Lexus News
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The 2011 Lexus CT 200h pretty much occupies a class of one. At the moment, it’s the sole luxury compact hybrid hatchback sold in the U.S. And it’s a dedicated hybrid, meaning there’s no gasoline-only version. If you want the compact hatch, you get the hybrid. It’s also terra incognita for Lexus, which is better known for its luxury sedans but actually sells more of its RX luxury midsize crossover utility than any other model. The unusual marketing campaign for the CT—“The Darker Side of Green”—bears witness to the brand’s goal of...
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Hybrid Hot Rods: Lexus CT 200h 'Ring Racer, Mugen Honda CR-Z Hardly Dull
Hybrid cars, often defined in the public eye by the distinctive shape of the Toyota Prius, are frequently derided as dull and no fun to drive. While the Tesla Roadster smashed the stereotype of plug-in electric cars as slow and dorky, hybrids haven't been as lucky. So here are a couple of hybrid...
John Voelcker -
Lexus Plans Performance CT 300h Hybrid For Sports Minded Consumers
Last year AllSmallCars.com took a little trip down to New Orleans to check out the prototype version of the Lexus CT 200h. Of course, we were pleasantly surprised with this entry-level luxury hybrid aimed at a younger market that is looking for upscale features with the hot-hatch image. At the time...
Jonathan McGrew -
Hybrid Lexus LS 600h Limousine Will Turn Royal Wedding Green
No, we’re not talking about the Prince William and Kate Middleton royal wedding that’s taking place this week. We’re talking about that other royal wedding, the one between Monaco’s Prince Albert II and his bride-to-be Charlene Wittstock scheduled for July 2 of this year...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2011 Lexus CT 200h: Remixed Campaign Speaks to Younger Segment
When we previewed the 2011 Lexus CT 200h in the New Orleans French Quarter last year we were pretty impressed by the direction Lexus was going. The entire car was designed to go after a younger segment—a segment that was looking for luxury, but wasn’t quite ready for the matured image...
Jonathan McGrew -
Lexus LF-Gh Hybrid Concept (New GS) Unveiled For NY Auto Show
Last week they teased it; this week, they took the covers off it. In this case, "it" is the Lexus LF-Gh Hybrid Concept car that will be the centerpiece of the Lexus display at next week's New York Auto Show. The LF-Gh concept car is a styling exercise that "sets out to redefine the premium grand...
John Voelcker -
Say "hybrid" and most U.S. buyers think Toyota, if not Toyota Prius. Indeed, the company just sold its millionth Prius in the United States, where roughly half of the 2 million Priuses it had built as of last fall have found homes since 2000. But Toyota's luxury marque Lexus also has hybrid models, including the dedicated CT 200h compact hybrid hatchback now being launched. The oldest Lexus hybrid on the market right now is the midsize GS 450h sedan, which debuted in 2006. And its time for renewal is about to come, with Lexus releasing a pair of teaser photos of a concept car it'll unveil in...
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Lexus Appeals To Tuner Scene With Project CT Hybrid Hot Hatch
Lexus has gone to great lengths to emphasize the sportiness of its upcoming hybrid hatchback, the all-new 2011 Lexus CT 200h. After previewing an F-Sport endowed concept version of the car at last year’s Sydney Motor Show, Lexus has now used this week's 2011 Chicago Auto Show to present a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Toyota Recall Recap: Floormats, Sticky Pedals, AND User Error
Let's recap. After 18 months, recalls totaling 9 million Toyota, Lexus, and Pontiac models, and investigations by Toyota, Congress, NASA, and the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) unit ... what have we learned? (1) A few accelerator pedals...
John Voelcker -
Lexus Lets Drivers Donate To Charity With Eco-Friendly Driving
Electronic driving coaches designed to promote more fuel efficient driving are nothing new and have been appearing in production cars for the past several years, mostly in hybrids but regular models too. Some memorable driving coaches include Nissan’s Eco-Pedal, which works by activating a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Hybrid Race? Yep, Lexus CT 200h Laps Before Aussie Grand Prix
The littlest Lexus, the 2011 CT 200h five-door hybrid hatchback, will start showing up at U.S. dealers over the next couple of months. It's clearly a different kind of Lexus--the perplexing "Darker Side of Green" ad campaign and its associated video proved that--but Lexus is using the new car to...
John Voelcker -
Trademark Filing Confirms Lexus ES 300h Hybrid Sedan Coming
It looks like the 2011 Lexus CT 200h isn’t the only new hybrid vehicle Lexus has in the pipeline. New filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have revealed that a hybrid version of the Lexus ES sedan is likely to be in the works, though apart from its new name we don’t have...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Whether it's the hatchback body style or the modest stats, the 2011 Lexus CT 200h hasn't yet created much buzz in the headlines. A new video, however, showing the car moving through its different phases of production at Lexus’ plant in Kyushu, Japan, may help alleviate that problem. Unlike its rivals, the CT 200h is built to Lexus’ highest standards for quality, an attribute the automaker prides itself on and one that has seen Lexus consistently recognized for having the highest quality of any automaker over the past several years. Some of the measures Lexus takes to ensure its...
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GreenCarReports Best Car To Buy 2011 Nominee: Lexus CT 200h
It's the nominee we know the least about, and in some ways the one we're most curious about. The 2011 Lexus CT 200h is a non-traditional car for Lexus, which has never before offered a compact hatchback. And after the underwhelming HS 250h sedan, it's one we didn't have high hopes for. That was...
John Voelcker -
Lexus CT 200h Defines New Market Demographic For Hybrids
Lexus has been one of those companies that the automotive industry has been watching grow by leaps and bounds since the late ‘80s. The company’s biggest gamer changer back in the early days is arguably the Lexus LS400, a car that started out being a fringe competitor with the Mercedes...
Jonathan McGrew -
DRIVEN: Lexus CT 200h—The Newest Hybrid Family Member
The Lexus CT 200h has been turning a lot of heads around the automotive industry lately as pre-production vehicles start to make the review rounds. AllSmallCars.com recently participated in one of these ride and drive reviews in the once devastated, but now blossoming city of New Orleans. What...
Jonathan McGrew -
GreenCarReports to Name "Best Car To Buy 2011"
You're probably wondering by now, "Oh, no, another 'car of the year' award?" Yep. And here's why. We write a lot about future vehicles at Green Car Reports, but we also know that many of our readers seek practical information about which cars both save gasoline and lessen their impact on our...
John Voelcker -
Toyota, Subaru Cars To Get Lighter Using Toray Carbon Fiber
Carbon fiber is seen by many in the auto industry as one of the most effective ways of reducing vehicle weight and thus improving fuel economy and emissions levels, but the relative expense of the material means that it’s still reserved for only a handful of high-end production cars. BMW has...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
The all-new 2011 Lexus CT 200h is scheduled to hit showrooms early next year complete with a 134 horsepower hybrid drivetrain and a very reasonable--for a luxury car--EPA combined fuel economy rating of 42 mpg. However, this is just the initial setup that Lexus engineers have planned for the CT 200h, according to a new report. Speaking on the sidelines of the recent 2010 Paris Auto Show, where the CT 200h made its official European debut, Lexus insiders revealed to Autocar that more powerful versions of the car are being considered. How much more powerful? One option for Lexus is using an...
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2011 Lexus CT 200h Gets 42 MPG EPA-Rated Combined Fuel Economy
Whether it's the rather bland styling or the underwhelming stats, the 2011 Lexus CT 200h hasn't achieved much in creating buzz in the headlines. In fairness, hybrid power, low emissions and claims of high fuel efficiency don’t mean much without the all important EPA-rated fuel economy figures...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2011 Lexus CT 200h: How Many Modes Does It Take To Drive A Hybrid?
When I think of power modes, I really think of the ‘80s and ‘90s. I can remember the 300ZX having multiple suspension modes and the introduction of the new Maxima having Power, Comfort and a combination setting (basically changed the shift points and timing). The selectable...
Jonathan McGrew -
2011 Lexus CT 200h Shows Hybrids Can Be Sporty Too
The 2011 Honda CR-Z was meant to be the car that showed hybrids could be sporty as well as green, but sadly, its lowly 122 horsepower and dismal 0-60 times meant it was never going to be taken seriously in performance circles. Fortunately, there’s another hybrid vehicle on the horizon that may...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Only One Hybrid Car Pays Back Its Owners; Know Which One?
One of the criticisms of hybrid cars has historically been that there's no payback, especially given the cheap gasoline prices in the U.S. The extra money you spend on a hybrid isn't returned in gas savings, say critics. Well, that may be true, especially when regular gasoline is averaging $2.77 a...
John Voelcker -
Want a 2012 Lexus LFA? Better Watch the Auction Block
Toyota Says All 500 Copies To Be Build Are Pre-sold
Jonathan McGrew