Plenty Magazine on LG

Check out the latest article on LG.  Kiera really captured us, I think.  My favorite part:

“And while many hybrid owners still take their cars to dealerships for repairs, a few have found that the “boutique garage” atmosphere at Luscious—friendly mechanics, comfy environs, and plenty of individual attention—suits them better than large, impersonal dealerships.”

We’d sure like to think so!

“Green Garage” via Plenty Magazine online

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“How much is your oil change?”

There is a classic prank that shop owners play on each other. It’s called “How much is your oil change?” and is performed by calling the unsuspecting victim during business hours and barking the question as soon as they answer.  The fun comes in hearing how they manage a polite response.

Indeed most independent shops are not “quickie lubes” and therefore offer much more than an oil change.  And yet it is this clichéd service that cars need most frequently—or at least what drivers think they need.  How do we balance the expertise and caring of a specialty shop with the public’s quickie lube mentality?

Hybrid owners are a little different in their savvy for “k” services.  It’s not an “oil change” every so often, but a “5k”, a “15k”, a “70k”, etcetera.  Dealers have capitalized by creating a myth that something special happens at every interval of “k’s”, with inflated service prices over their own “express lube” lanes. My impression of the system (though I’m sure it varies) is that an individual will get whatever they come to expect—the express lube ($40 e.g.) or the “k” Service ($150 e.g.)—regardless of what they actually need.  Though a cynic would argue that the both services are the same, there remains an underlying problem: what is best?

In fact vehicle maintenance is not arbitrary.  The purpose is twofold:

1. To keep the machine in reliable condition

2. To protect factory warranty

Luscious Garage’s “The Vitals” does precisely that. We check everything on the car that is essential:

1. To rely on your car

2. To ensure that any future warranty claim is honored

Though owners should be commended for knowing their vehicle’s mileage, it’s my opinion that even the “k” services can be inadequate, and that blindly following a list of specific items is completely missing the point.

The Vitals is a holistic approach to the machine, and its logic explains why it is included with every maintenance service—how long it takes, how much it costs, and what service it involves.  There is no cheaper, faster alternative.  Every few years the vehicle will need additional work (a tune-up, fresh coolant, 12V battery test, etc...) but these are discrete service points, not overarching care.

In responding to the question “How much is your oil change?” one shop owner explained his approach:

“I tell them we don’t offer an oil change.  I mean, of course we change oil, but we do it along with a comprehensive service.  If the customer replies that another shop can do it for less, I explain that the time and the cost of the service is always the same, no matter where it’s performed.  So if another shop says they can do it for less, then I wonder what it is that they simply aren’t doing.”

Find out more about The Vitals and other LG maintenance services

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Electric Vehicle Meeting SATURDAY

Please join us at our first meeting of 2008 on Sat., Jan. 5 from 11 am to 1 pm here at the shop.

We’ll have a ZENN neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) on hand from the new Green Motors dealer in Berkeley.

Plus, one of our members who lives in Noe Valley will bring her GEM NEV and talk about the joys and challenges of driving an NEV in San Francisco.

At our February meeting, we’ll showcase a competing NEV from Miles Automotive, so come this Sat. and in Feb. and you’ll be able to compare the GEM, Zenn, and Miles NEVs. (Hint: They’re quite different!)

NEVs are some of the few electric vehicles that you can buy today. They’re worth seeing.

Plus we’ll talk about what’s ahead in 2008 and give an update on the California Air Resources Board’s revision of the Zero Emission Vehicle Program. 

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250k Mile Prius

Jeffrey discovered us while delivering packages for our neighbors across the street, a halfway house for Hewlett-Packard computer parts.  (Actually I introduced myself, as I tend to do when hybrids stop in our vicinity.) He drives 5,000 every two weeks as a courier, and when we met he already had 245k on the cluster of his 05 Prius and swore that he had only ever serviced the oil and the transmission fluid.  This picture was taken during his 255k Vitals service yesterday (LG is now his primary service provider).  Upcoming blogs will chronicle the trials and feats of this *extraordinarily* low maintenance, economical vehicle.

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LG TV - Plug In Prep: New Springs

Luscious Garage is proud to offer Prius plug-in conversions beginning in 2008.  The first is our own shop car, which we began in early December; something of a guinea pig to offer wisdom to future conversions. 

Stay tuned for more documentation to come. 

For info on plug-in conversion, email Carolyn@LusciousGarage.com

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