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This LED-covered Lexus IS doubles as a display

Why would you put 41,999 LEDs on a 2017 Lexus IS sedan? Well, for starters, because you don't have 42,000 LEDs available, but also to get attention. This car was built as a mobile programmable screen to be featured in a music video by Dua Lipa. (No, we hadn't heard of her either, but that's cool.) It's called the LIT IS, because, well, you know, and it is featured in Dua Lipa's new music video for "Be the One." Lexus says it used a mile of wire to connect all of those light sources (how much must that weigh?) and that together they put out 175,000 lumens, or about the amount of light emitted by 100 100-Watt bulbs. They're even stuck inside the spindle grille. It sort of reminds of the Swarovski crystal headlight option on a Mercedes-Benz S-Class coupe, only if the entire car were a headlight. And the headlight could change color. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. You can see the lighting system in action in the promotional video above. And in the vein of of one-off Lexus IS sedans, don't forget about the Sriracha IS that was shown at the LA auto show. For some reason. Apparently Lexus wants us to pay attention to this car. Related Video: Auto News Celebrities Design/Style Lexus Luxury Sedan lexus is

What does a million-mile car really tell us?

A million miles. Nearly every car brand and motor oil company plays the million-mile marketing racket at some point. The typical recipe is to take a car that experienced a ton of low-stress highway miles, and make it a rolling testament to the long-term qualities of whatever reputation you're trying to prop up. Saab, Lincoln, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chrysler. It's a tired game that I would normally just consider one of the pointless ranking exercises of our time. But the truth is, when it comes to a car's longevity, it's almost always the owner that makes the real difference, not the brand. Like a pitcher at a baseball game, the owner mostly determines the victories and the defeats for his car. Some specific models are the basement dwellers of our time – I'm looking at you, Chrysler car with the 2.7-liter engine! But a lot of cars and trucks hit right around the average that is a powertrain whose longevity is mainly determined by that person who turns the key and hopefully learns that patient art of long-term ownership. The best owners are the ones who deserve the attention. So with that in mind, let me introduce you to Matt Farah's Million Mile Lexus. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This Lexus could be written off as another cynical marketing exercise in this business, performed by those who didn't do the real driving in the past and have no plans at all on doing the bulk of the driving in the future. Matt's actually doing a few things that are genuinely cool, though. Letting other auto journalists and enthusiasts drive it along the way and giving Regular Car Reviews a crack at it. Focusing on the rare virtues of the first-generation Lexus, which, to be frank, can out-diesel a diesel. There is a great story to be had with this car. This isn't a car that was "going to the junkyard" and magically given the kiss of life. That story is far more vast than a guy who bought a high-mileage car in great overall condition. This isn't a car that was "going to the junkyard" and magically given the kiss of life so that it can endure the ages. This Lexus, like all other high-mileage models worthy of our love, has been given one hell of a good maintenance regimen by the prior owners. It was taken care of and primarily maintained at the dealership, where it probably received the best parts and service, thanks in enormous part to owners who were willing to pay that exorbitantly high bill.

Lexus to replace GX SUV with new TX crossover

There's been a lot of news regarding future Lexus products recently, including spy shots of new RC coupe and NX compact crossover, and reports that a 2+2 coupe based on the LF-LC concept is heading for production. Now, Automotive News says that Japan's #1 luxury automaker is planning to replace the fullsize, body-on-frame Lexus GX SUV with a three-row crossover called the TX.
The article says that the GX, which is based on the foreign-market Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, will get a styling update for 2014 before being phased out in 2016. In a similar move as Infiniti made with its new three-row JX/QX60, the new TX will be car-based, but details are still unknown as to whether it will be front-wheel-drive riding on the Toyota Avalon platform or rear-wheel-drive using the Lexus GS platform. Either way, this new luxury crossover could join the Lexus lineup as soon as late 2016.