The special issue is being sponsored solely by the Lexus division of Toyota Motor, as a showcase for its hybrid products.

And last Monday, Toyota's new Lexus division topped the initial-quality list.

At Toyota, the Lexus division plunged 25 percent, to 7,423.

In 12 months, it has added four pickups and sport utilities to the four it already offered, plus the two utilities from its Lexus division.

To underscore that goal, the LS 430 campaign also begins a revised theme for the Lexus division.

Toyota's light truck sales are down by 15.9%, while Toyota's Lexus division suffered sales drops nearly across the board.

Toyota, whose operations are based in California, said sales at its Lexus division climbed 40 percent last month and it did not cite any effect from the fires.

In particular, the sales of its luxury Lexus division collapsed, falling almost 60 percent, to 4,160.

However, automotive analysts estimate that the Lexus division contributes a disproportionate share of Toyota's profits, relative to its limited production and sales volume.

It's thin and beautiful, and its crisp, well-oiled closing mechanism could have come from the Lexus car-door division.