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Lexus GS 300 disappears from 2020 lineup

The seven-strong Lexus GS lineup will enter 2020 with only five models in the lineup. Cars Direct found out the entry-level GS 300 will not ring in the new year, the discovery explained by a Lexus spokesperson with, "the GS 300 represented a small percentage of GS sales in 2018." That will leave the standard GS 350 and the GS 350 F Sport, both offered in either rear- or all-wheel drive. With the $47,885 GS 300 out of the game, the price of entry for the range goes up to $52,420 for the GS 350 RWD. That price represents a $150 increase over 2019, and an MSRP of $51,395 plus a $1,025 charge for destination and handling. Perhaps it's a sign of how much Lexus believes in the sport sedan credentials of the GS 350 that the rear-wheel-drive version currently on sale costs $330 more than the all-wheel-drive model. This is reversed for the F Sport trims, with the GS 350 F Sport AWD needing $1,745 more than version with a driven rear axle only. If pricing differentials hold across the range into 2020, that would make the GS 350 AWD $52,090, the GS 350 F Sport RWD would cost $53,785, and the GS 350 F Sport AWD $55,530. The GS F, charging along with a 5.0-liter V8 producing 467 horsepower and 389 pound-feet of torque sent to the rear wheels only, will run $86,035. That's a $560 bump over the 2019 model year. Since the GS F 10th Anniversary Edition celebrated the tenth anniversary of F performance this year, we don't expect the $89,350 sedan to continue into next year. The GS has been in the spotlight at Lexus HQ since last summer, when the brand's general manager told Automotive News "we're certainly evaluating both vehicles," speaking of the GS and IS. For next year, the 241-horsepower GS 300 slips off the scene, but one wonders how long even the 311-hp GS 350 can stick around when the entire lineup sold just 6,604 units in the U.S. last year. Sales are down more than 50 percent this year, down from a 2015 high of 23,117. The new ES is just nine horses down on the GS, $7,000 less expensive, and sold 50 percent more units in the U.S. in January than the GS has so far this year. With no news of an updated GS on the way and the ES rumored to add an all-wheel-drive trim for 2020, the GS could have a hard time standing up to business-case scrutiny.

Post-earthquake, Toyota prepares to reopen some plants in Japan

Toyota will restart vehicle production at most of its closed factories in Japan next week, but the factories that build the Mirai and many Lexus models will remain closed through at least April 28 and possibly longer. The earthquakes around the city of Kumamoto on the island of Kyushu forced the automaker to stop most of its assembly throughout the country due to a lack of parts supply. Toyota will reopen the plants in phases from April 25 to 28. However, the Motomachi factory with its LFA works, which makes the Mirai, and the Miyata factory will remain closed. These sites also build the Lexus NX, RX, ES, GS, and CT, according to Toyota. The automaker didn't say when production would begin again or how this would affect vehicle supply. "In the update, we received this morning from TMC, they said that at this stage it is too soon to tell what the impact on production will be, so we can't say yet whether there might be vehicle shortages in the US," spokesperson Aaron Fowles told Autoblog. While the quakes were focused on Kyushu, they damaged Aisin Seiki factories, which supplied parts to Toyota plants across the country. The automaker worked with its partner to import the necessary components from China and Mexico, and Aisin started moving molds from the damaged plants to operational ones in Japan, which gets production under way sooner. Automotive News Europe estimates the week of lost production cuts total assembly by 90,000 vehicles. It could cost Toyota the equivalent of $458.2 million to $641.5 million. The company could make up some of the losses through overtime. Toyota says these plans are subject to change because on ongoing tremors in the region, which could cause more damage. Reuters reported there was a magnitude 5.5 aftershock in the Kumamoto area on April 19. So far, the quakes have killed at least 47 people and around 100,000 people have moved to evacuation centers. Toyota to Restart Production on Vehicle Assembly Lines in Japan from April 25 Apr. 20, 2016 Toyota City, Japan, April 20, 2016-Between April 25 and 28, Toyota will restart production on most of its vehicle assembly lines in Japan. On April 17, Toyota announced that, due to parts shortages resulting from the severe earthquakes that struck Japan's island of Kyushu last week, production would be suspended on almost all of its vehicle assembly lines in stages between April 18 and 23.

2021 Lexus ES 250 AWD First Drive | Pick your first-world problem

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Looking at the 2021 Lexus ES sedan, one couldnÂ’t be faulted for thinking it unchanged from the previous model year. There is a significant new element, however, with Lexus offering an all-wheel-drive ES for the first time. The ES 250 AWD is a bone tossed to customers living in the Snow Belt, many of whom find the confidence of all-wheel drive an easier investment than a set of snow tires for their front-drive vehicle. With our first drive of the new AWD model, weÂ’d have the opportunity to take it on a long trip to Northern Michigan and, as luck would have it, a terrific storm was headed our way complete with snow and bone-chilling temperatures. Aside from pushing lateral grip and balance to its limits on a race track — and, really, who tracks their ES? — it seemed the perfect opportunity to test the ES lineupÂ’s newest improvement. The new feature comes with a caveat, though, which could be a deal-breaker for fans of the ES 350Â’s 3.5-liter V6: All-wheel drive can only be had in the also-new-for-2021 ES 250 designation, which indicates the sedanÂ’s naturally aspirated, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. Unlike the I-4 in the ES 300h — ‘hÂ’ standing for ‘hybridÂ’ — the 250Â’s mill doesnÂ’t come linked to any electric motors. The engine and drivetrain go hand in hand. You can only get all-wheel drive with the I-4, and you can only get the non-hybrid four with all-wheel drive. Interestingly enough, the ES 250 AWD costs exactly as much as the V6-powered ES 350 in each of its trim levels. Both start at $41,025, and go up from there. If all that sounds familiar, perhaps it's because the mechanically related Toyota Avalon has the same price and drivetrain situation going on. It too is locked into the combinations of FWD/V6 and AWD/I-4, with equal price tags for both and for ultimately the same reason: the also-related Toyota Camry AWD. Because of the minuscule numbers the V6-powered Camry sells in, Toyota saw no need to invest in engineering the all-wheel-drive system to work with a V6. And since the lower-volume Avalon and Lexus ES are really only getting AWD because it can be essentially pulled off a shelf and plugged into the TNGA platform shared by all three, well, that's how you end up with this unusual ES 350 and ES 250 AWD situation. ES 250 AWD, left, ES 250 AWD F Sport, right   So what do the two extra driven wheels actually cost? Your soul? No, but close, depending on your priorities.