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Toyota and Lexus will have standard automatic braking by 2017

Last week, NHTSA and IIHS announced that 20 auto manufacturers and three agencies had agreed to include automatic emergency braking (AEB) as standard equipment by 2022. Toyota was one of those 20 companies, but this week they upped the AEB ante: Nearly every Toyota and Lexus model and trim level will have standard AEB by 2017. That's next year. Many models already offer AEB as part of the Lexus Safety System+ and Toyota Safety Sense packages, but consumers have had to pay extra for these options (unless they leased a Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle; it already has AEB as standard equipment.) By the end of next year, all but the Lexus GS, Toyota 4Runner and Toyota 86 — which was developed together with Subaru — will have AEB installed at no extra cost. (Interestingly, the new Prius Prime unveiled at the New York International Auto Show has Safety Sense as an option rather than standard equipment.) The AEB function is part of Toyota's safety suites, which will be included in 25 Lexus and Toyota models. Both makes have a precollision system that detects the possibility of collision with the car ahead and engages the brakes if the driver doesn't react quickly enough, as well as lane departure alerts and automatic high beams. Toyota's move leapfrogs ahead of Honda making its Honda Sensing system, which includes AEB tech, available as a flat $1,000 option on every Civic Sedan. Related Video: This article by Kristen Hall-Geisler originally ran on TechCrunch, a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news.

Here We Go Again: Lexus attacks EVs in new ad [UPDATE]

UPDATE: We got a comment from founding member of Plug In America Paul Scott on this ad. It's available below. The last time Lexus attacked plug-in battery vehicles in an ad, it had to apologize. The company is remaining on message, though, and has revisited a hybrid-vehicle advertising campaign that implies that driving a battery-electric vehicle is a big waste of time, because of all the charging you need to do. With the new spot, Lexus once again raised hackles of plug-in vehicle advocates because, once again, the accuracy is questioned. "The ad's message was that a consumer could [drive] a vehicle with advanced technology today, without sacrifice or change in habit." – Lexus spokesman Brian Bolain Lexus is running print ads (click to enlarge) in publications like Wired poking fun at EVs, the International Business Times says. Lexus highlights range anxiety in the spot, comparing the amount of time it takes to fully recharge an EV – and the idea that air conditioning and using the radio can shorten an EV's range – to the fun of just driving a Lexus. "The [print] ad was merely intended to paint a picture of life with a hybrid, which is basically no different from life with a traditional gas-powered vehicle, versus life with an EV, which can have challenges or at least uncertainties," Lexus spokesman Brian Bolain told AutoblogGreen. "In other words, at its core, the ad's message was that a consumer could participate in driving a vehicle with advanced technology today, without sacrifice or change in habit." The campaign picks up where Lexus's previous anti-EV campaign left off this spring. A website promoting Lexus's hybrids (and parent company Toyota's H2 vehicles) claimed that there was a hydrogen refueling infrastructure set up in 20 US states (not anywhere close to true). Plug-in advocates were also quick to note that higher-powered EV recharging systems can allow a plug-in to be recharged in far less than the four hours the Lexus site claimed. Of course, Toyota has a lot more skin in the game when it comes to hybrids and, starting next year, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles than it does for plug-ins. Through August, the company sold just 842 RAV4 EVs and about 11,500 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrids in the US. That compares to almost 19,000 Nissan Leaf EVs and a Tesla Model S count that's likely close to that figure as well (Tesla breaks out neither monthly sales numbers nor US-only sales for the Model S).

2021 Lexus LX 570 gets an Inspiration Series run of 500 units

The 2021 Lexus LX 570 will haul its 13-year-old bones into the 2021 model year with the enticements of the Sport Package, along with an Inspiration Series model produced in a run of 500 examples. New features and options for 2021 are Amazon Alexa capability, Nori Green exterior paint, and interior leather colored Glazed Caramel. The Sport Package dials up bodykit add-ons for the front and rear fascias, a sport grille, body-colored side mirrors with chrome accents, and forged 21-inch wheels outside. A black headliner inside broods over semi-aniline leather trim offset with leather in black, Cabernet, or that new Glazed Caramel hue.  The LX Inspiration Series can be had in either Black Onyx or the $425 White Pearl exterior. Outside, it goes heavy on the sinister. A black grille features a black chrome surround, there are black headlamps and taillights with smoked lenses to go with black fog lamps, black trim around the windows and black chrome garnish elsewhere, black roof rails and door handles, and black badges on the back of tailgate. The rolling stock is a set of 21-inch black wheels with black center caps. The limited-edition spent all its fun money on the exterior, the interior left with unique floor and cargo mats, and unique key gloves.  All models come with the Lexus Safety System+ that groups features like Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Panoramic View Monitor, Multi-Terrain Monitor, and Intuitive Parking Assist. The engine bay retains its 5.7-liter V8 throwing 383 horsepower and 403 pound-feet of torque, shifting through an eight-speed automatic and sending power to all four wheels through a Torsen limited-slip differential. If an LX 570 ever sees an unpaved road, it will have nothing to fear, equipped standard with its Crawl Control system that comes with Turn Assist and Hill-start Assist Control. On sale as of now, prices on the two-row, five-seat LX 570 and the three-row, seven-seat model have gone up by $100. The two-row starts at $86,580 and gets a $1,025 destination charge, totaling $87,605. The three-row starts at $91,580 and gets a $1,295 destination charge, so it starts at $92,875. Lexus didn't mention pricing for the Sport Package or the Inspiration model, both of which are exclusive to the three-row, and they're not on the Lexus configurator as of writing, so speak to your dealer about those if they speak to you. Related Video: