• 

  June 23, 2010 8:00 p.m. RexSeven Dork

  Sorry if this is a repost, but I figured this deserves some attention here.

  You've probably seen the car blog-o-sphere talking about the death of Hiromu Naruse, Toyota's top test driver. He was test driving the Lexus LF-A Nurburgring Edition just outside the 'Ring when he collided with a BMW. The full story is here:

  http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/23/breaking-toyota-chief-test-driver-dies-lf-a-ger...

  Turns out the guy was behind some of Toyota's greatest cars, many of them GRM favorites:

  http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/23/seat-time-with-hiromu-naruse/

  TFA said: In addition to the racecars and the iconic 2000GT, Naruse-san had a hand in every revolutionary product to come out of Toyota. You name it, he was working on it. The 1965 Sports 800. His. The 1600GT. Another one. Every iteration of the Celica. The AE86. The first and third generation MR2s. The Supra. The Altezza [1st gen. Lexus IS]. And yes, even the second-generation Prius.

  RIP, Naruse-san.

• 

  June 24, 2010 12:33 a.m. gamby SuperDork

  Wow.

• 

  June 24, 2010 1:24 a.m. Wally SuperDork

  Oversized floormat?

  "You should never point a loaded gun at anyone. This is not a hard and fast rule, however. A hard and fast rule is that you should never, ever, point an unloaded gun at anyone." P.J. O'Rourke

• 

  June 24, 2010 7:10 a.m. John Brown SuperDork

  I will bet they find he died BEFORE the accident, while the impact looks bad it dos not look "deadly" compared to accidents Wally has been in.

  It would explain a lot as well.

  Internationally known as The Brown Stig

• 

  June 24, 2010 7:52 a.m. pinchvalve SuperDork

  Seems a bit elderly to be testing something so wicked fast. I am sure he was a master behind the wheel, but human reflexes generally slow with age. Regardless, sad story.

  "Don't Sweat the Petty Things." Yes, and Don't Pet the Sweaty Things.

• 

  June 24, 2010 11:00 a.m. mad_machine SuperDork

  his reactions were probably better than most people's.

  Rest in piece

  During the Sound Check, nobody can year you scream

• 

  June 24, 2010 12:18 p.m. Duke SuperDork

  John Brown wrote: I will bet they find he died BEFORE the accident, while the impact looks bad it dos not look "deadly" compared to accidents Wally has been in. It would explain a lot as well.

  I've heard he crossed the center line and nailed the BMW head on. I suspect you're probably right.

  Junior Brown is my hero.

• 

  June 24, 2010 12:54 p.m. 93celicaGT2 SuperDork

  mad_machine wrote: Rest in piece

  Yikes.

  1992 Celica GT (FSP), 1993 Ford Escort GT (HS), 1990 Mazda MX6 GT Turbo (13.27@118mph)

• 

  June 24, 2010 1:16 p.m. 81gtv6 HalfDork

  He is too ocupied with his job prospects to worry about a little spelling.

• 

  June 24, 2010 7:03 p.m. mad_machine SuperDork

  oops... as if my spelling was not suspect enough. Often times my brain works so much faster than my fingers (and I am a fast typer) that whole words go missing.

  I do mean, "rest in peace"

  Some things you do not joke about

  During the Sound Check, nobody can year you scream

• 

  June 24, 2010 9:40 p.m. Wally SuperDork

  Next time be a little more sensitive please

  "You should never point a loaded gun at anyone. This is not a hard and fast rule, however. A hard and fast rule is that you should never, ever, point an unloaded gun at anyone." P.J. O'Rourke

• 

  June 28, 2010 12:38 p.m. procainestart Dork

  BMW says their car not speeding:

  Cliffs Notes: Our car not speeding, our drivers not wearing helmets, as earlier reported, and our drivers have been released from the hospital.

  http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/bmw-says-its-driver-in-lexus-lfa-crash-...

You'll need to log in to post.