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Εμφάνιση αναρτήσεων με ετικέτα CARS. Εμφάνιση όλων των αναρτήσεων
Εμφάνιση αναρτήσεων με ετικέτα CARS. Εμφάνιση όλων των αναρτήσεων
26/10/06
24/10/06
All applauds Schumacher's die-hard finale
Although most Germans are fans of the seven-times world champion and proudly wear his red Ferrari colors, there have been a fair number of detractors in a home country that has ties to several other Formula One teams.
Until Sunday, that is, when the 37-year-old Schumacher's riveting ride through the field from last to fourth at the Brazilian Grand Prix turned the final naysayers into believers, newspapers said.
"Schumi said goodbye with the most thrilling catch-up race of his career," wrote Bild newspaper, which devoted three full pages to Schumacher on Monday after 12 on Sunday.
"He fought his way back from last place to fourth with one of the best races in his 16-year career," the daily wrote.
The General-Anzeiger in Bonn, near Schumacher's hometown of Kerpen, said his fighting spirit made believers out of his enemies and brought tears to the eyes of his legions of fans.
"Even those who have absolutely no interest in motor sport could not help being captivated by his final run," it said of the race watched by 12 million Germans.
"The hopes for an eighth title were minimal but despite technical problems and a punctured tire, the champion raced like a young rookie full of cheek and fury -- chapeau Schumi!"
SCHUMACHER MAGIC
The Rheinische Post, published in Duesseldorf, called it "Schumacher magic, one last time."
"Even if he didn't make it to the podium, Schumacher showed one of the best races ever. He squeezed everything out of his Ferrari engine as if he were squeezing on a lemon, had one 'all or nothing' lap after another, and passed rival after rival."
The Berliner Zeitung said he had deserved a more glamorous farewell with a spot on the podium if not his 92nd career victory.
But it added his inspired rally stole the show, especially in passing Giancarlo Fisichella and Kimi Raikkonen.
"He drove a fabulous race in his final outing and didn't even make it to the podium," it wrote.
"With audacious, reckless and truly championship maneuvers, he even passed Fisichella and his Ferrari successor Raikkonnen to grab fourth place."
Chancellor Angela Merkel paid tribute in an open letter to Bild newspaper, putting him in a line of German sporting heroes with Max Schmeling, Franz Beckenbauer and Steffi Graf.
"You used your talent and your German virtues -- hard-work and a tireless will to succeed --- to get to the top," Merkel wrote. "And even for those outsiders who don't well understand Formula One, you enriched the sport with your brilliance."
(Brexians lair)
14/10/06
McLAREN GOOD.. BAD.. UGLY
Ο ΚΑΛΟΣ...ΕΡΧΕΤΑΙ
Ο ΚΑΚΟΣ....ΠΑΕΙ FERRARI
Ο ΑΣΧΗΜΟΣ....ΠΑΕΙ ΣΠΙΤΙ ΤΟΥ
(Brexians lair)
7/10/06
Δεύτερος ξεκινά ο Montoya
Ο Juan Pablo Montoya εξέπληξε ακόμα και τον εαυτό του με την πρώτη του εμφάνιση στους αγώνες Stock Car στους οποίους θα συμμετέχει το 2007. Έχοντας αποδεσμευτεί από τη McLaren, έχει την ευκαιρία να συμμετέχει ήδη σε αγώνα του θεσμού με σκοπό την καλύτερη προετοιμασία ενόψει της επόμενης χρονιάς. Στην πίστα Talladega Superspeedway κάνει την πρώτη του εμφάνιση ο Montoya και από τις ελεύθερες δοκιμές κινήθηκε πολύ γρήγορα. Στα χρονομετρημένα που ακολούθησαν ο Montoya σημείωσε έναν καλό πρώτο γύρο που θα τον έφερνε στην πρώτη δεκάδα. Στο δεύτερο και τελευταίο γύρο σταμάτησε το χρονόμετρο στο 50:546, επίδοση που του έδωσε τη δεύτερη θέση στην εκκίνηση, μόλις 9 χιλιοστά του δευτερολέπτου πίσω από τον ταχύτερο οδηγό, τον Bobby Gerhart που είναι δεύτερος στη βαθμολογία του θεσμού.
Ο ίδιος ο Montoya είπε πως στη συγκεκριμένη πίστα είναι μεγάλο πλεονέκτημα να έχεις καλό αυτοκίνητο και το αυτοκίνητο της ομάδας του είναι πάρα πολύ καλό. Η καλή του επίδοση στα χρονομετρημένα δεν αλλάζει το στόχο του που παραμένει «εκπαιδευτικός». Θέλει να τερματίσει χωρίς ζημιές, να ολοκληρώσει χωρίς λάθη τη διαδικασία των pit stop και, όπως δήλωσε, είτε τερματίσει πρώτος, είτε πέμπτος είτε απλά τερματίσει, είναι το ίδιο για αυτόν. Θέλει απλά να αποκομίσει εμπειρίες για την επόμενη χρονιά.
Ο ίδιος ο Montoya είπε πως στη συγκεκριμένη πίστα είναι μεγάλο πλεονέκτημα να έχεις καλό αυτοκίνητο και το αυτοκίνητο της ομάδας του είναι πάρα πολύ καλό. Η καλή του επίδοση στα χρονομετρημένα δεν αλλάζει το στόχο του που παραμένει «εκπαιδευτικός». Θέλει να τερματίσει χωρίς ζημιές, να ολοκληρώσει χωρίς λάθη τη διαδικασία των pit stop και, όπως δήλωσε, είτε τερματίσει πρώτος, είτε πέμπτος είτε απλά τερματίσει, είναι το ίδιο για αυτόν. Θέλει απλά να αποκομίσει εμπειρίες για την επόμενη χρονιά.
(Brexians lair)
28/9/06
Going topless
This would not be a good time for another Ford failure; it can't bury much more bad news. Last week the blue oval's share value fell 15 per cent in one day when news leaked that 14,000 of its white-collar staff would be joining 30,000 of its blue-collar workers on the dole queue.
Solid: Ford's new Focus CC
Bill Ford no longer runs the firm, having been replaced by axe men from Boeing and Goldman Sachs. Aston is for sale, Jaguar might be and so might Land Rover. Ford's projected losses this year will be nearly £4.8 billion, yet it has been forced to buy the Rover name from BMW to protect itself from cheap, Chinese-made Rovers. While rival General Motors is almost too big to go bankrupt, Ford isn't. The House of Henry is up a creek without a paddle.
And so to the parched, poplar-studded hills around Siena, where this week Ford launched the Focus CC, the retractable hardtop version of the ever-popular family hatchback. Siena is a fitting place to launch a competitor into the ferociously competitive coupé-cabriolet market. The inhabitants of the city's contrade, its wards, know all about stiff competition: each year, 10 horses race round the Piazza del Campo in the famous Palio. The loser is not the contrada to finish last, but the one that comes second. Being number one is all that counts.
Fortunately for Ford, it seems to have backed a winner here.
As chief programme engineer, Steve Thomas pointed out, the company had the best foundation in the market from which to develop the CC - "the greatest family hatchback there has ever been," as Andrew English described the Focus . The Astra and VW Golf, which have both gone topless this year, simply don't match its driving dynamics. But therein lay a conundrum for Ford: how to take the lid off its magic box without the sides wobbling and the ride and handling falling apart.
Ford found the answer in the affable Mr Thomas, a Cambridge-educated engineer who, thank goodness, talks in plain English. Working five days a week in Turin, where Pininfarina assembles the bodyshells, Thomas cracked the problem. The CC loses a staggering 90 per cent of its torsional rigidity with the roof down, and yet there is only the merest hint of wobble as it's driven. How? Steel, largely. There's an extra cross-member across the bulkhead, super-strength steel reinforcements in the A-pillars, across the top of the windscreen, in the doors and in a torsion box behind the rear seats (which houses the roll-over hoops). Yet it doesn't feel like a heavy beast.
Storage space required: the Focus has a large rump, due to the need for a large area to store its roof
The springs have been stiffened substantially and the rear dampers, taken from the high-performance Focus ST, have been tuned to compensate. As a result, the car responds cleanly and crisply to steering inputs. At the same time, the ride is comfortable yet firm, relaying bumps and ridges in the road through the steering wheel and seats, but protecting you from the full impact of potholes.
Weight distribution is another major handling factor, and the Focus CC has a near-perfect 53:47 balance, with no hint of a heavy nose dragging the car straight on in turns. Lift the throttle and squeeze the brakes in mid-corner and the rear tyres start to slip sideways, but that's a dangerous thing to do anyway and traction control steps in almost imperceptibly to calm things down.
The car's balance is, in part, due to the two-piece folding roof, which, 66lb lighter than a three-piece design, only increases the weight over the rear axles by 37lb, so the suspension set-up works equally well with the roof up or down. Also, with only two working parts, there are fewer hydraulic cylinders and motors to go wrong.
But, oh, the aesthetic nightmare of the vast boot that is required to house a two-piece roof. The Focus CC's rump is reminiscent of the flight deck of HMS Invincible; stand on the roof with two illuminated ping-pong bats and you might get Harriers coming in to land. It does mean that bulky luggage is easily swallowed with the roof raised, and even roof-down there is a respectable 248 litres (a class first) but it's ugly. Combined with a reduced rear view due to the raised boot line and thick C-pillars, the car should have rear parking sensors as standard, not an option. A new Focus-embossed chrome strip across the boot is smart but scratches easily, while the new tail-light clusters, if not beautiful, at least confer a new identity.
Try one on for size: the car handles smoothly but interior space is limited
Moving through the inside, the limited space in front of the rear seats really makes this a two-plus-two, although shoulder-width space is class-leading. The facia is the same as that in a normal Focus; matt black plastic with plastic brushed-alumium-effect splashes and the same switchgear. There's a button for the roof - press when stationary - which lowers or raises in 29 seconds while a digital display by the speedo counts down the process. There are three trim levels - CC-1 to CC-3 - and a startling orange-tan leather option, which is meant to evoke smart Italian businessmen's shoes, but just makes you feel queasy.
Outside, at the front, the car looks more like a Focus ST, with a large, secondary grille under the number plate and aggressively protruding fog lamps. Ford wants you to think of this and the ST as the flagship cars of the range. And what of an ST version of the CC?
Ford says a biofuel model is more likely first. Meanwhile there is the choice of a 1.6 or 2.0-litre petrol or 2.0-litre turbodiesel engines, the first two mated to five-speed manual boxes and the last to a six-speed manual (automatics will be here before Christmas). The predicted bestseller out of a projected 5,500 UK sales is the 2.0 petrol unit, although Roelant de Waard, chairman of Ford of Britain, said on the flight home that after hearing us all raving about the diesel unit, he would reconsider the production figures. It's certainly the pick of the bunch - smooth, relaxed with lots of punchy torque at low revs, which suits the relaxed nature of this type of car, while the 2.0 petrol unit could do with a sixth gear to stop it thrashing about at 75mph, and it feels a little underpowered (so you can probably discount the 1.6, although it was not available to try).
The Focus CC conforms to the Erin Baker Shoe Theory, tried and tested on boyfriends past, and as the CC market is dominated by female buyers, it seems an apposite test: you have the stiletto - sexy, enticing and exciting, but ultimately expensive and disappointing; the trainer - still good-looking, but built really for sport, practicality and comfort; and the slipper - designed solely for comfort and very boring. The Focus CC is without doubt a trainer, which is no bad thing.
Engine/transmission: 1,596cc petrol with DOHC and four valves per cylinder;
99bhp at 5,500rpm, 111lb ft of torque at 4,000rpm. 1,999cc petrol with DOHC and four valves per cyl;
143bhp at 6,000rpm, 136lb ft at 4,500rpm. 1,997cc diesel with DOHC and four valves per cyl;
134bhp at 4,000rpm, 236lb ft at 2,000rpm.
Performance: 1.6-litre: top speed 113mph, 0-62mph in 13.6sec, EU Urban fuel consumption 30.1mpg, CO2 emissions 169g/km.
2.0-litre petrol: 129mph/10.3sec/26.7mpg/179g/km. 2.0-litre diesel: 127mph/10.3sec/36.7mpg/156g/km.
We like: Handling, ride, sense of value for money.
We don't like: Dull interior and exterior styling, lacklustre petrol engines.
Alternatives:
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU
Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler
(Brexians lair)
14/9/06
Sunshine, Salt and Speed: The Fastest Show on Earth
By LINDSAY BROOKE
Published: September 10, 2006
BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS, Utah
BOOMING past the last mile marker of a ruler-straight course on this ancient lake bed, traveling at more than 400 miles an hour, Al Teague pulled the parachute release lever to slow his streamliner, simultaneously fulfilling the final request of a hot-rodding buddy.
On that day four years ago, tucked within the folds of cloth, were the ashes of Gray Baskerville, a champion of all things associated with the Salt Flats. Baskerville, a writer for Hot Rod magazine, had died in February 2002 at age 66.
“It was exactly what Gray would have wanted,” said Mr. Teague, holder of a speed record with the Spirit of ’76, a low-slung dart of a car engineered for nothing but top-speed trials. “I got the feeling that my high speed would have made him happy.”
To those who have been touched by Bonneville’s high-speed mystique, neither Baskerville’s career-long devotion to this eerily flat expanse, nor Mr. Teague’s homage, would be a surprise. The 3,000-square-mile salt plain 120 miles west of Salt Lake City, bisected by Interstate 80, is one of the few places on earth suited to driving vehicles as fast as they can go.
The great bleach-white expanse is what remains of an enormous inland sea that evaporated 14,000 years ago. Since the 1930’s its fragile surface — and the thin atmosphere at the 4,200-foot elevation, which saps engine power — has challenged the speediest cars, trucks and motorcycles.
Still, drivers return each August seeking records at ever-greater velocities. “If you like making cars go fast, this place is addictive,” said Ed Iskenderian, a hot-rodding pioneer who first attended Bonneville contests in 1950 and continues to make the annual pilgrimage.
Nearly 500 entrants gathered here last month for Speed Week, one of the few times of the year when the salt is used to establish official records. The 2006 turnout was the biggest ever, drawing vehicles ranging from prewar Fords to diminutive “lakesters” with bodies shaped like the fuel tanks once seen under the wings of fighter planes. There were 50’s Studebakers stretched like taffy to cheat the wind, and everything from Toyota econoboxes to Corvette-powered Porsches to ground-scraping motorcycles testing their engines against electronic timers. Even a Ferrari F40 turned out.
More than 150 records were set in dozens of classes, encompassing every imaginable combination of vehicle and engine, from tiny 50-cc motorbikes to a mammoth Freightliner truck powered by a 4,000-horsepower V-16 diesel said to have begun life in a tugboat. This improbable rig, lowered and modified unlike anything one might see on the Interstate, is a perennial favorite, thundering down the salt at more than 220 m.p.h.
The streamliner class is a showcase of the swiftest machines on wheels. This year’s star was the Dieselmax streamliner entered by JCB, a British maker of construction equipment. Powered by a pair of heavily modified four-cylinder diesel engines from the company’s backhoes, the 29-foot-long projectile was driven by Andy Green, holder of the absolute land-speed record in a jet-powered car at 763 m.p.h. (set in Nevada, alas, not at Bonneville).
Mr. Green, a Royal Air Force wing commander, is a superstar in the community. Overcoming five days of technical gremlins that kept speeds below 230 m.p.h., the JCB car finally set a record of 350.092 m.p.h. to become the world’s fastest diesel vehicle (or, as many kidded, the fastest backhoe).
Diesel was not the only alternative fuel at Bonneville this year. Mark Dickens, a General Motors engineer, set several class records driving Chevrolet Cobalt SS coupes; one (reaching 156 m.p.h.) was the first to be powered by an E85 ethanol blend.
The best combination of salt surface and weather in 10 years created excellent race conditions and helped pack the entry list, said Buddy James, a longtime starting line steward. But with so many vehicles queued up to run on the two courses — a three-mile straightaway for machines capable of up to 175 m.p.h. and a five-mile course for the fastest — cars waited hours for their next chance. Even those in line at 7 a.m. when each day’s action began might make just two runs before the courses closed at 5 p.m.
Official Bonneville records are determined by averaging two runs, as supervised by the Southern California Timing Association, which organizes Speed Week and operates the electronic timers. Once a vehicle makes a qualifying run that tops the existing record, it is impounded until the next morning’s record run.
For most of the tanned-and-wrinkled regulars — as well as what seemed to be an infusion of fresh blood in hot imports — creeping slowly to the starting line under the scorching sun is simply part of the routine.
A strong grass-roots ethic and amateur-racing spirit underpin Speed Week and the few other events held at Bonneville. Competitors routinely lend a hand to one another, along with advice and tools.
“Bonneville is more than a hobby to many of these racers; it’s their life,” said Louise Ann Noeth, a Salt Flats historian and former professional drag racer known universally as Landspeed Louise. “They return because money and marketing have not yet put their stamp on the salt.”
The Flats’ amateur racers can be mildly contemptuous of professional record efforts. Participation by big companies, including efforts this year by G.M. and JCB (which had two huge tractor-trailers in its pit area), attract the most scorn.
“Sometimes we might resent the money the factory teams spend for their projects, because we don’t have those funds,” said Mr. Teague, whose 409.978 m.p.h. attained in 1991 is still the international record for wheel-driven vehicles powered by a single piston engine.
“They have engineers and aerodynamicists,” Mr. Teague said. “We do our work in our garages after work.”
Land-speed racing demands other commitments. The first challenge is transportation. Taking a rental car onto the corrosive salt risks stiff added charges from agencies in Utah and Nevada, who now carefully examine the cars’ undersides and interiors when they are returned. There is only one car wash in the nearest town, Wendover, Utah, which sits hard against the state line.
Those who have been to Speed Week have learned it is impossible to keep a car free of salt, which permeates every crevice of the body. To eliminate obvious traces, spectators have spent three hours and $20 in quarters at a do-it-yourself car wash. It helps somewhat to wipe the salt off your shoes with a towel before getting in the car.
Once on the Flats, there are no fixed structures providing the comforts of traditional racetracks — no pit garages, no grandstands, no food pavilions for spectators. Even the timing tower and portable toilets are trucked in and out by the S.C.T.A.
Racers prepare their vehicles under tent shelters erected next to vans and campers. Staying hydrated is part of the Salt Flats survival ritual.
The salt itself is a survivor. Decades of potash mining over the last century began depleting the salt base. But recent efforts by the local salt industry, under pressure from the S.C.T.A. and the racers, have helped stabilize the thin crust, which can be less than an inch thick in places.
Bonneville has a profound effect on everyone who competes here.
“My team and I were utterly humbled by our experience,” said Tim Leverton, chief engineer of the JCB Dieselmax team. “You cannot arrive here and simply expect to go fast. You have to learn the salt — and listen to the Bonneville speed community, who know more about it than anybody.”
(Brexians lair)
8/9/06
6/9/06
30/8/06
Απειλείται με διαγραφή το Τούρκικο GP
30/8/2006
Οι τελευταίες εξελίξεις στον χώρο της Formula 1 με την προκλητική μεθόδευση της απονομής του επάθλου στον Φελίπε Μάσα από τον Μεχμέτ Αλί Ταλάτ με τον τίτλο του ηγέτη της «Τουρκικής Δημοκρατίας της Βορείου Κύπρου» έχει αναστατώσει για τα καλά τη FIA. Η Διεθνής Ομοσπονδία απειλεί την Τουρκία με διαγραφή από το καλεντάρι του 2007 λόγω του ότι η επιλογή του Ταλάτ για την απονομή έφερε πολιτική σκοπιμότητα καθώς οι Τούρκοι θέλησαν να εκμεταλλευτούν την προβολή του αγώνα για να εξυπηρετήσουν τις πολιτικές τους προπαγάνδες γεγονός το οποίο εξόργισε τους διοικούντες με αποτέλεσμα να δοθεί εντολή για διεξαγωγή έρευνας. H FIA θα αξιολογήσει τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας και σε περίπτωση που κρίνει ότι η Τουρκία, προσπάθησε να εκμεταλλευτεί πολιτικά ένα τόσο μεγάλο αθλητικό γεγονός, τότε είναι πολύ πιθανό να αποκλειστεί από το καλεντάρι του 2007.
(Brexians lair)
18/8/06
Audi A4 cu 220 CP
august 2006
Audi isi extinde gama A4 prin lansarea unei versiuni noi a modelului cu motorizare 2.0 TFSI (cu patru cilindri), noul propulsor urmand a dezvolta 220 cai-putere. Audi A4 2.0 TFSI, care poate fi comandat si in varianta Avant, este disponibil atat cu tractiune integrala quattro permanenta, cat si cu tractiune fata, ambele versiuni fiind insotite de o cutie de viteze manuala, cu sase trepte. Anterior, motorul a fost disponibil numai la modelele speciale "DTM Edition" (limuzina) si S line plus (Avant). Noua varianta ofera optiunea de a combina un motor extrem de puternic si un aspect mult mai rafinat.
Noile variante A4 si A4 Avant pot fi recunoscute dupa discurile de frana frontale cu perforatii si dupa tevile de esapament de culoare negru mat. Aceasta varianta a modelului Audi A4 este propulsata de cea mai puternica versiune a motorului 2.0 TFSI existenta in productia de serie. Unitatea cu injectie directa pe benzina si supraalimentare beneficiaza de o crestere de putere, de la 200 la 220 CP, si de un cuplu care a urcat de la 280 la 300 Nm.
Performantele limuzinei A4 (cu tractiune fata) sunt si ele impresionante: la pornirea de pe loc, acceleratia duce automobilul la 100 km/h in 7,1 secunde, iar viteza maxima atinsa este de 247 km/h. Consumul mixt de benzina ajunge la nivelul de 8,0 litri per 100 kilometri. Limuzina Audi A4 2.0 TFSI, al carei motor dezvolta 220 CP, costa 27.708 EUR. Versiunea Avant este disponibila pentru pretul de 29.411 EUR.361774
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