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Lexus takes aim at electric vehicles, again

Lexus is once again taking aim at plug-in vehicles by emphasizing the perceived challenges of recharging batteries, rather than simply filling up with gas or hydrogen. Only this time, Toyota's luxury division appears to be zigging while everyone else is zagging. Of course, the nameplate can use all the help it can get when it comes to hybrid sales. First highlighted by Green Car Reports, Lexus has added a banner to the website of its hybrid vehicles that says "Always Charged. Always Ready." That's a not-so-veiled shot at plug-in vehicles, a sector where Toyota has minimal exposure. Lexus also notes of its hybrid vehicles that there's "nothing to plug in." Of course, there may be sour grapes at play. Through September, sales of its five hybrid models in the US dropped 17 percent from a year earlier to about 21,500 units, and September was particularly tough as hybrid sales plunged 34 percent to almost 1,800 units. Even so, the third quarter likely represented a record when it came to plug-in vehicle sales. We say "likely" because Tesla doesn't break out its US sales, and not all automakers disclose sales of their plug-ins. We calculate that sales for the quarter were at about 36,000 vehicles, up 38 percent from a year earlier. For now, Lexus doesn't sell a fuel-cell model, though it may sell a fuel-cell version of the Lexus LS full-size sedan. Toyota, of course, offers the Mirai, which has moved about 710 units this year. Lexus has gone down this proverbial road before. In 2014, the brand unveiled a similar campaign that highlighted how long it took to recharge EVs, and was ultimately taken to task by electric-vehicle advocates Plug-In America. Lexus apologized for offending anyone and said it'd review content related to hybrid advertising. Doesn't seem like an apology is in order this time out, but that doesn't mean that it's a good strategy. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Lexus LC 500h View 40 Photos News Source: Green Car Reports Green Marketing/Advertising Recalls Lexus Toyota Hybrid

EPA says automakers ahead of schedule for 54.5 MPG by 2025

Remember, the target is 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Today, the CAFE level is a little over 30. How we get from here to there is something the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is monitoring closely. Thus, the EPA just released an annual flash report on how the auto industry is progressing towards meeting the nation's fuel economy goals. Overall, the industry is doing almost 10 grams per mile (equivalent) better than the rules require. The good news is that the industry is a bit ahead of schedule. In the report (see page iii), the EPA breaks things down by automaker based only on MY12 numbers. Tesla is at the top of the list (which is ranked by over-compliance with 2012MY CO2 standards), but for our money, the real leader is Toyota. The Japanese automaker built the second-highest number of vehicles (2,020,248, after General Motors' 2,364,374) but racked up the most net 2012 over-compliance credits (13,163,009 metric tons). That's an average of over 6.5 metric tons per vehicle. The next closest is Honda, with just over five metric tons of credits per vehicle. Given the MPG fiasco with Hyundai and Kia, the EPA says, "we are excluding Hyundai and Kia data because of the ongoing investigation into their testing methods," but overall, the rest of the industry has credits worth 25,053,168 metric tons of CO2, which means it's doing almost 10 grams per mile (equivalent) better than the rules require. Go team. For now, the numbers in this report (and there are a lot more of them – get the 59-page PDF for yourself here), can't really be used to understand everything from the first year of the new CAFE program. The EPA writes, "Because the program allows credits and deficits to be carried into future years, at the close of the 2012 model year no manufacturer is considered to be out of compliance with the program. ... Compliance with the 2012 model year standards can't be fully assessed until the end of the 2015 model year." There are a more interesting tidbits in the report, such as the fact that Fisker produced 1,415 model year 2012 vehicles, Tesla made 2,952. Remember, too, that CAFE numbers don't equal the fuel economy you see in your daily drives. In the real world, the 54.5 CAFE level will be about 40 mpg, and the average fuel economy today is around 25 mpg, so we have a ways to go, no matter how you measure it. EPA Report: Data Show Automakers on Track in meeting Greenhouse Gas Standards WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S.

BMW M850i Coupe, Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser | Autoblog Podcast #585

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor Alex Kierstein and Senior Editor, Green, John Snyder. This week, they talk about driving the BMW 8 Series Coupe, Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and Toyota Corolla Hatchback. Then they talk about the news, including electric Hummer rumors and Tesla pickup timing. Finally, they consider whether or not Greg should buy his neighbor's 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser. Autoblog Podcast #585 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving: BMW M850i xDrive Coupe Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Toyota Corolla Hatchback In the news: Is an all-electric Hummer in the works? Tesla pickup truck is on its way Spend My Money: 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: