It can easily be argued that companies that play it safe probably have the greatest chances of surviving the malaise currently afflicting the automotive industry. And it can be argued that Toyota Motor Corporation and its Lexus luxury division have played the game as safely as any other company in the world. Case in point: the Lexus RX, both the bestselling luxury crossover and the bestselling of all Lexus models. It’s a cash cow for the brand, and when time comes to redo it, Lexus knows not to mess with a good thing. So it’s no surprise that the third-generation RX350 and its hybrid sibling are largely the same as they’ve always been—pleasant and inoffensive, two veritable shades of beige, despite being completely redesigned.

Toyota didn’t get where it is today—the biggest, richest car company on the planet—by taking chances. With the notable exception of the Prius hybrid, Toyota styling is conservative to the point of boredom. And aside from its hybrid leadership, Japan’s automotive giant is rarely an innovator. The trend toward downsizing, in both cars and engines, ought to be in Toyota’s favor. But although the company has plenty of economical babies in its global portfolio, it lacks a premium minicar. Mercedes’ Smart brand and BMW’s Mini have shown the world that small cars don’t have to be cheap.

Lexus is throwing another dart at the blue-and-white bull’s-eye that is BMW. Toyota’s luxury division knows that 30 percent of BMW 3-series sales are coupes and convertibles, and it wants a seat at that buffet. Introduced nine years ago and well into its second generation—Toyota doesn’t act without exhaustive study, apparently—the entry-luxury IS sedan finally gets an additional body style: a hardtop convertible.

"The RX is arguably our most iconic vehicle." Those are the words of Lexus group vice president and general manager Mark Templin, who made the claim at the 2010 Lexus RX's press preview in Northern California. More symbolic than the IS, the GS, and even the LS, the lux sedan that spearheaded Lexus's U.S. launch in 1989 and sent the Europeans back to the drawing boards? According to Templin, it's entirely possible.

he world's most important hybrid gets a full monty. Toyota has sold more than a million Priuses to date. Fiddling with its magic formula comes with great risk. Have no fear, as the third-generation example doesn't stray far from what's made it a top-seller and red-carpet status symbol, yet is improved in a number of ways.

When SUVs were all the rage, companies dolled up station wagons and relabeled them as SUVs. (Look at the first-generation Subaru Forester and Honda CR-V.) Now that the SUV market has cooled, the industry is going in the opposite direction-crossovers are being marketed as sedan alternatives. The all-new Toyota Venza is wider and taller than the Infiniti EX, longer and wider than the RX 350, and nearly the same size as the Ford Edge, yet Toyota doesn't want it labeled as a crossover. The idea is that the Venza is 70-percent car, 30-percent SUV. Further complicating things, the EPA classifies it as a truck.

They've not had a lot to do over the last few years, those poor souls trapped in the 'performance' corner of Toyota R&D. Since the demise of the Celica, the MR2 and the Supra, they've been sat on their collective posterior, presumably making origami swans. Until a few months ago, when a Toyota boss wandered over with an Aygo tucked under one arm.