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Lexus leads J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study for 2021

J.D. Power's latest Vehicle Dependability Study is out, and, not surprisingly, Lexus sits at the top for the ninth time in the last 10 years. Right behind Lexus is Porsche, followed by Kia, which is the highest-ranked mass-market brand in the study. Genesis, last year's top-ranked brand (in its first year included in the results), fell from first to eighth, though the G80 sedan did earn an award in its midsize luxury segment. The Porsche 911 was called out as the Most Dependable Model by J.D. Power for the second time in the last three years. The vehicles being studied are from the 2018 model year, which means owners have had three years to get to know their cars and trucks. It's notable that this year's study shows a marked improvement in overall vehicle dependability as tracked by J.D. Power. The overall level of problems, scored by the number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), declined by 10% compared to last year.  "The study results validate what we have known for some time," said Dave Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power. "Automakers are making increasingly dependable vehicles — but there are still some problem areas that need to be addressed and some warning signs on the horizon." Tesla makes its inaugural appearance on the Dependability Study, though its score of 176 PP100 isn't official. Tesla is the only automaker that has chosen not to grant J.D. Power permission to survey its owners in all 50 states. As we've pointed out in the past, the Vehicle Dependability Study includes eight major vehicle categories grouped by J.D. Power as follows: audio/communication/entertainment/navigation (ACEN); engine/transmission; exterior; interior; features/controls/displays (FCD); driving experience; heating, ventilation and air conditioning; and seats. All issues reported by owners are all tracked equally, which means a problematic phone pairing procedure dings an automaker's rating the same as a blown engine or transmission. And in fact, the ACEN category has more reported problems than any other, which means the majority of problems reported don't lead to a vehicle that leaves its owner stranded. Green Land Rover Lexus Porsche Car Buying JD Power dependability reliability

Toyota investing $750M, adding 600 jobs at 5 U.S. plants

BUFFALO, W.Va. — Toyota on Thursday announced it is investing an additional $750 million at five U.S. plants that will bring nearly 600 new jobs, including the production of two hybrid vehicles for the first time at its Kentucky facility. It marks yet another expansion of the Japanese automaker's U.S. presence, bringing to nearly $13 billion the amount it will spend by 2021. The latest investments are at facilities in Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and West Virginia. Those same facilities were part of a 2017 announcement by Toyota for a $374 million investment to support production of its first American-made hybrid powertrain. Toyota Motor North America CEO Jim Lentz said the latest investments "represent even more examples of our long-term commitment to build where we sell. By boosting our U.S. manufacturing footprint, we can better serve our customers and dealers and position our manufacturing plants for future success with more domestic capacity." Toyota's Georgetown, Kentucky, facility will get a $238 million infusion to produce hybrid versions of Lexus ES 300 sedans starting in May and the Rav4 SUV starting in January 2020, the company announced. It also includes $288 million to increase annual engine capacity at Toyota's Huntsville, Alabama, facility. The plant will add 450 jobs to accommodate new four-cylinder and V6 engine production lines. Last year Toyota and Mazda announced plans to build a $1.6 billion joint-venture plant in Huntsville that will eventually employ about 4,000 people. Toyota also is spending $62 million on equipment to boost production of Toyota and Lexus cylinder heads at its Bodine Aluminum facility in Troy, Missouri, as part of its cost-saving New Global Architecture production strategy to share common parts and components among different vehicles. A $50 million expansion and equipment upgrade at its Bodine plant in Jackson, Tennessee, will add 13 jobs and produce engine blocks while doubling the capacity of hybrid transaxle cases and housings. And Toyota will add 123 jobs and spent $111 million to expand its plant and purchase equipment in Buffalo, West Virginia, to double the capacity of hybrid transaxles. Previously, Toyota also announced a $600 million investment at its Princeton, Indiana, plant to increase the capacity of its Highlander SUV and to incorporate the new production strategy, and $170 million to launch the 2020 Corolla on a new production line in Blue Springs, Mississippi.

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.