In June 2014, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA–pronounced “NIT-sah” according to Google), issued a recall of Takata airbags that were installed by 19 different automakers, including Lexus. The airbags exploded spontaneously, resulting in injury or death to the drivers and/or passengers in the vehicles. In fact, owners of the affected vehicles were warned not to drive their cars at all unless they were on their way to the dealer for a replacement airbag. For owners who were afraid to drive their cars, dealers offered car pick-up service.

The recall is currently estimated to affect more than 41.6 million vehicles–including mine–and is the largest recall in U.S. history. Naturally, there weren’t enough replacement parts for all the cars that needed new airbags, so cars were prioritized by risk factors. The greatest risk of explosion seems to result from humidity, high temperatures, and age of the vehicle. My turn for an airbag replacement came this spring–almost five years after the original recall–so I guess my risk level was low.

Ted took my car to the dealer and came home with a 2019 Lexus RX 350 as a loaner. Wow! No wonder there are so many of those on the road! It was unbelievably smooth to drive and had an even smoother ride. Just to tease Ted about his car, I told him it made my current Lexus feel like a Honda. My car is a sporty model–the IS-C, which stands for Intelligent Sport-Convertible. It has a “sporty” ride, which lets me “feel the road” a little more. Translation: It’s not as smooth as the Lexus RX crossover or the Lexus sedans. (But even so, Ted admits that it rides much smoother than his Honda.)

It was a dream to drive the RX for 48 hours, but it’s too big for me. I’ve got my eye on a Lexus RC (Racing Coupe) when I get tired of my IS-C. The problem: I looked at one in the showroom when I picked up my car today, and the base price was $64K. The one on display had lots of extras and hit $84K. I better start saving my pennies.