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Lexus: No plans for LFA replacement anytime soon

Supercars are fantastic in terms of their raw performance, sound and ability to inspire interest in an automaker. They aren't so good at actually making money, even for giant, global automakers like Toyota. And if you are holding out hope that Lexus might be fibbing about there being no plans for an LFA successor, we have some bad news. "I think you will see us do some incredible things in the future, but probably not a $375,000 supercar anytime soon," Lexus Executive Vice President Mark Templin told Automotive News. The issue comes down to the LFA's cost to develop and massive price. Lexus built just 500 of the V10 supercars from 2010 through 2012. Templin said that the plan was originally for a much more modest vehicle with a steel body. However, that intention changed to plans for an aluminum exterior and eventually evolved further to carbon fiber during the course of its engineering. Templin is clear that Lexus isn't giving up on more accessible performance with its F sub-brand models, but more supercars aren't coming, at least not anytime soon. He previously suggested that the LFA was a generational model with a 30-year wait for the next one. These days, the workshop that built the LFA has been converted for a much less powerful but perhaps more important vehicle. Toyota now uses it to build the Mirai with the company's hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2012 Lexus LFA: Review View 30 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Plants/Manufacturing Lexus Toyota Coupe Performance Supercars supercar lexus lfa

Caddy XT4, Subaru STI Type RA, and blazin' Elon | Autoblog Podcast #553

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor Alex Kierstein and Green Editor John Snyder. We talk about time spent with the Cadillac XT4 and Subaru WRX STI Type RA. Then we get into other topics, including the death of the VW Beetle, our thoughts on the state of the Nissan 370Z, cameras replacing mirrors, the trouble with the Ford Focus Active, and Elon Musk blazing a fat blunt. We indulge in a little conversation about the process of writing about cars. Finally we help a listener choose their next EV in the "Spend My Money" segment.Autoblog Podcast #553 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we've driven: Cadillac XT4 and Subaru WRX STI Type RA RIP, VW Bug What's up with the Nissan 370Z? Lexus to replace side mirrors with cameras RIP, Ford Focus Active You do you, Elon On writing about cars Spend My Money: electric edition Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Cadillac Ford Lexus Nissan Subaru Tesla Volkswagen Car Buying Technology Coupe Crossover Electric Police/Emergency Sedan cadillac xt4 subaru wrx sti type ra

Lexus RC F glows with your heartbeat

It's not uncommon to see all manner of sensors being installed inside new cars these days, monitoring everything from ambient noise to our levels of alertness. The question is what the automakers will do with the information gathered by those sensors, and we've seen some fairly novel innovations. This latest solution from Lexus may not be the most useful, but it's definitely one of the most interesting we've seen to date. The Japanese luxury automaker's Australian division cooked up this special RC F show car with a heart-rate monitor and a special electroluminescent paint job. The sensors detect how fast the driver's heart is beating, and displays it accordingly down the side of the car's flanks. In daylight it looks like it's painted plain old ordinary silver, and otherwise it's the same luxury muscle coupe we know, with a 5.0-liter V8 churning out 467 horsepower in resolute defiance of the downsizing/turbocharging trend that's sweeping the industry. The project was cooked up by creative agency M&C Saatchi and uses glow-in-the-dark paint from American specialist Lumilor. The vehicle is set to be unveiled over the weekend, but you can scope it out now in the images below and the preview video above. Is it pointless? Almost entirely. Does that make it any less cool? Of course not. 22 July 2015 LEXUS GETS PULSES RACING WITH WORLD'S FIRST HEARTBEAT CAR Lexus Australia has developed the world's first vehicle to display a heartbeat on its exterior in a demonstration of advanced technology and the connection between man and machine. The Japanese luxury marque collaborated with creative agency M&C Saatchi to produce a one-off RC F V8 coupe that integrates a series of technologies to display a person's heartbeat in the vehicle's bodywork. The first stage of the system works by transmitting the heartbeat of a connected person from a heart rate monitor to a bespoke electrical system in the RC F. The on-board system captures and processes the data before sending an electric charge through the RC F's body panels that are painted in electroluminescent paint developed by US-based specialist Lumilor. This innovative paint finish glows when the electrical charge runs through it and displays the person's heartbeat via a real-time animation sequence. Lexus Australia chief executive Sean Hanley said the heartbeat car comes in the wake of other innovative brand activities in 2015 and an ongoing commitment to the development of high performance Lexus F vehicles.