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Judge halts Toyota unintended acceleration cases, triggers time for settlement negotiations

So far, the lawsuits brought forth against Toyota for unintended acceleration have gone both ways: the automaker was found not at fault in a 2009 California crash and liable for a 2007 crash in Oklahoma. Both cases involved a Camry and resulted in fatalities. With a big chunk of these UA cases (around 200) set to his the docket of US District Judge James V. Selna in Santa Ana, California, Bloomberg is reporting that the judge has halted the lawsuits until March after Toyota and its lawyers have had extra time to try and settle the cases.
According to the article, Toyota is looking to take care of the cases out of court with an "intensive settlement process." Having already paid out $1.6 billion in "economic loss" suits, this latest settlement process is aimed at the wrongful death and personal injury cases allegedly associated with unintended acceleration. A hearing for the settlements will be held on January 14 with conferences on the matter commencing in February. There is no word as to when lawsuits may start back up if settlements can't be agreed upon.

Lexus rounds out the LS line with 500h hybrid

The 2018 Lexus LS range will feature a full hybrid LS 500h version, which will be presented to the public at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The LS 500h is expected to use a 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6, also seen in the LC 500h coupe. The platform sibling LC 500 coupe does have an available V8 version in its non-hybrid guise, but perhaps Lexus has seen fit to equip only the sportier coupe with an eight-cylinder – a major deviation from the previous V8-only LS series bloodline. The earlier LS 600h was the first production full hybrid vehicle with a V8 engine, producing 439 horsepower; since the LC 500h's hybrid powertrain only produces 354 hp, the earlier car is likely to remain the horsepower king. The coupe still hits 60 mph under five seconds, so the big sedan should also be able to move briskly. Almost 30 years have passed since Toyota unveiled its Lexus luxury brand and the LS 400 flagship, as the UCF10 body LS 400's design was locked in spring 1987 and the wraps came off in January 1989. The LS 400 of those days was often deservedly revered, and in the following decades it has spawned numerous new generations of high-end Lexus LS sedans. But in case the latter-day LS models have become just a touch too Camry- or Avalon-like, the 2018 version should bring a new edge. Related Video: News Source: LexusImage Credit: Lexus Green Geneva Motor Show Lexus Hybrid Luxury lexus ls

Hardcore Lexus RC F spied along with facelifted model

The Lexus LC F isn't the only high-performance Lexus spied testing. Another of our spy photographers caught a hardcore version of the RC F sports coupe out testing with its more mild-mannered sibling, the latter of which was trying to hide its mild facelift. Of the two cars, the RC F is the more interesting for a couple of reasons, and not just because it will be the faster of the two. First of all, it looks like this RC F will be significantly lighter than the current model. The weight savings will likely come mainly from new carbon fiber panels that include the bare carbon hood and roof panel. It's possible Lexus will have found some other areas to save weight, but these parts are all we can see at the moment. The other reason this RC F is grabbing our attention is the impossible-to-miss rear wing. Its tall supports, large size and bold end plates signal that this is more of a track car than just a fast road car. Whether it delivers track-car levels of downforce has yet to be seen. The fixed wing is also likely lighter than the power-retractable one on the regular RC F. Another performance upgrade we can see are the giant cross-drilled brakes. One of the big mysteries of this car is of course whether Lexus will have upgraded the powertrain to match the other upgrades. We're not getting our hopes up. Lexus only has two versions of the 5.0-liter V8 (that we know of): the RC F version that makes 467 horsepower, and the LC 500 version that makes 471 horsepower. We could see Lexus using the slightly hotter LC version, but likely nothing new. Part of what leads us to think that is the RC F GT Concept Lexus built for Pikes Peak a few years ago. That car got loads of light parts, a roll cage and a wide body kit, but it had just the same 467-horsepower V8 as any other RC F. View 15 Photos As for the other RC on display in these spy shots, it gives us a solid look at the coupe's upcoming midcycle refresh. Interestingly, it appears Lexus has abandoned the split lights that had the Nike "Swoosh" style running lights. Now everything is integrated into single units. The outboard grilles now have more prominent strakes in them, and there's now a small grille or air inlet at the base of the main grille. Around at the back, there are almost no changes that we can see through the camouflage. Only a possible extension of the diffuser between the rear reflectors is all that shows through.