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Lexus eschews production in China over quality concerns

One of the more popular trends in the auto industry is setting up production operations in China. Mainstream manufacturers like Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen have done it, and even luxury marques like Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have or will soon have manufacturing ops in the People's Republic.
One company that isn't building cars in China, though, is Lexus. The Toyota-owned luxury brand still manufactures all of its vehicles in Japan (aside from a few RXs, which are built at a Toyota factory in Canada). According to Tokuo Fukuichi, Lexus just isn't ready to build cars there yet.
"The German Three have a brand image that they have cultivated over the past century in their long history, but Lexus is not in people's minds like that yet," Fukuichi-san told Reuters UK.

Lexus launching new Crafted Line special editions at Pebble Beach

Over the course of the past 25 years, Lexus has done one heck of a job winding its way into the luxury automobile market previously dominated by the Germans. And now it aims to take another step into the luxury arena with The Crafted Line by Lexus.
Set to debut at Pebble Beach later this month, the Crafted line offers the Storm Trooper treatment with high-contrast white paint and black trim. The interiors are done up in two-tone black and red, and Tumi has done up a special set of luggage to match.
The special edition will be available on the ES350 as well as the F Sport versions of the LS460, GS350, IS250 (in both rear- and all-wheel drive) and RX350 AWD. Each will be limited to around 1,000 examples (give or take, depending on the model), with pricing set to start at around $42,000 for the ES pictured above. Scope out the full details in the press release below.

Lexus GS F points its gaping grille at the BMW M5

A mere trio of weeks after the latest report in the slow-moving Lexus GS F rumor cycle, we have a brand new batch of spy photos of the BMW M5-fighting sedan. Looking more and more production ready - notice the more finished exhausts compared to our last round of photos - the GS F can be seen poking around what we imagine is Germany.
If the RC and RC F Coupes are any indication, it looks like Lexus will start fitting its high-performance models with a new, single-frame version of the spindle grille while a dual-frame grille will be reserved for lesser trims. Backing up that suspicion is the new single-frame grille found on this prototype, marking the first time the suspected F line styling piece has been seen on a GS F prototype.
The aforementioned staggered quad exhausts look good on the GS' rear end, while a none-too-subtle rear spoiler ups the rear's visual flair. The low-profile rubber and the multi-spoke, black wheels are nice touches that work well with the front fascia features, in addition to the new, camo'd grille and substantial brake cooling ducts.