2006 Lexus IS 350 Preview
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Have a drink…or 3
by Brian Chee
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At some point, the European luxury sedan makers will care. Really. And that time may well be coming soon. Lexus has been playing against some pretty big dogs when it comes to luxury sedans, namely the BMW 3-Series, which always seems to get just a little bit better than the competition with every update and redesign. Next to the 3-Series the rest of the pack have generally been categorized as cute little cars that offered no real threat to BMW sedan dominance. Not so anymore. With the introduction of an exciting new IS from Lexus at the 2005 New York International Auto Show, officials deep inside the North American offices of some of these very same prim luxury automakers are surely hitting the Whiskey and thinking deep, mean thoughts. Here, where the Eagle Flies, a new Lexus IS sport sedan means more competition from the Relentless One. Whiskey is a good drink when that happens, especially given the sobering fact that we buyers in America will likely respond in droves to the IS, with its invigorating new design, new powertrains and the kind of technology that would make a Radio Shack clerk squeal.
The 2006 Lexus IS is all-new, with new sheet metal and a new powertrain. Designed in the south of France, the build follows in the footsteps of the recently introduced GS, and is based on the LF-A design concept introduced earlier at the 2005 North American International Auto Show. The IS is built on a new platform, and Lexus officials claim that the new IS shares no parts with the outgoing model.
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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