UCLA vs. OSU, then Taste of Lexus
Lunch at Hakata Ramen again, then a random sighting of an NASA M3 race car, then a single picture from dinner at Claim Jumper's with Dave and Alan.
Then... UCLA vs. Oregon State. Alicia ran late and we barely caught the tail end of the UCLA All-Staff picnic, but we made it!
Scalped tickets for half of face value as we beat OSU 25-7... unfortunately we were stuck out in the end zone, since I had forgotten to buy staff tickets earlier. oops!
Met up with Billy, Amy, Viet, and Joyce for dinner at Mu Dung San. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
Next morning I made a quick trip over to Taste of Lexus at Dodger Stadium. Drove the IS250, GS350, and ES350 before the lines got too long. The pickup in the GS350 actually was pretty good, but handling was... meh. The IS250 was much more of a driver's car, although it lacked the communicative feel of a BMW 3-series. The ES350 was nice but bland, as expected.
Sitting in the various Lexuses outside, the similar center consoles and massives of black plastic for dashboards did nothing to excite me, although they were very well made. Given the lack of a manual or proper computer-controlled manual transmission I won't be buying one, even if they are nice to look at. The RX350's small trunk due to the steeply raked roof limited things, while the LX470's 3rd row was a funny joke. I can imagine it being useful with just two rows installed, though.
The performance course for the IS/GS had a very short straight to a long left-hand sweeper you could get up to 40mph or 50mph, then hit the brakes and enter a mild left turn, then a sharp left, then a quick two gate slalom. Getting the GS up to speed was less comfortable than I'd have liked, due to the soft handling and the fact that it was my first run, I didn't quite want to get kicked out yet. The course was tight and the IS fit much better, but understeer, even with VDC off, made the tight slalom a bit of a pain. Next time I'll remember not to go by myself, since it's impossible to video the course and drive at the same time.
Inside the tents was first the ES, then the GS, then the LS... and the snacks were delicious! Breakfast appetizers were quite good, by lunch they had traded out to pasta and other "real" food. However, by 11:30am the lines were ridiculously long, so I didn't eat any of that food.
FWIW, this is the sixth or so time I've driven the 2nd-generation Lexus IS, and it still feels small inside. Lowering the driver's seat all the way down helps, but the A-pillar still causes it to feel claustraphobic to me.
