2001 Lexus Rx300 Base Sport Utility 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Mazda and Lexus crowned with KBB 5-Year Cost To Own awards

We report on a lot of awards, some of which are given out based on more solid criteria than others. This one, the Kelley Blue Book 5-Year Cost to Own awards, seems like one that new car shoppers should pay attention to.
The cost of a car goes far beyond what you pay for the actual metal, leather and rubber at the point of purchase. Fuel, insurance, maintenance and repair costs, and the cost of fees from the state and financing will all weigh on your wallet while you own the car. That's not even taking into account the biggest cost: depreciation, or the amount of money you lose based on what your car is worth years from now versus the day you bought it.
KBB tracks these sorts of things, and they've compiled a list of winners for 2013 models. On the brand level, Mazda and Lexus earn the 5-Year Cost to Own award for having the lowest overall projected five-year totals (though, curiously, we note that Mazda and Lexus each had only one segment winner). There are lots of winners for all the various segments, so we'll just pick out a few surprising ones to share and you can view the rest here.

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.

2022 Lexus NX aces IIHS crash tests, earns Top Safety Pick+ rating

The 2022 Lexus NX luxury SUV is a completely redesigned model, and it's a significant improvement across the board. But one area in which, fortunately, it didn't change was crash performance. Just like its predecessor, the new NX has earned the top IIHS accolade: the Top Safety Pick+ award. It even outperformed the SUV it's based on, the Toyota RAV4. Both the more conventionally powered NX and the plug-in hybrid receive the award, thanks to excellent results in every test IIHS threw at it. It earned the top "Good" rating for all crash tests (although the challenging new IIHS side impact test has not yet been adopted for ratings). The same rating applies to the NX's headlight performance for all three designs offered by the SUV, whereas its RAV4 cousin has some weak performing lights that hurt its overall rating. The forward collision prevention system also received the top "Superior" rating for both vehicle and pedestrian situations, and the LATCH child seat anchor access was rated "Good+." The compact luxury SUV space the NX competes in features a number of other Top Safety Pick+ recipients. The Acura RDX , Audi Q5, Genesis GV70 and Volvo XC60 all get the same high rating. The Lincoln Nautilus and Mercedes-Benz GLC come close with the regular Top Safety Pick rating. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.