2013 Lexus Gs350 Awd Sunroof Nav Rear Cam Vent Seat 18k Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lexus pushing upmarket as others move down, LF-LC production hinted [w/video]

Jeff Bracken, Lexus' US group vice president and general manager, knows his company lost its position as America's biggest luxury brand back in 2011, and it's a mantle that his employer probably won't be getting back any time soon. That's because Lexus is electing not to follow the luxury segment's downmarket trend any more than its $32,500 CT 200h hybrid hatchback. "Since we won't be going down below $30,000, it will be very difficult for us to ever regain luxury leadership," Bracken admitted on Autoline After Hours late last week.
Rivals Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi all have new low-end entries on sale or in the wings to entice new buyers and fortify their CAFE scores, but Lexus has Toyota and Scion to capture sales underneath its lineup. Instead, Bracken hints that Lexus is going upmarket and higher-performance, fueling ongoing rumors of a LFA successor, or perhaps a new offering based on the lauded 2012 LF-LC coupe concept shown above, a production version of which could also slot in where the unloved SC convertible left off. "We need to begin bringing to market luxury performance... higher performance vehicles. IS-F certainly was the beginning of that, maybe on the lower end," says Bracken.
Later in the online video interview show, Bracken gets even more candid:

World Car Awards finalists snub American-branded vehicles — except for Bronco

The list of World Car Awards has been whittled down to 10 finalists, but only one American brand — Ford — appears among the remaining nine carmakers for this yearÂ’s top award. The Bronco is there, and it also is balloted as a finalist in the design category. The other categories are performance car, urban car, electric vehicle and luxury model. Each category has five finalists except World Car, which has 10. One brand conspicuous by its absence in any category: Tesla. The winner in each is scheduled to be crowned March 27 at the New York International Auto Show in Manhattan. This year marks the 20th year of the World Car Awards and the partnership with the New York show. The selection process involves 100-plus automotive journalists from 29 countries who vote, as they review and test-drive the eligible vehicles for the 2024 awards. Their journey is captured virtually on World Car TV. If youÂ’re counting, the brands that appear most on the six finals lists are Mercedes-Benz (four times), BMW (also four), Hyundai (three), and Volvo (three). HereÂ’s the full listing. A video clip showing all of them is here: World Car -BYD Seal / Atto 4 -Ford Bronco -Hyundai Kona / Kona Electric -Hyundai Santa Fe -Kia EV9 -Mazda CX-90 -Subaru Crosstrek -Toyota Prius -Volkswagen ID.7 -Volvo EX30 World Car Design of the Year Ford Bronco Ferrari Purosangue Toyota Prius Volvo EX30 Zeekr X 2024 World Electric Vehicle BMW i5 Kia EV9 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV Volkswagen ID.7 Volvo EX30 2024 World Luxury Car - BMW 5 Series / i5 - Lexus LM - Mercedes-Benz CLE - Mercedes-Benz E-Class - Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV 2024 World Urban Car  - Abarth 500e - BYD Dolphin - Lexus LBX - Suzuki Fronx - Volvo EX30 2024 World Performance Car - BMW M2 - BMW XM - Ferrari Purosangue - Hyundai Ioniq 5 N - Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid

2019 Lexus LX 570 Drivers' Notes Review | Long in the tooth

Body-on-frame SUVs like the 2019 Lexus LX 570 might have ruled the market a couple decades ago, but the old-school form factor has given way to smaller, more efficient car-based crossovers. That said, there's still a big market for models like this. Just take a look at the success of the Toyota 4Runner or other luxury SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade or the Ford F-150-based Lincoln Navigator. Crossovers may be more popular, but nothing beats an old-school SUV's chops when it comes to going off-road or towing big cargo. The Lexus LX is available in two flavors: a five-passenger two-row model and a seven-passenger three-row model. We had a chance to drive both, the first in Michigan and the latter in Oregon. There's a $5,000 difference between the base price on the two models. Both models had the $1,190 Luxury Package (upgraded leather, heated and ventilated front seats, heated second row and LX puddle lights). The three-row came with quite a few more options, including a heads-up display, a cool box in the console, a Mark Levinson audio system and a dual-screen rear entertainment system. All in, our two-row tester came out to $88,195 while the three-row would set you back $99,710. Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder: I like the design of the LX, and I can even overlook the giant spindle grille. I love the behemoth's boxy proportions, rounded out just ever so slightly, though I do think Toyota's version looks even better, and the Lincoln's Navigator even better yet. Inside, the LX is comfortable and roomy, with really nice materials everywhere you look and touch. It's still got that mousey Remote Touch interface for the infotainment system, though, which leaves much to be desired. On the road, I noticed immediately that its adaptive air suspension is better than the more conventional setup in the Toyota Land Cruiser. It's just slightly less eager to see-saw when coming to a measured stop. Coming to a measured stop, though, is the problem. The brakes in this thing are super touchy, like an on/off switch. It makes every stop feel like an emergency, whether you mean to or not. Then, no amount of suspension tuning can keep a beast like this from taking a nosedive. The amount of concentration it takes to keep this thing from panicking any time you use the brakes is mentally exhausting over time. I'm just glad I didn't have anyone in the passenger seat. Lastly, this thing guzzles premium fuel.