Going to the dealer for service, such as an oil change, can be a real pain. You have to spend a good chunk of your day going across town, filling out paperwork, and waiting. Imagine if you had to drive to another country, though.
If you’re the owner of a Lexus LFA in Europe, that’s exactly what you have to do.
In the video below, Rob Leupen, vice president of Toyota Motorsport GmbH, says the European service center for LFAs is a TMG facility located in Cologne, Germany. (Bugatti Veyron owners don’t have it much easier; they have to get their tires changed in France.) The high-tech shop can completely rebuild an LFA and even repair its monocoque chassis. Of course, TMG doesn’t get a lot of major jobs like that because the owners of the 500 LFAs produced tend to be careful with the V10-powered exotics.
The LFA will eventually have a successor. Leupen says, “The next supercar should be … a hybrid car. Technology goes in that direction and we have … new technology coming and if you see your competitors, you try to bring this in your supercar … and I would not expect different from Lexus and/or Toyota.”
Hmmm…hybrid supercar, eh? That suggests the possibility of a future Lexus rival to machines along the lines of the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder. Could a million-dollar Lexus be just a few years away?
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.
