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Google is hiring autonomous car testers in Arizona

If you're in Arizona, Google is hiring for a gig that could be a good alternative to doing Uber. The job entails test driving an autonomous car around the state for $20 an hour, six to eight hours a day. You'll still need to know how to actually drive to be able to take the wheel if needed. But since your role is testing out the big G's new technology, you're expected to provide the engineering team "concise written and oral feedback," submit daily reports and document any test or procedure performed. That's why even though Google isn't looking for any "particular type of person," it wants people with bachelor's degrees and excellent communication skills. If you're applying because you want to go on a road trip inside one of Google's compact cars, though, we're afraid you'd be sorely disappointed. You'll be testing the tech titan's self-driving technology on a Lexus like the one in the image above. Related Video: This article by Mariella Moon originally ran on Engadget, the definitive guide to this connected life.

2020 Lexus RC F adds hardcore Track Edition and lots of carbon fiber

There's a shortage of high-performance naturally aspirated V8 engines in the United States these days. Fortunately, Lexus sees fit to keep its 5.0-liter V8 in production for the foreseeable future, updating it for 2020 and packaging it inside a revised RC F sports coupe. In its latest guise, the 5.0 spins out 472 horsepower and 395 pound-feet of torque, increases of 5 ponies and 6 lb-ft over the previous version. The RC F gets slightly revised styling for 2020 that includes minor updates to the headlights, taillights, and front and rear fascias. Underneath the skin, the coupe benefits from hollow half shafts, aluminum suspension bits, a lightened intake manifold, and a smaller air conditioning compressor all in a bid to save weight. Custom Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, a numerically higher rear axle ratio and the addition of a simple launch control system – press the brake, floor the gas, drop the brake – allows the 2020 RC F to hit 60 miles per hour in 4.2 seconds. 2020 Lexus RC F Track Edition View 30 Photos The biggest change for the RC F is the addition of a Track Edition for 2020. It's immediately recognizable by its massive carbon fiber rear wing and lower front spoiler. That fixed rear wing is lighter than the active spoiler of the standard RC F while simultaneously adding up to 58 more pounds of downforce and reducing drag. The hood, roof, rear-seat partition, and a bumper reinforcement are also made from carbon fiber. Other lightweighting bits include a titanium muffler and tailpipes, carbon ceramic brake rotors from Brembo, and 19-inch forged wheels from BBS. It all adds up to a 176-pound weight loss compared to the current RC F. Although the engine is unchanged from other 2020 RC F models, the weight reduction drops the 0-60 time down to 3.96 seconds. We don't yet have pricing for the 2020 RC F or the upgraded Track Edition, but Lexus says production will begin in the second quarter of 2019. Check out both versions of the 2020 RC F in our high-res image galleries above. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lexus LF-LC GT ready to hit Gran Turismo

Lexus might not have as rich a motorsport history as its parent company Toyota does, but it's not been without its racing activities – fielding the LFA in the VLN series at the Nurburgring and powering Daytona Prototypes in American endurance racing, but especially in Japan's own Super GT touring car series. That's where it recently rolled out the RC F GT500 is to replace the aging SC430, fighting for the championship last season right up to the bitter end. And this year it will bring a similar version of the RC F to GT3 racing as well. But before it does, the Japanese automaker has given us another racing machine to lust over – only this one is just for the virtual reality of Gran Turismo 6. Following the two teaser images that previewed its reveal, Polyphony Digital (the studio behind the Gran Turismo franchise) has revealed the new Lexus LF-LC GT. The latest in the Vision Gran Turismo series of virtual racers, the Lexus concept starts with the LF-LC show car revealed at the Detroit Auto Show back in 2012, but applies to it some of the same queues as the aforementioned RC F racer. The bodywork melds into extended aprons to keep the car glued to the digital track, there's a side-exit exhaust, carbon hood and roof, a giant rear wing, gargantuan diffuser and lightweight alloys on racing slicks. It's even got the rainbow-swirled white paint job of the RC F GT3 concept. Technical details weren't released, but then this concept wasn't designed to hit any real road or track any time in the near future, anyway. Related Video: