The new Lexus LS460 super sedan represents the pinnacle of achievement in many respects, including the heft of its documentation: 11 booklets, folders, and hang tags totaling 1,233 pages and 4.8 pounds. The bulk comes via two time-honored traditions: high-tech options that need explaining, and don't-try-this warnings to keep Lexus safe in the litigation-happy United States. On page 110, for instance, Lexus warns that you shouldn't drive "if you are unfamiliar with the location of the brake and accelerator pedal" and adds that if you press the wrong one, the car may accelerate instead of slowing down. Good to know!

The big kahuna is the main owner's manual at 650 pages, supplemented by a 314-page manual for the navigation system. Then there are not one but two quick guides of 69 and 33 pages. (Quick guide? 69 pages?) Add in a warranty booklet, a lemon law guide, 29 pages on your tires (29 pages for things that are always black and round), hang tags explaining how to start the car, back up the car, and automatically park the car, and you're well beyond 1,000 pages. For what it's worth, Mercedes and BMW are on the high side too but manage to come in under 1,000 pages.