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This 'tattooed' Lexus UX is the first of its kind, and we love it

Lexus commissioned the first “tattooed” car ever, and itÂ’s chosen the UX as the tattoo artistÂ’s canvas. Art cars and special projects catch our eye sometimes, but this particular project is one of the most intriguing works of art on a car weÂ’ve seen in a long time. The process that tattoo artist Claudia de Sabe went through to translate her vision onto the UX is what weÂ’re really interested in here. Since the UX is obviously a metal car, de Sabe needed to use a Dremel tool to drill away the blank white surface paint, exposing the bare metal underneath. Those painstakingly drilled lines were used as the pattern for the art taking shape. She had to be unerringly precise in her work. After all, thereÂ’s no magic eraser for drilling into a carÂ’s metal body panels. Spending that much time free-drawing with a Dremel is intensive and demanding work, too. Comfortable positions are hard to come by, and a slip could be disastrous. After the pattern was drilled in, de Sabe switched to car paint and brushes. The koi fish and waves were painted on by hand, and then finally, de Sabe used gold leaf to create highlights in the paint and give it a stronger 3D effect. To protect the artwork, a layer of lacquer was applied, making it possible to drive this UX on the road. From the planning stages to the finished product, Lexus says it took six months. The in-studio work from de Sabe (and her tattoo artist husband who assisted her work) took place over five eight-hour days. “My main inspiration for the design of the car was just all the beautiful artwork that IÂ’ve seen in Japan, in the temples, ukiyo-e prints, all of that artistic background,” de Sabe says. Tattooing a car isnÂ’t cheap either, as Lexus estimates this bespoke work would cost “upwards of GBP120,000” (about $140,000). Lexus made a video featuring de Sabe explaining her work and showing the “tattooing” in progress. ItÂ’s worth a quick watch, so check it out below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Autoblog Podcast #398

Episode #398 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Brandon Turkus, and Michael Harley talk about the 2015 Ford Mustang, the 2015 Toyota Camry, and the Congressional grilling NHTSA received last week. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #398: Topics: 2015 Ford Mustang 2015 Toyota Camry NHTSA under Congressional fire In The Autoblog Garage: 2014 Lexus ES 300h 2014 Lexus GS 350 F-Sport 2015 Kia K900 Hosts: Dan Roth, Michael Harley, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:36:56 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 2015 Ford Mustang - 28:58 2015 Toyota Camry - 42:41 NHTSA - 57:55 Q&A - 01:17:15 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Government/Legal Podcasts Ford Kia Lexus Toyota

Lexus Eco Challenge rewards schools for clean water, briquette press projects

Teams from one New Jersey high school and one Michigan middle school reversed the old adage by thinking locally and acting globally. And that strategy won them the grand prizes in the most recent edition of the Lexus Eco Challenge. The future is indeed bright. The Toyota luxury-vehicle division gave out a half-million dollars in this year's contest. One $30,000 grand prize was awarded to the Pinelands Eco Scienteers from Little Egg Harbor, NJ, which produced and distributed low-cost briquette presses to rural villages beset by deforestation. The other grand prize went to the E.T. Electrical Team from Byron Center West Middle School in Michigan. That middle-school group raised money to send water filters to Haiti, Kenya and the Philippines. Lexus also awarded eight $15,000 first-place awards, with the winners including high schools from California, Florida, Missouri and Pennsylvania as well as middle schools from Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina and Texas. A special shout out goes to Daniel Boone Area High School in Birdsboro, PA, where students created an educational and public-relations campaign to publicize algae-based biofuels. In all, Lexus has doled out more than $4 million in Eco Challenge awards in seven years. Check out Lexus's press release below. Students Get Dollars and Sense in Lexus Eco Challenge - $500,000 Awarded to Teams Who Learn About Environment and Community Empowerment Two Grand Prize Teams Earn $30,000 Eight $15,000 First Place Awards Given to Innovative High School and Middle School Teams Students Bring Ideas to a Larger Audience and Make a Positive Impact on the World TORRANCE, Calif., (Feb. 24, 2014) – It's a win, win situation! Communities become a better place, and students, teachers and schools have the chance to share $500,000 in scholarships and grants through the Lexus Eco Challenge. This year, the $30,000 Grand Prize winners are the Pinelands Eco Scienteers from Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, and the E.T. Electrical Team from Byron Center, Michigan. The Lexus Eco Challenge is an educational program and contest that inspires and empowers young people to learn about the environment and take action to improve it. High school and middle school teams nationwide define an environmental issue that is important to them, develop an action plan to address the issue, implement the plan, and report on the results.