So we all know the story with the Lexus LS400 right? If not, here is a brief rundown on it. In the late ’80s, Toyota wanted to build a full-sized luxury car to rival the best from Germany, America & The UK. The only issue that they had was their image, see at the time Toyota was known for building cheap, reliable and long-lasting vehicles with no other real attributes apart from getting the occupant from A-B in relative comfort. this was a major problem for the brand, especially when they wanted to build a luxury car, simply put Toyota simply couldn’t bring a luxury car to the market and expect it to sell to either current SEL or XJ40 owners due to badge snobbery and on the other hand, they couldn’t sell it to the humble Corolla owner as they simply couldn’t stump up over the equivalent of £60,000 on what was a Toyota product. Not wanting to give up, Toyota decided to take a leaf out of both Nissan & Honda’s book and create a luxury sub-brand, thus creating what we all know as Lexus. This is the story of both the beginnings of Lexus and the LS400.

History:

With Lexus standing for ‘Luxury Exports to The U.S’, this name worked out well, not just was it to the point, to people who didn’t really know or didn’t really care, the brand ‘Lexus’ pretty much rolled off the tongue as a manufacturer with a bit of caliber. With the name figured out, Toyota went on to build its first-ever Lexus branded car. Originally named Project F1, it stood for ‘Flagship One’ before eventually getting known & released as the LS400. The simple task of the LS was to be the best car the world has ever seen. Unlike its rivals from Germany, America, and even the UK, the Lexus was unbelievably reliable. Like a lot of Japanese cars of the time, it was built to work day in day out without falter or hassle. With Toyota and Lexus slowly getting customers through their doors with the original LS400, they decided to move on to the 2nd generation model in 1994.

While the second generation may have looked similar to the original, pretty much everything was updated and upgraded. It was longer than the previous generation but somehow shaved off  95kg compared to the MK1 it replaced. Add in the updated 1UZ it had carried over from the original car, it made 260bhp & 270 Ib-ft torque which meant an upgraded 0-60 time of 7.5 seconds.

With a lot of Lexus’ these days, the LS400 came equipped with an absolute ton of fancy equipment as standard and the MK2 was no different. Dual-Zone climate control was added as well as rear cupholders, in regards to the entertainment system, an in-dash CD changer was also added as well as an option. The best part though was the electric memory steering wheel, it would come out and greet you when you turned the key and then go back once you got out the car to make it easier to get in and out. Compared to its rivals, for the amount of kit it got as standard, it was by far more than the equivalent Mercedes or Jaguar, add in the lower price and its no real wonder the LS400 flew out the showroom.

What made the MK2 so good though was its packaging. See, with the likes of Mercedes or Audi or even Jaguar, the Lexus never had an LWB option which meant that it never went crazier in the price for a bit more legroom. They were able to make it longer thus giving it better interior legroom while still retaining the same wheelbase as the original.

The MK2 also got enhancements in safety with larger crumple zones and 3-point seatbelts at all possible positions. On top of all that, it also got a collapsible steering column making it one of the first cars to ever have an electrically operated collapsible steering column. While in Europe and in the US it was badged as a Lexus, over in Japan it was badged as the Toyota Celsior and with every JDM spec car, these came with even more options than the equivalent Lexus badged models. These included reclining rear seats, a GPS system as well as more exterior colors.

In 1997, the LS400 was facelifted to give it a fresher appearance, this included new headlamp units, a new grille and refreshed rear lamps as well as new front fascia, new wing mirrors and a new set of wheels. Interior wise it got retractable rear headrests, a trip computer, reading lamps and ultraviolet tinted glass. Mechanically speaking, it got a new 5-speed automatic gearbox and a new state of the art VVTi system raising power to 290bhp and a 30Ib-ft increase in torque which meant that acceleration times & fuel economy was vastly increased.

By the early ’00s, the LS400 got even more equipment thrown at it, these include the option of the CD-ROM based GPS system taken from its Japanese cousin, front side airbags, HID headlamps, a traction control system and brake assist. In Japan, the Celsior got the first-ever laser adaptive cruise control system which was big news back then. Unlike modern systems where it controls the throttle and brakes according to the vehicle in front, the Celsior’s version worked off throttle control and downshifting.

What To Look For.

While Lexus’ are uber reliable compared to its rivals, like every car they do have their issues. While Toyota & Lexus took home many a reliability award during the time of production, don’t expect these to be perfect.

First of all, due to all the equipment onboard it is no doubt that after nearly 30 years on the road something will come up and one of these is the LCD screen for the clock & climate control going black.

The power steering fluid can leak which can then go all over the alternator failing it in the process. if this does happen you’d need to fork out on a new alternator & power steering pump.

Bad spark plugs can cause a shuddering on these cars, with a V8 you, of course, have to buy 8 of these but due to plugs not being too expensive these are relatively affordable. While you are there, change out the ignition coils as these can also cause similar issues.

Catalytic converters are also an issue on these cars and replacements aren’t exactly cheap, quote a good few hundred pounds for them to be replaced. For these, it’d be easier to get these from the main dealers as aftermarket ones don’t last too long on these.

Check both the seat rails & the seatbelts as these can get tired & blocked over time. Thankfully there are a good few guides on how to fix these issues so they aren’t as bad as first thought.

The main issue really with this car and with every Lexus it seems are the eye-watering parts prices & labor costs from the dealer. Even though it runs Toyota parts, Lexus charges a good chunk more for their parts and a lot of these can be crazy expensive. Thankfully the Lexus LS400 & Toyota Celsior don’t have too many issues compared to a lot of big cars so it shouldn’t be needing these parts all the time and with Lexus & Toyota specialists all over the place, it is easy to find places that can fix stuff cheaper than the main dealers.

Summary: 

With prices for these hitting a very low bracket, it is very easy to find yourself lusting after one of these brilliant cars and with Toyota’s impeccable reliability record it makes perfect sense to buy one over an equivalent Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz or Audi A8. As long as you can find a perfect one in an amazing condition they’ll be bound to last for millions of miles. Parts prices and labor are expensive, especially at main dealers but with a lot of specialists around the place, it really isn’t difficult to get a majority of the issues fixed a whole lot cheaper.

 

Hope You Enjoy!

By Alex Jebson

For those who are new around here, I have owned a Volvo C70 Coupé MK1, lovingly known as ProjectC70 for well over 4 years now. Over those years it has been on quite a journey to bring it back up to a standard befitting of such a brilliant little car. Now when you are so busy fixing up cars you tend to sometimes forget certain elements of ownership issues like birthdays and anniversaries, I know I do. So when it came to my C70’s 19th birthday I just had to celebrate it the only way I could.

Recently I have hardly been posting or writing and that has been due to lack of actual work happening on the car to be quite honest. While not a lot has actually been happening regarding the car, I have still got plans in my head and I am still following them through slowly but surely. Now my C70 has officially hit its 19th birthday, the best way to celebrate it is to buy numerous amounts of car parts and get them ready for fitment. In the last few months, some of you may have noticed that I had removed the dashboard from the car to fit chrome rings around the dials, on top of that I also removed a majority of the interior to clean it all out and dry out after a spurt of water ingress started to show its leery head. Now they are done I am now going to move on to some far more exciting jobs and tasks. These include getting some money together to get the steering wheel refurbished, the seats refurbished and possibly retrimmed as well as the main CD player fixed as well as numerous other small fixes. At the moment I am going to be going out on a whim and buying parts for the car which will need to be custom-made to fit, I’m not going to say too much on what they are in case they don’t fit but expect it to be a first if they do.

On top of all the interior jobs I have done thus far and the ones I still need to do, I have also recently done a coolant change on the C70 so that it runs cooler now it’s getting into the colder months. While doing said coolant change I changed over a few rusty clips so there is no risk of any of them failing and causing the car to overheat or worse – blow up! My next mechanical job will be working out why the cruise control isn’t engaging, If I can’t work out how to fix it I’ll more than likely go on to replacing all the old suspension components with new stuff both front & rear.

Apart from the Suspension, the cruise control issues, and the bodywork/metalwork, ProjectC70 is in a very good state for its age, with a majority of small jobs needing doing I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel which is something I’d never even consider on saying a good few months back.

Even after 4 years of ownership, my love for ProjectC70 is still there and as long as it runs, drives and puts a smile on my face I’ll be having it for a long time. For now, I’m currently fixing up the parts I’ve ordered hence why the work on the car has stopped but that in itself hasn’t stopped me loving it any less.

I hope this explains why a lot of posts & articles about ProjectC70 have slowly come to a halt, as soon as the weather starts to clear up the best that it can I will start to get back to work on fixing it up and making it the best it can be. Considering that ProjectC70 has now officially hit 19 years old it is only right to get back to work on it again and making it the best it can be. For now, though, I’d like to raise a glass to the C70’s 19th birthday. It is not every day a modern car can reach even 10 years old without too many issues let alone nearly 20. Volvo really did create a well-built product with the C70 and it shows.

 

Hope you Enjoy!

By Alex Jebson

 

Are you the kind of person to be forever joining car groups but getting nowhere, do you want to join a car group with no hate, and do you want to make new friends in the process? Well, have I got the group for you! Let me introduce you to the wonderful place that is Motorheads International.

So what exactly is Motorheads International or MHI for short? Well MHI is a car page & group over on Facebook, with accounts both on Instagram & Twitter if that is your thing. It was created way back in 2011 and has been going ever since and has grown into a group of 18k members strong as of right now. As the name might suggest it’s an international group with members coming from everywhere around the world – whether you are from Sweden, Australia, America or even Italy everyone is welcome.

The best part about MHI is both the variety of cars as well as the owners who own the beauties. You’ll find people on there who are vintage race cars drivers, mechanics, tow truck drivers or even pilots who own anything from a Honda Beat to a Ferrari or Lamborghini. Everyone is really friendly and also helpful which is something you don’t hardly see in car groups these days – especially ones this large!!

If there is any hint of trouble, the admin team who run the group get onto the case straight away and get the group back to the way a group should be which is chilled, civil and above all hate free.

The group is now so large and so out there that if you search hard enough on YouTube you might even find an advert for it on some videos, the exact same can be said for Facebook as well. The group is not far from hitting 20K members so if you ever want to join then I’ll leave a link to the group so you can always get involved.

Josefin, who is a member of the admin team from Scandinavia is always out at different events both photographing & representing the group wherever she goes so that the group gets bigger and bigger and she is not the only one, a plethora of different members are doing the exact same. If you are one for going to events, you’ll find a good few getting set up by fellow members that you can always join and chill at.

On top of all that, the group has its own website which sells merchandise, whether it be clothing or even stickers for your car, you’ll find something for you. With good prices as well as a plethora of different good quality merchandise for sale, you won’t be breaking the bank neither.

I got involved in the group with thanks to an admin member called Colton who sent me an invite over on Messenger to join, now at first, I was apprehensive as it’s not the normal way I’d personally get invited or even join a group but there was no need to worry whatsoever. I was welcomed in with open arms and I’ve been in the group with ever since!

I’m in a lot of groups over on Facebook, but MHI alongside RPM365 are my two go-to groups to get involved with, in fact, I’d say that they both have very similar traits. They both have numerous active members with posts going up at any time of the day, hardly any hate and generally a brilliant group to be a part of.

As promised, I’ll post the links to the group page if anyone wants to join, lets help get this group to 20k members. If you like the sound of the group, I’d personally join it as you’ll probably not come across a group as chilled out as them.

While there, join the group chat for car-based conversations & a chilled out chat with fellow members and within no time you’ll end up making some new car friends in the process.

 

FB Group page link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/299872620053201/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motorheads_international/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/motorheadsi?lang=en-gb

Merchandise Shop (EN): https://shop.spreadshirt.co.uk/MotorheadsInternational/?fbclid=IwAR151cvCzObWLGjFE7sRS0zSiJMUAESRIwqPscZL1iD6CwDW05cd2NwZPDQ

Hope You Enjoy!

By Alex Jebson

 

 

 

These days when it comes down to the age of a vehicle, a car can be one of three things. It can be a ‘Modern’, a ‘Retro’ or a ‘Classic’. Classics are classed as being well over 25 years old and are pretty much sought after for petrol-heads. Thing is though, what if I was to tell you that there is an age bracket which separates ‘Moderns’ from ‘Retros’. These are known as Modern Classics and generally, sit between 15-25 years old.

Now, these might be nothing new, even though no one hardly talks about them modern classics are accepted in communities. With this article, however, I want to ask a general question and that is this; What exactly makes a Modern Classic and what does it take for a car become one? It’s no lie that I love both Classic & Retro cars. In fact, I wrote an article on them explaining as to why but with some lovely new machinery coming out recently from a plethora of manufacturers, It is safe to say that I’m into modern cars as well.

Now Modern Classics for me personally are cars which while relatively old now were new when I was young, these can be anything from the original Ford Focus RS all the way up to a Pagani Zonda C12 for example. The reason why I’d consider these modern classics is that they’re both at that age where they are kind of forgotten about compared to both moderns & classics. Add in the popularity these cars once had, and it’s no surprise that these are becoming modern classics.

The thing is though, not every car can be a modern classic as I’ll prove. Take for example my own car and my stepdads Seat Leon. both of these cars were made around about the same time, both of them were relatively well-loved which shown both in sales & reviews and they both were replaced by their newer incarnations at around the same time. However, for me personally, the Leon doesn’t come across as a modern classic. For a start, it’s only a 1.4 so it’s nothing really special. Would I feel different if it was a Cupra or a Cupra R? More than likely but as it’s an everyday model it doesn’t come across as anything special, never mind a modern classic. This moves me onto my car, while it’s not the ‘T5’ which is the one which will more than likely gravitate towards being a modern classic, C70’s as a whole are quite rare cars and have a very strange but special upbringing. For a start, all MK 1 C70’s were engineered by Tom Walkinshaw Racing which made them drive rather well for a big car, add in the rivals and at the time Volvo’s 4th ever coupe, it has everything there to make it a modern classic.

For those reasons you can kind of understand why I have it in my mind why my car will be a modern classic and why the Seat, unfortunately, can’t be. Trying to judge what makes a modern classic isn’t easy though, in fact, these days a lot of cars you’d never think of being modern classics are starting to become collectible by both collectors & buyers everywhere. Take the humble 5th generation Toyota Celica for example, not everyone is a fan of them and that is understandable but it seems that the years have been kind as they’re starting to rise in value to people & enthusiasts in the know.

The thing is, modern classics are different to everyone, take for example a Fiesta RS Turbo from the early nineties. For anyone who was born around that time they might consider that a modern classic whereas I’d classify it as retro instead which can make things confusing and awkward.

You may have noticed that I haven’t mentioned anything about the RX’s situation in this debate. Well for me, even though the Lexus has what it takes to be a truly special car in years to come. For me personally, it’s not quite old enough yet to be classified as a modern classic. With hybrids still in 2019 being quite a taboo subject, I feel like it’s going to be quite a bit of time before we see our Lexus as a modern-day classic.

Some of you may have read my Calibra article a few weeks ago and gasped at the fact that it is turning 30 years old this year, I certainly know I did. The thing is, when I was young and living in London, I used to see these nearly everywhere to the point they were fairly common so to find out that they were going to be celebrating such a milestone it certainly shocked me. They’d been under the radar for so long that even I forgot they were as old as they were and that is the typical story of a modern classic.

So what exactly makes a modern classic? Age is, of course, a major factor, now I’d personally say anything from 15 to 20 years old is a modern classic but other people may have more stringent rules on the matter. For me, the car has to be something rather special, whether it’s a small city car or a high-end supercar. If it is something which is well-loved then that’s another sure-fire way of spotting a modern classic. Last but not least, for me, they need to be relatively rare. There is no point in trying to consider a relatively modern Fiesta as a modern classic because they are nearly everywhere these days which kind of defeats the point. Now, of course, rarity isn’t everything when it comes to a modern classic however it does help.

So going by that what would you guys consider a modern classic? For me, there are lots of cars which fit that bill, from Ford Mondeo ST220’s all the way to Vauxhall Monaro VXR’s even down to the humble Rover 75 V6, these cars all share something good about them which all make them perfect candidates for being modern classics. Is there anything else which can go on that list? Let me know in the comments and I’ll share my thoughts.

 

Hope you enjoy!

By Alex Jebson

Getting older is not easy, especially for cars. So when it comes time to celebrate a specific cars birthday you’ll always find it’s a big thing. So with that in mind, I’d like you to raise a glass and celebrate the 30th birthday of the Vauxhall Calibra.

So, what is the Vauxhall Calibra and why is it so special to us European petrol heads? Well, the Calibra was Vauxhall/Opel’s replacement for the outgoing manta B2. It was based on the then-new MK3 Cavalier/Vectra A, however, unlike the cavalier, the Calibra was a whole lot more aerodynamic. For the time, it was the sleekest car available which was huge back in 1989. The looks stayed relatively the same with a few minor changes midway through the production run up until 1997 when production ceased. Externally these included an updated front grille, slightly different headlamps as well as slightly altered front & rear bumpers while internally there was a newer steering wheel & slightly altered dash with airbags fitted.

Engines were plentiful in the Calibra range. Sizes ranged from a plethora of 2.0 liters all the way up to the 168bhp 2.5 V6, the 2.0’s could be had in either 8 valve or 16 valve configurations with the early 16v ‘Red Top’ lumps being engineered by Cosworth however these never really had the dynamics to match the Calibras beautiful sleek bodywork. That was until 1992 when a truly spectacular variant of the Calibra was unveiled.

I’m of course talking about the 4×4 Turbo. These are known by owners and Vauxhall people alike as the holy grail of the Calibra range and for good reasons. Engine-wise, it had the C20LET which was a turbocharged version of the already existing C20XE, however, the changes didn’t stop there. The 4×4 turbo also had a six-speed Getrag gearbox fitted to help get the most of the turbo 4 pot, these two helped the Calibra tons but Vauxhall wasn’t finished just yet. Normally, the Calibra was a three-door FWD coupé which was fine until you started converting it to run an AWD layout. With most of the lineup consisting of mainly FWD cars, Vauxhall took the independent rear suspension setup from the already existing Omega and fabricated it to fit the Calibra chassis, this made the car perform leaps and bounds compared to the FWD variants. Power output for the 4×4’s stood at 204bhp and with a top speed of over 150mph, these were quick for a mid-nineties Vauxhall.

The 2.5 V6 C25XE engine arrived for the Calibra in 1993 and while it was down on power compared to the 4×4 Turbo at only 168bhp, It was credited for being the better one to both own & drive due to its linear power delivery. This engine was used as the base for the 4×4 DTM race car which had success in the German Touring Car Championship.

While on the subject of the DTM championship, after the success, Vauxhall came up with the DTM limited edition to celebrate. These were only available in white to mimic the race car. Limited to only 22 cars, trying to find one now is not easy as these are becoming future classics & owners aren’t wanting to get rid any time soon.

The Calibra was able to fend off competition from a lot of coupé’s for quite a good amount of years and with race success under its belt, it sold relatively well for a European GM product. It could never outsell the likes of a Mercedes-Benz or BMW as these were the darlings of the coupé market in the nineties but it wasn’t a complete flop. With its sister car the cavalier taking numerous BTCC championships with thanks to the legend that is John Cleland, both the Cavalier & Calibra were loved, especially in the UK.

With everyone in the nineties wanting to be seen, the Calibra was a very good credible car to buy. It had racing success under its belt as did the Cavalier it shared a lot of components with. It looked fantastic as well with its gorgeous bodywork and with the C20LET model in the 4×4 turbo, it made for a decent performance car and if you couldn’t quite stretch to the turbo, the normal variants were just as good.

Unfortunately, in 1995 GM decided to pull the plug on the Cavalier for the upcoming Vectra B and due to poor sales in its later life, the Calibra ceased production two years later. It lasted for 8 years and with that came many a good variant and a car for everyone. In the UK it crafted the way for many a performance Vauxhall throughout the ’90s and put them on the map for making really good performance cars which weren’t too expensive to buy or run and that statement still stands true 30 years after the Calibra’s launch. Even today, Vauxhall has never made a replacement as of yet which is a shame.

To celebrate the 30th birthday of the car, there is due to be a static display ran by CalibraClub.net, Performance Vauxhall Show & Performance Vauxhall at this years PVS at Bruntingthorpe Airfield, there are tons of Calibra owners wanting to join but slots are only for ten cars. Expect to see anything from early models to the limited edition cars and anything in between. The PVS or ‘Performance Vauxhall Show’ as it’s fully known is a huge UK-based Vauxhall show so that’ll be the best place to celebrate the cars birthday in style.

So, raise your glasses to the Calibra, a brilliant car often overlooked by people. If you ever find a 4×4 Turbo or a limited edition Calibra for sale, go out and buy one as soon as possible, you won’t regret it.

 

Hope You Enjoy!

By Alex Jebson