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Anti-EV, pro-hybrid ad from Lexus gets a whole lot wrong

Tell us if you're surprised that Toyota (through its Lexus brand) is putting out some questionable information about electric vehicles. While it's one thing for company executives to be anti-EV, it's quite another to put out obviously false information when you speak ill of plug-in vehicles, especially when you also sell them. The automaker offers the RAV4 EV and Prius Plug-In, albeit in limited numbers, First, let's look at what Lexus is saying. On the company's consumer site, in the hybrid section, there are a number of slick videos. In one ("Hybrid Overview"), Lexus makes it look like charging an EV takes four hours. That may be true in some situations, but the video shows an anonymous driver plugging a Nissan Leaf into something that looks like a AeroVironment DC fast charger, which takes around a half hour to charge. Granted, the site has a disclaimer that says, the "charge time represents the average time to charge from empty to full using typically available 240V commercial charging stations," but in everyday use, that's not something EV drivers often do. Charged EVs mentions two previous studies that show how most EV charging is done at home. Lexus knows all this, of course, but doesn't mention it. Lexus says that there are 20 states with an "established infrastructure" for hydrogen. Another video on the site, one that talks about future alternative powertrain technologies, says that there are 20 states with an "established infrastructure" for hydrogen and 37 with the same for electric vehicles. It also blatantly says that we need to consider all of the emissions from the fossil fuels used to make electricity (carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, etc.) but does not say anything about the fossil fuel emissions used to make hydrogen. You can see some screen grabs in the gallery or watch the video yourself. It's all blatantly one-sided, especially since the official numbers from the Department Of Energy say that there are Level 2 public EV chargers in literally every state except Alaska and only 11 public hydrogen stations in the US. Ten of them are in California, the other is in South Carolina. A Lexus spokesman told AutoblogGreen it will ask TeamOne, its ad agency, and the Lexus marketing department for clarification on where the data in the videos comes from. We will update this post when we hear back.

2018 Lexus LC 500 | Drivers' Notes

The 2018 Lexus LC 500 is the latest and greatest sports coupe from Japan. The 471-horsepower luxury spaceship looks like something straight off the auto show floor. Few cars have made the transition from concept to production with so little change, and unsurprisingly, the LC gets plenty of attention. While sports cars are great on winding roads and flat-out around a racetrack, the compromises in pursuit of performance can show when you actually try to live with one every day. That said, a car that pulls at your heartstrings can be forgiven for a lot. Senior Green Editor John Beltz Snyder: On my night with the Lexus LC 500, I was tasked with picking up my toddler, Wolfgang, from daycare. I wondered if I'd even be able to shoehorn the child seat into the coupe's tiny rear row. I moved the front passenger seat up as far as it would go and folded it forward, unclipping the seat belt from the shoulder strap holding it in place. I was able to get the child seat in its rear-facing position (my son's not quite two years old), and was happy to see that the LC had latch brackets, which made installation a little easier. I had to leave the passenger seat moved up and leaning forward, but the child seat fit properly. When I escorted Wolfgang out of daycare and to his ride, he said "Crazy car, Papa." Then I had to climb in the rear seat on the driver's side to clip him in. Totally worth it, though. He loved the car, and wanted to check it out more completely when we got home. And the LC 500 got a lot of looks from other motorists. Rubberneckers slowed down to check out the car on Woodward, and lingered as they passed me on the highway. The one thing I couldn't share with them was the full song of the car's 5.0-liter V8. Only in a couple instances when I was alone on a clear, country road could I mash the right pedal to enjoy the throaty sound of the exhaust as the engine revved to the top. In regular traffic, with a 10-speed automatic transmission keeping the revs low, the sound is much more subdued. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore: The LC 500 is one of the most drop-dead gorgeous cars I've driven this year. It's simply a stunner. The curves, the angles, and the creases all work in harmony to create the rare design that's busy yet also cohesive. Everything plays a role, even if it's a bit over the top. It attracts a lot of attention.

Lexus considers additional powertrains for the F Performance brand

As the European hardcore competition integrates small-displacement engines and hybrids ( Mercedes-AMG), as well as pure electrification ( Polestar), Lexus' F Performance brand sticks to eight-cylinder guns. The IS F, RC F, and GS F all use the same 5.0-liter V8, the brand's hallmark all the way back to the 2007 IS F. Things could be changing, though, to hear Lexus president Yoshihiro Sawa tell it during his first visit to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. He told Auto Express that "we cannot stick to the one solution when it comes to providing emotion." It sounds like a hybrid has the best chance of reality in the near-term. In April, Lexus said several powertrain options are "all on the table" for the primary brand, and we know Lexus is working on a more powerful hybrid system. Sawa broached the unexpected idea of "a pure F GT car, which could be a hybrid with an electric motor and a strong engine." Mention of a "pure F GT" has us wondering if Sawa means a version of the rumored LC F, or another vehicle above or beside that LC F. A trademark filing and heaps of rumor posit the LC F will have a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 pushing 600 horsepower or more. It's also possible Lexus plans to do something with the anticipated Gazoo Racing road-going supercar that reworks the hybrid powertrain from Toyota's LMP1 race car. An electric vehicle is under consideration as the F Performance brand works to "think of our own original way," and Lexus itself tries "to find a way to connect to the next era." Sawa knows performance buyers seek the feel and sound of an ICE, but says "we cannot stick to the one solution when it comes to providing emotion." The subcompact Lexus UX crossover will be half-electrified when it arrives later this year, one of its powertrains putting electric motors on the rear axle. The brand boss said "We will introduce an EV," but whatever they create needs to be both "lovable" and "have a luxury feeling," the former adjective leading us to believe the F sub-brand won't be going down that avenue just yet. The only reasonable candidate we've heard of so far as a battery electric version is the next-generation CT in Europe. Speaking of the CT, the compact hatchback has brought new buyers to the brand with a 70 to 75 percent conquest rate. Sawa said the spindle grille has done the same; sales have grown since the introduction of the polarizing face, so don't expect it to go away.