2013 Lexus Is 250 Base on 2040-cars

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Toyota wants improved crash scores with midcycle facelifts

The performances of some Toyotas in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) regimen of crash tests leave something to be desired. Consider the small overlap frontal crash test: only six Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles have undergone the new test, yet all but one of them received a poor rating. Osama Nagata, CEO of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc., says midcycle vehicle updates are in the works to address the safety issues brought to light by the IIHS test, Automotive News reports. He confirmed that the RAV4 is getting safety updates following its crash test performance last month, but he didn't name any other models.
All three Toyotas that were tested - 2013 RAV4, 2012-2013 Prius V, 2012-2013 Camry - received poor ratings. The 2007-2012 Lexus ES 350 and 2006-2013 IS 250/350 also received poor ratings. The only other Toyota Motor Corp. vehicle to score better than poor is the 2014 Scion TC. It received an acceptable rating in the small overlap frontal crash test and is the only recent vehicle in Toyota's line-up to get the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating.
The small overlap front crash test measures the safety of a car when its front left corner is strikes an object during an accident, bypassing traditional crumple zones, which deform in a way to protect passengers. In 2009, automakers were alerted to the forthcoming addition of the test, which was first implemented last year, IIHS spokesman Russ Rader says. They responded with differing intensity, he says, pointing out that Subaru and Honda started incorporating design changes early on so their cars would perform well in the tests.

Toyota applies to trademark Lexus LFR name in Europe

Less than a week ago, Toyota appealed to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to reserve the names Lexus LFR and LFR for "Automobiles and structural parts thereof," CarBuzz discovered. Starting with the usual disclaimer, we can't know what this will be applied to, nor if it will be applied to anything; automakers constantly reserve names that never find their way to production vehicles. Now for the fun part: The short money says this is for the production version of the Lexus Electrified Sport Concept shown in December of last year, successor to the LFA. Pulling back the nomenclature curtain, Lexus began its Lexus Future (LF) series with the LF-S sedan in 2003. The A in the LF-A concept that followed two years later was said to stand for Apex. Our guess is that what's coming is the Lexus Future Revolution. This is, after all, the car that will "destroy the spindle grille."  On top of potentially evolving from the concept name to LFR, if that's what it's called, the vehicle itself still appears to be in flux. The Electrified Sport was touted with an electric powertrain run off solid-state batteries, as targeting a 435-mile range or more, and having 1,000-horsepower guts enabling a 60-mph sprint in just over two seconds. In March, reports out of Japan said a version powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 hybrid would launch first, the EV not arriving until the end of this decade — a timeline that makes sense considering solid-state batteries aren't due in a Toyota until 2025, and only then in a hybrid. There's no reason to believe Lexus would want to run high-tech, high-voltage, high-risk experiments in its halo car. In July, another Japanese outlet refined the ICE rumor with gossip that what was then referred to as the LFA II would fit the 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8 from the Lexus LC 500 endurance racer and make around 700 horsepower. Supposedly, it would also become the "substitute for the GR010 Road Going version." The Gazoo Racing GR010 is Toyota's entry in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, powered by a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6. We're still not sure how these two vehicles could line up since the GR010 needs to be sold in at least 20 road-going versions within two years to satisfy class rules, each of which would need to use its V6 powertrain, not the 5.0-liter.  And in August, Lexus boss Koji Sato told Top Gear he's toying with a simulated manual transmission.

2015 Lexus RC F configurator heats up

Just over two weeks after Lexus activated its online configurator for the 2015 RC350, the Japanese luxury marque is flipping the switch on the car we really want to customize – the 467-horsepower RC F. In addition to letting us play about with various configurations for the new sports coupe, Lexus' latest builder is decidedly different and more visually pleasing. It also does away with the brand's typical, and occasionally unintuitive, grouping of options. In its place, we have a trio of simple, logical packages. There's a navigation pack that adds, um, navigation. It also includes in Lexus' Enform telematics suite. You can also select a Premium Pack, that adds luxury features like heated and vented seats, park assist and LED headlamps, while an all-weather pack tacks on a heated steering wheel, headlamp washers and a deicer for the wiper blades. There are some secondary options, too, including an attractive set of 19-inch wheels, an updated leather interior, adaptive cruise control and a moonroof. All in all, pretty standard fare. Prices for the RC F start at $62,400, not counting a $925 destination charge. Head over to Lexus' consumer page and build your ideal RC F.