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Land Rover LR4s successfully cross America off-road

Land Rover Expedition America has just wrapped up its month-long trek across the United States, almost all of it off-road. A team of three Land Rover LR4s covered 4,000-plus miles from Asheville, N.C., to the Oregon coast, following an off-road route called the Trans-America Trail charted by motorcycle legend Sam Correro in the 1990s. No other production car is known to have ever completed this journey.

BMW previews new M4

BMW has revealed several retro-fit enhancements for the new 4-series coupe, part of its M-Performance line of options. In the process the company has provided the first clues to its upcoming M4's appearance; the M4 will replace the just-discontinued BMW M3, and sources tell Autoweek the new performance coupe will make its world debut at the Detroit auto show next January. The performance package consists of an aggressive aero kit, various interior trim upgrades and suspension modifications.

Lexus IS 300h promises unrivalled ownership costs

The new Lexus IS - launched at Detroit in January and costing from £26,495 for the IS 250 in the UK – actually offers ownership costs that eclipse diesel offerings from the likes of Jaguar, BMW, Audi and Mercedes, say Lexus. Despite the logical assumption that the complex hybrid powerplant in the IS 300h would cost more to maintain, Lexus say the opposite is true. Because it has no clutch and the starter motor and alternator are integrated they require no servicing or replacement and Lexus has fitted a timing chain instead of a timing belt, so it won’t need regular replacement either.