2008 Lexus Gs460 Base Sedan 4-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2014 Lexus CT 200h gains familial hourglass figure

Following reports from last week that a refreshed Lexus CT 200h would arrive in dealers for the 2014 model year, we've gotten our first glimpse of what said refresh entails, and well, at first glance, it's not much. Lexus has fitted its familial spindle-style grille and a new set of headlamps to the hybridized hatchback.
Out back, the CT 200h has gotten a set of slightly slimmer taillights, while the F-Sport model shown here sports a revised rear bumper, with what looks like a subtle diffuser and some vertical vents. All told, the exterior refinements are nice, if not subtle, additions to the five-door hatchback.
It's unclear if anything has changed inside the CT 200h, although we'd expect a similarly light refreshening in line with what's been done outside. As for the hybrid powertrain, we wouldn't expect a wholesale change in that department - at least until the next-generation CT arrives around 2016.

Autoblog Podcast #339

Farewell, Zach Bowman; Pikes Peak 2013; Datsun; 2014 Ram lineup
Episode #339 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and it's the last rodeo for Zach Bowman before he departs for other pastures. The crew this week consists of Dan Roth, Zach Bowman and Jeff Ross, who talk about the astounding records set at this year's Pike's Peak hill climb, the return of the Datsun brand name and the recently-announced 2014 Ram truck lineup. Of course, we start with the garage and end with your questions and comments. For those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. You can follow along after the jump with our Q&A. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #339:

Consumer Reports: Toyota expected to announce fix for emergency trunk releases

According to Consumer Reports, Toyota is set to release a fix for trunk release pulls on certain Lexus vehicles that could snap off in an emergency. As you may recall, CR found the federally-mandated emergency releases could break if pulled toward the user. As it turned out, the trunk surround behaved like a fulcrum, putting more force against the center of the release than toward the trunk mechanism itself. While the organization found the problem to exist on 2013 Lexus ES and GS, Toyota was able to replicate the flaw on the IS as well.
Toyota will alert 700,000 owners of 2007-2013 Lexus ES models, 2006-2012 IS vehicles and 2013 GS cars and replace the old ABS plastic release with a sturdier polypropylene part free of charge once the components are available to dealers. The service campaign is expected to begin in January.