Toyota to Build First Lexus in the U.S.

Toyota launched its Lexus division in September 1989 with two 1990 models at opposite ends of the spectrum: the LS 400, a rear-drive V-8 flagship, and the ES 250, a front-drive cousin to the plebian Camry. In their first month, the two cars combined for 4,135 sales. Fast-forward nearly 25 years and Toyota has sold 4,397,799 Lexus cars and SUVs in America. Lexus led all luxury-brand sales from 2000 to 2010.

All without building a single car here.

That's right. Toyota, whose Kentucky- and Indiana-built Camry has led Cars.com's American-Made Index for four years in a row, imports its Lexus cars from Japan and Canada.

That's about to change, however. The automaker announced today it will build the ES 350 — five generations past the 1990 original — in Georgetown, Ky., to the tune of about $360 million invested. Toyota's 1,300-acre plant, its largest in North America, already assembles the Camry, Avalon and Venza, not to mention various four-cylinder and V-6 engines and other components. It employs 6,600 and builds some 500,000 cars a year; the ES will add 750 jobs and another 50,000 cars to the plant's annual capacity.

Best Hybrids for the Money 2013

Gas prices remain volatile, but even so, no one expects prices below $3 per gallon ever again, and many parts of the country consistently see prices near or above $4. As much as ever, shoppers need to know how effectively hybrids deliver efficiency for your dollar — if they do at all.

To determine if a hybrid's added expense is worth the cash, we devised an efficiency-cost rating to reflect efficiency bang for your overall buck.

It's simply the combined city/highway mpg divided by the base price (MSRP plus destination charge). We then multiply that number by 1,000. This formula can be applied to any type of vehicle, hybrid or not. A high mpg rating and low price provide a high efficiency-cost rating. A higher score is the better score.

We don't account for equipment levels, quality judgments, cost of ownership or any variances from EPA mileage estimates. The goal here is to pay the least for the most mileage, barring all other considerations.

Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Buick LaCrosse

The 2013 Buick LaCrosse eAssist doesn't offer the Volkswagen Passat TDI's value or the high-end Lexus ES 300h's fuel economy, but Cars.com reviewer Jennifer Geiger says it "pleasantly" splits the difference between practicality and price. The mild hybrid version of Buick's largest sedan improves gas mileage with its lithium-ion battery pack and 15-kilowatt electric motor combined with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine; the result is seamless acceleration and a "pillowy" ride. While the LaCrosse's lush interior draws nearer to "luxury" than "near-luxury" competitors, backseat comfort and cargo space may necessitate hanging on to that hyphen.

2013 Buick LaCrosse Review

2013 Lexus ES 350 and 300h: Car Seat Check

For 2013, the Lexus ES 350 received a redesign that included a new exterior look and an upgraded interior. It also welcomed a hybrid counterpart, the ES 300h, for the first time. For the Car Seat Check, we installed car seats in the 300h, but the results can be applied to the ES 350; both sedans have seating for five and the same interior dimensions. The 300h's battery pack does eat into the trunk space, though. The ES 350 has 15.2 cubic feet of cargo space, but the 300h has 12.1.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat.

2013 Lexus ES Joins NHTSA's Five-Star Club

Lexus' midsize sedan is the latest vehicle to be awarded the top rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The 2013 ES 350 earned an overall five out of five stars in NHTSA's crash tests.

The composite score for the ES was composed of mostly five stars across the different areas of crash testing, but it did earn four stars in the rollover test. The sedan earned fives in overall driver safety, frontal crashes and overall side crashes.

For 2013, the Lexus ES grows longer, gets fresh styling and adds a hybrid model to the lineup. Both the ES 350 and the hybrid ES 300h versions received a combined five-star rating from NHTSA.

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Consumer Reports Finds Faulty Release Inside Trunks of Lexus ES, GS

If you own a car from the last 10 years, you've probably noticed a glow-in-the-dark trunk release on the inside of the trunk. That's to help anyone who happens to find themselves inside the trunk escape from it. It's been a federal requirement for all cars in the U.S. since Sept. 1, 2001, following a 1998 summer where 11 children died from inadvertent trunk entrapment. Since its implementation, no children have died in the trunk of a car that has the release.

Consumer Reports noted the release inside their 2013 Lexus ES and GS sedans could snap off, however. One editor's 4-year-old son wanted to test (under supervision) the emergency release, which snapped off. The publication found that in the ES 350, ES 300h and GS 350 sedans, the release lever could break if you pulled it toward the driver's side of the car. Lexus parent, Toyota, told Consumer Reports that the Lexus IS has a similar release design. Consumer Reports spot-tested other test cars in its fleet and found no such issues.

Dodge Dart, Lexus ES and Two More Named Top Safety Picks

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s list of Top Safety Picks has grown by four cars. The 2013 versions of the Lexus ES, Dodge Dart, Hyundai Santa Fe and Subaru XV Crosstrek have earned IIHS’ top award.

To earn the safety nod, a car must receive the highest score of Good in front, side, rear and rollover crash tests. The rollover test looks at a vehicle’s roof strength. To pass this crash test, a car’s roof must withstand a force of four times its weight.

The ES and Santa Fe have been redesigned for the 2013 model year. Both the ES 350 and ES 300h, a hybrid, have been named Top Safety Picks, besting the 2012 ES 350 that earned a Marginal score in the rear crash test. The 2012 Santa Fe also was a Top Safety Pick.

The new-for-2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek’s crash-test scores are no surprise since it’s based on the Subaru Impreza, which is also a Top Safety Pick. The Dart is also new for 2013.

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Roof-Strength Ratings Offer Insight on Rollover Safety

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August's Fastest- and Slowest-Selling Cars

The Hyundai Santa Fe Sport topped last month's fastest-selling cars — a list that mixed the usual influx of redesigns and introductions with a lot of older cars. The 2013 Toyota Corolla, Honda Fit, Mini Cooper, Audi A3 and Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen flew off dealer lots last month. All but the A3 saw sales increases, with the Corolla, Fit and Cooper up more than 25% apiece. But all five cars have been on the market for some time since their last update, and none offer major incentives. One possible factor is gas prices, which have risen 20 cents in the past month. All five cars have variants with combined EPA mileage of 30 mpg or better.

Response to the redesigned Hyundai Santa Fe has been "nothing short of remarkable," Hyundai sales chief Dave Zuchowski said in a statement Tuesday. However, sales for the nameplate — whose redesign sprouts a new Santa Fe Sport derivative that's lumped into the same sales figure — fell nearly 50% for the month. What gives?

Mercedes, Lexus and Audi Fail Latest IIHS Crash Tests

The 2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Audi A4 and two Lexus sedans — the IS 250/350 and the outgoing ES 350 — failed the latest round of IIHS frontal tests.

As we reported Monday, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s new offset frontal-barrier test simulates a 40-mph collision with a rigid barrier that overlaps just 25% of the car. The test simulates a front-corner collision with a tree, a pole or another vehicle, a scenario that is responsible for almost 25% of front crashes that seriously injure or kill someone in front, IIHS says. The new test will augment the agency's existing frontal test, which crashes a car at 40 mph against a deformable barrier that overlaps 40% of the front.

"Outside of some automakers’ proving grounds, such a test isn’t currently conducted anywhere else in the United States or Europe," IIHS said in a statement, noting that despite an increasing number of cars that score well in frontal crash tests, some 10,000 highway deaths still come from frontal collisions each year.

Lexus Announces Pricing for 2013 ES Models

When the redesigned Lexus ES 350 goes on sale later this summer, it'll start at $36,995, including an $895 destination charge. That's a 1.7% decrease compared to model-year 2012 versions. Its hybrid sibling, the ES 300h, will cost $2,750 more at $39,745. 

The ES 350 gets a little longer for 2013 and now uses the brand's new spindle grille and a revised suspension. The previous version's 268-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 and six-speed automatic transmission carry over.