Cliff Leppke

PRESENTATION GRADE PRADO THAT WILL BIRD-DOG: When the third generation Lexus GX arrived in 2024, it was correctly anticipated as a prestige version of the latest Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. Indeed the twin-turbo V-6 and additional seating row, exclusive to the GX 550, rendered it presentation grade suburban overland limo.

"Side Kicks," as the proteges of heros, are often depicted as the less serious complement to their mentors. Holmes had his Watson just as Cassidy had his Sundance Kid. Ambitious automakers, similarly have positioned more casual, Sport Activity Vehicles as complements to their heroic SUVs, typically sacrificing practicality

BORROW ONE: A 1966 Volkswagen Bus ad used one of the brand’s advertising tropes:  side-by-side images.  On the left, you see the Bus in front of a circa-1930s one-car garage.  On the right, a thinly disguised Chrysler station wagon in an identical setting. The caption playfully reinterpreted Packard’s