With all the time, energy and resources used in building the Lexus LFA supercar, it seems the Japanese automaker might not be all that interested in anyone driving the vehicle as they’ve made it prohibitively difficult to get into. It’s not the cost that might keep people away ($375,000 being a rather reasonable price for a full carbon chassis exotic with a high-revving V10), but rather the complex process Lexus has devised by which potential “owners” have to jump through hoops to get into an LFA. And lets not forget, that 24 months later, the car goes back to Lexus – because it’s just a lease after all.

So what’s an LFA cost to lease each month? How about a staggering $12,398.44. And if you thought the whole idea behind a lease was to make a car more affordable, forget it. Lexus wants all that cash up front – a total of $237,562.56. But it’s not that simple. First Lexus has to actually choose you, after which you will be notified and then drop off a $10,000 deposit while Lexus checks your credit. then Lexus wants an additional $50,000 lump sum deposit.

Once the car has been built specifically for you (which is likely to take a while) candidates will have to then undergo a second credit check before handing over the $237,562.56, bringing the total to $297,562.56.

Now if there is some good news in here, it’s that Lexus will actually sell the LFA to leases at the end of the 24 months, for the residual value of $93,750.

What’s the purpose off all this nonsense? Well, Lexus devised this plan to weed out speculators who might try and buy an LFA in order to resell it at a higher value. Unfortunately for Lexus, they might have weeded out quite a few folks who really want the car but just don’t have the desire to participate in a lengthy series of payment, credit check, payment, credit check, payment, payment. And on top of all this, when you add the total lease price to the residual value, the number is actually $391,312.56 – or roughly $16,000 more than the MSRP. Plus Lexus will actually make you pay a $700 acquisition fee and then there’s those pesky taxes.

Is it worth it to own the first Lexus supercar? That’s still up in the air. The LFA has all the potential to be a world-class exotic, with its V10 engine and carbon fiber monocoque chassis, but can the notoriously dull Lexus brand build a full-fledged exotic?

Official release after the jump:

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2009 was an up-and-down year for Samuel Hübinette who has been a two-time Formula DRIFT champion and Hollywood stunt driver. Notorious for ripping it up in a Mopar-backed Viper SRT10 for many years and nicknamed The Crazy Swede by fellow competitors, Hübinette had a difficult start with his Mopar-backed Charger in 2009; and then mid-season Mopar was forced to back out of their sponsorship altogether due to difficult economic times.

As if the 2009 season couldn’t get any more tumultuous, Hübinette’s NuFormz team owner, Shaun Carlson, tragically passed away in October. Question marks were raised everywhere as one of the most talented drivers in the Formula DRIFT series seemed to be without a full ride. But talent always prevails, and Hübinette has finally announced his big plans for 2010.

Now factory-backed by Dodge, Hübinette will be campaigning his all new Dodge Challenger while teammate Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard (new to Formula DRIFT) will be swinging sideways in the familiar and championship-winning Viper SRT-10. Samuel Hübinette Racing also welcomes back the partnership of BFGoodrich tires. Hübinette looks forward to a strong and successful 2010 drifting season and we wouldn’t be surprised if he’ll be back in championship form with all his expertise and experience over the years.

We’ll be sure to keep an eye on both drivers, when the season kicks off in Long Beach, CA on April 9-10.

The official release is available after the jump.

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Years ago Cadillac was strictly geared towards an “older” generation and market. Nowadays though, the American luxury car manufacturer has set their sights on capturing a market mostly dominated by European sport sedans. The Cadillac CTS-V has been GM’s entry into the luxury sport-sedan market competing against BMW’s M5 and Mercedes-Benz’s E63 AMG. From the factory it pumps out 556-hp and 551 ft-lbs of torque from its 6.2L LSA CTS-V supercharged engine. But given that it’s a supercharged power plant, it’s no surprise that the aftermarket has embraced it with open arms. Lingenfelter Performance Engineering is a name that has become world-renowned and legendary in the world of domestic tuning. It would be a disappointment if Lingenfelter didn’t get their hands dirty with the new Cadillac CTS-V.

And dirty they have gotten, with hours and hours of research and design into a new Supercharger Pulley Upgrade Package for the new Cadillac CTS-V. More power means more fun, and this pulley upgrade offers an impressive increase. Lingenfelter’s CTS-V has tested to 630 brake horsepower and 630 ft-lbs of torque. An increase any performance enthusiast would be crazy over. Boost level is increased to 12-13 psi, still relatively safe numbers for the 6.2L. Best of all, the price tag on Lingenfelter’s pulley upgrade is attractive too, especially considering the Cadillac CTS-V tips in at over $60,000. One can be hand for as low as $589.95 retail, labor excluded. For those that just want to drop it off along with a check book, Lingenfelter will do a complete in-house installation, taking possession of the vehicle, testing and a full dyno report before and after the install.

The full press release is available after the jump.

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We’re not even sure why we’re writing any copy. The video and the headline say it all. Below you’ll find some incredibly entertaining video of the amazingly talented rally and drift racer Tanner Foust piloting his Rockstar Energy Drink Scion tC drift car along California’s famous Mulholland Drive.

For those who don’t know, Foust’s tC makes 600 horsepower courtesy of a Toyota NASCAR V8, giving it plenty of torque to light up those rear tires.

Foust and the Rockstar Scion tC kick off their drifting season in Long Beach, CA, April 9-10.

See after the jump for the tire-shredding video:

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Resurrected in 2002 as a way for Mercedes to take on rival BMW’s newly acquired Rolls-Royce brand, Maybach has been a sales flop and now Mercedes appears ready to finally admit as much. According to a report by AutoExpress, Mercedes will give the Maybach models a slight update (set to be revealed at the Shanghai Auto Show) this year before winding the brand down towards 2014.

Why 2014? Well, that just happens to be the year that the next-generation S-Class is due out, meaning that Mercedes will then look to take some S-Class models further up-market. The 2014 S-Class should also get some impressive technology and AutoExpress claims it will be one of the most technologically sophisticated machines ever built. The rather tabloid-like outlet is also reporting that Mercedes has even approved the Human Machine Interface (HMI) as seen on the F800 Style concept. The HMI system works somewhat like something you might have seen in the Tom Cruise film Minority Report, using a screen and a camera to turn hand movements into actions, such as zooming in on a map with just a gesture of the hand.

Sound a little too futuristic? Well, 2014 is still a long way off.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Honda has already locked down 7,000 orders for its CR-Z hybrid sports car, more than half of the car’s annual sales target of 12,000 units. Still, Honda should be cautiously optimistic as last year sales of the new Insight model started out strong but started to dwindle once Toyota released its third-generation Prius – a direct competitor. Overall, Honda still managed to move 92,283 Insights in 2009, 50 percent more than the sales target. In the U.S., sales of the Insight weren’t nearly as good, with Honda missing the mark of 100,000 units by a fair margin. The good news for Honda is that the CR-Z will have no competitor in the near future, when it goes on sale in the Summer.

Honda is hoping to sell 15,000 CR-Z models in the U.S. this year.

The CR-Z stands alone in the marketplace, as a two-seater hybrid, using a 1.5-liter gasoline engine and electric assist motor, to deliver 122-hp and a 36/38 mpg (city/highway) rating. The car’s biggest potential problem is that as good as those numbers are, they aren’t as good as the standard Insight and performance is less than impressive with a 0-62 mph time of 9.7 seconds. Still, as the only hybrid on the market with a six-speed manual transmission and Honda’s reputation for driving dynamics, we’ll hold off on a final comment until we get to drive it.

GALLERY: Honda CR-Z

[Source: Automotive News]

Despite competition from Tata, known for building the world’s cheapest car, Suzuki has no plans to compete head-to-head with the Indian automaker. Currently Suzuki has a stranglehold on emerging markets like India, but Tata is looking to take a chunk of that with the Nano, which undercuts the already inexpensive Suzuki models.

Slamming the Indian-made Nano, Suzuki boss Osamu Suzuki said that building an even lower model vehicle is not a part of the company’s plans as it, “wouldn’t be a car anymore.”

The main reason that Suzuki is letting Tata have the lower end of the market is that it feels an even lower model would devalue the brand. The Japanese automaker cites concerns that such a model would require reduced safety and comfort, two areas where it’s not prepared to perform cuts.

[Source: AutoCar]

Fiat has announced an agreement with Russian automaker Sollers to bring its newly-acquired Jeep brand to Russia. Two automakers have formed a partnership that will see Sollers produce Jeep models in Russia, where there is significant demand for small SUVs.

Two models said to be part of future production plans include the Compass an Patriot, which will come with 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter gasoline and diesel 4-cylinder engines.

The Fiat-Sollers plant, located 600 miles east of Russia is where the Jeep models will be assembled. With a total production capability of 500,000 units, Jeeps are expected to account for roughly 150,000 units annually.

The move is part of a larger plan by Fiat to introduce Chrysler brand products to new markets throughout the world in order to eventually take full control of Chrysler.

[Source: InsideLine]

News that Audi is planning a light-weight version of the R8 emerged several weeks ago, but according to a recent report the car already exists – or at least one of them does, anyway. Designed to bring Audi’s R8 GT3 LMS car to the production realm, it could get the R8 GT3 moniker, designed to take on Porsche’s iconic GT3.

According to Audi R8 project boss Armin Kappler, one road-ready car has already been produced, but has yet to be given the full approval. Likely to keep the 5.2 FSI V10 engine, the car would shed pounds though the use of light weight carbon fiber body parts and a stripped-down interior, while also see the use of a dual-clutch gearbox. What remains to be seen is if Audi would deliver the car without quattro all-wheel drive, as the GT3 race car is a rear-drive machine. This would go against Audi’s quattro philosophy, but would make sense considering the GT3 name and would also help keep weight to a minimum.

If Audi does move ahead with plans for an R8 GT3 street car, it would mean that much like Porsche and Lamborghini, a new R8 iteration would debut almost every year.

[Source: AutoCar]

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With all the news surrounding Toyota‘s recent recalls and the widely reported story of a runaway Prius in California (now believed to be a hoax), Toyota has decided to issue an instructional video of what to do in case of an, “unintended acceleration.”

Toyota continues to insist that the problem is rare and the 2008 Prius model that starred in the high-speed adventure in California was only a part of a recall for floor mats.

Still, this is must-watch for Toyota Hybrid drivers.

Se more Toyota Recall News at the AutoGuide Toyota Recall News Hub