This SC 430 commercial featuring Andy Roddick and Christopher Fairbanks defies the usual Lexus formula of heightened drama and takes an altogether different route:

This went completely over my head, with such a strange combination of elements. A famous tennis player, a comedian, a tree frog story and a sixties era green-screen, how could these have come together in a Lexus commercial?

The poor SC 430, can’t even get a good commercial.

The final Lexus commercial from the US Open has just appeared on the Internet, courtesy of my favorite Youtuber, bbakshow:

Surprising as it may be, people searching for this commercial have made up an significant percentage of my traffic since launch, and I’m very happy to have found it. Being my first time seeing it, I can see how it could capture a golfer’s imagination.

When I posted about the making of this commercial almost two months ago after discovering an image on Flickr, I was lucky enough to have Bob Gunning, the general manager of the golf course featured in the commercial, post up some details:

I’m the General Manager of Longniddry Golf Club in East Lothian, Scotland where some of the GS450 commercial featuring the guy who drives around in the rain trying to find a golf course was filmed. As you can see from the photos in the News section of our website, the producers brought their own rain-making equipment even though it was raining at the time! The commercial also featured the iconic 13th hole at The Glen Golf Club in North Berwick.

So there we have it, the video is posted, I’ve filled in the blanks, and my virtual road trip is now over.

Update: The music for this commercial, which many of you have been interested in, is performed by Jimmy Haun, and is called Yellow and Blues. You can download it from his Myspace page.

When I started this site, never did I think I would see the day where I’d be writing about Andy Rooney, but the world’s a funny place, and I go where the Lexus news takes me.

I’m sure that most people, after selling or trading in a car, have wondered where it ended up, who the new owners were, how it was getting along. Well, in 2004, the always curious Andy decided to take it one step further and find out the answer:

A few months ago, I traded in my five-year-old Lexus with 85,000 miles on it for a smaller BMW. I worry about what happens to an old friend, so I decided to find out.

The BMW dealer in Connecticut gave me $10,000 on a trade-in, so I started to trace my old car there. All of a sudden, someone stepped in front of the camera and stopped the interview.

Man: Mr. Rooney, we prefer that you don’t film anything inside our dealership, sir.

I felt like Mike Wallace. I figured they must be doing something sneaky. The next day, the owner ruined my story, though, by apologizing and sending me a good letter telling me everything.

It’s a story without many twists and turns, though with that ever-so-clever Rooney wit, it’s still a cute little read. The video segment is also available on the CBS website, should you have a hankering..

Two GS Donut videos in one day? Seriously?

This second video continues on the grand tradition of Russian Lexus Destruction, only this time there’s blood and exploding rubber:

For the life of me, I don’t understand why the cameraman inside the car didn’t pull back when he started seeing sparks. Crazy Russians!

For sheer volume, there’s few things I come across more on Youtube than Lexus’ doing donuts. Practically an everyday event, I’ve never thought to feature a single one until now. Crazy speed, residential area, tight turning radius:

To top it off, if the description is to be believed, the car’s stolen, meaning this whole video is just stupid insane even before pressing play. Who steals cars and posts about it on the Internet?

I’m unable to say for sure, but this three-minute video clip of the Lexus LF-A has a very authentic air to it:

It’s similar in look to the video shown during the LF-A unveiling at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, and could very well be direct from the source. Still, there’s enough of a rough edge to cast a shadow of doubt, so I’ve sent an email to the Youtube poster, and hope to have a definitive answer soon…that is, unless someone out there already knows?

Update: TPP Reader Jarrett has identified this video as the Japanese commercial introducing Lexus’ L-Finesse styling, released at the same time as the first LF-A concept. Thanks, Jarrett!

If you’re adverse to automotive violence, best avert your eyes, as this guy has some serious pedestrian rage:

As is the nature of this type of video, I’m left with more questions than answers:

• What was that all about?
• Where did he get the steel pipe?
• What is it with Russia and destroying Lexus’?

We’ve all seen the Edmunds video of the prototype LF-A tearing up Nürburgring, but this additional footage, posted by Viper Productions on Youtube, really shows off the confirmed V-10 engine:

Seems much faster than in the Edmunds video, it’s practically a black roaring blur. Now, the only question is, when is this blasted car going to be put into production?

You can forgive the shakiness of this cameraman, it’s not every day you see a IS-F prototype sitting at a stoplight:

What stands out most for me are the wheels, they’re absolutely fantastic and easily my favourite design from Lexus yet. Still can’t say I’m feeling those massive side vents though.

But the one thing I don’t understand are blacked out emblems, if anything, it’s bound to draw more attention than if they were clearly visible.

It’s fairly bereft of any substance, but Fifth Gear had a mini-interview with Melanie C (of Spice Girls fame) about her choice of vehicle:

Seems like she couldn’t stop herself from plugging her album, though listening to her own albums to learn the lyrics is so appropriate it could almost be true.