I think this should be the last "another new car" blog entry for a while (Deb hopes), as I now have a car for almost any occasion. Others look for a Swiss-Army car... one that can do anything. The end result is usually some bloated, fugly, uninspring turd-mobile. I take a different approach... a small fleet of vehicles, each filling a particular niche. With the addition of a truck in November, I had a good winter vehicle, something to haul with, something to tow with, and most importantly (as far as she is concerned), something Deb could drive. The only thing missing was a true GT (gran turismo) car, a car built to cover long distances at speed in relative comfort and style. Fortunately, I had steered a friend into buying just such a car 15 months earlier, a 1995 Lexus SC400. I did this with the knowledge that he would soon be moving back to NYC, likely never to own a car again. Now that car is mine... well, that's if I can keep Deb from claiming this car as her's too (as she did with the truck.) The SC400 is an automatic, so she can drive it too. (She's already developing a taste for the V8.) The first order of business was a good wash and wax. Since my mom needed a little work done on her Acura, we arranged another labor swap. I took care of her car, and she took care of mine. The Lexus really needed it too... I don't think it had a proper wax job since Andrew owned it. I also removed all the aftermarket window tinting. I might not have bothered if it didn't have a slight purple tint. Smoke or bronze is fine, but purple is ghetto in a bad way. Initially, I was pleased that the tinting came off without much of a fight. I was almost done when I realized that the adhesive remained stuck on the glass. Ack. That meant another few hours with acetone and a lot of elbow grease. I'm glad to see it go. Tint is cool, but it really was diminishing visibility, making the blind spots even blinder. Now for the photos: