Toyota Camry Pictures

Toyota's sudden-acceleration woes are far from over as the company will have to face three trials in federal court in Santa Ana, California.

The first case is the one concerning the death of two people in Utah, which was dismissed 10 days ago due to a lack of jurisdiction. US District Judge James V. Selna reinstated the lawsuit today after the victims’ families re-filled their claims against Toyota. The trial is set for February 19, 2013.

The second case, for claims of economic loss due to unintended acceleration, is scheduled for July 2013 and the third, a wrongful death incident, will take place in November 2013.

All three cases will test evidence and liability issues and are expected to set a precedent for both sides, since many more lawsuits against Toyota are sure to follow.

The Japanese automaker says that there is no ground for common treatment of economic loss class-action lawsuits. Toyota spokeswoman Celeste Migliore stated: “We are confident that no common class of litigants exists and that plaintiffs are not entitled to individual or class-wide relief.”

Migliore added that, “the plaintiffs still have not identified any supposed defect in Toyota’s electronic control system and they have advanced no reliable scientific theory or proof to support any such defect claim in any Toyota vehicle, much less in all of them. With no defect, there can be no class.”

Story References: Bloomberg News

Lexus, Lexus LF-A, Lexus Videos, Nurburgring, Racing, Reports, Video

It takes a lot of confidence to name a special edition of your car after the most demanding and famous circuit in the world. Even if said car is not some run-of-mill model, but a limited edition supercar. Enter the world of the LFA Nürburgring Edition, a track-oriented, hardcore version of the already awesome V10-powered Lexus supercar.

According to Tweets from Lexus Europe, the LFA lapped the Nordschleife in 7 minutes and 14 seconds making it the fourth fastest production car on the 'Ring (according to Wikipedia's record book).

This happened during a customer meeting between September 1-2, and the brave and obviously very competent driver behind the wheel was Lexus test driver Akira Iida.

Lexus said it will soon post a video of the record breaking run, but for now, take a look at a few videos of the Japanese supercar running around the 'Ring including the LFA’s previous fast lap of the ‘Ring.

Just bear in mind that Iida-San’s lap time was a full 8.85 seconds faster than that the previous fastest lap recorded in the LFA.

Story Sources: Lexus via LexusEnthusiast

MW expanded its sales lead from the beginning of the year with a 12% increase, delivering 155,929 units

BMW continues to expand its lead in the US luxury car market against its main rivals Mercedes-Benz and Lexus. August was the fifth consecutive month in which the Munich-based carmaker was at the top spot with 20,815 deliveries, an increase of 6.5% compared to the same month of 2010.

On the contrary, Mercedes’ sales decreased by 1.9% in August, to 18,477 units while Lexus, which still suffers from the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake, dropped even more, by 7% to 18,103 cars. Thus, it is almost certain that, after 11 years at the top, Lexus will be relegated to second or perhaps even third place among luxury car manufacturers.

“This has been a very strange August for our industry, with both difficult news and unfortunate events –consumer confidence down and an earthquake, hurricanes and floods in the Northeast”, said head of BMW North America, Jim O’Donnell.

Despite this, BMW expanded its sales lead from the beginning of the year with a 12% increase, delivering 155,929 units. Its August sales were boosted considerably by the 41% increase in 5-Series deliveries and by the new X3, which almost tripled its sales, from 892 cars in 2010 to 2,382 this year.

Mercedes-Benz' year-to-date sales have also increased, albeit at half the rate (6.1%) to 148,409 units and Lexus, as we said, faced a sharp decrease of 17% to 120,652 cars.

Analysts, such as TrueCar’s Jesse Torpak, comment that the increased incentive spending has also contributed to BMW’s rise: “They are being aggressive: $299 a month for a 3-Series versus what you’re going to get for an Accord? Of course you’re going to get a BMW. It is selling down its inventory before offering a new version next year, as well as trying to secure the sales race victory over Mercedes.”

Story source: Bloomberg

PHOTO GALLERY

2013 Lexus GS 350

The new GS features much bolder lines that its predecessor. Key highlights include a prominent trapezoidal grille that the company says will be a trademark of all future models, deep-set headlamps with L-shaped LED daytime running lights and an aerodynamic body that brings to mind the smaller IS.

Lexus Audi A6 and Mercedes-Benz E-Class challenger is underpinned by a revised platform that is more rigid thanks to the increased number of spot welds as well as laser welds in specific locations. 


The engineers also redesigned the suspension, which features aluminum upper, and lower control arms for reduced unsprung weight and an updated rear subframe that supports a new multilink suspension.

The mid-size sedan also features wider tracks (+40 mm up front and +50 mm at the rear) and different shock absorbers with lighter-viscosity oil, allowing for faster response to small driver inputs. Braking is taken care of ventilated discs all around with four-piston calipers up front.
In Europe, Lexus will offer the entry level GS 250 (we presume equipped with the IS's 2.5-liter V6 as the company did not reveal any specific details) and a GS 450h full-hybrid version, whereas in the US the line-up will include the GS 350 and the GS 450h. 


The North American market GS 350 is motivated by a 3.5-liter V6 generating 306-horsepower and 277-pound-feet of torque, enough to propel the premium sedan from 0 to 60mph (96km/h) in 5.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 142mph (228 km/h). Acceleration from 30 to 50 mph takes 3.0 seconds. The V6 engine is linked to a six-speed sequential shift automatic transmission with paddle shifters and sport driving functions as standard equipment. 


Lexus will offer the GS 350 in both rear-wheel and all-wheel drive versions. According to the Japanese automaker, the optional electronically controlled all-wheel-drive system can vary front-to-rear torque balance from 50/50 to as much as 30/70, depending on driving conditions.
Although its dimensions are almost identical to the outgoing model, the new Lexus GS offers improved space in the cabin, while boot capacity has been increased by 25%. Entry and exit are made easier thanks to wider door openings and the redesigned seat frame and steering column give the driver better visibility as well as increased comfort.


The dashboard’s design bears no relation to that of the outgoing GS, with the styling clearly inspired from the LF-A sportscar.
It features cleaner lines while highlights include the extra-large touchscreen (up to 12.3 inches) and the relocated controls for the audio (a 17-speaker Mark Levinson, if you tick the options box) and climate system. The latter uses a new, energy saving technology called S-Flow with an occupant-detection system to direct airflow only to the front area where passengers are actually seated.


In this class, a multimedia all-in-one control system is practically compulsory and the new GS has its own “next generation Remote Touch with one-push confirmation” as standard for “intuitive operation of climate, audio and phone controls as well as the navigation system” (Lexus’ words, not ours…).
In terms of safety, the new GS features a huge array of both passive and active safety features. There are 10 airbags in total, including knee ones for both driver and front passenger and side airbags for rear passengers.
The new GS can be equipped with a pre-collision system that uses the radar cruise control system to detect a probable accident and an infrared camera that monitors the driver’s eyes. If it detects that he is not looking forward when road circumstances suggest that an accident is probable, it sounds an alarm. If the driver doesn’t respond the system will automatically activate the brakes, reducing the severity of the impact.


Lexus said that it will also offer an F-Sport Package with styling and chassis upgrades.
According to the Japanese company, GS production will start in December with the first cars arriving in showrooms in February. 

Renault Wind Roadster and Lexus CT Video

Selling a car through advertising isn’t as easy as you might think. What good is it showing your product nimbly taking on Alpine twists and turns when your competitors are doing the same thing? Here are two ads that don’t really break the mould, but try something a little different.

First up is this one for the open-top Renault Wind. I’m a big fan of this car; I think it’s a funky and decidedly French take on the compact convertible. Still, there’s something disturbingly I Am Legend about this particular ad from the firm Publicis Conseil. The eerily vacant streets, the shuttered windows and the presence of a dog sitting on a street corner all at up to the expectation that Will Smith should be running through the scene pursued by monsters.

Next is the spot for the Lexus CT 200h hybrid hatch by firm Saatchi & Saatchi. A little boy sits in the back seat while his mother asks him the sounds various modes of transport make. It’s very cute, especially if you have children. You can check out both these ads right here and then leave a comment in the section below if you wish.

Lexus CT200h Debut at the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit

The Lexus CT200h compact hybrid will debut in racing car guise at an endurance race this weekend at the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit. Entered by Gazoo Racing, the same organization that races the Lexus LFA, the CT200h will compete in the Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy. Around 200 cars will line up at the start of the six hour-race.

The Gazoo Racing CT features the Japanese automaker’s Lexus Hybrid Drive, but has a larger capacity 2.4-liter petrol engine instead of the factory 1.8-liter unit for better performance. At start-up and during braking, the car uses only the electric motor, consuming no fuel and therefore producing zero emissions. The internal combustion engine takes over at higher speeds, with the electric motor providing extra power under acceleration and at racing speeds.

The race car shares with the road-going CT200h the batteries and hybrid system, with the latter selecting the most appropriate power sources and capturing energy through regenerative braking to charge the battery so that the electric motor never runs out of juice.

According to Lexus, the Gazoo Racing CT requires less fuel and emits less CO2 and NOx gases than any equivalent petrol or diesel race car it will compete with. The car will be entered in the SP4 Class and will be driven by three experienced pilots: Kumi Sato, Masahiko Kageyama and Minoru Takaki.

PHOTO GALLERY