Lexus

Hybrids dominate European Lexus sales

Lexus has announced that they sold 16,800 vehicles with Lexus Hybrid Drive (aka Hybrid Synergy Drive) in Europe in 2007, their best performance yet. Toyota's premium brand is dominating the premium hybrid segment in Europe. Not hard to do considering they are the only manufacturer offering premium hybrids. Thirty-eight percent of all the Lexus models sold in Western Europe last year were hybrids, up from twenty-six percent in 2006. Interestingly the LS600h has accounted for fifty-six percent of LS sales since its launch in July. Here in the U.S., the LS600h accounts for well under ten percent of sales. Similarly, the RX400h accounts for eighty-six percent of RX sales in Europe while, here they were only about seventeen percent last year. Given the relative disinterest in hybrids in Europe, these numbers seem unusual.
In the AutoblogGreen Garage: 2008 Lexus LS600h L - Yep, it's a hybrid!
Since Toyota introduced the world to the practical, mainstream hybrid vehicle a decade ago, it has sold over a million of them. Six different hybrid models are now offered, with three each under the Toyota and Lexus banners. While the Prius continues to grab the bulk of hybrid sales, the newest model in the lineup is far and away the most expensive hybrid any manufacturer has yet offered.We're talking about the new Lexus LS600h L. The "h" of course represents the fact that this luxury sedan is equipped with Hybrid Synergy Drive (or, as the Lexus division calls it, Lexus Hybrid Drive). Ever since the original LS400 debuted in 1990, Toyota has been trying to take on the best that the Germans have to offer. Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz each offer a 6.0L twelve cylinder engine in their top sedans. Toyota instead chose to follow a different path. Rather than engineer a new, larger engine, it adapted its hybrid system to the LS to create a car that performs like the Germans while delivering better fuel efficiency. We spent a week with the LS600 h L to see if Toyota succeeded.


Lexus to get its own Prius for 2009 Detroit show


Gasoline-electric powertrain aside, part of what makes the Toyota Prius get such good mileage is the stripped-out interior and itty-bitty wheels. Put in a leather interior, power everything, premium entertainment system with DVD players and LCD televisions and big wheels – features that Lexus customers (even those in hybrid models) have come to expect – and the purpose teeters on the brink of defeat. But that's what looks to be shaping up.
Our report from last month seems to be picking up speed – in typically slow Prius style – that Lexus will get its own version of the next-generation Toyota Prius. The initial reports were spurred by an announcement from Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe that the Japanese motor giant would come to Detroit next year with two dedicated hybrid models – one for Toyota, and one for Lexus. While the Toyota will likely retain its hatchback form, the Lexus is expected to take on a "lifestyle wagon" bodystyle. Whatever that means, it should give poseurs enough space to carry around enough cargo to vanquish that purpose altogether.
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Stars of the movie Jumper caught driving hybrid Lexus

Jumper, the #1 movie last weekend, includes the theft of an AMG-tuned Mercedes-Benz SL (you can watch the trailer after the jump). Samuel L. Jackson's character in the movie asks Hayden Christensen's character if he thought he could get away with it. In real life, though, it seems Hayden may be very considerate of his impact on world.Christensen has been spotted in a Ferrari 360 Modena, but it turns out the actor might have a little bit of a green streak in him. According to a recent interview with Details, Hayden is planting trees on his farm and last September he was caught driving a hybrid Lexus owned by Rachel Bilson, his Jumper co-star.