There are lots of reasons to love New York City, but one of my favorites is the New York International Car Show, which I attended this weekend. I’ve been going for nearly 10 years, and in addition to the sites and sounds of big blocks and concept cars, I’ve always taken an interest in watching how different name brand manufacturers tailor their displays and marketing efforts to ring-in potential shoppers.

Every year brings something different, but this year Lexus took top honors.

Pamphlets and free sunglass visor clips aside, Lexus was giving out a free wireless computer mouse to each attendee willing to answer a 3-minute questionnaire. Using my answers (which included buying preferences, favorite models, price ranges, features and functions, etc), the Lexus representative proceeded to print out a small bar code, which she then stuck to the bottom of the mouse. Upon plugging the mouse into my PC at home and visiting Lexus.com, I was presented with a completely personalized page offering content, promotions, sales, dealership information, and virtual tours of cars I visited at the show.

There’s been a lot of talk recently about CEM (customer experience management) and CRM 2.0, or allowing the customer to drive the interaction, and thus focusing on providing he or she with a better overall experience that’s seamless across all channels and interactions. Lexus did exactly that, and although completely out of my price range right now, is a manufacturer that altered my opinion of them, gained my respect, and one that I’ll be sure to consider in years to come.

The good news is I found my next car, which if I crunched the numbers correctly, means I’ll be able to drive to our Cupertino, CA offices from New York faster than I could fly: