Now, what exactly does the GP transmission know to do?  Fail at 35k
miles, right after the engine goes?

My parents only owned GM cars throughout their lives.  From the
LeSabre that would not stop leaking, to the Lumina that they had to
replace the engine at 29,000 miles and now sounds like a motor boat
when accelerating (Chevy keeps insisting that nothing is wrong with
the car, I guess it’s supposed to sound that way!).  They finally
learned their lesson and bought a Honda Accord.

I’ll buy you a Grand Prix in exchange for your ES300.
I had a 1971 Grand Prix (great car).
Moved on to a 1981 Olds Cutlass (same car as the GP).
AT no point in the history of the Grand Prix, does it compare to a
2002/03 ES300.  The ’71 was great, but for different reasons.  That
SD-455 engine was a beast, but the 8 mpg were killer.  GM cars have
been getting worse and worse over the years.  The fact that you even
mention GM and Lexus in the same breath leads me to believe that you
may be medicated on something.
To listen to some of these people carry on about the 1 second it takes
the transmission to shift, about how they could die because of it.
"It’s a hazard," "the car is a menace to the road."  If they really
feared for their lives they should sell the car and quit their
bitchin’.
I own the car and have no problems at all with my transmission.  I
usually just laugh when I hear people complain, but to hear someone
actaully compare it to a Grand Prix, thems fightin’ words!!!  I really
think people need something to complain about and the transmission
seems to be the biggest target.
As far as the "trunk open" problem.  I understand your grief.  I’m
sure the reasoning was simply to keep the dash clutter free.  Really
the only thing thats lights up are the gauges and they probably just
couldnt fit the light inside one of them.  But that is something they
should have had a workaround for–maybe a "ding" similar to what they
do if your door is open.
Just remember to check to see if your trunk is closed.  I always shut
my headlights off before I leave the car behind, by hitting the button
to lock the doors twice on the keyless entry.  That will shut off the
headlights immeadiately so you won’t have to wait the 45 seconds and
that way, you’ll know something was left open if they don’t go off.

The Es300 has a vvt-i engine, which means at the early stage of its
life, it will be trying to learn the owner’s driving styles and
calibrate it to work in harmony with its pilot and the "delay" you’re
referring about is the intelligence doing its jobs.

> I guess your definition of ‘tolerable’ is anything quieter than a cheap
> lawnmower.

> ES = extremely sirene

No, I meant "tolerable" is the transmission knows when it is supposed
to shift and it not having a 1 second delay when trying to find the
gears.  I think if you’ll read through the ES300 owner evaluations in
Edmunds.com, about 40% would agree the ES300 transmission absolutely
sucks.

I’ll be the first to admit that the Grand Prix interior is cheap, as
is most GM products, but when spending $35K on a car, I want to have a
transmission that knows what it’s doing.

> Grand Prix-O-Shit

> Which vehicle have more plastics, the Grand POS or the Avalanche….

Yes, perhaps the GP interior is land-o-plastic, but at least it has a
tolerable engine and transmission, something that cannot be said about
the ES300.

I guess your definition of ‘tolerable’ is anything quieter than a cheap
lawnmower.

ES = extremely sirene

Which vehicle have more plastics, the Grand POS or the Avalanche….

Yep, great reason to get a Grand Prix.

- Mark

One more reason, why I am hesitant to buy a Lexus.

"njbok" <ayonne…@NOSPAMhotmail.com> wrote in message

news:dDPM9.71966$hK4.5905053@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net…

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

> I think it’s reasonable to expect that a Lexus (especially in the year
2003)
> should have a Trunk Open indicator on the dash.

> I wouldn’t refuse to buy the car due to the lack of the lamp, that’s for
> sure, but if my old 1990 Dodge had that light (and it did),  it certainly
> should be in a 2003 Lexus.

> I have to say that when I bought my 98 ES, I was surprised to find it
didn’t
> have the lamp. Now, having bought my 02, I’m not surprised anymore, I’m
just
> puzzled. Puzzled as to why the people at Lexus continue to omit that
> not-so-hi-tech item, given all the other stuff the car provides………

> Do they think we’re not willing to pay the price for that lamp?

I suspect the fact that the ES300 is a built-to-a-price family car – a
Camry – under the skin plays a large part.  You can graft on a better stereo
system, more curvevaceous sheet metal, and and fancier instruments for the
Lexus version, but Toyota decided that a trunk-open warning was below the
bar on a Camry and didn’t want to make a separate wiring harness and sensor
system for the Lexus version.  It’s probably just a cost tradeoff.

- Mark