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Lexus exec says he still fields complaints about the spindle grille

When Lexus debuted its spindle grille on the GS sedan and trademarked the design back in 2012, it was a sure sign the look was here to stay. It started making its way through the lineup, and now five model years later, it's on all Lexus vehicles. The one thing everyone can all agree on is, it's bold. And Lexus has doubled down on the design with the LF-1 Limitless Concept on display at the Detroit Auto Show. Some people surely think nothing of the grille. Others have equated it to a cartoon character, a beard trimmer, or a baleen whale scooping up krill. In one harsh, perhaps apocryphal criticism, a design professor is said to have likened the spindle to the mouth of the titular hunter-alien in the "Predator" movies. In a much more admiring spacefaring comparison, our Antti Kautonen said the grille of the LF-1 Limited Concept mimics a "Star Wars" ship's shift into hyperspace. That's a fitting analogy for the stunning and futuristic LF-1, which might be the single most dramatically styled vehicle at the North American International Auto Show. A couple of years ago, Toyota chief designer — and head of Lexus — Tokuo Fukuichi defended the spindle in a Reuters interview, saying "sexy" was a goal of the design, and dismissing complaints by saying, "Even polarizing designs, you get used to them after a while." That defense was "a while" — three years — after the new look caused an uproar at a 2012 Toyota stockholders' meeting, where some shareholders complained. Now it has been a while longer, and a Lexus executive says the spindle grille has continued to divide Lexus customers. Jeff Bracken, Lexus group vice president and general manager, told Carbuzz on the sidelines of the Detroit show last week that longtime repeat customers still can't get their heads around whatever it is the car seems to be getting its mouth around. "I'll be very transparent. It's our signature grille. Some of our models have a more expressive signature grille than others. The folks that look at it as somewhat polarizing would be, for the most part, the folks that have been with us since the beginning. In fact I'll take phone calls from some of these owners and will literally spend 45 minutes to an hour on the phone with me just expressing how disappointed they are," Bracken said. Bracken has actually been saying almost the exact same things about the grille for years — both to upset customers and to automotive journalists — for example, to Forbes in 2014.

2022 Lexus LS 500 gets subtle changes, the same price

The Lexus LS 500 glides into 2022 with a modicum of changes. The most notable update for new owners will be the retuned suspension, spring and damper rates adjusted to provide a more comfortable ride and anti-roll bars enlarged to tamp down body roll. On sedans optioned with the adjustable-ride-height function, Lexus said that feature has been "enhanced" to make getting in and out even easier. Output from the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 doesn't change from 416 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, but a trio of tweaks are said to upgrade the experience. Reshaped tops on the pistons deliver "quiet operation when cold" — as if engine noise has ever been a Lexus problem — and lower emissions. New wastegate control logic means better turbo efficiency. And the 10-speed automatic transmission gets recalibrated shift mapping to keep the engine in the meatier part of the power band. The other changes for every LS 500 trim start with Lexus making its Safety System+ 2.5 standard across the range. This adds active safety features like Pre-Collision System (PCS), Frontal Collision Warning (FCW), Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), Pedestrian Detection and Bicyclist Detection. Inside, Lexus says the infotainment system "provides additional control options for driver and passenger," without going into what those are. Those who option the Luxury or Executive Packages can get a new foil interior treatment called Haku. This is derived from 400-year-old the Japanese art of decorative gold leaf, the most well known being Kanazawa-haku, the leaf made by hammering gold until it was one or two ten-thousandths of a millimeter thin. Yes, you read that thickness correctly. The foil is so delicate that Lexus says it has to be applied by hand. Lastly, the 2,400-watt, 23-speaker Mark Levinson stereo can be optioned on the entry-level LS for the first time. Prices don't change from the current MSRPs for the 2021 sedan, the base LS 500 with rear-wheel drive starting at $76,000 and adding a $1,075 destination charge for $77,075 total. The rear-driven LS 500 F Sport starts at $80,675. Optioning either with AWD costs another $3,250. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2021 Lexus LC 500 Convertible Walkaround

Lexus exploring PHEV, full EV and fuel cell versions of LS flagship

After four years of rumors about a Lexus LS powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, the chief engineer of the flagship sedan says the carmaker's working on even more options. Toshio Asahi told Australia's GoAuto that three alternative powertrains — plug-in hybrid, full electric, and hydrogen — are "all on the table" for consideration. Asahi wouldn't give any timeframes, but whenever they arrive, additional drive options would fill out the LS range to better contend with the Germans. Years of reports predicted this fifth-generation LS would get hydrogen power. A Motoring article at the end of 2014 forecast a fuel cell LS to arrive by 2017. In 2015 Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported that Lexus was considering a fuel cell option to arrive in 2020, around the time of the Tokyo Olympics. Later that year, at the Tokyo Motor Show, Lexus showed off the LF-FC concept, powered by a cell and stack arranged for "optimum front-rear weight distribution for a sporty saloon." GoAuto said that during that show, a Lexus executive said an FCEV powertrain would end up in production "sooner than you think." The following year, Autocar reported we'd see a production version of the LF-FC "on sale before 2020" as a replacement for the LS, and last year, Lexus trademarked the name "LF-FC Concept." The intel gets murkier regarding plug-in hybrid and full electric versions. We now know Lexus is working on a more powerful hybrid system. The current hybrid produces a total system 354 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque using the same 3.5-liter V6 in the standard car as a base, though the standard car adds two turbos for 415 hp and 442 lb-ft. The coming hybrid will likely use the twin-turbo setup and could achieve two important ends: Smoothing out noted issues of powertrain refinement, and at least matching the power specs of Mercedes-Benz and BMW flagship plug-in hybrids. That hybrid LS would still miss out on the all-electric driving of its rivals. If there really is an LF-FC coming in the next two years, it would seem a perfect time to retire the conventional hybrid and introduce a plug-in version embodying the velvet sophistication Lexus is known for. The battery electric LS is a big question mark outside of Lexus HQ. Last year Toyota announced a breakthrough in solid state battery technology, the carmaker announcing it wanted such batteries on the market by 2022.