2012 Lexus Es350 Sunroof Climate Seats One Owner 9k Mi Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lexus trademarks enigmatic LX 600 nameplate

An American trademark filing suggests Lexus is about to expand its lineup of SUVs with a range-topping model named LX 600. The new nameplate asks many more questions than it answers. Discovered by AutoGuide, the filing seemingly corresponds to a stronger evolution of the Toyota Land Cruiser-based LX 570 that currently occupies the top spot in the Lexus SUV hierarchy. LX is, of course, the model, while 570 denotes the presence of a 5.7-liter V8 under the hood. By that logic, an LX 600 should have a 6.0-liter engine, and very likely a V8; we can't imagine Lexus selling an LX with 10 or 12 cylinders, for better or worse, and a 6.0-liter V6 would be a mammoth of an engine. One of the question marks hovering around the filing is whether 600 actually corresponds to the engine's displacement. There isn't a 5.0-liter V8 between the LS 500's fenders; it's powered by a twin-turbocharged, 3.5-liter V6. Carmakers are moving away from large-displacement engines to comply with looming emissions norms, and Toyota is on the front lines, so the theory of a 6.0-liter V8 in a Lexus flagship — even one that's relatively old-school — struggles to hold water. An earlier report claims the next-generation Toyota Land Cruiser will ditch its V8 in favor of the aforementioned V6, and it might be available with the LS 500h's gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain. The LX has always been nearly identical to the Land Cruiser in the engine bay, so it will likely surf the downsizing wave, too. Our intuition tells us 600 is too high for the base model, and the flagship hybrid would logically be dubbed 600h. Here again, we've reached a body-on-frame cul-de-sac. We can't forget about the possibility that Lexus will not slap the LX 600 nameplate on anything. Automakers routinely trademark names to protect them without planning on using them. The company hasn't commented on the trademark filings, and it hasn't shed light on the next-generation LX, so the speculation will continue until official information emerges. It's tentatively scheduled to make its debut in 2021, and arrive in showrooms in 2022, about a year after the new Land Cruiser. Featured Gallery 2019 Lexus LX 570 View 42 Photos Auto News Lexus SUV Luxury

Driving the 2021 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban and Lexus GX 460 | Podcast #656

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by News Editor Joel Stocksdale. They kick things off discussing the old-school body-on-frame SUVs they've been driving recently including the 2021 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban and the 2021 Lexus GX 460. After that, they talk about the continuation Bentley Blower and help a listener spend some money. Autoblog Podcast #656 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 What we're driving2021 Chevy Tahoe/Suburban 2021 Lexus GX 460 News: Bentley completes its first continuation Blower Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:  

Lexus LS mid-cycle refresh to restore V8-powered LS 600h hybrid?

When Lexus launched the fifth-generation LS at the end of 2017, the Japanese luxury maker predicted its once-brand-defining sedan would sell 12,000 units per year in the U.S., a threshold the model hadn't reached since 2010. The LS managed 9,301 transactions here in 2018, its first full year on sale, falling back to 5,528 units in 2019. Through the first three coronavirus-affected months of this year, Lexus dealers have sold 801 LS sedans, compared to 1,404 units in Q1 2019. There's a mid-cycle refresh supposedly due for release in the fall of 2021, and the June issue of Japanese magazine Mag-X (translated), via Lexus Enthusiast, claims we're due for a couple of big surprises that could jolt the sales figures. The first shock is that Lexus is supposedly bringing back the LS 600h moniker for an LS with a V8 hybrid powertrain.  Lexus debuted the LS 600h L in 2007 for the 2008 model year, retiring the hybrid trim in 2016. Its heart was a 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V8, and when combined with an electric motor, combined output came to 439 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque. The fifth generation introduced the LS 500h that switched to a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6, producing a combined 354 hp and 369 lb-ft., taking second place in output to the twin-turbo V6 in the non-hybrid LS 500 with 416 hp and 442 lb-ft. If Lexus were to double back to a V8 after experimenting with a V6 hybrid for four years, some question which V8 would get the nod. The old V8, codenamed 2UR-FSE and still in use in the Lexus LC as the 2UR-GSE, dates back 14 years and is scheduled to retire in two years when the LC-F introduces Lexus' new twin-turbo V8. According to leaked dealer information, that's the same year Toyota and Lexus will stop offering V8 engines in any model with an MSRP under $90,000. Toyota has shied away from turbocharged hybrids, but the next-generation Tundra could change that if rumors of the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 i-Force Max engine come true. A twin-turbo V8 LS hybrid would rocket the model back to the top of the range in performance and price, and we could see it breaking the "F" seal on the LS lineup, since it would run counter to everything the German competitors are doing with their standard flagship sedans. Or Lexus could remove the turbos for a better compromise of potency and frugality.