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Toyota Mirai, Lexus LS show off Advanced Drive assists with OTA updates, AI

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp unveiled on Thursday new models of Lexus and Mirai in Japan, equipped with advanced driver assistance, as competition heats up to develop more self-driving and connected cars. Toyota's latest launch comes as automakers, electric car startups and tech giants invest heavily in so-called active safety features. The Japanese carmaker's new driving assist technology, or Advanced Drive, features a level 2 autonomous system that helps driving, such as limiting the car in its lane, maintaining the distance from other vehicles and changing lanes under the driver's supervision on expressways or other motor-vehicle-only roads. The system can even handle lane merges, and when passing trucks its lane system will move the car further to the opposite side of its lane. The car will recommend a course of action to a driver before executing it. The system also features a camera to monitor the driver's actions and level of attentiveness, and if the driver seems unresponsive or incapacitated, the car will pull itself over. The luxury sedan Lexus LS will be on sale from Thursday, costing between about 16.3 million yen ($148,600) and 17.9 million yen ($164,000), while the second-generation Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car will be offered on April 12 at between 8.4 million ($76,900) and 8.6 million yen ($78,750). This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The new models are Toyota's first products brought to the market that provide over-the-air updates and utilize AI technology centered on deep learning, said Toyota executive James Kuffner, who is also the head of Toyota's research unit Woven Planet. "This is really an important first step in our journey towards software-first development," he said at an online briefing on Thursday, adding that the company has tried to design the software to be truly global and to provide re-usability. In the future, software features on cars will be "upgradable" and "more customizable" much like how people personalize their smartphones, Kuffner added. Fully self-driven cars are still likely to be years away, but rival General Motors early this year made a splash at the virtual Consumer Electronics Show with a fully-autonomous all-electric flying Cadillac concept, while Chinese search engine operator Baidu unveiled a partnership with local car brand Geely.

Mazda rotary engine returning, in an autonomous Toyota delivery vehicle

With the return of the Toyota Supra, the Lotus Esprit and Mazda RX-7 probably share the trophy for hardcore sports cars we'd most like sequels for. The Esprit's too hopeless to consider. Mazda continues to speak in riddles about a new RX-7, but the company has confirmed that the RX-7's heart will return: The company's building a rotary-engined range-extender engine for an autonomous Toyota. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, Toyota announced its e-Palette autonomous electric delivery vehicle. The e-Palette will come in bus, shuttle, and car versions to service the delivery needs of companies like Amazon, Pizza Hut, and Uber. They'll also be built in custom configurations such as mobile hotel rooms and emergency command centers. Toyota owns 5.25 percent of Mazda, the two automakers recently signed a deal to open a factory in Alabama, and Mazda's known for ace work with small engines. It's not surprising that Toyota chose Mazda for help with the e-Palette, but the rotary aspect is novel. Mazda U.S. president Masahiro Moro said, "This is a very suitable engine to run a generator because it's compact and lightweight, with no noise or vibration, and it has very good fuel economy." There have been rumors of this development previously, as far back as 2016, then again last October in reference to an electric architecture Mazda intended for release in 2019, but Toyota was never mentioned. As to pining for that RX-7 redux, Mazda's head of powertrain said the company's overcome the technical issues of a sports-car-sized rotary engine — the challenge is making a business case for such a sports car. We think the RX-VISION made the case three years ago, and it's already fitted with the Skyactiv-R rotary. Separately, a Toyota spokesman added that the two companies are looking into whether the rotary can be useful beyond the electric car. That's not much to go on when it comes to pining for another RX-7, but hope lives on a scanty diet. Related Video:

Toyota Avalon celebrates 20 years with Touring Sport Edition

The Toyota Avalon may not have the sportiest image on the market. Heck, it doesn't even have the sportiest image in the Toyota lineup. But the Japanese automaker is out to fix that perception, at least a little bit, with the launch of the new Touring Sport Edition.
Announced together with some minor updates to the entire Avalon line - consisting primarily of enhanced safety and infotainment systems - the Avalon XLE Touring Sport Edition celebrates the 20th anniversary of Toyota's large sedan line. Setting this special edition apart are a black paintjob, HID headlights, LED daytime running lights, 18-inch alloys (similar in design to those on the Scion FR-S) and an interior decked out with perforated leather with dark blue trim... plus, of course, the requisite special badges inside and out.
Only 2,500 units will be offered with a $37,170 sticker price that puts it near (if not quite at) the top of the Avalon range that's capped by the $41,700 Avalon Hybrid Limited. Pricing has increased on most models by around two percent, and you can scope out all the details of the updates to the full range in the press releases below.