With high fuel prices and decreased cash flow, many buyers are looking for smaller cars that don’t compromise on luxury or prestige – or so the theory goes. It’s a lesson that the European automakers have learned, and learned well with offerings like the BMW 1 Series, Audi A3, and Volvo C30. Now, Lexus has confirmed it is entering the fray with a contender of its own, releasing this sketch to give us a little preview. (more…)

There’s a new sheriff in town at Toyota, and he’s wasting no time in making his presence felt at the World’s Largest Automaker. Fortunately, that finally means a return to building fun-to-drive cars after years of offering virtually nothing to tempt the enthusiast market. We can only hope that some of that sporting DNA finds its way into the rest of the automaker’s staid lineup as well. (more…)

As previously reported, Lexus will unveil a new concept at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show that aims to compete with the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series in Europe. (more…)

Lexus accidentally let it slip that there was a Japanese brochure leaked ahead of the Lexus RX 2009 launch. We weren’t supposed to see the 4×4 until the November 2008 LA auto show, but we’ve tracked down the photos of the new Lexus RX early.

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A BMW 1-series has a rival. The official confirmation was released by Lexus saying that the company will provided a compact class vehicle in light of CO2 regulations. Speaking to the German media, European company MD Tadashi Arashima told reporters: ‘We will offer a Lexus in the compact class’. He explained that Lexus needed ’smaller and more efficient vehicles’ in the face of European CO2 regulations.

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