mod@tech

Let me start with this. If you want to get a brand-new Porsche 911 Turbo, it is going to cost you a minimum of $160,000 and will likely end up running somewhere north of $200K once you add fee options. If you doubt this, visit the Porsche website, “build” one and see how you do.

Besides the economic to your bank account, there is another reason to reconsider a new Porsche 911 Turbo as a car purchase: The newest version, to me, is both too big and not that attractive.

I honestly think the best-looking 911 Porsches of the modern era are the 997 Series cars. These Grant Larson-designed 911s are the perfect modern take on the classic 911 shape. Every subsequent design seems to have slowly erased the original design language, making the newer 911 cars appear almost “cartoonish” to my eyes.

Of all the 997-era 911 Porsches, my favorite is the Turbo. It is less ostentatious than the original 911 Turbo of the 1970s and ’80s but looks like it means business and has the performance to back that up.

Our Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com is one of these end-of-an-era Porsche 911 cars, a 2011 Porsche 911 Turbo offered for sale in Flowery Branch, Georgia.

The selling dealer states this 911 Turbo has a completely stock exterior, interior, exhaust and catalytic converters. They go on to say it is currently running a Stage 3 tune from FVD (a very prestigious and respected German company) that provides a reliable 670 horsepower and a 0 to 62.5 time of 3.2 seconds.

This 911 Turbo is a lower-mileage car, having covered only 67,000 miles from new and, judging from the photos provided, it looks to be in excellent condition.

This is also a nicely optioned car equipped with many tasteful features without going overboard. These include a limited-slip rear differential, PDK transmission, heated and ventilated seats, heated steering wheel, bi-xenon headlights with the Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS), and a black full leather interior with the carbon interior package.

This 911 Turbo also seems to have a great service history backed up by documentation. No really major service items are listed, but a 2011 Porsche 911 Turbo with 67,000 miles should not need any major things repaired or replaced.

Just for a point of comparison, I went on the Porsche website and built a new 911 Turbo as close as possible to the specs of this one. The summary of my build had a price tag of $219,685. I have a better idea. Get this 997.2-era Porsche 911 Turbo for its $98,000 asking price and then take the extra $112K and get another Porsche (say, a classic 911) to go with it. Seems like a better deal to me.

Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com

Whenever we review a new vehicle, the same questions usually arise: Who is the target customer? How will it perform? Does it live up to expectations? Things were a little different with the 2025 Toyota Crown Signia Limited as it raised questions such as What IS this? An SUV or a wagon? Over the course of a week, we learned what the Crown is on paper and in the real world.

A HYBRID IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

If you go to the Toyota website and click on the Vehicles tab on the top right of the page, a menu with the various types that Toyota makes drops down on the left. You’ll find the Crown Signia under the Crossovers and SUVs section, where’s it categorized as a Hybrid EV. Unlike its Crown sedan sibling, the Crown Signia is available with only one powertrain: a 2.5-liter I4 combined with a Nickel-Metal Hydride battery pack, two electric motor-generators, and a rear-mounted electric motor that gives the Crown Signia all-wheel drive on demand. Net horsepower is 240 and processed by an electronically controlled Continuously Variable Transmission (ECVT). Under ideal circumstances, the Crown Signia Limited can deliver 39 mpg in the city, 37 on the highway, and 38 combined. A snapshot at 109.5 miles showed we were averaging 40.8 mpg.

Once you go to the Crown Signia’s dedicated page on Toyota’s website, you’ll see its highlights, features, and the things it can do, but nothing about what it is. Interestingly, a June 2024 press release on Toyota’s media site refers to the Crown Signia as being part of Toyota’s SUV lineup, making “an all-new statement for the modern crossover,” and having “the advantages that drivers love about crossover Sport Utility Vehicles.” It seems many companies use either “crossover” or “SUV” to identify their respective vehicles, but Toyota uses both.

Unofficially, it’s easy to see the Crown Signia as a wagon. After all, it is essentially the longroof version of the Crown, which Toyota clearly identifies as a sedan. Looking at it from the side, the Subaru Outback came to mind, although that vehicle is more clearly focused on and equipped for dirty outdoor adventures.

ONE OF TOYOTA’S MOST EXPENSIVE HYBRID CROSSOVERS
Prices for the 2025 Crown Signia start at $43,790, making it slightly cheaper than the $44,210 Grand Highlander Hybrid and within several thousand of the Highlander Hybrid’s $46,320 base MSRP. Go beyond those and you start getting into Toyota’s truck-based hybrid SUVs.

There are are only two trim levels available: XLE and Limited. According to the window sticker for our Storm-Cloud-over-Saddle-Tan Crown Signia Limited review vehicle, base price shows $47,990. For that, you receive such standard features as 21-inch dark gray wheels, a fixed panoramic glass roof with a power sunshade, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, and a 12.3-inch center touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Toyota added on the $1,865 Advanced Technology Package, $375 dash cam, $405 Preferred Accessory Package with carpet mats, and two other options to our test vehicle, which raised the as-tested price to $52,515 – that’s entry-level 2025 4Runner i-Force Max or 2025 Lexus RX Hybrid money.

FUNCTIONAL YET INFURIATING

There was a lot to like about the Crown Signia’s cabin. It felt completely modern with its 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, rearview camera mirror, and large center touchscreen. The automatic settings for its climate control system and front seats made sure every drive was at the right temperature. Storing small items was easy and quick thanks to the vertical wireless charging slot, open cubbyhole, and generously sized dual cup holders. The heated second row offered plenty of headroom and legroom as well as a pair of dedicated HVAC vents. Both rows seemed more spacious when the shade for the panoramic roof was open. At the very back, the 24.8 cubic feet of cargo space was enough to fit a collapsed baby stroller and additional gear.

However, there were a few odd or downright enraging parts of the Crown Signia’s user experience. The first became apparent upon sliding into the driver’s seat. The steep rake to the windshield made the front row seem more intimate and shrink-wrapped, like a sports car’s cockpit. As we’ve already learned, the Crown Signia is a lot of things, but a sports car is not one of them. Then there were those techy screens. Configuring the gauge cluster to show a desired readout was annoyingly tedious, but doing that was a pleasure compared to the sporadic wireless Apple CarPlay. Whether it was used to run YouTube audio and Apple Maps at the same time or just the latter, CarPlay lost connection so often that it was nearly useless. If anyone at Apple happened to be listening on the other end, they received an earful of expletives.

NOT SURPRISING

Whether you think the Crown Signia is a crossover, SUV, or wagon, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a hybrid built for practical commuting, not thrilling performance. It behaved as such: the steering was firm, with a noticeable weight to it, yet it never felt heavy. Output from the hybrid engine was satisfying (not aurally – the four-cylinder engine always sounded a bit gruff), but counteracted by a stiff, uncommunicative brake pedal.

Our Luke Lamendola also spent time in the 2025 Toyota Crown Signia Limited, so listen to his thoughts in the below video review.

Click above and watch our full video review on YouTube!

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In a previous life, I sold Lexus vehicles. My choice was more about recession-era employment than the type of vehicle, but I imagine Lexus has always been a fine vehicle to sell—after all, it wasn’t too long ago that the brand made the Germans (and Americans) take notice and up their game. Now it appears that one of the brand’s bread-and-butter may be discontinued, a reflection of an aged generation combined with a changing market.

The Lexus IS was the first of Lexus’ Bimmer 3-Series fighters. I myself never warmed up to it but, when I had an opportunity to drive one, I changed my tune. The SportCross, the shooting brake-esque that was available for 2002-05, was pretty cool, though not available with a manual transmission in the U.S.

The second-generation version, sold in the U.S. as the IS 250 and IS 350, featured the availability of AWD on IS 250 models (which also introduced a four-cylinder for the American market). Also available for several years were the IS C retractable hardtop coupe and the IS F, a nice BMW M3 competitor featuring a 5.0-liter V8 and 416 horsepower. These are the cars I’m most familiar with from my experience at the Lexus dealership. The tight rear seat and tepid performance with AWD were the biggest misgivings that I recall.

The third and current generation of the IS has been in production since the 2014 model year. Hasn’t seemed as long, right? Depending on the year, there has been an IS 200t (with a turbo-four), IS 250, IS 350, and IS 350h featuring a four-cylinder and an electric motor. The IS 500 F Sport Performance continued to use the 5.0-liter V8, now with 472 horsepower.

The market has changed a lot since 2014, and sedans (and coupes—don’t forget the RC spin-off) like this don’t sell as well as they used to. When this current generation debuted, Lexus sold over 51,000 in the U.S. for the calendar year. For 2024, it’s around 19,000 plus another 1,800 RC coupes, and sales so far for 2025 project the final tally will cut that by a third.

So when Car and Driver reported the announcement of the 2025 Lexus IS Ultimate Edition, the periodical couldn’t help but think this is a swan song to go out with a bang—in fact, when approached, a Lexus rep said the company “could not comment on future product plans,” though we’ve known that the RC was already on the chopping block. This special IS 500 model features the basic 472-horse V8 and will be available a white hue called Wind, with matte-black BBS wheels and red brake calipers. The cabin is finished in two-tone red, and all 500 built will be numbered on a plaque.

For all the misgivings about Lexus’ “spindle” grille and angular hallmarks all over, I feel the latest IS continues to wear it quite well. Unfortunately, it might be time to bid adieu to another RWD sedan/coupe in the marketplace for the moment.

Not gonna lie—when I was a kid, there were few cars that were as desirable to me as a Pontiac GTO Judge. I don’t think I preferred one year over the other, as they all have their own strengths, but the original 1969 version is the one that was seared in my mind, what with the signature Carousel Red paint, rear spoiler, pop-art striping, standard Ram Air 400 engine, and blacked-out grilles.

However, thanks to the Internet, we are able to network with others and discuss topics that interest us, if not connect with those who know more than us. This is not new, of course, but knowledge has increased exponentially due to you and me being on this particular medium. So, would it surprise you to learn that blacked-out grilles were not a part of the Judge package but, rather, were dependent on ordering one of two available Ram Air engines?

When I first heard of this several years ago from an a popular Pontiac forum, I thought it was absurd—why change the grille color for an engine option? I was not alone as a naysayer, as evidenced by this 2010 thread in the Ames Performance Years Pontiac forum. But read further and someone posted images from an assembly manual that specifies different part numbers for grilles from cars with the L74 and L67 engines, respectively known as the 400 Ram Air (aka Ram Air III) and Ram Air IV.

It appears that black grilles were only a Judge thing for 1970-71 but, for 1969, it’s clearly a Ram Air thing and not just a Judge thing.