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The revolutionary Bose suspension that could have been

The Bose name pops up on these pages every once in a while – usually, as you might expect, because some automaker or another has installed its audio systems in one or more of its models. But a few years back, the research-driven audiophiles at Bose developed a revolutionary adaptive suspension system that could have been a game-changer. Sadly, it wasn't. The Bose suspension system was a technological breakthrough. As you can see from the pair of Lexus LS sedans demonstrated (and the Porsche Cayman thrown in for good measure) in the two-minute video above from CNET, the system virtually eliminated body roll and smoothed out bumps in the road to near glass-like serenity. It could even jump over minor obstacles. Unfortunately, the system was too heavy and expensive to put into production, and the project was shelved. Instead, it was repackaged into a suspended driver's seat for heavy-duty, long-haul trucks and called the Bose Ride System. It's said to significantly reduce fatigue and back pain while encouraging driver alertness and wellness – which is all well and fine, but a far cry from what the suspension system could have meant for the automotive industry. Just think about that the next time you notice the Bose logo on the speaker grille in an upscale vehicle from the likes of Audi, FCA, GM, Mazda, or Nissan – all automakers that offer Bose audio systems, and which might have considered implementing the advanced suspension if only it were more practical for production. Latest Video: News Source: CNET via YouTube Lexus Technology Videos lexus ls cnet

Toyota previews next Lexus RX with Tokyo-bound JDM Harrier

The Lexus RX shares much with the Toyota Highlander, but its more direct counterpart is the Toyota Harrrier. Never heard of it? That's because Toyota only sells it at home in Japan, and now it's revealed a new one. So if the Harrier is essentially a Toyota-badged version of the RX, then what's the big deal, you ask? The big deal is that the new Harrier which leaked in July, set to debut at the Tokyo Motor Show next week and which you see here isn't quite the same as the Lexus, and those differences could (and in most cases likely will) make their way over to the RX as well.
For starters, the styling is different. Granted that the Lexus version will almost certainly get a spindle-shaped grille, but even so, the Harrier's nose seems to protrude further than the RX's and the headlamps are a notably different shape. The greenhouse is also a different shape, coming to a sharper point at the back, and the mirrors are fixed to the A-pillar not to the door panel. The taillamps are revised, the tailgate has a new profile and there's a pseudo-diffuser at the bottom of the rear bumper. Subtle changes, to be sure, but then Toyota and Lexus are known for their evolutionary approach to styling. The interior has apparently undergone some updates as well, with a more dynamically styled dashboard, a more symmetrical center stack and different seats, steering wheel, door panels... the works. The infotainment display screen has also moved further down from its position in the current RX.
Toyota will offer the new Harrier with a 2.0-liter four mated to a CVT and driving either the front wheels or all four, and a hybrid setup with a 2.5-liter married to a 140-hp electric motor. The RX is offered here with a 3.5-liter V6 either on its own or with an electric assist. We wouldn't expect Lexus to go swapping the larger engines for the smaller ones, at least not for the US market. There's plenty more to the Harrier, of course, than the similarities and differences to the Lexus RX, and if you're buying a premium crossover in Japan, you can delve into the full details in the press release below, together with the images in the gallery above.

Anything but boring | 2018 Lexus LC 500 First Drive

This is it, the headliner, the main event. After years of Lexus promising to make less-boring cars and instead giving us countless spindle-grille facelifts, the 2018 LC 500 is here as the brand's new North Star. It's the official halo to mark where Toyota's luxury brand is headed. This is the car that we hope can bring an end to the relentless mentions of boring cars - which are themselves needlessly boring. And besides, "not boring" is a terrible metric for evaluation. What Lexus is really trying to do is give its cars some spirit, to transcend the paint-by-numbers stereotype that made this brand the luxury juggernaut it is today. By that yardstick, the LC 500 is a success simply based on how it looks. It's beautiful in a way that we couldn't predict from the 2012 LF-LC concept that foreshadowed it. The kind of beauty where instead of reflexively grabbing your phone to take a picture, you just stand there and keep looking. And pictures don't do this car justice, anyway. They soften the edges and reduce the massive draw of the wide shoulders. In person, looking straight at the LC, the car looks like it's 80 percent hood. In the rest of the lineup, the trademark Lexus grille's execution ranges from caricature (RC) to botched nose job (LX). Here it pulls everything together. From every other angle, the LC has some feature that seems excessive – in the best way possible. The proportions of the LC give off a distinctively functional vibe, and it's genuine. That hood is so long because the 5.0-liter V8's center of mass sits three and a half inches behind the front axle. The extra space up front is mostly empty - Lexus uses high-strength steel cross-braces to shore up torsional rigidity instead of adding structure ahead of the front wheels, and the battery sits under the trunk floor. For all the visual excitement, the LC is still a conventional vehicle. Aside from some advancements in the LC 500h's hybrid powertain, the innovation here is of the iterative type. It's interesting, in that Lexus is betting on emotional appeal and driving character at a time when the future relevance of both is up for debate. If anything, the LC is a car for the current automotive world, not the one to come. And despite extensive use of aluminum and sheet-molded carbon, the LC 500 weighs in at a hefty 4,280 pounds. That's right in line with the BMW 6 Series and a good deal below the Batali-esque Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe's 4,700 pounds.