2010 Lexus Es 350 Base on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2021 Lexus IS debuts with new styling and greater emphasis on handling

The reveals keep on coming today. Lexus just took the wraps off the 2021 Lexus IS sport sedan, the fourth generation of its small, sporty four-door. It may not look all that different on the outside, but Lexus is making heady claims that the driving experience is going to be the real head turner. We’ll start with the looks, though. Lexus has only revealed the 2021 IS in F Sport trim, which is the most aggressive of all the models. The spindle grille again sits proudly in front. (Apparently, even non F Sport models have mini spindles within the grille design, so we hope you like spindles.) YouÂ’ll also see a new air intake below that grille. ItÂ’s meant to direct air to the brakes and assist in cooling. The slimmer headlights with a new LED pattern look sharp. Along the side, Lexus has implemented new rocker panels that kick up into the rear fender for a more aggressive stance. The view from the rear offers up the most noticeable change. Lexus has gone with the full-width taillight design, stretching the red element from one side of the trunk to the other. Those taillights feature more intricate sculpting, and the rear valance is finished in a glossy black. Lexus changed the exhaust tip look, too, opting for ovals this time. But, onwards to the performance. The powertrain lineup hasnÂ’t changed a bit. A Lexus IS 300 with rear-wheel drive continues to be powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. It makes the same 241 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque as before, and is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission only. However, Lexus says itÂ’s been updated for “adaptive transmission control” that is better at choosing the appropriate gear for the driving situation. An all-wheel-drive IS 300 is also available, but itÂ’s equipped with the 3.5-liter V6 that makes 260 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. The all-wheel-drive IS 300 is also continuing to send the power through a six-speed automatic transmission exclusively. The system can send as much as 50% of torque to the front axle. The tip-top IS is the IS 350. ItÂ’s equipped with a 3.5-liter V6 that makes 311 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. With rear-wheel drive, itÂ’s equipped with an eight-speed automatic, but the all-wheel-drive version is equipped with a six-speed auto. Lexus says the rear-drive IS 350 will get to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds, while the all-wheel-drive car gets there in 5.7 seconds.

Lexus puts that vivid yellow LC500 concept into limited production

Back in August, Lexus crafted a vibrant yellow LC Inspiration Series concept car for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, complete with a lightly customized interior and carbon detailing. For the Chicago Auto Show this year, Lexus is bringing a limited edition production version with the same recipe. The Flare Yellow cars are offered in a series of 100 units, with an inscription on the carbon fiber door sill covers marking each car as part of the limited run. The semi-aniline seats have yellow stitching, like on the concept car, and the interior also has similar yellow door inserts. However, the 21-inch wheels were dark cross-spokes on the concept, and the production Inspiration Series wears a different, split five-spoke design in the same size. But it has same carbon fiber roof and grille insert as the concept car. As for the powertrain, it remains stock with a 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V8 producing 471 horsepower and coupled to a 10-speed automatic transmission. The 0-60 time is disclosed as 4.4 seconds. Lexus prices the Inspiration Series at $106,210 without destination fees (those are $1,025 for a typical LC). The 100 cars will be made available beginning in April. A stock LC500 starts from $92,300 plus destination. Related Video:

Google shares more details on self-driving car accidents

Google has pledged to release monthly reports on the status of its self-driving car program, and says these updates will include information on accidents involving the vehicles. But the company won't release the actual accident reports, a sore point for activists who recently have clamored for the company to be more transparent in the way it tests this promising technology on public roads. "Google is dribbling out bits of information in the hope to silence legitimate calls for full transparency," said John Simpson, privacy director for Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit that has asked Google to release reports from the 12 accidents the company says it has been involved in over the past six years. "They are testing on public roads, and the public has a right to know exactly what happened when something goes wrong." Under California law, the accident reports are not considered public records. Google has attributed all accidents to human error, and says drivers of the other cars involved caused 11 of the 12 accidents. In eight of those, the Google cars were rear-ended, and the autonomous vehicles were sideswiped in two other crashes. One of the accidents occurred at an intersection when a human driver failed to yield at a stop sign, and in one incident, a Google driver accidentally rear-ended another car while manually driving. Google had previously provided those details. The first monthly report installment sheds new light on which types of self-driving vehicles were involved, directions of travel, locations, and whether the cars were operating in autonomous or manual mode. Update: Google says this information comes directly from the OL 316 forms used to report accidents involving autonomous cars in California, though it has "edited the summaries lightly to protect other drivers' information." But Google still will not release the original OL 316 forms, nor the "traffic collision report" forms used in California to report accidents. Another company that has been involved in a single self-driving car accident, Delphi Automotive, has released this information, which verified its car was not at fault. Regarding Google, Simpson said, "We now know a few more details of what happened. The problem is that it's Google's version and they want us to take their word for it." The Google self-report adds information that goes beyond accidents, with further details on the company's overall program.