There was one glaring problem with the Lexus LS 500 prior to this year's refresh: the Remote Touch infotainment system. To put it simply, it was a nightmare to use and a potential deal breaker. As it does in other Lexus products, Remote Touch featured a large display controlled by a laptop-like touchpad that was difficult and distracting to use. Lexus has surely tired of hearing the complaints from reviewers and customers alike, and for 2021, there's a touchscreen. Hurrah!

That's clearly the biggest update for the 2021 Lexus LS 500, but the four-door flagship is treated to a number of other improvements for its mid-cycle freshening as well. Considering the totally new Mercedes-Benz S-Class is bearing down in the Lexus' rearview mirror, it's smart timing. Lexus allowed us to live with both the 2020 and 2021 LS 500s for a couple days to ensure we'd notice every last difference between them.

DETROIT — Honda is recalling over 1.4 million vehicles in the U.S. to repair drive shafts that can break, window switches that can overheat and a software flaw.

The software recall includes 737,000 Accords from 2018 to 2020 and Insights from 2019 and 2020. A programming flaw in a control computer can cause the rear camera, turn signals and windshield wipers to malfunction. Owners will be notified in late January about when they should take their vehicles to a dealer for repairs.

Lexus launched production of the LFA, a limited-edition supercar still venerated in 2020, in December 2010. While fans would undoubtedly love to see a second-generation model to mark the occasion, the Japanese firm is celebrating 10 years of LFA production by releasing a paper model that enthusiasts can print and build at home.

500 units of the life-sized LFA were made by hand in Japan between 2010 and 2012. The paper model will be hand-made, too, but builders need to arm themselves with scissors and glue instead of wrenches, and production isn't limited. Anyone can print out the templates (which are included in our gallery) and put the car together.

We know there are plenty of people out there with more than enough money in the bank to surprise their significant other with a brand-new car for Christmas. And we're also sure that Lexus' annual "December to Remember" sales event must be successful enough that the automaker commits to running it each and every year. But for the vast majority of Americans, the idea of slapping a big red bow on a crisp white Lexus remains little more than a pipe dream.

Apparently, we're not the only ones wondering who is surprising their loved ones with new cars. The crew from Saturday Night Live — Beck Bennet, Heidi Gardner and host Timothée Chalamet — put together a very humorous skit that reminds us of the fact that this December is a wee bit different than past Decembers, and that maybe an expensive purchase could have negative side effects. And in fact, end-of-year sales campaigns from many industries have been reframed as the pandemic rages on.

Subaru has confirmed that it will launch a new, all-electric model in the European market soon. Exact dates have yet to be confirmed and details are thin, but Subaru says that it will be a Forester-sized crossover that shares a platform with Toyota.

Given that both Toyota and Lexus last week announced their own electric crossovers, we can safely assume that the Subaru will share much of what's under the skin. What we know of those cars is that they're underpinned by Toyota's e-TNGA modular architecture for EVs. The platform can vary in size to accommodate vehicle and battery requirements. It can also accommodate front-, rear- or all-wheel-drive systems.

Thanks to a certain unwelcome virus, the Toyota Corona's image has taken a bit of a beating over the past year or so. My very first car was a 1969 Corona sedan that cost 50 bucks, and I now own a chopped, customized 1969 Corona coupe that Boyd Coddington proclaimed as the "Coolest Car in L.A." a quarter-century back. For these reasons, I document every single Corona I find in car graveyards, and here's the latest: a well-worn 1979 Corona station wagon in a Denver-area yard.

To close out an insane year, Toyota U.K. has pulled the wraps off a GR Yaris that pays tribute to essential workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Revealed at the WRC season closer in Monza, Italy, the car is decorated with a mural designed by a 16-year-old high school student as part of a "Design a Rally Car Livery" art contest sponsored by Toyota and Wales Rally Great Britain.

The car, you may notice, is wearing the unofficial symbol of 2020 — a face mask with elastic straps wrapped around the side mirrors. Along its sides are profiles of a nurse, teacher, construction worker, shopkeeper and a police officer, representing professions that have kept the world turning during the health crisis.

Nissan has kicked off a world-class factory restoration program for the Skyline GT-R. To say the restoration is extensive would be an understatement. Much more than just a refresh, candidate cars will be stripped down as naked as the day they were born on the assembly line.

Work will be conducted by the technicians of the NISMO performance arm. What follows, as reported by Japanese Nostalgic Car, is an insanely detailed checklist that can take six months to a year to complete. Cars that undergo the knife will be completely disassembled, taken down to bare metal, and examined for rust and chassis integrity. Since this is a factory program, the unibody can be checked with laser accuracy against its original specs. Any irregularities are repaired and then the car prepped for paint.

Between the boxy Toyota Van of the middle 1980s and the competent-but-unexciting Sienna of our current century, Toyota spent much of the 1990s trying to sell Americans the oddball Previa minivan. A masterpiece of engineering wrapped in a goofy-yet-futuristic-looking egg-shaped body, the Previa boasted a mid-mounted engine flipped on its side and located beneath the front seats. Later versions had an intercooled supercharger, and Previa shoppers wishing for better grip in mud and snow could get Toyota's innovative All-Trac all-wheel-drive system. All-Trac Previas are slightly easier to find in Colorado junkyards than their Camry brethren — yes, there was a Camry All-Trac in the late 1980s and early 1990s — but a Previa with All-Trac and a manual transmission? That super-rare combination is exactly what we've got for today's Junkyard Gem!

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by News Editor Joel Stocksdale. They kick things off discussing the old-school body-on-frame SUVs they've been driving recently including the 2021 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban and the 2021 Lexus GX 460. After that, they talk about the continuation Bentley Blower and help a listener spend some money.

Details on the 2021 Subaru WRX and WRX STI are out and, to nobody's surprise, hardly anything changes. The STI's base price goes up by $250 to make it $38,170. Subaru has also filtered keyless entry with push-button start down to the WRX Premium. It was previously only standard on the Limited trim. You'll pay a bit more for the convenience, too, as Subaru upped the price of the Premium trim by $250 (now totaling $30,970) this year.

And that's it for changes to the 2021 models. At this point we have our sights set on a next-gen WRX. The Subaru Levorg revealed earlier this year was the best preview of what to expect when the car is finally revealed. Report after report have suggested new platforms and new engines are on the way. Spy shots of the next-gen car slathered in camouflage surfaced a couple months ago. It's coming, and it's likely going to arrive sometime in 2021 as a 2022 model year car.

Italian sportbike builder MV Agusta has teamed up with Alpine to create a special edition of the Superveloce 800 inspired by the Alpine A110 sports car. It's distinguished by styling changes and its very limited production numbers.

The base bike is relatively unchanged. It's the Superveloce 800 with its inline-three making 144 horsepower and 65 pound-feet of torque, connected to a six-speed gearbox. The bike also features a retro fairing and lights that are a natural complement to the similarly retro Alpine A110 sports car.

LONDON — Japanese carmaker Honda hopes to restart production at its British factory on Monday after halting output because of transport-related delays that caused a shortage of parts.

Britain's major container ports, such as Felixstowe, have been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has disrupted global trade, leaving containers in the wrong place and goods stacked up.

Mazda has announced changes for the 2021 MX-5 Miata, and while the model year is mostly a quiet one for the enthusiast-favorite sports car, there is one striking new addition: a White Nappa leather option.

Sure to be the bane of Miata restorers years hence, the White Nappa leather is exclusive to the Grand Touring trim level, where it carries a $300 upcharge. Sadly, where Mazda giveth, it also taketh away, as last year's Red Nappa leather option has been dropped, and Tan Leather also falls by the wayside. That leaves black as your only other leather color choice.