2014 Lexus Es 300h on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Toyota, Lexus to build more CUVs to meet surging demand

What was the biggest takeaway from the auto industry's 2014? Besides the fact that recalls are now a sad and mostly unremarkable part of a vehicle's life, it's that you can't be a competitive, mainstream brand in the US without a really strong line of crossovers, SUVs or pickups. We saw evidence of this as recently as Monday, when Hyundai unveiled its HCD-15 Santa Cruz Concept, and now we're seeing it again with Toyota. The company already has a comprehensive lineup of both mainstream and luxury CUVs and SUVs, although surging demand – sales were up 16 percent last year, Bloomberg reports – has led the company to increase its production tempo at the plants responsible for the RAV4 and Lexus RX. "The freeze is still in place until the end of March of 2016," Toyota's Jim Lentz told Bloomberg during this week's Detroit Auto Show, referencing the production bump at the Japanese and Canadian factories responsible for the models. "That hasn't changed. All indications are that it will lift, but right now it has not lifted." The increased sales are even spurring the brand to consider additional CUVs, including a compact that would slot in below the RAV4, Lentz told the business publication. Such a move would give Toyota a player in an increasingly competitive and important segment. In 2014 alone, mainstream brands, including Honda, Mazda, Chevrolet and Jeep, have announced brand new products destined for the compact CUV market. "We're going to have to look at how the market under RAV4 develops," Lentz told Bloomberg. "There's no question that it's going to. That's going to be the next growth spurt." Related Video:

2022 Lexus UX gets new colors and a single new feature

If you were waiting to see what Lexus would do with the 2022 UX before committing to buy, the answer is "make tiny cosmetic changes." Outside, the biggest addition is that shoppers have a choice of new colors, although we can't tell yet what those colors are. Between the Lexus press release and images, the new colors mentioned are Grecian Water and Cloudburst Gray. Grecian Water is the rich blue hue that appeared on the 2021 UX Black Line special edition toward the end of last year — very pretty, but there'd be signs to avoid the beach if the Aegean ever turned this color. Cloudburst Gray featured on the 2021 Lexus IS and is migrating to the UX, and looks like an overcast day. And also as on the UX Black Series, buyers who opt for the Premium, Luxury, or F Sport packages can choose to have the UX body color extended to the normally black wheel arches. Inside the cabin, Grecian Water comes with a choice of either Black, Birch NuLuxe, or Birch NuLuxe with a Lapis washi dash. Cadmium Orange is available now on the 2021 UX and carries over, but will offer new interior choices to go with.  The UX received a refresh for this year consisting of a minor nip and tuck and some safety features being added as standard. The powertrains remain the 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the UX 200 putting out 169 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque, and a more efficient version of the same 2.0-liter assisted by a hybrid system in the UX 250H for 181 system horsepower. The runt of the Lexus litter is outsold in the U.S. by everything else in the lineup save for the flagship LS sedan and the ancient LX SUV, and we'll wager that changes when the new LX arrives. Even so, the UX sold fractionally better here last year than it did in 2019, and the numbers so far in 2021 are better than last year. We've asked Lexus for more information about the paints for next year, we'll update the post if we get a response. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Vice chronicles Okinawa's illegal street racing scene

We all know that street racing is dangerous, and that motorsports are best left on the track or drag strip. However, that doesn't mean that there still isn't some outlaw allure among enthusiasts of racing on public roads. In this video, Vice Japan profiles Eikichi Nagayoshi of Japan's island of Okinawa. He is a used car dealer by day and an illegal racer by night.
Nagayoshi has a deep love for his highly customized Toyota Aristo (better known to us as a first-generation Lexus GS) that he claims produces over 1,000 horsepower and has hit 205 miles per hour. He races his car both on drag strips and in drifting competitions, but says that he often has to ship the car to mainland Japan to compete. In the absence of those opportunities, he sometimes gathers friends and takes the racing to the public roads. While we're not down with street racing, this Vice video is an intriguing personality piece, as well as a look into Japan's fabled underground racing scene. Scroll down to check out the video, but make sure you have the "CC" button clicked, because several portions are subtitled.