2017 Lexus LS - a sneak peek coming in tomorrow's article

All-new Lexus luxury flagship redesign to be unveiled in 2017. All Lexus takes a sneak peek in tomorrow's article.

Lexus is keeping the lid tight on their uber-luxurious flagship but we've managed to get a preview of what it might look like. Will it evolve the spindle grille with a more menacing front end presence? Will Lexus embark on a new design language? How will it compete against the hugely successful Mercedes S class and newly-released BMW 7 series? 

Find out in tomorrow's article.

All Lexus

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Top 10 Fastest Lexus of all time

Lexus LFA supercar hits 0-60 in 3.8 seconds - but there's another Lexus that might just smoke it. What is it?

The titular question is not the most obvious that comes to mind. Whilst everyone can guess correctly that the fastest Lexus is the Lexus LFA, few actually know which Lexus model comes right after that. So I decided to find out and below is the fruit of this Sunday endeavour.

Unsurprisingly, there is a correlation between the horsepower produced by an engine, and the time it takes for the car to catapult to 60 mph. 

What is surprising is that the sixth fastest Lexus ever made is a hybrid. Who'd have thought, ten or twenty years ago, a car made to sip fuel as economically as possible, to be as kind to the environment as possible, could also do 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds. That's Aston Martin DB7 territory and faster than a Ferrari-breathing Maserati Quattroporte! 

Mind you, again with the exception of the Lexus LFA, all of the fastest Lexus are true four seaters, not 2 +2 grand coupes. 

So what are the top 10 fastest Lexus? You'll find them below. Is it ever possible to make a Lexus faster than the LFA? Scroll below to find out. 

Top 10 Fastest Lexus of all time

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What Car? names Lexus IS 300h the most efficient executive car

Lexus Hybrid Drive beats rival BMW, Mercedes and Audi to deliver outstanding real-world 59.6mpg 

And the hits just keep on coming. Leading motoring publication What Car? has named the Lexus IS 300h the most efficient executive car, beating out rivals from BMW, Mercedes and Audi in a combined cycle test. In brief, every car manufacturer publishes official mpg figures but these are dependent upon absolutely perfect laboratory conditions. Real world mpg is an entirely different proposition. To find out, What Car? despatched a team of drivers to subject competing executive cars across a multitude of road conditions: highway cruising and city crawls to find out what mileage you're most likely to get under realistic scenarios. At the end of this lengthy test, the Lexus IS 300h came out tops.

The results are:

1. Lexus IS 300h (Winner)

    Official: 64.2 mpg; True: 59.6 mpg

2. Mercedes Benz C300 Hybrid

    Official: 78.5 mpg; True: 57.8 mpg

3. BMW 320d Efficient Dynamics

    Official: 68.9 mpg; True: 56.0 mpg

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10 Reasons why Lexus vehicles are the best in the world

Behind-the-scenes: How is a Lexus made?

Yesterday, we looked at 25 world-first innovations pioneered by Lexus - engineering marvels manufactured in the name of passenger safety, driver comfort or pedestrian aid. Today, we take a look at the other side of vehicle production to find out how a Lexus is made. Most automotive companies keep their manufacturing processes a closely-guarded secret. They can't risk having rivals copy patents and jeopardise their product differentiation. Here we give you a rare behind-the-scenes insight into engineering and production techniques at Lexus that are so complex, and at times so intricate, and mostly so time-consuming, it can be credibly said no other car in the world is made like a Lexus. 

With the exception of the Lexus V10 LFA supercar - which is largely hand-built - the 'Hard Way' processes, benchmarks and standards of production cuts across the entire Lexus fleet, and that includes the CT, ES, IS, NX, RX, GS, LS and LX models. Every Lexus exceeds even the most stringent standards known to the automotive industry.

Here are the 10 reasons Lexus cars are the best vehicles in the world, explained by the renowned Paul Williamsen of Lexus. If anyone knows Lexus, it's him. So I'll let him do the talking in these videos:

1. CAT-scanning every Lexus engine

"We took a deliberate route, a more difficult route perhaps, of CAT-scanning 100 percent - every single engine block - to ensure we're looking at the inside of every engine and that it's a Lexus quality engine." - Paul Williamsen

2. All Lexus vehicles have a cylinder block that is cast in aluminium

"Rather than pour molten aluminium into a mould from the top, we actually use a vacuum and draw the molten aluminium from the bottom. This gives us more consistent cast aluminium in every engine block we make." - Paul Williamsen

3. Measuring to the 1/1000th of a millimetre

"If one of the pistons is too heavy, if the dimensions are 1/1000 of a millimetre off, if one of the connected rods is too light, we'll scrap the engine, we'll disassemble it, we'll tear it down and recycle the parts and start all over again rather than trying to fix it." - Paul Williamsen

4. Sharpening the senses of even the most highly-skilled craftsmen

"The paint inspector undergoes re-certification four times a year. You compare that to pilots who have to re-certify every two years, a lawyer every three years or a medical specialist every seven years - we're re-certifying our paint people four times a year to make sure they've still got the visual acuity looking for what we need them to look at." - Paul Williamsen

5. Delivering on a promise of staggering performance

"We had to invent a loom - a special type of weaving machine - that didn't exist before" - Paul Williamsen

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Forbes: Lexus one of the world's most valuable brands

Forbes Magazine reports Lexus the fastest growing manufacturer among the top luxury brands

With a market capitalisation of US$8 billion, Forbes ranks Lexus number 66 of the world's most valuable brands. Lexus was first introduced to North America in 1990, where it quickly catapulted to the top of the sales charts. As of 2015, on the back of operations in over countries, sales have exceeded US$18 billion. Lexus consistently tops J.D. Power & Associates annual study for the most reliable cars.

Original source: http://www.forbes.com/companies/lexus/

All Lexus 

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25 Lexus World Firsts - You saw it here first

Lexus innovations that have changed the automotive world

When Lexus premiered in the automotive landscape in 1990, the then-unknown Japanese car marker slammed a sledgehammer against established German marques. For the first time, buyers were given something they never had before: A car that would combine refined levels of luxury and brisk performance with unsurpassed reliability and customer-oriented service.

A quarter of century has passed since Lexus rolled out its first model, the LS400. In honour of 25 years Lexus has dedicated themselves to the pursuit of perfection, here we celebrate 25 innovative technologies that were world-first features. 

1. Full hybrid V8 powertrain

The Lexus LS 600h was the world’s first full hybrid V8 at launch in 2007.

2. Climate Concierge system

The Climate Concierge system fitted to the current-generation LS 600h is a world-first climate control technology. It uses infra-red sensors to monitor the facial temperature of everyone on board and adjusts the temperature of each zone accordingly.

3. Satellite navigation system as standard

The European-specification LS 400 of 1998 was the first car in the world to have satellite navigation fitted as standard.

4. Torque-Vectoring Differential

The Lexus RC F is the first front engine/rear-wheel drive sports car to feature a Torque-Vectoring Differential. It uses a series of multi-plate clutches to distribute torque between the rear wheels.

5. Clari-Fi™ premium sound system

The Lexus NX 300h Premier marries a Mark Levinson Premium sound system with Clari-Fi™ – a technology that analyses and improves the audio quality of all types of compressed, digital music sources.

6. Rear-wheel drive luxury hybrid vehicle

Lexus engineered the world’s first mass-produced rear-wheel drive luxury hybrid vehicle, the GS 450h in 2007.

7. Eight-speed automatic transmission

The 2006 Lexus LS 460 debuted the world’s first eight-speed automatic transmission.

8. Dedicated hybrid powertrain manufacturing plant

The Lexus Kokura plant in Japan is the world’s first and only dedicated hybrid manufacturing facility. The assembly line has a positive air pressure system to prevent airborne particles from contaminating any of the hybrid powertrain components.

9. Twin-chamber front passenger airbag

In 2005, the second-generation Lexus IS became the first car in the world to be fitted with a twin-chamber front passenger airbag, designed to deliver greater protection to the neck and shoulders in an impact.

10. Switchable air suspension

Switchable air suspension debuted on the 2000 model year Lexus LS 430. The system maintains vehicle ride height at a specified level regardless of the number of passengers or load level. It can be raised by 20mm for uneven roads and is automatically lowered at high speeds to improve aerodynamics.

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A big shout out to my readers

Thank you guys, you rock!

A big shout out to my readers. This blog is still new but already there's been so much support from readers all over the world! You have come to this blog from the US, Malaysia, Brazil, Ukraine, Singapore, Cambodia, Saudi and Azerbaijan. I never expected it to go this far but thank you, everyone! You guys are my inspiration and source of strength and I promise you, I will continue to do my best to be your trusted source of all Lexus news. Please keep coming to this site for more Lexus news and if you have suggestions of what you'd like to know about, do let me know in the comments below. Love you all and thank you so much!

Cheers!

All Lexus

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Remembering retro icons: The Lexus SC400

Driving it, anyone can feel 'like a Grand Prix star' - Jeremy Clarkson

Raise your hands if you remember the Lexus SC400.

It had a smooth architecture so velvety only the winds of time could sculpt it. Interestingly, the reality wasn't far off. In the early 1990s, Lexus designers Erwin Lui and Denis Campbell at Calty Design Research in California were given the task to imagine what a grand tourer coupe as a counterpoint to the wildly successful LS400 would look like. But the problem was, design softwares at the time were rudimentary and just could not cope with fluid shapes. 

They went back to the drawing table and reinvented the way a car should be designed: They took balloons and filled it with plaster and allowed the shape to grow organically. Here, Erwin Lui (who would mastermind the final shape), carves the plaster-filled balloons.

The advantage of this approach was that designers could see the shape evolve in tiny increments from their own hands and through their very own eyes. Like Michaelangelo taking a chisel to a slab of marble, they peeled the lines of the SC400 out of plaster.

And the results were astonishing. 

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Lexus introduces all-new RX350, RX450h and R200t for 2016

Great news, Cheshire types. The King of luxury crossover SUVs is back. For 2016, Lexus launches the all-new RX line which is the undisputed best-seller of the Lexus range, shifting well over 100,000 units a year (the ES range comes a close second, shifting around 76,000 units a year). The LS may be the top of the range, but there is no denying the importance of the RX: This model alone almost outsells BMW's entire SUV line-up - the X1, X3 and X5 combined. That's how important the RX is. They have to get this right.

First off, the looks. Immediately, there is a family resemblance with the NX. But in my opinion, the RX looks even more breathtaking as it borrows the crisp, edgy and chiselled character of its younger sibling and evolved it, rehashed it, reimagined it with new aesthetic maturity. In doing so, the 2016 Lexus RX should be successful in scoring a hat trick: To retain the admiration of its loyal Lexus fanbase and broaden its appeal to drivers who haven't owned yet a Lexus. This new design language - it will do the trick.

Let's get to the technicality later. First, some pictures of the all-new Lexus RX and we begin with the money shot (please guys, don't drool on my page):

The design stays true to the new Lexus visual language, but you can see they have smoothened out the creases on the sides, which run from the front lights, to the wheel arches and back over the edge to the rear just below the C pillar which tapers off nicely to blend with the rear lights. Good job, Lexus! 

Don't you just love the front snout? As Lexus churns out new models, the spindle grille first seen on the CT200h has grown sharper, deeper, snarlier. This iteration (along with the current IS-F) is to me one of the nicest front ends ever to grace the marque.

But the best part of all is the disappearing C-pillar. The main crumple structure is hidden by careful application of black glass so that the C-pillar tapers off in a bold, angular way - which reduces visual 'bulk.' It's the first disappearing C-pillar from among the breed of large cross over SUVs and I'll bet you other manufacturers are thinking now, "Why didn't we do that?" Next, we step inside... 

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Malaysian beauties at local launch of all-new 2016 Lexus RX350 and R200t

Malaysian beauties at local launch of all-new 2016 Lexus RX350 and R200t

Meanwhile, during the Malaysian launch of the all-new 2016 Lexus RX, even the human models gave the car models a run for their money...

(I do not own these pictures. They belong to paultan.org)

All Lexus

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What owners say about their Lexus IS250 (Infographics)

What owners say about their Lexus IS250 (Infographics)

This is a fun one. I've compiled a list of statistical facts about ownership experiences of the Lexus IS250... but you don't want it in long-winded, dreary, wordy form, do you? Instead, I thought the information could be better presented as an infographic. 

Don't pictures make it easier to understand the whole... (erm... struggling for a synonym here)... picture? 

Enjoy

All Lexus

(Credits to carsurvey.org for the statistics) 

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Do you remember this Lexus commercial from 1989?

Do you remember this Lexus commercial from 1989?

I was troving through the net and found this tv commercial to introduce the first ever Lexus to North America. At the time, Americans who were in the market for a large luxury barge had very few choices to consider: the teutonic Mercedes S Class, BMW 7 Series... and not much else. The Audi A8 wasn't much of a player back then.

Lexus changed the American automotive landscape with the luxurious LS400 that made it's way into American hearts in 1989. Lexus proved that even a large sedan could be reliable, comfortable and more of a gentleman's choice than what the Germans had to offer.

So Lexus commissioned New York-based Saatchi & Saatchi, who came up with this commercial:

Do you remember this ad? I was still a teenager back in 1989 and remember this ad so clearly. As a kid, I thought to myself, "How on earth did they get the champagne flutes to stick together without falling into a million shards of glass?"Honestly, the naive kid in me thought there must be some camera trickery, that what was not shown behind the scenes was some ad man boffin who superglued the pyramid.

(How wrong I was... only years later when I owned my first Lexus did I realise, this was no gimmick)

David Wager, then-President of Saatchi & Saatchi - the agency commissioned by Lexus - said, "We're trying to make the car look like art." The way this ad burned into collective consciousness it's fair to say, result.

For those of you who are still somewhat sceptical about the authenticity of this commercial, the next video would probably lay to rest your doubts (oh ye of little faith :-) ).

In 2011, youtube blogger LexusVehicles decided to recreate the iconic champagne glass Lexus commercial with a 22 year old LS400 - to see if it was still up to the task. First, though, they pitched it against the current model LS460 (perhaps to ensure it carried the same DNA as its predecessor).

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What I loved most about the IS250 - Voice Command

What I loved most about the IS250

For a junior-executive car, the tech-laden 2005-2012 IS250 had levels of equipment that even rivals one class up (like the BMW 5 series or Mercedes E class of its time) could not match. 

One of the things I loved about the IS250 was just how much the voice command could control. See that button with the human and a speech tones appearing out of his mouth? Oooh I loved that button so much!

Press that button, and the Lexus voice system will prompt you: "After the beep, please say a command."

Let's ignore her gorgeous voice for now, yeah? :-) 

At this point, the question doesn't become what can you control, but what can't you control? Lol.

DVD - check

Tuner - check

Navigation - of course

Switch on the aircon - now this I had't seen before! Like, wow! I could switch on the aircon just by using my voice? Hallelujah!

Raise or lower temperature - that too! "Lower temperature" or "raise temperature" moves the thermostat up or down by 2 degrees Celcius. That's just so cool.

And when you're done with that and just want a bit of silence in the car (something the IS delivers in spades by the way), you can turn off the entire sound system:

Switch off or on sound system - "Audio off" or "Audio on"

How could anyone not love what the Lexus does for you! Did I leave anything out from the list of voice commands?

Cheers! 

All Lexus

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Welcome to All Lexus

Welcome to All Lexus.

1. I've decided to start blogging about one of the most amazing car makers in the world, Lexus.

2. Lexus, compared to BMW and Mercedes, it an extremely unique company for the way the business is run. This is apparent in the engineering of the car, the fastidious attention to detail invested in every model and the almost obsessive pursuit of perfection.

3. Lexus consistently tops the JD Power dependability as the most dependable automotive brand. For me, this is an important consideration when buying a car. 

4. Having been a fan of Lexus for several years, in 2012 I bought an IS250. It was draped in bronze-gold metallic paint. This particular model was the SE-L, which in Lexus speak, is top of the range. It had all the gizmos; of course, if you're buying a Lexus, you need to get it with all the whistles and bells.

5. Over the next few days, I'll write more about this particular model, the one I had, and why it meant so much to me. For now, enjoy these pictures!

All Lexus.

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