Before launching this site in June 2007, I made up a list of rules that I wanted to follow, and the very first thing I wrote down was “Leave the site design alone for six months.” As a professional web designer, I have a tendency to tweak sites obsessively, but in this case I wanted to focus strictly on content, make sure I could keep the site going, really just get used to having a daily updated site. (I did break the rule once, when I switched the color scheme from blue to grey, but that was fairly minor.)

But now, a little more than seven months since the first post, the site is read by 1,900 people every day, and it’s time to take it to the next level. To that end, I’m currently developing the next version of The Passionate Pursuit, something much deeper and ambitious than what exists right now.

Rest assured, the change won’t be drastic by any means, and daily Lexus news will continue to be the primary focus. Rather, the new version will be a natural progression, with an emphasis on building up a significant Lexus information database (like the Lexus Body Kit series, but much, much bigger). There’s other improvements as well, but I don’t want to give away the whole surprise.

The new version is still about two weeks from completion, but I thought it might explain why I’ve only been covering the major news lately.

No matter how unsubtle my hints were, I have some real doubts that I’ll be getting an Lexus LS 600hL for Christmas, December to Remember or no. Hopefully, some of you out there have better luck!

(Posting will resume on Boxing Day December 27th. Santa left me the flu for Christmas.)

It’s been a long time coming, but tomorrow begins my search for a suitable car for my girlfriend, Karissa. Having driven a 1993 Toyota 4runner for the last five years, she’s looking for an upgrade in comfort, gas mileage and safety. Of course, it’s going to be a Lexus.

Now, there was talk of buying another brand, perhaps an Acura or a BMW, but nothing all that serious. It’s certainly no secret which car company I was pushing. In the end, it was a process of elimination:

• No large sedans
• No V8s
• Nothing new/nearly-new (which she refuses to buy due to depreciation)

This left us with the RX, the IS, and the ES. In our test drives at the local dealer, the RX was too big and the IS too small, leaving us with a single choice. Only problem, Karissa doesn’t like the ES 330 and its super-Camry look, meaning we’re going a few years back, to the 1997-2001 ES 300.

I’ve arranged for us to test-drive eight ES 300s tomorrow, all in Toronto. Armed with days of research, a list of common problems and an eye for blue smoke from the exhausts, I’m looking forward to it.

It all started with the LS400.

I remember the first time I noticed one, admittedly mistaking it for a Mercedes, only to see that silver L and think I’d seen something rare, like a Ferrari or a Lamborgini.

Of course, that wasn’t the case, but the truth impressed me even more, a Japanese Luxury brand, created by Toyota. I was and remain enamored with Japanese culture, and to me it seemed like the perfect vehicle. I knew what my first car purchase was going to be.

Fast forward nine years, finally in the position to buy a car, and there was only one choice — My girlfriend and I bought a 1994 LS400 and my obsession was solidified:

Of course, buying the car was just the beginning. I started spending more and more time on the Lexus forums researching and reading up on every conceivable topic, following every single shred of news. It wasn’t too long before my car and Lexus became an obsession.

This website is a result of that obsession. Welcome to The Passionate Pursuit, dedicated to bringing you all the most up-to-date and interesting news on all things Lexus.

My name is Kevin RE Watts and I can be contacted here.

Let’s begin.