2006 Lexus Is250 Sedan 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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PSA: Toyota wants to save your life, needs an hour of your time

Toyota wrote Autoblog to ask if we could spread the word about the Takata airbag inflator recall. Defective inflators remain installed in tens of millions of cars made by 19 carmakers, with manufacture dates that go back to the year 2000. Each inflator compounds the risk of serious injury or death in an airbag-activating crash. With a new ad campaign called "in about an hour," Toyota wants to make sure that unaware owners, or overly busy owners, know they can get their Toyota, Lexus, and Scion vehicles repaired free of charge in about the time it takes to do a load of laundry. The campaign focuses on cities in three so-called Zone A states where hot, humid climates worsen the threat of the ruptured inflators: Los Angeles, Dallas, and Miami. However, every owner everywhere who cares about his life, or his child's life, should at least check to see if his car is affected. All it takes is a quick VIN entry at the dedicated recall site at Toyota.com/Recall. The results will let you know if your car is affected and, if so, locate a local dealer for the free fix. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration said the Takata affair has become "the largest and most complex safety recall in U.S. history." The numbers so far suggest the recall covers more than 42 million vehicles and more than 60 million airbags. Autoweek keeps an updated list of Takata information, including every make and model on the recall list. Consumer Reports published a list of frequently asked questions covering issues directly related and tangential to the recall. The 19 automakers maintain pages dedicated to the issue; Fiat Chrysler lists every relevant model and how it prioritizes repairs by Zone, Honda says it offers a free rental car while owner cars are repaired, Daimler vans says its fix only takes about an hour. And of course NHTSA serves all owners with its own VIN lookup site. We encourage you to check your vehicle — the life you save could be your own. Related Video:

2015 Lexus RC F Review

Every year, thousands of people buy two-door coupes that bear the badges of BMW M, Mercedes-AMG, Audi RS, and Cadillac V. These cars are powerful, fast, agile, and - if you believe the marketing - are made to kick ass on the track. But, and this is just my theory, only about 0.2 percent of these owners actually drive their cars the way the companies intended. Most buyers, I think, want the image put forth by an M4 or C63 AMG more than any dynamic abilities. These people just want to give the impression that they're out tearing up the local road course, and a $70,000 sports coupe and a pair of Pilotis are just the ticket. Which is not to say they don't use the performance of these cars, just not the full track-day capabilities. If this describes you, I recommend checking out the new Lexus RC F. This coupe is powered by a 5.0-liter V8, complete with 467 horsepower and 389 pound-feet of torque. These figures, while impressive in a vacuum, are troubling when viewed alongside the competition. The Mercedes-AMG C63 tops 500 in horsepower and torque in S guise, while the six-pot Cadillac ATS-V is nearly equal on power but offers almost 60 more pound-feet of torque. And while the BMW M4 cedes more than 40 horsepower to the Lexus, the RC F doesn't feel as potent from the driver's seat. The RC F doesn't even feel as potent as less-powerful competition. This numerical deficit translates to the stopwatch, where the RC F lags behind the force-induced competition. The C63 and ATS-V both hit 60 in 3.9 seconds, while the BMW takes 4.1 seconds (these are all manufacturer estimates, by the way). The RC F needs 4.4 seconds to hit 60 miles per hour. The only vehicle in this segment that's slower is the Audi RS 5, and that's been on sale longer than all its current competitors combined. And the Audi's charms (oh, that glorious engine note) help you overlook its lack of pace. The RC F doesn't have the aging Audi's charisma, making its lack of both perceived and actual pace more glaring. I'm placing blame on this car's overbearing induction sound. It was a neat trick on the original IS F – this car's predecessor – but over the years it's just become kind of played out. At the least the noise is real, piped into the cabin via a resonator, but it sounds too artificial. And the point at which it kicks in is entirely predictable. Neither of these traits contribute to an involving driving experience.

Recharge Wrap-up: Formula E gets more power, Tesla outsells competition

Tesla sold significantly more electric vehicles than its competitors in 2015. Tesla delivered 50,580 vehicles in 2015. 208 of those were its new Model X SUV, and likely half of its Model S units were sold in the US. By comparison, Nissan sold 17,269 Leafs. For General Motors, through the end of November, Cadillac sold 1,024 ELRs, while Chevrolet sold 15,393 Volts and 2,477 Spark EVs. Ford sold similar numbers of its plug-in vehicles in 2015, compared to Nissan and GM, putting each of those automakers between 17,000 and 19,000 EVs. By comparison, Tesla had quite a year. Read more at Teslarati. Lexus is teasing an "unprecedented" world premiere at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show. The automaker is rumored to debut its LC 500, powered by a 465-horsepower, 5.0-liter V8, as well as the LC 500h using a hybrid powertrain consisting of a V6 engine and electric motor. The LC 500h is rumored to produce over 470 horsepower. The Lexus LC will be based on the LF-LC concept that debuted in Detroit in 2012. Lexus has set up a dedicated microsite for its presentation at the Detroit show on January 11. Read more from Hybrid Cars. Formula E will raise its power limit for its third season. According to the newly published FIA Formula E 2016 Technical Regulations, output will be boosted from a maximum 200 kW (268 horsepower) to 250 kW (335 horsepower). While race energy will still be limited to 28 kWh, the battery weight limit has been raised from 200 kilograms (441 pounds) to 230 kilograms (507 pounds), likely to help accommodate the higher output. Meanwhile, overall car weight drops from 888 kilograms (1958 pounds) to 880 kilograms (1940 pounds). Lighter, more powerful cars should make the next season of Formula E even more exciting. Read more at Current E. Related Gallery Lexus LF-LC Concept: Detroit 2012 View 11 Photos News Source: Telsarati, Hybrid Cars, Lexus, Current E, FIA Formula EImage Credit: Formula E Green Motorsports Detroit Auto Show Lexus Tesla Electric Hybrid recharge wrapup