2006 Lexus Is250 Base Sedan 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Lexus LF-LC approved for production

On the sidelines of a press drive for the 2014 Lexus IS, the company's vice president of marketing in the US told Ward's Auto that the honchos in Japan have approved the Lexus LF-LC concept for production. He wouldn't offer any other details on how the luxury coupe might be transformed into a vehicle for the buying masses, and that has led to a bag full of speculation.
The show car was hybrid-powered and rear-wheel drive, a beautifully executed stab by Toyota designers in Newport Beach at redefining Lexus, but even with the concept, the point was to keep it "within reach for premium buyers." The report says the odds are on limited production and higher pricing than Lexus' "mainstream products," and other sites have speculated on what kind of powertrain it might end up in showrooms with.
GT Channel posits that the LF-LC will be the inspiration for a coupe in the Lexus LS price bracket with a choice of either the 4.2-liter V8 or the hybrid powertrain from the LS 600h, further speculating it will be called LC 550 and cost more than $100,000. It then says that there would be another coupe created beneath that one to replace the SC 430. Lexus Enthusiast, however, calls those "warmed-over rumors" and says that the marque probably won't deviate from its engine-capacity-naming scheme - labeling a car with a 4.2-liter V8 an LC 550. Nor does it think Lexus will use the letters LC after the company has trademarked "RC" in the US and Australia.

Lexus' Detroit reveal is RC F, will have 460-hp V8

Yesterday, we brought you the image above, sent out by Lexus, teasing its Detroit Auto Show reveal. At the time, all we knew about the car was that it's a coupe, and falls into the automaker's F performance line. But now, some more details have leaked.
An anonymous tipster passed us a link to this website, which Lexus is using to invite folks to an event at the Detroit show where the new RC F coupe will be revealed. But that same tipster also sent us a scan of the mailed-out invitation, shown at right (click the image to enlarge), which clearly states that the RC F will be powered by a 460-horsepower V8. The invite also says Lexus will show its 2015 RC 350 coupe in Detroit, following its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in November.
We cannot totally verify the authenticity of the scanned invitation, but with a corresponding website live on the web, it all looks pretty legit to us. Stay tuned for more details closer to the RC F's debut in January.

Toyota to pay $17.35M federal fine for delayed Lexus RX recall

This summer, we brought you news that Lexus was recalling over 150,000 RX and RX hybrid crossovers tied to its massive pedal entrapment issue. An update to that story included word from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it was considering launching a federal investigation into potential delays by the automaker in notifying owners about the problem. Now comes news that parent company Toyota will pay a hefty $17.35 million in fines for delaying its recall of the 2010 Lexus RX 350 and RX 450h. According to The Detroit News, the Japanese automaker is being forced to pay the maximum fine for delaying recalls - and this isn't the first time. In fact, this is the fourth time since 2010 that Toyota has been required to do so, including paying $48.8M in civil penalties in 2010 for failing to recall vehicles in a timely manner - in three separate campaigns.
In addition to the fines, Toyota has agreed to restructure the way it handles quality control and review "safety-related issues." Though the Japanese automaker has not admitted any wrongdoing, Toyota has agreed to meet with NHTSA for six months on the matter and may extend the meetings another six months.
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he is counting on Toyota to improve its ability to address such safety issues: "With today's announcement, I expect Toyota to rigorously reinforce its commitment to adhering to the United States safety regulations," he said in a statement.