2006 Lexus Es 330 on 2040-cars

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2014 Lexus CT shows new face on each side of the Pacific [w/video]

Earlier today, Lexus officially took the wraps off its 2014 CT 200h at the Guangzhou Motor Show, and now we've gotten a chance to inspect the updated hybrid hatchback right here at the LA Auto Show.
As expected, the most prominent change made to the CT's styling is the addition of Lexus' signature spindle grille. Additional changes include new wheel options and revised front and rear fascias, but our favorite update to the car is to the headlights, where there is no longer a gap in the middle of the LED running lights. The luxury hatchback has also received some changes to the cabin, including an updated instrument gauge cluster, a new fixed nav screen that replaces the previous folding unit and a freshened combination of cabin materials.
No changes have been made to the CT's hybrid powertrain, meaning the model will carry on with a 134-horsepower 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder paired with a drive motor and an electronic continuously variable transmission. Fuel economy ratings likely won't stray too much from the 2013 model's 43 miles per gallon city and 40 mpg highway ratings.

Lexus LQ flagship crossover due around 2022, so what of the LX?

When Lexus debuted the LF-1 Limitless crossover concept at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show, Lexus' U.S. general manager waited roughly six minutes to tell the world, as a way of hinting to HQ in Japan, "We have to build this vehicle." Car and Driver says the GM and his dealers will get their wish when the Lexus LQ crossover takes the top spot in the automaker's range in 2022. Underneath the "molten katana" design language that looks like an RX sent back from the future to kill an RX named Sarah Connor, we'll find the inner workings of the LS sedan, possibly including the luxury-specific TNGA-L rear- and all-wheel-drive platform. Engines could be ported straight from the LS stable for standard LQ models, meaning — for now — a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 with 416 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, and a 3.5-liter V6 helped by two electric motors to produce a combined 354 hp. An LQ F or F Sport model could bolt up the impending twin-turbo V8 and cross the 600-hp mark. Numerous rumors over several years have clouded our view of what's planned for the pinnacle end of Lexus crossovers, though. In late 2018, whispers out of Japan claimed Lexus was working up a twin-turbo V8 with 660 horsepower for a production version of the LF-1 concept due to launch this year, with a milder V6-powered trim to make 424 hp. The V8 part came true, at least. Would an LQ cohabit with the LX as the luxury side of the flagship people-hauler coin? Or would they cohabit at all? Toyota insiders have said the next LX will turn into "an entirely different vehicle" and get far more luxurious, perhaps meaning the LX turns into the LQ. However, last October Lexus trademarked the LX 600 name, a Japanese magazine predicting a month later the next-gen LX would bow in 2021 on Toyota's truck-focused TNGA platform. And with the Toyota Land Cruiser going downmarket, jettisoning the LX would eliminate all those buyers looking for something big, luxurious, and conspicuously rugged.    Toyota has taken the time to trademark the LQ name in the U.S., Canada, France, and China, so dealer lots should clear up the mystery eventually. C/D thinks the entry-level LQ could start around $80,000, and since Lexus won't put its V8 into anything under $90,000, the top LQ trim could demand around $100,000. For comparison, the LS starts at $80,010 before destination, the LX at $86,480. Related Video:      

Junkyard Gem: 1997 Lexus LS 400

When Toyota introduced the Celsior to the world in 1989, followed shortly by Lexus LS 400-badged versions appearing in showrooms (as 1990 models) around the world, automotive-industry executives from Stuttgart to Yokohama broke out in the shaky sweats. Here was a designed-from-scratch (at the cost of over a billion bucks) luxury sedan with a six-bolt-main DOHC V8 engine, all manner of futuristic gadgetry, a super-quiet interior, intimidating build quality … and a sticker price 44% lower than that of the Mercedes-Benz 420SEL, 30% cheaper than the BMW 735i, 26% cheaper than the Audi V8, 12% cheaper than the Jaguar XJ6, and 8% cheaper than the Infiniti Q45. Sales were brisk, and the early LS 400s are finally starting to wear out in sufficient quantities that I see quite a few in the self-service wrecking yards I frequent. The second-generation LS was built for the 1995 through 2000 model years, and these machines have held together so well and depreciated so slowly that it's tough to find discarded examples (we saw the same process with the sturdy Toyota Cressida a decade or two earlier). Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those second-generation cars, now located in a Denver car graveyard. I admired the LS 400 so much that, about 10 years ago, I bought a '97 Coach Edition in Jade Green Metallic paint and (2018 LS 500 shown for scale). Because I am a hopeless car nerd, I had a Celsior grille and set of badges shipped over from Japan and installed them on my Lexus. When the 1997 Toyota Century — the first year with the ultra-smooth V12 engine — becomes import-legal in the United States next year, I plan to obtain one. My LS 400 has been extremely reliable and still hasn't reached the 150,000-mile mark, but I like to know that I can find junkyard parts for it if necessary. I went to visit this car because I was hoping to find a good set of factory wheels for my winter tires; the Blizzaks roll on some much-rashed ugly LS wheels at the moment. I passed on these Vision alloys, in part because there were only three on the car. The interior appears to have been thoroughly worn-out even before junkyard shoppers tore it apart. I don't know how many miles were on this car (because I'd have had to connect a battery to get the digital odometer to show me anything) but I'm guessing the final total would be impressive. The 1UZ-FE V8 displaces 4.0 liters and was rated at 260 horsepower.