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New Lexus small CUV may have been behind moving ES production to Kentucky

Lexus may have had another big reason - in addition to the financial incentives potentially worth up to $146.5 million that Kentucky offered - to move ES production to its Georgetown, KY plant. The ES has always been built in Japan, and a report at TheDetroitBureau.com claims that the Kyushu facility will be tooling up to build a new model thought to be a compact hybrid crossover expected to go on sale next year. While ES300h production would remain in Japan, shedding 50,000 units of traditional ES production would free capacity for what many think will be an important model in the Lexus lineup.
The new CUV will come in below the RX and be built on the platform of the RAV4. Speculation is that there will be an NX200t and an NX300h, the former possibly getting the 2.0-liter turbo Toyota engine due in 2014 - matching the predicted timeline for the CUV and supposedly also meant for an RX200t - and latter getting the same 2.5-liter hybrid powertrain in the ES300h. We'll see a preview of the Audi Q3 and BMW X1 fighter at this year's Tokyo Motor Show; the production version should be unveiled at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show.

Toyota Hilux gets heart transplant from Lexus IS F

The Toyota Hilux might not be sold in the US, but Toyota's venerable pickup has an international reputation of being able to go anywhere and do just about anything. The trucks aren't really known for their speed, though, at least until Toyota South Africa Motorsport's new, one-off project. This bruiser ditches the usual diesel engine and replaces it with an unrestricted 5.0-liter V8 from a Lexus IS F making 449 horsepower. Of course, it takes more than power to handle the rigors of high speed off-roading. The motorsport team also adds bigger, competition-spec brakes, fully adjustable dampers, new springs, and retuned gearing to make the truck look practically ready for the Dakar Rally. The gearbox is really the only part that carries over. The V8 gives the special Hilux quite a mean growl, too. With the new Tacoma just launching in the US, maybe the engineers at TRD need to apply this same concept over here for its own Lexus-engined, one-off pickup.

Lexus reveals spindly CT 200h facelift ahead of Chinese debut

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. So goes the saying, and Lexus seems to be taking it to heart. In addition to the hybrid versions of the Japanese luxury marque's conventional cars, Lexus is intent on offering a dedicated luxury hybrid. The original HS 250h failed to gain traction, so to speak, in the marketplace, and was quickly withdrawn from just about every market but Japan's. Lexus followed up with the CT 200h, exclusively packaging a hybrid powertrain into a premium hatchback form, but while it's been more successful than its predecessor, there's still room for improvement.
That's what Toyota and its premium division are going for with a slightly refreshed take on the CT. Spied completely undisguised (and in F-Sport guise) less than a month ago, the facelifted CT 200h is now confirmed for debut not at the LA Auto Show or the Tokyo Motor Show but at the Guangzhou Motor Show that's set to take place at the same time in China.
Although Lexus hasn't revealed much in the way of details and only two images, it's plain to see that what we're looking at is a mildly refreshed version of the existing CT 200h. The front end is now dominated by the spindle grille that adorns the rest of the Lexus range, flanked by reshaped headlamps. The rear end has been updated as well, but whether the cosmetic changes are joined by any mechanical ones - or, for that matter, if the changes made will be enough to put the hybrid hatchback ahead in the sales curve - remains to be seen.