2013 Lexus GS Lanch Event At Lexus Santa Monica
There are only a few hours left to RSVP for the 2013 Lexus GS Launch Event being held at Lexus Santa Monica on Thursday February 2nd from 6:30PM until 9:30PM.

There will be Valet Parking, Appetizers, Wine and Soft Drinks, plus Live Music!
Make sure that you RSVP to lexusevents@LAcarGUY.com
Lexus Santa Monica is located at 1501 Santa Monica Boulevard in Santa Monica. We look forward to seeing you here!
Electric OSCar eO Proves EV Durability at Brutal Dakar Rally
By Brad Berman Hybridcars.com
The grueling 2012 Dakar Rally crossed 5,500 miles of rough terrain through the harshest conditions of South America. It’s hell on machines and drivers. The terrain is torturous and can strand even the most capable of vehicles. Since its inception in 1978, the Dakar Rally, which has taken place in Europe, South America and Africa—and has even claimed the lives of 25 participants.
Despite those harsh conditions, on January 15, the OSCar eO, an extended-range electric vehicle entered by the Latvian team, completed the rally. The 2012 race’s route through Argentina, Chile and Peru is a grueling test of endurance for even the most robust vehicles and drivers. The car’s historic finish demonstrates that electric vehicles can survive the world’s most challenging driving conditions.
Powered by a motor that cranks out up to 430 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, the OSCar eO is an electrified monster. The eO’s Nissan-sourced gasoline engine acts as a generator, but propulsion is 100-percent electric. Electric range is listed at up to 190 miles, but under the Rally’s extreme conditions, less than 100 miles is the norm. Including range-extended mode, the OSCar eO can travel up to 800 km (or roughly 500 miles,) without refueling.
Before the eO’s historic finish, Maris Saukans, the car’s pilot and a seven-time Dakar veteran, said, “We like to be considered as pioneers. Now we have two tasks on the Dakar: to finish the race and give others inspiration.”
The OSCar eO, driven by Saukans and engineer Andris Dambis, ranked an impressive 77th in the final classification. With its crossing of the finish line, the OSCar eO will forever be listed as the first extended-range electric vehicle to compete in and finish the Dakar Rally.
Pacific Porsche’s Carl Tofflemire Chosen As Porsche Owners Club Marketing Director
The first PDS Event of the 2012 Season at Streets of Willow is just a few short days away! This is a New Member Promotion Event with Recession Buster pricing! If you bring a New Member to the track that drives the event you get $50 POC Bucks. The New Member will get a $95 Certificate to use at his second event.
Lunch will be sponsored both days by Pacific Porsche with “give-a-ways”.
The weather is expected to be tailor made with track records to fall! No rain in the forecast! Please register ASAP so we can plan for the event. Call today for hotel reservations – space is limited due to soccer tournaments in town so rooms are at a premium. There are only a few rooms left at the Marriott Springhill Suites at the POC Rate. Instructors we need your help – contact Dave Gardner asap. Contact Laurie Taylor with your questions and don’t miss this opportunity to shake off the rust and get your Driving Season started!
The “Early Bird” Membership renewal rate of $75 is only good thru 1/31/12. Payment must be received by this date.
Toyota Confirms Limited Production Of Electric RAV4 And Scion iQ In 2012
by: Zach McDonald Hybridcars.com
Toyota’s chief executive in the United States confirmed last week that electric versions of the Scion iQ and the Toyota RAV4 will enter the production cycle in 2012. The two electric vehicles have been promised for a couple of years, so hitting the delivery dates on time is good news. The bad news is how tentative the production numbers will be.
Toyota Motor Sales president and chief operating officer, Jim Lentz, told reporters at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show that both the electric iQ minicar and the battery-powered RAV4 SUV will be small-scale production vehicles and used to “gauge consumer preferences, usage patterns and daily requirements.” In other words, Toyota will continue to sit on the sidelines and study EVs, while Nissan (and others) aim for the biggest possible volume for its electric vehicles.
Lentz also confirmed that the Toyota RAV4 EV will have a range that exceeds 100 miles. It will become the only all-electric SUV available in the US when it hits dealerships-mainly in California-later this year. The second-generation RAV4 EV is also Toyota’s first fully-electric vehicle sold in the United States since it halted sales of the legendary old-school RAV4 EV in 2003. This time around, Toyota will team up with the startup EV-maker Tesla for design and production of RAV4′s drivetrain. Tesla’s Roadster and forthcoming Model S are both capable of ranges well in excess of the 100-mile barrier other fully-electric consumer vehicles have failed to break.
Lentz said the electrified Scion iQ will have a range of 50 miles or less, and that the minicar will be a fleet-only vehicle. It’s expected that most of the 100 or so Scion iQ EVs will be sold to car-sharing programs in urban areas in the US. According to Lentz, gauging consumer preferences means that Toyota will “test” both electrified vehicles for three years, at which point the automaker will determine whether or not the technology is ready for mass production.
Pricing information for both vehicles is still unknown.
Volkswagen Introduces “Golf R Drivers Forever” iPad App
With the arrival of its performance icon to LAcarGUY dealerships this month, Volkswagen announced today that it is bringing the all-new 2012 Golf R to a mass audience via an iPad® app. Created with the enthusiast community in mind, the “Golf R Drivers Forever” app provides access to everything one needs to know about the Golf R. From the history of the popular Golf model and the community that rallies around it, to the focused engineers of Volkswagen, this app covers it all.

Told through the perspective of Volkswagen enthusiasts and drivers who helped bring this car to the United States, the app provides an interactive narrative on the evolution of the Golf from its days as the Rabbit in the 1970’s all the way to the present 2012 Golf R model. Filled with exclusive interviews, articles and footage, this is one app all Volkswagen fans will want to interact with.
“The Golf R app was created to celebrate and thank the Volkswagen brand’s community of enthusiasts because they represent what makes the Golf R special,” said Jon Browning, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America. “The app will help build awareness around the Volkswagen brand heritage and we are excited to offer this innovative approach that illustrates the performance of the Golf R.”
The editorial-driven iPad app features:
*Exclusive videos, photos, interviews and Golf footage. Highlights include:
*A mini-documentary about the world of Volkswagen including footage of the world-famous Autostadt, created by AWOL Films
*An exclusive interview with designer Chip Foose discussing his passion for the VW brand and love for the Golf
*Accounts from key members of the Volkswagen of America Product Marketing team and Volkswagen R GmbH team
*Fan testimonials and enthusiast stories
*Interactive timeline spanning the history of the Golf
*Golf R brochure with tech specs, photo gallery and 360° view of the car
The “Golf R Drivers Forever” iPad app launches in the iTunes App Store on January 17, 2012 and is free to download. You may download the here: Golf R iPad app
The 2012 Golf R is the most powerful Volkswagen sports performance vehicle ever sold in the U.S. With 256 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque, the 2.0-liter TSI® engine offers performance and fuel efficiency, thanks to intelligent downsizing. Like the previous R32 models, the Golf R is equipped with Volkswagen’s 4Motion® all-wheel drive system: the latest generation of this system can divert up to 100 percent of the torque to the rear wheels, if needed. All Golf R models sold in the U.S. will be equipped with a close-ratio six-speed manual transmission and come standard with top of the line features including dual-zone automatic climate control, Bi-Xenon headlamps and LED daytime running lights, and unique 18” alloy wheels. For the first time, the Golf R will be available in two-and four-door models.
Stay in touch with us on our Facebook, Twitter and G+ pages to see when the Golf R arrives!
Toyota Hollywood School Gardens Project Begins Plantings

Pacific Audi Is Getting A New Home!
Before stepping into a new car, you need to step into a dealership – an experience which has long been characterized as hectic, overwhelming, and disjointed. But what if a dealership was designed like a luxury vehicle itself, where every detail was taken into account even down to the flowers and coffee cups!

The Audi commitment to progress goes beyond vehicles to redefining dealerships themselves. But not simply a facelift or surface upgrade. At Audi, progress is redesigning dealerships to encompass the entire Audi exclusive customer experience.
Designed by the renowned architecture firm of Allmann Sattler Wappner of Munich, Audi’s new “Terminal” dealerships combine the efficiency, performance, luxury, and environmental themes that the brand has become known for in its vehicles.
The Audi Brand architecture has evolved into the twenty first century from the original Corporate Identity known as the “Audi hanger” into the “Audi terminal” concept. The curve, already the characteristic element in the Audi hanger with its unmistakable curved roof has been reinterpreted as a symbol for dynamism within the new Audi terminal architecture.
Dynamism, asymmetry and transparency remain central to the design of the Audi architecture. The main features of the Audi hanger have been abstracted and reintroduced in a spatially more consistent form. Thus the dynamism of asymmetric curves forming three-dimensional environment becomes a defining factor of the Audi terminal.
All vehicles are positioned on the dynamically styled curve segments. All other operations related to vehicle presentation and to the workshop are orthogonally organized. The asymmetrical look is clearly brought out by the juxtaposition of the two structural systems.
By reducing down to the simple but unmistakable basic principle of overlaying a static and a spatially dynamic system, any level of scaling and modularization can be undertaken.
The Audi Terminal dealership does not stop with the architecture. The custom-made furniture and accessories are all designed to fit into the Audi vision and enhance customers’ car-buying experience.
The Pacific Audi Terminal will be here in the winter of 2012. With over 40,000 square feet available to view and service your next Audi, the Pacific Audi Terminal can display 17 cars on the showroom floor and service up to 22 vehicles at one time!
We will be posting updates of our construction progress on our Facebook, Twitter and G+ pages, so make sure you are following us there, to stay on top of everything!

























