2001 Lexus Ls430,navi, Mark Levingston, 142k, Waterpump/timing Belt Done At 96k on 2040-cars

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Toyota reveals latest autonomous tech test bed

Toyota revealed its latest autonomous technology effort Friday, a sophisticated Lexus LS 600hL prototype that showcases its plans to advance in the emerging field. The Lexus is the first developed entirely by the company's in-house Toyota Research Institute and it will focus on the car's ability to learn and see behavior on the road. Toyota is showing the car at the Prius Challenge event at Sonoma Raceway. The Lexus uses Lidar, radar, and sensors, which potentially reduce reliance on mapping. The prototype advances Toyota's last concept vehicle shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2013. This one is said to be more flexible and it will focus on Toyota's two autonomous tech pillars, called Guardian and Chauffeur. Guardian is meant to improve safety features, while Chauffeur moves toward full autonomy. "We believe Guardian can probably be deployed sooner and more widely than Chauffeur, providing high-level driver-assist features capable of helping mitigate collisions and save lives, sooner rather than later," Toyota Research Institute Gill Pratt said in a statement. Related Video: Green Lexus Toyota Autonomous Vehicles Luxury Sedan lexus ls

Is now the time to snap up a Lexus LFA?

If you missed out on getting a Lexus LFA when it was new, the time might be near to start looking for a less expensive used one. Listings indicate that the cost for the Japanese supercar is finally starting to drop below the original $375,000 sale price. Lexus built just 500 units of the LFA between 2010 and 2012, and around 200 of them came to the US. The supercar's major highlight was the 4.8-liter V10 with 552 horsepower and a 9,000-rpm redline. It's among the best sounding engines to ever hit the street. Since production stopped, LFA prices have generally remained higher than the original $375,000, but as CarBuzz recently found that trend has shown signs of changing. The site discovered a black 2012 example on Craigslist with 2,797 miles for sale in the San Francisco for $369,000. It's quite a beauty, too. Further research shows you can find an LFA even cheaper. AutoTrader currently lists eight of the supercars for sale, including the one in San Francisco. However, another black 2012 example in Florida is just $349,000 with 2,005 miles on it. If you wait around for the right auction, there are even better deals out there. Sportscar Market reported that a White Pearl 2012 LFA went for $335,000 at a Russo and Steele auction in California in June 2015. The buyer got quite a deal because the Japanese supercar had a mere 140 miles on it. Buying a vehicle for over $300,000 is still well out of the reach for most customers, but these listings hint that LFA prices are beginning to fall. The Lexus will never be at the neighborhood used car lot, but if this trend continues, it could make for some interesting shopping. For instance, if the Japanese supercar drops into the $250,000-range, would people consider spending a little more to buy one instead of a well-optioned new Acura NSX? The Lexus' engine certainly sounds better, and the company has no plans for another supercar of that caliber. Related Video:

Lexus LCs for SEMA inspired by Blue Morpho butterfly, Marvel's Black Panther

Lexus is bringing a pair of LC 500 coupes to this year's SEMA show, and they're thoroughly different vehicles to one another. The first is a production car, the Lexus LC Inspiration Series. It's a highly limited-edition car that is mostly stock except for a unique paint job. The other also has a special paint scheme, but it's a one-off show car designed around the upcoming Marvel movie, " Black Panther," in which an LC 500 will be featured. The LC 500 Inspiration Series, being a production car, should be of the most interest to consumers, but also because of its special paint. Looking at it, it's very clearly blue, but according to Lexus, there are no actual blue pigments in the paint. Instead, the blue hue comes from the way nano-structures buried in the paint reflect blue light. It works similarly to the wings of the Blue Morpho butterfly, which also lack any actual blue coloration, but the structure of the wings' surfaces reflect blue light. This paint is not easy to make, either. Lexus says it takes eight months to produce a batch, and only two cars with the coating can be built each day. So it's easy to understand why this is a limited edition car and color. Only 100 will be sold in the United States. To sweeten the deal, this Inspiration Series edition comes standard with 21-inch forged wheels, exclusive carbon fiber door sill plates, and, for some reason, a Barneys sommelier bar set with a design inspired by the LC. View 11 Photos As subtle as the Lexus LC 500 Inspiration Series is, the Black Panther LC 500 isn't. The car features an extremely widened body. It's a fairly elegant design, except for the stuck-on claws on the side mirrors that are echoed by the silver panted fender vent strakes. The paint scheme is equally absurd. The dark indigo blue paint has an enormous Black Panther mask design on the hood. Under the car is blue underglow, and the interior is finished in black leather with blue Alcantara. Lexus also lists a number of fictional features for the car, since it is meant for the Black Panther superhero. Among them are a bulletproof, self-healing Vibranium body, systems controlled by a "Wakandan B-CPU (Brain/Computer interface) creating a symbiotic relationship between the vehicle and its driver," and side mirrors with "instinctual positioning technology" to automatically move to the right position for the driver.