Ryoku's abound:

If you were to make a guess on to who was older Mazda vs Toyota. I bet most of us will say that Toyota takes the cake. When research is done we find that in 1920 in the home of one the worst military bombings in history Mazda was formed Hiroshima, Japan. Toyota came later in the late 1930’s as a new brand spinned off of the Toyota Industries empire (think along the lines of General Electric and it’s big hand in many industries). So both companies have been steady as you go, and not big on the end of risk taking design until recently and Toyota can add on a chassis to boot. So what’s missing and why am I talking about Toyota and Nissan, these two Japanese companies have come to the Detroit Auto Show with force and released some of the most sought after concepts at the January Detroit Auto Show. If this is what to come, I think the rest of the car industry better get to work or start to run. If these guys let their sport engineering teams loose and start to turbo their engines with purpose this could be a deadly combination. Let’s take a quick look on what these two companies harnessing there inner Ryoku when it comes to design have brought to the table:






First up a concept that may actually become a production reality from Lexus the LC 500

A quick peak at the stats:








This is Lexus’s flagship unlike Cadillac there will be no second guessing this vehicle it’s here to play with the big boys and take on the likes of the Mercedes Benz S63 AMG coupe. This platform will introduce Lexus’s new GA-L platform which is new rear wheel drive focused platform with emphasis on the front engine vehicles in its staple. The new concept puts heavy emphasis on centralizing body mass for better 50/50 weight distribution. To help in this effort the seating position will be lowered and front engine components such as the engine will move closer to the cockpit. As most of the new car manufacturers have done there is a heavier focus on the use of light weight exotic materials. Lexus has done well with their chassis and improved multilink with increased rigidity should prove to have a sharp crisp turning vehicle similar to what is found in the Cadillac ATS and Jaguar XE.



Power distribution Engine & Transmission, the HP wars are almost over and Lexus really never came to play. The recently released GS F had the same engine as this, and so did the older IS F. So Lexus what gives stick a pair of turbo chargers on it, or supercharge the engine and bring it to 500+ HP. I have to say with this being the introductory vehicle for Lexus I expect there to be an LC F and I hope they take the easy way out and just power up before this error to come to an end. After the ravenous rant I will go on to what has changed we have heard of non-dual clutch transmissions rivaling dual clutch transmissions. Lexus has added two more gears to the standard 8 to bring you 10 gears. That means shorter shift speeds which may rival a dual clutch but none of the predecessors (Chevy Corvette) have matched the quick shifts of DCT. Now does that mean anything on the track a 6 speed manual ACR says no my friend, your clutch means nothing but I could only imagine the damage that the Corvette and Viper could do with a quicker shifting transmission and those amazing all American engines.



Is Lexus really going for speed who cares about track times, if this is a true statement they have one the game by going their own way. Judging by sales numbers performance is no longer a top indicator of a great selling car and honestly never has been (Cadillac sales are dismal despite being the most dynamic car on the market). This is a great time for Lexus they have a full suite of vehicles and this flagship coupe could be the icing on the cake. If anything we have options be happy with this and let’s move forward waiting for the press car to give a full dynamic review of this Lexus. Lexus’s from a style standpoint are one the boldest statements on the road.  

See Mazda article for continuation of Ryoku’s from Japan