I was driving home one day not too far back. It was the usual tough day at work, just want to get home and chill kind of day. With the setting sun in the background I saw and heard very nice black Lexus. Upon further inspection I recognized this fine automobile, as a Lexus IS – something or other.
The car had been debadged which only leads me to believe that it is the IS-250 with the 2.5 liter V6 engine pushing a whopping 204 HP. Not the IS-350 with the 3.5 Liter V6 which makes 306 HP. The IS-350 is a) nicer, and b) has more balls horsepower.
Besides who would debadge the up market version of their car?Upbadging and debadging are personal preferences. I can see that removing the branding to have the car appear to be more stealth, that’s cool. But removing the official model name to make your car appear to be more expensive and luxurious than it is, I find, tacky.
Me, being the car nerd aficionado that I am, realized (by watching his break lights and listening closely) that this fine driver is getting his six speed on. As in the six speed manual transmission that comes with only the IS-250 variant of this Lexus. I guess the powers that be at Toyota (Lexus’s parent company) decided that the few and far between who really want to row through the gears old school style aren’t deserving of the horsepower of their paddle shifting automatic fellow IS owners, odd- I know.
So, back to this car. He had a very nice paint job… matte black, a obnoxious loud after market exhaust, booming sound system, and tinted taillights. From what I could tell the driver, who was a he, is well on his way to turning this Lexus luxury sedan into a tuner special. For better or for worse.
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