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http://www.blackenterprise.com/lexus-ux-younger-urban-drivers/
Lexus is expanding the idea of luxury to attract a younger demographic of drivers. The new 2019 UX is a compact crossover SUV built for motorists in their late 30’s to early 40’s who don’t want to trade in their urbane lifestyles for the suburbs or pay premium gas prices to drive a big, costly car.
It was designed for Xennials — those who fall on the cusp of Generation X and the Millennial generation, typically born in the late 70s to the early 80s — with the understanding that, for many in this market, the UX will be their first-ever Lexus and their first luxury vehicle.
Derived from the words “urban” and “X-over” (crossover), the UX is customized for drivers living in densely populated metro areas like Los Angeles and Chicago. The power control unit of the UX is more powerful than similarly-sized Lexus hybrids, yet it’s 20% smaller and 10% lighter. With a 177-inch length and best-in-segment 34-ft curb-to-curb turning diameter, drivers in urban environments will have the ability to make tight U-turns, parallel park, and maneuver through narrow city streets.
Lexus UX Nori Green (Courtesy of Lexus)
The UX also comes complete with high-tech elements made to support customers’ digital lifestyles. This includes a 10.25-inch display screen that is controlled by a laptop-like touchpad, along with Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa integration. The Apple CarPlay feature gives drivers the ability to access Apple Music, Google maps, Waze, and Spotify once they connect their iPhone to the car through a USB cable. Drivers can also make phone calls and send and receive text messages through the multimedia display or with Siri. Plus, UX drivers will be able to lock and unlock their doors, start their engine, and check their fuel level, all from the convenience of using a smartwatch or Amazon Alexa-enabled or Google Assistant-enabled device.
“The Lexus UX is designed for the modern urban explorer seeking a fresh, contemporary and dynamic take on luxury driving,” said Chika Kako, the executive vice president of Lexus International and chief engineer of the UX, in a statement. “We designed the UX to appeal to young buyers who seek not only what is new and exciting, but what is also relevant to their lifestyles.”
Beginning in December, the UX 200 will be available for purchase with a starting suggested retail price of $32,000. In January, drivers will have the option to purchase the UX 250h, which will include all-wheel drive, increased power, and better fuel efficiency, for $2,000 more.
After giving the UX a test drive in downtown Seattle, Black Enterprise spoke with Michael Moore, the Lexus National Manager for Product Marketing, about the luxury SUV.
Lexus UX Silver Lining Metallic (Courtesy of Lexus)
BE: What makes the 2019 Lexus UX unique?
It has a very bold design that is unique and different than anything else in its segment. It stands out. It also has a collection of features that make it quite special. The standard LSS, a safety system that is basically best in its class, the LED headlights, and best in class fuel economy. On top of that, there’s also a very engaging driving experience that the UX delivers.
BE: What makes the vehicle appealing to young, urban drivers?
It’s purpose-built for an urban environment. It has a compact size. It has surprising interior space considering its size, but because of the platform its built on and its packaging, it has a turning radius that is ideal in congested environments. For younger buyers in an urban environment, that is going to be very appealing. Having great fuel economy and being able to maneuver in very tight spaces makes it very compatible for an urban environment.
While the UX will certainly appeal to this younger demographic, we also see some people that are a bit older that are moving back to an urban environment, that were maybe in the suburbs raising kids and now they want to come back to the city. They’re ready to come back an urban environment – the UX may appeal to them as well.
BE: As a millennial driver, I found three particular features in the UX to be very appealing: the technology, the pricing, and the fact that the engine takes regular fuel, a rare feature for a luxury vehicle. Can you elaborate about each?
Gas mileage
Lexus has been a leader in hybrid technology for years. We were the first manufacturer to offer a luxury vehicle that was a hybrid, so we have generations of experience with hybrid technology and we’ve built upon that. A lot of that technology and advancement has really proven itself with the UX; we can actually deliver a vehicle that has best in class fuel economy, not just in its segment, but it has better fuel economy than any SUV on the market.
Pricing
It has a really attractive price, starting at $32,000 for the gas model and $34,000 for the all-wheel-drive hybrid model. And then for the [Lexus] F SPORT, it’s just $2,000 on top of either the gas or the hybrid model. It has a really compelling value story relative to its competitive set.
Technology
The technology, we think, really speaks to this young consumer. CarPlay [and] Alexa are very seamless technologies that allow the owner to stay connected and perform tasks in a very easy simple way.
BE: While in Seattle, I had an opportunity to preview a UX video ad that underscores diversity. Why is it important for Lexus, as a brand, to celebrate diversity and inclusion?
For 23 years, I’ve been associated with the Lexus brand, either on the product development side, or on the advance planning side, or doing what I’m doing now on the marketing side. With my current role here in marketing, the work we do with Walter Isaacson, which is our diversity agency partner, and the way that we communicate to a multicultural audience is really important to us. It is our belief that you need to be a good partner in the communities where you do business. It’s more than just putting a TV ad on and selling a vehicle. It’s connecting with an audience and being part of that community. It’s something that I’ve been very proud of — not just on the work that I do, but being able to connect as a representative of the company to that audience. It’s not just important for me, it’s important to the company.
This interview was lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
The post Lexus Targets Younger, Urban Drivers with All-New 2019 UX appeared first on Black Enterprise.
Lexus is expanding the idea of luxury to attract a younger demographic of drivers. The new 2019 UX is a compact crossover SUV built for motorists in their late 30’s to early 40’s who don’t want to trade in their urbane lifestyles for the suburbs or pay premium gas prices to drive a big, costly car.
It was designed for Xennials — those who fall on the cusp of Generation X and the Millennial generation, typically born in the late 70s to the early 80s — with the understanding that, for many in this market, the UX will be their first-ever Lexus and their first luxury vehicle.
Derived from the words “urban” and “X-over” (crossover), the UX is customized for drivers living in densely populated metro areas like Los Angeles and Chicago. The power control unit of the UX is more powerful than similarly-sized Lexus hybrids, yet it’s 20% smaller and 10% lighter. With a 177-inch length and best-in-segment 34-ft curb-to-curb turning diameter, drivers in urban environments will have the ability to make tight U-turns, parallel park, and maneuver through narrow city streets.
Lexus UX Nori Green (Courtesy of Lexus)
The UX also comes complete with high-tech elements made to support customers’ digital lifestyles. This includes a 10.25-inch display screen that is controlled by a laptop-like touchpad, along with Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa integration. The Apple CarPlay feature gives drivers the ability to access Apple Music, Google maps, Waze, and Spotify once they connect their iPhone to the car through a USB cable. Drivers can also make phone calls and send and receive text messages through the multimedia display or with Siri. Plus, UX drivers will be able to lock and unlock their doors, start their engine, and check their fuel level, all from the convenience of using a smartwatch or Amazon Alexa-enabled or Google Assistant-enabled device.
“The Lexus UX is designed for the modern urban explorer seeking a fresh, contemporary and dynamic take on luxury driving,” said Chika Kako, the executive vice president of Lexus International and chief engineer of the UX, in a statement. “We designed the UX to appeal to young buyers who seek not only what is new and exciting, but what is also relevant to their lifestyles.”
Beginning in December, the UX 200 will be available for purchase with a starting suggested retail price of $32,000. In January, drivers will have the option to purchase the UX 250h, which will include all-wheel drive, increased power, and better fuel efficiency, for $2,000 more.
After giving the UX a test drive in downtown Seattle, Black Enterprise spoke with Michael Moore, the Lexus National Manager for Product Marketing, about the luxury SUV.
Lexus UX Silver Lining Metallic (Courtesy of Lexus)
BE: What makes the 2019 Lexus UX unique?
It has a very bold design that is unique and different than anything else in its segment. It stands out. It also has a collection of features that make it quite special. The standard LSS, a safety system that is basically best in its class, the LED headlights, and best in class fuel economy. On top of that, there’s also a very engaging driving experience that the UX delivers.
BE: What makes the vehicle appealing to young, urban drivers?
It’s purpose-built for an urban environment. It has a compact size. It has surprising interior space considering its size, but because of the platform its built on and its packaging, it has a turning radius that is ideal in congested environments. For younger buyers in an urban environment, that is going to be very appealing. Having great fuel economy and being able to maneuver in very tight spaces makes it very compatible for an urban environment.
While the UX will certainly appeal to this younger demographic, we also see some people that are a bit older that are moving back to an urban environment, that were maybe in the suburbs raising kids and now they want to come back to the city. They’re ready to come back an urban environment – the UX may appeal to them as well.
BE: As a millennial driver, I found three particular features in the UX to be very appealing: the technology, the pricing, and the fact that the engine takes regular fuel, a rare feature for a luxury vehicle. Can you elaborate about each?
Gas mileage
Lexus has been a leader in hybrid technology for years. We were the first manufacturer to offer a luxury vehicle that was a hybrid, so we have generations of experience with hybrid technology and we’ve built upon that. A lot of that technology and advancement has really proven itself with the UX; we can actually deliver a vehicle that has best in class fuel economy, not just in its segment, but it has better fuel economy than any SUV on the market.
Pricing
It has a really attractive price, starting at $32,000 for the gas model and $34,000 for the all-wheel-drive hybrid model. And then for the [Lexus] F SPORT, it’s just $2,000 on top of either the gas or the hybrid model. It has a really compelling value story relative to its competitive set.
Technology
The technology, we think, really speaks to this young consumer. CarPlay [and] Alexa are very seamless technologies that allow the owner to stay connected and perform tasks in a very easy simple way.
BE: While in Seattle, I had an opportunity to preview a UX video ad that underscores diversity. Why is it important for Lexus, as a brand, to celebrate diversity and inclusion?
For 23 years, I’ve been associated with the Lexus brand, either on the product development side, or on the advance planning side, or doing what I’m doing now on the marketing side. With my current role here in marketing, the work we do with Walter Isaacson, which is our diversity agency partner, and the way that we communicate to a multicultural audience is really important to us. It is our belief that you need to be a good partner in the communities where you do business. It’s more than just putting a TV ad on and selling a vehicle. It’s connecting with an audience and being part of that community. It’s something that I’ve been very proud of — not just on the work that I do, but being able to connect as a representative of the company to that audience. It’s not just important for me, it’s important to the company.
This interview was lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
The post Lexus Targets Younger, Urban Drivers with All-New 2019 UX appeared first on Black Enterprise.
American Horror Story: Apocalypse / Episode 9: Fire and Reign / FX
Honestly, after the last episode I’m not too excited about this penultimate episode of the season. We got more backstory of Michael’s rise, but nothing really pushed the story forward. It was just a bunch of connecting points to the original theme of the season, Apocalypse, which at this point has been lost and become Coven 2. The only other thing is we saw how robo-Miriam was made, but anyway…
Now then, shall we proceed…
*Spoilers coming like the number of people ready for the end of this season*
We are back in the lab of Jeff and Mutt about a week after Michael has left, and Jeff is giving a speech about how Michael basically ain’t shit and it’s an embarrassment. So, he and Mutt must do something to help push the moment of the great apocalypse forward…and now! Oh, and Ms. Venable is fed up with them and quits.
*does American Horror Story bop*
Why it Gotta be the Black Witch???
At the witches’ mansion, they believe they are safe and are preparing protections spells to keep Michael away. Cordelia has even cast a spell over the house to keep everyone and everything out, or so she thought. Dinah-Oprah appears on the mansion porch and preforms some high-level voodoo magic that breaks all of Cordelia’s magical walls. This allows Michael and robo-Miriam to enter the house and kill all the witches, including Zoe, Queenie, and Bubbles. Cordelia and Myrtle escape with Mallory (the maybe next Supreme).
So full stop….I AM PISSED OFF!!! Why is it once again that voodoo aka Black witches are made to be the evil or villains to the Salem witches?!?! Yes, I know that there are Black witches in the coven. But you know what else, the Salem witches were taught their magic by a slave named Tituba. (Now, I will pause my anger to say that we don’t know for sure Tituba’s racial background, but the main thing is she wasn’t white.) Tituba is an “other,” and it is too lazy and too easy to make “the other” be the evil. What makes this worse is that Dinah-Oprah does all this just to make a deal with the Devil to survive and get a talk show. (That we know gets cancelled later.) So, her ass is making deals with the literal white Devil but can’t come to some kind of agreement with Papa Legba. Fuck you, Dinah! And some sincere side eye to the writers for this lazy BS writing. See my feelings below.
Now, back to the show. Michael is upset that he couldn’t kill Cordelia and is pouting about it. We find out now that robo-Miriam on some level can be controlled, because Jeff and Mutt are literally typing in her dialogue. (I’m pretty sure Michael ain’t this stupid.) They use robo-Miriam to convince Michael to ask them for help. He agrees, and it is during this meeting that they tell Michael about “The Cooperative” aka “The Illuminati.” They tell him all these world leaders have sold their souls to the Devil and are technically under his command as well. Basically, they tell him to get them to start a nuclear war.
Desperate Times
In Misty’s swamp home, what remains of the coven are there as Cordelia astroprojects herself back to the mansion to see the carnage of the bodies of all her dead young witches. She goes to Zoe to try and revive her, but her body disappears. The same happens with Queenie’s body. Cordelia is distraught and comes back to her body. She is babbling about not being able to bring them back or even feel their souls to which Madison reveals having seen Michael kill two people and literally destroy their souls making them none existent. And it seems Michael has decided to play eye for an eye to get back at Cordelia for magically hiding Miriam’s soul from him.
Everything is looking bleak. The coven is down to Supreme Cordelia, her right-hand Myrtle, supposed to be next Supreme Mallory, walking Weight Watcher’s Coco (once again forgot all about her), I’m that badass Madison, and technically flower power Misty, but she is absent (even though they are at her house). Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Cordelia and Myrtle think the only way to stop Michael is to go back into the past and probably stop him from being born. Myrtle reveals that witches have tried to travel through time, but it has never ended well. All have died trying. She only thinks Mallory may be able to do it after she saw her undo time when she brought a deer back to life earlier. However, once again no one, until now, has ever truly believed this power to be possible at all. So, this could be a suicide mission for Mallory, but she is willing to try for the coven’s sake.
A Royal Witch From the Past
Myrtle gives us story time and takes us back to Serbia in July 1918. We witness the death of the royal family, including Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna. Yes, that Anastasia. It turns out that she was a witch and tried to save her family using a spell and a charm, but she wasn’t powerful enough and they all died. Like an item that makes its way to Legends of the Hidden Temple, Myrtle has Anastasia’s charm and gives it to Mallory before having her get into a bathtub of water. (Sidenote: the last time a witch was in a bathtub Fiona and Marie were drowning Nan. RIP!)
They have Mallory relax, clear her mind, and concentrate on the charm as Myrtle recites the spell. The water in the bathtub turns ink black and apparently that means it’s working. Cordelia pushes Mallory into the blackness, and she is now in the past. She can help Anastasia protect her family for a few moments longer than she was able to on her own, but ultimately the spell wears off quickly and Grand Duchess Anastasia and her family are killed once again.
Mallory leaps from the tub screaming she has to go back, but the spell is over, and she is back in the present.
Running Out of Time and Help
Cordelia and Myrtle are on the porch of Misty’s house lamenting their situation. Cordelia believes the only way Mallory will be strong enough to stop Michael is for her to die as is the custom of the Supreme power transfer. She asks Myrtle to perform “The Sacred Taking” ritual which will kill her and give her power to Mallory, but Myrtle refuses to do so. In the end, they decide to go back to the warlock’s academy to ask them for help in trying to slow Michael down and buy some time. However, what they find is a bloodbath. Every warlock, from the young boys in training to John Henry and Behold, is dead. The bodies that are not piled on top of each other are laid out in the formation of a pentagram in the middle of the room with Behold’s head resting on John Henry’s shoulder at the top point of the pentagram’s star.
In a scene, that is honestly only a connecting point, we see Jeff and Mutt offer Ms. Venable the job as an overseer at one of the outposts after the apocalypse. Meanwhile, and more importantly, Michael has called together the members of “The Cooperative-Illuminati” to reveal his plans to end the world.
Final Thoughts *sighs with boredom*
The best part of Apocalypse continues to be the parts the focus on Coven characters or incorporates them into what is essentially a Coven storyline. However, I am still pissed about them continuing to make voodoo that “bad” thing here and making Dinah-Oprah so petty as to kill all those girls for a damn talk show that’s going to get cancelled, because it leads to this…
Voodo witches are the worst. They destroyed our coven #AHSApocalypse #AHS pic.twitter.com/eBBcyoC6N2
— cheko MZ (@PavZam) November 8, 2018
Once again, white women as witches get to do magic and be our heroes, but Black voodoo is the evil monster. Give me a break. I’m so over it.
Speaking of me being over something, I also think it is lazy writing, and has been repeated far too much over the course of this entire series, that at the end of the series the only way to get rid of everyone is a mass death. This has happened since the beginning of the series, and what makes this worse is that I’m guessing that this is partly a callback to the witch hunter killing all the voodoo practitioners in Coven, who happen to be Cordelia’s husband at the time. (This could give Dinah-Oprah a reason to do this to the witches, but since he was going to kill the witches too, it’s once again a lazy and petty reason. And it makes Dinah-Oprah nothing more than a hated Deus Ex Machina character.)
I think I’m done now. I’m glad next week is the finale. Hopefully, this season can end on some type of decent note (not even a high or good, just want it to be decent). And pour some potion out for Queenie and Zoe.
Watching American Horror Story: Apocalypse? Check out BNP’s other reviews here.
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The post Everybody’s Dying in Episode 9 of ‘American Horror Story: Apocalypse’ appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.