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J.D. Power customer survey of dealers counts Cadillac, Buick as big winners

Cadillac and Buick have taken the trophies in J.D. Power's latest Customer Service Index Study examining satisfaction with dealer service. Surveying more than 90,000 owners and lessees of 2009-2013 model-year cars, the study found that those with pre-paid maintenance packages were ten percent more likely to buy their next car from the same brand.
Dealer satisfaction scores have improved overall, Cadillac nabbed the luxury segment ahead of Audi and Lexus, taking the crown that Lexus held last year. Buick keeps the mass-market dealer satisfaction win in the family, finishing ahead of Volkswagen and last year's winner GMC. The study also found that service department use of tablets increased customer satisfaction, as did "best practices" like "providing helpful advice." Who knew?
You can find details on those and more findings in the press release below.

Next-gen Lexus IS design revealed to be swoopiest yet

We drove it while it was covered in cloth and vinyl not long ago, but before the 2014 Lexus IS350 F-Sport gets revealed at the Detroit Auto Show and we find out everything about it, Lexus has graced us with images. In addition to the spindle grille - with an elevated waistline on the F-Sport - the coming IS gets a jagged set of dual-beam headlights with L-shaped DRLs that are, for the first time on a Lexus, separate from the main units. Further back, the side sills get a twist and intense sculpting throughout the length of the longer wheelbase.
Inside is an LFA-inspired cockpit with thinner sport seats and more room in just about every area, the moving "driver's meter" in the dash cluster, electrostatic controls for cabin temperature control, 60/40 folding rear seats and "metal film 3-D-effect ornamentation."
The F-Sport package will be available on the IS250, IS350, IS300h equipped with Lexus Hybrid Drive. The hybrid will not come to the US.

Lexus GX has quietly more than doubled its sales this year

There are some things in this industry that we're perplexed by, like the infotainment system on our long-term Subaru WRX or why the Mitsubishi Mirage is allowed to exist, among other things. Let's add one more to that group, with the Lexus GX. It's not a particularly bad vehicle for a big, body-on-frame brute, remaining one of the only true SUVs in the mid-size luxury class, alongside the equally old fashioned Land Rover LR4.
Considering these things, then, what we're about to tell you makes very little sense - sales are up 135 percent through last month. The Japanese luxury marque has moved over 5,300 during the first six months of 2014, owing in no small part to a significant price drop over the 2013 model. Today, a GX starts at $49,085, while a year ago, it was $53,445.
Don't mistake this price decrease for charity, though. Lexus specifically built a lower-cost GX to lure in customers. According to WardsAuto, faux leather covers the cabin rather than the real stuff, while the overall package is decontented relative to what you might find in a typical Lexus.