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Lexus builds final LFA supercar

Lexus has officially built the very last LFA. The 500th Lexus supercar rolled from the company's Motomachi facility on December 14th wearing all of the goodies of the Nürburgring package and white paint. Toyota's Lexus division started production on the car exactly two years ago on December 15, 2010 and built just one unit per working day. A total of 170 workers were hand-picked to handle parts manufacturing, assembly and painting for the LFA project. While Lexus has made it clear it will produce no more LFA models, lessons gleaned from the vehicle's construction may translate into other future products.
Specifically, Toyota says it may employ its carbon fiber reinforced plastic experience moving forward. As you may recall, the LFA made extensive use of CFRP and carbon fiber, and Lexus even created a special rotary loom to stitch together the supercar's A-pillars. Take a look at the brief press release on the last LFA below.

Thanks to smaller engines, vehicle dependability falls for first time in 16 years

As automakers have made engines smaller and smaller to improve fuel economy, problems in those vehicles have gotten bigger and bigger. That's the synopsis of a J.D. Power vehicle-dependability study, which found that dependability dropped for the first time in 16 years, largely because the proliferation of four-cylinder engines is causing the vehicles to be less reliable. Specifically, the number of problems per 100 vehicles (or what J.D. Power calls PP100) during the past 12 months for 2011 model-year vehicles rose six percent from the year-earlier figures for 2010 model-year cars. Singling out four-cylinder vehicles revealed about a 10-percent increase in problems during the past year. This issues largely related to engine hesitation, rough transmission shifting and lack of power, signaling the inability of vehicle makers to iron out some of the problems in their smaller engines as they strove for better fuel economy. Six- and five-cylinder engines proved far more reliable. Among car brands, BMW's Mini sub-brand came out as least reliable, with 185 problems per 100 vehicles during the past year. Toyota's Lexus badge was easily the most reliable, with just 68 problems per 100 vehicles. Coming in second place was Mercedes-Benz. The overall average was 133. Check out J.D. Power's press release below. J.D. Power Reports: Increased Engine and Transmission Problems Contribute to Decline in Vehicle Dependability for The First Time in More Than 15 Years General Motors Company Receives Eight Segment Awards, While Toyota Motor Corporation Garners Seven and Honda Motor Company Earns Six WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: o Owners of 3-year-old vehicles (2011 model year) report more problems than did owners of 3-year-old vehicles last year, according to the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Vehicle Dependability StudySM (VDS) released today. The study, now in its 25th year, examines problems experienced during the past 12 months by original owners of 2011 model-year vehicles. Overall dependability is determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality. The study finds that overall vehicle dependability averages 133 PP100, a 6 percent increase in problems from 126 PP100 in 2013. This marks the first time since the 1998 study that the average number of problems has increased. "Until this year, we have seen a continual improvement in vehicle dependability," said David Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D.

Lexus NX Luggage Test: How much cargo space?

According to the specs, the new Lexus NX has 22.7 cubic-feet of cargo space behind its raised back seat. That is considerably less than the mechanically related Toyota RAV4 (37.5 cubic-feet) and Toyota Venza (28.8 cubic-feet). It's also less than several of its compact luxury SUV competitors. However, the shape of its cargo area, a clever cargo cover and the added versatility of under-floor storage make it one of the best cargo areas in the segment in terms of usability.  It's also important to note that there are four versions available, all with their own powertrain: the NX 250 (shown here) has a naturally aspirated four-cylinder shared with the RAV4; the NX 350h with the same hybrid powertrain as the Venza and RAV4 Hybrid; the unique turbocharged NX 350; and the NX 450h plug-in hybrid that's very similar to the RAV4 Prime. Despite these different powertrains, and the need to store the hybrids' batteries somewhere, I am told by Lexus that their cargo areas are equal. That includes the sizable under-floor storage area you'll see shortly.  Here's the cargo area. As you can see, it has a large cargo cover that's fairly distinctive. Rather than a long, large cartridge with a cover that rolls out, or a solid rigid panel, this one features a mesh fabric supported by a metal frame that folds in half. This design would make it easier to store than either of the other designs (be it inside or outside the vehicle), but Lexus goes a step further on this front. The under-floor storage area was thoughtfully designed specifically to accommodate this cargo cover. This is a rare feature in a compact SUV. It means you shouldn't have to worry about getting stuck with the cargo cover when you need every square-centimeter of space available.  There's also plenty of storage space without that cover. In fact, the main bin is big enough to swallow the Luggage Test fancy bag. Also storing the cargo cover would've been iffy, but this is nevertheless impressive. The Acura RDX is the only other compact luxury SUV to offer such a space and it makes a difference.  Now, onto the other bags. As in every luggage test I do, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife's fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D).