Here is the other show piece of this event, the new GS430. It was a very nice car, but I did not enjoy driving it near as much as the new IS350. I like the handling and braking of the smaller car so much better. It also doesnt help the GS' case that I like the styling of the other car better as well. It is the first production lexus to make full use of the L-Finese styling theme.  

Here is the rest of the crew. at this point we had just gotten out of an IMPRESSIVE demo of the DVD and Audio options on the new GS. I was blown away, and I dont think I was the only one. If I had any theater system that sounded as good as the demo DVD did in that car I would be a happy man. I can certainly understand why people would spend all of that money on mobile entertainment for their car. 

Here is Joy and Lyndon. Joy gave up on the cold weather outside just after this photo, and headed inside where they had a great assortment of food, and free massage area. 

... But this is the reason we are here today. the New IS and GS are both available to drive. It is not yet in stores (or at least not today, but I expect really really soon). The IS350 was an absolute blast to drive, the course they set up for you seemed to be about 2 to 3 times longer than the ones set up at other events. and it was a really good mix of totally wide open stretches, and super hairpins that you reall had to get on the brakes for. The course made good use of the natural obstacles, but it did make for some interesting driving if you stopped to look at how fast you were going between the gaurd rails and other immoveable objects. The only thing that would have made this better would be if there was less loose debris on the track. (and of course if was timed and competitive.) they had different cars there from a handful of competitors, BMW, Mercedes.  

here is a selection of some of the food that was available. this is in STARK contrast to the food at the GM drive event (see pictures in the report archives) and in contrast to the food at chrysler which you had to PAY FOR. If i had a party that was catered as well as this I would be doing well. If the company I worked for had a party catered as well as this they would be doing better than average.  

Once you got inside of the very large temporary structure -- Much more substantial that a tent. the high qaulity touches continued. Plenty of food and drink stations, sofas and chairs. The lighting was very nice and inside you oblivious to the temperature and wind that was outside today.  

this is the entry to the "Taste of Lexus" event. The event got off to a great start, you were greeted at the door, and they had people circulating with some beautiful looking appetizers. It was more like you had walked in on a dinner party that you had come to a driving event. From there you filled out the paperwork and then were escorted to a smalled couch cluster to get the "initiation to the event" speech. Ouline the rules of the event and the location of various attractions. 

Here is Chris laying it into the first corner on his second run. I think we all agree that this is the best event this year. it was fun, you got to drive the cars HARD. Unlike previous years, you could get back in line if you wanted to go again. once you were done you got free stuff based on how well you drove, everyone got a tshirt, (which if it is good looking, which this was, the event will get way more exposure and word of mouth, Chrysler could have really learned from that) The only event that appears to have ever been more fun was the Toyota event in Dallas last year. And on top of that several of the people in the group have been unable to stop thinking, "How do I get a car that fun?" 

Here is Eric on his second run. This one ended kinda badly from a technical driving point of view. He ended up putting the car into a 180 spin as he crossed the finish line (allegedly, which is why it was good that he had a witness in the passenger seat, since the rest of us were either still driving, our had not gotten out of our cars yet) the one that earned him a new middle name "I do that on Gran Turismo" 

Here I am with Jason riding shotgun. this was my second and best run. these pictures were all taken by a automatic camera tied to the timing light. Daniel was the fastest of our group, and it is interesting to see how much further to the right he is in all of the pictures, only a tenth of a second or two into the course. 

Here is Daniel attacking the first corner of the performance drive test at ZoomZoomLive by mazda. this is of course the new miata, the passenger is his friend jonathan. by teaming up, you got through the line faster. plus you had a witness if you needed one. but more on that later. 

Here is the travelling chrysler heritage exhibit. it had a few old show cars from past detroit auto shows and the like. This 300 2+2 appeared to be from a HIN type of show. 

Here is some of the previously mentioned tire smoke. I think here you can see why the rear left had the problems. 

This was the timed minivan unload. kinda fun, but no prizes. and you had to put all of the stuff back in the van. 

Here Eric "I do that on Gran Turismo" gets ready for a virtual Tee shot. this was very defective, did not work more than 50% of the swings. 

this did not come out, but the rear left tire "came apart" during the pass right before this. the car that came into the rider change area IMMEDIATELY before on the SRT-8 had the EXACT same failure. so now you know, drive these cars really hard, sliding sideways, billowing smoke, you can do that for about 2 hours. 

Here is the last redeeming thing from this event. the SRT-8. again very fast pass. lots of tire smoke. but with a chaperone in the fun seat. 

Here is redeeming thing number 2. Free cigars. Rolled on site (at least the wrapper). so pay for food, cigars for free. doesn't make sense to me either. 

here is one of the 3 three redeeming things about this event. the new SRT-6. This was a high speed pass in this car. of course with a chaperone, but this time in the drivers seat :(. 

here I am in the crossfire on the city course. there was no unchaperoned driving here. Matt (hope I got that right) I told you I would put this on my blog. 

that's right.. you wanna eat.. you gotta pay! and I thought the GM food was lame. peanuts...$3.00! 

here is the entry to the chrysler event. pretty nice.