It's a fact that Nürburgring lap times have become something of a standard when it comes to comparing sports cars’ performance. Car & Driver magazine decided that it was impractical to conduct its annual Lightning Lap event in Germany as they had 20 cars to test, so its editors chose the Virginia International Raceway (VIR) as the U.S. equivalent of the ‘Ring.

While the 4.1-mile long track is one-third of the Nordschleife, it features more than 30 turns and elevation changes and, according to C&D, it makes for a demanding venue in which to test each car to its limits.

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The two latest arrivals in the garage of Consumer Reports is an early production version of the all-new 2014 Mazda6 sedan and Lexus' revised 2013 LS flagship, both of which were taken out for a first drive by the magazine's auto engineer, Tom Mutchler.

Beginning with the new generation of the Mazda6, Mutchler gives it praise for its "sleek" design calling it one of the sexiest models together with Ford's latest Fusion in the (mainstream) mid-size sedan segment, its modern amenities and tech gadgets, while his first driving impression of the early production model is that it's "quite agile and light on its feet".

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For close to three decades now, the BMW 3-Series has been the benchmark for premium sport sedans. Over the years, many luxury carmakers tried but none has really succeeded in knocking down the 3-Series from its throne.

After GM and the new Cadillac ATS, it's the Toyota group's turn to take another swipe at BMW's best-seller with the completely redesigned 2014 Lexus IS.

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The new generation of Lexus' IS sport sedan landed at the Detroit Auto Show on Tuesday morning ahead of a worldwide launch this summer. It will be offered with an initial choice of two gasoline engines, include a 3.5-liter V6 and a four-cylinder hybrid.

Lexus says it put the emphasis on the car's sportier styling and handling, while also improving cabin space for rear passengers and luggage capacity.

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We’ll need the help of our bilingual readers to translate what is being said in the featured video, which we're told was shot in Russia, but we do know that a) the car is a Lexus and b) the hipster behind the wheel utters the words "sport" and shortly after, "stop, stop, stop".

Our guess is that the young man in the driver's seat was demonstrating his ride's acceleration capabilities to one of his friends, and at the same time, his own inability to judge when and where one should speed on the road.

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Three very different schools of automotive thought came together at a Cars and Coffee meeting in Irvine, California, a couple of weeks ago, for a mechanical symphony comprised of 32 cylinders, 19.7-liters and a whopping 1,884-horses.

Thankfully, the revving competition between the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, 2013 SRT Viper and the Lexus LFA was captured on film by several visitors for our enjoyment.

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Autonomous vehicle systems are one of the technologies that are being developed not only by automakers such as Audi, but by companies like Google, as well.

Toyota and its luxury division, Lexus, are of a different mindset; namely, that the aim to reduce and if possible, eliminate traffic accidents, injuries and fatalities can be achieved not necessarily by self-driving vehicles but by active-safety features.

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Who knew? An off-camber wheel setting will not improve your driving or your car's handling capabilities…

From the land that has brought us so much fun in the form of entertaining video footag comes yet another one of those incidents that just makes you want to slap your palm on your forehead.

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Even in the most horrible of circumstances, we humans can find some time to horse around, or so to speak, though in one occasion, that would probably be the perfect description...

So, after the horse-masked jogger in shorts and the numerous people dancing behind news crew reporting on Hurricane Sandy today (if you missed them, we've added the respective videos after the break), we now have footage of a power-happy driver getting his two seconds of fame when he passed by a live shot.

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Rapper, singer, producer, actor and businessman Sean Combs, also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, Diddy and P Diddy, was in a chauffeur-driven Cadillac Escalade along with a passenger, who is believed to be record boss Andre Hurrell, going west on Sunset Boulevard when their SUV collided with a Lexus RX that made a left turn in front of them. Read more »

As it turns out, what Lexus meant to say when it announced back in August that it plans to reveal a "further development of a vehicle shown at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year" at the Australian Auto Show in Sydney, is that it would display the LF-LC in a different shade.

Lexus tells us that the LF-LC Blue concept's new hue is inspired by the glossy base color found in the naturally occurring semi-precious opal stone of outback Australia.

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At some point in life, kids want to learn more about their daddy’s work, so they begin to ask questions. If said person works as an editor for an automotive publication or website, it’s quite natural that they will get to be around, and inside, quite a lot of vehicles.

Consumer Reports has a reputation for discovering malfunctions that others have failed to spot. Unlike what some manufacturers who were slammed by CR may believe, its editors are normal human beings, with families and all.

Director of testing Jake Fisher, for example, has two sons aged four and eight. Fisher says that they “already want to be car testers” and they “love exploring every new car I bring home and enjoy trying to fit into every small opening possible”.

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We probably don’t need to tell you that comedian/TV host Jay Leno is a car nut who has his own show called, Jay Leno’s Garage; but we will, just for the sake of those few who may not have never heard of him.

Being a triple-A-list celebrity with his own series means that Leno is frequently invited by carmakers to drive their latest and greatest vehicles. Occasionally, he may even go ahead and buy one of them to add to his collection.

This time, the 62-year old TV host was invited to Toyota City in Japan to witness firsthand the construction methods of the Lexus LFA.

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