A Luxury Hybrid: Lexus Shows off $104,000 'Green' Car

May 17, 2007 — -- The Lexus LS 600h L shimmers in the light, does zero to 60 in 5.5 seconds, and has the equivalent of 438 horsepower under the hood. It has leather trim throughout, Bluetooth and voice activation technology, and a built-in navigation system.

The suggested price when it reaches the market this summer is $104,000 -- the most expensive car Toyota, through its luxury Lexus line, has ever sold.

And -- oh, by the way -- the company says it's environmentally friendly. The emissions from its tailpipe should be 70 percent cleaner than those from comparable cars. Toyota says the tailpipe emissions should be "cleaner than the ambient air in some major cities."

The LS 600h L is both a hybrid and a top-of the-line luxury car, for those who believe one can have it all. Lexus says it is trying to compete with such models as the BMW 7 series and the Mercedes-Benz S600.

But while the Mercedes, with its V12 twin-turbo engine, gets 12 miles per gallon in city driving, Lexus says its new car will have comparable power -- and get nearly double the gas mileage. (Under new EPA rules for 2008 models, the Lexus would get 20 miles per gallon in the city and 22 miles per gallon in highway driving.)

"We know there are a lot of luxury buyers who've said to us, 'Hey, I like my Prius, but what about a car with all the amenities I'm used to?'" says Greg Thome, from Lexus' U.S. headquarters in Torrance, Calif.

Keep in mind that Torrance is not far from another California town -- Hollywood -- where it's been fashionable to show up at the Oscars in Toyota's hybrid Prius instead of a limo.

There's a social statement that goes along with it -- passing on opulence for the sake of the environment. The Prius is rated at 60 miles per gallon in the city, though various reviwers say it gets in the high forties in real-world driving. And you can drive one home for about $23,000 plus taxes and fees.

In other words, you can get four Prius hybrids for the price of one new Lexus LS 600h L. The car comes from the same company, and, depending on whose numbers you use, may get three times the gas mileage.