IN ONE OF THE proudest moments of my career, I acquired a Lexus LS400 with 897,000 miles on the odometer. I spent four years getting it the rest of the way to a seven-digit reading and sent a note to Lexus the day the car passed the million-mile mark. The company's response was, in essence, "Well, yeah, it was built to do that."
The LS400 is the best consumer-grade vehicle ever made. Other vehicles throughout history are more opulent, more beautiful, faster. But few cars changed the game like the LS400 did, leaving competitors scratching their heads for a decade. Toyota created a new luxury-brand flagship in a way that was simple but not easy, with an enthusiastic CEO, an open checkbook, an indefinite timeline, and a strong project leader who set a series of seemingly impossible goals-and then did whatever it took to achieve them.
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MR. CALIFORNIA
MEET THE MAN WHO PUT THE STATE ON THE MAP AS THE LEADER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST VEHICLE EMISSIONS.
RESIDENT ALIEN
THE CZINGER 21C LOOKS LIKE IT ARRIVED FROM A DISTANT PLANET. INSTEAD, IT COMES FROM CALIFORNIA, WHICH IS KIND OF THE SAME THING.
FUNNY FACE
THE CURIOUS CASE OF CALIFORNIA-DIAL WATCHES.
THE PROBLEM WITH ROBERT WILLIAMS
TOWARD THE END of our third interview, Robert Williams gives me some advice about overcoming creative blocks. “Phrase it as a problem,” he says. “
Quiet Riot
In the Ioniq 5 N, Hyundai makes the case that an EV can tamp down racetrack noise without sacrificing capability.
The Sound and the Fury
A legal feud over booming decibels put California's most historic roadracing circuit in jeopardy.
HOLLYWOOD'S GREATEST STUNT DRIVER
CAREY LOFTIN WAS THE KING OF THE SCIENTIFIC WILD-ASS GUESS
OFFLINE
THIS BURBANK BOOKSTORE IS A REPOSITORY FOR THE WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE INFORMATION NOT ON YOUR PHONE.
THE COURSE OF HISTORY
The West Coast tracks where modern racing was born.
TANK WARFARE
WHAT IF THE WHOLE CAR WERE A GAS TANK?
