2010 Lexus Rx350 Base Sport Utility 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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2020 Lexus RX and RXL get refined front face, new tech

Lexus is updating its RX and RXL lineup of luxury crossovers for 2020 with tweaks to its steering and driving dynamics, interior and exterior, new Android Auto integration and standard Lexus Safety System+ 2.0 technology. The changes also boost the RX 350 starting price to $45,175, including a $1,025 destination charge. On the outside, Lexus changed the look of the front by updating the spindle grille, which had previously featured horizontal slats, and adding more prominent surrounds to the fog lights that echo the grille. Also echoed are the hand-drawn angles of the grille surround at each corner of the bumper to harmonize the visual flow. Lexus says the RX line is its first to get Android Auto integration, joining the existing Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa compatibility. The touchscreen — both the standard 8-inch display and available 12.3-inch split-screen version — has moved almost 5.5 inches closer to the driver and now offers control over both audio and climate systems, plus display for the rearview camera when backing up. There are also two new USB ports, bringing the total to six, plus a new designated mobile phone storage area near the front of the center console. If you opt for the 12.3-inch display, you get dynamic voice command, which Lexus says is capable of recognizing millions more phrases, is more accurate and offers expanded points of interest searches than its conventional voice-recognition systems. And finally, you get a three-year trial with Lexus Enform Remote to remotely start the car from your smartphone. Lexus is also adding its Safety System+ 2.0 as standard across the lineup, which adds daytime bicyclist detection and low-light pedestrian detection, plus road-sign assist and lane-tracing assist, which works in conjunction with dynamic radar cruise control. On the driving side, Lexus added hollow front and rear stabilizer bars to reduce weight, but theyÂ’re thicker in diameter and feature reinforced bushings to help reduce body roll and improve response on steering. The shock absorbers were re-turned to work with the stiffer roll bars, and there are upgraded dampers with a new friction control device to better control high-frequency vibrations and smooth out the ride. Further refining the ride is a stiffer suspension design, to reduce noise and vibration from the road, and added active corner braking to help prevent understeering by braking the inner wheel and providing more stability to the vehicleÂ’s handling.

2022 Lexus NX gives a peek with Japan's highest peak

Lexus is nearly ready to introduce the second-generation NX. It released a postcard-like preview image of the crossover with the planet's seventh-highest peak located on an island. "The future of Lexus is just on the horizon," the company explained in a release accompanying the image. That's a little misleading; the photo shows Mount Fuji, a 12,388-foot high volcano in Japan, on the horizon. It's what's in the foreground that's about to break cover. One of the biggest visual changes made to the NX (which was the second-best-selling Lexus model in 2020) is the addition of a light bar that stretches across the hatch. It connects the rear lights, and it's underlined by "LEXUS" lettering written in bold capital letters. This styling cue marks a major departure for the brand. Nearly all of the cars it has released since its inception in 1989, including the V10-powered LFA, have worn its L-shaped logo out back. It's not unreasonable to assume this is a styling cue that will spread to other members of the range, like the popular RX. Beyond that, it's difficult to tell how the next NX will stand out from the current model introduced in 2014. We're not expecting a revolution. The crossover's silhouette won't drastically change, and its spindle-shaped grille isn't going anywhere. It might grow, if stylists follow recent design trends, though hopefully not to Fuji-like proportions. Bigger updates will likely be found in the cabin, where a raft of new tech features will trickle down from bigger models. Lexus will unveil the next-generation NX online on June 11. It will stream the event on a dedicated website starting at 11 a.m. Eastern time, which is 8 a.m. in Los Angeles. Sales will start nationwide shortly after. 

The next steps automakers could take after sales drop again in April

DETROIT (Reuters) - Major automakers on Tuesday posted declines in U.S. new vehicle sales for April in a sign the long boom cycle that lifted the American auto industry to record sales last year is losing steam, sending carmaker stocks down. The drop in sales versus April 2016 came on the heels of a disappointing March, which automakers had shrugged off as just a bad month. But two straight weak months has heightened Wall Street worries the cyclical industry is on a downward swing after a nearly uninterrupted boom since the Great Recession's end in 2010. Auto sales were a drag on U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product, with the economy growing at an annual rate of just 0.7 percent according to an advance estimate published by the Commerce Department last Friday. Excluding the auto sector the GDP growth rate would have been 1.2 percent. Industry consultant Autodata put the industry's seasonally adjusted annualized rate of sales at 16.88 million units for April, below the average of 17.2 million units predicted by analysts polled by Reuters. General Motors Co shares fell 2.9 percent while Ford Motor Co slid 4.3 percent and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's U.S.-traded shares tumbled 4.2 percent. The U.S. auto industry faces multiple challenges. Sales are slipping and vehicle inventory levels have risen even as carmakers have hiked discounts to lure customers. A flood of used vehicles from the boom cycle are increasingly competing with new cars. The question for automakers: How much and for how long to curtail production this summer, which will result in worker layoffs? To bring down stocks of unsold vehicles, the Detroit automakers need to cut production, and offer more discounts without creating "an incentives war," said Mark Wakefield, head of the North American automotive practice for AlixPartners in Southfield, Michigan. "We see multiple weeks (of production) being taken out on the car side," he said, "and some softness on the truck side." Rival automakers will be watching each other to see if one is cutting prices to gain market share from another, he said, instead of just clearing inventory. INVESTORS DIGEST BAD NEWS Just last week GM reported a record first-quarter profit, but that had almost zero impact on the automaker's stock. The iconic carmaker, whose own interest was once conflated with that of America's, has slipped behind luxury carmaker Tesla Inc in terms of valuation.