About Cars and Autos

Many of us have let ourselves go to pot, slowly gaining weight until one day we look in the mirror and see what should be three of us.  Then we think we’ll never be able to shed all that fat.  Well you can.  Joao Correia did.

First he was a professional bicycle racer. Then he quit racing for ten years to be a publishing executive in New York City and gained 60 pounds.   He lost the 60 pounds and once again he is a professional.

Read this inspiring story as reported by the NY Times.

[Via http://cycling2live.com]

There’s not going to be anything here that other people haven’t said before.  It’s just that I’m starting to calm down a little bit and think objectively about what’s being said (especially over in the sidepodcast community).  Dan Brunell over at Racing Eagles had a nice post about the 8 things he thinks USF1 should do.  I’d probably buy that toaster.

I _REALLY_ want there to be a US Formula 1 team and I got into a “nobody hits my little brother but me mode” about it.  I was excited about what Peter Windsor was saying.  Better access to the team and the car manufacturing process through social media.  I think a properly run and financed US based team could be competitive (eventually).  Our single seat driver pool isn’t that great because of Nascar’s popularity but that could be helped by a team that supported young driver development, which USF1 seems to at least be thinking about with their support of F2000 in the States.  There are a lot of fans in the States and the support is there.

Whenever USF1 would come up I’d get pretty defensive.  I couldn’t help it.  I don’t think it’s as bad as people are saying but I am worried (perhaps that’s why I was getting defensive, not wanting to admit the others were closer to reality than I was).  It took a long time for the team to get a minimal website going, get pages on twitter and facebook, and start showing off their facility in their recent videos (although how up to date this video is with the car parts is unknown).  They seem to have a bit more than just a nose, but not much.  The only serious driver news is maybe Jose Maria Lopez.  Joe Saward speculates that Ralf Schumacher turned them down (he should be BEGGING for a drive if he actually wants one).  Why talk up the Windshear tunnel but design the car solely using CFD?  Why so quiet for so long?  Peter’s recent post on the teams website sounds like a lot of butt covering to me.

Oh, yeah, their website.  I don’t think the design is THAT bad.  It could be better but at least it’s not Flash driven.  There are links for a “blog” and news but no RSS or permalinks that I could find.  A team that claimed to be more fan friendly from the beginning needs to do better than this.

None of these worries are new, they’ve all been expressed elsewhere.  I’ve liked Peter’s coverage on Speed TV’s formula 1 broadcasts the two years I’ve been watching and I hope he’s successful.  I’m still being patient (and optimistic), but if we haven’t seen a car and had a lot of movement on the drivers front by the end of January I’m changing my tune!

[Via http://jpancoast.wordpress.com]

Unfortunately Iowa has met the dreaded winter months again. This time winter brought with it 3-4 feet high snow drifts and enough ice to make the roads impossible to drive on. This means all of the enjoyment of performance auto racing has come to a halt. For the next few months I will not be able to build on my Honda or my Scion due to the fact that I have no garage to park either of them in. This, however, does not mean I have to put the projects aside til next summer.

Now is the prime opportunity to organize plans within budget, contact potential suppliers, research rules and regulations, and most importantly meet amazingly awesome people (via forums, blogs, discussion boards, and etc.).

I will keep you updated on product purchases, blueprints, and events within my local area as this winter progresses. Feel free share your projects with me. I would be ecstatic to learn about your project car, how you captured the racing fever, and what the future of auto racing means to you.

[Via http://importdreamz.wordpress.com]

When Dirt 1 came out many fans became annoyed as the series became americanized and drifted away from its rallying route’s.

Those people will be horrified to know that Dirt 2 has become even more americanized and even less of a pure rally game.

Instead the series has evolved into a off-road racer which combines its rallying heritage with tight circuit racing and X-game event’s and a many celebrity names that will most likely not be recognised over in the UK.
Names like Ken Block and Travis Pastrana,who are extreme sport legends in the US are less widely know over here in the UK which make’s the choice to include them an odd one.

There’s some unusual additions to Dirt 2,like your on track competition talking to you via the radio that can actually ruin the overall feeling of the game slightly.
When you slam into someone on track you do no expect that person to pipe up over the radio with “don’t worry,it’s a tight track”.

However if you ignore the americanized feeling of the game then what you find is a fantastic off-road racer that makes any one who plays it feel like some sort of driving god.

Thanks to the game’s beautiful graphics engine,off-road racing has never looked so good.
Dirt flies off of the wheels and water splashes glisten in the morning sun and it’s a truly wonderous spectacle to behold.
The games damage model is superb and cars crumple with such realism you find yourself wincing as it plows into a wall.

However,it’s the handling model in a racing game that make’s or breaks the experience and Dirt 2’s handling model is beautifully crafted and a dream to play.
Car’s slide round corners with amazing grace and ease,giving novice players the feeling of being a demigod of driving while giving the more experienced players the perfect handling to get those all important record times.

The new career system in Dirt 2 is well crafted,though disappointingly short.
As you may expect you complete race’s over a variety of events,such as Trailblazer which is a point to point race in some very fast cars or your more traditional Rally races.
As you progress you can gain rival racers friendship to unlock more events,but to be honest gaining their friendship is far too easy and you can barge into them countless times and still become friends,making the entire idea seem pointless.
You then unlock the X-game events,of which there are 4.
These spectacular events are multi race tournaments that progress you further along the Dirt tour.
All of this is done through a new menu system that has you walking around your mobile home in a first person perspective.
However the Tour is over far to quickly,taking around 6-8 hours to get through it.

Dirt 2 does not have a huge selection of Cars,instead going with the simple idea of quality over quantity.
The car’s are all fantastic,ranging from Rally cars,Trailblazing beasts and massive Hummers to race in.
But what if you love the first car you buy and don’t want to have to swap cars for every different event?
Well Dirt 2 allows you to buy car “packages”.
These package’s change your car so it can compete in almost every event throughout the career.
This allows you to quickly pick your most loved car and take it through the entire Dirt Tour.
It’s something that should be in more racer’s.

The entire game is also a fitting tribute to the Legend himself,Colin McRae.
You start the game in Colin’s old car and take part in a tribute race to the great man in which other racing legends like David Coulthard take part as well.

disappointingly for a series that has its root’s in Rally racing,Dirt 2’s career mode is only made up of around one quarter of rally race’s and the rest are different variety’s of off-road racing such as Buggy’s.
And while Dirt 2 is the pinnacle of off-road racers it’s still a shame to see it’s rallying route’s slowly disappearing into the background.

Dirt 2 has a great multiplayer mode to bolster its lifespan however,with a variety of racing to keep you happy.
And if you dont want to barge around with others you can choose rally racing or trailblazing,in which case you race each other’s ghosts on track so contact cannot ruin your race.
Multiplayer feels fun to play and will keep you entertained for a while.

At points Dirt 2 feels gimmicky due to its americanised nature and less focus on traditional rallying,but once you get past that you find a stunning off-road racer that thrills players in every corner and keeps you coming back for more.

SCORES:

Graphics: 92%
Beautiful cars and stunning environments make for a trul breathtaking game.

Gameplay: 93%
Off-road racing at its peak.

Lifespan: 85%
A short Tour mode,but the multiplayer might keep you going for a while.

Overall: 93%

[Via http://wolfsgamingblog.com]

Seat Belt Tips for Child Passenger Safety

All children age 12 and under should be buckled up in the rear seat of the vehicle.

• Children should ride in an appropriate child safety seat until 8 years of age, unless they are 4 feet 9 inches tall and weigh 80 pounds.
• Holding a child in your lap provides no additional safety. An unrestrained 10-pound infant would instantly be ripped from an adult’s arms in a 30-mph collision.
• Don’t place a single seat belt over yourself and a child. In a front-end collision, the child could be crushed by your body.
• A seat belt must be adjusted to the size of a child. As with adults, the lap belt should cross the child’s upper thighs and the diagonal belt should cross the upper chest and a point between the neck and the center of the shoulder.
• Children should continue to use a belt-positioning booster until the lap and shoulder belts fit properly and the child’s legs are long enough to bend at the edge of the seat.

Child Safety Seat Tips

Safety requirements change as children grow. Learn the basic facts for proper use of child safety seats.

• Infants — From birth to 1 year and less than 20 pounds, infants should be placed in rear-facing child safety seats in the back seat of the car. The harness straps should be at or below shoulder level.
• Toddlers — From 1 year and at least 20 to 40 pounds, toddlers should be placed in forward-facing child safety seats in the back seat of the car. The harness straps should be at or above the shoulders. Children who are less than 1 year but weigh more than 20 pounds should ride in restraint seats approved for higher rear-facing weights.
• Young children — Children more than 40 pounds but less than 4 feet 9 inches tall should be placed in forward-facing booster seats in the back seat of the car. Lap belts should fit low and tight across the thighs, and shoulder belts should fit snugly across the chest and shoulder to prevent abdominal injuries.

It is important to know that your child passenger safety devices are working properly at all times. For up-to-date notifications of the latest recalls on child safety devices, you can subscribe to RSS feeds and email notifications offered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Child Passenger Safety Facts

• Motor vehicle crashes cause about one of every three injury deaths among children, according to a 2002 report from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
  (Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety , 2003)
• According to a 2003 report, 59 percent of children ages 0 to 4 were unrestrained when the driver of a passenger vehicle was unrestrained. When a driver was restrained, 80 percent of children ages 0 to 4 also were restrained.
  (Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis , 2003)
• Car accident fatalities for children under 5 dropped from 706 in 2000 to 668 in 2001. The number of fatalities for children ages 5 to 15 dropped from 2,105 to 1,990 in 2001.
  (Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration , 2003)

[Via http://mazdaoflakewood.wordpress.com]

For those that rocked the cruiser revolution sticker in 2009, I salute you!

Thanks for supporting the cause and keep shreddin’ in the new year.

Trent in Hayward, California

Bam in Denver, North Carolina

Gary in Brampton, Ontario

Jon in San Marcos, California

Angus Young, Australia*

*Angus doesn’t really rock a cruiser revolution sticker…not yet anyway…

[Via http://cruiserrevolution.com]

In July Zoran Stefanovic did two things which suggested to Formula 1 insiders that he was not very serious about entering a team in F1. He lodged a complaint with the European Union claiming the FIA forced the potential new teams for 2010 to use engines supplied by Cosworth; and he said that he had taken on Mike Coughlan as his main technical man. If he had not done this Stefanovic would have been taken more seriously, as neither course of action seemed even vaguely sensible, and smacked of someone who was heading into F1 without anyone guiding him as to what to do and what not to do. Since then, to give him his due, he seems to have understood that rocking the boat gets you nowhere in F1 circles and has adopted a rather different approach. It is not clear what has happened with the EU complaint but these things cannot be withdrawn.

After Toyota pulled out of F1, Stefanovic popped up again, talking to Toyota about taking over elements of the F1 team. He clearly has some money to spend, presumably from his AMCO, manufacturing business which does automotive, aerospace and other such work from its base in Belgrade, Serbia.

Yesterday Stefan GP announced that it had successfully passed some of the necessary crash tests to compete in F1, with a car it called the Stefan S-01. The team announced also that it would complete further tests at the end of January. It is clear that the car in question is the car that was to have been raced as the Toyota TF110, although very little else has been announced, not least what engine would be used. Stefanovic visited Toyota in Cologne on December 22 and met with several Toyota people.

Stefanovic is very unlikely to be granted any F1 entry – even if teams drop out – as he has not been through the necessary procedures and the FIA cannot afford to bend the rules for him as that would create a precedent which would not be a good idea.

On the team website Stefanovic is advertising for staff with some posts being “located in Germany” and “the rest of team” in Belgrade, Serbia.

If an entry is not forthcoming, Stefanovic says that he will run the team anyway and use the cars to prepare for an entry in the future, while also providing other teams and young drivers with the chance to test a full-spec F1 car which is not covered by the testing ban. Thus, if Ferrari needs to test a new driver – as happened last summer – Stefan GP will be available for rent. Similarly wealthy drivers can get mileage in the car, if they pay.

Stefanovic obviously has money to spend, but perhaps not as much as he needs as he could very easily have acquired the Toyota entry after the Japanese decided to quit. One can argue that Toyota might have wanted to hold on to its Toyota Motorsport GmbH company, but a little administrative juggling could have sold that company to Stefanovic and created another with the old name in just a few days. That would have got Stefanovic a guaranteed F1 entry for 2010.

If this sounds far-fetched, remember that in 2005 Ilmor Engineering Ltd was acquired by Mercedes-Benz and renamed Mercedes-Ilmor Ltd. At that point founder Mario Illien set up a new company called Special Designs Ltd. Soon after that happened Mercedes-Ilmor changed its name to Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines Ltd and Special Designs Ltd changed its name to Ilmor Engineering Ltd.

[Via http://joesaward.wordpress.com]

The British honours system is an odd throwback to another age which the Labour government in recent years has tried to make relevant, if only to use it as a propaganda tool to make people feel good about the establishment. Hence many TV entertainers have been given honours which reflect the fact they are popular, rather than because they have achieved a great deal. To put that into medieval terms, the King has been knighting jesters in addition to those who have fought well in battle. Thus, for example, the Formula 1 commentator Murray Walker was appointed to the same order as Lewis Hamilton, but at a higher grade – which I find scandalous, although I should add that I love Murray dearly. To me it is disgraceful that Ron Dennis has only been recognised with what they call a CBE (a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) while others with similar achievement levels have been knighted. I used to think that Max Mosley deserved something too but, alas, his adventures in recent years have made him rather less of a role model than once perhaps he was. Bernie Ecclestone has also never received any recognition for what he has achieved, although some would argue that controversial businessmen such as Tiny Rowland and Robert Maxwell were never honoured, although others such as Freddie Laker and Richard Branson were. There seems no rhyme nor reason to the honours system. Ken Tyrrell won three World Championships with Jackie Stewart and received no recognition at all. Adrian Newey has achieved fantastic results in F1 with three different teams but there has been no official recognition for that. Patrick Head and John Barnard also did great things but were left unrecognised by the government.

I would hope that we will soon hear that Jenson Button has been recognised for his World Championship. Traditionally Formula 1 World Champions earned the Officer rank in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. This was the case with Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill, Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill. Alain Prost was the recipient of a rare OBE to a foreigner in 1994. Last year, however, Lewis Hamilton was granted only Member status (which is below Officer) when he won his World Championship. If Jenson Button is granted Officer status the government will thus have left itself wide open for criticism. For many years John Surtees was honoured only with an MBE until 2008 when someone woke up to the fact that he deserved rather more being the only man ever to win World Championships on two and four wheels.

I have no problems with Brawn being recognised with a similar level of award but anything more than that would be wrong given those who have been passed over. I am all for racing people being honoured, indeed I think there should be more of it given the achievements of the British motorsport industry, but if this is to happen then the distribution of awards must be fair and balanced.

According to the government knighthoods are awarded for “a pre-eminent contribution in any field of activity, through achievement or service to the community usually, but not exclusively, at national level or in a capacity which will be recognised by peer groups as inspirational and significant nationally and which demonstrates sustained commitment”. The CBE is awarded for “a prominent national role of a lesser degree or a conspicuous leading role in regional affairs, through achievement or service to the community or making a highly distinguished, innovative contribution in his or her area of activity”, while the OBE is for “a distinguished regional or country-wide role in any field through achievement or service to the community including notable practitioners known nationally” and the MBE for “achievement or service in and to the community of a responsible kind which is outstanding in its field or very local ‘hands-on’ service which stands out as an example to others”.

[Via http://joesaward.wordpress.com]

Isaak showed up for the Little New Smyrna 500 Junior Honda A-main ready to race. Unfortunately for him — though fortunately for the other drivers — an alternate wasn’t needed.

The X car gets to race if one of the eight cars on the track comes off and can’t go back before the start of the race. Once the green flag drops, the X car is no longer used. Despite the slippery, cold track, no one had troubles in hot laps that forced them from the race.

So instead of getting to vie for the championship, Isaak watched the race from the stands. Congratulations to Trever Taylor, who won.

Since we have no news from today, how about some exciting video from Isaak’s C-main victory on Monday. Check it  out.

[Via http://isracing.wordpress.com]