bartkat

Dodgy

Alright geezer! Fancy yourself as a bit tasty? It may be against the law, but what they don't know won't hurt 'em eh? We know your heart's in the right place… but watch out or that place may be a 3 to 5 stretch in Pentonville with 'Mad' Frank, Harry the Horse and 'Wristy' Rich Richardson.

Based on your answers, we have calculated the maximum penalty for your crimes*:

Years in prison: 29 Potential fine: £9500

"we aren't really driving fancy toyotas though, because the engines and things are different, its only the basic mechanicals that are the same, aren't they?  ;)"

Sorry to disappoint you mate.

In Japan, in addition to the Toyota Altezza RS200 (which has a more powerful 210 bhp engine, than the IS200), there is also the Toyota Altezza AS200 (which is really the IS200, including the 1G-FE 2L 6-pot engine).

There is no Lexus brand in Japan. Only Toyotas.

The "Lexus" models in Japan all sport Toyota labels on the chassis, windows and steering wheel.

The Lexus labels are only stamped for the export market to USA, Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia.

In Japan, you only get to see the following Lexus models as:

Toyota Celsior = LS430

Toyota Aristo = GS300

Toyota Harrier = RX300/330

Toyota Windom = ES300

Toyota Altezza = IS200/300

From the latest news reports in the Japanese papers, Toyota will be introducing the Lexus brand in its home country by about 2005 (the irony of it all!). The business driver is to cut down the parallel imports being done into the Lexus markets, at Toyota prices, re-badging the cars as "Lexus" and selling them to end users at a premium.

Such tactics are prevalent in countries like Singapore and Hong Kong - where one can buy a Toyota-equivalent model, at a much cheaper price, but get to drive a Lexus. That trend, I believe, may have caught up elsewhere in Europe.

But it is still the SAME car.

Even in Japan, the well travelled purchase Lexus labels and rebadge their Toyota-equivalents to achieve the "rarity" factor.

p.s. I spent 5 years in Japan.

Oh, BTW, in Japan and even Singapore, a 3L Toyota Crown costs about US$30K more than a Lexus GS300 or ES300. And the Crown gives a much more refined and plusher ride than either of the Lexus models.

Since many Lexus owners want the Altezza badges, maybe we could arrange to trade emblems with some Japanese owners.

I've ordered genuinr Lexus parts, and they come in Toyota boxes and the parts themselves say Toyota. Filters, etc.

iridium spark plugs should last 100,000 miles. That is unless there is some abnormal conditon that causes them to foul or burn up sooner. You can pull them out and inspect them, and if ok, just put them back in and go.

Glad no one was hurt.

As we say. Call the police and call for a pizza and see which one arrives first.

I used G2 in silver. Has a really high gloss.

"Dew Drop Inn" is one that's overdone here.

There was a stripper bar called "Knockers Up".

I'm 63 and I live 100 miles north of Birmingham.. .... .. ..... ...

.

.

.

.

..

Alabama, USA

.

.

LOL :P

I was wondering abut the hubs. I just bought a used 2002 IS300 and the hubs show rust.

So I ordered some "Must For Rust" from http://www.tinmantech.com/

They claim this stuff is not toxic and will reomove rust when sprayed, wiped, or brushed on in just a few minutes. Also it's supposed to etch the metal for painting.

I'll soon find out if the claims are true. The stuff is also supposed to act as a rust preventative.

I plan to clean and paint the hubs when I get ready to paint the calipers with the G-2 brake paint.

When I installed fogs on another car I wired the signal wire to the one that goes to the parking lights. That way you could run fogs with no headlights, but you always had your tails, parking, and side markers on if with the fogs.

I can't see much use for fog lights if the headlights have to be on too. Too much reflection from those.

I don't know if the IS 300's imported to the states are limited in number. However while shopping for a 2002 or 2003 used IS 300, I found that every nice one that came in was almost immediately sold. You had to be on a list or almost be there when the car was traded to even find one. I guess that makes it sort of exclusive. When I first got mine, I drove 700 miles from Ohio to Alabama and never even saw another one on the road.

If your car is really bouncy then your shocks are not doing their job of dampening out the bounce. This often happens when someone installs stronger, shorter aftermarket springs without also installing high performance shocks.

OTOH, shocks can fail. The oil leaks out and you have no more dampening. Then it's almost like riding on springs with no shocks.

The test is to bounce each corner of the car, one corner at a time. Get it really bouncing and then let go. The car should bounce no more than 1 1/2 times after you stop.

I just bought a used 2002 IS300 and it makes the same noises. Especially if the steering wheel is turned, as in going around a stree corner. On other cars (civicx) it was the upper spring bearing cracked or missing. I guess I need to have this one checked out. It still has warranty.

Hello, I'm a new owner of a 2002 IS300. The previous owner had painted the brake calipers yellow. Is there some significance to the color, or just maybe the owner's taste. I want to repaint them maybe silver so as not to be so flashy. The car is Intensa Blue.