Sunday, November 06, 2005

Taste of Lexus Event

The folks at Lexus know how to please.

I was invited to attend their Taste of Lexus: Performance Edition, an event which took place yesterday at Dodger Stadium. The event was a pressure-free way (read: no salesmen) to test-drive the entire line of Lexus vehicles, including the new LX400h hybrid, and the IS250 and IS350, as well as their European and American counterparts.

The media presentation took place deep in the bowels of Dodger Stadium near the Stadium Club. I'd never been there, so I took lots of pictures of just about everything I saw in the stadium. Thing is, I wasn't the only one!

I saw the Dodgers' and visiting team clubhouses. I saw where Vin Scully works. I sat in a bullpen golf cart. I took a whiz in a urinal, not the traditional stadium trough. I even saw Dodger scout Mike Brito, best known for spending his time behind the plate with his speed gun, Panama hat, and cigar. Damn, I should have gotten a picture with him.

But you can enjoy I did take by viewing them publicly at my Yahoo! Photos page.

First things first, we the folks at Lexus arranged private transportation to and from the stadium for us. We were greeted at the event with smiles and handshakes, and led down to the Stadium Club. I had no idea the stadium went down so low.

Media members were given a gift bag of stuff after the presentation which included--are you ready?--a Suunto N6HR watch, Kosta Boda Car-Toons glassware, multimedia CDs, and literature. The "plain folk" gifts--public was allowed via inviation only--consisted of a restaurant guide in a leatherbound case, and two Paul McCartney CDs. We took some of those, too (see album for pics of what we took home) as well as Lexus mints in cool little tins.

Food was everywhere. There was a salon where Ann and I got some sort of hand treatment--and it was amazingly relaxing. And oh, we drove some cars, too.

The IS250 looks fierce, but is a bit lackluster. I should have opted for the IS350 but the line was too long. The LX400h hybrid, however, was incredibly quick and responsive. Ann got to drive the SC430, which she enjoyed.

All in all, an amazing day at the old ballpark, even if Vin Scully wasn't there.

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