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Lexus back in luxury sales race after three-year absence

Think the only challengers for the title of best-selling luxury brand hail from der Vaterland? Wrong. Lexus outsold the likes of Mercedes-Benz for the second time in 2014 last month. In fact, the Japanese luxury marque's total sales this year are a mere 12,000 units behind BMW.
Lexus was able to move 26,921 vehicles last month, a year-over-year increase of 21.1 percent, respectively. Mercedes, meanwhile, was just barely beaten, moving 26,617 units in April. The difference, though, is that Lexus has made far bigger year-over-year gains than Mercedes, which recorded a YOY increase of just 4.13 percent.
This is particularly troubling for the Germans, as it marks a return to form for Lexus that we haven't seen since before the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that decimated Japan. Prior to that natural disaster, Lexus enjoyed nearly a dozen years at the top of the luxury heap.

Meet the Greenest and Meanest vehicles of 2016

If you've been keeping track, you won't be surprised with the number one entry in this year's list of greenest cars from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). In fact, the top three spots on the 2016 list are all the same as they were in 2015. After that, things get interesting. For one thing, this is the first Greenest list that doesn't have any purely internal combustion engine powertrain on it. Hybrids, yes, but if you want to be one of the top 12 greenest cars this year, you'd better have some sort of electric angle. ACEEE says that the conventional, gas-powered Smart Fortwo and Chevrolet Spark just missed the cut. In a statement, ACEEE lead vehicle analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan said, "The 2016 scores are in, and plug-in electric vehicles are outpacing all other vehicle offerings in terms of environmental friendliness." Like last year, one of the noticeable vehicles missing from the green list is the Tesla Model S. One reason? ACEEE takes curb weight into account (lighter is better), and the Model S is a heavy beast. The ACEEE doesn't just look at the clean side of the ledger. It also puts out a "meanest" list. These are the vehicles that pollute the most, not only from their tailpipes, but also any pollution created during the entire manufacturing process, from mining the raw materials to the energy used to produce the vehicle at the factory. The entire list, from greenest to meanest, is done using a "cradle to grave" analysis. You can see how the ACEEE determines its rankings here, explore the entire greenest cars site here, or click through our galleries to see which vehicles are extra green (above) or extra mean (below) this year. 12: Mercedes-Benz GL550 4MATIC View 12 Photos More Electric Cars than Ever on Greenest Vehicles List Electric Vehicles Nab 9 out of Top 12 Spots in ACEEE's Environmental Vehicle Rankings Washington, DC: Despite a tumultuous year for the automotive industry, manufacturers have continued to offer exciting technology options for a growing vehicle market. Today at greenercars.org, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released its 19th annual comprehensive environmental ratings for vehicles. The following vehicles comprise the Greenest List for 2016: Greenest Score 1. Mercedes-Benz Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Convertible / Coupe 63 2. Chevrolet Spark EV 63 3. Fiat 500E 62 4. Toyota Prius Eco 61 5. Volkswagen E-Golf 61 6. Nissan Leaf S / Leaf SV 61 7. Kia Soul Electric 59 8.

2019 Lexus GS F 10th Anniversary Edition Drivers' Notes Review | Nothing gray about this sedan

The Lexus GS F is an old-school performance sedan with a big, naturally aspirated engine up front. You won’t find the phrase twin-turbo anywhere in its press materials, and thatÂ’s completely fine. With 467 horsepower and 389 pound-feet of torque, the 5.0-liter V8 isnÂ’t going to outrun the high-powered Germans in a drag race. However, all of that power is usable on the street, right up to the glorious 7,300 rpm redline. A loud exhaust complements the loud styling on our particular test car. We had the honor of driving the 10th Anniversary Edition, which is limited to just 100 vehicles in the U.S. You pay extra for the special appearance, but man it looks good. Matte Nebula Gray paint wraps the exterior, while unique Fuji Blue leather trim covers the interior. Blue Brembo brake calipers behind BBS forged wheels keep the blue theme going on the outside. Michelin Pilot Sport tires come standard, providing an impressive amount of grip for the big sedan. Much of the magic to this anniversary car is thanks to the stunning blue interior — it even has blue carbon fiber and blue suede trim. Rear-wheel drive is the only way it comes — same goes for the eight-speed automatic transmission. The final price for our GS F 10th Anniversary Edition car comes out to $93,080. ThatÂ’s after the $5,000 anniversary package, $1,380 Mark Levinson audio and $900 head-up display. It still comes in under $100,000, which makes it cheaper than the M5 or Mercedes-AMG E 63 S sedan. Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder: I'm going to start off with something that might not be universal: I love this interior. I think the blue Lexus used here is to die for. The white stripes going down the center of the blue leather sport seats mirrors the blue steering wheel with white at top center. Those seats are actually pretty comfortable and super supportive, too. The blue microsuede-type liner on the dash is a little much, but in this case, a little much feels entirely appropriate. The blue stitching and even the blue-accented carbon fiber trim pop in this interior, mirroring the hint of blue spied on the brake calipers through the dark wheels outside. Finally, you might hate the mouse-type infotainment interface (this one managed to not piss me off entirely), but it looks cool inside this GS F. Lexus GS F 10th Anniversary Edition View 7 Photos Assistant Editor, Zac Palmer: I love that Lexus still uses big, naturally aspirated V8s in its performance cars.