As you can see from the handy flow chart above, we're now at what you should do if your vehicle continues to accelerate rapidly after release of the accelerator pedal. Toyota tell us "this could be an indication of floor mat interference.," which is somewhat of an understatement. If this occurs, in addition to praying to your preferred deity, click "next" to see what Toyota recommends the driver do (The rest of the information below is is straight from Toyota — no added snark. Well, maybe just a little.).

Step One: If it is possible and safe to do so, pull back the floor mat and dislodge it from the accelerator pedal; then pull over and stop the vehicle. 

Step Two: If the floor mat cannot be dislodged, then firmly and steadily step on the brake pedal with both feet. Do NOT pump the brake pedal repeatedly as this will increase the effort required to slow the vehicle.

Photo Credit: Deeleea @ Flickr

Step Three:Shift the transmission gear selector to the Neutral (N) position and use the brakes to make a controlled stop at the side of the road and turn off the engine.
 
If unable to put the vehicle in Neutral, turn the engine OFF, or to ACC. This will not cause loss of steering or braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost.

Step Three-Point-One:If the vehicle is equipped with an Engine Start/Stop button, firmly and steadily push the button for at least three seconds to turn off the engine. Do NOT tap the Engine Start/Stop button.

Step Three-Point-Two:If the vehicle is equipped with a conventional key-ignition, turn the ignition key to the ACC position to turn off the engine. Do NOT remove the key from the ignition as this will lock the steering wheel.

Your Toyota or Lexus should now be stopped and fiery death avoided. Hooray!

Photo Credit: Billselak @ Flickr

The Lexus IS is a car which probably doesn't have the following it deserves. Call it the last remaining bastion of brand snobbery, but the Germans simply garner more respect and accolades in the sport sedan segment. While the IS sedan doesn't have the pedigree of a 3-series or a C-Class, it actually has a more sports-biased chassis than either, but it's still something of an also-ran largely because there was nothing in the convertible and coupe segments.

There's not a whole lot of structure in the IS Convertible in common with the IS sedan. The 'vert gets beefed up in nearly every way, with side sills 50% taller, cross-vehicle beams under the rear seats and behind the rear seatbacks, a heftier A-pillar and substantial cross bracing underneath, in total the car is actually two inches longer than the sedan and 340 Lbs heftier. Despite all the reinforcements, the folly of adapting a closed car chassis for convertible duty is apparent in a bit more open-top cowl shimmy over rough pavement than we'd expect in a Lexus product.

Despite the transition to the two-door layout and the additional weight, the chassis is still a peach, it's easy to toss into a corner and control with the throttle, easy to catch as it transitions to oversteer and a hoot to throw through sweeping switchbacks. Unlike the sedan, the additional grunt from the 306 HP 3.5-liter V6 is much appreciated over the smaller 2.5-liter with 204 HP mostly due to the additional weight. The steering wheel-mounted manual-override paddle shifters work, but they're pretty pointless unless you've got transmission control anxiety. The canned programming does an admirable job of predicting your intentions. We did enjoy the snappy stops delivered by the F-Sport package and its giant cross drilled brakes and more aggressive wheels and tires, they also bring a dash of excitement to the look of the car.

With the three-piece aluminum top closed, things are fairly solid, quiet and conservative, while being as luxurious as the segment demands. The front seats are unique to the convertible and feature a new, thinner frame to maximize rear legroom, but unless we're talking a full family of midgets there's only room enough for two up front and bags in the rear. The only reason you'll ever use the power forward folding seat option would be to access the back seat storage shelves. A neat new trick in the audio system is the option to stream music from Bluetooth equipped handheld devices. One of the few flaws we found was the LCD touch screen tends to get washed out a bit by the sun with the top down, otherwise everything from the leather to the most inconsequential switches are top notch. After the 20 seconds it takes to fold the tin top away, trunk space is a bit snug, with room for a single golf bag, in top-up mode the trunk is comparable to most large sedans.

Much like every other Lexus on the market, this new convertible doesn't really have any glaring faults. Unlike the sedan, the IS C is a competent grand tourer, but not a sports car. It may look the part, but the lack of a more rigid body relegates it to cruiser status. Most importantly, the IS Convertible is a raging deal for the segment. It starts at $38k and the fully-equipped $43k model is still cheaper than the base 3-series convertible.

For one, the new IS will get new wheels, more colors and a revised stability control system for the introductory model. More important is the news that the Lexus IS convertible is closer to a reality as Lexus has apparently trademarked the names IS250C, IS300C and IS350C. While we hope C stands for Wagon, we're not holding our breath.

[My.IS, Motor Authority via Motive Forums]

Lexus IS Spy Report

Last week's appearance of a disguised, and suspiciously fade-painted Lexus IS led to much speculation about the true nature of the camouflaged test car. Guesses on the ID of the IS ranged from a mid-cycle facelift for the production car, a new Hybrid model, while the roll cage, Recaros and trick paint suggested it was a Lexus-sponsored race car.

With its camouflage-free appearance at the ADAC Rundstrecken Trophy Endurance race in Germany, the mystery is now solved. Those who guessed race car turned out to be right. The hood bumps under the camouflage that triggered much of the Hybrid speculation are nowhere to be found once the coverings were removed.

The TME/Team Gazoo IS competed in the first of seven four-hour endurance races. One six-hour and a 24-hour race complete the nine-race series. The newly identified IS race car is registered as a Lexus IS 250 in group SP5. Group SP5 consists of cars between 2.0- and 2.5-liters, with a minimum weight of 2,270 pounds. The race-prepped IS logged a fastest lap of just under 10:58, and an overall finish of 95th place with 21 laps covered over the 4 hours.

Lexus's Austrailian aftermarket team went arse over tit for 50 Cent's chrome Lamborghini, to paraphrase today's press release. So much so that the accessory squad worked up a chrome-like IS250 for the Oz market. It's layered in Alsa Corp.'s MirraChrome paint, a reflective formulation that contains microscopic bits of shiny metal, giving it the look of chrome without the six-figure bodyshop bill. In production since earlier this year, the special IS also gets Lexus factory add-ons including a body kit comprising front lower spoiler, side skirts, rear lower skirt and trunk spoiler, and polished alloys. If you happen to find yourself on that side of the globe, you can check it out at the Sydney show, right next to the AC/DC-themed fried-out combi display. [Gallery] – Mike Spinelli

[via World Car Fans]

Related:
MTM's Polished Audi A8 [internal]

With the 2006 Lexus IS 250 and IS 350 models starting to trickle into dealerships, and a new ad campaign already foaming at the airwaves, the company has launched a microsite to promote the new-generation models. We've yet to see any ISs at our local dealership, but we're assured they're on the way. In the mean time, there's a whole mess of zeros and ones to check out.

The New IS [Lexus]

Related:
Lexus Announces Pricing for 2006 IS 250 and IS 350 [internal]

The all-new entry Lexus will hit showrooms in two days, and the Toyota division is finally talking price. The IS 250 gets about as close to $30,000 as you can get and still have enough for a pack of smokes (and a box of Tic Tacs). MSRP for the IS starts at $29,990 (rear-wheel drive, six-speed manual); $31,160 with sequential autobox and paddle shifters; $34,285 for all-wheel drive. The 306hp IS 350, touted as "the fastest sport sedan in the near luxury car segment" (they're talking zero to 60 in 5.6 seconds) starts at $35,440. Read the entire press release here

Related:
Geneva Preview: Lexus IS 250 [internal]