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Toyota Camry, Lexus RX to get aluminum parts

Ah, aluminum. The lightweight, strong material has long held a following within the premium ranks, but as Ford prepares to launch an aluminum F-150, the material is gaining acceptance among more mainstream automakers. Toyota is one such brand, with a new report indicating that the Japanese giant will add aluminum bits and bobs to some of its upcoming vehicles.
These won't be full, aluminum-intensive treatments like the F-150, however. Automotive News reports that an aluminum hood and liftgate will be coming to the 2016 Lexus RX, and following that, the Camry will get a bonnet built from Element 13 for model year 2018.
As AN points out, Toyota is no stranger to aluminum, using it in Japanese-built models like the Prius and Scion FR-S. The RX and Camry, though, will mark the first time the company's North American factories will use the material, and they'll do so on a significantly larger scale, owing to the higher volumes that the Camry and RX represent.

Lexus builds final LFA supercar

Lexus has officially built the very last LFA. The 500th Lexus supercar rolled from the company's Motomachi facility on December 14th wearing all of the goodies of the Nürburgring package and white paint. Toyota's Lexus division started production on the car exactly two years ago on December 15, 2010 and built just one unit per working day. A total of 170 workers were hand-picked to handle parts manufacturing, assembly and painting for the LFA project. While Lexus has made it clear it will produce no more LFA models, lessons gleaned from the vehicle's construction may translate into other future products.
Specifically, Toyota says it may employ its carbon fiber reinforced plastic experience moving forward. As you may recall, the LFA made extensive use of CFRP and carbon fiber, and Lexus even created a special rotary loom to stitch together the supercar's A-pillars. Take a look at the brief press release on the last LFA below.

Lexus, Mazda and Subaru top Consumer Reports Brand Report Cards

A revised methodology in devising its annual Car Brand Report Cards has seen Consumer Reports award Lexus its top overall ranking for 2013. For the first time ever, the institute broke out individual brands from their larger corporate umbrellas, meaning car makers like Lexus and Scion were judged independently from parent company Toyota. That strategy worked out well for Lexus, as the luxury brand earned a top report card score of 79 for the 2013 model year.
The institute has recommended every one of the Lexus models it has tested to date, and said that the company's products won out thanks to "a foundation of plush and very reliable vehicles."
Meanwhile, Mazda and Subaru tied for the second-highest scoring report cars, with scores of 76. Subaru earned praised for sporting models like the BRZ, which CR testers apparently had a lot of fun driving (naturally), while the Mazda products were lauded for their blend of practicality, sportiness and efficiency. Both of the Japanese brands offered good handling, fuel economy and versatility, said Consumer Reports.