A Deeper Look at Lexus USA’s 2009 Sales

Bloomberg has published a revealing look at the US Lexus auto sales and how it’s affecting Toyota’s bottom line: U.S. Lexus sales shrank 27 percent in Toyota’s fiscal year that ended March 31, versus a combined 23 percent drop for Toyota and Scion models. While the premium line accounts for 12 percent of Toyota’s overall …
Kevin · April 17th, 2009

Lexus GS Passionate Black Interior Now Available in North America!

In what could only be described as “my dreams come true”, Lexus USA and Canada have started offering the Passionate Black interior on select models of the GS! This unique blood red & black interior color combination was first seen in a Japan-only limited edition of 500 models—here are some more photos: In Canada, the …
Kevin · April 16th, 2009

Auto Guide Reviews the Lexus IS F-Sport Performance Parts

Auto Guide has put together a review of the F-Sport performance accessories available for the Lexus IS 350, and came away impressed with the results—here are some of their observations: We did note the sexy new timbre to the motor’s voice [due to the F-Sport intake & exhaust], however. Tipping the throttle produces an aggressive, …
Kevin · April 16th, 2009

Javier Quiros Racing the Lexus IS-F @ Nürburgring

This is just plain wild—here’s Javier Quiros, one of the drivers of the recent Lexus LFA race win and owner of a Lexus dealership in Costa Rica, piloting an IS-F around Nürburgring on a practice run: Crazy how you can almost feel the downshifts, especially with that rough audio blip. An interesting perspective, it also …
Kevin · April 15th, 2009

New Lexus LX 570 Print Ads from Australia

Took a second for me to figure out these new Australia print ads for the Lexus LX 570, be sure to click on the images for a larger version: These remind me of the previously featured LX 570 print ads from last year. [Source: Pixel Blog]
Kevin · April 14th, 2009

Jeremy Clarkson Reviews the Lexus IS 250

In a comment on my last post, TLE reader Jay wanted to know if the current Lexus IS had ever made it onto the Top Gear show. The answer, it turns out, is “No” (though their magazine counterpart did name it the Best Executive/Luxury Car in 2005). Later on, I found something much more interesting—in …
Kevin · April 14th, 2009

Classic Top Gear: 1999 Lexus IS 200 Review

In keeping with the IS theme from yesterday, here’s a throwback Top Gear segment from 1999, with James May test-driving the first-generation Lexus IS 200: James May certainly looks quite young—but still exhibits that special “Captain Slow” driving style. It does sound like IS 200 suffered the same sort of low-band power deficiency that I …
Kevin · April 13th, 2009

2009 Lexus IS 250 AWD Review

The Lexus IS has a special place in my heart. It was the first Lexus I ever drove, back in 2000. It was my birthday, and my future-wife surprised me with a lengthy test drive of a yellow first-generation IS 300, courtesy of Performance Lexus in St. Catharines. I had only just received my driver’s …
Kevin · April 12th, 2009