History: Lexus, the luxury division of Toyota Motor Corporation, debuted at auto shows in early 1988 with an artist's rendering of the F1 (as in flagship) automobile, a teaser videotape and general product information. By November 1988, the F1 had been named LS 400 (Luxury Sedan with 4.0-liter V8 engine) and in January 1989, the car and its smaller sister, the ES 250 (Executive Sedan with 2.5 liter-engine) were formally introduced at the Detroit and Los Angeles Auto Shows. Lexus sales began in September 1989. Six years later, Lexus was the first luxury carmaker to throw its hat into the SUV arena when they launched the 1996 LX 450 luxury sport utility vehicle. This vehicle has now been replaced with the all-new 1998 LX 470.

Vehicle Type: four-door full-size luxury sport utility vehicle

Base Price: $54,950

Engine: 4.7-liter V8, 230 horsepower

Transmission: four-speed automatic transmission

Fuel Economy: 13 mpg city/16 mpg highway

Safety Features: driver and front passenger air bags; disc brakes w/ABS; daytime running lights; force-limiting pretensioners on driver and front passenger seat belts; manually-adjustable headrests

Major Options: The LX 470 has only one factory option, a $1,270 power tilt-and-slide moonroof.

Buyer Demos: full-size SUV shoppers interested in a luxury vehicle; 35% female