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Ford, Toyota clean up in Best Car For The Money Awards

The U.S. News Best Cars for the Money Awards picks winners by looking at the average transaction price, five-year total cost of ownership, the regard a car has from the automotive press, reliability figures from J.D. Power and Associates and safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The result, according to the magazine, is "the best combination of critical acclaim and long-term value."
Ford nabbed six of the 21 categories that received awards this year, the Focus, Fusion, Fusion Hybrid, Taurus, Escape and Edge getting trophies. Toyota and its Lexus and Scion sub-brands took another five, the Tacoma and Tundra owning the two categories given to pickup trucks. The other ten awards were split between Honda with three, Buick with two, and one each for Subaru, BMW, Hyundai, Chevrolet and Mazda.
Follow the link to see all the winners and read about why they were chosen.

The hoverboard of your dreams is finally here, thanks to Lexus

Finally. Finally! Anyone who grew up in the 1980s has been waiting for this moment for a long, long time. Since 1989, to be exact, which is when Back to the Future Part II hovered its way into theaters showing Marty-of-the-past riding a newfangled board-without-wheels in a fabricated future. After several teases, Lexus has finally unleashed real, actual footage of its hoverboard in action. As you'll see in the video, the learning curve is steep, even for a professional skateboarder like Ross McGouran. "I've spent 20 years skateboarding, but without friction it feels like I've had to learn a whole new skill, particularly in the stance and balance in order to ride the hoverboard. It's a whole new experience," says the hoverboard test rider. Before we all get too carried away, there are caveats to this real-world hoverboard. First, the technology doesn't work everywhere. According to Lexus, 200 meters of magnetic track was built in Dresden, Germany, and shipped to a specially built "hoverpark" in Barcelona, Spain. Unlike the fictional hoverboard from BTTF, though, Lexus' creation does indeed work on water... assuming there's a properly magnetic surface below the surface. We're sure you've got questions – cryostats, liquid hydrogen and magnets, are the likely answers – but first, you really should watch the video. Then, feel free to check out the full press release down below, but before you get too excited, know that Lexus has said it does not intend to sell a production version of its hoverboard. Related Video: Lexus Hoverboard Ride Revealed New Film for the Latest Amazing in Motion Campaign Shows Final Testing in Barcelona August 04, 2015 TOKYO, August 05, 2015 -- Following the unveiling of the Lexus Hoverboard in June, the luxury automotive company is completing a full and final reveal of the project concluding a successful testing phase which took place in Cubelles, Barcelona. Mark Templin, Executive Vice President at Lexus International said: "Embarking on this project, we set out to push the boundaries of technology, design and innovation to make the impossible possible. With this project we call 'SLIDE', we collaborated with partners who share our passion for creating enjoyment out of motion. Even through combining our technology and expertise, we discovered making a hoverboard isn't an easy process.

The Lexus LC 500h has a four-speed auto and that's a good thing

Lexus is sharing some powertrain details on the LC 500h ahead of the big hybrid coupe's debut in Geneva. Its new gas-electric setup strays from Toyota's tried-and-true system found in everything from the Prius to the Lexus GS. It's called the Multi Stage Hybrid System that's designed for performance vehicles, and it has an antiquated-sounding piece of equipment buried deep inside that's supposed to make it more enjoyable to drive. The basics: In the LC 500h, its first application, the Multi Stage Hybrid System will consist of a 3.5-liter V6, a hybrid transmission, and a lithium-ion battery pack. The hybrid transmission has an electric motor for motivation (and we're guessing a second for charging) and a four-speed automatic mounted to its rear, which either means inside or aft and in series. Why add ancient tech to a new hybrid system? Lexus says it preserves the connection between throttle input and engine speed that gets lost in a CVT. And while four seems like an insignificant sum in the face of nine- and 10-speed autos, remember that it is an infinite increase in gear count compared to CVT-packing hybrids. Toyota has been using versions of the Hybrid Synergy Drive system since the first Prius debuted in 1997, and the same system is sold under the Lexus Hybrid Drive banner in most of the luxury brand's offerings. These systems use what Toyota calls an e-CVT – two electric motors paired with a planetary gearset. This lets the engine and electric motors share the job of propelling the car – one motor handles charging of the battery and the other is primarily used to drive the wheels but can also recoup energy through regen. Like a conventional CVT, the planetary gearset arrangement allows the gas engine to run at its optimal engine speed when called upon for motivation and/or charging. But that doesn't make for the most exciting or familiar driving experience, as it affects both power delivery and the sound of the power being delivered. This is where the four-speed auto comes in. Based on the limited details Lexus has shared, our hunch is that the hybrid transmission will meld some form of the existing Lexus Hybrid Drive system with two more planetary gearsets, or the basic guts of a four-speed auto. This will provide the four fixed ratios and the feeling of actual shifting gears – because there will be actual gears shifting.