Click the Lexus LS600h for a high res gallery

It must be nice to be Sir Paul McCartney. Lexus offered to give the über-famous Beatles front-man a brand new car. He settled on an LS600H, the hybrid flagship of the Lexus brand. According to a source familiar with the matter, Paul "ordered the hybrid limo because it helps to reduce emissions." Those emissions took a giant leap forward before Sir Paul even got behind the wheel, as the vehicle was delivered by plane. The estimated carbon footprint of the trip comes to 38,050kg, which, for perspective, is ten times what it would have been if the Lexus had been delivered by boat. Put another way, according to Co2balance.com Director Mike Rigby, "That is the equivalent of driving the car around the world six times." Even the air freight shipping company was surprised, with a spokesman quoted as saying, "Obviously we were happy for the business but everyone was shocked. The carbon footprint must be enormous." McCartney is reportedly rather unhappy about the chosen method for delivery. Thanks for the tip, Pat!

[Source: New Car Net, The Telegraph]

Click the Lexus LS600h for a high res gallery

We don't often get the chance to be chauffeured around in the backs of super-luxurious cars. Sure, we occasionally have ridden around in the belly of a limo for weddings and what not, but those rentals are nothing like the real thing. According to The Chauffeur magazine, the best £50,000 to £100,000 car to be driven in is a hybrid, the Lexus LS 600h L to be exact. Powered by a hybridized V8 engine, the long-wheelbase Lexus flagship's rear seat is surely a nice place to sit back and relax, but one of the reasons the vehicle was chosen has to do with its economy... fuel economy that is. Sure, the reclining rear seats with shiatsu massage may have had something to do with the choice, but it's the fuel economy that really seals the deal in Lexus' favor, right? Anyone?

Be sure to check out our review of the extended-length Lexus hybrid. The full press release from Lexus is after the break.

In a Lexus LS 600h, going on sale at the beginning of October, there is a lot of technology in the hybrid powertrain under the hood. But, a new standard feature, the Pre-Crash Safety (PCS) system, will up the ante by figuring out if the driver is paying attention, calculating if a crash is about to occur, and then do something about it.

in the images above you can get an idea what the system does. The little box on top of the steering wheel can see your face, and it judges if you're looking at the road ahead or not. If you're not, it buzzes at you. Cameras on the outside of the car can guess when an accident is about to happen, and if so, the headrest moves forward to help stop whiplash. PCS will soon be standard in the LS 600h, the LS 600h L and the LS 460.

You can read Lexus' comforting explanation of the system after the jump.

[Source: Lexus]