Two pieces of Lexus Pebble Beach news today, first off, the much searched-for Pebble Beach commercial has surfaced on Youtube:

Not much to the commercial, it’s strictly an announcement-style advertisement, but the Pebble Beach edition color really catches my attention. It’s nice to see it on more than just the SC 430.

The other news has to do with pricing. The PBE RX 350 has been on the Lexus site since the middle of February, and costs a premium of $3,880 over the regular RX. However, the pricing for the ES 350 PBE was announced today, which will be a $4,170 option. (Remember, there’s only to be 6,000 of each model made.)

Lexus UK has debuted an upgraded backseat entertainment package for the RX called ICE, which is short for In-Car Entertainment. It consists of two eight-inch LCD screens with an integrated DVD player, USB and SD card readers, plus more:

Two pairs of infrared headphones are provided, which are about 20 per cent smaller than before, making them easier for children to use. They are now foldable for easy storage. Reception has been sharpened and there is an auto power-off function. Each tablet has a manual control panel, or a remote control unit can be used, redesigned for a superior tactile quality and ease of use.

The tablets have RCA inputs for connecting compatible games consoles and a stereo 23.5mm jack point. The screens can be operated together or independently, should passengers choose to enjoy the same playback or their own choice of video, music or gaming.

This package comes standard on the the UK RX SE-L editions, but costs £2,200 on any other version. This translates into close to $4,400 USD, making it a very expensive setup, especially when similar, less stylized options exist for less than $1,000.

Still, it’s hard to deny their attractiveness, and they would certainly be a welcome addition were you purchasing a RX SE-L anyway.

[Source: UCar Magazine]

The 2009 Lexus RX is now on the Lexus USA website, which should put all the rumors of an impending redesign to rest.

The only difference from 2008, it seems, is the addition of the Pebble Beach edition, which brings with it the Truffle Mica exterior color, a limited edition 18″ wheel design, chrome grille and some assorted Pebble Beach badging.

The standard FWD RX 350 will start at $37,500 USD, and the Pebble Beach edition at $41,380.

Once solely reserved for the SC 430, Lexus announced today at the Chicago Auto Show that three more models will be available in the Pebble Beach Edition. It starts with the release of a PBE RX 350 in mid-February, followed by an ES 350 in March and a LS 600hL sometime in the fall.

Here’s a breakdown of the RX 350 & ES 350 changes (the LS 600hL was only announced, no details were given):

RX 350

The RX 350 Pebble Beach Edition comes in three colors, an exclusive Truffle Mica (pictured above), Classic Silver Metallic, and Obsidian Black. There’s also a color-coded rear wing, new 18″ wheels, a chrome grille, a special interior trim, and a bunch of PBE badges.

ES 350

The ES 350 Pebble Beach Edition is also available in the Truffle Mica, Tungsten Pearl Silver and Obsidian Black exterior colors, but rather than a chrome grille and a rear wing, it gets 7-spoke 17-inch wheels with a liquid graphite finish and a decked out interior, with semi-aniline leather and a wood & leather steering wheel.

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These special editions, limited to 6,000 per model, are in partnership with the Pebble Beach Company, and aren’t just limited to the vehicle’s appearance; buyers will also be able to select an item from the Lexus Personalization Program, which ranges from golf clubs to cookware. Details are in the press release below.

Lexus has set the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices (MSRP) for an assortment of models, including the 2009 RX 350, which will skip up $100, bringing the front-wheel-drive version to $37,500 and the all-wheel-drive version to $38,900. The 2009 RX 350 is expected in dealerships by early February 2008.

Other models see a price bump as well:

• The LS 460 will jump up $500 to $62,000, and the LS 460L will start at $72,000
• The ES 350 increases by 0.3%, or $100, to $33,820
• The entire IS range will see $100 increase on all the various versions
• The RX 450h also sees a $100 increase.

In general, the price increases are rather insignificant, considering, with the exception of the LS. The more significant news is that the 2009 RX 350 price has already been set, which makes me think that the redesigned model (based on the LF-Xh concept) will be released in 2010.

[Source: The Earth Times]

Courtesy of my favorite Japanese Lexus blog, The Lexus Times, comes video from the Tokyo Motor Show debut of the LF-Xh:

I think all that remains is to remove the wheels and set this thing up with some sort of anti-gravity propulsion.

Doesn’t this photo from the Lexus LF-Xh debut in Tokyo, taken by Flickr user elmar.carabanes, make the concept look like a UFO?

I’m really struck by how futuristic the frontend is, imagining it on a production model boggles my mind. I could almost picture it on a spaceship.

Car Magazine has put in their two cents regarding the design of the Lexus LF-Xh concept, and they like what they see:

The concept’s exterior dimensions are similar to the RX400h’s, but crucially massaged in all the right ways to alleviate the current model’s slightly ungainly ‘body-disconnected-from-its wheels’ stance.

The LF-Xh is longer and wider (by 50mm), lower (by 70mm) and with a wheelbase stretched by 130mm. The result is an SUV that looks altogether more planted to the road and agile in a sporty coupe-like manner. The slatted razorblade-style front grille adds to the smooth feel.

I’m in total agreement about the current RX model looking a little uncomfortable on its wheels, but I think this concept takes it too far to the other extreme. However, if they simply “stretched” the entire body upwards when converting the LF-Xh concept to a production model, it’s going to be a winner, hands down.

With that in mind, I went ahead with my first ever automotive image manipulation, just to see (please ignore the rear wheel):

The front end is way off, but I like what it fortells.

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I was a little disappointed to read Car Magazine’s blurb on the LF-Xh interior:

‘Anticipation’ is apparently a keyword for the inside in a similar way to the light that illuminates the ground by the door when you unlock the production GS model before getting in. Trouble is, Lexus is clearly not fully happy with the interior their designers made as it wouldn’t let any journalists see the finished inside first hand.

That’s just too bad.

Creativity Online has posted up an interview with the art director and copywriter of the Lexus RX Pop-Up Book commercial that I featured yesterday, which explains exactly how the advert was made:

What was the ratio of real footage versus VFX [Video Effects]?

DH [Dave Horton, Copywriter]: It was really important to keep everything looking practical so we wanted to shoot everything practical. Obviously we had to make a few concessions, in terms of what was actually possible to build, but we did shoot everything practically in different scales. So it really was a matter of putting that together and A52 did a great job.
KS [Kevin Smith, Art Director]: Yeah, “a matter of putting it together” is somewhat of an understatement… But they [A52, Effects Company] made it so realistic you can hardly tell there is a lot of CG going on. They did things like keeping the wire in at the top of the page, which were used to turn the pages, and they added some air pockets and kept some of the imperfections in there so the pages looked like they moved and sat naturally.

What were some of the biggest challenges in putting this together?

KS: Well, one challenge was figuring out at what scale we were going to shoot it. There was about a month of R&D before the spot was even made. The actual framing is as big as you’re seeing it on the screen, with 20×30 foot pages. It was a giant set of green screen pages that those people did actually hold and turn.
DH: All the tabs and wheels were also built into the pages so they were actually moving that stuff.

I’ll admit, I was completely fooled. I honestly thought it was real. I thought for an instant that some elements seemed “off”, but attributed it to lighting.

Either way, wonderful job.

I’ve been waiting to see this RX commercial ever since I was sent some behind-the-scenes photos of the filming, and the final cut doesn’t disappoint:

It’s hard to imagine the amount of planning necessary to pull off something like this, which doesn’t seem to use any digital effects at all. I’m surprised by the factory setting, though, which seems a stark contrast to the commercial’s vibrant centerpiece.

(If this version is too lo-fi for you, there’s a much bigger video over at Creativity Online.)