There's getting ahead of the curve, and then there's really getting ahead of the curve. Toyota's latest move falls firmly in the latter category. Whereas most automakers plan to make automated emergency braking (AEB) standard by 2022, Toyota (and Lexus) will do so by the end of 2017. Yowza.
Even better, it won't be introducing AEB by itself. Instead, Toyota will make its Toyota Safety Sense system standard and Lexus will do the same with its Lexus Safety System +. The goal is to have them on nearly every new Toyota or Lexus by the end of 2017. It's already a relatively inexpensive option, which typically costs less than $1,000.
This should cover approximately 25 of the 30 models both companies sell. The outliers include the Lexus GX, Toyota Mirai, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota 86 and Toyota Yaris iA (formerly the Scion iA). The iA and Mirai are on this list because they already include it as standard.
The whole suite of active and passive safety systems currently includes forward collision warning, automated emergency braking, lane-departure warning and automatic high beams. Certain models also sport adaptive cruise control.