Take one baby boomer favorite - The Fonz - stick him in a boomer dream car - a Lexus RX 400h - and send him off on a cross-country trip through the UK, teaching kids the value of reading. This is the idea behind an effort between Lexus and First News to support the Government's 2008 National Year of Reading.

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The extrovert of the entire Lexus lineup, the IS-F isn't light on visual or actual horsepower. Japan's Wald Tuning hasn't let that fact get in their way of releasing the Sports Line Black Bison bodykit. Wald's setup adds some visual aggression through an increase in the number of strakes and vents, as well as a trunklid spoiler. Doubtless, this get-up will add weight, possibly offering contradictory real-world performance from a vehicle that certainly looks like it should be fast. The amped-up visuals also help distract from the controversial fender gills, and the Black Bison package for the IS-F manages tack-on without being overly tacky. Well, maybe just a little tacky.

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Usually, when a corporation donates something and then says the reason is to "raise awareness," what do you think of? Breast cancer, perhaps? Or maybe some wetlands somewhere? A bay, maybe.

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After countless spy photos and appearances at auto shows for the past several years in two different styling forms, the Lexus LF-A made its first official appearance on the road this weekend at the Nürburgring 24 hour race. At some point during the weekends festivities, Automobile managed to snag a shot of the engine lurking under the race-prepped Lexus' hood. We can't derive a lot of details from this single shot, but we can get a few tidbits.

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Starting in a few weeks (mid- to late-May) a Prius will cost you $400 more than it used to. Toyota announced across-the-board price increases to 2008 and 2009 Toyota and Lexus models today (Scion were "adjusted" back in April), and all Toyota models included in the list are up between $100 (the Tundra) and $500 (the Highlander hybrid). The price of the 2009 Camry hybrid has been upped $300 to $25,650. As for the smiling icon, the 2008 Prius' MSRP's new base price is $21,500 or 1.8 percent higher than before. On the Lexus side, the RX 400h is now $300 more and will cost you $41,580.

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Toyota’s premium mark Lexus has announced that its LF-A super car concept will participate at the 36th annual Nürburgring 24 Hour endurance race that will be run from May 22-25 at the famous circuit in Germany. Since the LF-A is not a thoroughbred race car, it will only feature the necessary safety modifications to meet racing regulations, including a roll cage and fuel tank.

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With recent appearances of the Lexus LF-A prototype production version becoming a common occurrence in and around the Nürburgring area, spy photographers have caught something special in its wake. Never seen before, an LF-A prototype in race trim was spotted wearing a more purposeful aerodynamics kit which includes a redesigned front bumper with stacked front winglets or dive planes on the sides, smaller Le Mans Prototype style mirrors and dramatic fixed rear wing. Other significant observations include revised headlamps, lower bumper mounted fog lamps, hood pins, wavy body panels indicating composite or plastic material, roll cage and most importantly a quick-access fuel filler cap behind the passenger side window with carbon fiber mounting panel.

Our spy sources have heard rumours that Lexus will use the upcoming legendary 24-hours race at the German Nürburgring in May to launch the all-new LF-A to the public. Given all of these revealing details, perhaps they're not rumours after all. However, it won't be the production car that debuts but instead this aggressive race variant. So, if it's a race car, then why is it strutting around on public roads? Simply because the 24 Hours Nürburgring is a unique race that allows vehicles ranging from regular road cars, European Touring Car Championship, German Touring Car (DTM) and of course Le Mans GT cars.

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So here is the first rendered speculation of what Lexus’ hybrid-only model will look like. The car which is set to debut at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show is being called a ‘lifestyle wagon-like vehicle based on the Prius platform and drivetrain.’

More info has popped up on VWVortex forums courtesy of a scan from MagX. According to the post, the Lexus hybrid, internally known as the 812L, will have a roofline similar to that of the Prius with distinct Lexus styling that will be in sync with the L-finesse design language.

Pricing is expected to be over $30,000. While it’s still uncertain whether or not the next-generation Prius will use lithium-ion batteries, the Lexus 812L is expected to be equipped with Li-On batteries since Lexus can offset the development cost with a higher price point.

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Last year Lexus released a limited edition 2007 IS 250 X (now referred to as a IS 250 special edition) which sold out in six weeks, twice as fast as expected. Reason enough for Lexus Australia to go down the same road again with the limited edition Lexus IS 250 X, of which only 450 units will be built.

The Lexus IS 250 X will be available in two signature colors, Artic Blue and Vermillion as well as Onyx Black and will feature an all-black leather interior. Besides the color-combo's, the special edition features a sports suspension, 14-speaker Mark Levinson sound system, sunroof, sat-nav, park assist and unique five-spoke 18 inch alloy wheels.

Retail price has been set at AUD 64,790 for the automatic and AUD 67,390 for the manual transmission version, which translates as a good deal cheaper than the IS 250 Sports model. Lexus Australia chief executive, John Roca: "This is a once in a blue moon opportunity to secure a limited edition of Australia's best prestige car - Lexus' IS 250.”

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You're in a compact sedan with a 5.0-liter, 416-hp V-8 with four-valve Yamaha heads that contain titanium intake valves. Where do you head? The dyno, of course.

And so we did. The fellas at Ralph Willis Automotive in Salinas, California cleared their schedule for us to sneak the IS-F onto their DynoJet dynamometer. The results, as you can see from the chart below, are impressive. The IS-F is rated at 416 hp and 371 lb-ft of torque at the engine - and it delivered 333 of those horses and 318 lb-ft of torque to its rear wheels.

Those are impressive numbers given that the engine's output is funneled through an eight-speed automatic transmission. And how do they compare to the competition?

An RS4 we tested (see the link below to the full story) put out a very close 331 horsepower (and 276 lb-ft of torque) to its wheels. We should mention that the RS4 was tested on a Dynapack, which may be calibrated differently than the DynoJet model used for the Lexus.

As always, it's not the peak numbers of a dyno graph that are important, it's the shape of the torque curve. The Lexus' torque builds in a linear fashion as revs rise, but then things get a little hairy. Torque dips slightly between 4500 and 5000 rpm, and then peaks at 5200.

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Ever since its launch in the U.S. market in 1989, Lexus has enjoyed a lot of success with the Americans becoming a top selling brand by 2000. But the brand has been struggling in its home market ever since it was launched there three years ago. Luxury buyers in the Japanese market seem to be more interested in foreign brands, mainly German marquees like BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.

By the time Lexus arrived in Japan, German brands had dominated the luxury segment, leaving Lexus in the dust. Lexus reached only 60% of Toyota’s initial sales projections to date.

In 2007, Lexus sold 34,800 units, a number very close to what it sold in the U.S. in December alone. According to BusinessWeek, a big problem is Lexus’ initial lineup. Toyota’s luxury brand launched in Japan with just three models: the GS sports sedan, the SC convertible (which we think is totally hideous) and the entry-level IS. All three models had been previously available in Japan under the Toyota badge for around 20 percent less than their Lexus siblings.

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When I think about the Lexus brand, the first thing that comes to mind is not its hybrid option. In Europe, it seems Lexus and hybrid are synonymous because a Lexus official told the BBC, "Hybrid is Lexus brand defining technology." We have written about the increasing Lexus hybrid sales in Europe over the years and even the shocker that hybrid Lexus vehicles were outselling the gas versions 4-to-1 in Europe. Sainsbury's chief executive, Justin King, gave up his Maserati Quattroporte for a hybrid Lexus. Overall, though, Europeans still love diesel and aren't big fans of hybrids. Also, and you might find this hard to believe (he wrote sarcastically) but Europe already has one (or two?) luxury car brands.

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So we recently got some seat time in the Lexus IS F, and we can proudly report that it's not anything Lexus has ever been before. Does it really compare to the M3 and C63 AMG? In a little-kid-from-down-the-street-trying-to-get-in-the-game way, yeah. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be in the game.

I could start off with wheel sizes and the 8-speed transmission and all that, but this car is only marginally about the numbers. Still, let's get the numbers out of the way:

Lexus IS-F
8-speed auto, 5.0L V8, 416-HP, 371 lb.-ft.

BMW M3
6-speed manual, 4.0L V8, 414-HP, 295 lb.-ft.

Mercedes C 63 AMG
7-speed auto, 6.2L V8, 467-HP, 442 lb.-ft.

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The engineers and designers at Lexus continue to use their groundbreaking LF-A premium sports car concept as a medium for expressing their ideas about what a high-performance sporting vehicle not only can be, but should be. In this latest expression of the LF-A, they have removed the car’s top to create a high-performance roadster.

The LF-A Roadster is based on the sturdy yet lightweight carbon-fiber and aluminum body used for the LF-A coupe, which helps maintain the structure’s strength and rigidity even without a top. Like its coupe counterpart, the LF-A Roadster is powered by a high-revving V10 engine that approaches 5.0 liters in displacement. The V10, capable of more than 500 horsepower and test-track speeds greater than 200 mph, is mounted in front of the passenger compartment but behind the front-axle centerline in what the LF-A’s engineers refer to as a “front-mid” configuration.

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Upmarket Honda brand Acura believes that bigger still is better. Despite indications that the American public may be ready to move to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, the luxury brand intends to keep selling larger vehicles. More surprisingly, despite Lexus’ huge success in the area, Acura will not be selling any hybrid models any time soon, even though Honda is releasing its global hybrid powertrain this year. Instead a new diesel engine will be introduced into the range.

Dick Colliver, executive vice president of Acura, told AutoObserver that hybrids are not a good fit for Acura’s current and future lineup. When it comes to meeting future fuel economy standards with hybrid technology Colliver believes, “when you go into the bigger vehicles, it’s going to be very difficult. Our position is it’s better-suited for smaller cars.”

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