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Toyota reveals latest autonomous tech test bed

Toyota revealed its latest autonomous technology effort Friday, a sophisticated Lexus LS 600hL prototype that showcases its plans to advance in the emerging field. The Lexus is the first developed entirely by the company's in-house Toyota Research Institute and it will focus on the car's ability to learn and see behavior on the road. Toyota is showing the car at the Prius Challenge event at Sonoma Raceway. The Lexus uses Lidar, radar, and sensors, which potentially reduce reliance on mapping. The prototype advances Toyota's last concept vehicle shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2013. This one is said to be more flexible and it will focus on Toyota's two autonomous tech pillars, called Guardian and Chauffeur. Guardian is meant to improve safety features, while Chauffeur moves toward full autonomy. "We believe Guardian can probably be deployed sooner and more widely than Chauffeur, providing high-level driver-assist features capable of helping mitigate collisions and save lives, sooner rather than later," Toyota Research Institute Gill Pratt said in a statement. Related Video: Green Lexus Toyota Autonomous Vehicles Luxury Sedan lexus ls

2015 Lexus RC F configurator heats up

Just over two weeks after Lexus activated its online configurator for the 2015 RC350, the Japanese luxury marque is flipping the switch on the car we really want to customize – the 467-horsepower RC F. In addition to letting us play about with various configurations for the new sports coupe, Lexus' latest builder is decidedly different and more visually pleasing. It also does away with the brand's typical, and occasionally unintuitive, grouping of options. In its place, we have a trio of simple, logical packages. There's a navigation pack that adds, um, navigation. It also includes in Lexus' Enform telematics suite. You can also select a Premium Pack, that adds luxury features like heated and vented seats, park assist and LED headlamps, while an all-weather pack tacks on a heated steering wheel, headlamp washers and a deicer for the wiper blades. There are some secondary options, too, including an attractive set of 19-inch wheels, an updated leather interior, adaptive cruise control and a moonroof. All in all, pretty standard fare. Prices for the RC F start at $62,400, not counting a $925 destination charge. Head over to Lexus' consumer page and build your ideal RC F.

The next steps automakers could take after sales drop again in April

DETROIT (Reuters) - Major automakers on Tuesday posted declines in U.S. new vehicle sales for April in a sign the long boom cycle that lifted the American auto industry to record sales last year is losing steam, sending carmaker stocks down. The drop in sales versus April 2016 came on the heels of a disappointing March, which automakers had shrugged off as just a bad month. But two straight weak months has heightened Wall Street worries the cyclical industry is on a downward swing after a nearly uninterrupted boom since the Great Recession's end in 2010. Auto sales were a drag on U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product, with the economy growing at an annual rate of just 0.7 percent according to an advance estimate published by the Commerce Department last Friday. Excluding the auto sector the GDP growth rate would have been 1.2 percent. Industry consultant Autodata put the industry's seasonally adjusted annualized rate of sales at 16.88 million units for April, below the average of 17.2 million units predicted by analysts polled by Reuters. General Motors Co shares fell 2.9 percent while Ford Motor Co slid 4.3 percent and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's U.S.-traded shares tumbled 4.2 percent. The U.S. auto industry faces multiple challenges. Sales are slipping and vehicle inventory levels have risen even as carmakers have hiked discounts to lure customers. A flood of used vehicles from the boom cycle are increasingly competing with new cars. The question for automakers: How much and for how long to curtail production this summer, which will result in worker layoffs? To bring down stocks of unsold vehicles, the Detroit automakers need to cut production, and offer more discounts without creating "an incentives war," said Mark Wakefield, head of the North American automotive practice for AlixPartners in Southfield, Michigan. "We see multiple weeks (of production) being taken out on the car side," he said, "and some softness on the truck side." Rival automakers will be watching each other to see if one is cutting prices to gain market share from another, he said, instead of just clearing inventory. INVESTORS DIGEST BAD NEWS Just last week GM reported a record first-quarter profit, but that had almost zero impact on the automaker's stock. The iconic carmaker, whose own interest was once conflated with that of America's, has slipped behind luxury carmaker Tesla Inc in terms of valuation.