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Lexus exec says he still fields complaints about the spindle grille

When Lexus debuted its spindle grille on the GS sedan and trademarked the design back in 2012, it was a sure sign the look was here to stay. It started making its way through the lineup, and now five model years later, it's on all Lexus vehicles. The one thing everyone can all agree on is, it's bold. And Lexus has doubled down on the design with the LF-1 Limitless Concept on display at the Detroit Auto Show. Some people surely think nothing of the grille. Others have equated it to a cartoon character, a beard trimmer, or a baleen whale scooping up krill. In one harsh, perhaps apocryphal criticism, a design professor is said to have likened the spindle to the mouth of the titular hunter-alien in the "Predator" movies. In a much more admiring spacefaring comparison, our Antti Kautonen said the grille of the LF-1 Limited Concept mimics a "Star Wars" ship's shift into hyperspace. That's a fitting analogy for the stunning and futuristic LF-1, which might be the single most dramatically styled vehicle at the North American International Auto Show. A couple of years ago, Toyota chief designer — and head of Lexus — Tokuo Fukuichi defended the spindle in a Reuters interview, saying "sexy" was a goal of the design, and dismissing complaints by saying, "Even polarizing designs, you get used to them after a while." That defense was "a while" — three years — after the new look caused an uproar at a 2012 Toyota stockholders' meeting, where some shareholders complained. Now it has been a while longer, and a Lexus executive says the spindle grille has continued to divide Lexus customers. Jeff Bracken, Lexus group vice president and general manager, told Carbuzz on the sidelines of the Detroit show last week that longtime repeat customers still can't get their heads around whatever it is the car seems to be getting its mouth around. "I'll be very transparent. It's our signature grille. Some of our models have a more expressive signature grille than others. The folks that look at it as somewhat polarizing would be, for the most part, the folks that have been with us since the beginning. In fact I'll take phone calls from some of these owners and will literally spend 45 minutes to an hour on the phone with me just expressing how disappointed they are," Bracken said. Bracken has actually been saying almost the exact same things about the grille for years — both to upset customers and to automotive journalists — for example, to Forbes in 2014.

Toyota and Lexus will have standard automatic braking by 2017

Last week, NHTSA and IIHS announced that 20 auto manufacturers and three agencies had agreed to include automatic emergency braking (AEB) as standard equipment by 2022. Toyota was one of those 20 companies, but this week they upped the AEB ante: Nearly every Toyota and Lexus model and trim level will have standard AEB by 2017. That's next year. Many models already offer AEB as part of the Lexus Safety System+ and Toyota Safety Sense packages, but consumers have had to pay extra for these options (unless they leased a Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle; it already has AEB as standard equipment.) By the end of next year, all but the Lexus GS, Toyota 4Runner and Toyota 86 — which was developed together with Subaru — will have AEB installed at no extra cost. (Interestingly, the new Prius Prime unveiled at the New York International Auto Show has Safety Sense as an option rather than standard equipment.) The AEB function is part of Toyota's safety suites, which will be included in 25 Lexus and Toyota models. Both makes have a precollision system that detects the possibility of collision with the car ahead and engages the brakes if the driver doesn't react quickly enough, as well as lane departure alerts and automatic high beams. Toyota's move leapfrogs ahead of Honda making its Honda Sensing system, which includes AEB tech, available as a flat $1,000 option on every Civic Sedan. Related Video: This article by Kristen Hall-Geisler originally ran on TechCrunch, a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news.

Lexus and Adidas celebrate 'Wakanda Forever' with unique RX design

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" just smashed the box office for its opening weekend, and to help celebrate the release, Lexus worked with a team at Adidas on a movie-inspired RX 500h F Sport SUV. Lexus handed a brand-new RX to Adidas S.E.E.D. school for a Wakanda-worthy makeover. The S.E.E.D. (School for Experiential Education in Design) program helps Adidas identify and promote design talent in groups that may not otherwise have a chance, including female creators, who constituted its entire inaugural class in 2020. Working with the Adidas design shop, they approached the SUV with the question, “What if Wakanda had a national athletic team?” The result is a unique F Sport design with diamond patterns and gold accents. Though dramatic, the look helps hide the RXÂ’s massive grille. LexusÂ’ F Sport trims have traditionally focused mostly on appearance upgrades, but the move to build a dedicated 500h F Sport with upgraded hybrid tech should bring a meaningful boost in sportiness. The team also massaged the RXÂ’s interior, changing upholstery and materials throughout. The unique diamond pattern from the SUVÂ’s exterior translates into wild patterns on the seats, steering wheel, and door panels, while gold accents replace the center console and door trim pieces. Wakandan letters adorn the RXÂ’s door sill plate and steering wheel, where the team stitched “Wakanda Forever” in the fictional alphabet. While some may find the wild creation cool enough to buy, itÂ’s not for sale. The vehicle will likely make the rounds at movie-related events before being placed in a company storeroom somewhere. Interestingly, the S.E.E.D. team also created a shirt, but like the RX, itÂ’s not for sale. Only a select group of influencers will get the shirt, which features the phrase “Educate a Woman, Educate a Nation” in Wakandan text.