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Toyota, Lexus will offer low-cost automated braking system

First, a technology gets better, then it gets a lot better, then it gets less expensive, then it gets a lot less expensive. Advanced driver safety and convenience systems are about to make that last step thanks to Toyota. Centered around a pre-collision braking system, there will be three suites of driver aids known as Toyota Safety Sense C (TSS C) for compact cars, Toyota Safety Sense P (TSS P) for midsized and premium cars, and Lexus Safety System+ (LSS+) for the luxury brand. TSS C pairs a camera with laser radar to provide a pre-collision system that prompts the driver to brake if it detects an impending accident, and can supply additional braking force and automatically brake between seven and fifty miles per hour. There are also Lane Departure Alert and Automatic High Beam. TSS P pairs a camera with more precise millimeter-wave radar. Starting with the three functions in TSS C, it adds pedestrian pre-collision capability and adaptive cruise control. This one will be available first, coming on the new RAV4 Hybrid and Avalon. TSS - either C or P - will expand to three more vehicles by the end of the year. The wallop is in the price: TSS C will be a $300 option, TSS P will cost $500. Compare the Ford Fusion SE, for instance - it's Driver Assistance Package comes with Lane Departure Warning, Automatic High Beams, it has Lane Keep Assist, Blind Spot and Cross Traffic Detection that neither TSS has, but doesn't have any autonomous braking feature. It costs $1,200, but requires you to add the Technology and Luxury Packages for a total price of $3,165. If you want Autonomous Cruise Control, that's another $995, for $4,160 in total. Instead of $300 or $500 on the Toyota. Lexus' LSS+ will come first on the new RX then spread to four more models by the end of this year, and cost between $500 and $635 to add as an option. It also uses a camera and millimeter-wave radar for its vehicle and pedestrian pre-collision system, lane departure warning and lane keep assist, automatic high beam, and auto cruise control. The similar package on a BMW X5, with no pedestrian component, is $1,200. Toyota says both safety suites will eventually be on "nearly all" of it products and all trim levels by the end of 2017.

Lexus GS F coming in 2016 with 500 hp

The Lexus GS F has been one of those cars that's been rumored and whispered about for years, but has never come to fruition. The last time we spoke of the Lexus-badged BMW M5-killer was in a crop of spy photos, posted one year ago yesterday. So what's behind this latest rekindled round of rumors?
Well, according to Autocar, sources have claimed that the GS F will hit markets in 2016, and that it will make use of a more potent version of the Lexus RC F's 5.0-liter V8 that will sing to the tune of 500 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. An eight-speed automatic transmission from ZF will be included, as will a Torsen limited-slip diff. Taken as a whole, the executive sedan should get to 60 in the mid-four-second range and accelerate to a top speed of 170 miles per hour.
Prices in the UK will start at 80,000 pounds ($130,000 at today's rates, but as we know, translating British prices to American prices is an inexact science), and right away, we run into a big issue.

Why Lexus shies away from plug-in hybrids

Lexus may have softened its stance a bit from the anti plug-in vehicle ads the Toyota luxury badge ran last year, but at least one executive from the company casts a pretty critical eye towards the concept as a way to cut both emissions and refueling costs. In fact, Lexus doesn't really buy the fact that buyers of plug-in hybrids are really looking to save both gas and the environment, Green Car Reports says, citing an interview at the recent New York Auto Show with Lexus executive Mark Templin. Templin also said hydrogen fuel-cell technology may be a better way to edge towards zero emissions. Templin decried plug-in hybrid technology because it adds weight to vehicles, which contributes to poor emissions figures in the process. He added that plug-in vehicle buyers are motivated more by potential tax credits and solo driving rights in high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes than cutting back on fuel use. Last summer, Lexus ran an supposedly tongue-in-cheek print ad poking fun at how long it takes to charge a plug-in vehicle and how using air conditioning can shorten a car's charging range. Last spring, Lexus had to backpedal from an anti-electric ad it ran that had serious mistakes about hydrogen infrastructure. News Source: Green Car Reports Green Lexus Toyota Hybrid PHEV