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Here We Go Again: Lexus attacks EVs in new ad [UPDATE]

UPDATE: We got a comment from founding member of Plug In America Paul Scott on this ad. It's available below. The last time Lexus attacked plug-in battery vehicles in an ad, it had to apologize. The company is remaining on message, though, and has revisited a hybrid-vehicle advertising campaign that implies that driving a battery-electric vehicle is a big waste of time, because of all the charging you need to do. With the new spot, Lexus once again raised hackles of plug-in vehicle advocates because, once again, the accuracy is questioned. "The ad's message was that a consumer could [drive] a vehicle with advanced technology today, without sacrifice or change in habit." – Lexus spokesman Brian Bolain Lexus is running print ads (click to enlarge) in publications like Wired poking fun at EVs, the International Business Times says. Lexus highlights range anxiety in the spot, comparing the amount of time it takes to fully recharge an EV – and the idea that air conditioning and using the radio can shorten an EV's range – to the fun of just driving a Lexus. "The [print] ad was merely intended to paint a picture of life with a hybrid, which is basically no different from life with a traditional gas-powered vehicle, versus life with an EV, which can have challenges or at least uncertainties," Lexus spokesman Brian Bolain told AutoblogGreen. "In other words, at its core, the ad's message was that a consumer could participate in driving a vehicle with advanced technology today, without sacrifice or change in habit." The campaign picks up where Lexus's previous anti-EV campaign left off this spring. A website promoting Lexus's hybrids (and parent company Toyota's H2 vehicles) claimed that there was a hydrogen refueling infrastructure set up in 20 US states (not anywhere close to true). Plug-in advocates were also quick to note that higher-powered EV recharging systems can allow a plug-in to be recharged in far less than the four hours the Lexus site claimed. Of course, Toyota has a lot more skin in the game when it comes to hybrids and, starting next year, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles than it does for plug-ins. Through August, the company sold just 842 RAV4 EVs and about 11,500 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrids in the US. That compares to almost 19,000 Nissan Leaf EVs and a Tesla Model S count that's likely close to that figure as well (Tesla breaks out neither monthly sales numbers nor US-only sales for the Model S).

Physical and virtual gaming worlds collide in Lexus IS Hybrid promo

This is really, really cool. In order to promote its new IS Hybrid, Lexus borrowed an airplane hangar, a former Formula One driver and what we imagine was some serious technological knowhow to create one of the most interesting games we've ever seen. It's called Trace Your Road.
Lexus invited some of its Facebook fans out for the game, which put them in the passenger seat of a Lexus IS Hybrid with former F1 shoe Jarno Trulli. They were then handed a tablet and asked to trace out a road, which was projected onto the floor of the hangar. Trulli had to follow the ever-changing path as his passenger kept on tracing away. It looks like it'd be an absolute riot.
This is probably the coolest automotive promotional video since Audi strapped paintball guns on a couple of RS4s. Take a look below to watch the full video from Lexus. We promise, it's worth two minutes of your time.

Lexus to display turbocharged LF-NX Concept at Tokyo Motor Show

Concept cars typically have a short lifespan. They debut at a major international auto show, then make the rounds of the lesser local shows, and that's pretty much it. They might be loaned out for test drives or put on display in a museum, but by and large they've had their fifteen minutes of fame by that point. That said, Japan's automakers have found a way to keep these show cars going and keep them in the news. They're modifying them and giving them a fresh lease on life.
That's what Subaru is doing with the Viziv concept for the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, and what Lexus is doing as well with the LF-NX concept. Having already unveiled the crossover concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Lexus is fitting the LF-NX with a new 2.0-liter turbo engine. (But then, as far as we could tell, Lexus never revealed engine specs for the concept in the first place.)
To go with the turbo engine, Lexus has also fitted the concept with a new front splitter, but otherwise it's the same - and even appears to be wearing the same liquid-metal paint, unlike the LF-LC concept that got repainted from red to blue when its limelight was starting to fade.