Lexus Shows Off LF-LC Sports Coupe

Lexus' most recent creation, the LF-LC Sports Coupe Concept, is set to debut in less than a week from now at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but that hasn't stopped the Japanese company from dropping a couple more fresh pictures for our viewing pleasure.

Toyota's luxury division still won't say what's hiding under the LF-LC's long hood, though we do know for a fact that it's a hybrid powertrain.

So what else do we know about the concept model? Well, according to the Japanese firm's Spartan press release, it was penned at the company’s Calty studio in Newport Beach, California and it's supposed to preview the next evolution of Lexus' design language - and that's about all we get for now.

As always, we'll be following the story and update you as soon as we get more information and/or another set of photos.

PHOTO GALLERY

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Styling biggest reason people reject Acura

It’s no secret that the corporate schnoz adopted in recent years by Acura is, shall we say… controversial. But whether or not it’s helping or hurting sales is up for debate. On one hand, the brand’s 24-percent increase in sales in 2010 over the previous year has Honda’s luxury division outpacing the gains of its rivals. On the other hand, nearly everyone’s 2009 sales figures went down the economic toilet, and J.D. Power reports that exterior styling is the number one reason new car shoppers are rejecting the marque, followed closely by Acura’s interior styling.

Perhaps tellingly, Acura’s two most successful models in sales gains are the MDX and RDX utility vehicles, models competing in burgeoning segments (and the former of which features a somewhat muted faces compared to the rest of the company’s lineup). But hope may be on the way, and soon. According to Automotive News, Dave Conant, who owns an Acura store in Mission Viejo, California and has gotten an early look at the next-gen TL, Acura’s middle child is getting a major nose job.

And more new models are reportedly on the horizon as well, including hybrids and a likely return to the entry-level compact luxury class. What’s more, the automaker has promised dealers that future models will be better differentiated from one another, both styling-wise and in size. All that sounds good, just so long as no giant polished cow-catcher grilles get in the way.

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