Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Green with envy

Lexus gives first dedicated hybrid luxury car its Canadian debut in... Winnipeg

By: Murray McNeill

It was one of the last places you'd expect to see a car -- a mezzanine-floor meeting room of a hotel -- and one of the last places you'd expect to witness the Canadian launch of a much-hyped new vehicle -- downtown Winnipeg.

But there it was Tuesday in all of its gleaming glory in a meeting room at the downtown Fairmont Hotel: the new Lexus HS 250h.

The latest addition to the Lexus lineup is being billed as the world's first dedicated hybrid luxury car, which means you can't get it with a standard gasoline engine -- and the first new model to be launched into the Canadian market from Winnipeg.

Forty Canadian automotive journalists, including three from the Winnipeg area, were on hand for the unveiling and to test drive the new car. And Lexus in Canada managing director Stephen Beatty said one of the first questions most of them asked was: "Why Winnipeg?"

Beatty said in an interview he was surprised to learn this was the first time a new vehicle has been launched in Winnipeg.

He said some of the other Canadian launch sites Lexus has used for some of its other hybrid vehicles -- it has three other models that come with the option of a hybrid system -- were an exclusive resort on Vancouver Island and Kelowna, B.C.

With a suggested starting retail price of $39,900, Beatty said the HS 250h is being targeted at Canadians who are looking for an environmentally friendly but "affordable" luxury car.

And Lexus officials thought Winnipeg would be a perfect place to launch such a car because "there's a growing environmental sensibility in Manitoba." Not only is it home to the International Institute For Sustainable Development, but also North American's "most forward-thinking, environmentally aware power utility" in Manitoba Hydro.

"We also wanted to open people up to the notion that the new luxury consumer lives in places other than just downtown Toronto or Ottawa or Montreal," Beatty said. "The new luxury consumer also resides in places like Winnipeg."

The Lexus officials said company research indicates 60 per cent of Canadians who are in the market for a luxury car are looking for a hybrid model with a starting price of less than $40,000.

They said that not only does the HS 250h's four-cylinder, gas-engine/electric motor system maximize fuel economy -- 5.6 litres per 100 kilometres in the city and 5.9 litres per 100 kilometres on the highway -- but it emits 70 per cent fewer smog-forming emissions than the average new car.

It also reduces its impact on the planet by using plastic parts made from plant materials.

The gleaming model on display at the hotel had a jet black exterior -- black sapphire pearl, to be exact -- and a water-grey leather interior. About 10 more models in a variety of other colors were parked in the hotel's semi-circular driveway, waiting to spirit the journalists away on an extended test drive through downtown Winnipeg (The Forks, Broadway, the Exchange District) and up through cottage country to Gimli.

Tuesday night they were also getting a behind-the-scenes tour of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet to watch a dance rehearsal and to meet some directors.

Beatty said Winnipeg has lived up to the company's expectations as a vehicle launch site.

"It's just such a pretty city. I encourage everybody else to do it (launch new vehicles here). We've received a great, great welcome here from everybody."

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 16, 2009 B6

Source:  http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/green-with-envy-59442777.html