Page 55 - Sharp: The Book For Men SS21

The
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The Lexus LF-Z Electrified concept is a sign of changing times By Matt Bubbers
IN 1993, Apple appeared to have bitten off more than it could chew with the Newton, a tablet that pre-dated even the PalmPi- lot. The Newton essentially had a single purpose — translating handwritten notes into digital text — but it was so bad at that one job, it even became the butt of a joke in The Simpsons. Rest assured, Apple got the last laugh; the company is currently raking in profits with the Newton’s spir- itual successor, the iPad.
The point: there is often a lag between a good idea and the technology required to make it a reality. Anybody who has been waiting for the sudden, meteoric rise of electric vehicles knows this well. While the 20th century was dominated by gasoline-powered cars, electric cars have been around since the 19th century. Now, at long last, it looks like the 21st century will belong to EVs. And if the recent release of Lexus’s jaw-dropping LF-Z Electrified concept SUV is a sign of things to come, the Japanese carmaker is likely to be at the front of the pack.
Lexus has been playing the long game when it comes to EVs. The brand was among the first to manufacture a hybrid gasoline–electric vehicle with the release of the RX 400h SUV back in 2005. (Lexus’s parent company, Toyota, pio- neered the genre with the Prius back in 1997.) Lexus customers have since purchased more than two million hybrid vehicles. When it comes to pure EVs, the company has been waiting until the technology was ready and the moment right to make a splash; that time is now. >
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