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Did BMW really win the luxury car sales race?

As anyone who follows our monthly By The Numbers series already knows, the luxury car sales race in the United States was close all of last year as BMW, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz seesawed up and down for sales supremacy. At the end of the year, it was BMW on top of the standings with 346,023 total sales. Or was it? According to data released by Polk, comparing the actual number of vehicles registered between the three top luxury players in the US paints a slightly different picture. Polk's data suggests that only 335,259 BMWs were registered in 2015, compared to 340,392 Lexus models. Why the disparity? It's all a matter of timing. Actual end consumers buy new cars, in almost all cases, from a franchised dealer. BMW delivered 346,023 vehicles in 2015, but only 335,259 of them were registered by their new owners. Presumably, those 11,000 BMWs did (or will) end up registered in the driveways of consumers, but they hadn't before January 1, 2016. Lexus General Manager Jeff Bracken wrote in an email to Automotive News, "Luxury sales leadership as measured by vehicle registrations is important to Lexus as it represents actual consumers engaging directly with our dealers." Of course, it goes without saying that we'll be paying keen attention to the 2016 luxury car sales race as it unfolds. If it's anything like it was in 2015, it'll come down to the wire, and even then may not be entirely clear. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty BMW Lexus Mercedes-Benz Car Buying Car Dealers Luxury luxury cars

Toyota reveals latest autonomous tech test bed

Toyota revealed its latest autonomous technology effort Friday, a sophisticated Lexus LS 600hL prototype that showcases its plans to advance in the emerging field. The Lexus is the first developed entirely by the company's in-house Toyota Research Institute and it will focus on the car's ability to learn and see behavior on the road. Toyota is showing the car at the Prius Challenge event at Sonoma Raceway. The Lexus uses Lidar, radar, and sensors, which potentially reduce reliance on mapping. The prototype advances Toyota's last concept vehicle shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2013. This one is said to be more flexible and it will focus on Toyota's two autonomous tech pillars, called Guardian and Chauffeur. Guardian is meant to improve safety features, while Chauffeur moves toward full autonomy. "We believe Guardian can probably be deployed sooner and more widely than Chauffeur, providing high-level driver-assist features capable of helping mitigate collisions and save lives, sooner rather than later," Toyota Research Institute Gill Pratt said in a statement. Related Video: Green Lexus Toyota Autonomous Vehicles Luxury Sedan lexus ls

Lexus builds a one-off IS 350 with a record player in the glove box

The latest Lexus to undergo modification for the company's marketing efforts is called the Lexus IS Wax. That's because it's for vinyl lovers, and contains an actual car-mounted record player that, Lexus claims, does not skip. Earlier this month we saw a sneaker homage to the Lexus IS. It, and now the IS Wax, are part of Lexus's "All In" campaign that lets influencers in creative fields loose on a luxury sedan. The goal is to put the Lexus brand in front of others in that field, even if they are largely unrelated to anything automotive. Just last month, the company presented a gaming-themed IS built with input from the Twitch streaming community.  As such, the press release for the Lexus IS Wax does not once mention that the car was based on a Lexus IS 350 F Sport. We can only deduce that because it wears the more aggressive fascia, 10-spoke wheels and F Sport badge that comes with the higher performance version. On the other hand, the press release does mention the names MC Madlib and KAYTRANADA, which we guess have some meaning to people in the music world. Lexus claims that the record player will not skip, even on a bumpy road. The record player was partially 3D printed and modified with carbon fiber and machined aluminum. It had to be a custom job to fit into the car's glove box. Impressively, it actually plays a 12-inch record and emerges and retracts into the glove box with some sort of motorization. Very little is revealed about how they dealt with the skipping, except to say that a rotating stepper motor helps stabilize the turntable when the car' in motion, and a silicone cushion underneath it helps absorb some of the bumps.  Oh yeah, it was wrapped in matte black as well. Helpfully, Lexus provided a few quotes from its collaborators. Said Madlib, I take [music I've created] to the car, test it out. Every time. That’s the big test. To have the turntable in a Lexus? ThatÂ’s beyond.” Said KAYTRANADA, "When Lexus said they wanted to build this car, I didnÂ’t think it was possible. It was amazing to see and hear vinyl playing while cruising in a car." Presumably, the target audience will be more impressed with the 1,800-watt, 17-speaker Mark Levinson sound system than the 311-horsepower V6 and 280 lb-ft of torque. If you're curious about how the Lexus IS Wax was created, you can watch the two-part video. Related Video This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.