2021 Lexus Nx on 2040-cars

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2021 Lexus LC 500 Convertible gets an $8K base price increase

When the 2021 Lexus LC 500 Convertible arrives in dealers this summer, it will carry a price tag starting at $102,025, including the $1,025 destination charge. That's $8,050 more than the base 2021 LC 500 Coupe.  As we learned when the droptop LC was revealed at the L.A. Auto Show last year, Lexus did more than simply saw off the roof. Engineers improved chassis rigidity by adding, reshaping and/or relocating structural braces, including the rear suspension brace tower. To counter this, weight is reduced at the rear by using a die-cast aluminum suspension brace, and a unique dampener is used to ensure comparable ride quality as the coupe. Unsprung weight at the front suspension was also reduced. In total, only 217 total pounds were added for the convertible over the 2019 LC 500 coupe. The new soft-top has four layers, and Lexus says its fabric was selected to make sure that it would stay tight and prevent wrinkling. Excellent sound insulation is promised, but Active Noise Control is also employed, whether the roof is raised or lowered, to further suppress noise. The roof is lowered in 15 seconds and raised in 16. A rigid tonneau cover is employed when the roof is lowered. Design changes for the convertible include a trunk lip that's been raised slightly and widened. The center brake light is integrated into it ͖ it's normally above the back window. The beltline and rear molding were also reshaped to suppress wind, while a transparent plastic wind deflector is integrated neatly behind the back seat. Should that not sufficiently keep the chill out, an available neck-level heater has been added to the seats similar to what you'd find in various Mercedes convertibles.  Other feature updates include the addition of Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Amazon Alexa connectivity, but the LC's version of Remote Touch does not get the RX's touchscreen functionality.  Now, should you really be digging the Structural Blue paint job pictured here, along with the very Santorini-like complementary white interior, know that it's exclusive to the Inspiration Series. It'll be restricted to only 100 units and costs $18,800. Besides the unique paint and interior, the LC's other options are included along with a two-piece set of Zero Halliburton Pursuit Aluminum luggage designed specially for Lexus. Swank.

5 stars in Euro NCAP crash tests for 5 new cars available in U.S.

Seven new cars have received a full five-star rating in the latest Euro NCAP crash tests. Of these, five are available in the United States: the Audi E-Tron, Lexus UX, Toyota Corolla, RAV4 and Mazda3. The Renault Clio and the Volkswagen T-Cross also took part, also receiving five stars. The Mazda3 hatchback was the fourth car in Euro NCAP history to reach an adult occupant protection score of 98%, after the Volvo V40 and XC60 and the Alfa Romeo Giulia. No NHTSA ratings for the Mazda3 or the Audi are yet available, but the Lexus and the Toyotas have all received five-star NHTSA safety ratings as well. Those three were tested as hybrid variants by Euro NCAP. Audi's first fully electric vehicle, the E-Tron, scored 91% in Euro NCAP's adult occupant rating, with unavailable knee airbags bringing down the score. The Mazda and the Toyotas offer them for the driver only, and the Lexus has the passenger's knees covered as well. The Lexus UX managed a 96% adult occupant score, close to the Mazda, and it provided better pedestrian safety (82%) than the Audi (71%), despite neither, or none, of the test vehicles having an active hood to catch pedestrians. As for the Toyotas, the Corolla, tested in both sedan and hatchback guises, scored 95% for adult occupant safety, with the RAV4 a couple notches down at 93%. Still, the five-star rating means all these vehicles are a very safe choice in their respective classes. Michiel van Ratingen, secretary general of Euro NCAP, states how important it is that even family hatchbacks perform well and have the latest safety tech available. "It is encouraging to see that all manufacturers did well, regardless of type of powertrain or class of vehicle tested," said van Ratingen. "New cars on the market continue to offer more advanced technology as standard, systems that were not even considered an option a few years ago." More crash test videos are available on Euro NCAP's YouTube channel. Audi Lexus Mazda Toyota Car Buying Safety audi etron lexus ux

Japanese dealer petitioning Lexus for luxury van [w/poll]

Used to be that if you wanted a luxury automobile - especially one to be chauffeured around in - your choices were basically limited to a sedan. It could be bigger or smaller, more or less expensive, depending on your needs and budget, but it was always going to have four doors and a trunk. But these days the rich and famous are looking elsewhere for their commodious forms of pampering transportation. There are, of course, the crossovers and SUVs, which only seem to be getting bigger and more expensive thanks to the likes of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, Range Rover L and upcoming Bentley sport-ute. But luxury vans are becoming the new big thing.
That's the point that one dealer in Japan is trying to make to Toyota. The dealership owner himself reasons that if he's going out on the town, he's likely to take his chauffeured Lexus LS. But if he's taking a few friends along, even the biggest sedan isn't going to cut it. So he takes a Toyota Alphard (pictured above, also known as the Vellfire), a JDM van that's even bigger than a Voxy/Noah or Sienna but hardly a high-end affair. That's why he's asking Lexus to make a luxury van.
The idea may seem a little far-fetched, but isn't without precedent. It didn't take much for Lexus to transform the Land Cruiser into the LX and thus create its first luxury SUV. And as Mercedes has shown with pimped-out versions of the Sprinter and now with the debut of the new V-Class in Geneva, there's clearly a market for it... in some countries, anyway. The only question in our minds is how long it's going to take other luxury automakers to catch on, because let's face it: the Chrysler Town & Country ain't gonna cut it for those used to be driven around in a Maybach.