How I Brought the Lexus Skid Plate To The World

This is the story of a chance meeting while on vacation in the mountains of California with a man who taught me to change the world. Before you say I thing, yes I know how this sounds. When I relayed the story to friends, I was told at that it was at best a grandiose piece of fiction and at worst the ranting’s of a madman. One guy even asked if I was writing a novel and wanted to test-drive the idea before I began. That made me laugh. Fortunately for me all doubts were put to rest when I introduced the Lexus Skid Plate to the world.

Big Bear Mountain

It all started with a long weekend getaway to Big Bear Mountain. It was early spring soon after the snow disappeared from the mountain and I was anxious to take my Lexus LFA on a road trip. The winding roads and fresh air two hours out of LA, quickly took my mind off of my busy winter and I was feeling really great. Of course, I had no idea how important this trip was going to be for me… or for the world. By the time I pulled into the rental cabin it was almost dark so I decided to have dinner, get to bed and have an early start on the hiking trails in the morning. I found an unassuming little restaurant in town with a patio to enjoy the people watching and ordered. The streets were sparsely populated, but I did catch one interesting character that stopped to check out my car parked half a block away. He was around 6 feet tall with a thick head of hair and a broad smile wearing of all things a lab-coat. If that wasn’t strange enough, while admiring my car he pulled out a pad and pen and took notes paying particular attention to under the front bumper. The whole thing was harmless, but fascinating.

The Mountain Top

The next morning I was up before my alarm could wake me. I got dressed, eagerly packed a few snacks and water for the hike and set off up the mountain. By mid-day I needed a break so I sat on a rock and took out a snack. That’s when I saw him, the guy from the night before hiking further up the mountain still wearing his lab-coat. What the hell? I couldn’t resist, I had to follow him up the trail. In short order I became obsessed with meeting this strange man. I quickened my pace to try and catch him, but every time I thought I was getting closer, he’d turn a corner and disappear. Just as I was about to give up I came upon a clearing that opened to reveal the top of the mountain. Sitting on a rock 10 yards away was the man in the lab-coat. He turned, smiled at me and said, “What took you so long?” What can I say I needed a minute to recover? “Who are you?” I asked hesitantly. He said “My name’s Dr. Scrape. I noticed that you have some scratches and scrapes under the front bumper of your beautiful car.” I laughed and replied, “Doesn’t everybody?” He smiled again and said simply, “I’ve left something for you. It’s called the Lexus Skid Plate. I only ask that you spread the word.” For whatever reason, I felt I could trust him and was grateful for his gift. I turned for a moment to offer him water from my bag, but when I looked back at the rock, he was gone.

Dr Scrape’s Gift: The Lexus Skid Plate

A few hours later I was back down the mountain and heading towards my rental cabin. As I approached the driveway, I noticed a note placed on the windshield of my Lexus. It read, “I took the liberty of refinishing the paint job and installing my Lexus Skid Plate under the front bumper of your impressive automobile. Don’t worry, there was no need to drill into the bumper and it’s not an expensive process. As I said at the mountaintop, I only ask that you spread the word of my Lexus Skid Plate to car enthusiasts everywhere. It’s important that they know how to protect their cars from scrapes and scratches.” The job Dr. Scrape had done on my car was exquisite. The Lexus Skid Plate, installed with the precision of a surgeon, was a thing of beauty. To this day I don’t know how Dr. Scrape was both on the top of the mountain and installing the Lexus Skid Plate. All I can tell you is that sometimes the best things in life are meant to be left unexplained.