2005 Lexus Rx330 Suv Loaded Sunroof Leather Am/fm 6cd Wood Power Liftgate on 2040-cars

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Lexus RC configurator comes alive, priced from $42,790*

Fancy yourself an example of Lexus' take on the BMW 4 Series and Audi A5? Well, now you can customize your very own RC on Lexus' consumer website. With prices starting at $42,790 for a rear-drive model while an all-wheel-drive RC kicks off at $45,025. Neither price includes Lexus' *$925 destination charge.
With a wild (by Lexus' standards) color palette and the option of regular and F Sport trims, there's a fair amount to play with in this configurator. That said, it follows the brand's typical strategy of offering colors and upholsteries along with a wide range of pre-determined options packages.
For those waiting on the configurator for the RC F, it looks like you'll have to wait a big longer, as Lexus hasn't launched a builder for its high-performance, 467-horsepower, $63,325 coupe. Stay tuned for that one.

Toyota previews next Lexus RX with Tokyo-bound JDM Harrier

The Lexus RX shares much with the Toyota Highlander, but its more direct counterpart is the Toyota Harrrier. Never heard of it? That's because Toyota only sells it at home in Japan, and now it's revealed a new one. So if the Harrier is essentially a Toyota-badged version of the RX, then what's the big deal, you ask? The big deal is that the new Harrier which leaked in July, set to debut at the Tokyo Motor Show next week and which you see here isn't quite the same as the Lexus, and those differences could (and in most cases likely will) make their way over to the RX as well.
For starters, the styling is different. Granted that the Lexus version will almost certainly get a spindle-shaped grille, but even so, the Harrier's nose seems to protrude further than the RX's and the headlamps are a notably different shape. The greenhouse is also a different shape, coming to a sharper point at the back, and the mirrors are fixed to the A-pillar not to the door panel. The taillamps are revised, the tailgate has a new profile and there's a pseudo-diffuser at the bottom of the rear bumper. Subtle changes, to be sure, but then Toyota and Lexus are known for their evolutionary approach to styling. The interior has apparently undergone some updates as well, with a more dynamically styled dashboard, a more symmetrical center stack and different seats, steering wheel, door panels... the works. The infotainment display screen has also moved further down from its position in the current RX.
Toyota will offer the new Harrier with a 2.0-liter four mated to a CVT and driving either the front wheels or all four, and a hybrid setup with a 2.5-liter married to a 140-hp electric motor. The RX is offered here with a 3.5-liter V6 either on its own or with an electric assist. We wouldn't expect Lexus to go swapping the larger engines for the smaller ones, at least not for the US market. There's plenty more to the Harrier, of course, than the similarities and differences to the Lexus RX, and if you're buying a premium crossover in Japan, you can delve into the full details in the press release below, together with the images in the gallery above.

Toyota to enter modern turbo four-cylinder era with Lexus crossover

Toyota has sat quietly on the sidelines as many of its competitors have armed themselves in recent years with lower-displacement turbocharged four-cylinder engines in an effort to gain better fuel efficiency numbers and flatter power curves. It's a strategy largely shared by fellow countryman Honda, who turned away from offering forced-induction four-cylinder models in North America after its first-generation Acura RDX failed to find buyers. Toyota itself has no lack of experience with turbo fours, having built some humdingers for cars like the MR2 and Celica All-Trac back in the 80s and 90s. It's also offered factory-warranted turbos through its TRD performance parts division more recently.
Now, Automotive News is reporting that the world's largest automaker is finally poised to rejoin the turbo-four production-car fray in North America, but it won't be a sports car that delivers the first force-fed punch, it will be a new small crossover model for Lexus. We first showed you spy shots of the NX last week in mule form, and Automotive News says the small softroader will carry a 2.0-liter turbo four in its engine bay when it rolls on to world markets in 2014 or early 2015. That model, the NX 200t, will be joined by the NX 300h, a hybrid variant. It isn't immediately clear when US buyers will see the turbo model, however, it's possible that the hybrid could bow first - the story quotes an anonymous company source suggesting that Americans might not see the engine offering until sometime in 2015.
AN further posits that the new 2.0-liter will likely supplant the company's 2.5-liter V6 in the IS sedan and the same-displacement four-cylinder in the Toyota RAV4, but does not indicate where the new engine will be built.