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Lexus LC 500 coming to Detroit Auto Show

Believe it or not, it's been nearly four years since we first saw the Lexus LF-LC Concept. Its swoopy style and spindle grille kicked off a big design revolution for Lexus, and we saw a number of LF-LC design elements work their way onto production cars. But now, rumor has it a full-on production version will see the light of day, and soon. Motoring.com.au says the LC 500 coupe will show its face at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show in January, and we have little reason to doubt this. In fact, it's kind of been a long time coming. The LC was reportedly approved for production in 2013, and though we were told it might resurrect the SC name, Lexus filed copyright applications for "LC 500" and "LC 500h." Oh, and a prototype of this car was recently spotted testing. The LC 500 will arrive with – no surprise here – Lexus' naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8, plucked from the RC F and GS F. That said, Motoring says it could arrive with a new, 10-speed automatic transmission from Aisin. As for the LC 500h, Motoring thinks it'll be powered by a, 3.5-liter V6-based hybrid drive system that could produce something like 470 horsepower – not the current V6/hybrid unit from the GS 450h. A hotter LC F should follow in a couple of years, and earlier reports suggest it could make something like 600 horsepower. Of course, Lexus refuses to comment on future product speculation, so we don't have any official proof that this is actually happening. But it all makes a lot of sense. Watch this space in two months' time for more details.

Toyota settles first wrongful death suit related to unintended acceleration

Toyota's sales seem to have rebounded from the unintended acceleration issues from 2009 and 2010, but the automaker is far from done dealing with this situation. Following a settlement worth up to $1.4 billion for economic loss to affected vehicle owners, Toyota has settled rather than going to trial in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from an accident in Utah in 2010 that left two passengers dead. This isn't the first case in which Toyota has settled, but it was the first among a consolidated group of cases being held in Santa Ana, CA.
According to The Detroit News, this case was scheduled to take place next month, and it was for a November 2010 incident in which Paul Van Alfen and Charlene James Lloyd were killed in a Camry when, based on findings by the Utah Highway Patrol, the accelerator got stuck causing the car to speed out of control and hit a wall; the terms of the settlement were not announced.
The article says that while Toyota will settle on some cases, it doesn't plan on settling on all of them as it still wants to be able to "defend [its] product at trial." This will probably be the case in suits claiming that software for the drive-by-wire accelerator was the cause of an accident in a Toyota or Lexus vehicle. The question of whether or not the electronic accelerator played any role in this problem has been a hot-button topic since the beginning. Toyota has issued recalls in the past to attempt to prevent unintended acceleration caused by trapped floor mats and faulty accelerator pedals, but it also says driver error was to blame in some instances.

Lexus F label to become even more performance oriented

Lexus has plans to take its F performance label to even greater heights, according to officials. That's one of the key reasons the IS 500 F Sport Performance wasn't a full-blown IS F, Lexus executives said. Speaking before a gathering of Lexus enthusiasts at the IS 500 Launch Edition's, uh, launch at Sebring Raceway, group vice president and general manager of the Lexus division Andrew Gilleland reaffirmed that the IS 500 F Sport Performance is the first in a line of high-performance but sub-F cars (at 5:11 in the video below). "There will definitely be more vehicles. There's a lot more coming where this came from," Gilleland said, eliciting cheers from the gathered crowd of enthusiasts. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Gilleland then pointed at Lexus product planner Cooper Erickson and told the fans, many of whom had brought their own tuned F cars to the event, "If you want to see more of this," gesturing to the IS 500, "Go bug the s--t out of him." Erickson himself then took to the stage and discussed how the IS 500 came to be and the future of the F designation (at 6:17 in the video). First, he acknowledged that sedan sales are challenging. He also described the 2021 IS's chassis as a combination of the GS and RC platforms, which grew the track 1.4 inches wider. "If it's part GS and part RC, then why can't we drop a big-ass V8 in it?" Erickson wanted to know. "Nobody's doing that. But, we can," Erickson continued, "Because we do an amazing job with our hybrid products. So from a CAFE, greenhouse gas and emissions standpoint, we can manage having a V8 in a car like this when nobody else can." However, it still required approval from the mothership in Toyota City. So during an event at Pebble Beach, Erickson told Lexus chief engineer Koji Sato that he wanted to bring back the IS F. "Let's put the V8 in it, Let's do an IS F," he told Sato. At first, Sato's reply seemed like a no. "We have new plans for F," he explained. "F will be higher. Only Akio [Toyoda] can approve F [cars]." The CEO is known for being one of the few carmaker heads that actually moonlights as a racing driver. Erickson said that even if the IS F was off the table, he still wanted a V8-powered IS. "So what if we call it IS 500 F Sport? Who can approve that?" Sato's reply: "Cooper-san, I can approve that." Apparently the rest is history. This content is hosted by a third party.