So you’ve got a new job with the government. Congratulations! You get a Lexus NX of your choice – whether it’s the 194-horsepower 300h hybrid or the 235-horsepower 200t – as your official work vehicle. You can get either one with front- or all-wheel drive. Your spouse even gets to travel with you.
Wait a minute. Why does your NX have weird markings all over it? Why’s that guy hooking up a yellow strap to your new ride?
…and a four-star side pole score. You also helped figure out that the 2015 Lexus NX deserves four stars for the safety it provides in a rollover, something it only has a 16-percent chance of doing.
Thanks to you, Lexus can say its new NX has earned an overall rating of five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. You’d pat yourself on the back for making such an important contribution, but, for some reason, your neck really hurts. Don’t be a dummy – go take some aspirin.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
Where do you go for answers when you have a Lexus with a gorgeous leather interior but are not sure about how to maintain that luxurious look? The "Club Lexus" forums, of course.
