Car News Articles

Lexus will relaunch the IS compact exec with a facelifted version in autumn 2008. Expect to see the new saloon in the third quarter, which points to an unveiling at the Paris motor show 2008. 

This isn’t a big facelift, with only some minor visual tweaks centering on the front end – hence the disguise around this prototype’s snout. It’s the sort of facelift where the indicators move to the door mirrors, that sort of minor detail shuffling.

Lexus IS facelift: the new engines

Lexus will also revise the range structure, with a simpler model ladder and we hear the current range of engines (a 2.5- and 5.0-litre petrol, plus 2.2-litre turbodiesel) will be only lightly revised.

Although every other Lexus model range now includes a hybrid, there are no plans for a petrol-electric IS just yet. However, CAR Online understands that a folding hard-top IS convertible is very much on the cards.

The IS is the mainstay of Lexus’s UK range, selling around 8000 units a year. Expect prices to stick close to today’s range of £24,000 to £51,000 for the madcap IS-F.

Click here to see CAR Online’s video of the IS-F in action against the BMW M3 saloon and Mercedes C63 AMG.

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I’m a sucker for fuel-efficient, moderately-sized-yet-totally-spacious, attractive-looking cars. The 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid delivers on all fronts. That’s a good thing, because with high gas prices, a budget to stick to, a wild toddler, a new baby on the way, a dog, a husband, a personal belief that style matters, and lots of accessories to tote around, I need all the vehicular help I can get.

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First, this was an easy call. Commodity costs have jumped significantly in the last year, eating into Toyota’s– and everyone else’s– profits. Second, as the new world leader, ToMoCo is best positioned to pass on those costs. Quoted by Automotive News [sub] CEO Carlos Ghosn admitted as much. “It’s very, very difficult to move in a market without somehow the leader of the market (making a) move.” Third, you gotta read between the lines here. “Our basic principle is to continue to work on cost reductions within the company first,” said Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco. “But we won’t be able to avoid thinking about price hikes in the future considering a recent jump in raw materials costs.” How… inscrutable. As I reported in General Motors Death Watch 182, here’s real deal: Toyota wants to see what happens to the other guys– specifically GM– before upping its profits. “We’ll make a final decision after evaluating April-June sales and production costs,” a “top Toyota official” told The Nikkei business daily. 

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Eric Peters’ blog at the National Motorists Association explores efforts to make breathalyzers mandatory on all U.S vehicles. Peters zeros-in on the Driver Alcohol Detection System For Safety (DADSS), a $10m taxpayer-funded partnership between the  industry-funded Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. DADSS is hot for new, “less intrusive” breathalyzers; specifically gizmos that measure blood alcohol content (BAC) through the driver’s skin (via steering wheel-mounted sensors). While acknowledging America’s 9k annual drunk driving deaths, Peters is not pleased at the prospect of treating every motorist like a convicted drunk driver, He’s also displeased that consumers would be expected to shoulder the additional costs of this new “standard equipment.” More proof that freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.

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OK, OK, enough with the Yakov Smirnov references. China is no more communist than, say, California. And its vehicle sales prove it. With already-strong demand for passenger vehicles growing by 15 percent this year, Xinhua reports that Chinese automakers are set to sell 10m cars during 2008. According to information from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), the demand is partly a product of falling car prices; a trend under threat from high steel costs. Moreover, as its car market matures, the Chinese government is poised to “move forward the industry restructuring by detailing standards on security, environment protection and energy saving,” according to CAAM vice-chair Dong Yang. “We should keep a clear mind of the overall industry competence lagged behind that of the multi-national companies.” Bringing domestically-produced Chinese cars up to international snuff will doubtless prove difficult. As the Chinese market matures and regulatory barriers to ownership increase, sales growth should level off. At some point, the People will bias the market towards home-grown products. Until then, it’s double-digit growth as usual.

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Forty or fifty years ago, every manufacturer built concept cars with alternative– and sometimes pretty outlandish– power plants (small nuclear reactor, anyone?). The gas turbine was a popular choice. GM, Ford and Chrysler were all deeply involved in gas turbine research, stretching back to the late ’40s and early ’50s. In 1963, Chrysler built a fleet of 50 distinctively-styled turbine-powered cars and gave them to consumers to generate real-world feedback. Turbine engines were the wave of the future– a technologically-advanced powerplant that could run on anything combustible that would flow through a pipe, from kerosene to perfume. Chrysler’s test program racked-up over 1.1m miles. They continued turbine engine research until the mid 70s, when they actually planned to put a turbine into production. Then, suddenly, nothing. Chrysler’s financial problems led to government loan guarantees that included stipulations that they abandon plans to produce turbines (too risky). GM and Ford had long-since been distracted by other shiny objects like rotary engines and winning LeMans. So turbine engine research halted. With all the emphasis now on alternative fuels, perhaps it’s time to revive an engine that can run on hydrogen, biofuels, petroleum distillates or even coal dust. Combined with modern engine-control technology, it could be worth a second look. Or not.

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Forty or fifty years ago, every manufacturer built concept cars with alternative– and sometimes pretty outlandish– power plants (small nuclear reactor, anyone?). The gas turbine was a popular choice. GM, Ford and Chrysler were all deeply involved in gas turbine research, stretching back to the late ’40s and early ’50s. In 1963, Chrysler built a fleet of 50 distinctively-styled turbine-powered cars and gave them to consumers to generate real-world feedback. Turbine engines were the wave of the future– a technologically-advanced powerplant that could run on anything combustible that would flow through a pipe, from kerosene to perfume. Chrysler’s test program racked-up over 1.1m miles. They continued turbine engine research until the mid 70s, when they actually planned to put a turbine into production. Then, suddenly, nothing. Chrysler’s financial problems led to government loan guarantees that included stipulations that they abandon plans to produce turbines (too risky). GM and Ford had long-since been distracted by other shiny objects like rotary engines and winning LeMans. So turbine engine research halted. With all the emphasis now on alternative fuels, perhaps it’s time to revive an engine that can run on hydrogen, biofuels, petroleum distillates or even coal dust. Combined with modern engine-control technology, it could be worth a second look. Or not.

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Right, show one’s out of the way, the BBC switchboard is busy fielding the complaints, the British police are urgently reviewing their police car policy, and everyone’s sold their Prius and bought an M3.

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