lexus

460 lexus

These past months, Lexus magazine has had much to say about the CT 200h and LFA, so it’s high time we turn our attention back to other happenings in the Lexus lineup.

Top of mind this week: The 500 LS special editions that just rolled out of production. Officially called the LS 460 Touring Edition, the vehicle picks up some snazzy LS 460 features and combines them—nicely, we might add—with a few attributes from the LS 460 Sport.

In this case, the LS 460 Touring Edition comes with a Smoky Granite Mica exterior and Black and Saddle Tan leather trim, the latter of which LS fans may recognize from the LS 460 Sport, and is available in both rear-wheel and all-wheel drive models.

Lexus also gave the LS Touring Edition a few sharp cabin accoutrements: a heated wood- and leather-trimmed steering wheel, a stately matte dark brown ash burl wood interior accent, and sport front seats.

The exterior views aren’t bad either, as the vehicle comes with a mesh-patterned front grille, sleek-looking rocker panels, front and rear spoilers, as well as 18-inch/10-spoke alloy wheels for the all-wheel drive model and 19-inch/five-spoke alloy wheels for the rear-wheel drive version.
—BRIAN GILL, MANAGING EDITOR

DESIGN LANDSCAPING TRUCK

LANDSCAPING TRUCK MODELS

There are three, primary weight classes of trucks that are used as landscape trucks. These are lightweight, medium range and heavy duty, and any of these commercial vehicles are well suited for particular landscape projects. The lighter of the three, such as pick-up trucks and mini-flat beds, are most often the vehicle of choice for landscape maintenance, since they can operate without a special permit, and the bed allows easy access to mowers, hand trimmers and bins for cutting debris.


With lighter trucks, the pick-up bed can be outfitted with short, side gates that prove handy for securing gardening equipment. The flatbed styles are most often fitted with standard side gates for easy access to equipment and supplies. The frame, engine and chassis of the medium class landscape trucks are manufactured by many of the major import makers. Flatbeds are fabricated by domestic companies, and fitted prior to purchase of the landscape truck.
The most versatile landscape vehicles are the medium weight trucks in the one-ton range. These trucks are employed as multi-purpose vehicles that are capable of transporting landscape supplies for sprinkler installations, gardening equipment, and an array of boxed and potted plants. Most medium class trucks are outfitted with a pipe threader, overhead pipe racks, and utility boxes for carrying sprinkler parts, connectors and a complete set of tools. In addition, there may be a small, flatbed section that can be sealed off for hauling soil amendment, sand or gravel.
Eight-cylinder gasoline or diesel engines power these trucks, and they are fitted with a heavy-duty hitch for pulling landscape trailers, or a mini-tractor. The frame, engine and chassis are manufactured by any of the major domestic truck makers. The flatbed, utility boxes, trailer hitches and overhead hauling racks are most often ordered from domestic fabricators, and these can be custom ordered to suit a particular landscaping company. The bed, lift gate and any additional accessories are fitted prior to purchase of the truck.
The heavy weight class of landscape trucks is rated at a capacity of five tons or greater. These trucks are powered by huge eight cylinder diesel engines that are capable of hauling a full load of equipment, several cubic yards of soil, and pull a large trailer with a skip loader. They are fitted with a sturdy flatbed that can be enclosed with solid panels for hauling soil, or with standard side gates for hauling landscape equipment, tools and supplies. The frame, engine and chassis are manufactured by any of the major domestic makers of large trucks.

SEXY BUMPER TRUCK MODIFICATIONS

SEXY BUMPER TRUCK MODIFICATIONS

Customized truck bumpers are an excellent way to improve the overall value and use of your truck. They better shield your truck's front end and give you a foundation for additional customizations and functionality. They also give you an opportunity to further enhance the visual appeal of your truck.
Modern truck bumpers are not just bumpers, they're a perfect way for you to achieve the distinct and personal truck you wanted.


These aftermarket bumpers are common among emergency vehicles and law enforcement automobiles. So you can appreciate how these specialized steel bumpers with special air dams provide increased strength and versatility to your vehicle. So you can further stylize your favorite truck while also making it more robust and durable.
While custom bumpers exist for any manufacturer, from Chevy and Ford to Nissan and Toyota, make sure you order or design a bumper specifically for the model and make of your particular truck. These are almost all completely custom jobs so need to make sure you get the work that was meant for exact truck model.
You will make your money back on a customized truck bumper the first time granny loses control of her shopping car in the grocery parking lot. You will more than make your money back during the first slow-impact collision you experience.
People buying used trucks love to see customized vehicles, especially those with smart upgrades that improve the truck's toughness and versatility. Just make sure you create a coherent visual design with the overall body and tires with the custom bumper.
A modern customized truck bumper isn't just a bumper; it is a means to provide additional features such as fog lights, d-rings and winches. So while the truck shop will just call it a custom bumper, it might be better titled an upgraded utility front end.
When you complete your customized bumper job, you will then have a truck capable of more rugged work while also exhibiting a greater overall visual presence.

TRUCK WASH BUSSINES CASE STUDY

  TRUCK WASH BUSSINES CASE STUDY

Often smart entrepreneurs look for out of the way businesses, things out of the mainstream but businesses, which have a good customer base and steady incomes. This is an extremely interesting story. I had always considered the mobile truck washing efforts to be very profitable and believed that fixed truck washes were a big waste of money. That was until one year when a new franchisee joined our team from Oklahoma City. I run a franchise company called the Car Wash Guys; http://www.carwashguys.com. Turns out the franchisee was formerly employed by Blue Beacon Truck Washes the largest chain of truck washes in the US. They do about $138,000,000 per year with 80 truck washes and the company is very closely held. Tim our franchisee was a truck manager for them and before buying into our franchise and started washing cars in OKC even though he knows truck washing best. He had a two-year non-compete with his old company, which we have honored in OKC. He has tons of experience and had indicated to me that the business is sound and we should really get into it. Later that year I sold a franchise to a person in WA State who owned car washes (5) and he made a deal with a truck stop on an Indian Reservation, he never started the plan, but the numbers we ran on the spreadsheet looked great and very profitable.


Even as a serial entrepreneur, I had never considered the fixed site truck wash business, as the mobile truck wash business seemed so much more efficient and so little over head; http://www.truckwashguy.com . So even with all this knowledge on the team we still did not enter that market. One of our competitors in the car washing industry bought up two
truck washing chains for a total of fourteen truck washes and proclaimed it more profitable than his other car washes by 5 times as much money. They now own nearly 100 locations of truck and car washes nationwide. After looking into it some more a franchise buyer who owned Fuel MAN, an East coast Fuel Card for fleet owners approached us in South Carolina to use the Truck Wash Guys name and develop a truck wash mid state. At that point we decided to start working on the details. Then a franchisee in OH made a deal with a truck stop between Columbus OH and Pittsburgh, to operate a 24 hour truck wash and de-ice business. He thought how easy this is and now so we have made deal in WV at a truck wash as well. Our Ohio Franchisee at the time took on another partner in WV.
Still reluctant to fully dive into the subcategory of full service truck washes we found our Ohio Franchisee going full guns to put together a deal with Pilot Truck Stops. Pilot Truck Stop has the most Truck Stops on the Planet and sells 8% of all the diesel fuel in the United States. So we planned a pilot program at pilot. Our temporary set up is a trailer unit, which sits at the truck stops and washes made sense. We then worked on plans for a building to submit them to the Building dept. for approval, meanwhile the deals in
OH and WV and SC were suddenly in the works. We figured if our deal with the truck stops worked well, the Truck Stops will get more traffic and fuel sales while we generate
revenue and a percentage of the total take for the truck stop for the privilege of working there. We are so use to washing trucks and have on our team a gentleman who sells simonize truck wash and has been in the car washing and pressure washing equipment business for 20 years. By using the fuel man fuel cards as currency on the east coast and name recognition of Pilot we figured we could move into this industry and pick up the slack.
There is a shortage of truck washes across the country and also a shortage of oil change facilities for trucks. A franchisee could be trained by our truck wash prototypes and probably on the top performing franchisee in our mobile truck wash
division; then quickly set up in their own markets. Pressure Washing companies which specialize in fleet truck washing should in fact consider this type of strategy for moving into the fixed site truck washing business.
If you study entrepreneurial companies you will in fact see that many companies fall into markets due to opportunities which present themselves, it is amazing the opportunities which exist out there and how fast companies can grow when they can handle the demand of those markets. Think on this.

SEXY PICKUP RENTALS MODEL

SEXY PICKUP RENTALS MODEL

Pickup trucks are very useful in moving luggage and other household goods while moving from one house to another. Though originally designed to haul cargo, pickup trucks have become immensely popular for luggage transport also.


There are many companies who rent out pickup trucks, depending on individual requirements. Before deciding which company to hire the pickup truck from, you need to be sure of the services they provide. There are companies that provide 'self-service moving,' which means that instead of paying the mover to come and pack your luggage, you can do the packing and haul the luggage into the truck. This will reduce your expenses; otherwise, you will have to pay the packing and loading charges also.
Pickup truck rental companies also provide accessories such as loading ramps, blankets, and furniture pads, tie-down straps, and a dolly. You can use them to off load your luggage when you reach your destination. The rates are based on the actual distance traveled, space taken by the luggage, and its weight. You do not have to drive the truck, as the company provides a driver.
If you are not fully aware of the rules of the game, you may be hoodwinked into paying more freight charges than you actually need to pay. Since rents are based on the space your luggage occupies, you should see to it that it is accurately measured. Space should be measured on the floor, and not on the roof. Some companies may charge you for 24 cubic feet of space, including the roof, whereas your luggage occupies only 20 feet.
Besides being overcharged due to inaccurate space measurements, you may also be overcharged on the basis of the distance covered to reach your destination. Usually, the rental companies charge you for two ways, to and from the destination, on the plea that they spend fuel on the back journey as well. There are, however, some big companies whose offices may be located near your destination. So, in such cases, they may be charging you for a return journey they are not going to make.

SEXY PICUP MODELS TO RENTALS

SEXY PICUP MODELS TO RENTALS

Pickup trucks are very useful in moving luggage and other household goods while moving from one house to another. Though originally designed to haul cargo, pickup trucks have become immensely popular for luggage transport also.


There are many companies who rent out pickup trucks, depending on individual requirements. Before deciding which company to hire the pickup truck from, you need to be sure of the services they provide. There are companies that provide 'self-service moving,' which means that instead of paying the mover to come and pack your luggage, you can do the packing and haul the luggage into the truck. This will reduce your expenses; otherwise, you will have to pay the packing and loading charges also.
Pickup truck rental companies also provide accessories such as loading ramps, blankets, and furniture pads, tie-down straps, and a dolly. You can use them to off load your luggage when you reach your destination. The rates are based on the actual distance traveled, space taken by the luggage, and its weight. You do not have to drive the truck, as the company provides a driver.
If you are not fully aware of the rules of the game, you may be hoodwinked into paying more freight charges than you actually need to pay. Since rents are based on the space your luggage occupies, you should see to it that it is accurately measured. Space should be measured on the floor, and not on the roof. Some companies may charge you for 24 cubic feet of space, including the roof, whereas your luggage occupies only 20 feet.
Besides being overcharged due to inaccurate space measurements, you may also be overcharged on the basis of the distance covered to reach your destination. Usually, the rental companies charge you for two ways, to and from the destination, on the plea that they spend fuel on the back journey as well. There are, however, some big companies whose offices may be located near your destination. So, in such cases, they may be charging you for a return journey they are not going to make.

SEXY CHECY TRUCK MODELS

SEXY 1968 CHECY TRUCK MODELS

The '68 is part of the second generation of C/K trucks, built between 1967 and 1972. Aside from a different grill treatment, the GMC C/K is the same model. The Chevrolet and GMC Suburban is a wagon version of the C/K, and aside from the body is mechanically identical. 1968 models were the only year to have side marker reflectors on all fenders and the early sloped-front hood.


Chevy Truck Model C
The "C" model features two-wheel drive while the "K" model features four-wheel drive. The 10, 20, and 30 after the letter designation signifies 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, and 1 ton models, respectively. C 10 and 20 models used coil spring trailing arm rear suspension, the only truck to do so until the release of the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500.
Chevrolet Truck K Model
K models and one ton trucks kept the traditional leaf spring rear end. Beds were available in 6 1/2 foot or 8 foot lengths, with both sizes offered as fleetsides or stepsides. 1968 saw the debut of a 3/4 ton model targeted at camper users called the Longhorn. This truck was sold with heavy duty rear springs and an 8 1/2 foot bed.
V8 Incoming
1968 chevy trucks debuted the 307 cubic inch small block V8, a longer stroke version of the previous offered 283. It was also the first time the 396 was brought over from Chevrolet's car line. Both 250 and 292 cubic inch straight sixes as well as the 327 V8 carried over from the previous year, while the 305 cubic inch V6 was only offered in the GMC Suburban. Transmission options included a 4 speed manual, Powerglide 2 speed automatic, and Turbo-Hydramatic 3 speed automatic.
Hot Rodders and 1968 Chevy Trucks
Over the years, the second generation C/K has become very popular with hot rodders, creating enough demand for reproduction parts to make them readily available. The large engine bay makes it easy to exchange the stock motor with a range of classic and modern Chevy V8s, and the six lug hubs are used in GM trucks up to the present day, giving owners a wide range of wheel choices.
Many previously restored trucks have had their trim pieces removed for a cleaner look: Replacements are available, but completely restoring a truck to its original appearance can cost several hundred dollars.
Buyers should also be aware that even the most basic equipment like a heater or power brakes were optional on these trucks, particularly short beds and six cylinder models.