Archive | March, 2011

>Louder than Thunder

31 Mar

>I first saw this Honda CR 750 racer, masterfully created by Minnesota’s M3 Racing Factory, on BikeEXIF. Nevermind the history and the performance, my only wish since was to just hear what the damn thing sounded like. Thanks to the genies of Clash Production, my wish came true!

Gentlemen, turn up your speakers.


Honda CR 750 M3 Factory Racer from Clashproduction on Vimeo.

Click here to get redirected to M3 Racing Factory

>Volkswagen – (Not the Rich) People’s Car

30 Mar

>Luxury is a funny thing in the car industry.  Upon hearing that word, many different marques enter the mind.  The usual suspects include Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Cadillac, Lincoln, Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti.  Since 2009, some might consider Hyundai’s Genesis sedan as a good entry-priced piece of opulence but let’s be real here.  Nobody ever wants to talk about their cheap luxuries.  This being the case, let’s talk about the Equus as well as another plebeian manufacturer’s attempt at extravagance, Volkswagen’s Phaeton.

carscoop.blogspot.com

Right now, you might be wondering what my drug preference is if I’m comparing Hyundai to Volkwagen and the Equus to the not so dearly departed Phaeton.  There’s more food for thought here than you would previously believe.  Stick with me on this one.

get1car.com
Back in 2002, VW produced their entry level luxury car in the W8 powered Passat.  It cost somewhere in the range of $40,000 while the base price of the Passat was hovering near thirty grand.  Sound similar to a certain Korean automaker today?  This was VW’s warning shot toward its more premium German counterparts, the first volley before the main attack, the Phaeton.
netcarshow.com
Now, Volkswagen is an established marque.  It had been around for something like seventy years when it released the Phaeton in 2004.  Having said that, VW is best known as a builder of small cars with decent performance and a really nice interior for its price.  Consider that up until this point in time, the Passat was the top of the range and in the U.S. its doppelganger, the A4, was the bottom rung in Audi’s model line-up.  This is one reason why the Phaeton did not work in the U.S.  To us here in the states, the Phaeton was just a supersized Passat.  But wait, Americans like everything supersized including their own waistlines.  Well, we like everything supersized for “just 50 cents more” not for the starting price of 65 large.  Yes, sixty-five thousand dollars for a bloated Passat whose real name couldn’t be pronounced.  We won’t even talk about the maxed out price of over $106,000 if you want the W12 motor.  Damn! I talked about it!
As long as we’re on the topic of motors, that W12 scorches the earth moves a bit of loose gravel with a zero to sixty run of 6.1 seconds.  Granted, that’s not exactly Toyota Prius slow especially considering the weight of this two and a half ton behemoth. However, the other Germans are doing that sprint faster with V8s and a more prestigious badge on the grill. 
What does all this have to do with Hyundai?  Hyundai is not an established marque in the American consumer market.  Since their entry in the late 80s, their cars have been considered “throw away” cars.  Yet, they seem to have followed a similar strategy to Volkswagen when trying to sell a premium product.  After improving their existing product line in leaps and bounds, the Genesis sedan was introduced as almost a teaser to the Equus.  It, like the Passat, was the entry level luxury car but the Genesis had an ace up its sleeve.  That ace was something called value.  The Genesis offers mid-sized luxury car amenities for entry level prices while the Passat W8 was just a Passat with a crazy motor configuration.  After factoring in the most recent recession, people were willing to get a little more for their money if it meant dropping a fancy star or roundel from the hood.  After praises rained down on the Genesis from both owners and auto magazines, consumers were prepared for the price that Hyundai would bestow upon its wing-badged S-class fighter. ($58,000 vs. $91,000)
While Hyundai hasn’t started a completely separate luxury division like Toyota’s Lexus, there is no italicized “H” on the hood of the Equus but a simple, elegant eagle design.  The marketing makes sense but the badge itself doesn’t.  Equus in Latin means horse.  I guess someone already took the prancing pony badge.  It really is all about the badge after all.

>Freak of the Week: Road Star 2000GT

29 Mar

>

While working on the Toyota compilation earlier this week, I rekindled enthusiasm for the legendary Toyota 2000GT.

 

In the generally Euro-centric world of automotive enthusiasts, many have made the claim, and even more listen and believe, that the original Jaguar E-type is the most beautiful car in the world. That’s fine, and maybe it is.

I, on the other hand, am born with an unusual condition that only friends have grown to accept and understand. After a while, I begin to dislike things that everyone else won’t stop talking about. Before anyone questions my claims, we can agree that there are always exceptions to the rule. But yes, I dislike the Eleanor GT500 in Nicholas Cage’s Gone in 60 Seconds and every single starring sports car in the F&F franchise; we can make that official.

And that is the same reason why I was quickly over the E-Type and went on to search for the next ’60s sports car that I could spend hours upon days daydreaming idly about.

Sadly, I never saw a Toyota 2000GT in person and nor have I ever seen an example posted on Ebay. After a quick Google search, the current market price for a clean 2000GT will run around $300,000. I was absolutely stunned. It’s a beautiful piece of art but surely it doesn’t deserve to be that expensive! I believe there has got to be another way.

After some more browsing, Makoto Kobayashi showed me an even better way:

thank you again, Speedhunters

Introducing our FotW #15: Shown at the 2009 Tokyo Salon, Kobayashi-san and his shop, “Road Star Garage,” created this fine Toyota 2000GT Replica on a Datsun 240Z S30 chassis and transplanted the car with a Nissan RB26DETT N1 GTR motor tuned by Nismo, originally used to participate in Bathurst for Group A and Group N racing. The only similarity the Nismo plant has to the original engine from 1967 is they’re both straight 6′s and… I believe that’s about it.

I am convinced that if you ever want to own a piece of automobile history, don’t. At least not in New York City. Where would I park the car without feeling paranoid? How much would insurance cost? With a replica like Makoto Kobayashi’s, I get a car with a monster engine, that pushes all the right buttons and gives all the right sensations at a fraction of the cost. I could probably even register it as nothing but an old Datsun.

>David E. Davis Jr (1930-2011)

28 Mar

>

The automotive world is mourning the passing of the great David E. Davis Jr.  As a past contributor to Car and Driver and Road & Track in addition to being founder of Automobile Magazine and Winding Road e-magazine, Davis inspired and influenced an incalculable number of automotive enthusiasts.  While he will be missed by many, his legacy lives on.  We would like to extend our condolences to the Davis family.

Autoblog’s Matt Davis remembers his father here.

>Japan Week: FPH wrap-up

27 Mar

>

A big thank you to all of our friends and fans that showed their support to our “Japan Week” compilation. We hope to have opened your eyes to Japan’s diverse and interesting products as well as their colorful automotive history. We had a lot of fun during project and definitely learned a few things along the way.

Moreover, I’m very happy to have spotted a few visits that came from Japan! Our thoughts are with you, we wish that your situation continues to improve, and we hope that you have enjoyed the posts and are pleased with our efforts.

And finally, If our tribute has moved some of you readers into taking action, it is not too late! Here are some ways you can help:

Moto for Japan: This project is the shared idea of Greg Hatton and Jon Bekefy, motorcyclists and employees in the motorcycle industry.

Every dollar donated through MotoForJapan will go directly toward funding the Red Cross’ relief efforts in that country. By giving, each contributor can be recognized as a motorcyclist who gave something back to the country that’s given us so much.

MotoGP: we for Japan: MotoGP unites to help Japan

The MotoGP community has moved to do all it can to support those in Japan following the recent earthquake and its after-effects, and the 17 riders in MotoGP have put their signatures on a specially printed shirt with the message “We are for Japan”.
The t-shirt will be available at a range of circuits on the World Championship calendar, as well as being available from the MotoGP official website at weforjapan.motogp.com. It can be purshased for €20.

Adapt Japan Earthquake Relief T-shirt: combining the country code of Japan with the universal symbol for aid.

With family and friends in Japan, clothing label Adapt wanted to do their part with a special charitable t-shirt instead of standing idly by. In black or white with 100% of the proceeds going to the special fund set up by the American Red Cross.

American Red Cross: For those who choose to donate directly.

>Japan Week: Motorcycles

27 Mar

>

Mick Doohan
 
Valentino Rossi “the doctor”
Nicky Hayden “kentucky kid”
Barry Sheene
Kevin Schwanz
Kenny “the king” Roberts
Wayne Rainey
Valentino Rossi

 
Garry “Slide King” McCoy
 
 

Source: motobiketv.info, cbrforum.com, crooks-suzuki.com, roadracerx.com, culture24.org.uk, superbike.co.uk, motorcyclistonline.com, telegraph.co.uk, formulaworldshop.com, eticketride.com, sportbikeclub.com, bikeexif.com, derekclegg.net, thefilmstage.com, motorcycle-specs.com, automotive.com, topspeed.com, reach.net

>The Beginning of the End – IndyCar GP of St. Pete – UPDATE

26 Mar

>
Tomorrow the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg kicks off the beginning of the 2011 IndyCar series which represents the swan song for the current chassis and rules system. Next year the current Dallara chassis which has seen few updates since its intro in late 1996 will be jettison for the Dallara produced safety cell with multiple aero and engine manufactures. The series is gaining traction with car counts up to the point they actually have had to consider what to do when they hit the artificial cap of 26 (more at Indy of course). With the late season drama produced last year that saw the championship lead change hands in the final race without artificial means (yes that’s a shot at the bogus Chase format) and the well documented struggles of NASCAR its an all important season to gain more “market share” so to speak.


There is a great cast of characters from veterans like reigning champion Dario “I bagged Ashley Judd” Franchitti to Helio “I have to pay taxes?” Castroneves as well as budding stars like runner up Will “Where are the right turns?” Power and Ryan “the other Penske car” Briscoe. Add an Andretti, Rahal, and a woman that can actually drive in Simona de Silvestro and it really is an exciting field.

There has been a ton of driver movement in the off season. Tony Kanaan lost his ride at Andretti, found a new one at deFerran Dragon which then went under, and then found another ride at KVRT (Also the best looking car in the field – Pic). Promising young driver Graham Rahal who is the youngest winner in series history got a full time ride after spot duty last year. Rahal not only got a ride but he got a Ganassi ride along with Charlie Kimball on a newly formed Ganassi B-team, now that is a serious partnership. Other changes include a strange twist in which last years rookie of the year Alex Lloyd lost his ride, Mike Conway of Indy aerobatics fame is back, and 2009 Indy Lights champion JR Hildebrand comes into the series to take over for Dan Wheldon in the Panther Racing car.

This season’s kick off race is a street course again (Sao Paulo in 2010). That means we probably won’t see a ton of passing, track position/pitstops are of utmost importance, and we are guaranteed at least one classic street race pile up. The practice speeds have been a slight be slower than last year, Power paces the pack by .3 seconds leading a top 5 that also includes Conway (2nd) and Oriol Servia (5th) while de Silvestro is all the way down in 23rd below that other woman who notoriously sucks at turning right.

Spotters Guide

Combined Practice Results
Highlights 1 – 2 – 3

UPDATE
——
Qualifying
Results – Round 1 Group 1 / Round 1 Group 2 / Round 2 / Round 3
Highlights

Starting Grid

No real surprises from qualifying, Sebastian Saavedra did have an incident with Sebastien Bourdais. Unfortunately Comcast/NBC/Versus decided to flex their muscle and not allow live streaming on the IndyCar website so I haven’t seen a replay of the incident.

One thing that I did notice when looking over the starting grid is the astounding diversity for such a North American based series (minus 1 race in Brazil and Japan), there is to my count 12 different countries represented in the 25 car field. For the race I will be most curious to see if Conway is in over his head with his practice/qualifying performances and how Kanaan does in a new car and on the flip side how KVRT does with a driver that doesn’t destroy cars so quickly.

Lead Photo from IndyCar’s Flikr stream

>Japan Week: Mitsubishi and Subaru

25 Mar

>

Sources: evolutionm.net, jsae.or.jp, 26liter.us, automotive.com, worldcarfans.co, histomobile.com, customcarpictures.net, cargurus.com, modified.com, supermotors.net, robcamerondesign.com, bhop73.com, netcarshow.com, forocompeticion.com, ultimatecarpage.com, importconcern.ca, rally-live.com

 
 
 
RIP Colin McRae

Sources: motortrend.com, pjtoycar.blogspot.com, sportscarforums.com, auto-types.com, speedhunters, rallybuzz, phil walter, clutchd.com, zercustoms.com

>Japan Week: Mazda

24 Mar

>

sources: teamusascholarship.org, mg-lola.com, artandcolour.blogspot.com, ralisasul.com, superstreetonline.com, carpictures1.com, fd3s.net, schneiderism.com, acmenovelties.net, omniauto.it, blogcdn.com, whmotorsports.com,mx5-car-parts.blogspot.com, seriouswheels.com, jdmcars.info, kaminari.com, japanesesportcars.com, auto-power-girl.com

>Neutral Bomb: Driving Etiquette 101

24 Mar

>

Rant time! Ok, so we’ve all dealt with one, if not several of these issues, so it’s about time we get them off our chests.
We at FPH pride ourselves in being better than average drivers. We can rev match shifts without thinking, dodge random items scattered along the highway, read the roads and respond accordingly…..and in the case of our own Danny Chin, let the elderly drivers know exactly how he feels!
During this rant, we are going to offer simple solutions to these problems in an effort to make driving less stressful for you, me and everyone on the road.
Issue #1: Not using your turn signal

Have you ever been behind someone, when all of a sudden they slam on the brakes and turn right/left, and how many times have you had to panic brake because you’ve had no idea just what they were doing?
The hardest thing to stomach about this one for me is that the turn signal is so easy to use! Up or down, right or left! Hell, when you turn, it’ll even turn itself off for you! Oh and BTW, signaling AFTER you’ve already hit the brakes and are more than halfway into the turn does not make up for it.
Step 1: Signal
Step 2: Brake and turn
Get that? Ok, moving on
Issue #2: Get out of the left lane!
This is a pretty simple one that gets ignored more often than not. The highways are setup so you keep right, pass left. Let me repeat that once more, keep right, pass left. The concept itself is very simple, yet somehow, not one day goes by on my commute to work where I don’t get stuck behind some idiot who decides to take a leisure drive in the left lane.
You are an accident waiting to happen! You are bunching up drivers behind you for no reason! What’s even more dangerous is when drivers shoot off to the right lanes to go around you and come back into the left lane. Just make it easier on all of us and move over.
Over at Left Lane Drivers of America, they offer a pretty neat solution. Put one of these on your windshield and maybe those crawling along in the left lane will take a hint!
Issue #3: Learn to park!
You know how many good spots are unusable because some @ss-hat can’t park within the lines? Just because you pulled in doesn’t mean you’re in the spot. Ohhhhhh nooooooo! Does that mean you have to back up and try again!? Tragic really…..
How bout we try this one: If you can’t park it, don’t drive it. We’re not asking for you to be perfectly centered within the lines, just use some judgement when you pull in. If you wind up like the picture above, do us all a favor and try again. The only thing parking like that results in is door dings.
Issue #4: Distracted driving
(Sorry for the crappy quality video, it’s all I could find)

I’ll be the first to admit that I am guilty of texting while driving, I’m pretty sure we all have done it at one point or another. Ultimately though, what text can be so important that you need to take your eyes off the road to respond to? It’s too risky (just look at all the issues we have on this page!).
All of us at FPH want our readers and fellow drivers to be safe, to promote safe driving practices. So please, when your on the highway or whatnot, just ask yourself if it’s really worth it.

Issue #5: Blaming technology for your incompetence
Blind spot detectors, reverse cameras, GPS devices, lane departure warning systems, all of these systems are to be used as a supplement to your driving abilities. How many times have you seen tractor trailers stuck under bridges because “the GPS didn’t tell me the height requirement”, or, my personal favorite “I turned off the road and down the hill because the GPS told me to”.

This one is also a simple fix: take some personal responsibility for yourself and the fact that you are piloting a 2 ton piece of equipment. You still need to check your blind spots before changing lanes, you still need to have some idea of where you are going or at least give yourself a little extra time if you’re going somewhere new. Doesn’t look like you should turn off the road and into that ditch, even though the GPS says you should? In the book of us here at FPH, that’s probably a good idea.



Got another issue you want to vent about? Sound off in the comments!
← Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.