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New Lexus ES will debut at Shanghai Motor Show

Lexus will debut a new version of its ES sedan at the Shanghai Motor Show later this month. Don't expect it to be a total redesign, however – with the sixth-generation ES having just gone on sale in late 2012, we only anticipate a mid-cycle refresh. That's the impression we get from the teaser image above, too. The most prominent change is the reshaping of the headlamps with an LED swoosh, the overall shape of the fascia is very similar to that of the current car. The grille looks to be a bit more angular and pronounced, perhaps indicating the inclusion of an F Sport trim – something the ES currently does not have. The ES holds a unique position in the Lexus lineup. It's the only of the automaker's sedans not to be based on rear-wheel-drive architecture – the ES uses a version of the fullsize Toyota Avalon platform. That said, the ES is hugely important, with some 1.7 million examples being sold globally over the past 25 years. We'll know more when the ES officially bows in the not-too-distant future. Related Video: THE NEW LEXUS ES TO MAKE ITS GLOBAL DEBUT AT AUTO SHANGHAI 2015 BEIJING – April 10, 2015 - The new Lexus ES luxury sedan will make its global debut at Auto Shanghai 2015 on April 20, 2015. The Lexus ES established a unique and important position in the luxury sedan segment with its elegant styling, extraordinary quality, and Lexus' best-in-class service when it was introduced in 1989. More than 1.7 million units have been sold globally over the past 25 years. The new Lexus ES maintains its classical elegance while conveying a more dynamic experience and luxurious craftsmanship. The ES will be on display April 22-29, 2015 at the Lexus booth in Hall 7.1 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center at Auto Shanghai 2015.

Toyota will bring Lexus-based Platform 3.0 autonomous vehicle to CES

The Toyota Research Institute says it will bring its next-generation Platform 3.0 automated driving vehicle to CES next week, an autonomous test car that is notable for incorporating the sensors and cameras into the body, rather than as ungainly attachments, and with the spinning LIDAR rooftop sensor replaced by a more sleek panel of sensors. Platform 3.0 is built on a Lexus LS600hL. Toyota Research Institute says it enlisted CALTY Design Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. and engineers at Toyota's nearby North America R&D center to conceal the equipment. As a result, Platform 3.0 gets a new rooftop weather and temperature proof panel, which it says was inspired by off-road motorcycle helmets, integrated into the available space in the sunroof compartment to minimize height. It's also embellished with chrome trim along the side, where it meets the roofline, and the rear swoops down to integrate with the LS's contour lines. The team also managed to consolidate computational electronics and wiring into a small box in the trunk. Toyota says the Platform 3.0 is one of the most perceptive autonomous test vehicles on the road today, with a design makes the test vehicle easy to build at scale. It gets a Luminar LIDAR system boasting a 200-meter, 360-degree range (the previous version only tracked the forward direction), enabled by four high-res LIDAR scanning heads that help it better see dark objects. Shorter-range LIDAR sensors feature low on all four sides of the vehicle, one on each front quarter panel and on the front and rear bumpers, to detect low-level and smaller objects, like children or road debris. Production begins this spring at the Toyota Motor North America R&D headquarters at low volumes to allow for flexibility, given the rapid rate of development of Toyota's autonomous test platforms. Some will be assembled using Toyota's Guardian dual-cockpit control layout to allow for transferring control between a human test driver and the automated system while keeping the driver as a backup, while the single-cockpit, fully autonomous Chauffeur mode will be shown at CES starting Jan. 9.Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Least favorite vehicles of 2017

Autoblog fan favorite car ads from Super Bowl XLIX

Super Bowl XLIX is in the books, and the New England Patriots emerged victorious. Of course, if you're like us, the big game wasn't so much about the battle between the east coast and west, so much as a fight between the world's automotive advertisers. We collected and collated all of last night's new ads and put them together for you to vote on. And yes, we're limiting this year's contest to last night's new features. That's why you aren't seeing Dodge's epic Wisdom among our collection of commercials, and it's a similar story with Chevrolet's Truck Guy Focus Group series, which highlights the new Colorado. You can still vote for your favorites. We won't be closing the voting on our Super Bowl page, so while the winners and losers are correct as of this writing, it's entirely possible that there could be some changes in the rankings as time goes on. So, without any further ado, here are the winning ads based on your voting. Nissan: With Dad Fiat: Ready For Action Jeep: Beautiful Lands BMW: Newfangled Idea Mercedes-Benz: Fable NASCAR: America Start Your Engines As for those ads that failed to impact you, loyal readers, Toyota was the absolute, undisputed loser. The Japanese brand ran four ads in total – two for Toyota and two for Lexus – and all of them have negative tallies as of this writing. Lexus' Make Some Noise and Lets Play and Toyota's One Bold Choice and My Bold Dad both had very weak showings among the commercials that aired, although they weren't alone. Neither Mazda nor Kia scored particularly well, despite featuring celebrity magic act Penn and Teller and former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, respectively. Chevrolet was the winner of the losers, as of our writing, recording the fewest downvotes for its audience-punking The Big Game ad. If you want to take a second look at the losing ads, you can head back to our Super Bowl page for the complete collection. But for now, head into Comments and let us know what you think of the results.