Traditionally, Mazda has a large presence at the Tokyo Auto Salon, and the 2009 show won't be any different. Mazda will have 13 vehicles on hand in January to showcase the automaker's continued commitment to its "zoom-zoom" philosophy, along with concepts carrying the theme (and we quote) "Driving-oriented environmental technologies for endless driving pleasure." Mkay.
Headlining the show will be three "Circuit Trial" models, including an RX-8, Demio and Atenza (Mazda6), along with the all-new Mazda Roadster (MX-5) kitted out in NR-A trim and packing Bilstein dampers along with other race-ready parts. Mazda hasn't released any details on what the Circuit Trial models will consist of, but its safe to assume that reworked suspensions, brakes, fascias and engine components will be part of the package.
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Everybody's got their fantasy, but few ever get to live it out. For many of us, it might very well be taking the Formula One world title. That was Lewis Hamilton's dream, and he achieved it this year becoming the youngest F1 champion in history. A huge achievement, but a bubble burst. So Lewis needs a new dream, one that's almost sure to remain purely fantastic. And since he's mastered the crop of grand prix circuits on the calendar, you can guess what his fantasy might be: the ideal race track. And that's just what he's dreamed up.
Like some deranged G.I. Joe villain, Lewis' composite "super lap" takes bits and pieces from some of the world's most fearsome tracks and puts them in succession to make for the ultimate race track. Not surprising for a speed freak like young Lewis, most of the corners are fast and pile on the Gs. The turns are culled from Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps, the Monte Carlo street circuit in Monaco, Brazil's Interlagos, the Magny Cours circuit that used to host the French Grand Prix, England's own dilapidated Silverstone, and even two from Suzuka in Japan where Lewis has yet to race. What, no corkscrew from Laguna Seca? No hairpin from Montreal's Gilles Villeneuve circuit? No Carousel from the Nordschleife? Rookie.
If you are a motorhead looking for a final resting spot, there's a place just outside Barcelona, Spain that may be your ticket. It's the Circuit de Catalunya, host to both MotoGP and Formula 1 races. The track is now permitting human remains to be scattered across the course. While the circuit isn't allowing whole bodies (or even partial ones, for that matter) to be buried, an initial fee of €1,500 (about $1,950 at today's exchange) will get your cremated remains distributed at some of your favorite turns. Before you sell your loved ones on the idea, make sure to tell them that there is also a €50 ($65) annual maintenance fee to ensure what's left of you stays off the racing surface and in the gravel traps. Although spending eternity at a track may appeal to you, keep in mind you won't be watching any races.
Microheat Inc., the company responsible for inventing and supplying General Motors with their HotSpot windshield cleaning system, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The technology utilized heated liquid to clean the front glass of debris, ice, and snow. Unfortunately, a short circuit on a printed circuit board could overheat and lead to a fire (removing contaminants from much more than just the front windshield). As a result, GM recalled 944,000 vehicles and dropped Microheat, and their HotSpot product, from the lineup. Even with the system no longer offered on vehicles, things are cooking in court as GM is now seeking $20-25 million in damages to cover the cost of the recall. Without the assets to cover the charges, bankruptcy protection could only be expected. While GM's HotSpot recall solves the overheating problem with a simple inline fuse, the new filing by Microheat only seems to be fueling the fire.
Science-fiction writers have predicted this time and time again: one day mankind would discover Heaven somewhere in the vastness of Space. Nobody ever figured it would be in upstate New York, though. But so be it: the Monticello Motor Club, a seemingly heavenly combination of country club and racing track that just opened yesterday.
The concept is to provide a challenging circuit with the amenities and exclusivity of a country club. The track runs over four miles long with 22 corners and can be set up in any of 12 different configurations. Members can drive their own cars – at an hour and a half drive (or 25-min helicopter ride) it's the closest track to Manhattan – to the club, have them stored their, or rent from a fleet of sportscars (even a claimed F1 racer) on site. Advanced driving and racing courses will be on offer, as well as logistical planning for members' entry into racing events. And when the moneyed club member gets exhausted from driving all out on the track – or, as the club puts it, for accompanying spouses – the Monticello Motor Club offers a five-star club house, complete with spa and a planned luxury hotel. Membership, which is limited to a maximum of 500, costs $125,000 to join and $7,500 minimum each year, but with facilities like these and charter members including Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Glickenhaus and Jeff Gordon, you can bet New York's car-crazed elite will be lining up to join... and we'll be cozying up for a guest pass.
The Redline Time Attack series has been growing steadily since its inception a few years ago. The events follow a format similar to the qualifying portion of a typical race -- essentially fastest time wins. Redline events have been the stage for several exciting top lap time battles, such as one between James Sofronas (of SCCA Speed World Challenge fame) piloting his GMG Porsche GT3 against XS Engineering with their R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R (of Speed's Street Tuner Challenge fame). Recently we caught up with the Redline Time Attack series at California Autoclub Speedway to see what sort of competition Southern California could stir up. On top of the normal schedule, the event featured the first Live Sockets Circuit Battle competition. Circuit Battle differed from Time Attack in that it paired two cars together for a lead and chase race over 3 laps for best average time.
Formula One racing is one hell of a spectacle. Although other forms of motorsport, like NASCAR and Le Mans-style endurance racing, hold large fan bases, F1 - at times in spite of itself - remains the favorite for racing fans around the world. Since the cancelation of the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis, there remains just one Formula One race in North America: the perrenial Canadian Grand Prix, held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. That's why when the opportunity arose to visit Montreal in the summer, we timed our visit around the grand prix weekend.
Much to our continued frustration, however, the various powers that be in charge of F1 racing deemed us unworthy of a solitary press pass to cover the race weekend for you, our growing readership that numbers over 5 million monthly. After three months of jumping through hoops of red tape (and every loophole we could find) with the FIA, Formula One Management and the race organizer's office, our application was unceremoniously rejected. With our flight out set for after race weekend and stranded without a ticket, our friends at Ferrari North America were kind enough to give us a ticket at least for the Friday practice session. So we packed up the camera - and an umbrella - and headed out to rain-soaked Isle St Helene to check out the action. What we came away with, from our brief foray into motorsport photography, is a deep reverance for skill. Not just on part of the drivers, engineers and strategists that comprise the teams - theirs we already knew to be as unfathomably atmospheric as the compression inside their 20,000 rpm masterpieces. But for professional motorsport photographers, who manage to capture the breakneck fast-paced action in still frames. Of course it helps when you have one of those spiffy FIA-issued vests that gives you access to the best vantage points, but just the same, we'll contemplate those skills a little longer next time before turning the page of our favorite racing mag. As for our modest attempts at joining their ranks, you can see the results in the high-resolution gallery by clicking the thumbnails below, and stay tuned for our recap of the race.
You may recall a Carsumer Advocacy post we published a couple weeks ago about an 8thcivic.com forum member whose new Honda Civic Si suffered $12,199.64 worth of damage after Circuit City employees botched the install of a $3,000+ stereo in his car. At the time, Circuit City had decided to only refund the cost of the stereo. The owner, who goes by the handle VTECnical, took his cause to the internet and once again, the internet came through. VTECnical has posted on 8thcivic.com that Circuit City has stepped up and will take care of the car. He told Autoblog in an email that he wasn't at liberty to discuss the matter further, but we've been in contact with some people repping Circuit City who told us that the consumer electronics store's third-party insurance provider covered $10,158.45 of the repair cost and the store itself paid for the rest out of its own pocket. On top of that, Circuit City gave VTECnical a brand new Pioneer AVIC Z2 valued at over $2,000. Congrats to VTECnical and props to Circuit City for doing the right thing.
For those interested in the soap opera that's ensued surrounding Ken Tanisaka and his efforts to take delivery of a BMW M3 sedan won fair and square and eBay Motors for $60k from BMW of Lincoln, Nebraska, here's what appears to be the final update. Ken's latest post says that all the details for payment are settled and the car is going to be delivered to his nearest Bimmer dealer, South Bay BMW, any day now. Props are paid to his lawyer, Scott, who really did the heavy lifting, as well as the hundreds of thousands of internet folk who made a stink on Ken's behalf. Ken is also auctioning off the right to pick his vanity license plates for the car, which should be interesting. Half the money will go to pay his legal bills, and the other half to charity.
But all is still not well in the land of Carsumer Advocacy (you like? we're starting a new category just for this stuff). VTECnical, a member of the 8thcivic.com forum, shocked us with a tale of $12,199.64 in damages done to his hardly driven 2007 Honda Civic Si with just 800 miles on the odo. The alleged perpetrator in this case is Circuit City store #3124 in Vernon Hills, IL, which reportedly did the damage while installing $3,190.62 worth of stereo equipment into VTECnical's car. While CC did refund the purchase price of the components, it has also cut off all communication, leaving this car owner with an estimate for over $12k in repairs. How could a stereo installation go so wrong? We're not sure and would like more pics of the damage from VTECnical to inspect for ourselves, but the images we do have of the "crime scene" and the estimates given for repair are irrefutable enough, at least for the internet. Circuit City, meanwhile, remains silent.
Things have gotten a bit foggy over at Williams F1. The once front-running, championship-winning grand prix team has landed on tough times. This year the team opted against holding a glitzy unveiling event like those held recently by Ferrari, McLaren, Toyota and BMW Sauber, and instead focused its energies on developing its new car, the FW30. It seemed like a strange choice for the team that will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and during the season will mark its 500th grand prix and 50,000th racing lap.
But while the team isn't holding an official unveiling, it has whipped up six special paint schemes to celebrate its milestones this year. (We doubt any of them will be as cool as Aston Martin's new-old Gulf livery, but hopefully they'll be better than Honda's tree-hugging paint scheme.) The first time the motorsport press got a glimpse of the new FW30 was yesterday at the Valencia track where the new car was being put through its paces.
Renault was also supposed to take out the R28, the new chariot it has developed for returning former champion Fernando Alonso, but the fog kept them indoors. Honda is scheduled to unveil its new car later this week, as well. Williams, for its part, is hoping the new FW30, powered under contract by Toyota and driven by Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima, will perform and be reliable enough to get it back on the track to its former winning form.
