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Sit back and let this car park itself

By JOHN BARRY
Published October 26, 2006

ADVERTISEMENT [Handout photo] This is the new LS 460 sold at Lexus of Clearwater. Each costs between $61,000 and $94,000.

We wanted to put the new self-parking Lexus to the ultimate test by placing a child a bratty one behind it in the parking space, but couldn't find a mother in the office willing to donate.

But what an amazing car. You sit there, hands off the wheel. You shift to reverse, punch a couple of buttons. The thing parallel parks.

It's too bad it doesn't work from the back seat. You could lie back in the leather recliner with the power ottoman for your feet. You could flip on the back and fanny massagers, pop in a DVD, tune in all 19 speakers. You could read your mail, call your mother, and let your Lexus back itself in.

This is the new LS 460. Lexus of Clearwater has four of them. Each costs between $61,000 and $94,000, depending on whether you want the Executive Class Seating Package, the Rear Seat Cool Box, and of course the Intuitive Parking Assist.

The Parking Assist uses sonar and a computer to make parking calculations. It does what almost no one does on the first try in a driver's license test. It just glides in. You must keep your foot lightly on the brake for it to work (that's the emergency backup plan). You also get a back view on a video screen on your dashboard. It doesn't jump the curb or bump the car behind. It doesn't curse.

The two area Lexus dealerships are "launching" the LS 460 with champagne and hors d'oeuvres tonight and Friday night between 5 and 9. Lexus of Tampa Bay expects 1,500 people tonight. Lexus of Clearwater accepted 40 $1,000 deposits a year ago. It pops the corks on Friday night.

Not all the buyers are bad parallel parkers. This is a car that also unlocks itself because it knows you have a key in your pocket. You don't have to bother taking it out. You just have it. That's good enough. It also has an Automatic Sound Levelizer that "intuitively raises or lowers the overall volume (of your Surround Sound Audio System) depending on fluctuations in outside noise." It also has a special package that kicks in when you get stopped for speeding. It talks the cop out of a ticket. If we're lying, we're dying.

John Barry can be reached at (727) 892-2258 or jbarry@sptimes.com.

. LEXUS LS 460

Pricing and specs

- Starting at $61,000

- 4.6-liter V8, 380 horsepower

- 0-60 mph in 5.4 seconds

- Parks itself. Really.

[Last modified October 25, 2006, 22:24:22]