1998 Lexus Sc on 2040-cars

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Google is hiring autonomous car testers in Arizona

If you're in Arizona, Google is hiring for a gig that could be a good alternative to doing Uber. The job entails test driving an autonomous car around the state for $20 an hour, six to eight hours a day. You'll still need to know how to actually drive to be able to take the wheel if needed. But since your role is testing out the big G's new technology, you're expected to provide the engineering team "concise written and oral feedback," submit daily reports and document any test or procedure performed. That's why even though Google isn't looking for any "particular type of person," it wants people with bachelor's degrees and excellent communication skills. If you're applying because you want to go on a road trip inside one of Google's compact cars, though, we're afraid you'd be sorely disappointed. You'll be testing the tech titan's self-driving technology on a Lexus like the one in the image above. Related Video: This article by Mariella Moon originally ran on Engadget, the definitive guide to this connected life.

Next-gen Lexus RC will be a race car first

There has been one generation of the Lexus RC, the Japanese luxury maker's sports coupe meant to mix it with offerings like the Audi A5, BMW 4 Series, and Mercedes C-Class. Instead of doing that, it has hung back in the enthusiast consciousness with the Infiniti Q60, a car you remember — and remember is actually pretty good — when someone else brings it up. At least one exec at Toyota wants to change that for the next-gen RC, assuming we get one. David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development (TRD), spoke to Car and Driver at the recent 24 Hours of Daytona. C/D said Wilson "hinted" the coming RC will look at the Toyota Gazoo Racing GT3 concept revealed as last month's Tokyo Auto Salon for inspiration, the target being to create a better performing race car for global GT3 competitions, which will breed a better performing road car. "ItÂ’s fairly safe to connect the dots and suggest that [the GR GT3 concept] could be a precursor to the next global GT3 car for Lexus," he said.  As we wrote about the GR GT3 concept, Toyota believes it can provide more enjoyment for customers by commercializing race cars than by making customer cars racy. So instead of turning the next Lexus RC into a not exactly ripping IMSA and GT3 competitor, as it did with this one, the GT3 Concept could lead development of one or more Toyota Group race cars that, as required by GT3 homologation rules, become one or more road cars. Speaking to Motor1, Wilson and Lexus GM Andrew Gilleland affirmed the coming RC will be a racer first, Wilson saying, "Our Lexus RC F is a dynamite sports car, but I'll be candid and say that itÂ’s not a GT3 car. The current gen that weÂ’re racing right now was an afterthought to make it a GT3 car." That process gets reversed for the next coming, the president confiding to, "Before you put your first line on paper, you decide youÂ’re going to race that car and that shapes the design parameters, the performance parameters of that production car." Gazoo Racing said there'd be a prototype of the GT3 concept on track by the end of this year. We might learn then how Toyota and Lexus plan to push the sporty angle for track and road. As for when a new RC race or road car might debut, the TRD honcho would only say, "hopefully in a couple of years." Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2016 Civic, Sonata, Lexus RX, and Altima earn TSP+ from IIHS [w/videos]

The 2016 Honda Civic sedan, Hyundai Sonata, Lexus RX, and Nissan Altima started the year with a bang by earning Top Safety Pick+ honors from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. They join 48 other 2016 model year vehicles that IIHS already tested that received the agency's top safety marks. These four models met the IIHS' latest requirement, scoring the agency's best possible score in all five of its crash tests – front, side, rear, rollover, and the difficult small-overlap – to be eligible for the safety accolade. Hyundai improved the 2016 Sonata's structure after the sedan's production began, so this rating only applied to examples produced after October. To get the TSP+ honor, a vehicle's crash prevention tech needs to earn least two points on the IIHS' scale. The lower Top Safety Pick designation can go to model with a "basic" version of these systems like a front collision warning. The Civic, Sonata, and RX scored the maximum six points to get "superior" scores for their optional crash prevention tech because they avoided collisions at up to 25 miles per hour. The Altima was successful in a 12-mph test, but the system slowed the sedan by 10 mph in the 25-mph test rather than completely stopping it. Therefore, the agency awarded the Nissan five points, which was still a "superior" score. You can watch the small-overlap tests for the Civic, RX, Altima, and Sonata respectively below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Four more vehicles earn the 2016 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award ARLINGTON, Va. — The Honda Civic 4-door, Hyundai Sonata, Lexus RX and Nissan Altima are the latest vehicles to earn the top award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The four vehicles join the 2016 winner's circle just one month after the initial crop of 48 TOP SAFETY PICK+ winners was announced. The requirements for TOP SAFETY PICK+ were tightened for 2016. To qualify, winners must earn good ratings in each of the Institute's five crashworthiness tests and have an available front crash prevention system earning an advanced or superior rating.