2007 Lexus Es350 Base Sedan 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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Lexus RC F GT3 will compete in IMSA SportsCar Championship

Lexus will field its new RC F GT3 in the GT Daytona class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. GTD is the lowest of the four classes of which the series is comprised, equivalent to the FIA's GT3 class. The team is owned by Trans-Am champion Paul Gentilozzi and his partners, and it's based out of East Lansing, MI. It will contest only a handful of races this season, though the schedule was not announced. The plan is to expand into a "multi-car effort" for 2017. Driving duties will be shared by the previously announced Scott Pruett and the newly signed Sage Karam. Both drivers were recently released from their contracts with Chip Ganassi Racing, for which Pruett drove in NASCAR and Karam in the IndyCar Series. He won the Indy Lights title in 2013 and impressed with a third-place finish last year in Iowa. This year's IMSA SportsCar calendar kicked off this weekend at Daytona, and will head next to Sebring in mid-March, Long Beach in mid-April, Laguna Seca in early May, and Detroit in early June. July will see races at Watkins Glen, Mosport, and Lime Rock, followed by rounds at Road America and VIR in August. The seasons concludes at Austin in September and Road Atlanta at the beginning of October. LEXUS TO COMPETE IN IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP AND F PERFORMANCE RACING ANNOUNCES SAGE KARAM AS DRIVER TORRANCE, Calif., Jan. 29, 2016 -- Lexus and their F Performance Racing group have reached an agreement with the International Motor Sports Association to campaign the RC F GT3 in the IMSA Weather Tech SportsCar Championship. The agreement gives the Japanese Luxury automaker a presence in the GT Daytona (GTD) class race series through the 2018 season. "We are excited to reach this agreement with IMSA to campaign the RC F GT3 at such a high level. Our hope is to build a strong foundation for the new F Performance Racing organization during 2016 season, seizing the opportunity to develop the team and the race vehicle in anticipation of the multi-car effort during the 2017 season," said Jeff Bracken Group Vice President and General Manager, Lexus division. Additionally, F Performance Racing also announced that Sage Karam will join veteran racer Scott Pruett as drivers for F Performance Racing when the East Lansing, Michigan-based team campaigns the Lexus RC F GT3 for a limited schedule in the 2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. "We have had our eye on Sage for some time," said Paul Gentilozzi, Managing Partner of F Performance Racing.

Toyota's 'green bond' an industry first, quickly rises to $1.75 billion

Toyota is greasing the skids for more green car purchases with the announcement of a $1.75-billion bond designed to finance the purchase of high-efficiency Toyota and Lexus models. The Asset-Backed Green Bond is a first for the automotive industry and is making a lot of money available to buy or lease the following vehicles: any of the four Prius variants, Camry Hybrid, Avalon Hybrid, RAV4 EV, Lexus CT 200h and Lexus ES 300h. Originally, the bond was set at $1.25 billion, but Justin Leach, manager of public relations for Toyota Financial Services (TFS), told AutoblogGreen that demand was high and it was quickly oversubscribed. TFS has been looking at more ways to diversify its portfolio after a Diversity & Inclusion Bond that was announced in early 2013 and, with the new Green Bond, TFS is offering something for the "number of investors out there who are looking for investment opportunities in green." The way the money from the bond is used, basically, is that TFS takes the $1.75 billion and uses it to finance the purchase or lease of the nine vehicles listed above. As of right now, all the eligible vehicles are plug-in or hybrids, but the rules simply say that the cars in the program have to meet certain "powertrain, fuel efficiency and emissions" criteria. That means: Minimum EPA estimated MPG (or MPG equivalent for alternative fuel vehicles) of 35 city / 35 highway California Low-Emission Vehicle II (LEV II) certification of super ultra-low emission vehicles (SULEVs) or higher, which would include partial zero emissions vehicles (PZEVs) and zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs). TFS raises plenty of billions in other ways for the rest of the lineup, and got into asset backed securities in 2010, Leach said. Given the success of this first Green Bond, Leach said he expects TFS to keep this idea in its arsenal. "This one was so well received, I would be surprised if we didn't see it again," he said. "If anyone was going to do it, it should be Toyota, right?" Toyota Financial Services (TFS) Issues Auto Industry's First-Ever Asset-Backed Green Bond Bond Proceeds to Fund Consumer Loans and Leases for Toyota's Leading Portfolio of Green Vehicles TORRANCE, Calif., (March 24, 2014) – Toyota Financial Services (TFS) issued the auto industry's first-ever Asset-Backed Green Bond in the amount of $1.75 billion.

Toyota tops Kelley Blue Book's Resale Value Awards

Kelley Blue Book announced its annual Best Resale Value Award winners, and we weren't too surprised to see the list dominated by Japanese automakers - mainly Toyota and Honda. KBB hands out the awards based on the projected residual value of mostly all 2013 model year vehicles, and Toyota skated home with a number of awards including 10 of the 22 overall categories and having five of its products in the top 10 for models with best resale value. KBB's Best Resale Value Awards were announced in the same week as the ALG Residual Value Awards, and there were many similarities between both lists, especially when it came to Toyota.
To come up with its winners, KBB measures depreciation over the first five years of ownership, and looks for the cars it expects to hold its value the best after this time; on average, the report says the 2013 model year vehicles will lose 61.8 percent of its value in five years. Of the 22 categories, 15 slots were filled by Toyota, Honda and Nissan products, while the Camaro and Porsche (Cayenne and Panamera) each took home a pair of awards. If Toyota has anything to be upset about in this list of cars, it's that categories for Hybrid/Alternative Energy Car and Electric Vehicle went to the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Volt, respectively.
The overall top 10 models for the best resale value in 2013 are, in alphabetical order: