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Online Find of the Day: Lexus-engined Mercedes pickup is a vintage hybrid

You have to love someone who gets incredibly committed to a very weird idea. What you see for sale here is a right-hand drive 1971 Mercedes-Benz 220D in South Africa, but this old Mercedes is now converted into a pickup, complete with bed cover, and there's big secret under the hood, too.
The pickup conversion appears well done based on seller Sedgefield Classic Cars' photos. Even the tonneau cover fits well. You could almost believe that this Mercedes lived its life as a Chevrolet El Camino-like pickup from the very beginning.
However, the rear-quarters conversion might not be the weirdest thing about this Mercedes. The original diesel is gone from the engine bay in favor of a Lexus V8. It seems really odd to pop the hood and find a Japanese mill in this German car, but the photos make it look like a fairly well performed swap. So, bravo to the crazy thinking. According to the seller speaking to Autoblog by email, "as far as we can establish, this was done a few years ago, with all Lexus components."

8 things you should know about the Lexus LC 500h powertrain

Lexus unveiled the LC 500h today in The Netherlands, and I got to take a look inside its new hybrid system. On one hand it seems like a box of magic – it combines two seemingly incompatible transmission types into one package. But that's also the ingenious simplicity of the thing. We don't have all of the details on how it all works yet, but here's a rundown of the high points.Efficient business in front, low-key party in the back. What makes it all work is the mullet of transmissions. For the new hybrid transmission, Lexus used the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive/Lexus Hybrid System – which consists of an e-CVT with a planetary gearset and two electric motors (one for charging the battery, the other for motivation and regen) – and grafted a conventional four-speed automatic onto the back. The two units actually coexist in one package, with the e-CVT making things efficient and the automatic expanding the capabilities. So at the low end, the system can deliver more torque, and the engine can also run at lower rpm on the highway. It's all thanks to those fixed gear ratios, and it's surprisingly simple.Except it's not that simple. This is where the virtual gear ratios come in. Like current Lexus hybrids, the system has ratios it can call up with the e-CVT. In this case, there are six virtual ratios to complement the four real physical ratios, for a total of 10 "gears" at the transmission's disposal. (Not coincidentally, the V8 LC 500 coupe has a 10-speed automatic.) One of the four fixed gears is always engaged when the car is moving, so the 10 ratios come about from combinations of what the e-CVT in front and the automatic in the back are doing. In other words, all 10 ratios are variations on the four fixed gear ratios, which means that all 10 gears could be considered virtual.It won't use all the gears all the time. In Eco mode, the car will start off on electric power and skip the first couple of "gears." When it's set to Sport or Sport +, the engine will be engaged from a stop and the transmission will select the lowest ratio. The sportier modes will also ignore the top couple of gear ratios.It can drive faster with the engine off. In a Lexus GS 450h with the Lexus Hybrid System, for example, at speeds above 62 mph or so the engine has to start up. This is because something needs to take up some slack from the battery-charging motor-generator or else it will start spinning too quickly.

2014 Lexus GS gets eight-speed auto, other enhancements

The Lexus GS was totally redesigned for the 2013 model year, but Lexus is already tweaking its midsize luxury sedan. While a handful of small changes are being made, the big news for the 2014 model year is that rear-wheel-drive GS350 models will be getting a new eight-speed automatic transmission for improved fuel economy and performance.
Official EPA estimates have yet to be released, but Lexus expects this new transmission to return 19 miles per gallon in the city and 29 mpg on the highway - an improvement of 1 mpg highway. The GS450h still uses a continuously variable transmission, but Lexus says that it has been optimized to mimic the shift points of an eight-speed automatic. The final powertrain change made to the 2014 Lexus GS include tweaks to the GS350's engine intake and exhaust systems, which should help give the sedan a sportier feel.
Inside, Lexus has added Siri Eyes Free inside both the GS350 and GS450h, which allows drivers to use their iPhone's Siri voice assistant simply by pushing a button on the steering wheel. Other changes include a new full-color head-up display, and an available power trunk opener. A new Luxury Package adds LED fog lights, 18-inch "superchrome" wheels on the GS350 and 18-inch graphite-finish wheels on the GS450h. Interesting, the optional Lexus Night View system has been dropped.