2002 Lexus Rx300 Rx 300 Suv 4 Door Sunroof Leather Sport Utility on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Genesis wins J.D. Power Tech Experience Study for third straight time

The results are out for the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study, which "focuses on the user experience with advanced vehicle technology as it first comes to market and is an early measure of problems encountered by vehicle owners." Its measurement metric is problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), same as with the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS). The takeaway this year isn't that owners aren't using advanced technologies, as was the case with the 2022 study, or that they're having more problems with them overall. It's that owners of battery-electric vehicles are having more problems with advanced tech than owners of ICE-powered vehicles. According to the study, 17 of 21 features that can be had on both propulsion types — such as remote parking assistance and gesture controls — get lower satisfaction ratings by owners of BEVs, in some cases nearly 20 PP100.  The survey organization says this tracks with what its found in the IQS, where total vehicle problems were "46% higher among BEVs (excluding Tesla) than ICE vehicles and satisfaction is lower among owners of BEVs across nine of 10 APEAL categories than among owners of ICE vehicles." Findings regarding biometric measurements are among those that go against the overall study findings. Whether a fingerprint reader or an eye tracker, car owners in general said "they do not consider them to be useful." In terms of ease-of-use and satisfaction, plug-and-charge capability on EVs gets good marks. This allows EV owners to plug into a public charger and have payment taken care of automatically; the vehicle communicates with any charging station compatible with an automaker's plug-and-play system, so the vehicle can automatically submit a bill for the charging session to a central owner account with no further action needed at the station. Survey respondents noted a mere 6 PP100 and an 88.9% satisfaction.    Among manufacturers, repeat winners took the top prizes. Genesis earned the highest rank for innovation overall and among premium brands for the third straight year. Hyundai not only won the tech innovation banner for mass market brands for the fourth straight year, ahead of Kia, GMC, Ram and Subaru, Hyundai finished in second in the overall standings. On that overall chart, the top five are Genesis, Hyundai, Cadillac, Lexus and BMW. On the premium chart, Genesis is followed by Cadillac, Lexus, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the top five. It wasn't close from the first to the rest, though.

Lexus RC F sets the pace Down Under

A few months back we reported that Lexus was considering competing in V8 Supercars, Australia's premier touring-car series. And while it might not be ready to launch a campaign of its own, the Japanese luxury automaker has done the next-best thing. Starting this season, the Lexus RC F will serve as the series' official safety car. The eight-cylinder muscle coupe appears to be mechanically unmodified, as it is apparently suitable to the task right out of the showroom. It has, however, been enhanced with a special livery, emergency lighting and an interior likely to have been upgraded with bucket seats, racing harnesses, a roll cage and emergency equipment. The RC F safety car will be joined by an IS 350 F Sport that'll serve as the medical car and another GS 350 F Sport support vehicle, giving Lexus a strong presence on the circuit Down Under and potentially paving the way for a competitive assault on the series in the near future. Aussie racing fans can expect to see the trio on the track starting with the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide later this month. It won't be the first time we've seen Lexus provide a safety car in Australia, but it's a definite step up in profile from the GS 350 that has served for the past few years at the same Sydney Motorsport Park where this trio was launched. 06 February 2015 LEXUS ROARS INTO V8 SUPERCARS WITH RC F SAFETY CAR The Lexus high powered performance RC F coupe will feature as V8 Supercars' official Safety Car in 2015 as part of a new partnership between the Japanese luxury marque and V8 Supercars, Australia's premier motorsport series. A Lexus GS 350 F Sport and an IS 350 F Sport will also be on track as the championship's official course and medical cars as part of the new agreement. The RC F, which is equipped with a 5.0-litre V8 that produces 351kW of power and 530Nm of torque, will feature at each of the 15 V8 Supercars Championship events in 2015 alongside the GS 350 F Sport and IS 350 F Sport. Lexus Australia chief executive Sean Hanley said the partnership with V8 Supercars was a fitting match for the brand. "V8 Supercars is the world's leading touring car series and our involvement as supplier of vehicles reflects the new energy in our brand and our dynamic model lines," Mr Hanley said.

Toyota wants improved crash scores with midcycle facelifts

The performances of some Toyotas in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) regimen of crash tests leave something to be desired. Consider the small overlap frontal crash test: only six Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles have undergone the new test, yet all but one of them received a poor rating. Osama Nagata, CEO of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc., says midcycle vehicle updates are in the works to address the safety issues brought to light by the IIHS test, Automotive News reports. He confirmed that the RAV4 is getting safety updates following its crash test performance last month, but he didn't name any other models.
All three Toyotas that were tested - 2013 RAV4, 2012-2013 Prius V, 2012-2013 Camry - received poor ratings. The 2007-2012 Lexus ES 350 and 2006-2013 IS 250/350 also received poor ratings. The only other Toyota Motor Corp. vehicle to score better than poor is the 2014 Scion TC. It received an acceptable rating in the small overlap frontal crash test and is the only recent vehicle in Toyota's line-up to get the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating.
The small overlap front crash test measures the safety of a car when its front left corner is strikes an object during an accident, bypassing traditional crumple zones, which deform in a way to protect passengers. In 2009, automakers were alerted to the forthcoming addition of the test, which was first implemented last year, IIHS spokesman Russ Rader says. They responded with differing intensity, he says, pointing out that Subaru and Honda started incorporating design changes early on so their cars would perform well in the tests.