A new Lexus LX 570 is going to set you back nearly $82k after you add $875 delivery to its $80,930 base price. The luxury version of the Toyota Land Cruiser wears a new Lexus spindle grille, one that’s big enough to make Rumplestiltskin proud, and it has revised front and rear fascias among the other upgrades that Lexus says justify its 1.9-percent price increase.

Among the other new-for-2013 features are an updated Crawl Control mode and terrain-select for the all-wheel-drive system, because what Lexus owner doesn’t enjoy serious rock-crawling? A new multimedia system with the next-generation Lexus Enform system is also part of the deal, which seems much more in line with real-world customer behavior, as Enform allows drivers to use Facebook and Yelp, among other services.

For those LX 570 buyers who just must have it all, there’s also a $1,510 luxury package that adds some higher grade trim and features, and a backseat entertainment system for $2,005.

Toyota only sold 3,167 units of the Lexus LX last year, down by about 20 percent.

To read the full release, click past the jump. Read More »

Cadillac is gunning for BMW. The company’s recently unveiled ATS is a clear shot across the bow of the German automaker’s 3 Series, and Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports the small sedan may be the first of a larger product offensive. Kurt McNeil, vice president of sales with Cadillac, said the luxury brand is currently looking into the possibility of a small CUV designed to lure in BMW X3 buyers. The vehicle would be smaller than the current Cadillac SRX, which saw an 11 percent increase in sales last year.
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BMW is expanding its operations in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The company has announced it will invest $990 million into the facility over the next three years to allow the plant to produce up to 350,000 vehicles annually. Currently, the Spartanburg assembly plant produces the BMW X3 (pictured), X5 and X6, and BMW says the company expects to see an increase in CUV demand in the coming years. BMW has already committed to broadening its presence in the crossover market with the introduction of the upcoming X4 model.
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Nissan has good news for anyone weeping about the fact that the 2013 Pathfinder has abandoned its body-on-frame ways. The company isn’t completely ditching legitimate SUVs for the crossover crowd. According to Car and Driver, the Nissan Xterra will continue to shun a unibody design for the conceivable future. The magazine spoke with engineers familiar with the development of the Xterra who said the vehicle will share its DNA with the Nissan Frontier for years to come.
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The editors from Autoweek have lined up their notes and named their 2011 Best of the Best. The 2012 Audi A7 and Land Rover Range Rover Evoque took the top honors, with editor Wes Raynal saying that the Audi is a vehicle with “few peers” thanks its integration of sedan styling and hatchback functionality. The Evoque, meanwhile, won over the hearts and minds of those at Autoweek thanks to its Land Rover roots and excellent ride refinement. The publication says the Evoque redefines the brand.

Autoweek isn’t alone in its picks. As you may recall, the editors at our sister site, AOL Autos, chose both the A7 and the Evoque for the website’s first-ever car of the year awards, Motor Trend named the Evoque its SUV of the Year, and we’re rather fond of them both, as well.

In order to qualify for the Autoweek Best of the Best list, a vehicle had to be completely or substantially new for 2011. Click past the jump for the full press release. Read More »

Nissan is recalling just over 14,700 vehicles from the 2011 and 2012 model years over faulty bolts in the engine. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “bolts that connect the engine oil cooler and the engine oil filter to the engine in these vehicles may have been manufactured to below specification strength.”

Affected Nissan vehicles include the 2011-12 Pathfinder, 2011-12 Xterra, 2012 NV and 2012 Frontier. Additionally, the 2011 Infiniti FX and 2012 Infiniti M are being recalled for this issue.
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Eight-hundred horsepower. 0-60 in 3.1 seconds. $235,000. Given those numbers, you’d think we were talking about a supercar, right? Well we are, if by supercar you mean something with otherworldly performance capabilities. But this is no two-seat roadster. This is a Jeep.

To be more specific, this is the latest Hennessey HPE800 Twin Turbo, a new rocket sled based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. That model usually packs a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 – which is already big by any measure – but Hennessey’s bored it out to a nice round 7.0 liters and bolted a pair of turbochargers to it.
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