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Lexus RC 350 F Sport ready to take on Europe's coupes

Rumbling into the slot between the Lexus RC 350 Sport Coupe and the RC F is this, the RC 350 F Sport. Debuting at the Geneva Motor Show next week, the intergalactic malevolence of that spindle grille is given further aggression with a mesh treatment and 19-inch F Sport mesh wheels in dark metallic. Traditionally, F Sport models have also brandished unique fascias, but the standard RC is so visually aggressive to begin with, it still ought to throw quite a scare into rivals like the BMW 4 Series M Sport.
Bigger identifiers come in the cabin and under the skin, foremost being the redrum-reminiscent Rioja Red leather treatment and Silver Performance trim, perforated leather wrapped 'round the steering wheel and a moving center ring in the dash cluster inspired by the LFA. When the coupe is put into Sport+ mode, the included adaptive damping will kick in, and buyers can optionally order the four-wheel steering system when the car goes on sale in the US this fall.
There's a press release with info and specs below, a high-res gallery above and a bright lights, big city introduction on March 4 in Geneva.

Krafcik says US Gov. shutdown is slowing Oct. auto sales

The government shutdown is eroding consumer confidence in the auto market, says John Krafcik, CEO of Hyundai's US sales unit, and could lower October sales by as much as 10 percent, Automotive News reports. "It's that anxiety that keeps customers, potential buyers, on the sidelines when making a big purchase like an automobile," Krafcik says, adding that industry sales could be off by five to 10 percent in October compared to September.
The fourth quarter, which started October 1, usually consists of increased auto sales as dealerships clear their lots to make room for the next year's models. Leading up to the fourth quarter this year, the auto industry was doing well in the fragile, recovering US economy, although September deliveries decreased by 4.2 percent, due in part to this year's Labor Day sales being recorded for August.
To help its customers, Hyundai announced it is deferring new-car loan and lease payments for furloughed federal workers until they're called back to work and also offering them a three-month payment deferral if they buy a new Hyundai in October. "We have already had requests from over a thousand people to have their payments deferred," Krafcik says.

Check out this awesome Lexus manga art with exploding cities and dragons galore

Lexus just did something a bit different, and it has to do with manga art. The headliner piece is the Lexus LC 500 with the masked warrior crouching on top of it, seen above. We think it's objectively awesome, as the car autonomously races away from an exploding city. The LC 500 was drawn by Bulgarian artist Daniel Atanasov. He says it's "heavily influenced by Japanese culture. The main character is wearing an oni mask, which in Japan are worn at festivals to protect from evil spirits. He is holding a nodachi sword (a type of Samurai sword), and the pose of the character has been influenced by martial arts." Atanasov says the LC 500 is self-driving, controlled by the character on top of the car. Next up is a drawing of a Lexus ES driving amongst dragons. We're not so sure how long the car will last in that landscape ... perhaps an LX 570 would be the more prudent choice for bombing through a rocky desert. This one blends manga with classical paintings from the west, making it more of a hybrid. It was drawn by Tim Kong — he says he chose to draw dragons in order to "highlight the brave design of Lexus cars." Lexus' last commission is of the UX. This one is much simpler, with fewer things going on in the background. There is simply a girl and her Lexus UX in the dunes as the sun sets. It's rather calming and warm in nature compared to the first two drawings. The artist, Yishan Li, says she drew the UX like this because this is where she envisions taking it if she owned one.