2002 Lexus Gs 300 Sedan Abs Alloy Wheels Leather Moonroof Clean Carfax on 2040-cars

Auto blog

How Lexus, Infiniti plan to win back luxury buyers from Germans, Tesla

DETROIT — Japanese luxury auto brands Lexus and Infiniti have used the Detroit Auto Show to test new ways to regain momentum against Germany's prestige automakers and Tesla. The Japanese are fighting to gain ground in the U.S. luxury market as Audi and Mercedes-Benz have expanded sales and Tesla has provided a fresh alternative to established brands. Last year, Lexus suffered a 7.6 percent slide in U.S. sales. Acura's 2017 sales fell 3.9 percent from 2016. Infiniti pushed up sales by 11.3 percent — but by selling almost twice as many sport utility vehicles as cars. However, Infiniti's total 2017 sales of 153,415 vehicles put it behind the leading Germany luxury car brands, as well as Acura, Lexus and Cadillac. The Lexus LF-1 Limitless concept SUV model, with its futuristic looks and "Chauffeur mode" semi-autonomous hands-off driving capabilities, signals that Toyota's luxury brand may start to focus more on SUVs than traditional large sedans. The LF-1 also previews a futuristic navigation technology that anticipates where the driver is going based on driving habits and history, and provides hotel recommendations or other concierge services. View 13 Photos "We don't want to be the 'race car' brand; we don't want to be the 'quiet ride' brand. We want to be the brand which is emotionally connected with the customer," said Cooper Ericksen, vice president of U.S. marketing for Lexus. Lexus, Infiniti and Acura launched in the U.S. market in the late 1980s and took advantage of quality problems at Audi and a lack of innovation at the then-leading luxury brands, Cadillac and Lincoln. Now, the structure of the U.S. luxury market has changed. Four brands — Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Lexus — dominate. Tesla delivered 103,000 vehicles in 2017, its best year ever, though that total is still a small fraction of the overall luxury market. Tesla, meanwhile, is trying to overcome "production hell" and increase output of its more affordable compact Model 3 sedan. The highly anticipated car is just starting to reach customers — but with 400,000 preorders, 2018 could be a breakthrough year for Tesla. View 19 Photos In Detroit, Infiniti showed the Q Inspiration Concept sedan powered by a unique, high-efficiency variable-compression gasoline engine. While the prototype is not electric, its exterior might appeal to customers of the Tesla Model S.

Autoblog Podcast #398

Episode #398 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Brandon Turkus, and Michael Harley talk about the 2015 Ford Mustang, the 2015 Toyota Camry, and the Congressional grilling NHTSA received last week. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #398: Topics: 2015 Ford Mustang 2015 Toyota Camry NHTSA under Congressional fire In The Autoblog Garage: 2014 Lexus ES 300h 2014 Lexus GS 350 F-Sport 2015 Kia K900 Hosts: Dan Roth, Michael Harley, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:36:56 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 2015 Ford Mustang - 28:58 2015 Toyota Camry - 42:41 NHTSA - 57:55 Q&A - 01:17:15 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Government/Legal Podcasts Ford Kia Lexus Toyota

2018 Lexus RX 350L Quick Spin Review | Minding the gap in the Lexus lineup

PORTLAND, Ore. — Why on Earth does Lexus still make the Jurassic GX 460? It's old, inefficient, body-on-frame and completely atypical of the rest of the three-row luxury segment. Well, the answer lies in that segment descriptor: three rows. People want them, yet Lexus didn't offer anything else between the two-row RX and the $85,000, Land Cruiser-based LX 570. Despite this lineup gap lasting for two decades, Lexus decided to finally attempt filling it with a seemingly quick-and-dirty solution: Lengthen the RX 350, shoehorn in a third row, add an L to the name, wipe hands together, call it a day. The resulting 2018 Lexus RX 350L does indeed have a third row of seats and is generally a far superior vehicle to the GX. It's better to drive, massively more efficient, and its beautiful interior is up to the current Lexus norm. The cargo door doesn't swing into the curb. Plus, unlike some other slapped-together lengthened jobs over the years like the Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT or even the long-wheelbase Range Rover, the RX 350L doesn't suffer visually for its extra inches. In fact, it can be difficult to tell the L apart from a non-L unless the two are parked together in profile. If everything, the extra 4.4 inches of length might actually improve the RX's proportions from certain angles. Of course, quite a few people find the current RX to be hideous, so finding comments below that include the words "lipstick" and "pig" would not be surprising. Adding the L also doesn't seem to take away from the RX's driving experience, which continues to impress. The current model is buttoned down and involving in a way its couch-like predecessors never attempted to be. From the lowered driving position to the more responsive steering, this is a far more driver-oriented vehicle. You don't even need to engage Sport mode, but doing so dials in an appropriate level of steering weight and sharpens throttle/transmission response. This general sportification also hasn't taken anything away from comfort, as a three-hour road trip from Portland to Seattle proved it to be a superb highway cruiser. Both seat and ride comfort are excellent. That was with two people aboard, however. Later in the week, we managed to easily fit an extra pair in the second row along with a rear-facing baby seat. That's all well and good, but the regular RX can do that.