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2022 Lexus LS pricing up by a little and a lot

In October of last year, Lexus announced its 2022 LS lineup with a sprinkling of finespun tweaks. There were retuned spring and damper rates for a more comfortable ride, larger anti-roll bars, an "enhanced" adjustable-ride-height function to improve passenger ingress and egress, reshaped piston tops for quieter engine operation and updated transmission calibration for more motoring in the meat of the power band. Plus, Lexus Safety System+ 2.5 came standard on every model in the range, a traditional Japanese foil treatment called Haku was available for the Luxury and Executive Packages, and the swish, 23-speaker Mark Levinson audio could be be optioned on the entry-level LS for the first time. At the time, prices weren't changed from 2021. Now they have. The entry-level LS 500 starts at $77,175 after the $1,075 destination charge, a $100 bump. The LS 500 F Sport also climbs just $100, to $80,775. Sending power to the front axle on either trim requires another $3,250. The LS 500h AWD hybrid now starts at $113,075, which reflects two price increases. Lexus removed the rear-wheel drive LS 500h from the lineup, so getting into the electrified LS stratum costs $21,500 more than it did for the 2021 model year. But Lexus also added more standard equipment to the AWD hybrid and boosted the price of the 2022 LS 500h AWD by $18,025 compared to the 2021 LS 500h AWD. The flagship sedan now gets Lexus Teammate Level 2 autonomy capability with Advanced Drive and Advanced Park standard. Advanced Drive invests the executive transport with the power to execute maneuvers like acceleration and braking to follow other vehicles, change lanes, pass slower vehicles and get through certain intersections. Advanced Park does just that. The Luxury Package is also standard, its features costing at least $17,000 to add on the entry-level LS.  The non-hybrid LS will offer a nine-strong exterior color palette, some of them a $500 or $595 upcharge: Atomic Silver, Caviar, Eminent White Pearl, Iridium, Manganese Luster, Matador Red Mica, Nightfall Mica, Obsidian and Ultra White. Ultra White isn't available on the LS hybrid. The 2022 LS is expected to reach dealers in late spring.   Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Best new convertibles for 2024 and 2025

If you’re here, then youÂ’re already in the right mindset. Convertibles rule, and we have all the best convertibles listed for you further below. Driving around with the top off is an experience you need to live to fall in love with. When the weatherÂ’s right, youÂ’re on a proper bit of road, and the car youÂ’re in is a good one, few automotive experiences can top it. The experience is extra special when you have a musical exhaust note filtering directly into your ears and echoing off the landscape around you. And while rolling the windows down and opening a moonroof can get you part of the way there, it's nothing like feeling the wind wash over you with absolutely no roof overhead. The downsides can be just as harsh as the upsides when youÂ’re in the wrong conditions, though. Convertibles are typically worse to live with in cold climates, and driving around with the top up frequently means you might be subject to more road noise and worse visibility than an equivalent coupe. And when it comes to pure performance, convertibles are inherently compromised from a weight and structural rigidity perspective. All that said, we still think the upsides outweigh the compromises if your number one objective is to simply have fun. ItÂ’s a good thing then that there are a ton of great convertibles for sale these days. And no, the list of possibilities isnÂ’t as long as it used to be. Long-running standbys like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and C-Class Convertibles are gone (replaced by the one CLE-Class). And so are others like the Audi TT Roadster, Fiat 124 Spider and Nissan Z Roadster. Nevertheless, opportunities abound from the ultra-cheap and fun, to physics-defying supercars and everything else in between. WeÂ’ll give you options for which new convertibles we think are the best below, so read on to find out.   Mazda MX-5 Miata Pros: Lightweight and compact; great engine and transmission combo; one of the most raw and pure driving experiences out thereCons: Not great for tall people; infotainment is dated; tiny trunk Read our Mazda MX-5 Miata Review Miata is always the answer, right? In this case, that rings even more true than usual. In fact, you could stop reading this list right here and go buy a Miata and youÂ’d likely be just as happy driving it around as you would be in any of the more expensive offerings that follow. ThatÂ’s just the magic of the MX-5.

Buyers resent low inventories, prices over MSRP, study says

Vehicle inventory low, vehicle transaction prices high, customers fretting … welcome, J.D. Power, to the era of supply and demand. In a recently published survey from one of the auto industryÂ’s top analytical firms, findings show that customers' satisfaction with vehicle purchases in the United States this year has dipped for the first time in 10 years. The 2022 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study found that overall sales satisfaction has dropped to 786 (on a 1,000-point scale) from 789 in 2021. In that year, higher than expected trade-in values softened the effect of new vehicle price increases. But in 2022, on top of trade-in prices shrinking, many dealers elected to charge more than the ManufacturerÂ’s Suggested Retail Price, a factor that did not sit well with buyers. “When dealers charge more than MSRP, particularly with long-term loyal customers, they risk a potential long-term negative effect on customer advocacy and service business," said Chris Sutton, vice president of automotive retail at J.D. Power. Satisfaction among buyers who paid more than sticker price is 757, while satisfaction among those who paid the sticker price or less is 850, the Power report said. The lack of dealership inventory was also a customer irritant, J.D. Power found, a point that automakers and their dealers may want to consider. Many have maintained, or considered maintaining, a smaller inventory in the wake of the pandemic, keeping costs down and driving more customers toward factory orders. Regarding those consumers shopping for electric vehicles, the survey said that more than a third of them “failed to get instruction on EV charging before they left the dealership, which notably affects satisfaction.” Said Sutton, “Salespeople donÂ’t need to show gas-powered vehicle buyers how to fill their tank, but they do need to show EV buyers how to charge their vehicle.” There are positives to the Power conclusions, however, especially for Alfa Romeo dealers. The Italian brand ranked highest in customer satisfaction among premium brands with a score of 833, with Porsche a very close second (831) and Lexus (819) third. Alfa is on something of a roll these days, with its compact Tonale crossover due for release in the spring, and a new sports car in the works. Meanwhile, in PowerÂ’s “mainstream brand”” segment, Buick ranked first with a score of 825, followed by Dodge (816) and Subaru (804), all performing higher than the industry average.