We're sure there are plenty of reasons some people would want to live in New York, but it's hard to see why a car guy would want to. Forget the traffic, the kamikaze cab drivers and astronomic insurance rates. Even if you can put up with all that, where the heck are you gonna park a car? The New York Times' story, "The Ultimate Luxury: A Garage," gives us even more reason to shun The Big Apple as a place of residence. Apparently, New York houses, condos and apartments with garages command about 5% more than those that don't. In some neighborhoods, add 25%. So that means if you have a condo worth $1 million, adding a garage could get you at very least $50,000 more than your car-hating neighbors. One real estate broker estimated that a six-bedroom townhouse he's selling will bring an extra $1 million because of its car accommodations. The townhouse is priced at $18.75 million. So why aren't real estate owners on a garage-building spree? Because convincing the city's Department of Buildings that you need a curb cut is a long, trying process. The government agency approved only 54 new Manhattan curb cuts in 2008; three less than last year. And then there's the anecdote of one family paying $6,600 a year to put their car in a public lot. That's enough to convince this bunch of car guys that there are better places to call home.
We were as surprised as anyone to see Jay Leno's name on the entry list for this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Then we saw that he would be arriving in a 1953 Chrysler. As nice as 1953 Chryslers may be, Jay's is pretty special. It's an imposing custom hot rod that is powered by a 28.4-liter Chrysler built tank engine. Most people call it the Tank Car, and last year this time it was on display across the country at the Woodward Dream Cruise. The heart of the Tank Car is the 1792 cid V-12 Continental-designed, Chrsyler-built tank engine that in turbocharged form puts out something like 1,600 hp and 3,000 ft-lbs. of torque. The engine alone weighs 2,000 lbs and easily qualifies Jay's car in this year's featured 20+ liter class. While performance isn't this car's main goal, it can scoot along pretty well with all of that power being routed through an Allison 6-speed transmission. Switching from the original 3-speed trans doubled Leno's gas mileage, which now stands at around 5 mpg. As bad as that might seem, it comes across as almost reasonable when you hear it guzzles 80 quarts of oil every time Jay swings through a Jiffy Lube. We have to admit that we were among the many fans who rushed to see the car as Jay entered the Pebble Beach fairway. It's really a spectacular sight, even at an event that is known to stop even seasoned auto afficianados in their tracks every few seconds.
Track cars powered by motorcycle engines are becoming increasingly popular as the superbike mills, usually mounted amidships, provide tons of power for their small displacement and low weight. Further evidence of this truth is seen in the LusoMotors LM23, a Lotus replica powered by a one-liter Honda CBR1000 engine making about 150 horsepower. Weighing just under 900 pounds, the power-to-weight ratio of this machine would be enough to scare just about any other car you are likely to meet at the track while its light weight would surely allow for plenty of grip in the corners. The high performance of the LM23 is fitting, as the Lotus 23B design on which its based was such a giant killer that it was banned at Le Mans in the early sixties for being too fast for its small displacement.
A quick glance at the chassis shows such track-ready details as inboard-mounted coilovers and a tube frame complete with integrated roll bar. The chassis sits under composite bodywork, just like the original Lotus, though the modern interpretation adds carbon fiber to the traditional fiberglass skin. It looks like we have another Lotus replica set to join the ranks of the numerous Seven variations already sitting in our fantasy garages.
Unloved as they are, let's give Chrysler's K Car its due. Thirty years ago, the K represented a sea change in the Pentastar lineup. Not only did the K and its derivatives return Chrysler to the black, the architecture proved versatile enough to underpin basically the entire lineup, from minivans to LeBarons to turbocharged Daytonas. Southern California now has an official K Car club – fitting, as that's likely the only place you could find an early '80s Chrysler without lots of rust. Club membership is open to the entire swath of cars that share this similar architecture, known as the "EEK" models, so you won't get kicked out for showing up in a Caravelle instead of an Aries. Now's the time to hunt one of these cars down if you're looking for a cheap, enjoyable way to get into the hobby. They're available for a song, don't yet command any respect (perhaps they never will), yet the K Car is edging its way toward official classic status regardless of what some traditionalists might argue. The K Cars are nearly classic, they're historic and significant and worth saving. The hobby must live on after all the boomers are buried in their Tri-Fives, and a Reliant would be a great way to show an interested kid the basics.
It's been a very long time since Jean Alesi has taken a title. Nineteen years, to be precise, when the French driver took the Formula 3000 championship for the second time. Over the course of thirteen years in Formula 1 and another five in DTM, Alesi has not taken the title home once. And after the inaugural Speedcar Series wrapped this weekend in Dubai, it was clear that it'll be at least one more year.
The Speedcar Series, for the uninitiated, is a circuit-based racing league that runs at events across Asia with 620hp 6-liter V8-powered stock cars. Most of the grid in this, its inaugural season, was composed of former F1 drivers looking to relive the glory days.
Somehow we doubt you had this one TiVo'd – unless you watch Al Jazeera Sports or ESPN Asia – but in case you were waiting for something (say, more geriatric has-beens to emerge from the woodwork), go no further. For everyone else, sleep well tonight knowing that Johnny Herbert ultimately took the crown after winning the final race in the series, beating out points leader Alesi who started the race in 14th place and mounted ambitious charge to the front resulting in a collision that took him out of the race. How about Jacques Villeneuve, who came to the series for two races to hone his stock-car skills against his former colleagues? He must have had Robert Duval on the radio yelling, "rubbin' is racin'!" as he slammed into everything on the track. Herbert, meanwhile, vows to defend his title next season as the pan-Asian Speedcar Series prepares to return.
Ok, think back to your 10th grade science class. Do you remember reading about a Dr. James Watson? You know, Watson and Crick? The guys who discovered the double helix shape of our DNA? Sigh. Never mind. Just know that Dr. Watson is rather well-known for his work in the stuff that makes you who you are (and, no, we're not talking about your irregular bathing habits).
Recently, a Swiss man paid $350,000 to have his DNA sequenced. The New York Times talked to him about why he would pay such a high price. "I'd rather spend my money on my genome than a Bentley or an airplane," the man said. Okay, but to us car guys, this is nonsensical. Our DNA doesn't have 550 horsepower, nor can it provide the instant gratification said ponies summon up when our brains send the appropriate signal to our right feet.
Now, back to our Dr. Watson. Last year, a company donated $1.5 million to pay for the sequencing of his DNA. The New York Times was again on the case and asked him about it. "I was in someone's Bentley once - nice car," Watson said. "Would I rather have my genome sequenced or have a Bentley? Uh, toss up."
That's what we're talking about! Drive the Bentley, doc! Get yourself a Continental GT, mount that Nobel on the radiator and just drive until you can't even remember what deoxyribose nucleic acid is. In the NYT article, Dr. Watson continues to say he hopes DNA sequencing will some day come down in price from Bentley to Chevy so that everyone can afford to know their genetic makeup. If that ever happens, we'll still say, "Take the Vette!"
One thing that's been called into question is whether or not the Tesla Roadster will make a viable track day vehicle, but until now, there was one major hurdle for Tesla's engineers to overcome: cooling. The motor currently equipped in the Roadster is air-cooled, which wouldn't hold up to the rigors of track duty. But Tesla is working on a liquid-cooled version that wouldn't cause the power electronics module (PEM) to default into limp-home mode and subsequently cut power if heat became an issue.
The possibility of a track-ready version is now officially in the cards. By utilizing the new liquid-cooled motor and removing about half of the batteries found in the standard Roadster, Tesla is considering releasing a variant called the Roadster 120, with the number referring to the projected range. Nixing around 500 pounds from the curb weight is going to do wonders for acceleration and handling, while simultaneously reducing the load on the motor.
Naturally, none of this is going to come to fruition until Tesla starts cranking out the "standard" version on March 17th, but when we talked to a few Tesla execs while evaluating the Roadster, they mentioned that their car was trying to appeal to two types of individuals: people who are only interested in EVs and don't care about performance, and drivers looking for a quick, engaging coupe that just happens to be electrically powered to boot. A track-friendly version would be of particular appeal to the latter and we can't wait to give it a go around one of the great tracks within driving distance of Tesla's South Bay facilities.
The other day I came across "Before the Thunder Rolls: Devotions for NASCAR Fans", a Christian prayer book written by a former NASCAR chaplain. It brought to light for me the degree to which stock car racing and Southern Baptist Christianity intersect. Drivers of Catholic background like Juan Pablo Montoya, Jacques Villeneuve and Dario Franchitti may be making inroads into the sport, but that's of little consolation to Jon Denning.
The budding Jewish racing driver from New Jersey says he's encountered a surprising degree of antisemitism during his climb up the NASCAR ladder. The 20-year-old driver, currently on a visit to Israel, races in the lower-level Whelen All-American Series. He has won seven races in his career and was ranked among the top 500 aspiring stock car drivers before his sponsorship ran dry. Over the course of his experience so far, Denning has described an alarming degree of racism and bigotry in NASCAR, and was even told by colleagues that if he accepted Jesus he'd have better luck on the racetrack. Ouch. Although NASCAR has a diversity program in place, Denning has been refused three times, having been told the program is only for women, Hispanics and African-Americans.
