Allow me to welcome VAIS Technology as a new sponsor of The Passionate Pursuit!

VAIS Technology, as you may know, manufactures audio/video integration solutions for Lexus, making it possible to connect almost any media device to your vehicle. Most importantly, VAIS Tech lets you manage these devices using your standard audio controls. An ideal solution!

For more information or to purchase one of these systems, please click on their banner in the sidebar.

Welcome to a new feature here at TPP, the Wallpaper of the Week! From now on, every Wednesday will bring a brand new desktop image from every era of Lexus, from the ES 250 right down to the LF-A, and everything in between.

This first edition, which stands as one of my favorite desktop images of all time, is a visual progression through each Lexus LS model:

This desktop is pitch-perfect, right down to the dark-to-light paint colors. I love the sense of continuity, though it also illustrates just how radical the change from the LS 430 to the LS 460 really was.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the new and improved TPP!

At first glace it might not look like a big change, but I’ve made a big switch with the software powering the site, moving from Drupal back to Wordpress. Don’t worry, even if you don’t know what I’m talking about, the difference is going to be apparent. Let’s get to a rundown of some new features:

• First of all, there should be some substantial speed improvements — from my tests it’s a 900% increase, if you can believe it.
• The Lexus Model Database is now in much better shape, I’ve built it into a real section that’s easy to update and navigate, making it an actually useful feature on the site.
• Comments are now threaded! This is probably the thing I’m most excited about. Also, I’ve implemented Gravatar support, meaning that commenters can use avatars.
• There were huge problems with the old commenting system, and I never knew when people had left comments unless I checked manually. That’s been fixed as well.
• The biggest change is the improved support for advertising. No longer buried, I’ve increased the available options to accommodate an significant interest in banner spots.

Big day, that’s for sure. There’s plenty of little things that need fixing, but hopefully it’s all minor. If you spot any showstopper bugs, though, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Kevin RE Watts
Editor, The Passionate Pursuit

Due to an email I sent out far too late, I wasn’t able to include Dougie Wand’s great mirror image of the Lexus LF-A as part of my anniversary wallpaper collection, but all the better to offer it on a hot Friday afternoon. Here’s the various desktop sizes, enjoy!

Due to a technical mix-up, comments have been disabled for the past week. The problem is now fixed, and commenting is once again possible.

It was a poor time for the comment system to go down, so now with the problem resolved, I’m interested to hear your reactions to my hypothesis that the Lexus LF-A concept is actually the new SC. My apologies for the issue.

Today marks the first anniversary of The Passionate Pursuit! It’s funny the way time works, at times it feels like I’ve only just started, and in another way, it seems like something I’ve always done. I’ve learned a lot over the past year, running this site is a very rewarding experience.

To mark the occasion, I asked the photographers of some of my favorite photos over the last year to contribute their images as wallpapers for my readers. The response was great, and I’ve very grateful to be able to share these images:

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Thanks to all my loyal readers, there’s plenty in store for the next year and I’m happy to have you on board.

Kevin RE Watts,
Editor, The Passionate Pursuit