Rabbers

Just as well it did, Malc, since the ancients may also have used it for other less mentionable purposes.

Libra (as per Phil above) = Roman Pound, not the 12-ounce Troy one sometimes erroneously thought to be named after the ancient city. As a unit of measurement for transportation fuel, one libra of Etruscan-grown oats might have provided a small Roman donkey with a quick snack.

Unusual post, Malc, and intellectually taxing. MCXXXXIV pence will buy you X liters and, as Peniole says, CXIV (with the last pence rounded down) would buy you I liter if the pump is calibrated to dispense it. It is not easy, and maybe impossible, to draw a meaningful parallel between present-day Californian economics and those of any particular era of Ancient Rome, but I would reckon that the ancients were no less likely to complain about the price of a kilo of horse feed than Californians about a gallon of gas.

I have to admit, Malc, that I found this tribute to your car quite moving.

One has the impression that prospective customers for the new NX have been kicking down UK dealers’ doors to get a test drive, seemingly as the combined result of pre-marketing hype and regrettable delivery delays. As far as I am aware this situation has been less noticeable elsewhere even though the car has also been greeted with enthusiasm. I hope the new RX will meet your expectations when it comes out. As for me, I had hoped that a test drive of the NX would convert me to a liking of SUVs but, disappointingly, it didn’t.

Although my admiration for the NX350h (see my OP of November 14 2021 above) is now confirmed, indeed reinforced, after a proper test drive of approx. 3 hours/260km, I have finally decided against buying one. The version I tested was an F-Sport, full-spec with ML and a panoramic roof, which is precisely what I would have bought. As in the case of my earlier much briefer drive, which was also of a top-spec car, though not an F-Sport, my criticisms were very few, mainly subjective and almost entirely based, in the final analysis, on my prejudice against SUVs. I was able to confirm that the NX pleases in all traffic conditions and at all speeds; it pulls away powerfully and smoothly from low speeds, feels perfectly stable at speeds well above motorway limits, and instils a high level of confidence in all circumstances; it remains straight and firmly planted under hard braking; it does not feel over-large or cumbersome on country roads and in narrow spaces, and can fairly be described as agile despite its size; it is impeccably built and finished inside and out; the infotainment system is functionally and visually superb, and it is easy to see how novel features (to me, at least) such as the programmable HUD and the panoramic view monitor, among others, will soon become indispensable to owners. And yet, in spite of this technological excellence and all-round practicality, not to mention comfort and elegance, I was simply unable to get away from the fact that I really don't want or need an SUV. Certainly, better overall economics might have made me a little more flexible, but a list price of €70.5K for the spec I want (which I believe to be around the same Europe-wide except for VAT differences), with a discount of only €5.8K (probably improveable with negotiation) is simply too high even despite a fairly generous trade-in valuation of €35K for my RC. So high, in fact, that I suspect it might push prospective customers less loyal to Lexus and/or in more urgent need of a new car than myself towards the Germans. As things stand, I guess I'll now maybe find myself looking more closely at an ES even though my enthusiasm will not be as great as it was when Lexus offered a wider choice.

That one’s so old it’s archaeological.

Indeed it does. Given the choice, albeit a somewhat unappealing one either way, I’m sure I’d prefer to drive a police car than be pulled over by one.

Strange thread this. Why should anybody other than maybe a police driver have a favourite police car?

As did I, Malc, you omitted to mention the possibility that the pedestrian crossing was a zebra …

That’s good to hear. Just in case you thought otherwise I suppose I should add that I wouldn’t either. Far be it from me to even attempt to analyse social class structures and perceptions on a British forum but, while we are still on the subject, it would be fascinating to know whether a dingy Fiat Panda parked on a pedestrian crossing outside a Waitrose would not be considered at least as newsworthy as a Lexus similarly parked outside a Coop.

I wouldn’t dream of parking my “lovely expensive Lexus” on a pedestrian crossing but if I did and a passer-by made it his or her business to tell me “firmly but politely” that I shouldn’t, I frankly doubt if my reaction would be particularly friendly - though I would hope to keep it within the bounds of verbal elegance. The true question is whether the couple in question were dubbed “Mr & Mrs Privilege” primarily because they parked where they did or because their Lexus was a source of envy to crabby passers-by.

Recent obituary for Barry Cryer quoted the following as one of his all-time favourite jokes: Man drives past a farm and runs over a cockerel. Conscience-stricken, he knocks at the farmhouse door and the farmer comes out. Man: "Sorry, I've just killed your cockerel and I'd like to replace it." Farmer: "Please yourself. The hens are round the back."

I think that’s probably correct.

Looking at the Autoscout.com site this morning I thought LC500 owners might find the following information on the geography of second-hand sales of their cars in continental Europe to be of interest, not least because the listings presumably also directly reflect sales since launch. About 60 used units, mostly with low mileages, are currently listed for sale Europe-wide. More than half of them are German-registered, and the numbers offered in Holland and Belgium alone exceed those of France, Italy and Spain put together. The hybrid model is virtually non-existent outside Italy (where the V8 is heavily penalised by bhp-linked road-tax), with the V8 being by far the more favoured in Germany - and Holland - where sales of the hybrid appear to have been close to zero. Frankly I don't know what to make of this, since, apart from the fiscal constraints accounting for low sales in Italy, I would have expected a more homogeneous picture.

Despite four or five days of springlike weather I still haven’t summoned up the energy to thoroughly clean and wax my RC, which is a major annual event requiring not only focus and maximum concentration but the coaxing of muscles into activity after months of hibernation. So, as an interim measure before the acquisition of sufficient motivation to do a proper job, I today rose bright and early, filled a bucket with lukewarm water, threw in a couple of capfuls of my trusty Optimum No Rinse Wash ‘n’ Shine, and delicately sponged the wheels and body to what I judged to be excellent effect. And, although it wasn’t strictly necessary but because I enjoyed it, I then lovingly passed a drying towel over the car not once but twice. I then came back indoors, had breakfast, and, while admiring the car through my kitchen window, wrote this post.

This is to enquire, out of curiosity, what happens if ceramically coated paintwork gets a significant scratch or scrape. After repair would the body shop automatically redo the coating or would the car preferably need to be taken back to where the original coating was done?

I’ve been trying without success to find an article I recently saw about selling a used car. One tip pertinent to the present thread is to remove fresheners from the cabin, especially highly visible ones of the type that dangle from the rear-view mirror. This would be in order to make fastidious prospective buyers less aware of an “unwelcoming atmosphere” in the cabin. Sound advice, no doubt, but dependent, I would think, on how welcoming the atmosphere originally was.

Never used air freshener in any Lexus I have had. Periodic leather cleaning leaves the car smelling like new or close to new. Many years ago I used a couple of expensive brands of freshener from fancy London perfume houses (Penhaligon? Floris?) whose component scents I don’t remember but whose main effect was to make me and my passengers sneeze.

Well spotted!

Great result 👍! Hope you didn't hurt your hand smacking the dash. I would have used a rubber hammer or hired a bongos player.

Clean the windscreen thoroughly, then clean the blades with a damp cloth or piece of paper. Allow them to dry for a minute or so, then activate. If either of them streaks, repeat the foregoing after checking for grit or specks of dirt or damage. If it looks clean and undamaged but still streaks, then change it.

I hope you get this sorted soon, Simon. On the subject of speedometers I am reminded of a TV interview I once saw in which a father holidaying in France with his two kids and obviously stupid wife claimed, believe it or not, that he entertained them on boring long drives by covering the speedometer and getting them to guess the speed.

I don’t remember exactly by how much, but Toyota used to charge less for the same wipers. Nowadays they are priced the same, no doubt as the result of a corporate directive for all packaged spare parts that carry both the Toyota and Lexus logos. I have personally never had a duration or quality problem with Bosch wipers, which are cheaper, and if I need new ones and happen to drive past a Bosch garage, I’ll stop and buy. Years ago, I recall being irritated when Lexus once or twice changed my wipers during servicing because the mechanic thought it necessary, adding a labour charge to the bill. No Toyota or Bosch spare-parts person selling me wipers has ever charged me for fitting them, almost always without being asked (not that I figure I couldn’t manage the job myself if I felt like it!).

Isn’t that still a bit too low in any case?