Lexus Straightline Archives

Lexus fans want it to happen so bad and now they can practically feel it. Or at least hear it. 

We're talking about an F-version of the GS sedan, one preferably with the new V10 that debuted in the LFA. It's an idea that has been thrown around for years, and now Pistonheads has run a story that suggests a GS-F is being considered very seriously within Lexus.

There are some major hurdles, of course. Cost is the big one as that new V10 is not cheap. They figure it would add $50-60K to the price of the GS, making it far more expensive than its European competitors. Sound DOA based on that alone, but count on the Lexus faithful to keep the rumors circulating for another couple of years.

Pistonheads vis Lexusenthusiast

Categories: Future Vehicles,Lexus,Luxury Cars,Sedans

That's about all we could think of when this press release came across our desk. In this case, the LX570 in question is raced in the Stock Full Size class of the SCORE Desert Challenge. According to its owners, it took a first corner hit from another competitor yet went on to win its class in the 200-mile race outside Laughlin, NV.

JTGrey Racing  

Categories: Lexus,Motorsports,SUVs

Lexus has been hinting for months that the LF-Ch concept shown in Frankfurt last year could make it to production. Now a loyal Autoblog reader has caught was appears to be a very production looking version of the LF-Ch. Sure, it has two different covers on it, but that rear-end treatment is pretty easy to spot through the sheets. Expect to see the rest of the car at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show in early March.

Autoblog

Lexus LF-Ch Concept

Categories: Concept Vehicles,Frankfurt Auto Show,Hatchbacks,Lexus,Luxury Cars,Spy Photos

"And then there's the beautifully nerdy flappy paddle gearchange..."

Then, watch The Stig lap the Lexus LFA on the wet Top Gear test track after the jump.

First Drive: 2011 Lexus LFA

2011 Lexus LFA: 10 Things You Don't Know About the Supercar

Lexus_Europe Twitter, Autoblog

Continue reading Video: Top Gear's Hammond Tests the 2011 Lexus LFA.

Categories: Celebrities,Future Vehicles,Lexus,Sports Cars

Toyota recalled nearly 4.9 million vehicles in 2009 -- the most of any automaker in the U.S., the Detroit Free Press reports. This is the first time Toyota has ever led in annual recalls, and of course this milestone is the result of the floor mat debacle during which 4.3 million vehicles were recalled.

Free Press writers crunched the numbers on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Web site. Ford came up second with 4.5 million recalled vehicles -- most of them covered by recalls for cruise control switches that can catch fire, a chronic defect in older Fords.

Next up was GM was 2.2 million recalled vehicles, followed by Hyundai with just over 1 million and Nissan with 700,000+. Chrysler rounded out the top five with 590,000.

You can see the full list in the Free Press article.

Categories: Buick,Cadillac,Chevrolet,Chrysler,Dodge,Ford,GMC,General Motors,Hyundai,Infiniti,Jeep,Kia,Lexus,Lincoln,Manufacturers,Mercury,Nissan,Toyota

It's in Japanese, but you'll enjoy it nonetheless.

First Drive: 2011 Lexus LFA

2011 Lexus LFA: 10 Things You Don't Know About the Supercar

YouTube via Top Speed

Categories: Coupes,Lexus,Luxury Cars,Sports Cars

Here's something to do during your latte break today: Visit the Lexus LFA sound gallery (top link below), where you'll see the above photo of the gauge pack. Click the buttons and you can treat your ears to the spectacular sounds of the supercar's 552-horsepower, 4.8-liter V10 at full bore.

Lexus LFA microsite

2011 Lexus LFA: 10 Things You Don't Know About the Supercar

First Drive: 2011 Lexus LFA

Categories: Future Vehicles,Lexus,Sports Cars

Inside Line tests hundreds of vehicles a year, but not every vehicle gets a full write-up. The numbers still tell a story, though, so we present "IL Track Tested." It's a quick rundown of all the data we collected at the track, along with comments direct from the test drivers. Enjoy.

Lexus is offering a Sport package on the 2010 Lexus LS 460, and with a price tag of $6,185 on that option group, there needs to be some substance in it. At first glance, it looks good. You get a retuned suspension with air springs (instead of the coil springs ordinarily standard on the short-wheelbase, rear-drive model) and 19-inch Dunlop summer tires. Behind the Sport package's forged alloy wheels, Brembo six-piston fixed front calipers are visible. Engine tuning doesn't change; the LS 460 Sport has the same 380-horsepower, 4.6-liter V8 as other LS sedans.

Other obvious visual cues associated with the Sport package treatment include the blacked-out grille and extended front spoiler and rocker panels. Inside, you'll find paddle shifters, a heated steering wheels and seats with extra lateral bolstering. Our LS 460 Sport test car also had the Luxury Value Edition ($2,780) and Comfort packages ($2,035).

This all sounds nice, but the real test for any luxury sedan with "Sport" appended to its name is to face the king among kings, the BMW 7 Series. We just so happen to have tested a 2009 BMW 750i with the Sport package (the same car we have in our long-term fleet, actually), so we've published their results side by side. Does the Lexus have what it takes to hang with the Bimmer through the slalom? You'll find out after the jump.

Continue reading IL Track Tested: 2010 Lexus LS 460 Sport vs. 2009 BMW 750i Sport.

Categories: BMW,IL Track Tested,Lexus,Luxury Cars,Sedans

A fatal crash involving a Lexus ES 350 dealer loaner car stirred up much of the heat surrounding Toyota's recent floor mat/accelerator pedal recall. This is the accident in which a California Highway Patrol officer, Mark Saylor, and three of his family members were killed when he was unable to regain control of the car when an ill-fitting all-weather floor mat became bunched under the gas pedal.

Now it seems another Lexus customer experienced a stuck throttle in the very same car loaned out by Bob Baker Lexus in El Cajon, California, only days before the ES was given to the Saylors.

In a report taken by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, Frank Bernard, 61, told investigators that he had the car on Aug. 24 and 25. Bernard reported that while merging onto Interstate 15, he took his foot off the gas and the car kept accelerating up to 85 mph.

He said he pressed long and hard on the brakes and was able to slow the car and pull over. He put the transmission into neutral, but the engine continued to race. After unsuccessful attempts at shutting off the engine, he realized the floor mat was jammed under the gas pedal, slid his foot under the accelerator, dislodged it and had no further problems, according to the report.

Understandably rattled, Bernard returned the ES 350 to the dealer and reported the incident to the receptionist. He said he became anxious when she didn't seem to grasp the severity of the problem. It's unclear at this point whether the car was checked out by service technicians before going back out on loan (it was driven by two other customers without incident before the Saylors got it), much less whether the brakes were inspected for wear.

San Diego Union-Tribune via Autoblog

Categories: Auto Industry,Lexus,Luxury Cars,Sedans,Toyota

The Lexus LF-Ch hatchback is just a concept, but Lexus executives keep hinting that it could be added to the lineup if consumer feedback is positive. In executive speak, that usually means "we've already approved it, and are now just waiting to officially announce it."

This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. Lexus has to bring its fleet fuel mileage average up just like every other manufacturer and building GX 460s isn't exactly helping.

The LF-Ch is being touted as a compact hybrid hatchback for young, hip urbanites. Of course, that's the description pretty much every manufacturer slaps on small hatchbacks and it never seems to help attract the rich, young things the marketing department was hoping for, at least in America.

Think this hybrid hatchback would be any different?

Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor, Inside Line

Categories: Concept Vehicles,Future Vehicles,Hatchbacks,Hybrids,LA Auto Show,Lexus,Luxury Cars

Indeed, there is more to the Toyota floor mat debacle than floor mats. Toyota announced today it will modify the gas pedal in 3.8 million vehicles. Modifications will typically involved shortening the pedal to move it farther away from the mat. However, in the Lexus ES 350, and Toyota Avalon and Camry, Toyota will also remove foam material from the floor to allow more clearance.

As those three models are deemed most susceptible to having the floor mat jam under the accelerator, owners will be notified by the end of 2009. Lexus IS and Toyota Prius, Tacoma and Tundra owners will get notices in early 2010. In addition, the ES 350, IS 250/350, Avalon and Camry will be fitted with a brake override feature that cuts power if simultaneous brake/throttle application is detected.

Toyota is also working on a new accelerator pedal design, and by April 2010, new pedals will be ready to install in vehicles covered by the recall. Owners who want one will likely need to ask for it specifically when they go to the dealer.

Our own testing team has examined various Toyotas and reports that this is a legitimate problem that should be taken seriously.

"Our tests confirmed that an out-of-position floor mat can, indeed, cause the throttle to stick because of the shape and geometry of the current gas pedal," Technical Director Dan Edmunds says. Edmunds was the engineering manager of the chassis and brake development group at Hyundai America Technical Center and senior chassis development engineer for Toyota's Technical Center before joining Edmunds.com in April 2006.

"Temporarily shortening and replacing the accelerator pedals are viable solutions to alleviate the problem," he added.

Toyota: Details of Remedy to Address Potential Accelerator Pedal Entrapment

Categories: Auto Industry,Lexus,Toyota

Updated

With a worldwide production run of only 500 for the Lexus LFA -- of which only 150 will come to the U.S. -- the possibility of speculators attempting to buy up a coveted few for the $375,000 retail price and flip them for a big profit is high. Dare we say, ridiculously high.

To head that off, Toyota will only do leases on the 2011 Lexus LFA, which starts production in December 2010. That's right. Lease a supercar for two years, and when that's up, you'll have an option to buy.

"If someone buys it the first month and then decides to sell it, that could be damaging for the ownership experience," Brian Smith, vice president of sales and dealer development for Lexus, told Automotive News reporter, Kathy Jackson. "If it is not controlled and hits the speculation market, all bets are off."

Interestingly, this lease-only program appears to apply just to the U.S. for now. The Lexus Europe communications division reports that LFAs will be sold, not leased, in Europe. 

Automotive News on AutoWeek

Lexus_Europe on Twitter

Categories: Lexus,Sports Cars

If you're into cars, Cars and Coffee is the ultimate place to hang out on a Saturday morning in Southern California and today the ultimate Toyota, the 2011 Lexus LFA, rolled in just after sunrise. We'd heard the supercar might be trucked in, but sure enough, it was driven up under its own power and parked in a reserved space.

If you think this flat black car looks familiar, you're right. It's the same prototype we drove for our recent feature story. It now has 4,000+ miles on it -- a big chunk of these at the hands of journalists and engineers driving it on the track. But according to one Toyota engineer, "all we've had to replace so far are brakes and tires."

We didn't get to drive or ride in the LFA today, but we did make videos of 4.8-liter V10 engine starting and revving (and revving), plus the neat adjustable tach face in the cockpit. Those are all after the jump, along with many fine photos of the Lexus LFA just hanging out at Cars and Coffee.

2011 Lexus LFA: 10 Thing You Don't Know About the Supercar

First Drive: 2011 Lexus LFA

Continue reading 2011 Lexus LFA Shows Up at Cars and Coffee.

Categories: Coupes,Future Vehicles,Lexus,Sports Cars,Trends

Last-minute research for Gran Turismo 5?

Categories: Lexus,Motorsports,Video Games

Curious whether the new 2010 Honda Accord has an optional neck massager? How about the tow rating on the Ford F-150? And what about those European cars, they're always adding some new totally nonessential technological "feature."

Now there's an easy way to find out. Our 2010 Buyer's Guide lists every model change from every manufacturer. From colors to options to full redesigns, it's all there.

2010 Buyer's Guide 

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