Used-Car Prices Fall to Lowest Level This Year

After rising slightly in April, late-model used-car prices dipped again in May. The average price for 2010 to 2012 used cars on Cars.com stood at $22,508 on May 1, a $159 decrease from April 1 and the lowest average price so far this year.

Of the 10 models with the biggest price drops in May, half of them were from luxury brands. Leading the list with the biggest price decline was the Lexus ES 350 sedan. After experiencing a run-up last month, its average asking price fell $2,682 to $30,735, an 8% decline. Lexus alone had three of the top 10 models, with the LS 460 full-size sedan and HS 250h hybrid both experiencing 3% price drops.

The top used-car price gains in May were more closely grouped than in prior months, ranging from 2% to 4%. Most of the top 10 advanced 2%, but two pickup trucks — the full-size Ram 2500 and compact GMC Canyon — saw 4% and 3% increases, respectively.

The chart below details the top 10 used cars from the 2010 to 2012 model years with the biggest price drops — as well as the 10 with the biggest increases. To be eligible for the list, a model had to have 500 cars in Cars.com's national inventory.

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.

Cars.com Family Reviews the 2013 Lexus ES 350

The 2013 Lexus ES 350 wears its first redesign since 2007, and it now looks sportier, says Cars.com Family reviewer Sara Lacey. This spacious sedan's V-6 engine offers plenty of power for city and highway driving. The ES' interior is laden with technology, including an available voice-activated navigation system and Lexus Enform multimedia system. Sara found the systems to be intimidating and difficult to use without taking her eyes off the road while driving.

2013 Lexus ES 350 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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2013 Lexus ES Review
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2013 Lexus ES 350 Video

Lexus redesigned its midsize luxury sedan for 2013, bringing more attractive styling inside and out. A new hybrid model joins the lineup this year. Cars.com reviewer Kelsey Mays takes a look at the ES 350, which he says is not just a gussied-up Toyota. Built on a larger platform than the outgoing generation, the new ES offers a spacious cabin, better driving experience and sporty styling. But will a confused transmission, inconsistent interior quality and lack of competitive features scare off car shoppers?

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Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Lexus ES
Lexus Announces Pricing for 2013 ES Models
Research the 2013 Lexus ES 350 

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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Tougher IIHS Crash Test Could Mean Fewer Top Safety Picks

Roof-Strength Ratings Offer Insight on Rollover Safety

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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.