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Junkyard Gem: 1997 Lexus LS 400

When Toyota introduced the Celsior to the world in 1989, followed shortly by Lexus LS 400-badged versions appearing in showrooms (as 1990 models) around the world, automotive-industry executives from Stuttgart to Yokohama broke out in the shaky sweats. Here was a designed-from-scratch (at the cost of over a billion bucks) luxury sedan with a six-bolt-main DOHC V8 engine, all manner of futuristic gadgetry, a super-quiet interior, intimidating build quality … and a sticker price 44% lower than that of the Mercedes-Benz 420SEL, 30% cheaper than the BMW 735i, 26% cheaper than the Audi V8, 12% cheaper than the Jaguar XJ6, and 8% cheaper than the Infiniti Q45. Sales were brisk, and the early LS 400s are finally starting to wear out in sufficient quantities that I see quite a few in the self-service wrecking yards I frequent. The second-generation LS was built for the 1995 through 2000 model years, and these machines have held together so well and depreciated so slowly that it's tough to find discarded examples (we saw the same process with the sturdy Toyota Cressida a decade or two earlier). Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those second-generation cars, now located in a Denver car graveyard. I admired the LS 400 so much that, about 10 years ago, I bought a '97 Coach Edition in Jade Green Metallic paint and (2018 LS 500 shown for scale). Because I am a hopeless car nerd, I had a Celsior grille and set of badges shipped over from Japan and installed them on my Lexus. When the 1997 Toyota Century — the first year with the ultra-smooth V12 engine — becomes import-legal in the United States next year, I plan to obtain one. My LS 400 has been extremely reliable and still hasn't reached the 150,000-mile mark, but I like to know that I can find junkyard parts for it if necessary. I went to visit this car because I was hoping to find a good set of factory wheels for my winter tires; the Blizzaks roll on some much-rashed ugly LS wheels at the moment. I passed on these Vision alloys, in part because there were only three on the car. The interior appears to have been thoroughly worn-out even before junkyard shoppers tore it apart. I don't know how many miles were on this car (because I'd have had to connect a battery to get the digital odometer to show me anything) but I'm guessing the final total would be impressive. The 1UZ-FE V8 displaces 4.0 liters and was rated at 260 horsepower.

Why is there a huge bulge in 2021 Lexus IS 300 AWD's driver footwell? We explain

After an initial turn a few weeks ago for the 2021 Lexus IS first drive review, the revised luxury sedan has returned to the Autoblog garage for a second look. This middle-of-the-road IS 300 AWD pairs a 260-horsepower V6 with a six-speed automatic transmission and four driven wheels, and frankly it's the least interesting way to spec out the redesigned sedan. While there are cars in this segment designed to get a performance boost from their all-wheel-drive systems even in dry conditions, the IS isn't one of them. Adding insult to injury, you get stuck with a cramped driver-side footwell care of the engineering shenanigans that went into making this system possible.  While we've mentioned this particular compromise before, we rarely touch on the reasons why it exists in the first place. The fundamentals are fairly obvious; the standard IS utilizes a longitudinal, rear-wheel-drive powertrain. As is typical with this configuration, the transmission sits in a tunnel beneath the center console. This arrangement works just fine, provided you don't need to power the front wheels.  To do so in a traditional car like the IS requires a literal end-around maneuver involving the engine and transmission, which we've diagrammed for you below care of MSPaint. This is a bit simplified for the sake of this write-up, and it should be noted that this is not the only way to implement AWD in an inherently RWD platform, but it illustrates how the power for the front axle (red) and rear axle (blue) flows from the transmission to the drive wheels. To get juice flowing to the front axle, Lexus had to add a parallel output shaft, exiting the transmission from the front with enough clearance for the bell housing and engine, which sits between the transmission and the front differential. This requires quite a bit of lateral reach, meaning the housing has to extend much farther out than usual to accommodate it (yellow arrow). As a result, the all-wheel-drive transmission looks a lot like a sci-fi gun with a chunky drum magazine hanging off the side of it. The hump (above right) in the footwell is there to clear this protrusion. This basic configuration isn't unique to Lexus. In fact, if you look at a BMW xDrive cutaway, it's similar. So, why no "hump" in other cars? There are multiple factors, but to boil it down to what is most relevant, it's a combination of the resulting shape of the Lexus transmission housing and the size of the IS chassis.

Lexus RZ battery electric crossover teased

Lexus has dropped a teaser video glimpsing the brand's first fully electric vehicle to be sold in the U.S. Called the Lexus RZ, it features the angular styling we've come to expect from Toyota's luxury marque, but underneath the sheetmetal we're probably getting a foundation we've seen quite a bit of in recent weeks. That's because the Lexus RZ is a third version of the battery-electric crossover co-developed by Toyota and Subaru, recently unveiled as the confusingly named Toyota bZ4X (it always requires a double check of the alphanumeric sequence) and the much better named Subaru Solterra. All three are built on the e-TNGA platform that will underpin several EV models. However, the Lexus RZ signals a more significant departure from the bZ4X and Solterra, whose differences were quite limited. They looked almost indistinguishable, the only things setting them apart being a mild reshape of the front fasica and taillights, painted wheel arch cladding on the Toyota, and an option for a single-motor 2WD drivetrain on the bZ4X. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The Lexus, on the other hand, seems to wear completely new sheetmetal. Right away, the lack of gray cladding around the wheel wells is apparent. There still appears to be some, but much slimmer than that of the bZ4X and Solterra. A strong character line flows from the leading edge of the front wheel arch to the rear door, where it's picked by another upturned character line leading into a blacked out C-pillar. Naturally, the front features a large Lexus spindle grille shape (there doesn't appear to be an actual open radiator intake, unnecessary for an EV) and unique headlights branded with "L" fishhook DRLs. The rear offers a much sleeker appearance as well, with slim taillights that don't droop downward into the bodywork. A solid light bar features the word "Lexus" printed across rather than the traditional L-in-a-circle logo. No details or interior images were shown, but we'd guess that the cabin is quite a bit nicer than the decent but run-of-the-mill cockpit of the bZ4X and Solterra. Lexus has stated it will not offer the single-motor option. However, its Direct4 all-wheel-drive system is a departure from Subaru's, and the Lexus is said to be capable of 402 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque. Those figures completely blow the bZ4X and Solterra out of the water.