November 5, 2010
Paul Rohovsky – Lexus
Adam Carolla and the Professor Sandy Ganz brings a Lexus heavy hitter for this episode. This includes the Lexus LFA as well as Paul Rohovsky, the National Manager of Advanced Business Development. What does that all mean? Discussion on the evolution of the Lexus LFA as well as the usual smack talk. We check out the car and Adam and Paul do a quick lap around the shop. The professor picks up with this weeks tech segment ‘Tool of the week’.
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Show Links
Pictures of tools are on page 2 of the image gallery
Nutsert Kit from Aircraft Spruce
Nibbler Tool from Klein Tools
Image Gallery
[nggallery id=118]
Episode Videos
Lexus LFA at the Shop
Adam’s Quick Test Drive
Four crates of Jeremiah Weed and a Lexus LFA on the driveway… Are you working on a Beverly Hillbillies remake? It must of been tempting to open a few of those crates, invite the kids over, and rev the engine till the cops show up. (Just to see the look on their faces.) Git off my property, dag nab it!
I still don’t get the Lexus branding. To me it looks like the ultimate Supra (which is good).
Excellent show, especially the test drive. Thanks.
Totally unrelated, but fans of this site might enjoy Jonathan Ward’s latest project. Not a rat-rod, not “pro-touring” but something in between. He calls it “Wabi-Sabi”.
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/segment/sema/sema-2010-derelict/#comments
I saw that segment on Jay’s site and I am glad they featured Jonathan and not those stupid slammed trucks or the rims. Love that you guys are finally driving the cars and not just tossing a few revs. I know you don’t have Jay’s budget but if you can mount some camera on the outside of the car and a chase vehicle that would be awesome. The new tool segment is a nice surprise and I won’t bitch about the ad for Discount Tires, I know you need to pay the bills.
Not that I will ever be able to afford it but I wouldn’t buy a LFA because they want too much money for a car that really doesn’t have any history and it’s still a Lexus. Is it me or did you guys notice Paul was as dull and boring like many Lexus models.
Great show boys keep up the good work.
Toyota doesn’t have any history? Really? How many years do the Europeans have on the Japanese in terms of making cars? ~30-40 years? At what point does history become a non issue? Another 50? Another 100? 1000? In the year 3000 will people still be using history as a argument against Asian brands? Of course you can always say that Europeans have a richer history than the Japanese but after a certain point “history” is not a valid argument. Besides nowadays all the engineers go to the same schools and learn the same things.
Regardless, Toyota has a rich history of racing in European and Japanese motorsports, more than Lamborghini, Pagani, and Koenigsegg combined. Yet no one says anything about history or heritage when it comes to those brands. Would you buy a Lamborghini whose ‘history’ is from making tractors and farming equipment?
BTW, the LFA outperforms the comparably priced Ferrari 599 HGTE and the more expensive Mercedes SLR (a car which looks like a glorified Mercedes SL with a Gonzo nose). Are those two overpriced?
The 599 HGTE has 612hp to the LFA’s 550, yet the LFA is faster in a straight line. Funny how the LFA does more with less.
Are you basing your performance figures on Nurb ring lap times? If so, I really dont think it’s a good catalyst to measure from. Different drivers, different temperatures/weather, if there’s other drivers on the track, etc. There’s a lot of variables and with a track that size it can make a HUGE difference.
Regarding your 599 vs. LFA comparison, that’s just proof positive that things such as gearing, weight, aerodynamics, and torque curve play a huge role in straight line performance. Its not just raw horsepower. I’m also fairly confident that the SLR will put a whipping on the LFA in a straight line, not to take anything away from the Lexus.
Jonathan is a Friend of the show, we will be having his wagon on the show shortly, just need to find a Saturday for the CarCast Car-B-Que so we can have the gathering.
Hey great work guys and I especially enjoy the Tech Segments that you’ve been doing recently. The first time I watched one of these(I think due to the snazzy discount tire outfit Ganz wears from the beginning) I assumed it was just going to be a Discount Tire commercial with no real content. But as it turns out it’s the other way around, interesting content with very minimal advertising. I like it!
I’m working on some Discount Tire Socks and Pants to wrap up the ensemble!
And thanks, its something we wanted to do with support from a Sponsor and hopefully we can keep them for a while. More fun stuff coming!
Sandy
Dito on Jason’s comment, really enjoy the new tech segments. As a semi novice it helps to learn about some cool gadgets I never knew existed.
Sandy, Quick question on whether is worth doing a few mods to my stock Benz C300 4matic to boost the HP … I’ve been a B’mer guy my whole life and I broke down and bought a C300 a couple years ago and it’s kind of wimpy. So wimpy in fact that this summer I bought a BMW Z4M coupe to drive during the summers. However, now that winter is approaching, I’m back to my C300 and it feels like I’m driving a damn horse & buggy … so my question is… have you ever heard of someone adding a super charger or turbo to a stock C300? and if so, would the stock 4matic transmission even be able to handle it without being torn to shreds?
I really enjoy the show! Just saw Ace at Caroline’s in NYC on Sat … he nailed it! thanks!
Mark from CT
Thanks for the comments Mark!
Did a bit poking around for the C300’s and didn’t see a lot on the web that jumped out at me. What I would do is jump into a one of the more popular Mercedes forums and see if you can find some people that have done up their C300. Seemed not a lot of stuff, possibly the usual Exhaust mods, K&N Filter, and possibly a chip might be available. Other then that sounds like you might start with a better supported car if you want to mod it up.
Sandy
Thanks Sandy! I learned my lesson … I won’t stray again, it’s BMW from now on. Although my 19 year old son has been pestering me to get some good old fashion American muscle.
Thanks!
Hey guys, great cast! The sound of that LFA at (only) 7500 tickled my balls….. literally.
Great tech segment as well
Cheers
Damn, I was hoping for adam to try and out do Claus Ettensbergers test drive
Dunno about that much money for this car. To me this falls into the Phaeton category in that this car doesn’t really look like what it is….that said, the exhaust note says race car.
Great show! I can tell by Adam’s reaction during the test drive that the LFA has a real, visceral appeal. Cripes! The V-10 sounded great even through my cheap speakers. I’ll have to look on the Lexus site for the curb weight. I hope the LFA is not disappointingly heavy… I’ve got no priors, so I probably wouldn’t do any time if I stole an LFA. Funny how the car companies send out the dry engineer types to talk about a car that can evoke such strong reactions.
Great tech. tool segment. I’ve heard of the nibbler (sounds like a villan from the original TV Batman series), but never used one or seen one in action before. Nice. I’ve been to Discount Tire for several things and have found them to be real pros.
WHY DIDN’T YOU ASK HIM WHY IT WEIGHS MORE THAN A Corvette or Ferrari?! You had so many chances with him going on and on about each component being so light even a wtf carbon hood prop. And when looking at the lines did you not notice the “areo” gap in the hood that the car mags bitch about. Anyways I dislike that car but did enjoy and learn something new watching the tool video. It would be cool if you could get Taner Foust to bring the drift car in for a future show.
I was being nice, the folks at Lexus were really nice to bring a car out and I figured no reason to put them on the spot. One thing that was brought up as a good point is that either you like it or or don’t (Skip the money aspect). And I’m still up in the air, the motor and driveline is a huge plus, styling more of a minus.
Would I have a GT3RS (Orange and black), Audi R8, Aston Martin over the LFA yes, would I have a Vette no. At some point you have to say I like it or not, the numbers are only part of the pictures dare I use the emotion word.
My issues with it all is that I expected a lot more out of Lexus but my expectations are very high given the said amount of technology touted in the car. It’s bad ass, but I would not give up my old and comparatively inexpensive DB7GT on any day for the LFA.
Sandy
But bravo for sticking it to them over their treatment of Mr Levy!
Did anyone else notice what kind of phone Paul had? Looks like the Tag phone… ahhhh to drive 400k car with a 6k phone hahaha…
I just got rid of a 2004 BMW M3 with some enigine upgrades and a very high end suspension. The new ride is a 2004 Sl500 sport package. What do you suggest for some engine upgrades? It has a set of 20″ AMG wheels and sits a little high at the lowest suspension setting. Would you suggest lowering the car or is that to much of a pain in the ass? Can we try to get some 993 turbo’s on here? That’s my all time fav. Keep up the good work guys!!!
Yo Adam and Sandy,
You guys need to use some 97% isopropyl alcohol to remove your stickers from your sun visors. Remove the sun visor, set it on a bench. Soak a rag with 97% isopropyl alcohol, I would steer away from a red shop rag, it would most likely have some color running issues. Use a nice microfiber that you can do without for a while.Once the rag is nice and wet lay it on top of the sticker on the sun visor, and let it hang out for 15 minutes or longer. After that time, the sticker will peel off like a decal on a plastic model.
Sounds like a thing to do for the tech segment.
On the next car with them that aren’t painted up (By Adam) or already removed that will be the attempt.
The ones that were on a couple of my cars just peeled off, I got lucky they were a thick plastic sticker, but the newer ones that we have seen are almost like a hot melt glue that has made the sticker more like a permanent mess, but this sounds like it could be something worth a try.
And no, we could never do this on the show since the liability of something as dangerous as this would never get by the network legal department, oh, wait…
Sandy
I want. This. Car.
Not sure whether this works on fabric or alcantara, but to get the sticker off a leather visor, the following works perfect:
Masking tape around sticker.
Get a couple of Q-tips and some acetone in a cup
Rub the acetone all over the sticker continuously for at least 30 seconds. Do not try to take off just a little at a time.
At some point between 30 sec. and 2 min, the whole sticker will just curl up and you can pull it right off.
Treat with Lexol or other leather treatment.
Note that you really haven’t directly touched the leather with the acetone, but it obviously permeates the sticker. No one I know had any problem with this noticeably removing any finish from the leather.
Another great installment. Lawyers Suck. Disclaimers are retarded. WATCH THIS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpPuQQpC43U
The next time I fart, I’ll tell the person next to me: “I’m just tuning my exhaust note.” ;-D
The LF-A is what happens when the CEO or a high powered VP starts a project and it runs amok. It isn’t a Halo car, as there is no natural progression to ownership, and its bits and pieces have almost Zero to do with the rest of the lineup; Hell even it’s engine is a Yamaha design. It really fails miserably in its intended mission, to bring excitement to the Lexus brand, as the typical 50yr+ Lexus owner cares not one bit about F1, or sports cars in general, and probably is unaware of its existence as they typically do not read enthusiast magazines. To the Enthusiast who DOES enjoy cars as more than a mobile office, the LF-A, while a really cool car, is not available to him, and worse…Lexus has NOTHING even remotely similar to offer.
Customer: Yes…I saw the LF-A…WOW what a car, while I can not afford that…can you show me what Lexus offers that is similarly sporting but attainable?
Salesman: Why yes…come over here and let me show you this super hot SC10…EVERYONE at the Country Club thinks it is the Bee’s Knees!
See what I mean? Toyota would have been better served taking the reported $200 Million, and 6 years development time spent on the LF-A, and developed a $65-80,000 Supra to rival the GT-R and Corvette…THAT would have been the better HALO car.