Cars: 2013 Lexus LS460

I look forward to going to Boston for the New England International Auto Show every year.  Held around the same time as the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Boston show is a cost effective way for people to explore many new car models without the hassling of dealership salespeople.

I went to the show this year with a challenge in mind.  I recently read in one of my car magazines that Lexus is bringing out a new LS full size luxury sedan.  I remembered reading in another issue how every car enthusiast must at some point sit in an LS and experience the utterly tomb like silence.  Built with the highest quality in the automotive industry, the Lexus has an interior sound level of 36 decibels at idle.  For comparison, a Rolls-Royce costing more than $400,000 has an interior sound level three decibels higher.

Changes for the 2013 LS model line include the new family
spindle grill and the addition of an F SPORT model (above)

I wanted to experience this perceived sense of isolation for myself.  I made my way to the Lexus display and sat myself down in the driver’s seat of a 2013 LS460L.  The tricky part was to make sure that I was alone.  Many people were milling around getting in and out of the car.  Eventually all the doors were shut and I was the only occupant inside.  Immediately I noticed that the voices of the people outside were completely muted.  The only sound I could perceive was the gentle whirring of the air conditioner.  I must have been alone in the car for about an entire minute with hardly anything to hear but my own thoughts.  Soon though, one of the doors was opened and the commotion of the show rushed back in.  In that short time of solitude I understood what the test drivers meant.  It was too bad that I couldn’t drive the car at city and highway conditions to form more solid conclusions.  Nevertheless, I came away feeling glad that I was able to complete one more task on the proverbial car guy to do list.