1999 Lexus Rx300 Awd 4x4 New Tires Well Maintained Runs Great 300 Pictures Look on 2040-cars

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Toyota recalls 370k Sienna minivans, 10.5k Lexus GS models over separate issues

The year of the recall continues, but this time it isn't from General Motors. Toyota is announcing two, separate recalls affecting a pair of its models.
First, Toyota is recalling 370,000 Sienna minivans from the 2004 to 2011 model years that are registered or originally sold in cold-weather states. The problem is that the spare tire carrier assembly cable can be splashed by water contaminated with road salt and cause corrosion. There is a splashguard in place to prevent this, but it sometimes gets lost in "normal usage," according to the company. If the cable does break, then "the spare tire may separate from the vehicle."
This is actually the second repair for this problem for some of these vehicles. In 2010, Toyota issued a recall on 600,000 Siennas from the 1998 to 2010 model years. At the time, it installed a new splashguard and sprayed the area with an anti-rust chemical. However, according to Toyota spokesperson John Hanson speaking to Autoblog, the campaign worked for the 1998 to 2003 models but wasn't sufficient for the newer ones. For the latest recall, the vehicles are getting the entire cable replaced with a stainless steel unit and a new splashguard.

Lexus LF-30 Electrified Concept announces the brand's entry in EVs

The star of the Lexus booth at the biennial Tokyo auto show is an extremely futuristic concept named LF-30 Electrified that previews the firm's cars could look like — and be powered by — in 2030. The LF-30 Electrified uses clever technology to take Lexus into the electric vehicle segment for the first time. Lexus has leveraged parent company Toyota's expertise in the field of hybrid powertrains to become one of the industry's pioneers in the segment, but it has always shunned fully electric drivetrains. The LS-30 signals an about-face. Drawing on lessons learned while designing hybrids, engineers developed a 536-horsepower drivetrain that consists of a mammoth, 110-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack and four in-wheel electric motors that can deliver front-, rear-, or all-wheel drive. Don't let the press images fool you; the LS-30 is huge. It's nearly as long as the firm's LS flagship sedan, closer to a Chevrolet Suburban in width, and it weighs almost 5,300 pounds. It can nonetheless reach 60 mph from a stop in 3.8 seconds, and it can travel for up to 310 miles on one charge according to the overly optimistic WLTP testing cycle. Those figures might be irrelevant, because the driver can become a passenger by turning on the on-board autonomous technology and letting it worry about how quickly to accelerate, and when to charge. There's even a drone that Lexus calls an Airporter that autonomous transports luggage, for example, from in front of the owner's house directly to the car's trunk. Odds are you won't even need to tip it. Traveling in the LF-30 feels different depending on where you're sitting. The driver experiences a new concept Lexus calls Tazuna that draws inspiration from how a rein can create a mutual understanding between a horse and a rider; it sounds similar to what Mazda aimed for with the Miata, which famously channeled Jinba Ittai, or horse and rider as one, but it's a completely different take on it. The driver can adjust the stereo or dial a destination in the navigation system without taking his or her eyes off the road thanks to steering wheel-mounted switches and a large head-up display. The driver feels a lot like a jet fighter pilot, then. The passenger, on the road hand, is traveling first-class thanks to a seat inspired by high-zoot air travel, and a gesture-controlled screen. The rear seats recline, and the folks sitting in them can watch movies on a voice- and gesture-controlled glass roof called SkyGate.

Lexus considers additional powertrains for the F Performance brand

As the European hardcore competition integrates small-displacement engines and hybrids ( Mercedes-AMG), as well as pure electrification ( Polestar), Lexus' F Performance brand sticks to eight-cylinder guns. The IS F, RC F, and GS F all use the same 5.0-liter V8, the brand's hallmark all the way back to the 2007 IS F. Things could be changing, though, to hear Lexus president Yoshihiro Sawa tell it during his first visit to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. He told Auto Express that "we cannot stick to the one solution when it comes to providing emotion." It sounds like a hybrid has the best chance of reality in the near-term. In April, Lexus said several powertrain options are "all on the table" for the primary brand, and we know Lexus is working on a more powerful hybrid system. Sawa broached the unexpected idea of "a pure F GT car, which could be a hybrid with an electric motor and a strong engine." Mention of a "pure F GT" has us wondering if Sawa means a version of the rumored LC F, or another vehicle above or beside that LC F. A trademark filing and heaps of rumor posit the LC F will have a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 pushing 600 horsepower or more. It's also possible Lexus plans to do something with the anticipated Gazoo Racing road-going supercar that reworks the hybrid powertrain from Toyota's LMP1 race car. An electric vehicle is under consideration as the F Performance brand works to "think of our own original way," and Lexus itself tries "to find a way to connect to the next era." Sawa knows performance buyers seek the feel and sound of an ICE, but says "we cannot stick to the one solution when it comes to providing emotion." The subcompact Lexus UX crossover will be half-electrified when it arrives later this year, one of its powertrains putting electric motors on the rear axle. The brand boss said "We will introduce an EV," but whatever they create needs to be both "lovable" and "have a luxury feeling," the former adjective leading us to believe the F sub-brand won't be going down that avenue just yet. The only reasonable candidate we've heard of so far as a battery electric version is the next-generation CT in Europe. Speaking of the CT, the compact hatchback has brought new buyers to the brand with a 70 to 75 percent conquest rate. Sawa said the spindle grille has done the same; sales have grown since the introduction of the polarizing face, so don't expect it to go away.