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Lexus April 2011 Sales Report

USA Lexus reported total sales of 17,576 units, a 7.8% drop from last April — here are the model-by-model stats: MONTH Year to Date (*DSR) 2011 2010 % CHG* 2011 2010 % CHG* ES 3,493 4,396 -23.5 12,038 13,528 -12.8 CT 875 0 N/A 3,074 0 N/A HS 279 1,076 -75.0 978 4,529 -78.8 LS …

Kevin · May 3rd, 2011

The Lexus LF-Gh Launch Event, Revisited

Lexus has released a short video from the LF-Gh launch event in NYC, which includes a smart interview with Marketing National Manager Brian Bolain: One thing that’s been emphasized from all Lexus executives is how the LF-Gh is not just a preview of the next-gen GS, but an indicator of where the Lexus design will …

Kevin · May 2nd, 2011

Brian Fox Talks about His Supercharged Lexus CT

Here’s a short Lexus Magazine video featuring Brian Fox (of Fox Marketing) talking about his custom Lexus CT 200h on display at the NY Auto Show: I was there when this video was put together, and at one point, the super-tall Mr. Fox was sitting in the CT with his head sticking out the sunroof …

Kevin · May 2nd, 2011

Automobile Magazine Comparison: Lexus LX 570 vs. Infiniti QX56

Automobile Magazine recently compared the Lexus LX 570 against the Infiniti QX56 and found the QX56 to be the superior Japanese SUV based on handling, price & a drag race (?!?) — my own priorities when buying a full-size SUV would be much different (comfort, interior quality, exterior design). (This entire comparison must have been …

Kevin · April 28th, 2011

Autoblog Reviews the Lexus CT 200h

Autoblog has published a review of the 2011 Lexus CT 200h that’s a well-balanced read for anyone newly interested in purchasing the latest Lexus hybrid. As usual, a thorough photo gallery is also included that shows off the CT the best possible light (loving the Matador Red Mica). Read the Full Review

Kevin · April 28th, 2011

Old Lexus ES 250 Commercial Starring…The Stig?

Stumbled on this old first-generation Lexus ES 250 commercial, or as announcer James Sloyan describes it, “the luxury sedan of sports sedans”: For all his rumored talents, I never would have expected The Stig to be driving ES 250s for Lexus before appearing on Top Gear.

Kevin · April 27th, 2011

Lexus Unlikely to Remain #1 in U.S. Luxury Sales

Mark Templin, general manager of Lexus USA, has told the Automotive News that due to earthquake-related vehicle shortages, he does not expect Lexus to retain its position as the #1 luxury car manufacturer in the USA for an eleventh year: Lexus dealers will begin to feel shortages of cars this week, and definitely in May, …

Kevin · April 26th, 2011

Lexus CT 3D Projection Video (Plus a Chance to Win a CT 200h!)

Last Friday, Lexus staged a 3D projection display on the side of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel — here’s how it looked (in full HD): Jimmy Kimmel Live! was also on location, and the 3D CT made an appearance on the show. Update: The JKL video has been removed. These 3D projections are so amazing, and …

Kevin · April 26th, 2011

Lexus Global Design Manager Discusses the Lexus LF-Gh

Automobile Magazine has some great quotes about the LF-Gh from Simon Humphries, General Manager of Lexus (& Toyota) Global Design — here’s a sampling: On the general design theme: “The LF-Gh was designed in [our Lexus studio in Japan]. The current state of the auto market is that everything is becoming complex and overstyled. With …

Kevin · April 25th, 2011

Lexus LF-Gh Desktop Wallpaper: Set to Attack

Out of the few hundred photos I took of the Lexus LF-Gh last week, this photo closeup of the grille & headlight was one of my favorites — so I made it into a desktop to share: Select Resolution: 1920×1080 | 1680×1050 | 1440×900 | 1280×1024 | 1280×800 | 1024×768 Pretty mean looking — it …

Kevin · April 24th, 2011

NY Auto Show: Lexus LF-Gh Concept Photo Gallery

With so many Lexus LF-Gh photos already floating around, I thought it might be a good idea to focus on the smaller details of the latest Lexus concept, especially when they’re so visually interesting: The side profile was my favorite angle — by increasing rear headroom & available trunkspace, Lexus has moved to give the …

Kevin · April 22nd, 2011

Lexus CT 3D Projection in Hollywood Tonight

As a way to celebrate Earth Day & promote the CT 200h at the same time, Lexus will be holding a special 3D projection mapping display tonight (Friday April 22) at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. 3D projection mapping is created using multiple projectors that are able to display a three-dimensional video without needing special …

Kevin · April 22nd, 2011

NY Autoshow: Supercharged Lexus CT by Fox Marketing

From the candy-apple-gold-green color and the wild fender flares right down to the personality behind the build, the supercharged Lexus CT 200h by Fox Marketing featured at the New York Auto Show was packed with character — check out these photos: Brian Fox, the man behind Fox Marketing, is a straight-up wildman, and you can …

Kevin · April 21st, 2011

Lexus Photos from the New York Autoshow

The NY Auto Show started early this morning, and center stage at the Lexus display was the LF-Gh & Brian Fox’s CT design project — here’s a few photos from today: More to follow!

Kevin · April 20th, 2011

Lexus LF-Gh Official Reveal Video

While we may have seen photos of the Lexus LF-Gh last week, the concept car was officially revealed tonight at a gallery in New York City — here’s a video of the event along with reaction from some leading design minds: I was lucky enough to attend the reveal, and there’s no question that the …

Kevin · April 19th, 2011

Lexus LF-Gh Caravan Photos

As part of the build up to the official reveal of the LF-Gh concept tonight, Lexus brought out four wrapped vehicles that illustrate the process behind creating a new vehicle — here they are: This is a really cool idea — it goes from the pencil sketch of the initial designer to a more stylized …

Kevin · April 19th, 2011

Lexus NY Auto Show Coverage Starts Tomorrow

With the NY Auto Show and the introduction of the brand new LF-Gh concept, it’s going to be a busy week in New York City for Lexus, and I’m going to be here in the city to cover all the events. The fun starts tomorrow morning with a special caravan that’s going to be touring …

Kevin · April 18th, 2011

Lexus LFA Official Pace Car of the Grand Prix Long Beach

The Lexus LFA will be the official pace car this weekend at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, and it’s been done up in a white & black wrap that looks straight from the Gazoo Racing Nürburgring LFAs. Scott Pruett will be the man behind the wheel — it’s bound to be a fun …

Kevin · April 15th, 2011

Lexus LF-Gh Equipped with Night Vision?

TLE reader Vogel spotted something interesting in one of the Lexus LF-Gh interior photos — it looks like the concept might just be equipped with Night Vision. Here’s the button in question, highlighted in red: Not much to look at, but here it is zoomed up: Compare it with this Night Vision button from a …

Kevin · April 15th, 2011

A Lexus LFA Joy Ride with Inside Line

I was trying to wait until Inside Line concluded their Lexus LFA coverage this week before posting about their adventures, but there’s just been so many it’s been hard to keep track! The first thing I’ll link to is this video of their run up the Glendora Mountain Road in California — what a fantastic …

Kevin · April 14th, 2011

Lexus CT Remix Music Project (Plus USB Stick Giveaway!)

I thought this was pretty cool — Lexus has announced the CT Remix Project, which takes the songs from the four CT 200h launch commercials (link 1, link 2, link 3, link 4) and has them remixed by top DJs and producers. Here’s the artists involved (taken from the press release): At the foundation of …

Kevin · April 13th, 2011

Lexus LF-Gh Desktop Wallpapers

Although I promised a Lexus LFA desktop wallpaper today, I didn’t exactly expect to wake up to full photos of the LF-Gh — so instead of a supercar today, here’s three shots of Lexus’ newest concept car cropped for your consumption: Select Resolution: 1920×1080 | 1680×1050 | 1440×900 | 1280×1024 | 1280×800 | 1024×768 Select …

Kevin · April 12th, 2011

Edmunds Inside Line Spending a Week with the Lexus LFA

Starting today, the Edmunds Inside Line editors have the enviable task of driving the Lexus LFA for a full week road test, with plans to put the supercar through its paces on a California mountain road and make the trip to Las Vegas for a Wednesday night car meet. The IL editors will updating both …

Kevin · April 11th, 2011

Lexus Named Top Luxury Brand in Edmunds Best Retained Value Awards

Lexus has been named the top luxury brand of the Edmunds inaugural Best Retained Value Awards. The awards, which recognize the brands and models with the highest projected residual value after five years — an important consideration when buying a car, as it means higher trade-in value and lower lease rates. Lexus also placed well …

Kevin · April 7th, 2011

Lexus Releases Two LF-Gh Teaser Photos!

In advance of its full reveal at the New York Auto Show, Lexus has released a couple teaser images of the their next-gen GS concept, the LF-Gh — let’s tackle the front photo first: There are some LF-Ch design cues with the chrome accents on the front grille and the light housing design, but there …

Kevin · April 5th, 2011

Lexus Partners with Six Top Chefs to Create Culinary Masters Team

Lexus is teaming up with six of the world’s most distinguished chefs to create the Lexus Culinary Masters team. Chefs Daniel Boulud, Michael Chiarello, Dean Fearing, Christopher Kostow, Masaharu Morimoto & Michael Symon will all help Lexus to engage their customers with programs, charitable outreach, and multimedia productions. For their first event together, the full …

Kevin · April 4th, 2011

Lexus March 2011 Sales Report

USA Lexus USA has reported the brand’s March 2011 sales, which includes the CT 200h for the first time ever — here are the model-by-model stats: MONTH Year to Date (*DSR) 2011 2010 % CHG* 2011 2010 % CHG* ES 3,732 3,860 -6.9 8,545 9,132 -7.7 CT 2,199 0 N/A 2,199 0 N/A HS 230 …

Kevin · April 1st, 2011

Lexus USA to Raise 2011 Model Prices

Lexus USA has announced that several models will see minor sales increases starting in May — all models will see a percentage increase ranging from 0.8 to 2.1 percent, with the exception of the CT 200h & LFA. The new prices will become effective for vehicles with scheduled May arrivals for all Lexus vehicles except …

Kevin · April 1st, 2011

Matte Black Lexus IS 350

Club Lexus member DarkDuke has put together a stunning matte black Lexus IS 350 — take a look at this pro job: Those WedsSport SA-55M wheels are pure insane — love the blue accents. Brilliant piece of work, be sure to check out the rest of the photos over at Club Lexus. [Photographer: Brent Zheng]

Kevin · March 30th, 2011

A Look Underneath the Lexus LFA

For all the photos & video of the Lexus LFA, getting a glance at the underbody has been a rare event — that is, until McCall Lexus in Texas decided to raise up their first LFA delivery for a good look. Just like the rest of the exterior design, there’s a clear emphasis on aerodynamics …

Kevin · March 29th, 2011

Preview of Supercharged Lexus CT 200h by Fox Marketing

The New York Auto Show is only three weeks away, and Fox Marketing is starting to tease their supercharged CT 200h that will be part of the Lexus display — here’s a couple videos of the work-in-progress CTh: It looks like there’s something special planned for the interior as well: Best of all, there’s some …

Kevin · March 28th, 2011

Lexus & Microsoft Present Fresh Perspectives

Lexus has teamed up with Microsoft for an interesting project called Fresh Perspectives, which takes six extremely talented artists, presents them with their choice of three concepts, and gives them 24 hours to create an all-new original work. Meant to promote the CT 200h, the series is set to start April 18th — check out …

Kevin · March 25th, 2011

Two More Lexus LFAs Arrive in the USA

Two more Lexus LFAs have arrived in the USA, and Flipside909 from Club Lexus was there to witness their arrival at the docks. Of special interest is the blue #047, which belongs to Club Lexus member, gengar, who has been one of the most active LFA owners in the Lexus community. Congratulations to both of …

Kevin · March 23rd, 2011

Lexus Magazine Interview with VIP Auto Salon’s Clark Ishihara

One of the people I had a chance to spend some time with during my trip to California was Clark Ishihara, president of VIP Auto Salon and the main force behind show cars like the Macadamia LS 600hL at last year’s SEMA — reminded me of this Lexus Magazine interview with Clark about his company’s …

Kevin · March 23rd, 2011

Photos from Lexus LFA Driver Development Program

While the full story on my experience at the Lexus LFA Driver Development program is still a couple weeks away, Lexus Magazine has published some of my photos from the event — here’s a sample: It didn’t take long for me to start missing the LFA — I can definitely say with some certainty that …

Kevin · March 22nd, 2011

Lexus LF-Gh Concept to Debut at New York Auto Show

The rumors are true — Lexus will be unveiling a new concept at the New York Auto Show! Dubbed the LF-Gh, this concept will provide a stylized look at the next-generation GS. The current generation, which has just entered its sixth year of production, is expected to be replaced in 2012. While there’s nothing in …

Kevin · March 21st, 2011

Racing with Joe Bacal & his Lexus LX 570

Joe Bacal and his Lexus LX 570 took part in the San Felipe 250 off-road race last weekend, and while the team was unable to place in the final results, they did post some rumbling in-car video from the start of the race — I’m amazed just how close the spectators are to the track. …

Kevin · March 20th, 2011

Lexus Recreates Original LS 400 Commercial with LS 460

Welcome to the power of the Internet — after seeing a Lexus owner’s unsuccessful attempt to recreate the original Balance LS 400 commercial with his LS 460, Lexus and their ad agency Team One decided to try out the experiment themselves: There we have it, proof that the LS 460 is a worthy ancestor of …

Kevin · March 19th, 2011

Lexus USA Places Second in J.D. Power’s 2011 Vehicle Dependability Study

The 2011 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study has been released, and Lexus placed second overall, behind only Lincoln. The study looks at problems experienced during the past year by original owners of three-year-old (2008 model year) vehicles, and includes 202 different problem symptoms across all areas of the vehicle. From that, dependability is determined by …

Kevin · March 18th, 2011

Lexus LS 460 Owner Recreates Original LS 400 Commercial

Here’s a video of a Lexus LS 460 owner who decided to recreate the original “stacked champagne glasses” LS 400 commercial in his driveway — let’s all watch in absolute horror: It might have been a good idea for him to review the original commercial before setting out with his experiment: Never mind that there’s …

Kevin · March 18th, 2011

Lexus USA Tops J.D. Power’s 2011 Customer Service Survey

Lexus placed first for customer satisfaction among U.S. automotive luxury brands in J.D. Power’s annual Customer Service Index — first, here’s an explanation of what the survey covers: The study examines satisfaction among vehicle owners who visit a service department for maintenance or repair work. The CSI rankings are based on dealer performance during the …

Kevin · March 17th, 2011

Lexus LS 460 Promotional Video

A couple weeks ago, I featured a video released for the launch of the third-generation Lexus LS, and now here’s something similar for the current LS 460: I’ve seen more LS 460s & 600hLs travelling through California these last three days than the rest of my life combined, same thing with the LS 430 and …

Kevin · March 16th, 2011

Quick Impressions of the Lexus LFA Driver Development Program

Today I attended the Lexus LFA Driver Development Program at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, and while I don’t want to give away too much in advance of my Lexus Magazine article on the event, I did want to share some brief impressions. I started off the day’s driving by hitting 118mph (190km/h) on …

Kevin · March 15th, 2011

Lexus LFA Spotted in New Fast & Furious Movie Trailer

The new trailer for the latest Fast & Furious is out, and if you watch it closely enough, there’s a split-second appearance by a very special guest star around the 1:49 mark: Just in case you missed it, here’s some screenshots: Good to see there’s enough room in the LFA for a furious make-out session. …

Kevin · March 9th, 2011

Lexus LFA Donuts with Scott Pruett

Although it turned out that the previous LFA video with Scott Pruett was actually filmed at the Auto Club Speedway and not the Infineon Raceway, Lexus’ tame racing driver did log some time at the Sonoma, California racetrack during a recent Lexus owners event — in fact, he was filmed by a variety of onlookers …

Kevin · March 9th, 2011

Lexus LFA at Infineon Raceway

The Lexus LFA Driver Development Program starts tomorrow at the Infineon Raceway, and to mark the occasion, let’s watch Scott Pruett Justin Bell tackle the course using an LFA equipped with a very impressive tracking system by Video VBOX: Having the full details on LFA’s speed & steering wheel position is going to come in …

Kevin · March 8th, 2011

Joe Bacal’s Lexus LX 570 Set to Race This Weekend

Lexus USA has announced that it will be the primary sponsor of Joe Bacal and JTGrey Racing’s LX 570 as they work for their second SCORE Stock Full Championship. The full sponsorship is just reward for the dominating performance that the JTGrey Racing team turned in during the 2010 season — taking first in four …

Kevin · March 8th, 2011

Lexus Launches CT 200h Website

The Lexus CT 200h now has its very own section on the Lexus USA website, and it contains full specifications, available options, product details, and most importantly, new and highly stylized photos — here’s a sampling: Along with the more standard information pages, there’s also an additional mini-site that gives a full point-by-point 360° view …

Kevin · March 2nd, 2011

Lexus CT 200h Hybrid Commercial, Part 2

Yesterday, we saw the first three US commercials for the Lexus CT 200h, and now here’s the forth: This one is surely the most memorable of them all, especially with its similarity to Inception. Interesting to see the Fire Agate Pearl exterior paint featured so prominently, but it’s not surprising given its uniqueness. (It sure …

Kevin · March 1st, 2011

Lexus February 2011 Sales Report

USA Lexus reported total sales of 13,814 units, which essentially matches sales from last February — here are the model-by-model stats: MONTH Year to Date (*DSR) 2011 2010 % CHG* 2011 2010 % CHG* ES 2,598 2,349 10.6 4,813 5,272 -8.7 HS 183 712 -74.3 469 1,959 -76.1 LS 706 799 -11.6 1,440 1,891 -23.8 …

Kevin · March 1st, 2011

Lexus CT 200h Commercials

Let’s start Lexus CT 200h launch week with brand new commercials from Lexus USA: There’s still one commercial to be released, but these commercials are a great start — really looking forward to seeing how the CT 200h does in the USA. Update: These videos have been taken down temporarily by Lexus. Update 2: The …

Kevin · February 28th, 2011

Lexus LS 430 Commercial: Role Reversal

Watching that Lexus LS 430 promotional video today brought to mind this pretty funny commercial: Nothing beats doing donuts on a golf course in an LS 430 and then leaving it to your chauffeur to clean up the mess.

Kevin · February 28th, 2011

Candy Paint Lexus ES 300

Time to turn your speakers off and check out the sweetest Lexus ES 300 you’ll see today: That has to be the most literal interpretation of candy paint that I’ve ever seen. (Apparently, dressing your car like a Jolly Rancher can lead to police trouble.)

Kevin · February 25th, 2011

Pearl Grey Lexus LFA Photoshoot

duPont Registry photographer Chris Grosser recently had a chance to take photos of the #005 Pearl Grey Lexus LFA down in Florida, here’s a small sample of his work: Here’s the story of how the photoshoot went down: I met the owner and his wife at this year’s Naples “Cars on 5th” event that I …

Kevin · February 25th, 2011

Lexus Recall Issued for 06-07 GS 300/350, 04-07 RX & 08-11 LX 570

Lexus announced a voluntary safety recall on approximately 20,000 GS 300/350s made from 2006 to early 2007 to modify a plastic pad under the driver side carpet: In the event that the floor carpet around the accelerator pedal is not properly replaced in the correct position after a service operation, there is a possibility that …

Kevin · February 24th, 2011

Lexus IS 350C F-Sport Special Edition

Lexus USA has announced that a special edition IS 350C F Sport will be arriving in dealerships this month. Limited to just 175 units, this F-Sport equipped convertible will be available in either Obsidian or Starfire Pearl, and includes these modifications above and beyond the usual IS-C: 19-inch forged alloy wheels with dark graphite finish …

Kevin · February 21st, 2011

Black Lexus LFA at Chicago Auto Show

Ok, this clip of the black Lexus LFA at the Chicago Auto Show is off-the-charts in video quality and one of the best looks we’ve had at this color so far: I’m assuming this is the #026 LFA that belongs to the Chicago owner featured in an earlier video — regardless, it looks out-of-this-world up …

Kevin · February 21st, 2011

Interview with Troy Sumitomo from Five Axis

Lexus Magazine has published an interview I did with Five Axis president Troy Sumitomo about the Project CT, the Lexus show car that debuted at last week’s Chicago Auto Show — here’s a clip: KEVIN WATTS: I know that with the Project IS F, you were inspired by fighter jets—what did you use for inspiration …

Kevin · February 18th, 2011

Lexus USA’s Latest LFA Shipment

Like The Octane Report, Autoblog also witnessed the lastest shipment of Lexus LFAs arriving in the USA, and has put together an exceptionally detailed step-by-step of the process, along with this video: As you can tell from the first photo, three LFAs have arrived: the Pearl Blue we saw yesterday, plus another Black and White …

Kevin · February 18th, 2011

#017 Pearl Blue Lexus LFA Arrives in USA

The Pearl Blue #017 Lexus LFA has arrived in the USA, and The Octane Report was there to film its unloading: Really impressed with the interior color scheme for the most part, though I’m not quite sure about the blue leather seats: I wonder which State this LFA is destined for? [Source: The Octane Report] …

Kevin · February 17th, 2011

Paris Hilton Receives Lexus LFA for 30th Birthday

The Daily Mail is reporting that Paris Hilton has been given a yellow Lexus LFA by boyfriend Cy Waits for her 30th birthday: Can’t say I’m totally surprised, this rumor has been floating around for quite some time — though it was expected that Paris would have Passionate Pink as her exterior color. This may …

Kevin · February 16th, 2011

Lexus LFA + Rhys Millen + Supermodel = Donuts?

In collaboration with Sports Illustrated for their annual Swimsuit Issue, Lexus brought together drifting superstar Rhys Millen, a Lexus LFA, & supermodel Rianne ten Haken for some airplane hanger hoonage: Here’s the resulting photo, just in case it went by too quickly for you (click for a larger image): No matter how unlikely this whole …

Kevin · February 15th, 2011

Behind-the-Scenes with the Lexus Project CT

Here’s a great video that shows just how Five Axis built the Lexus Project CT: That paint is amazing, the color shift is out of this world. Five Axis really put together something special.

Kevin · February 14th, 2011

Lexus LFA Driver Development Program

Lexus announced today that it will be offering a full-day Lexus LFA driver development program at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, from March 8 to 15. This unique opportunity is for current LFA owners, potential LFA owners or any sports car enthusiast that wants a full day of high-performance driving behind the wheel of the …

Kevin · February 11th, 2011

Live Photos of the Lexus Project CT by Five Axis

Today was the first press day at the Chicago Auto Show, which means our first live look at the Lexus Project CT by Five Axis — here are some photos from Autoblog: I’m not sure that the photos really do the car any justice, but when you compare it with the previous Project GS & …

Kevin · February 9th, 2011

NASA: No Issues with Toyota Electronics

After a ten-month study, the USA’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) & NASA have concluded that there are no issues with Toyota & Lexus electronics that would cause unintended acceleration — from a statement by U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood: NHTSA has already identified the only two known real-world causes of high-speed unintended …

Kevin · February 9th, 2011

Black Lexus LFA Delivered in Chicago

The #026 Black Lexus LFA was delivered to its owner in the south suburbs of Chicago, and we get to meet the lucky guy in this video from local TV station WGN: It’s great to finally meet one of the LFA owners, I hope it’s something we see more of. I bet there’s a lot …

Kevin · February 8th, 2011

Lexus Dominates Intellichoice’s 2011 Best Value Awards

Intellichoice have announced their 2011 Best Overall Value of the Year Awards, and Lexus absolutely dominated the luxury segment, taking four of the nine categories — here are the winners: Premium Compact Passenger Car: 2011 Lexus IS 250 Premium Convertible: 2011 Lexus IS 250C Premium Crossover/Wagon: 2011 Lexus RX 350 Premium Full-Size SUV: 2011 Lexus …

Kevin · February 7th, 2011

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