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Lexus RC media event in Japan canceled over lack of interest

It's a good thing senior editor Seyth Miersma doesn't live in Japan, or he wouldn't have been able to snap a photo like the one you see here, of a fresh-off-the-line Lexus RC F on hand at a first drive for media. That's because Toyota's Japanese arm has outright canceled its RC press launch. Sure, we've heard about events being delayed, but canceled? That's rare. Even worse is the reason: according to Automotive News, the event was nixed due to lack of interest. Wow.
In an email to media, Lexus said the event "has been canceled due to insufficient attendance," according to AN. The News posits that perhaps it would have just been better to hold the event anyway, in an attempt to save face, and that this is another example of the Japanese culture (especially youth) becoming less and less interested in cars. Of course, there's also the thought that local media just didn't want to drive out to Yokohama to drive the RC on a not-so-sexy press launch, which, if you ask us, is an incredibly lame excuse (do your jobs, folks!).
Either way, will this bode well for the Lexus RC's public launch? Will it receive the same lukewarm response when it arrives at Japanese dealers? We'll see.

Lexus pushing upmarket as others move down, LF-LC production hinted [w/video]

Jeff Bracken, Lexus' US group vice president and general manager, knows his company lost its position as America's biggest luxury brand back in 2011, and it's a mantle that his employer probably won't be getting back any time soon. That's because Lexus is electing not to follow the luxury segment's downmarket trend any more than its $32,500 CT 200h hybrid hatchback. "Since we won't be going down below $30,000, it will be very difficult for us to ever regain luxury leadership," Bracken admitted on Autoline After Hours late last week.
Rivals Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi all have new low-end entries on sale or in the wings to entice new buyers and fortify their CAFE scores, but Lexus has Toyota and Scion to capture sales underneath its lineup. Instead, Bracken hints that Lexus is going upmarket and higher-performance, fueling ongoing rumors of a LFA successor, or perhaps a new offering based on the lauded 2012 LF-LC coupe concept shown above, a production version of which could also slot in where the unloved SC convertible left off. "We need to begin bringing to market luxury performance... higher performance vehicles. IS-F certainly was the beginning of that, maybe on the lower end," says Bracken.
Later in the online video interview show, Bracken gets even more candid:

Florida teen's crash almost ends his chance to grow into Florida Man

A Florida teen in a street race down a narrow residential street almost ended his budding career as Florida Man. As reported by CBS Miami and picked up by Carscoops, a homeowner's security camera captured two cars heading single file down a road in Golden Gates Estates in Naples, Florida. The road looks to be about a lane-and-a-half wide. The width then becomes a problem when both vehicles — a Lexus crossover and what appears to be a Ford Focus — turn around to race. For all the time the Lexus remains right-side-up, it's half on the grass. And this becomes a problem when the crossover swerves to avoid a mailbox, which residents have a habit of posting in the grass next to their streets that aren't made for racing. If we plug these variables into an equation: Crossover, teenager, racing, left wheels on the grass, swerve, culvert, elevated driveway, and Florida, what we get is a spectacular airborne flight and flip that slams the Lexus onto its roof. The two teens in the crossover were injured, but according to the driver's grandmother, the driver emerged with nothing worse than some broken ribs. The video is enlightening videographic testament to the safety of modern cars. And it shows that even Florida teens appear to have, like Florida Man, that special invincibility dust that allows them to escape incidents that would kill or at least severely maim residents of any other state.  Related Video:     Auto News Lexus Crossover Hatchback Luxury Police/Emergency Racing Vehicles Videos Florida Man