2003 Lexus Sc430 Base Convertible 2-door 4.3l on 2040-cars

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Mystery shoppers love Infiniti, hate Tesla

Infiniti, followed by Lexus tied with Mercedes-Benz took the top two spots for best sales experience according to mystery shoppers from the latest Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, while EV manufacturer Tesla recorded the lowest overall score. Not surprisingly, premium brands dominated the top ranks. Including the three already mentioned, luxury brands occupied seven of the top ten spots and included Audi, BMW, Porsche, and the only American brand to crack the upper echelon, Cadillac. Toyota, Volkswagen, and Nissan rounded out the first ten positions. The news for domestic automakers isn't good. Aside from Caddy, the only other star-spangled automaker to score above the industry average is Chrysler. The rest of FCA, most of GM, and all of Ford fell below the line. But Pied Piper's mystery shoppers handed Tesla the biggest walloping – the company is ten full points below the next lowest brand, Volvo, and its score of 86 is 17 below the average of 103. It's baffling, considering the company's touted direct-sales model. "Tesla leaves me scratching my head," Fred O'Hagan, Pied Piper's president and CEO, told Wards Auto. "They own all of their stores, so you would think each one would be doing the same thing. But they're not. Tesla is consistent in its inconsistencies." O'Hagan added that there's a "huge variation" in Tesla's store-to-store effectiveness, and that in some cases, shoppers found showroom workers that acted more like "museum curators," Wards Auto reports. It might be popular to call Tesla the Apple of the car world, but based on Pied Piper's work, the brand has a long way to go to emulate the uniform shopping experience of an Apple Store. The news might be bad for Tesla, but even for the brands that scored below average, there's cause for celebration. Only Tesla and Mini lost points in this year's rankings, and only Mercedes and Lincoln held steady. Every other brand, including Infiniti, which topped the index for the first time, gained at least one point. The biggest improvements belong to Porsche, Land Rover, and Mitsubishi, which all jumped five points. Pied Piper's annual Prospect Satisfaction Index uses mystery shoppers – over 6,100 this year – from across the country to assess dealers and generate rankings from over 50 individual factors. News Source: Pied Piper via WardsAuto Green Audi BMW Cadillac Chrysler Infiniti Lexus Mercedes-Benz Nissan Tesla Toyota Car Buying Car Dealers study

Driving Volvos on ice, and the 2025 Toyota 4Runner is almost here | Autoblog Podcast #826

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. The two kick things off by talking about what they've been driving, including the 2025 Volvo EX30 (on ice), 2024 Lexus LC 500h and 2024 Lexus TX 350. After the review section, it's time for the news. The impending 2025 Toyota 4Runner reveal is dissected; a new Buick Envision arrives, and Tesla has a rough quarter. Once the pair finish with the news, they move on to discuss the current state of affairs in Formula 1 and give a quick rundown of the New York Auto Show Editors' Picks. Finally, the show finishes with a great Spend My Money segment where a listener is trying to find a new car that might be able to take down their brother's BMW M5. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #826 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2025 Volvo EX30 2024 Lexus LC500h 2024 Lexus TX 350 News Toyota 4Runner teased 2024 Buick Envision revealed Tesla has a rough first quarter Formula 1 check-in NY Auto Show Editors' Picks Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Green Podcasts New York Auto Show Buick Lexus Tesla Toyota Volvo Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Hybrid Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Racing Vehicles Performance Podcasts

2015 Lexus GS F is camo-free and frisky

Other than some missing badges and (hopefully) a not-yet-finished rear fascia, what you see here is an undisguised look at the long-awaited Lexus GS F high-performance sedan. Lexus' answer to the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, the GS F has been spotted again.
Unlike our previous spy shots, though, this time around, the sporty Lexus has been caught testing on the Nürburgring, so our spy shooters have managed to get a look at the car from all angles. Building on the aggressive styling of the GS F-Sport, the GS F gets bigger air intakes and a lower chin spoiler up front. Like before, we see the signature stacked exhaust outlets, but they still seemed roughed into rear fascia, which gets an aero-aiding diffuser.
We still only have guesses as to what will be under the hood, but a 465-horsepower, 5.0-liter V8 sounds good to us. Expect to see the production GS F on the road by 2015.