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Houston repair shop disappears and takes man's Lexus with it

A man in Houston, Texas, is out his sweet new Lexus after the small-time repair shop he took it to just up and disappeared along with his car last month. According to KPRC, Randy Exom purchased a Lexus ES300 back in November and immediately took it to On Site Auto Repair in Northwest Houston to deal with some used car issues. To pay for the work, Exom set up a bi-weekly payment plan with the shop's owner. This arrangement worked out fine until January 19, when Exom showed up to make his payment and discovered that the shop had disappeared. "Everything was going fine up until I came there to make a payment and there was an eviction sign posted, sign on the door, and the regular cars that were in the lot weren't there anymore," Exom told KPRC. Eventually, he was able to reach the shop's owner to get an explanation but it wasn't the one he wanted. "I gave him a call and I said, 'Hey, there's an eviction notice here. Did you move?' He said, 'Yeah, I'm at 59 and Little York now." The fact that the owner didn't give him an exact address raised some alarms, and upon further review it seems that Exom's suspicions were justified. It turns out that the shop's owner, Shawn Gee, has a history of shady automotive dealing. Last fall, KPRC reported cases of cars going missing from a shop at 59 and Little York. That shop, which is now closed, was owned by Gee's brother. On February 10, Exom finally found his car in an impound lot with the rest of the cars from Gee's shop nearly a full month after it went missing. He told KPRC that the impound lot wants $800 to release his car. He told reporters that he wished Gee had called him and worked the situation out like a real businessman. "My thing is my car was in your possession and you should have made some type of contact with me and say, 'Hey this is what's going on, sir,'" he said. KPRC reached Gee by phone on February 10 and he declined to give an on-camera interview. He did confirm the eviction and said that he was working with customers to get their impounded vehicles back. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: KPRC Auto News Weird Car News Lexus houston impound

Lexus takes to Pikes Peak in RC F GT Concept

Lexus is gearing up to take on Pikes Peak with the RC F GT Concept you see here, developing the new racing prototype for the venerable hillclimb event. Different from the more extreme GT3 and GT500 racing concepts we've seen to date, the new GT concept is more closely based the road-going RC F. Only it's leaner and meaner and ready to take on the grueling 12.4-mile race to the clouds and all its 156 turns. The RC F GT packs the same 5.0-liter V8 and eight-speed automatic transmission as the production model. The major difference is that it weighs some 800 pounds less, thanks largely to the widespread use of carbon fiber body panels and polycarbonate windows. It also incorporates a more aggressive aero kit and rolling stock, and allows the technicians to tune the engine for competition applications. To tackle the Peak, Lexus is handing the keys over to none other than Justin Bell, the former GT2 class winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA GT Championship. He'll be fielding the RC F GT in the Time Attack class for production-based vehicles, while providing Lexus engineers with valuable performance data and the chance to develop components for future applications. Two years ago, the IS F CCS-R prototype competed in the same event, and served as a test bed to develop the powertrain that went into the RC F that followed. Related Video: LEXUS TO COMPETE IN 2015 PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILL CLIMB WITH ALL-NEW RC F GT CONCEPT - V8 Powered, Production Car-based Coupe to be Driven by Justin Bell - RC F GT Program to Serve as Key Developmental Tool for F brand Engineering June 22, 2015 TORRANCE, Calif. (June 22, 2015) – On June 28th, Lexus will compete in the Time Attack class of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The luxury automaker will be campaigning the all-new RC F GT Concept, a vehicle that builds upon the legacy of the IS F CCS-R vehicles that last competed at Pikes Peak in 2013. This historic event, now in its 93rd running, is a race against the clock that tests man and machine with the changing elements, altitude, and a treacherous 12.42 mile, 156 turn course that winds up the peak from 9,390 feet up to the 14,115 foot summit. The new Lexus will be piloted up the mountain by British driving ace, 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, and automotive media personality Justin Bell. "With very little time behind the wheel, the RC F GT Concept has already proven fast and easy to drive, very much like the production models, actually.

Lexus apologizes for anti-EV ad, Plug In America calls it 'outdated'

Anyone who's spent any time learning about the alternatives to the standard fossil fuel-burning internal combustion engine knows that there are arguments to be made for and against all of the main options. They also know that there is barely any refueling infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cell cars in the US, aside form a handful of H2 stations in California and one in South Carolina. Somehow, though Lexus, recently said there was an "established infrastructure" in 20 states in an online video ad on the company's official site. Another part of that site also made unfair negative comments about battery-powered electric vehicles, saying that it takes too long to charge the cars. Read our original post on the matter here. In the ongoing discussion about how the US moves away from inefficient gas and diesel engines, this was seen as a real muck up of the facts. Upon seeing the videos, pro-electric vehicle group Plug In America released a statement to AutoblogGreen (Lexus is owned by Toyota): Hey, Toyota, the 1990s called. They want their outdated anti-EV attack ad back. Plug-in electric vehicles charge while you're sleeping at home, far more convenient than making a trip to a gas station and coming away smelling like carcinogens. Driving on electricity costs about one fifth what it costs to drive the average gas car and about a third what it costs to drive the most efficient hybrid. An electric drive has smooth, instant acceleration which can't be matched by any gasoline engine. If you don't believe me, just ask anyone driving a Toyota RAV4 EV. The videos were produced by Team One, Lexus' ad agency. Exactly where the information came from and how it made it to the website is unclear, but Lexus spokesman Moe Durand said that Lexus apologizes for offending anyone and has taken the incorrect videos down. The company will review all the materials and alter and adjust the campaign as necessary, he said.