Not A Car Guy

It took me about 2 months to put on the first thousand miles, which means I am now beyond the factory-recommended " engine break-in " period. It also means I did a prophylactic oil change.  Yes, I know that these modern cars don't need  an oil change at 1,000 miles, since engines are built to tight tolerances and don't shed metal bits like the cars of yore. But the first three oil changes are on Lexus, since mine is a CPO car. So why not? And also, the LC 500 is one of those cars that may still be on the road after 50 years, so a bit of extra early TLC doesn't seem out of place.  It's kind of humbling to consider that this car will likely outlive me. As my 1965 Corvette probably outlived its initial owner (and is still going strong out there somewhere, AFAIK). Unlike a Camry or any current EV, the LC is likely the last naturally-aspirated V8 to come out of Japan, and thus attract collectors who will probably maintain it and not drive it into an early grave. A...

The owner's manual says that the LC 500 infotainment system supports iPods via the USB connection tucked into the center armrest. What is less apparent is which  iPods are supported.  But before we get to that, a brief aside about why anyone should care: after all, iPods are long obsolete, right? We all now rely on Spotify via CarPlay/Android Auto, right? Or just plug in a USB flash drive, if you need locally-stored music?  Sure, fine, if you're good with those solutions, feel free to skip this entry. But there are two reasons that the iPod is better.  S yncing . If, like me, you still have a large collection of music stored in iTunes/Apple Music, and if you update that collection from time to time, you're going to want to periodically sync the music in your car. When you connect an iPod to your computer, Apple Music (the app, not the subscription service) has a pretty nifty set of syncing tools, including transcoding from lossless to compressed formats. And once you...

First things first: protect the paint before any damage occurs.  Well, almost. I somehow managed to scuff the front right fender on the curb while parking. Fortunately, it was minor and easily corrected by the pros at California Detailing before they put XPEL PPF (paint protection film) on the hood, front fenders, and side mirrors. Then I had them apply a full 7-year ceramic coat on the whole car. Perhaps not the most economically rational choice for a car I don't intend to keep 7 years, but I like leaving 'em nicer than I got them. Plus, it will make it easier to wash the car without marring the paint.  I've also got a bunch of car detailing supplies coming from Chemical Guys , as well as a small vacuum and a small caddy for securing detailing supplies in the trunk. Look, it's not every day I buy a new car (in fact, this is only the second new car in my lifetime so far), so let me obsess a little. :-)

  Almost 11 years ago , I embarked on a journey to understand what inspires car enthusiasts to love cars as they do. Back then, the plan was to get a different, highly depreciated, interesting car each year. Well, the annual cadence turned out to be too ambitious. But I did enjoy learning a lot during my time with a Porsche 911 , a classic 1965 Corvette , and a modern Mercedes S Class . As well as returning to my true passion car, the Mazda Miata .  That brings me to car #5 in my automotive journey: a 2025 Lexus LC 500 Coupe.  Why the LC 500? Well, we are in the twilight of the internal combustion era, and this is among the peak final exemplars of the breed. This will almost certainly be the last naturally aspirated V8 engine that ever comes out of Japan. It's a "halo car" for Toyota, made in a special factory to extremely high quality standards, realizing a particularly Japanese take on the "GT car" -- a high performance highway cruiser. Basically, it's a J...

  Thanks to a friend of a friend (thanks, Rich!), I got to take a 2024 Lexus LC500 out for a drive. I've long been enamored by the LC500, which has been largely unchanged since its launch in 2018. It's almost certainly the last naturally aspirated V8 coupe that we will ever see from Japan. Car critics almost universally love this car, even as they admit that it doesn't win on specs against its competitors (see this recent LC500 vs. Porsche 911 comparison from Throttle House). A significant part of that adoration stems from the incredible V8 noises that this car makes when you put the pedal down.    But that's not what impressed me most about this car. Here are my takeaways, more or less in order of importance: That blue! Lexus doesn't have many truly amazing colors, but this blue is certainly one of them. Hovering right between electric blue and indigo, this is one impressive factory paint job. I also quite like the stock wheels. And it's a gorgeous car, even b...

Thanks to a trusting friend, I got to spend four hours behind the wheel of the 2025 Corvette Stingray. The Corvette has been an American automotive icon for nearly 75 years—often regarded as the blue-collar dream machine that many finally afford only after retirement. Now in its eighth generation (aka C8), this Corvette marks the first-ever mid-engined version, though the classic V8 heart remains intact. Car wags agree that this Corvette represents one of the greatest bargains in sports cars today, serving up performance you’d typically pay double for from European badges. That still means that these start in the high $60k range, and the trim package here is really in the mid-$70k range. (Super high-end variants go up into six figures, but it's hard to imagine that you could need any more performance for street driving.) Visually, this might be the only American car that consistently tricks me into mistaking it for a Ferrari or Lamborghini—particularly in blazing orange, which is ...

This represents my 15th time attending the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, but only my third time using it as an excuse for an epic road trip on California's backroads (see also 2019 and 2023 ).  A relatively late, wet Spring meant that California was surprisingly green, but not yet covered in flowers (as it was in 2023). And mercifully, there were far fewer potholes than there were after the epic rains of 2023. I largely stuck to the roads that I'd discovered on my previous Coachella road trips, which faithfully provided ~1200 miles of the kind of driving that my 2018 Miata was meant for.  Day One: SF to Santa Maria I made a few edits to my previous itineraries in this first 300 mile leg of the trip.  I began by making my way from SF to Skyline Drive (35), which I followed past Alice's Restaurant all the way to Highway 17. It had been a few years since I'd driven the single lane goat track that is 35 between Highways 9 and 17. It's a lovely set of twisties that...