It’s far and few between to find an genuinely amusing car review, but Super Street Magazine manages just that with their review of the Lexus LS 460. Here’s a few of the more salient passages:

Enter the LS 460. Right off the bat, this car is pimp. Scratch that, capital P-I-M-P. Plush roomy leather interior with charcoal wood accents, more digital wizardry in the cabin than the Wachowski brothers, solid construction and more room than a Japanese business hotel-the car simply oozes elegance. Equipped with the Comfort Plus Package, the seats even have ass-conditioners!

The exterior is an extension of the Lexus L-finesse, corporate fancy talk for all of them looking alike. But calling an LS a glorified IS would be the understatement of the year.

The suspension and ride of the LS won’t win any Time Attacks, but you pick up chicks, not trophies, in this bad boy. Simply dump, body kit, rim up and enjoy. While the ride might be a little hard, it wasn’t half as hard as turning the keys back to Lexus.

Not exactly a technical dissertation, but still interesting to read a LS 460 review from a perspective more concerned with suspension drops and 21″ rims than horsepower.

I spent some time today on TOM’S, Toyota’s authorized tuning shop, taking a look at their various Lexus body kits and modifications. Their new tuned LS 460 is a beauty, matching the exteriors of the Fabulous and Wald offerings in subtlety, but also adding an extensive range of very real performance modifications.

Here’s a list of the available mods:

• Custom Exhaust System that fits with their rear bumper spoiler.
• Super RAM 2 Air Cleaner, that improves air flow all while enhancing dust-collection.
• Performer Brake Pads, that decreases brake dust and increases braking performance.

There’s also more in the pipeline, including a speed limiter overide and a hyper-compressor kit. You can check out more photos of TOM’s Lexus LS46 at their website.

I’ve sent an email to find out about North American availability, I’ll update once I get the details.

My favorite part about the body kits put out for the Lexus LS 460 is how absolutely subtle they are — first was the Wald International’s offering, and now we have the full gear from Fabulous:

The changes are so minute, the only part of the kit that’s immediately obvious is the mini-wing on the back, though the front and rear bumpers have been swapped out.

Totally love the wheels, I’m a big fan of the five spoke design. Still, I have yet to see a rim that looks as good as the one that comes straight from the factory.

A new LS commercial debuted during last week’s U.S. Open, and it’s one of those posthumous pitchmen type of ads — Current PGA player Nick Watney picks up golf greats Bobby Jones, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan for a round of golf:

A nice sentiment, I suppose, but this type of celebrity appropriation never sits too well with me.

Youtube user h4×0r0x was nice enough to post a demonstration of rather unique LS series feature found on the steering wheel, namely the Hold button:

As you can see, this button allows you to hold your brakes, meaning that you can rest your feet while at a stoplight. In essence, we’re looking at the anti-cruise control.

This is Lexus’ Passionate Pursuit of Perfection in full-effect.

Seems like there’s no end to the awards and studies this week, next up: Ward’s 8th annual Interior of the Year Awards.

The only Lexus up for nomination was the LS 460, and it took third place in the Premium Priced Car category, behind the Infiniti G35 and the Jaguar XK. However, the LS 460 did walk away with the Best Overall Comfort speciality award.

Still, it’s too bad the Chrysler Sebring won the Best Cup Holder Award, that would have been one to hang up in the Lexus head office foyer.

After the results of the Total Quality Index survey, I decided to do a little Hyundai Youtube surfing and found a recent Azera ad comparing it to the LS 460:

My personal disdain of Kelsey Grammer notwithstanding, and the fact that there are far more differences than similarities between the Azera and the LS 460, I can’t help but admire the marketing brilliance behind this commercial.

This advert was not made to sway potential LS 460 owners to a Hyundai, but rather as a way to associate the two cars, so that people looking for a $25,000-$30,000 believe they’re buying something on par with a Lexus.

I’m shocked to say it, but I’ll have to start paying closer attention to Hyundai. Their vehicles are extremely competent, and their management are utilizing tactics very similar to the ones Toyota employed when lauching Lexus. Smart stuff.

Audi has gone catty and released a commercial that claws at the Lexus LS460’s ability to park itself:

Not content to be oh-so-subtle with the dig, the car even slides between a LS460 and an IS350.

(Is this about the LS460 winning World Car of the Year over the Audi TT?)