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Florida teen's crash almost ends his chance to grow into Florida Man

A Florida teen in a street race down a narrow residential street almost ended his budding career as Florida Man. As reported by CBS Miami and picked up by Carscoops, a homeowner's security camera captured two cars heading single file down a road in Golden Gates Estates in Naples, Florida. The road looks to be about a lane-and-a-half wide. The width then becomes a problem when both vehicles — a Lexus crossover and what appears to be a Ford Focus — turn around to race. For all the time the Lexus remains right-side-up, it's half on the grass. And this becomes a problem when the crossover swerves to avoid a mailbox, which residents have a habit of posting in the grass next to their streets that aren't made for racing. If we plug these variables into an equation: Crossover, teenager, racing, left wheels on the grass, swerve, culvert, elevated driveway, and Florida, what we get is a spectacular airborne flight and flip that slams the Lexus onto its roof. The two teens in the crossover were injured, but according to the driver's grandmother, the driver emerged with nothing worse than some broken ribs. The video is enlightening videographic testament to the safety of modern cars. And it shows that even Florida teens appear to have, like Florida Man, that special invincibility dust that allows them to escape incidents that would kill or at least severely maim residents of any other state.  Related Video:     Auto News Lexus Crossover Hatchback Luxury Police/Emergency Racing Vehicles Videos Florida Man

2021 BMW M3 and M4 vs all the high-powered sport sedans and coupes

Should you have a found a way to get past that schnoz, you've probably digested some of the basic specs for the all-new 2021 BMW M3 sedan and M4 coupe specs. They're plenty impressive. There's also, basically, two sets of them thanks to the regular and Competition versions that differ in engine output and transmission type.  But how do they compare to other ultra sport sedans and coupes? Well, we were wondering that too, so we fired up the Autoblog Comparison Spreadsheet Generator 5000 (aka me chained to my computer in a dark basement).  Sadly, there are surprisingly few competitors for the 2021 BMW M3. Rival sedans include the Mercedes-AMG C 63 and the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, along with the Audi RS 5 Sportback sedan/coupe/hatchback thing. There's no more Lexus IS F, the Cadillac CT4 Blackwing has yet to arrive and Jaguar doesn't offer a spicy XE R.  Happily, there are more coupe rivals for the 2021 BMW M4, including the two-door versions of the AMG and Audi as well as the Lexus RC F. I also included the Ford Shelby GT350 and Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE. On paper, they align incredibly well. On the street and on a track, I can personally attest that these Americans are fully capable of keeping up and/or bettering the fancy-pants luxury brands (and let's not forget there are even more powerful, hardcore versions available). If they don't align in terms of price or prestige, whatever. OK, let's get to the spreadsheet. Let's start with the coupes and note that I didn't bother listing the dimensions for the M4 Competition and C 63 S as they are identical to their "lesser" siblings.  I won't bother burning words explaining what you can see on the chart. Instead, I'll point out a few things that stood out to me. First, BMW M comes awfully close to matching the output of AMG's twin-turbo V8 despite having two fewer cylinders. Similarly, Audi manages to better the 0-60 time of the M4 Competition and tie the C 63 S despite being WAY down on power. It's not like it weighs less. Magic? Second, and speaking of 0-60 times, remember the importance that transmission and drivetrain make with them. It's not just horsepower and torque. An automatic will be quicker and easier to launch than a manual, while all-wheel drive provides more instantaneous and beneficial grip.

Lexus J201 Concept | Overlanding into uncharted brand terrain

Taking a left turn off of I-10 outside of Palm Springs, California, we drove down a rutted, sand-blown track for a couple miles before ending up at a tall, rocky pile, an outcrop scaled somewhere between a hillock and a massif. After shifting the transmission into neutral, engaging the four-wheel-drive low range, and closing the ARB Air Locking differentials, we got even and steady on the throttle and pointed our truck—a seven-figure, one-off, overlanding concept known as the Lexus J201—up the steep, rocky face until all that showed through the windshield was dust and searing sky. The truck handled the challenge with marked aplomb, cresting the ridge without a huff, and eventually leveling off and displaying the glories of what was on the other side: a meth lab. So capable was this vehicle that it was easy to forget that the platform that underpinned all of this ruggedness was LexusÂ’ posh, flagship SUV, the $88,000 LX 570. This jacked and tracked truck begs the question: Has Lexus gone rogue? “Going rogue is actually part of who we are,” says Vinay Shahani, the brandÂ’s vice president of marketing for America. “And we love to experiment. J201 is a rolling example of our belief in Always On, the idea of continual improvement no matter the time in a vehicleÂ’s lifecycle.” The reference to time-in-lifecycle is kind of an understatement for a vehicle that has existed in its current form, with only minor cosmetic updates, since 2008 — two lifetimes in the product span of most automobiles. But the J201 Concept does add significant upgrades to the production vehicle, which, based as it is on the venerable and caprine Toyota Land Cruiser, is hardly a slouch in the off-road-capability department. In addition to the performance differentials mentioned above, the J201 benefits from a myriad of additional add-ons. These include rugged accessories such as an Icon Vehicle Dynamics suspension good for a few extra inches of ride height, and even more when the suspension is put in extreme high mode; smaller 17-inch Evo Corse Dakar Zero wheels mounted with 33-inch General Grabber X3 tires; a TJM Airtec snorkel for breathing underwater (something we did not get to experience in the parched Coachella Valley); and StopTech drilled brake rotors. It also includes bolt-ons such as CBI skid plates, rock sliders, and front and rear bumpers; a Warn winch; a Prinsu Design roof rack system; an onboard ARB twin compressor; and luminescence of Rigid Industries light bars.