O'Brien Auto Group News

Supermodels, Supercars, and Superior Service.

obrienautogroup — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:43:38 +0000

What do these three things have in common (other than being out of reach for most of us)? Lexus of Bellevue’s Service Department had all three, plus a DJ, lots of swag, and dogs in costume! Crazy, right?!

We were proud to host the Opening Night Party and Runway Show for Metropolitan Fashion Week.

“The First Annual Metropolitan Fashion Week Presented by thinkThin, is a three day event taking place on March 24, 29, and 31, 2012 which is designed to share the message that ‘Yes’, we do have talented fashion designers who create and work in Bellevue and Seattle, WA.
Executive Producer Eduardo Khawam’s vision for this new annual fashion event is “to create a platform for our local and elite fashion designers to present their collections to the regional and international media, buyers, shoppers and fashionistas.” All of the fashion collections that will be presented have been created exclusively for Metropolitan Fashion Week 2012″ (http://metropolitanfashionweek.net/)

Lexus of Bellevue’s state of the art service center proved to be the perfect venue for the high fashion event. From the sexy Lexus vehicles perched on the mechanic’s lifts to the Lexus embossed stainless steel tool cabinets the 69 bay service department looked more like a set from a sci-fi movie than your average repair shop! The LFA (Lexus ultra-exclusive supercar) was the automotive star of the show escorting a beautiful model down the runway- it’s a very sexy accessory! We had a great time and were honored to be chosen as host. Check out the video-

Lexus of Bellevue hosts Metropolitan Fashion Week

For more info visit:https://www.facebook.com/lexusofbellevue

New Edition (Prius Family… not Bobby Brown)

obrienautogroup — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:31:22 +0000

Toyota has gambled that expanding the Prius into a family of Priuses (.. Priui?) into a family of vehicles ranging in size and drivetrain options would bolster sales. They were spot on!

The Prius V sold about 8,400 units in the U.S. in the first ten weeks. It seems the smaller, cheaper and more efficient 2012 Toyota Prius C is also getting a lot of attention. It’s smaller than a regular Prius by a little, being comparable in size to the Toyota Yaris. It’s looks are sporty, and the interior well appointed and surprisingly roomy, at least in the front. Toyota announced today that the C sold 1,201 units in just the first three days it was on sale. That’s enough to make it “one of Toyota’s fastest-selling vehicles,” according to the automaker, which also pointed out that those three days of sales is more than either the Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Volt sold all last month.

Also hot off the line is the new Plug-In Prius Hybrid. This ups the mileage considerable, yet since it still has a gas engine to generate power, you don’t get the range anxiety of a fully electric vehicle. It looks just like a regular Prius, no need for gimmicky paint schemes or body molding, and thus saving a lot of money on research and development. What we end up with is a solid, green machine that looks great without being pretentious.

To see these wonderful little gas-sippers in person visit Toyota of Kirkland or Toyota of Renton.

Even with $4 Gas, Few Drivers Choose Electric Cars—Or Even Hybrids

obrienautogroup — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:16:27 +0000

Reblogged from Moneyland:

With each passing month, and with the average gallon of gas rising 1¢ more each day, consumers are turning more and more to fuel-efficient cars. The average new car sold in February got 23.2 mpg, up from 22.9 mpg in January and 21.4 mpg in February 2011. While drivers are increasingly opting for cars with better mileage, though, only a tiny fraction are going with the most fuel-efficient vehicles of all, hybrids and electric cars.

Badges: Workplace Edition

obrienautogroup — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:56:13 +0000

Reblogged from Second Lunch:

The other day I was trying to think of a way to “spice up” the workplace a little bit. So I took a page out of the Boy/Girl Scouts book, and also Foursquare, and I created some badges for anyone who knows what it’s like to punch in, plug away at a desk for 8 hrs a day, and then punch out.

The Lucky One-Eyed Man

obrienautogroup — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:51:25 +0000

Do you believe in luck? Wishes? Have you ever picked up a penny because it was on heads, or searched for hours on grass-stained knees for the elusive four-leaf clover? Many cultures have superstitions and good luck charms (and some have yummy cereals..). The Daruma doll is a Japanese talisman shaped like the round head of a bearded man (a visual reference to Dharma the founder of Ch’an Zen Buddhism), and is typically painted bright red. The eyes are blank and white when new. The purchaser then makes a wish,adds a pupil and patiently waits. Once the wish, or goal is realized, the other eye gets filled in.

There is an annual Daruma Doll Festival (達磨市 daruma-ichi^?) held by the city of Takasaki in celebration of being the proclaimed birthplace of the Daruma doll. The celebration is held at the Shorinzan, the name of Takasaki’s “Daruma-Dera”. According to the Takasaki City website, “Over 400,000 people from all over the Kanto Plain come to buy new good-luck dolls for the year. Takasaki produces 80% of Japan’s Daruma dolls.”^[9] The festival also features a 24-hour reading of sutras by the Shorinzan monks for world peace.

The Daruma dolls make a great gift and a fun way to keep track of life’s successes. Just be careful not to wish for too many hard to reach goals, because you might end up with a room full of winking monks. Next time you are at Lexus of Bellevue, please have a look at our Daruma.. but don’t ask what the wish is for… it’s a secret.

Congratulations…

obrienautogroup — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:48:47 +0000

Congratulations Washington’s Chambers Bay for winning marketing award for U.S. Amateur

February 17, 2011 by obrienautos · Leave a Comment

O’brien Auto Group would like to congratulate Chamber Bay on their win! Thanks to support from dozens of community partners, the organizers of last summer’s successful U.S. Amateur golf championship at Chambers Bay have won a prestigious marketing award. Pierce County and KemperSports, which operates Chambers Bay, earned a Totem Award from the Puget Sound chapter [...]

Filed under Car Buying News & Tips, O’Brien, Washington Community · Tagged with community involvment, kent, kirkland, lexus of bellevue, new cars, obrien auto group, redmond, renton, seattle, tacoma, Tacoma Washington

Tech-Dependence… Are you Afflicted?

obrienautogroup — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:25:55 +0000

I am tethered. I am leashed. I am caught in the web…. the world wide web. As many others I have found myself embracing and adopting new technologies as soon as it comes along. Maybe it’s because I’m a young guy raised on video games and spending my formative years online, but I am worried that I am becoming too dependent on the digital world. I have had a very extreme variety of living situations in my lifetime of only32 years. I grew up in a tiiiiiiiiny little community in Arkansas, about 20 miles from a real town (real meaning a pop. of 1000). I loved roaming the woods, building things in barns, riding horses, and all the other things young bumpkins get up to. Flash forward 20 years, I am living in Osaka, Japan. There were more people in my building than there were in my hometown in AR (yes this is the abbreviation for Arkansas- not Arizona: that’s AZ). Yes sir, in Japan I became a tech junkie. I had access to the latest cell phones, cameras, video games, etc… and loved it. Now that I am back in the US, I am still holding onto the habits of constantly checking my emails, blogs, tweets, status updates and because I am so reliant on my little digital friends, I sometimes forget to look out the window, or worse yet, go through the door and actually enjoy “real” things. I think Lexus has found a great way to bridge the gap between tech savvy, and usable. The new GS 350′s dash is absolutely high tech, but the user interface is so easy and ergonomically designed that I don’t have to think to use it (after a short learning curve of course). It really becomes secong nature, and that allows me to take Sunday drives, enjoy nature and not feel confined by my constant connectivity. I love it, and, boy howdy, Washington State is gorgeous! Get out there, see the world, and be safe.

Lexus And The Eco-Fashionistas – VroomGirls

obrienautogroup — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:53:19 +0000

Lexus is very active in the arts. From their L/Studio web series, Pandora mixes curated by Nic Harcourt (the famed host of “Morning Becomes Eclectic”) to donating their cars for sculptors to reinterpret Lexus has been a major contributor to a wide variety of artistic pursuits. Now they can add high fashion to the list, or more precisely- Green Fashion.

Check out this great blog post from VroomGirls- Lexus And The Eco-Fashionistas – VroomGirls.

Toyota of Renton- Brand New… Yet so familiar.

obrienautogroup — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:41:59 +0000

There’s a big change taking place in Renton, but yet, it seems like nothing at all. The well known and well loved Bob Bridge Toyota has recently been sold to the O’Brien Auto Group. We have many dealerships across the Northwest and a solid reputation as a great place to buy a car,as well as a great place to work. When Bob decided it was time to retire, he was determined to find the best new owner for his pride and joy. Bob Bridge built this Toyota store into one of the best performing in the country, and he has many employees that have been with the company for over a decade. With this in mind the decision was easy. The O’Brien Auto Group, while large in scope, is still a family run business with great respect for the employees and is based here in the Seattle area. We approach business and community the same way Bob has for all these years; Treat customers like a guest in your home, and employees like family. Now that the company has changed hands… all of the Bob Bridge staff are now O’Brien! Welcome to the family!

Toyota | New Discovery Documentary Examines Safe Driving For All Ages

obrienautogroup — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:20:30 +0000

The New Toyota of Renton

Toyota | New Discovery Documentary Examines Safe Driving For All Ages.

– LIFE BEHIND THE WHEEL premieres Saturday, March 3 at 8am e/p on Discovery Channel in partnership with Discovery Education –

– Special produced with support from Toyota –

Silver Spring, Md. – February 24, 2012 - New drivers, older drivers, passengers and pedestrians alike, we are all precious cargo – and the stakes are high at any age when you get behind the wheel. Now, Discovery Channel and Discovery Education, in partnership with Toyota, present LIFE BEHIND THE WHEEL, airing Saturday, March 3 at 8am e/p, a comprehensive look at safe driving habits from generation to generation. An encore presentation airs on Saturday, May 5, 2012.

Embeddable Clip Here: http://www.youtube.com/v/j-Fawez3zOg

Today’s driving statistics are staggering:

70% of all child car seats in the U.S. are improperly installed.
Vehicle crashes are the single greatest cause of death for teenagers.
A driver is 8 – 23 times more likely to crash if texting while driving.
Fatality rates per mile driven for 75-79 year olds are more than four times as high as those for 30-59 year olds.

Across the nation, hospitals, universities and corporations are partnering with one another to tackle these critical issues and decrease fatalities. From Toyota’s innovative “Buckle Up for Life” community outreach program with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital educating parents on proper car seat installation to new technology allowing parents to monitor and track their teen’s driving habits and MIT’s groundbreaking empathy suit designed to teach us all about the challenges faced by older drivers on the road, LIFE BEHIND THE WHEEL showcases a broad range of driver education and attempts to offer real solutions.

“At Toyota, safety is a priority in everything we do, we are focused on making sure drivers everywhere have the resources they need to keep their families, friends and loved ones safe and secure,” said Pat Pineda, Group Vice President, National Philanthropy, Toyota Motor North America, Inc. “Toyota’s partnership with Discovery Channel is significant and underscores our efforts to keep the roads safe for all.”

“We are proud to partner with Toyota for this important documentary. Safe driving is a life-long lesson. LIFE BEHIND THE WHEEL gives people of all ages critical information while highlighting important new strides in technology that are creating better drivers and saving lives along the way,” said John Whyte, MD, Chief Medical Expert for Discovery Channel.

LIFE BEHIND THE WHEEL is available for free download at www.discoverychannelpatiented.com or on iTunes. In addition, portions of the documentary will be available onToyotaTeenDriver.com, a free, online program in partnership with Discovery Education designed to provide safety educational resources to schools, educators, parents and students.

LIFE BEHIND THE WHEEL is produced with support from Toyota.

###

Media Contacts:

Zoe Zeigler – Toyota
(212) 715-7492
zoe_zeigler@tma.toyota.com

About Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which is distributed to 100.8 million U.S. homes, can be seen in 210 countries and territories, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including, science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, please visit www.discovery.com.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE: TM) established operations in the United States in 1957 and currently operates 10 manufacturing plants. Toyota directly employs nearly 30,000 in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued at more than $18 billion, including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and design.

Toyota is committed to being a good corporate citizen in the communities where it does business and believes in supporting programs with long-term sustainable results. Toyota supports numerous organizations across the country, focusing on education, the environment and safety. Since 1991, Toyota has contributed over half a billion dollars to philanthropic programs in the U.S.

For more information on Toyota’s commitment to improving communities nationwide, visit http://www.toyota.com/community.

About Discovery Education

Discovery Education transforms classrooms, empowers teachers and captivates students by providing high quality, dynamic, digital content for grades K-12 and community colleges. Powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world, Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital media, professional development, assessment tools and a passionate educator network to support districts in accelerating student achievement. Discovery Education services like Discovery Education streaming, Discovery Education Techbook and Discovery Education Higher Ed, are in more than half of all US schools and 35 countries around the world. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.