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Lexus to open stores with branded accessories [w/video]

Trying to build a boutique buying atmosphere with a large-volume premium brand isn't easy, but Lexus is attempting to do just that by introducing its new Intersect By Lexus dealership experience. This aspect of Lexus retailing has nothing to do with cars and everything to do with luxury lifestyle accessories. Intersect By Lexus is effectively an all-in-one shopping destination for high-quality, hand-crafted designer products, many of them created specifically for the marque, right down to their "Crafted for Lexus" branding.
The first Intersect By Lexus store will open at the end of this month in Tokyo, with other stores planned for New York and Dubai. Going over the first store's initial product list, it seems that each store will offer wares that reflect its location. Some of the products available at Intersect By Lexus Tokyo include a $400 minimalist LED desk light, hand-sewn $286 tablet cover and a $133 drip coffeemaker and cup set handmade from the ash of Japan's Sakurajima volcano. Scroll down for a short video showing how some of these products were made.

Kia leads J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study for 2022

For the first year ever, Kia leads J.D. Power's annual Vehicle Dependability Study with a score of 145 problems per 100 vehicles. Buick (147) and Hyundai (148) round out the top three. The highest premium brand on the list is Genesis, with a score of 148. It's common for so-called "mass market" brands to lead this particular study, according to J.D. Power, as "premium" brands "typically incorporate more technology in their vehicles, which increases the likelihood for problems to occur" and aren't necessarily built to a higher standard that less-expensive brands. The highest-rated single nameplate is the Porsche 911. It's the third time out of the past four years and the second year in a row that Porsche's quintessential sports car has taken top honors. Porsche as a brand sits in seventh place (162) just behind Lexus (159) and ahead of Dodge (166). At the very bottom of the list is Land Rover with a dismal score of 284; the SUV specialist held the same unfortunate distinction on last year's list. Ram (266), Volvo (256), Alfa Romeo (245) and Acura (244) also performed poorly. The overall industry average score sits at 192 — mass market brands average a score of 190 while premium brands sit 14 points lower at 204. While Tesla is unofficially included in some of J.D. Power's results, the agency says the sample size it has access to for this study is too small to include. As has been the case for the past several years, infotainment systems dominate the list of problems reported by owners. Popular (or unpopular, depending on your point of view) complaints include built-in voice recognition (8.3 PP100), Android Auto/Apple CarPlay connectivity (5.4 PP100), built-in Bluetooth system (4.5 PP100), not enough power plugs/USB ports (4.2 PP100), navigation systems difficult to understand/use (3.7 PP100), touchscreen/display screen (3.6 PP100), and navigation system inaccurate/outdated map (3.6 PP100). While problems with the car's infotainment and technology packages are indeed bothersome, it's important to remember that such issues aren't usually leaving owners stranded with an immovable vehicle like a broken transmission or blown engine would. Culling infotainment complaints from the results would reduce the average problem-per-100-vehicle score by a staggering 51.9 points. The vehicles included in this study are from the 2019 model year. That means owners have had three years to get to know their cars and trucks. It's the 33rd year that J.D.

Lexus LF-30 Electrified Concept announces the brand's entry in EVs

The star of the Lexus booth at the biennial Tokyo auto show is an extremely futuristic concept named LF-30 Electrified that previews the firm's cars could look like — and be powered by — in 2030. The LF-30 Electrified uses clever technology to take Lexus into the electric vehicle segment for the first time. Lexus has leveraged parent company Toyota's expertise in the field of hybrid powertrains to become one of the industry's pioneers in the segment, but it has always shunned fully electric drivetrains. The LS-30 signals an about-face. Drawing on lessons learned while designing hybrids, engineers developed a 536-horsepower drivetrain that consists of a mammoth, 110-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack and four in-wheel electric motors that can deliver front-, rear-, or all-wheel drive. Don't let the press images fool you; the LS-30 is huge. It's nearly as long as the firm's LS flagship sedan, closer to a Chevrolet Suburban in width, and it weighs almost 5,300 pounds. It can nonetheless reach 60 mph from a stop in 3.8 seconds, and it can travel for up to 310 miles on one charge according to the overly optimistic WLTP testing cycle. Those figures might be irrelevant, because the driver can become a passenger by turning on the on-board autonomous technology and letting it worry about how quickly to accelerate, and when to charge. There's even a drone that Lexus calls an Airporter that autonomous transports luggage, for example, from in front of the owner's house directly to the car's trunk. Odds are you won't even need to tip it. Traveling in the LF-30 feels different depending on where you're sitting. The driver experiences a new concept Lexus calls Tazuna that draws inspiration from how a rein can create a mutual understanding between a horse and a rider; it sounds similar to what Mazda aimed for with the Miata, which famously channeled Jinba Ittai, or horse and rider as one, but it's a completely different take on it. The driver can adjust the stereo or dial a destination in the navigation system without taking his or her eyes off the road thanks to steering wheel-mounted switches and a large head-up display. The driver feels a lot like a jet fighter pilot, then. The passenger, on the road hand, is traveling first-class thanks to a seat inspired by high-zoot air travel, and a gesture-controlled screen. The rear seats recline, and the folks sitting in them can watch movies on a voice- and gesture-controlled glass roof called SkyGate.