Volkswagen Upstages Lexus with Technology

who said anything up an upstage...its meeting lexus at the same level...

Lexus LS460 60-70k

VW Touran 20-30k

Also, VW's system might actually be better as it only takes 15 seconds. Car and Driver said that the Lexus system takes up to about 25.

"VW upstates Lexus with technology."

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!

Seriously folks. Is this thing on?

Don't forget to tip your waitress.

Wow, Will we posted at the EXACT same time. How weird? But your argument that the Lexus has the best technology loses a lot of ground as VW has the same technology on its mid class model. VW has probably had it for the same time, just its latest car was introduced a month or so later. Neither car is for sale yet, the Touran might even come to market before the Lexus.

And we also all know both VW and Lexus sourced this self-parking technology from an outside engineering company.

Chewy, "Neither car is for sale yet, the Touran might even come to market before the Lexus."

the lexus comes out in october/november of 2006...i dont think VW is going to beat that

"The market launch will be taking place in the middle of November."

http://www.worldcarfans.com/news.cfm/country/gcf/newsID/2060913.002/volkswagen/new-vw-touran-facelift-revealed

LexusKindaGuy12,

It doesn't matter who beats who to the market because, VW Park Assist is way more intuitive, quicker, & easier to use than the Lexus version. The Lexus Park Assist is a joke, you have to sit there for 20 seconds pushing buttons to draw out the guided path for the car... By that time traffic is piled up behind you honking their horns.

BMW is also testing an easier to use version that simply uses it's sensors to guide it's path without having to be manually program first, into the computer.

First they copy the Toyota Corolla by coming out with their version of the Jetta. And now they copy the Lexus LS self-parking feature. What next and saying they upstage Lexus? yeah right, LOL:) ah..ha...ha..ha.. I guess now the German brand are copying everything Lexus are coming out with. I guess that part of being the Leader in the auto industry, people copy stuff.

I want to make one thing clear, that all auto company copy or borrow design from each other.

Lexus

Lexus fans jealous that their so-called superior electronics are now available on a regular VW.

Not 'Lexus' the infamous poster who thinks there has been some paradime shift in which everyone is now copying Lexus.

Get real! The Jetta does not look like a Corolla, and VW did not copy the self-parking feature.

Maybe if you knew ANYTHING about cars (anything at all) you would realise that for such technology to be implemented onto a car, it takes months of design and engineering work (only because the technology already exists).

And no-one wants to copy the Corolla. The Corolla has nothing to copy, it has no style.

Stop being so childish and brand-biased.

You sound (and are) a fool.

Ah the standards have changed again - I though innovation was key. Also wasn't the Prius first to have self-park? You see German car fans, I said this before, it doesn't matter who did it first it matters who does it best. Many times you have argued on behalf of innovation, yet when it is Toyota's turn to have something first the standards change. Also I am not saying that the VW system is superior, although it is possible that it may be more advanced.

Also I have to agree that when I first saw the Jetta pics from (which autoshow) I immediately said it looked like the Corolla.

atleast from the front

No the Prius can't self park. The reason that the updated VW Touran is the first to get the technology is because it is the "newest and freshest" VAG product. It has come out right when the technology is ready. I expect other VAG products to get the technology in the future.

Can anyone tell me what this article is about then?
http://www.time.com/time/2003/inventions/invprius.html.

Does it not have the feature now, was it never offered, or what? I thought I saw it in the news about the Japanese Prius.

is it not true then?

Find another report that substantiates the Prius. It looks like Toyota showed it off, but there is no proof that it was actually sold to consumers. It looks like many people here are not understanding the significance of this. With the ParkAsist on the Touran VW has set a precedent for other manufacturers to follow. Now consumers will expect the system to show up on all affordable cars. Consider this, Navigation systems have been out for a while now, but mainstream afordable cars have only gotten them a year or so ago. What VW has done with the Touran would be the same as Toyota putting a Navi in a Camry at the same time that they debuted on some luxury car.

Yes, even if that is true. It was in a very limited vehicle in a very limited market. VW is doing the exact opposite.

chewy,
all of a sudden your comments are not making sense anymore. so the prius had the technology first, and lexus perfected it. just because vw has it on an entry level vehicle doesn't mean the technology is superior, it just means they also have it.

The real question is how fast can you shift back into first gear and get the hell out of there when the system malfunctions and you tear off some guys' bumper?

if i am not mistaken, Valeo invented parking assist 14 years ago.

claiming to be the most technologically advanced car for having it is like saying the cadillac deville was the most technologically advanced car for being the first to offer night vision. the z06 can be considered the most technologically advanced by using numerous racing technologies, etc.

i thought of 1 thing lexus is very good at....selling BS.

for all of you brainwashed lexus folks, i am not saying lexus sells crap, they have good cars, just nothing noteworthy.

At least this looks better than the piggy LS lol

Amd since the lexus guys started talkin about copying, thats realy sad, coz those taillights on the LS were taken directly from the BMW 5 series, which is considered by some folks ugly. But believe it or not, the 5er is 1 of the most good lookin cars in the market.

sorry...i am mistaken...valeo first created the ultrasonic sensors for cars 14 years ago

so if the prius had the self park feature 1st, does it make it the most technologically advanced?

but the 1996 Acura 3.5 RL was the first car to offer a Navigation system! ...who really cares who had self parking first, do you really think that ANYONE is going to remember in 10 years when a Civic will be able to do it? if anything the ones that come out with it later will have the advantage becasue it will be a new-er system and probably do somethings better.

that IS one thing i noticed about the Lexus system...it took FOREVER! who wants to sit there and wait for their car to park itself in over 30 seconds when any monkey can (see; should) park it in half the time?!?!

did find something interesting though....
"In 1992, Volkswagen employed self-parking technology in its IRVW (Integrated Research Volkswagen) Futura concept car. The IRVW parked with full autonomy – the driver could get out of the car and watch as it parked itself. A PC-sized computer in the trunk controlled the system. Volkswagen estimated that this feature would've added about $3,000 to the price of a car, and it was never offered on a production model [ref]."

so lexus did not invent it. they did however make it available to the public first..kudos for that i guess

correction...based on previous posts from others, i guess toyota made it available first

Who cares, really? I don't buy cars based on who offered what first. Kudos to VW for offering this in a car that isn't even considered PREMIUM.

im sorry but if you really need an automated system to park your car for you, it makes me wonder if you should be driving in the first place. I wonder if you could use this in the driving test that you take to get your license, or if the new lexus or vw will also follow you into the bathroom and wipe your butt for you as well. this is one of those fancy, useless innovations like adaptive headlamps or night vision monitors that are only good for informing your neighbors that you have them, so your car is better. it really doesn't demand all this attention, but it seems you guys will defend your brand no matter how stupid or frivilous your arguments are.

It's good that VW's system works so fast.

If I were driving that thing, I would want it to park as soon as possible so I could get the hell out of it.

Lexus are for old people and pussies.

I dont like the system in any car though, I can park by myself

15 secs compared to over a min, thats not matchin lexus technology, thats blowing it out of the water. HA!

Aren't all the titles of the LS about it being the most refined car in the world??
Has anyone heard any comment such as that about VW, Mercedes, BMW, OR Audi??
I don't think so...
I personally have an LS430, a Landcruiser, an Avalon and a BMW 530, I have had them all for a minimum of 4 years.
Toyota Lexus is the best, END OF STORY.

Lexus, hahaha, best car in the planet, give me a break. They are the most boring cars i ever drove.

Aren't all the titles of the LS about it being the most refined car in the world??
Has anyone heard any comment such as that about VW, Mercedes, BMW, OR Audi??
I don't think so...
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I've read many reviews where the European brands were called "refined". You should go out more, out of your Toyota-Lexus dreamworld...