decade they have melted away. We have satellites and photos to compare for the last few decades and there is something going on there jroosh and it has nothing to do with politics. Got any explanation or graphs explaining why the Ross Ice shelf just disintegrated like it did in Antarctica? If you are a Republican or a Conservative doesn't have any bearing. I'll bet you don't live next to a petroleum refinery there in Minnesota. The people in Louisiana have Asthma and Cancer rates that are five times normal that live in Cancer alley. The rainforest in Brazil used to absorb a lot of the CO2 in the atmospere but since it is being deforested at a rapid pace that it too will be compromised but keep believing everything is OK if you want to since it's a free country.....If Lincoln were alive today I'm sure he'd want to do something, same goes for Teddy Roosevelt. Enough of my ranting....

Alex K

This isn't meant as an insult, but US buyers historically haven't had to be too concerned about emissions. Here in the UK, where drivers are taxed based on the CO2 emissions of their cars, we have to think a little deeper about the issue, regardless of whether you believe vehicular emissions are contributing to the various climatic patterns that are unfolding.

The RX400h produces 194g of CO2 per km. The petrol (sorry, gas) powered RX300 produces 288g/km. The hybrid driver will be taxed on 25% of the vehicle's list price, whereas the driver of the petrol RX will be taxed on the full 35%. That's quite a sizable difference.

It's not entirely inconceivable that other countries may begin to adopt a similar method of taxation. Then suddenly hybrid vehicles look a lot more useful.