Let’s say you have $400,000 in American dollars and you want to buy an automobile that costs $400,000 in American dollars. Done deal, right? Not if that $400,000 car you want to buy is the new Lexus LFA.

Despite lagging sales and several nagging safety recalls, Toyota has thrown quite a bit of their eggs into the Lexus LFA basket by making prospective buyers commit to a “coolness test”, more or less.

“We want people who will drive the car, who will be seen in the car,” said Paul Williamson, national manager at Lexus College, Toyota’s dealer training school. “We want it to be seen on the right roads, in front of the right restaurants and not just being enjoyed by one individual in their private garage.”

Lexus plans to manufacture just 500 of these at the rate of about 20 per month so one could make the argument that this is just Lexus attempting to make the most out of their efforts by indirectly marketing the car, and in turn, the Lexus brand to only those who attend the highest scale restaurants, night clubs, and other events of the rich and important.

Then again you can also make the case that Lexus should be focusing their efforts on their middle-of-the-road luxury sedans which are attainable by a much larger portion of the population.

By K. Fitty Ditty

Popularity: 58% [?]

It seems that with every successful movie or television show you have a famous male or female star that is associated with it. But there are those very special forms of entertainment that only come along once in a great while where an automobile overshadows all other aspects of the production and prevails as the most recognizable aspect. Here are five of the most recognizable cars in film and television history.

1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

Star of the Knight Rider television series between 1982 and 1986, KITT was constantly fighting David Hasselhoff for the spotlight as the show’s star. Sure, Hasselhoff had the sex appeal (even before his Baywatch days) and the collective support of the entire country of Germany behind him but KITT’s intelligence and witty quips colored him beloved in the eyes of the show’s fans.

1955 Chevrolet 6700 Series bus

Television’s favorite family band, The Partridge Family, toured around the country in this hideous looking, multi-colored monstrosity that somehow found its way into the hearts of viewers every week. The show ran from 1970 to 1974 and it’s a testament to how times have changed that a family of eight could ride around the country for four years in this thing without killing each other or creating some kind of controversy. Are you reading this Jon & Kate?

1969 Dodge Charger

Airing between 1979 and 1985, the Dukes of Hazzard starred a modified 1969 Dodge Charger, the “General Lee” that was all rebel and no rules. When you’re running from “Boss Hogg” and his band of coppers for six years running, you need all the help you can get and them Duke boys fitted the ‘ol General Lee with welded doors and a weighed down trunk to avoid flip overs while racking up more frequent flier miles than a major league baseball team.

1981 DeLorean DMC 12

Where you’re going you won’t need roads with Back to the Future’s 1981 DeLorean. Not only will this car satisfy your “looking cool” and scoring with the ladies” requirements that all guys look for but it also defies quantam physics and allows time travel. How cool can one car get? Pretty damn cool says the 1981 DeLorean. Marty McFly agrees.

1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Ambulance

Who ya gonna call? If it’s 1984 in New York City then you’re gonna call these guys and they’re going to cruise to the scene in this classic Cadillac ambulance. Nicknamed “Ecto-1,” the Ghostbusters mobile somehow managed to fit their proton packs, Bill Murray’s ego, and all that extraneous crap on the roof with little trouble and astronomical gas receipts.

By K. Fitty Ditty

Popularity: 100% [?]