Looking for any information on the new GS430 with the Navigation option AND the new Mark Levinson stereo. Have seen the new brochure but my dealer does not have and 430's yet. Some of you who have signed up for the GS email list may have heard from John Weaver who just drove such a car at a FL dealership? I would appreciate any info...prices, availability, comments...

I just got my crystal white GS430 from Scottsdale Lexus. They started arriving about a week ago. I got all the options I wanted -- 17" chrome wheels/tires, factory spoiler, Mark Levinson audio, navigation system, and wood/chrome steering wheel.<br><br>The car is awesome. It feels very luxurious and rides so smoothly but it is incredibly fast, the extra torque is noticeable even though the horsepower rating is unchanged. <br><br>The DVD navigation system is just superb. The screen has great new color and is touch activated. The DVD has the entire USA on it, and it has probably every ATM machine, restaurant (sorted by cuisine type!) and gas station in the country. All the audio and climate controls can be easily controlled with the on screen menus too. Very slick. The DVD is held in the trunk, I have not yet tried to play a movie yet -- I'll post a follow-up on that.<br><br>The Levinson audio system sounds excellent, definitely the best factory installed car sound system I have heard. It is not up with the best aftermarket systems but cost is fairly reasonable. Together with the DVD navigation system I think about $5700 were added to the sticker. You can quickly tell if the car has the Levinson sound system by looking for an extra center speaker mounted on the top of the console. This is not present with the base or premium stereo packages.<br><br>As you probably know the e-shift from the steering wheel is gone. I doubt I would have used it much, and I find the audio controls that have been placed there to be more useful. The steering wheel is gorgeous, wood with a chrome L in the middle of the three spokes.<br><br>The 17" chrome wheels look identical to previous years, although apparently they were not available for most of 2000. Also the spoilers were not available most of last year, and all the GS430's I've seen so far came with factory spoilers.<br><br>Total sticker price on mine was about $56k, and I got a few thousand off that thanks to a great dealer and some good contacts.<br><br>If you have other specific questions let me know and I'll try to answer them.

Thanks for the info. The car sounds great. Congratulations! This is one time I wish I lived in CA, AZ or FL. There just are no cars up here in the Northeast yet and according to one of the biggest dealers, none with Nav and Mark Levinson for at least a couple more months. I don't think I can wait...