Lexus TX review, Toyota EV sports car, hydrogen hubs, block heaters and mpg: Today’s Car News

The lone star of the Lexus TX lineup is the plug-in. Toyota teases an electrical sports activities automobile. Engine block heaters is likely to be overrated. And the Biden administration lays out the beginning of a really costly hydrogen community. This and extra, right here at Inexperienced Automotive Studies. 

The 2024 Lexus TX 550h+ plug-in hybrid is the perfect model of this new Lexus three-row SUV lineup, we discovered final week in a overview, after driving all of the variations. With as much as 33 electrical miles and practically 30 mpg as a hybrid, it affords usable passenger and cargo area rivaling that of thirstier body-on-frame SUVs plus a composed journey and refined, responsive driving expertise. Let’s simply hope Toyota builds extra of those reasonably than the mercurial 500h F Sport hybrid model. 

With idea variations of a Toyota electric sports car and crossover EV teased Monday, Toyota laid out the form of future EVs doubtlessly coming later within the decade—and emphasised a simplified interface for them—but it surely hasn’t but clarified how shortly it’s ramping up a dedication to EVs. 

The White Home on Friday introduced particulars for the $8 billion hydrogen hub program, together with $7 billion for establishing seven regional hubs that collectively will make practically one-third of the annual hydrogen objective set by the Biden administration. Whereas it may assist clear up trucking, earlier value reductions have been optimistic, and the Power Division is leaning on a objective of chopping the price of “clear hydrogen” 80% to $1 per kilogram by the tip of the last decade. 

And do engine block heaters boost mpg? Whereas it’d certainly lengthen the lifetime of your engine, outcomes from a current examine by researchers in Finland counsel that the effectivity beneficial properties are a wash—earlier than even contemplating the vitality you place into preheating.

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