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2015 Lexus LS gets tighter turning radius, new infotainment

Go back a couple of decades and the thought of a Japanese automaker challenging the German limousines would have seemed laughable, but 25 years later the Lexus LS is a mainstay of the luxury sedan market. And it didn't get there by sitting on its laurels, so it should come as little surprise that Lexus is offering some small tweaks as it enters the 2015 model year.
This time around the upgrades are rather minor, consisting primarily of a new multimedia system. It's got an updated navigation system with 12.3-inch display, revised backup camera imagery with dynamic gridlines, and an enhanced Lexus Enform App Suite that can control the locks, ignition, climate control and more, remotely.
While they were at it, Toyota's engineers also reduced the turning circle by four inches (on cars fitted with 18-inch wheels), and enhanced the F Sport package as well. Otherwise, it's essentially the same LS we've always known.

Lexus to debut small hybrid CUV at 2014 Geneva Motor Show

Following rumors that Lexus has been working on a small crossover to slot below the RX (pictured), Automotive News Europe reports that the production-ready CUV will bow at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show next March. Later this year, Lexus will preview this new crossover by way of a concept car at the Tokyo Motor Show in November.
According to the report, this new crossover will be a hybrid, and will ride on the smaller architecture that underpins the Toyota RAV4. Specific details have not been confirmed, but AN states that the entry-level CUV will be powered by the same 2.5-liter gasoline-electric drivetrain found in the Lexus ES 300h. Since Toyota will evidently be taking the time to hybridize the platform, we can't help but assume that it will eventually build a second-gen RAV4 EV.
Either way, with the small luxury CUV segment heating up, Lexus is likely smart to offer a player in this space. Until now, there has not been a Lexus crossover below the RX, and this new model will compete with other new players in the class including the BMW X1 and Audi Q3.

Lexus LF-LC approved for production

On the sidelines of a press drive for the 2014 Lexus IS, the company's vice president of marketing in the US told Ward's Auto that the honchos in Japan have approved the Lexus LF-LC concept for production. He wouldn't offer any other details on how the luxury coupe might be transformed into a vehicle for the buying masses, and that has led to a bag full of speculation.
The show car was hybrid-powered and rear-wheel drive, a beautifully executed stab by Toyota designers in Newport Beach at redefining Lexus, but even with the concept, the point was to keep it "within reach for premium buyers." The report says the odds are on limited production and higher pricing than Lexus' "mainstream products," and other sites have speculated on what kind of powertrain it might end up in showrooms with.
GT Channel posits that the LF-LC will be the inspiration for a coupe in the Lexus LS price bracket with a choice of either the 4.2-liter V8 or the hybrid powertrain from the LS 600h, further speculating it will be called LC 550 and cost more than $100,000. It then says that there would be another coupe created beneath that one to replace the SC 430. Lexus Enthusiast, however, calls those "warmed-over rumors" and says that the marque probably won't deviate from its engine-capacity-naming scheme - labeling a car with a 4.2-liter V8 an LC 550. Nor does it think Lexus will use the letters LC after the company has trademarked "RC" in the US and Australia.