While covering the US Open in Torrey Pines, golf blogger Geoff Shackelford spotted this Lexus LX 570 “Evacuation Vehicle”:

Pretty strange designation, I’m still trying to figure it out.

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Lexus is also sponsoring an invitation-only event tonight on the roof of the Hard Rock Cafe in San Diego, where the US Open is taking place:

The event focal point is the pre-fabricated Lexus Hybrid Living home on the Hard Rock Hotel’s rooftop. It incorporates Lexus’ Hybrid Living partners who define and inspire a new eco-luxury.

“The Lexus Style Villa Sports event will be the hot ticket during the U.S. Open tournament weekend,” states Dave Nordstrom, vice president of marketing for Lexus.

No images or real details, though the press release mentions the pre-fab home was designed by Marmol Radziner Prefab.

The 2008 US Open is being played this week, and Lexus is one of the event’s four sponsors. As expected, there’s some fairly extensive Lexus advertising being put together, including a funny short film featuring Annika Sorenstam, Charles Howell III, Raymond Floyd and Chi Chi Rodriguez in a car race to the Open (image below leads to video):

Between this video and last year’s US Tennis Open advert, these sports sponsorships sure seem to bring out the lighter side of Lexus marketing.

(Also, on a related note, I read this interesting article about the USGA’s new corporate sponsorships and how it breaks down. Indepth and informative, if you’re interested in such things.)

Motor Trend spent some time in the Lexus Hybrid Living Suite, a suite created at the San Francisco Fairmont hotel to showcase Lexus’ commitment to environmental responsibility:

The San Francisco Fairmont is located on top of the Nob Hill area, the highest point in the entire city. As one might imagine, such a location makes for fantastic views — in fact, the Lexus Suite provides a stunning look at many of San Francisco’s chief points of interest, including Alcatraz, Coit Tower, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Organic is a chief theme in the suite, with material for the bed mattress, sheets, towels, and robes all grown without pesticides. Much of the furniture in the suite, from the night stands, to the bed, dining table, and bathroom fixtures, was sourced from antique stores — as opposed to buying new items — and refinished, essentially recycling them for use in the suite.

Primarily I’m linking to the story because of the photo gallery, which shows the suite from a number of different angles, but it’s also important to note that this might be the first time Motor Trend’s passed on the chance to put down the hybrid sedan.

I remember hearing about it last year, but this is the first time I’ve seen this Lexus commercial detailing the life of a US Open tennis ball after its day in the spotlight:

Quirky and cute, it’s a neat take on the standard sponsorship advertisement, and makes you think, what really does happen to all those tennis balls?

The No.1 Lexus Riley Prototype has won the Daytona 24 race for the third year in a row, marking the first time this has ever been accomplished in the race’s history. Piloted by Scott Pruett, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti and Memo Rojas, the Chip Ganassi team powered through the 24 hour race with none of the problems that beset their competitors:

The stat sheet will show the No. 01 won by two laps, led 252 of 695 circuits and the last 100. But for the first 19 hours the race was anything but a walkover, more resembling a last-man-standing test of mechanical preparation, luck, will and ability to not only survive, but thrive in conditions that went from wet to dry and back again.

The team did it well enough that aside from an early tire problem, the 2,474.2-mile marathon was trouble-free on the track. The only hiccup came when Franchitti was awakened too late for a stint, forcing Pruett to do extra time, but that didn’t slow them down.

Easily one of the most demanding races out there, it’s an amazing achievement to win it just once, nevermind three years running. Congrats to the whole Chip Ganassi team!

(Thanks Dan!)

[Source: USA Today]

According to Touring Car Times, the photo of the Lexus IS-F Racing Concept could be an indication that Lexus will be joining the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters car racing series:

The rumors on which manufacturer would join Audi and Mercedes in the Deutche Tourenwagen Masters have been many during the recent years. Since the talks about new rules emerged, the rumors have gone hot again. Lexus is one of the big names in the list of possible interested manufacturers.

There is no official information on the prototype, but the splitters and wings look identical to DTM specifications.

TouringCarTimes has received information that there are actual negotiations going on between Lexus/Toyota, the DTM organization, plus Audi and Mercedes.

Adding fuel to the fire is a new Team Lexus splash page, which indicates there’s definite something in the works:

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, or DTM, is a touring car racing series based in Germany, with rounds throughout Europe. Currently, Mercedes and Audi are involved, fielding 10 cars each.

More details should emerge once the IS-F Racing Concept is introduced at the Tokyo Auto Salon.

[Source: Touring Car Times]