Lexus Parallel Parking Ads Generate Buzz
Few posts on KickingTires have inspired such debate as Joe Wiesenfelder’s walkthrough of the new Lexus LS 460’s automated parallel parking system. Our readers weighed in with their thoughts, mostly seeing the technology as either an insult to drivers or a step closer to full car automation.
What was overlooked was the fact that Lexus chose to focus on this one feature out of the many in the new LS 460 during the vehicle’s launch and initial ad blitz. The parking feature is only an option, while standout attributes like an eight-speed transmission and 380-hp V-8 are standard. Maybe Lexus chose that route because even if the LS 460 turns out to be the best-driving, best-handling car ever made, people have seen all those ads before. They’re inundated with commercials of cars driving on picturesque roads with a voiceover telling them how great Car A is versus Car B. Would they care if Car A is a luxury sedan that can hit 60 mph in 5.4 seconds? Maybe.
But Car A parking itself? They’ve never seen that before.
Lexus spokesman Greg Thome said visits to Lexus.com increased 46% when the LS 460 went on sale Oct. 20, and the Lexus PR department has had waves of requests from local and national TV to show off the parking feature. A new car model rarely gets that kind of media attention. That means the commercials are working, whether or not automatic parking is deadening driving skills.
Related:
The Lexus LS460: It Really Does Park Itself
2007 Lexus LS 460 Prices Announced: Bigger, Better, More Expensive
