Weekend in Northern Utah: New Lexus for Jeremy
Odometer (Legend): 532,041
Odometer (ILX): 107,696
Trip Distance: 1,018 Flight Miles
No matter how hard the folks at the Car-Freshner corporation try, the aroma from a New Car Scent tree can never quite compare to the real thing. I got a good strong whiff of the real deal on Saturday morning in Salt Lake City, Utah, where I accompanied my friend Jeremy on his trip to Larry H. Miller Lexus for delivery of his newly-arrived 2015 Lexus GS350 F-Sport. It’s not every day someone gets to drive off the new car lot in a car with just 14 miles on the odometer, so I felt it appropriate to document the special occasion with plenty of pictures and a video for him.
Boasting a 3.5-liter V6 that packs 306 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque, the GS350 is a luxurious sports sedan that can probably embarrass a few sports cars in get-up-and-go. The F-Sport package adds special suspension, brake, and wheel upgrades. When Jeremy and I showed up at the dealership on State Street, his Ultra White Lexus was already parked on an immaculately polished floor in the Vehicle Delivery Area. The roof was adorned with a giant red bow, which Lexus offered to sell along with the car for a bargain $500 additional.
The Lexus’ all-wheel-drive will certainly come in handy for Jeremy’s imminent trips up Little Cottonwood Canyon to ski at Snowbird Resort. Odd for this time of year, the snowstorms haven’t yet dumped on the Salt Lake Valley but we did get plenty of rain during Jeremy’s drive-off after he had taken care of all his paperwork and signed his life away. Later that day, I thumbed through a brochure at Jeremy’s house outlining some of the features & specs on his GS. One page – and its headline in particular – caught my eye.
Here’s that headline:
The fine print stated that during its development, Lexus had road-tested the GS by driving it the equivalent of 26 times around the Earth.
But here’s the kicker: The circumference of Earth is 24,901 miles. If the Lexus GS traveled that distance 26 times, that only comes out to 647,426 miles. So, I’m sorry Lexus; you were 352,574 miles short in your journey.
The rest of my weekend was filled with family and food, as my dad hosted about 45 people at his home in Providence, Utah for the annual Christmas party festivities. Providence is about 80 miles north of Salt Lake, and Jeremy and I drove a “loaner” Lexus ES350 up there (long story). While the ride was comfortable and the amenities nice, the car was a bit too sedated for my taste and I craved something with a little more personality.
Here are a few of my other photos from the weekend.
All aboard Southwest flight #1649 for the short 90-minute trip from Phoenix to Salt Lake
Arrival at the Lexus dealership in Murray, Utah
The GS350 ready to roll out.
There’s a mean looking front end.
The big moment as the glass doors parted and the car made its exit.
After picking up Jeremy’s roommate, we headed out on the town. Of all the exciting places we could have taken the GS350, guess where we went? Costco.
Later that day, I met up my friend Branson for lunch. He drives this 1995 Acura Legend LS coupe 6-speed in Cayman White Pearl. It has 162,000 miles on the odometer but sure looks brand new.
Who can identify which (newer) Acura those 17″ wheels originated on?
With Branson out for a cruise in the loaner ES350 I was using.
Dinner in downtown Salt Lake at Trio Cafe with my friends Shane & Fred.
With Jeremy headed to Logan for the family party.
Quick photo-op in my grandma’s backyard for some “senior portrait”-esque pictures.
No Hugie family function is complete without a viewing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Each of us can pretty much quote the entire film from front to back. My dad even put together a trivia game with questions about the movie.
Gotta love this grandma. She’s not a fan of cameras, but I got her to crack a grin here.
I have the best sisters-in-law. These lovely ladies are Kali and Kyann.
Out in front of my dad’s place, the extended family’s cars started arriving. Included in the mix was this 2000 Acura 3.5 RL that my mom used to drive, which is now owned by my 21-year-old cousin Chad. I picked that car up in 2005 when it had just 22,000 miles on the odometer. Today, it has around 145,000.
Monday morning trip to Salt Lake International Airport in Jeremy’s Lexus. The Wasatch Mountains were stunning with a recent dusting of snow against the vivid blue sky. Temps in the low 30’s, making it reason enough to use the heated seats as we made the 20-mile drive for my drop-off.
Hope everyone else had a nice weekend as well!
drivetofive 
December 15, 2014 at 4:21 pm
Nice pictures Tyson. How far is Utah from your house? I am now at 204,000 miles.!
December 15, 2014 at 4:22 pm
Onward to 300,000! Keep rolling. If I were to drive from Phoenix to Salt Lake, it would take me about 11 hours. The flight was only 90 minutes. Piece of cake!
December 15, 2014 at 6:12 pm
3.2 TL Type-S… and Accord V-6! Good look on the Legend.
December 15, 2014 at 8:16 pm
You win!! I don’t know what the prize is yet, but you’ve won it. Good job eyeballing those wheels, Mark! 🙂
December 15, 2014 at 7:32 pm
$500 for a bow . . . wow, the Lexus folks must think the constant Christmas TV ads sell bows, not cars! hahaha. The Honda/BMW/VW dealer here sells similar bows for $40
December 15, 2014 at 8:17 pm
Haha, yes, I thought the woman was joking when she said the bows cost $500, but it was the truth! I wouldn’t mind owning one… but yeah, I’ll make it from scratch or something. 😉
December 16, 2014 at 9:38 am
A $500 bow? Was it made of silk? Lol. Congrats to Jeremy on the Lexus! What a gorgeous beast. TL 6-spd probably is quicker though. 😀 Looks like a blast this past weekend and also gotta love that snow on the Wasatch Mountains. 🙂
December 16, 2014 at 4:32 pm
Yeah he didn’t really push the car very hard during our initial drives – I’m guessing he’ll behave himself with the throttle until it’s out of break-in period – but that GS definitely has some power on tap. Don’t tell him, but I’d still take a TL 6-speed over it. hahaha
December 16, 2014 at 12:01 pm
GS350? Sweet! ES350? Ack. What a difference one letter can make!
December 16, 2014 at 4:33 pm
That’s for sure. The ES comes across as far too similar to its Camry sibling. But hey, clipping along at 75 mph and a little over 2,000 RPM – it’s an awesome long-haul cruiser and ULTRA quiet. Just make sure you don’t fall asleep at the wheel…
December 16, 2014 at 12:12 pm
Did you get in touch with Million Mile Joe yet? That guy and you are keeping all of us motivated! Thanks!
December 16, 2014 at 4:34 pm
HI Shaubhik, I’ve tried a couple different avenues to get in touch with Joe but I’ve never corresponded with him directly. Maybe someday we’ll cross paths. Do you think he’s putting a lot of miles on his new Accord that Honda gave him?
December 18, 2014 at 8:31 pm
I think he is piling the miles on his new Accord. He mentioned in a post a while back that he would not drive “True Blue” as often. What is your take on the aftermarket scene for Honda’s/Acura’s? I am usually an OEM guy, but I think there are great parts available to tune up an individual’s ride. Shoot me a text one of these days. Sometimes, I forget to respond back to blogs.
December 18, 2014 at 8:33 pm
Thanks for your post on the highmile club. I was told by Arts Automotive (a highly reputable place in Berkeley) that the engine block is like a sub-assembly to the vehicle. The tech said think of it as a torso being replaced, while the head and legs are still intact. Honda is a great company. I enjoy Mustangs as well, but I think the reliability/performance factor of a Honda will always be in my heart and soul. Thanks to everyone for being so knowledgeable!
December 16, 2014 at 2:04 pm
Nice red bow! They probably figure, if you’re buying a $56k car, what’s another 500 bucks?
December 16, 2014 at 4:35 pm
Yeah, I guess that’s the logic. I must say, though, the amenities at the Lexus dealership were nice. I had a couple of pastries and some hot cocoa from the customer lounge whilst waiting for Jeremy to finalize his purchase.
December 16, 2014 at 4:12 pm
You are correct – those those tree scents never get the new car smell right. Congrats Jeremy on the new ride.
December 16, 2014 at 4:35 pm
He’ll appreciate that. I haven’t used the “tree” air fresheners in years. They seem so potent when you first open them up! It’s almost overkill.
December 18, 2014 at 8:33 am
You open the bag and hang the freshener while it’s still in the bag. Problem solved 🙂
December 16, 2014 at 10:08 pm
Way to stick it to Lexus – clearly they haven’t perfected its last 350,000+ miles of testing. Congrats to your friend though, the GS is a fantastic choice.
December 17, 2014 at 6:29 am
Haha, I’ll let him know – and thanks! Hope you’re tooling around in something fun & exciting this week 🙂
December 18, 2014 at 8:35 pm
The Lexus RC F looks nice. Acura needs a coupe again. I never knew much about Acura, until the last few years. They are definitely different than Honda (their product planning).