pet connection

The first time I looked at the 2008 Lexus GX470 sitting in the driveway, I thought I was going color blind. Is that a green Lexus? Either that or I had too much green beer a couple nights before on St. Patrick’s Day (which I didn’t, by the way).

Anyway, just in time for Spring Break and a trip to the beaches of Southern California, arrived the mid-size SUV in the color of, well, pea soup. Officially, the GX470 was listed as “Desert Sage Pearl” (don’t you just love the way automakers name their colors?). But to me, it looked like the face of a seasick sailor: pale green.

With rear seats that fold forward and a tailgate that swings open sideways — reminiscent of the “Magic Door Gate” in the old Ford Country Squire station wagon my parents had when I was a kid — the GX470 has ample room for medium-size crates to house most travel-loving canines.

But it was the gree. . ., uh I mean, Desert Sage color that kept getting my attention. And then I realized that Lexus as a brand is truly turning green by the year. In fact, for 2008, Lexus has three hybrid models on the showroom floor.

The RX 400h hybrid was the first luxury SUV to hit the market, with styling and sophistication to match its 28-30 mpg rating.

Then came the Lexus GS 450h in 2006, a five-seat luxury sedan that catches glances on the street for its sporty look and gets gas mileage that reaches the upper 20s.

But the most jaw-dropping of all the Lexus hybrids is the new LS 600h sedan. The shocker is not in the fuel mileage, which averages a mediocre 21 mpg, but in a sticker price that soars into six figures. You can drive this puppy off the lot for a measly $106,000 base price.

Meanwhile, my stately Desert Sage SUV is not a hybrid, and as such only averages 14 mpg in the city and 18 on the highway. So I’d better make sure I pack a few gas cards as the troops and we head off this week.

The sticker price of this particular GX470 — with 14-speaker surround sound system and voice-activated DVD navigation, is $52,630.

Now that’s a green Lexus.