Lexus LS Hybrid: 1st Generation (2008-Present)

I found this promo video for the Lexus LS 600hL a few days ago, but decided to wait on posting it until today’s release of Quantum of Solace — while they’re totally unrelated, but the music is straight out of a James Bond movie:

(Been looking forward to this movie for months — so much in fact, I’ve started reading all the Ian Fleming novels.)

What begins as a headscratcher ends up being a very effective commercial for some exclusive Lexus technology:

My first time watching the commercial, I immediately though of one particularly weird commercial from a while back, but in actuality it was a very convincing application of the driver monitoring system.

[Via: Steadywinds]

The Lane Keep Assist feature, which effectively locks you into a highway lane, may only available on the European & Asian Lexus LS, but it’s incredibly effective, at least in the context of this video:

I’m of two minds with this feature. You can never discount added safety, but the movement towards automated driving makes me nervous. At least it doesn’t work if you remove your hands from the steering wheel.

In the same vein as the LS 600h/L advert posted earlier this month (and which turned out to be part of Lexus’ new UK hybrid marketing campaign), this Japanese commercial also features a practically invisible LS hybrid, though this time it’s a case of speed:

Wonderfully done, I was very impressed by it.

The Lexus 600h is available only in Japan and Europe, which might explain why this commercial hasn’t made it to North American shores:

It’s funny, because the invisible digital effect featured here reminds me of the car option I’m looking most forward to: the portable force field. Sure, there’s deeper, more important applications for the technology, but wouldn’t it be nice to be able to park anywhere and not have to worry about someone denting your door?

Norwegian website Dinside Motor took an LS 600h L through its paces, hitting 160mph and showing off some major bodyroll:

I like to see these kind of tests, it’s so much more interesting to see the handling instead of reading about it.

The LS 600h commercial Fast Reimagined has been posted to Youtube, and it’s classic Lexus imagery:

For a little background information, I found an interview with the digital effects team at Dexigner:

For this spot’s end-footage of the car, Balden explained that the Lexus was shot with a Canon digital SLR on the end of a camera rig as a series of long exposures. … “As soon as we got a look at the first take, we were all instantly convinced that this would look great,” Balden explained. “The footage looked amazing on its own, but once Pat Murphy and I finished with it, re-editing the takes to create a sort of day-to-night transition, adding a little move, blurring the background, and playing with the reflections on the car itself, it really looked gorgeous.”

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.