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Optimistic Lexus bumps US sales target higher

Last year Lexus sold 244,166 cars in the US, slotting into third place in the luxury segment behind BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Earlier this year Lexus said its target was 260,000 units in the US (which would still put it behind BMW's and Mercedes' numbers from last year), but Automotive News reports that it has raised its upper outlook to 270,000 cars.
The half-year pace hasn't been enough to make either number, but Lexus is gunning for a 15-percent gain in IS sales behind the arrival of the 2014 model, and this is also the first full year of sales of the new ES and LS. Lexus will most likely end the year in third place in the luxury segment behind BMW and Mercedes again, even if it does sell 270,000 units, but has said its prime directive is "good, steady growth."

Lexus reveals production RC coupe en route to Tokyo

Feast your eyes, ladies and gentlemen, on the new Lexus RC coupe. With the exception of the six-figure LFA supercar, it's the first stand-alone two-door model to come from Toyota's premium brand since the demise of the SC, and it's coming to the Tokyo Motor Show later this month.
With unmistakably Japanese styling, the Lexus RC is clearly inspired by the LF-CC and LF-LC concepts, and features the brand's signature spindle grille. Anyone who's been inside a contemporary Lexus should feel right at home inside the four-seat cabin, where the Japanese automaker has fitted ambient lighting that glows upwards instead of down, coupled with a new Remote Touch Interface.
Lexus has already announced two versions of the coupe: the conventional RC350 with a 3.5-liter gasoline engine and the RC300h with a 2.5-liter hybrid setup. It's all packed into a form that, for comparison's sake, is slightly larger than the new BMW 4 Series but markedly smaller (in every dimension but height) than a 6 Series.

Junkyard Gem: 1997 Lexus LS 400

When Toyota introduced the Celsior to the world in 1989, followed shortly by Lexus LS 400-badged versions appearing in showrooms (as 1990 models) around the world, automotive-industry executives from Stuttgart to Yokohama broke out in the shaky sweats. Here was a designed-from-scratch (at the cost of over a billion bucks) luxury sedan with a six-bolt-main DOHC V8 engine, all manner of futuristic gadgetry, a super-quiet interior, intimidating build quality … and a sticker price 44% lower than that of the Mercedes-Benz 420SEL, 30% cheaper than the BMW 735i, 26% cheaper than the Audi V8, 12% cheaper than the Jaguar XJ6, and 8% cheaper than the Infiniti Q45. Sales were brisk, and the early LS 400s are finally starting to wear out in sufficient quantities that I see quite a few in the self-service wrecking yards I frequent. The second-generation LS was built for the 1995 through 2000 model years, and these machines have held together so well and depreciated so slowly that it's tough to find discarded examples (we saw the same process with the sturdy Toyota Cressida a decade or two earlier). Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those second-generation cars, now located in a Denver car graveyard. I admired the LS 400 so much that, about 10 years ago, I bought a '97 Coach Edition in Jade Green Metallic paint and (2018 LS 500 shown for scale). Because I am a hopeless car nerd, I had a Celsior grille and set of badges shipped over from Japan and installed them on my Lexus. When the 1997 Toyota Century — the first year with the ultra-smooth V12 engine — becomes import-legal in the United States next year, I plan to obtain one. My LS 400 has been extremely reliable and still hasn't reached the 150,000-mile mark, but I like to know that I can find junkyard parts for it if necessary. I went to visit this car because I was hoping to find a good set of factory wheels for my winter tires; the Blizzaks roll on some much-rashed ugly LS wheels at the moment. I passed on these Vision alloys, in part because there were only three on the car. The interior appears to have been thoroughly worn-out even before junkyard shoppers tore it apart. I don't know how many miles were on this car (because I'd have had to connect a battery to get the digital odometer to show me anything) but I'm guessing the final total would be impressive. The 1UZ-FE V8 displaces 4.0 liters and was rated at 260 horsepower.