Lexus is trying to control the inflation that comes with launching a new exotic car, especially ones that are limited-production models. Exotic car speculators often drive up the price and usually end up destroying the marketplace. Lexus plans to only offer a two-year lease of the new supercar at a fixed price that has yet to be announced.

At the end of the term, leaseholders will have the opportunity to purchase the car outright, at that time the title would be released to the purchaser. As Lexus’ vice president of sales and dealer development Brian Smith tells it, his company wants “people out driving the car and not just parking it in a museum or selling it at an inflated price.”

Lexus will also train 15 LFA specialists that will be located at the company’s four regional outposts, and the automaker will also pay for dealers to receive the special tools and training that will service the vehicles. …click here to read more

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A classic clip from Best Motoring circa 2001. Here we see three of the most respected tuning companies from the land of the rising sun. Jun, Trial, and Esprit that have each prepared a MKVI Toyota Supra for a track day at the infamous Tsukuba circuit brought to you by Best Motoring. This clip really takes us back to when the Japanese tuning was nearing its peak. …click here to read more

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On this day in 1937 The Toyota Motor Company, Ltd., began as a division of the Toyota Automatic Loom Works. The company underwent huge expansion in the 1960s and 1970s, exporting its smaller, more fuel-efficient cars to countless foreign markets. During this period, Toyota also acquired Hino Motors, Ltd., Nippondenso Company, Ltd., and Daihitsu Motor Company Ltd. Toyota has been Japan’s largest automobile manufacturer for several decades.

Photo: Toyota Corona Mark II assembly line from 1968

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Toyota deploys several new tech tools in third-generation Prius.

Instead of calling its hybrid the “Prius,” Latin for “first,” a change in strategy at Toyota could be summarized by renaming the car “Plurimus,” for “most,” because Toyota’s new plan is to make the 2010 Prius the company’s technology flagship car, equipped with all the gadgetry the company can muster.

Time was when all the Prius had to do to stand apart from other new cars was to show up. Launched in Japan in 1997 and the United States in 2000 as a 2001 model, it was the first practical car with a fuel-sipping hybrid electric drivetrain.

Yes, Honda’s original Insight was also available back then, but that model was a claustrophobic two-seater that felt more like a contender in a collegiate fuel economy contest than a real, everyday car. But hybrid technology is so widespread now that it spans the market from frugal fuel misers to the massive Cadillac Escalade NBA image-mobile. Having been first a decade ago doesn’t really matter anymore.

Recognizing that first-ness is a perishable commodity, Toyota has deployed an array of new technologies in its latest third-generation Prius aimed at cementing its appeal to the electron-heads who comprise a core constituency of the car’s fan base. …click here to read more

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Toyota engineers have developed a world first for the next-generation Prius hybrid car – plastic components made from plants you could grow in your backyard. Known as ecological plastic, the plant-based foam and injection-moulded parts are found in several locations throughout the new Prius, including the scuff plates, deck trim and seat cushions. The plant-based plastics replace conventional plastics which are made using petro-chemicals, cutting CO2 emissions over the life of the product and helping to reduce petroleum use.

Ecological plastic emits less CO2 during a product’s lifecycle because most of the CO2 emitted at disposal was originally captured during photosynthesis while the plant was growing. Toyota plans to increase the use of plant-derived ecological plastic in future vehicles. While Toyota’s technology to produce ecological plastic from the cellulose in wood or grass is new, the plants being utilised are ancient. The two principal crops, kenaf and ramie, are thousands of years old, dating from the earliest days of human society. …click here to read more

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Toyota is planning to reveal one of its most highly-anticipated sports cars at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show – the 600+ horsepower Lexus LF-A. Despite the economic downturn, the Lexus LF-A is reportedly still on schedule, which leads us to believe that we will see an October reveal at the Tokyo show. Other reports suggest that the LF-A could be ready for a debut as early as September’s at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

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Here is a very clean, and wide Toyota Supra (JZA80) thanks to the GT300 aero package from Top Secret.

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