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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

Lexus IS sedan refreshed and restyled in Beijing

The current IS with its polarizing sheetmetal has been for sale since 2013, and Lexus has now updated the styling, turning it up a notch. The new IS has a mouth that is perhaps even more gaping than the outgoing model's front end. The intakes have been enlarged, making the front bumper more aggressive even on the IS200t base model. Along with a reshaped spindle grille, the headlights have been redesigned and now feature L-shaped daytime running lights. The checkmark-shaped "light guides" underneath them have also been made more pronounced. Lexus says they have reached for a design that would make the car look like it's in constant motion even when sitting still – perhaps a design cliche, but often attempted, and the character line on the sides has been enhanced for that reason. Did they succeed? You be the judge. Inside, the central information display has grown from 7 inches to 10.3, along with getting higher resolution. Otherwise, the interior remains much as it was. There are small touches here and there, including a redesigned gauge cluster, but mostly it's all about new color choices. On the engine front, the lineup continues to rely on three engine choices. The IS200t carries on as the downsized base four-cylinder option with a twin-scroll turbo charger and cycle-shifting Variable Valve Timing-intelligent Wide – still good for 241 horsepower. The IS300 gets a 255-horsepower V6 and the top-rung IS350 offers up 306 ponies from its 3.5-liter V6. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. New Lexus IS Debuts at the 2016 Beijing Auto Show BEIJING (April 25, 2016) -- A daring new styling direction, exciting performance and innovative technology defined the completely new Lexus IS that was introduced in 2013. Since then, sales of the luxury brand's entry-level sedan have surpassed expectations, outselling the previous-generation model, which was very popular in its own right. At the Beijing Auto Show today, Lexus has taken the covers off the new IS, armed with a fresh new look and a number of important changes. Because the original styling of the current IS has proved so popular, Lexus has kept the essence of car's exterior appearance intact; however, the entire front fascia of the new model has undergone a transformation, highlighted by new headlamps, large air intakes in the front bumper and an evolution of Lexus' spindle grille.

Lexus confirms three-row RX coming by 2018

Now seems like the perfect time for Lexus to launch a three-row version of its RX crossover. Not only are CUVs flying off of dealer lots – as you probably already know, the RX is Lexus' best-selling model – there aren't all that many car-based luxury soft-roaders on the market for Lexus to compete with. Problem is, these things take time, and product planners don't always get the new-model cadence just right. Now, though, we at least have a tentative date for the extended-wheelbase 'ute's arrival. According to Automotive News, Lexus General Manager Jeff Bracken has confirmed that the brand is readying a three-row version of the RX with plans to have it in the clutches of salivating dealers by late 2017 or early 2018. Chances are, the new model will wear RX 350L badges in gas-powered guise and carry the RX 450hL moniker in hybrid form. As AN points out, these names were registered as trademarks earlier this month. That indicates we'll see both standard V6 and optional hybrid-powered versions of the three-row RX. Not only will the extended RX keep the same nomenclature, it'll also look pretty much the same as its five-seat siblings. According to Bracken, "We put so much energy into the styling you see now that we didn't want to compromise even with the third row." All we have to do now is wait, said Bracken. "They would just love to have it now. But I think they're quite relieved that they know it's coming." Related Video: