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Lexus LF-LC Concept goes blue, remains happy

Until the day when we can see a production version of the Lexus LF-LC Concept, we'll just make do with seeing the sleek two-door in different colors for now. After first showing us the car in a Candy Apple Red color at the Detroit Auto Show, Lexus has brought its LF-LC Blue (in a deep ocean blue) from Down Under to LA.
Aside from the new color, there's nothing new for us to see here. That means we were still ogling over its flowing body lines, impressed by its 500-horsepower hybrid drive system and looking forward to possibly seeing the car go into production.

Lexus LF-NX Concept takes aim at the small crossover herd [w/video]

Lexus is drawing crowds with its sharply styled LF-NX Concept, a car that previews a competitor for the likes of the BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz GLK (also debuting at Frankfurt) and Audi Q3. We previewed the LF-NX last week, but we've since gotten a bit of in-person time with the compact crossover on the Frankfurt show floor.
There's a lot of show-car tinsel here, but the makings of a production model are fairly visible. That trademark Lexus face, with the separate headlight and running light arrays and an even more extreme version of the "spindle" grille, is present and accounted for. The styling is sliced and carved, like the Lexus IS, although it's difficult to tell if the production model will be quite so extreme in its looks. We'll bet yes.
Take a look above for the full set of live images from Frankfurt, then scroll down for video and some of the stock images from the original, online unveiling. Finally, click over for our complete coverage of the LF-NX from its debut, last week.

Google self-driving Lexus crashes into a bus

Google's self-driving cars have been in accidents before, but always on the receiving end... at least, until now. The company has filed a California DMV accident report (PDF) confirming that one of its autonomous vehicles (a Lexus RX450h) collided with a bus in Mountain View. The crash happened when the robotic SUV had to go into the center lane to make a right turn around some sand bags – both the vehicle and its test driver incorrectly assumed that a bus approaching from behind would slow or stop to let the car through. The Lexus smacked into the side of the bus at low speed, damaging its front fender, wheel and sensor in the process. This was a minor incident, and we're happy to report that there were no injuries. However, this might be the first instance where one of Google's self-driving cars caused an accident. If so, the Mountain View crew can no longer say it's an innocent dove on the roads -- while this wasn't a glitch, its software made a decision that led to a crash. We've reached out to Google to see if it can elaborate on what happened. No matter what the response, it was always going to be difficult to avoid this kind of incident. Until self-driving cars can anticipate every possible road hazard, there's always a chance that they'll either be confused or make choices with unexpected (and sometimes unfortunate) consequences. However, the hope at this early stage isn't to achieve a flawless track record. Instead, it's to show that self-driving cars can be safer overall than their human-piloted counterparts.Related Video:This article by Jon Fingas originally ran on Engadget, the definitive guide to this connected life. Image Credit: AP Photo/Eric Risberg Green Lexus Safety SUV Autonomous Vehicles Videos California transportation gear