Inside a Lexus the driver becomes a privileged creature, protected from all evil.
When the wandering mind turns to surf cars, the Gen Xer might think of VW Kombis, the Millennial a Subaru Forester, Z’s a Sprinter.
What doesn’t come to mind is the Japanese luxury vehicle maker Lexus, maker of the most envied motor cars in the world, a byword for luxury and reliability and quality.
Inside, the driver becomes a privileged creature, protected from all evil. So smooth the Lexus driver can shake his cocaine from a glassine bag into water in a bent spoon without spilling a drop. Filtering the liquid into a syringe through a cotton ball is equally simple.
It’s no surprise, therefore, that your ol pal DR pilots a Lexus.
In my case, it was the Lexus of a local surgeon, pearlescent white, spare tyre never ravaged, seats as plump and unscathed as the day it landed in its crate from Japan. A mechanic sent to examine its entrails reported, breathlessly, that he’d told the owner it mustn’t under any circumstances be sold at the price for which it was offered.
The owner then called, talked about regret, but said he could let it go if I might peel off another five hundred. Doctors, eh?
As Chas Smith wrote when news broke of the John John/Vissla sponsorship,
Florence Marine X and Vissla are both as core as core can be. Opposite of “Authentic” which owns every other surf brand and now means “inauthentic.” The surf fan can hope they will infuse some much needed juice into the broadcast and give us a Pipe we can all be proud of.
“Pipe has been my backyard and favorite wave for as long as I have been surfing. I’ve grown up watching and dreaming of being in these contests,” Johny said at the time. “And then one day I was in them, surfing with the same surfers I looked up to as a kid. To be able to support the event now is a dream come true.”
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What brought on the switcharoo?
Did John John’s masters get cold feet?
Did Lexus make the WSL an offer too good to refuse?
Was Florence Marine X/Vissla a symbolic sorta sponsor, offering cred, but no cash? A placeholder?
The Lexus Pipe Pro brings back wonderful memories to the older surf fan who remembers when the Japanese department store Marui sponsored the event, the winner being crowned with a sorta Samurai hat with horns.
Does anyone here buy anything from Florence Marine X other Than David lee Scales? If So is it good stuff?
The 2024 GX has a rather edgy off-road look for poseurs who demand luxury when driving on dirt roads. I can see it with a surf rack on the roof in a parking lot ready to get keyed
That’s great tracking shot at the end.
I’d rather a nexus 6
fresh monterey albacore, crabs, and oysters and reluxtantly a new landline…also local coffee…tell mo’ stories…enter thru the county park…
Have had both a Lexus and Jeep and both over priced shit.
Just buy 3 AUz and swap the plates.easy peasy
So now you drive a Porsche?
Holden Maloo ute.
It’s kind of weird. In the past the people who learned how to surf were mostly just children whose parents lived near the beach. Very white, very male. But in the past 20 years or so there has been a huge push to be more inviting. Womens pro surfing has been given a seat at the table and the quality of surfing from the women has skyrocketed. There are visible LGBT groups, black surfer groups, etc. People here will bitch and moan about some parts of this but this is something that all needed to happen for surfing to remain culturally relevant in 2023.
At the same time the cost of coastal real estate has drastically changed who is learning to surf. Most people picking up the sport – and sticking with it – are generally the economic/cultural elite. If you have less money there are going to be more and more barriers to entry that will filter out most of the upper middle to working class.
There are Florence racks on the NS filled with contest tees. Contest tees that will never happen. Is that lying to the public if they keep selling it? I guess it doesn’t matter, Kelly still acts like he rides Firewire boards. The public will never know the difference.
To this day, even with the advent of the internet, i do not know or wish to know who or what Chiemsee is or was. So yeah that’s the sort of publicity sponsoring a major surf event brings about. Nice poster though.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Don’t tell anyone but a Lexus is rebadged Toyota. Sshhh.
Florence Marine X is breathing a sigh of relief that another sponsor stepped in. Florence can bring some HamSammishes.
Agree. Hard to imagine a sponsor guaranteed to profit less from this collab than Lexus.
Interesting that dr drives one.
+poor Florence. They’ve got the best surfer in the world and sill haven’t figured out their marketing in a way to attract the masses. Or half the masses. Reboot in order.
Wsl too.
Great Wall motors can’t be happy about this
*The Marui/Offshore Pipeline Masters…those were the days.
Jeep gave the Wsl a shot and then bailed.
If surfers aren’t buying new items like Jeeps, (a way more practical surf vehicle), what makes anyone think they’re gonna buy a Lexus, and then have to worry about getting wax on the seats.
Looking forward to the Lexis guy sticking a pick in his arm on the live crosses .Smooth transitions
Wonder if Lexus will kick-in something more than an overpriced bearproof beer cooler for scoring a 10 at Pipeline.
Heard the deal is a free rental car for the duration of the competition for the CEO. Which was a step up from the nothing but association they were getting from JJF and Vissla.
If no CEO is chosen before event do the two interim CEO’s share one? Or do they each get there own? Or if they do get there own is it a small hatch back each vs a larger SUV? More questions than answers.
Cousteau…or Son that wanted to build a SydneyOpera House -Like Structure in VTA Harbor…Denied~
That’s really tragic for the City of Basura & its harborside sewage plant. The denizens of the homeless encampment on the river bank seem like the opera-going type.
leave it to San Buena Basura to tear down the monumental statue of Juniperro Serra in front of the courthouse only to replace it with at 20′ bronzed of Shakira (satire). BTW, there is a similar statue of a former wife of my boss in the harbor crafted by some dude in Russia. As for the stp, in order to comply with ever restricting EPA discharge requiement, a 50M upgrade is taking place. So yeah, Cousteau’s prposed development ultimately became townhouses and condos to increase local revenue and not an educational center for enhanced enviro awareness for inner city kids.
https://dnyuz.com/wp-conten…
heads-up! pitas in the afternoon today, tomorrow and thru Sunday…
Lexus learned of a use it or loose it surplus in the marketing department. The surf bro on the team raised his hand and said “I know the best way to waste a bunch of cash, give it to the only sports league without teams or a CEO. The World Surf League!!!”. Lexus listened and saved Florence and Vissla from the worst financial decision of the year. The real looser in this exchange is HIC who will not be able to strong arm the “surf brands” in to unreasonable terms on event tee to be sold exclusively in their stores.