Lexus
Lexus IS-F May Join Australian V8 Supercars Racing Series
With Toyota not involved in Formula 1 any more, the company is looking for ways to promote itself in racing, while using the experience to improve its road cars. Rumors of Lexus joining the DTM series in Europe never came to fruition – which makes sense as Lexus is promoting itself as a “green” brand…
Have A Social Media Virtual Lunch with Lexus USA VP Mark Templin
Do you have plans for lunch this Friday? Join Lexus USA Vice President and General Manager, Mark Templin, for a special online chat on Facebook and Twitter – it will be filling and nutritious! This Friday – that’s November 12 – at 12pm PST/3pm EST, Templin will answer any questions you may have about Lexus,…
Lexus Gets Aggressive With New RX350 Ads [Video]
Lately we’ve seen more than a few creative commercials from Lexus and this latest one doesn’t disappoint. In fact, it’s not just innovative, it’s also aggressive, which is a refreshing change for Lexus. Toyota’s luxury arm invented the luxury crossover segment with the RX back in 1998 and currently dominates the market. They’re eager to…
Toyota Honors Test Driver Hiromu Naruse Who Died Testing the LFA [video]
If given the choice, a lot of people say they’d prefer dying doing what they love. That is exactly the fate that befell Toyota test drive Hiromu Naruse this past June, when he crashed testing the Lexus LFA supercar. Toyota has just released a short video tribute to Naruse, who is credited for having inspired…
SEMA 2010: Best In Show, Part 2
Our second installment of the Best In Show series profiles the cars that made SEMA what it is – sport compacts. Yes, some of these cars push the boundaries of taste, but others are fairly creative and actually enhance the looks of the stock car. The dominant cars this year seemed to be the Mitsubishi…
SEMA 2010: Best In Show, Part 1
SEMA is so vast that it’s hard to truly see it all. Thanks to our eagle-eyed photographers, we’ve been able to cherry pick the best cars over the past few days, starting with the cars of the wheel and tire exhibit. Rather than the usual dubs and donks, the wheel and tire exhibit had everything…
SEMA 2010: Lexus CT200h, HS250h Break Cover
One wouldn’t normally think of the Lexus hybrid compacts as “tuner cars”, but if there’s one thing that SEMA proves, it’s that you can make anything a “modified vehicle” by throwing wheels and other bolt-on modifications onto a car. We highlighted the Lexus SEMA lineup earlier, but since we all know how much you love…
Lexus to Showcase Hybrid Tuning at 2010 SEMA Show
If the SEMA Show stands for anything, it’s that the aftermarket industry is as much about style as it is about performance. That being said, Lexus has decided to showcase its lineup of hybrid models at the world’s largest aftermarket expo next week. Several tuners will will take part, including Fox Marketing, EST Styling and…
Honda, Toyota Top Latest Reliabilty Study; Domestics Improve, European Brands Faulter
Consumer Reports has released its latest reliability study and while little has changed in respect to the industry-leading Asian brands, domestic automakers are catching up. Toyota and Honda each recorded the highest scores in five vehicle segments in the 2010 Annual Auto Survey, while General Motors posted considerable improvements while Ford is ranked best among…
Fox Marketing Lexus LS600hL Revealed Ahead of SEMA
Fox Marketing has built some impressive Lexus projects in the past for SEMA, including their IS350C from last year’s show, and they teased us with their luxury sedan LS600hL project earlier this year. Now we’ve got some sexy snaps of the car ahead of its SEMA reveal. On the exterior, the luxury Japanese sedan sports…
Hyundai To Launch Genesis As Separate Luxury Brand In Europe In 2013
Hyundai will launch it’s Genesis models in Europe starting in 2013, but the cars will be part of a separate luxury channel rather than as part of the existing Hyundai lineup. Outlining his plans for Genesis, Tony Whitehorn, Hyundai’s managing director for the UK, told AutoExpress “Lexus did a great job in the States, although…
Lexus CT200h F-Sport Debuts at Australian International Auto Show
Lexus has just revealed a new F-Sport performance version of its new CT200h hybrid hatchback. The CT200h F-Sport gets more aggressive front and rear styling, light-weight alloy wheels, plus an F-sport suspension that includes lowering springs and sway bars. Inside the car also gets some extra toys, like an F-Sport steering wheel, sport pedals, scuff…
Mercedes SL55 AMG Inspires Lexus SC300 Project Car
Truth be told, those Japanese builders make some crazy, crazy creations. And with the rising trend of Japanese-influenced European-tuned vehicles, we guess it was just a matter of time before something like this popped up. Taking center stage for today is a previous generation Lexus SC300 (Soarer in Japan) that has been overhauled from bumper…
Lexus Driving Simulator On Display In New Commercial
Lexus‘ giant egg-like monolith isn’t some weird monument to quality control or reduced NVH. The big white orb is actually a very advanced driving simulator, complete with an LS460 that can rotate 360 degrees. Giant screens can simulate a wide variety of conditions so Lexus test drivers can perform tests in a safe environment with…
Lexus LC600h to Succeed SC430 With Hybrid Power, AWD
Lexus is planning a successor to the retired SC430 model that should put it back in contention with the Mercedes SL. The new car is rumored to wear the LC600h badge and that name says a lot. Using a shortened version of the next generation LS platform the LC would be AWD and use an…
Lexus May Offer Cash Rebate To Best Mercedes In Sales Race
Lexus and Mercedes-Benz have been neck and neck in the luxury car sales race in the United States, and the high stakes means that Lexus may resort to laying down cash incentives to help capture the number one spot. After Mercedes bested Lexus by 3,000 units in September, reports are emerging that Lexus will offer…
Discount Tire Lexus IS350 Drift Car Turned Into Wall Art
So what do you do with a drift car that struggled to find its rightful way to the podium? You cut it up and hang it on the wall of course. Discount Tire has taken the now defunct Lexus IS350 drift car that they built in collaboration with Falken Tire for Formula Drift, cut it…
Mercedes Passes Lexus in U.S. Luxury Sales Race
Mercedes has supplanted Lexus as the number one luxury brand by sales in the U.S. over the first three quarters and is poised to hold on for the remainder of the year. Lexus has held tight to the top spot for a decade, but a lack of new product, combined with high-profile recalls has led…
Lexus IS Coupe to Bow as Early as 2012
Lexus will move ahead with plans to finally add a Coupe to its lineup of BMW 3 Series competitors. The two-door will joint the range as a part of the third-generation IS series of cars, which will hit the road roughly a year after the debt of the new Lexus GS. The product rollout will…
Lexus CT200h Debuts With High Hopes for Europe [Paris 2010]
Lexus has just officially debuted the production version of the CT200h hybrid hatchback at the Paris Auto Show. And while Lexus does hope to significantly expand the premium compact segment in the United States, it expects huge growth in Europe with the CT projected to double the Toyota luxury brand’s sales. The CT is the…
Lincoln To Terminate 200 Franchises, Mostly In Urban Areas
Lincoln, Ford’s luxury brand, has a problem; too many dealers hocking not enough product. While recent Lincoln’s have been well received by critics, it’s not necessarily translating into sales. Lincoln moved 83,000 cars last year, while class leader Lexus sold about 216,000 – a pretty substantial gulf. And while Lexus only has 230 dealerships in the United…
Lexus Expects CT200h to Spark Significant Growth in Compact Premium Segment
With the launch of the new CT200h Lexus expects to grow the premium compact segment considerably says Lexus VP Mark Templin. Targeted sales in the U.S. are set at 1,000 units, which while miniscule compared to many other Lexus products, would represent a 70 percent growth in the segment. Currently the CT’s competitors (the BMW…
Lexus CT200h to Get F-Sport Performance Parts
For the first time ever, Lexus will offer a selection of F-Sport performance accessories for a hybrid model – the CT200h. While it’s not designed to be a high-performance model, the CT is being billed as a driver’s hybrid; retaining the trademark Lexus ride quality while also offering a dynamic driving experience. And that’s just…
Higher Performance, More Efficient Lexus CT200h Models Under Consideration
Lexus is taking a close look at even more efficient versions of its new CT200h premium compact hybrid, while hinting that a high-performance version of the car is in the works. During a product presentation of the CT200h at the car’s global launch just outside Paris, France, Lexus College manager Paul Williamsen went out of…
