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Still HOT! After All Of These Years - 2002 Lexus SC430 - No Risk…Lots of Rewards


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By Bob Gordon, Co-Publisher
The Auto Channel


SEE ALSO: Lexus Buyer's Guide

No Risk…Lots of Rewards My first look at the Lexus SC430

Scottsdale AZ 3/1/2001; The unexpected rain stopped and the sun shown brightly over The Point South Mountain Resort, to the relief of the Lexus executives and the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.

It would have been kinnda stupid to try to show off the new $60,000 SC430 in the rain and sleet of yesterday…but as the old song goes, “ that was yesterday and yesterday’s gone”.

Maybe the change in the weather is a metaphor for a change of direction for Lexus; then again maybe not…this new offering in the upscale convertible personnel transportation segment (Whew), is really a no risk offering from a no risk company.

The SC430 is everything you would expect a convertible from Lexus to be…overstuffed with goodies throughout; under the hood a 300 HP V-8; on the road 18” wheels sporting optional run flat high tech high performance tires; and workpersonship that produces a fit and finish so exceptionable that just sitting in this car, with the hard top convertible stuffed neatly in the trunk, was a sensory pleasure.

The car I drove today was black with dark leather seating and walnut wood on the dash and other right places in the sitting room. As we drove a course laid out to show the drive and ride to the press, I thought how appropriate that we were traversing some of the nicest suburbs in the Phoenix area, passing homes and shopping centers where the SC 430 would feel comfortable and could live out its life in comfort and refinement…no road course for this new model, no high speed turns around a course designed for edgy screaming ragtops, No sir'ee although I know that this baby could scream along with the best of them we didn’t have the opportunity and frankly it wasn’t necessary.

I think that buyers of this newest 2002 Lexus offering won't be interested in edginess but in solidity…not in screaming brute force, but in a soft whisper of well hidden power?. If you’re looking for a growling gorilla of a convertible, with no refinement, this car is not for you… but if you are looking for a gentleperson's car that can turn heads and surrounds its occupants with Luxurious comfort and convenience and will work quietly...forever, but still has the potential to scream its head off... and knock yours back into the leather of the head restraint, than this could be the car for you...enjoy you know I did.

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