The Lexus LS460: It Really Does Park Itself

When I heard the new Lexus LS460 flagship sedan could park itself, I knew there had to be a catch. Maybe it would only do half the job, or require a parking space twice the length of the car — or some other unreported disclaimer. I went to Detroit yesterday to try it myself, determined to discover and report the ugly truth. The truth, it turns out, is that the car freakin' parks itself. It really does it. Line it up, and the optional Advanced Parking Guidance System does the hard part. This is the coolest spectacle any of us jaded automotive journalists has seen since the retractable-hardtop convertible.

Here's how it works, starting with parallel parking: You pull up alongside a space, making sure to pass the rear car before aligning next to the front car. A sonar sensor on the front fender measures the length of the space and your distance from the cars. Put the car in Reverse, and the rearview camera, which comes with the required navigation system, presents a wide rear view on the in-dash display. (This feature comes with the optional navigation system, which is a prerequisite for APGS.) Pressing the parallel-parking icon at the bottom of the touch-screen places a simple green square roughly over the parking space.

Arrows let you adjust its position.

Once it's centered, you press OK, take your hands off the wheel and use only the brake to ease the car backward.

The steering wheel flings itself around under control of the electric power steering, angling you in. All you have to do is keep the speed low enough and stop the car when the display shows that you're closing on the rear car's bumper.

Then you put it in drive, square the car and you're done. Basically, the car controls only the steering. If you let it, it will drive into the car behind you. Though it may change in the future, APGS doesn't tell you when a space is too small for the car. For now, it lets you try, no matter how small the space.

A few conditions can interfere: If you pull up too close alongside the front car, the box appears red instead of green, which means you're too close to make the cut, and the system won't work. If you go more than 2 mph, grab the steering wheel or step on the accelerator, it defeats the system and you're on your own. An incline of 4.5 degrees or greater may prevent APGS from working because the car won't reverse up a steeper hill under idle power alone.

If you push the back-in icon on the screen, APGS will guide the car backward into a parking-lot space, too. The only difference is that it lets you rotate as well as slide the target box, to adjust for whatever angle you're at when you begin. Overall, I was impressed by how close to perfectly the system placed the target initially.

Automatic parking won't come cheap. The car itself will cost roughly $60,000, and the parking feature requires the navigation and rearview camera option, which are sure to cost at least a couple grand. (On the current LS430, navigation comes only in option packages, the cheapest of which is $5,000.) Lexus says only that APGS will be a stand-alone addition priced "under $1,000" — which in marketing-speak means something like $995.

I have mixed emotions about automated parking. We've already bred a generation of drivers who can't stop short without ABS, can't stay on the road without a stability system and can't drive at all without an automatic transmission. As a Midwesterner, I pride myself on my ability to parallel park almost anything almost anywhere. Shouldn't everyone be required to pass that part of the driving test before they get licensed? ... Come to think of it, maybe automated parking isn't such a bad idea. The bumper it saves could be your own.

Parking lot screens

Sonar sensor

Comments

[Eor]

Now if they can get an automatic turn signal system going? Lexus drivers haven't mastered that complicated function yet.

[Peppy]

dude thats flippin awesome haha but takes away from the joy of hitting your first parked car :-( lol

[IS250driver]

This car shows how far the Japanese carmakers are against their US competitors. GM & Ford can only dream of this....

[sboyNAcamaro]

actually i think this is a stupid accessory...i mean i love the rear view camera, probably the best thing ever in safety terms..but this system sounds time consuming (especially if you are in traffic with people behind you and your playing around pushing green lines and arrows..) the system sounds like it just rolls around in reverse and turns the steering wheel...and if you are too lazy to turn the steering wheel yourself, then you shouldn't be driving...

this new system is for stupid filthy rich people that dont know how to drive....why the hell would i need this...its a car your suppose to drive it....

[Lil'Tom]

I notice the image appears to be reversed. I suppose that makes the system more intuitive. Is it common for rear cameras to do this? Also, does it work on either side of the street? Or is there no sensor on the left hand side?

[Geo]

Another toy for another passionless car.

[Dave T.]

Lil Tom,
The photos aren't reversed they were just taken on two sides of the same center brick island at the hotel. Left and right sides.

[Joe Wiesenfelder]

Actually, you're right, Tom. I never thought of it in such terms, but the rearview camera technically does reverse the image. They all do. The curb is on the right, and to a rearward-facing camera, the curb would appear on the left. That would be confusing, so the image is flopped to emulate a rearview mirror. Note that the Lexus logo on the RX350 is reversed in the photo. To answer your other question, there's a button in the lower-left corner of the screen that puts the target box on the left side, so you can park on either side of the street -- or parking lot.

I neglected to mention, to one commenter's point, that the guy who teaches this system to dealers can complete the parking process in as little as 8 seconds. --JW

[Benson]

The Lexus engineers must have developed this with my wife in mind. Her lease on the 540 is coming due next month so we'll most certainly shop this car. What a great invention!

[Mike]

Great, yet another "gee-whiz" gadget that absolves the driver of their responsibility to actually DRIVE. Laser-guided cruise control, lane departure warnings, stability control, etc. I think encourage drivers to pay less attention to driving the car, because they assume their gadgets will save them from their stupidity.

The more I see new crap like this...the more I just wanna hop into a Shelby Cobra from the 60's and roar down the highway.

What ever happened to the passion of driving cars? Whatever happened to beauty in simplistic design? What happens if someone presses the wrong button?

I bet that if you take a driver from 10 years in the future (when all cars will have all kinds of automated features) and you put them in a 1964 Ford Mustang....they would be like...."hmmm....what does this switch do? Oh and what's that shiny knob right there....is that the cruise control? Oh and Is that little light right there my parking proximity sensor? And is THAT a GEARSHIFT? They still HAVE those things? I thought manual transmission was unsafe..."

Pretty soon they will have cars that will have toilets built into the seats that will unzip your pants and wipe your ass for you.

Sometimes innovation lacks passion. Everybody just wants to do everything in a more easy way. It's sickening.

This world is slowly sliding down the lazy hole. This generation is a generation of lazy, helpless big babies that are continuously searching for ways to invent an easy button....like that stupid Staples commercial.

Never have I ever seen such selfishness and self-servitude in any single generation.

[lazy parker]

self-servitude? How do you manage that?

What I want is something to back me into my apartment-garage space, which has been carefully engineered to give me three and a half inches clearance on either side.

[neil]

The passion of parallel parking? Seriously?

[Undocumented]

If you can't even maneuver the damn thing when it's going at 2 mph you're not fit to drive! Please hire a chauffer and spare the rest of us...

[DB]

I've been driving city and country for 30 + years. I've never been comfortable with Par/parking, so I don't.... ever..... Will I shell out extra $$$$ for an automated system to do what I already don't do? No.

[Kevin_Canada]

This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! I have only been driving for a few years, and yes there is nothing I dread more than parallel parking, however, how lazy are we as a species?

Young and new drivers, already, are oblivious to pretty much everything out there. People have gotten to the point where they don't even use their signal to turn or change lanes. But I mean, who needs to signal? God knows where they're going right??

Driving is a privilege, not a right. You learn how to drive, you learn how to parallel park, and you learn to use your signal. The only way to get used to it and become comfortable with it is to practice it, continually use it.

I hate parallel parking, nevertheless, I still do it, in fact I do it as much as possible, to get better at it.

I agree what was said earlier, soon enough the seats will have built in toilets that undo your pants for you.

With all the advances in technology, why do we need to have these kinds of features in a product of vanity? Whether I had the money or not, I could not justify spending $60,000+ on a car as it is. I definitely know there wouldn't be any on board cameras on my car.

People as a whole have just become too lazy for their own good.

[Dave T.]

the point is plenty of people do buy this $60K car already. this new one is hotly anticipated and will probably be a big seller. they're also offering a similar system on toyota Prius overseas.

I think its neat and when it get more advanced, cheaper and more widespread it could be just another option like cruise control.

[Joseph]

What's next a car that drives for you? This is getting rediculous in my opinion we should be able to do these things with out the help of the car. It takes the fun and the challenge out of driving.

[Lolo]

At first I didn't believe it. If it wasn't so expensive I'd get it. I've never liked parallel parking and try to find a parking spot where I don't have to, or don't drive at all. I can't wait until cars drive for you.

[Tom]

god people, get off your high horses. not everyone wants "the passion of driving" on their stressed out commute to work. you guys either watch too many car commercials with people driving on empty, winding roads or live in the middle of nowhere.

people suck at parallel parking. most of them. i thought the comment the author made about this kind of system saving your OWN car from a bad driver was quite interesting. the point is, if you don't like it don't buy it, but a lot of people can use this and i can see it becoming a standard feature in the future.

when they find the cure for AIDS are you going to complain it takes the passion out of safe sex? will you go back to using DOS because the new windows coming out will take the passion out of confusing, tedious computing? do you hate penicillin or long for the return of the always-full-of-passion polio?

it's called technology. automobile technology has saved lives and will continue to, regardless if you think it takes the "passion" out of driving.

get over yourselves.

[John]

Those comparisons are way out of context and totally irrelevant. What we are talking about is FAR removed from sex and disease. It doesn't kill you to learn how to drive a damn car right.

Automotive technology saves the lives of stupid, ignorant people. The cars nowadays NEED 6 airbags because drivers are becoming increasingly naive and they assume that everyone around them is a fully competent, aware driver. People nowadays take for granted their safety because they feel cushy and safe in their aluminum / fiberglass tin cans with their air-baggies and anti-lock brakes.

I think we should return to the roots of driving...no CD Players...no radios...no tvs in the seats, no cellphones in cars...no electronic maps...no GPS...no NOTHING....just you and a comfy chair and beautiful...simple...design made to function reliably.

Cars from the 30's 40's and 50's were works of art...and f*** you and your passion-comparisons...just because people are "stressed" and can't deal with their everyday problems correctly, doesn't give them an excuse to demand amenities and comforts to compensate for their ineptitude whilst driving.

"Oh damn look at me...poor me....I hate driving...so give me cool gadgets and make my car so it's drivable by a 6 year old so I have no more stressssssss ohhhh pooooorrrrr meeeeeeee WOE IS MEEEEEEEE WAAAAAhHHHhhHhhhHhH I WANT I WANT I WANT GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME AIRBAGS GIMME GPS GIMME AUTOMATED PARKING SYSTEMS GIMME LASER CRUISE CONTROL WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH I'M TOO STRESSSSSEDDDD TO DEAL WITH DRIVINNNNGGGGGG WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sum dude]

That last one up there is funny, but nonetheless he has a point, to many people rely to flippin much on their cars to do things for them instead of usin their BRAINS to do nething for themselves. I see the self parkin thing as another gimmick to screw up and have to spend more money to fix, i mean what will happen if the car goes crazy while its tryin to park? doubtful it will happen but stranger things have happened. I'm also a mechanic in training so the more gimmicks car makers pile on their cars the more money ill make. i know i messed up alot in spellin or w/e but i really dont care

[2 words]

For those of you who are waiting for the day that a car can drive itself ..its called public transportation... if you really cant handle the stress of driving..dont drive...if you cant park your car dont take it.. take the bus/train instead

[The King]

Screw all haters, LEXUS kicks ASS with APGS. This shows how stupid american cars are.

[Just passing by]

Strap in and hold on...driverless and autonomous cars are on the way!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_challenge

If you can't take the joy out of driving, take
the driver out of the car!

[O]

While I am an advocate of the joy of driving albeit a city girl from NYC, who has been driving for the last 19 years, and refuse to own a car that is not a standard shift--on my third--I do value the technological improvements that we have in the automotive industry and think the parallel park feature is a thing of wonder.

Yes the cars from yesteryear were works of art, but not very safe, and in fact safety was not even a consideration when building those artful cars. Yes the modern car may be made out of thinner materials, however, it is these thinner materials that have made the cars more affordable to accommodate present demands and usage.

It is not naivete or laziless that has created a need for airbags in cars. As a people we expected to live longer with a better quality of life. Airbags, seat belts (not a feature in the early cars) help to make that possible.

Automated traffic signal would be great, however have you tried driving in NYC and signaling to change lanes? This causes an immediate reaction of drivers in the next lane to speed up. Do you think you would ever be allowed to change langes without taking an aggressive position? Automated signaling would work if the other cars were forced to respect the signal -- a premise for the generation of driverless cars.

Ironically it is a joyful driving experience, the elimination of the pains in driving, i.e., dealing with other human drivers, that is leading to the automated, driverless car.

Whether people want this feature or not, it's still a cool thing.

[Krystal]

I am happy to see that we are using more of our brains to come up with neat gadgets as this. However, it is kind of a waste of time. No offense to anyone, but as a woman, i am offended. This car is made for rich women that cannot drive. Thankfully, I dont fall into tht category but it's still offensive. Also, what happens if your car is parking itself and another driver speeds up behind you to go around your 2mph car driving itself? Doesn't sound safe to me. I think this is an accident waiting to happen. It is a way of giving people with nothing better to do something to fill up their time. Someone should have installed this feature in children instead. I would love for my 4 year old to park hisself with simple instructions. Not gonna happen though.

"Sometimes innovation lacks passion. Everybody just wants to do everything in a more easy way. It's sickening....

Never have I ever seen such selfishness and self-servitude in any single generation."

This comment made me laugh! Making life easier is a bad thing? Cars made life easier for people who before only knew horses and buggies. Gas and electric heating made things easier for those who had to heat their homes with fire. Easier isn't worse, it's just easier. Should car manufacturers be trying to find a way to make life harder, instead? Would that make people respect this generation more - if it wasn't enough for us to parallel park - our cars made us do it blindfolded? Get with the times and stop crying that life is easier. If you'd like to abandon the use of new technology for some sense of pride at doing things "the hard way," be my guest, but don't accuse practical people of being selfish and self-serving.

[Tammy Bonk]

I Love IT!!!! But??? How will is work when you are dealing with snow banks???

[whatever]

cars are just for lazy rich people who don't know how to ride horses...

can any of you nay sayers really take yourself seriously as you TYPE MESSAGES ON YOUR COMPUTER.

yeah, you high and mighty anti comfort anti tech purists. Send me a handwritten letter and tell me all about it.

[Bam]

I don't understand why anyone is ripping this feature? Why does anyone want technology advancement to stop on vehicles? This is the kind of technology that will lead to cars that can autopilot freeways at 150 mph in fully saturated traffic conditions. Sonar, video, road sensor, and GPS technologies combined to make automated safe cars controlled on the highway by a network.

Yet with millions invested in techno-gadgetry, Lexus has apparently put very little money or creative energy into styling. True luxury cars should capture the heart with distinctive, elegant, timeless lines. Take a look at some of the true luxury cars of yesteryear (Cadillac, Bentley, Cord, Mercedes, Lincoln, Rolls Royce...) and remember how they stood above the crowd and how just looking at them made you feel. True luxury cars should elicit a passion, a love affair, based solely on visual impact. Then bring on the technical advances.
Today, you can't tell the rear end of a Mercedes from that of a Honda. Luxury is elegance on wheels, and incorporates the entire car, not just the inside.
A concept that all car manufacturers have lost sight of. While Lexus was busy designing and marketing a car that parks itself, they completely forgot about the concept of styling. I would be wary of techno-hype, designed to have one overlook the lack of elegance and styling. If Lexus wants to sell a luxury car, they should start with styling and finish with APGS. It is a complete package guys, it's not luxury just because you say it is and charge $75,000 for it.

[ryan]

I've had to parallel park in a narrow side alley that had cars parked on both the left and right side. Can this car do it? It swings the wheel around, does it know about cars not in the rear?

[Maureen]

Automated parallel parking? Say it ain't so. If this becomes a standard feature in cars it will mean the end to the one car maneuver I excel at.(No choice if you live in a city.) It's also something that works exactly like they say it does in the textbook. I've spent 45 minutes getting into a tight space, and one time I wrecked my clutch doing so,but the thrill of victory...

[Jen]

Wow, that would be handy if I lived in the city. I live in a rural area so parallel parking isn't an issue for me.

This is a good idea though, for people who have trouble parking in such places.

If it wasn't so expensive I would consider this vehicle. :) (I'm a starving college student, what do you expect?)

[John]

Fantastic. That's the only word for it. I'm not sure why the naysayers are complaining. I'm somewhat concerned in fact. They seem to have some kind of anal fixation on wiping themselves in truck stops and highway rest stops. They also seem to believe that air bags put us in danger from the reckless and careless morons with whom we are forced to share the road. I see no reason we shouldn't have cars on autopilot in the right lane of the interstate, and lots of reason why we should. There is no reason we couldn't have automatics alongside autonomy. Also, I'm concerned about those people advocating high speed parallel parking. I assume they are using the powerslide method? I've tried it, but I'm not that good at it. I hear it's a sport in the UK, though. Frankly, I think these people insist that mental resources which could be spent on alternative fuel sources and cures for cancer wish instead for those resources to be spent on parallel parking because their cognitive abilities do not rise to a level where they could spend them on anything else.

[James]

get a bike and park anywhere!!!

[Andy]

When did it become a requirement for a car to represent "passion" ? If a person chooses to invest that kind of emotion in their transportation, then I say go for it and buy a '69 Thunderbird or something. I recognize that a person really can find "passion" in owning and driving a car. For others, however, driving is a means to get from A to B in a manner more efficient than walking. For these people, a car is a utility. It's not like humans and cars have a natural relationship to each other that we must honor.

[Happymantis]

oh my god, all these flared-up emotions...

[Paul]

Wait... who is complaining here? People who are worried about the laziness of driving an automated car. Umm, doesn't anyone realize that cars are one of those lazy inventions to begin with? We drive to work, we drive to school, we drive to the store and we drive to the gym, all the while removing any and all aspects of physical activity from our lives. What's the difference if we remove yet one more useless function of driving?

Everyone should be able to place a car exactly where they want it. Period. Otherwise, you shouldn't be driving. But at the same time unless you're driving a car without power steering, power brakes, power windows, a manual transmission AND a crank to actually get it started, you're not driving the car the way it was originally intended to be driven by those who conceived the cars concept. Innovation is good. I can parallel park with the best of them, but, I look forward to these innovations. I like the idea of actualy having a nice shiny bumper, not one scuffed by people who are visio-spacially challenged.

[flyl03]

Uhhh so if it helps me park in a small space, would it help me get out. parallel parking is easy, my problem is getting OUT

[Dort]

i bet one day we'll invent teleportation and still be lazy.

[James]

Hi

For those who think there is too much technology in cars are talking out their ass. With that type of narrow minded thinking we still all be driving model t's

[Juan]

this tech isn't really new. big deal.

[Ricky]

Even though this may seem a little extravagant, remember that this is an option. Also, this option is not for everyone. Perhaps the husband loves the car but is scared to let his wife drive. To him, this makes perfect sense.

[Xavier Lumine]

My brand 'new' race car finishing up in the garage has a full manual steering rack, no power assist brakes or ABS, nothing but 900 horses and beautiful connectivity with the road.

I doubt anyone who drives a Camry all day would understand what 'pure' motoring is all about. Go drive a Lotus Elise sometime and you might learn a little bit about simplicity, elegance and being one with the pavement. Cars are becoming heavier and more complex. I tried to make some modifications to my Audi A6 and after downloading a 4000 page shop manual, concluded that to work on the car you need an engineering degree, fiber optic test gear and computerized diagnostic equipment, and a whole array of specialized Audi tools. Really takes the fun out of turning wrenches on a Friday night.

[Rawle Blair]

This is a great idea, certainly better than that silly daytime running lights gimmick and that ridiculous cruise control thing that no body uses. To those who say it take away from the driving experience, it’s a luxury car, not a Ferrari...being pampered is the purpose of this sector and since when is parking part of the driving experience. To those who say this technology is too time consuming, you still have the option to park the thing yourself if you know how to, faster; but for a lot of older driver (especially women driver) parallel parking remains a real challenge, just ask my mom. To those who claim it’s a lazy man tool, then what do you have to say about power windows, seats, locks, mirrors, etc? Are you willing to give those up for the so call “real” driving experience?

[Gerry]

Not every one out there is able to enjoy the "driving experience" even though they think they can. A lot of drivers think they can drive but really don't. Im not really against aididng the driving disabled, one more gadget for the driving handicaped that will keep my bumper looking good. As for me im totally with the guys that mentioned the 64 mustang the thunderbird That is a driving experience that no lexus, infinity or any import can ever give you. And for the guy that mentioned playing with his a6 should have gotten american, i can still play with my mustang and get it to where i want. A bare boned monster with no comforts, no ac no cruise control no AT(Five speed), no air bags etc (Options that the idiot that had the car before had paid a pretty penny for) Who needs those comforts when all you care about is laying rubber down at 150 mph.