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2022 Lexus LX 600 starts at nearly $90,000

Lexus unveiled pricing for the 2022 LX 600 SUV by uploading the new truck's configurator. Financially, there's good news for American shoppers who want the 300-series Toyota Land Cruiser but can't have it: the LX 600 isn't much more expensive than the outgoing Toyota. Last year's two-row, entry-level Land Cruiser started at $85,665 after destination. The entry-level, two-row 2022 LX 600 starts at $88,245 after the $1,345 destination fee — which has gone up by $50 — an increase of $2,580, but for the completely new model with additional luxury trimmings. The price difference is even less between LX generations, with the new one costing a scant $470 more than the 2021 LX 570. Pricing for all five trims is below. Base: $88,245 Premium: $96,345 F Sport: $102,345 Luxury: $104,345 Ultra Luxury: $127,345 All trims sit on the same TNGA-F body-on-frame chassis as the Land Cruiser and are powered by a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 making 409 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. Power goes to all four wheels through a ten-speed automatic transmission. The Lexus features adjustable ride height and suspension stiffness. The former adjusts automatically between low for easier access, normal for pavement driving and two lifted heights for off-roading. And to assist with off-roading, the Lexus gets Crawl Control off-road cruise control, multiple terrain modes including an automatic one, and surround cameras that even show under the truck to help avoid banging together rocks and vulnerable parts of the car. Inside, the dual-screen infotainment system features a 12.3-inch upper touchscreen that handles audio, navigation and other vehicle settings and information displays. The lower 7-inch touchscreen is mainly used for climate control and comfort settings. The interface and operating system for the infotainment is the same system that made its debut in the completely redesigned Lexus NX. In our experience, it's a massive improvement over past Lexus systems, though not quite a class-leader. The base model comes with two rows and seating for five. The Premium adds a third row for seven-person seating and offers more package options like the 25-speaker Mark Levinson audio system. The new F Sport trim sports telltale exterior signs like a black mesh grille and 22-inch forged aluminum wheels. Mechanically, it's upgraded with a limited-slip differential, sport-tuned adaptive dampers and an exclusive rear stabilizer bar. Luxury boasts finer leather and audio.

Check out this awesome Lexus manga art with exploding cities and dragons galore

Lexus just did something a bit different, and it has to do with manga art. The headliner piece is the Lexus LC 500 with the masked warrior crouching on top of it, seen above. We think it's objectively awesome, as the car autonomously races away from an exploding city. The LC 500 was drawn by Bulgarian artist Daniel Atanasov. He says it's "heavily influenced by Japanese culture. The main character is wearing an oni mask, which in Japan are worn at festivals to protect from evil spirits. He is holding a nodachi sword (a type of Samurai sword), and the pose of the character has been influenced by martial arts." Atanasov says the LC 500 is self-driving, controlled by the character on top of the car. Next up is a drawing of a Lexus ES driving amongst dragons. We're not so sure how long the car will last in that landscape ... perhaps an LX 570 would be the more prudent choice for bombing through a rocky desert. This one blends manga with classical paintings from the west, making it more of a hybrid. It was drawn by Tim Kong — he says he chose to draw dragons in order to "highlight the brave design of Lexus cars." Lexus' last commission is of the UX. This one is much simpler, with fewer things going on in the background. There is simply a girl and her Lexus UX in the dunes as the sun sets. It's rather calming and warm in nature compared to the first two drawings. The artist, Yishan Li, says she drew the UX like this because this is where she envisions taking it if she owned one.

Toyota to suspend 18 assembly lines as production restarts post-quake

TOKYO - Japanese manufacturers began restarting production at plants in the country's quake-hit northeast, but Toyota Motor Corp said it plans to idle 18 assembly lines for a few days next week due to a shortage of parts from suppliers. It had suspended operations at three factories due to the quake and sees lost production of 20,000 units due to the stoppages. Toyota has already cut its global production target due to the ongoing chip shortage. The suspension will cut heavily into Toyota's domestic production. Impacted product lines include the Toyota RAV4, Land Cruiser, Harrier and Yaris and virtually every Lexus. Toyota did not say whether these shutdowns could extend to U.S.-based production lines, but the possibility exists if they receive parts from the same suppliers.  On one hand, the limited damage caused by the magnitude 7.4 temblor has highlighted Japan's success in building resilience against the frequent tremors that shake the archipelago. But the quake has sparked concerns of further disruptions to a pandemic-hit supply chain for precision components vital to electronics and autos production and in which Japanese manufacturers play a leading role. Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd, the top global supplier of ceramic capacitors used in smartphones and cars, said it restarted production on Friday at two stopped plants with the remaining two idled plants to restart next week. A fire that broke out at a factory which produces chip inductors caused some damage to equipment. Renesas Electronics Corp, which makes nearly a third of the microcontroller chips used in cars globally, said it has restarted production after stopping it at two factories with a partial stop at a third. All three factories, including the Naka factory where fire broke out last year, are expected to return to pre-quake capacity by Wednesday, Renesas said. Power has mostly been restored across the northeast, which suffered Japan's biggest earthquake 11 years ago. Areas of Tokyo lost power for nearly three hours after the latest quake, in which three people died and 183 were injured. The blackout has forced the disposal of some COVID-19 vaccines held in cool storage, the Yomiuri newspaper reported. Tech conglomerate Sony Group Corp is in the process of gradually restarting production at three factories in the quake-hit area, a spokesperson said.