For as small a MPG bump the Lexus hybrids get compared to the non-hybrid versions, Toyota sure is able to ride them for a lot of publicity. Take a move by London's BlueSky Chauffeurs, an executive car hire company that will start cruising the city streets in LS 600h and the RX 400h hybrids. BlueSky is trying to move into the ever-more-crowded luxury/eco-friendly market, and the company's managing director, Leroy Barr, said that these vehicles play to customer's vanity. "Executives are getting younger and like to be seen in cars that reflect their status, but equally in this economic climate they don't want to be over-ostentatious," Barr said in a statement (pasted after the break).

The luxury is all inside - leather upholstery, multimedia and navigation package, GPS units - and apparently that little "h" on the rear badge will be enough to make any accusations go away.

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.

The Asia-only Toyota Crown model (pictured) is the latest Toyota to get a hybrid powertrain option but it certainly won't be the last. Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe told Automotive News (subs req'd) in Geneva today that sometime in the 2020s, every Toyota will be available with a hybrid engine. If you think you might have read this before somewhere, you're right. Back in January, Watanabe said the same thing and even that wasn't the first time. Toyota's "all-hybrid" message is repeated at pretty much every major auto show. We're not against a line-up like this, we just hope these hybrid powertrains - when they arrive - will actually save fuel, instead of adding questionable value to vehicles like the Lexus LS 600h.

[Source: Luca Ciferri / Automotive News Europe]

No small percentage of Lexus buyers will gladly pay the hybrid premium for better-performing luxury cars. In the UK, almost a third (28 percent) of new Lexus models sold are hybrid versions, according to Just-Auto (subs req'd)
While the RX 400h is the brand's best-selling hybrid model (80 percent of UK sales), let's not forget the world's most expensive production hybrid, the LS 600h (pictured) and that the Lexus GS 450h sedan sells more than the non-hybrid version in the UK. Overall, Lexus sold 3,381 vehicles in the UK in September, and about 1,000 of those were hybrids.

[Source: Just-Auto]

Just in case you have $155,000+ burning a hole in your pocket, the Lexus LS 600h is now on sale in the UK. Forgive me, I meant £81,400. It looks so much less expensive in five digits.

We've talked before how expensive the LS 600h is, so no need to repeat just how expensive the LS 600h is, right? A while back, Nihon Car spent a week with the car, and liked it. The LS 600h's full-time, all-wheel drive full hybrid V8 powertrain offers 30.4mpg (Imperial) and 219g/km of CO2.

So, how many people have that kind of cash ready for a vehicle? According to Toyota's press release, Lexus GB had 230 orders as of yesterday. If you go order one today, you won't get it until spring.

[Source: Toyota]