Somewhat close to those are the Grassroots Motorsports Challenge and 24 Hours of Lemons.
Oh I love reading about the 24 hours of lemons but I just wish they had more local races like those or the Swedish ones. If they had a 24 hours of Lemons in the central Colorado region I would do that too.
Also 24 hours of lemons is once a year where these Swedish races sounded like they were once a month or more often.
SCCA is alright and all but it is usually a lot of money for very little seat time. Plus it doesn't involve a bunch of cars that have been beat to hell and no one cares if you tap each other every now and then.
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
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ThomamelasOnly one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered Userregular
Somewhat close to those are the Grassroots Motorsports Challenge and 24 Hours of Lemons.
Oh I love reading about the 24 hours of lemons but I just wish they had more local races like those or the Swedish ones. If they had a 24 hours of Lemons in the central Colorado region I would do that too.
Also 24 hours of lemons is once a year where these Swedish races sounded like they were once a month or more often.
SCCA is alright and all but it is usually a lot of money for very little seat time. Plus it doesn't involve a bunch of cars that have been beat to hell and no one cares if you tap each other every now and then.
The 24 Hours of LeMons has races all over the US. I know Houston has one each year and so do other places.
So I went yesterday to the Vintage Grand Prix at Watkins Glen (it's an hour from where I live) and took some pictures (i'd have taken more, but the batteries on my camera are old and don't last long).
E-type, E-type, GT40, BMW 2002... and a Lincoln Continental? Mad props if somebody actually put that on the track.
The conti wasn't being raced - someone with a team that had a bunch of old corvettes (you can see a split window in the back) had it - I had just finished telling my buddy that my first automotive purchase given infinite resources would be a 1966-67 Lincoln Continental Convertible, and we turned a corner and there one was.
There were plenty of classics that didn't see tracktime. Like that gorgeous alfa (pictures 60-63 or so).
E-type, E-type, GT40, BMW 2002... and a Lincoln Continental? Mad props if somebody actually put that on the track.
The conti wasn't being raced - someone with a team that had a bunch of old corvettes (you can see a split window in the back) had it - I had just finished telling my buddy that my first automotive purchase given infinite resources would be a 1966-67 Lincoln Continental Convertible, and we turned a corner and there one was.
There were plenty of classics that didn't see tracktime. Like that gorgeous alfa (pictures 60-63 or so).
Too bad, woulda been fun to get some pictures of a Lincoln leaning into a corner with 3 wheels on the ground.
Wait, Ford is potentially bringing a real Focus to the homeland? Wow, finally.
I don't think I can wait that long.
I finally decide on the new Focus, but then they announce the RS for release in 2012. ARGH!
victor_c26 on
It's been so long since I've posted here, I've removed my signature since most of what I had here were broken links. Shows over, you can carry on to the next post.
Yeah, my coworker was on a 24 hours of Lemons crew. They took an old 3 series Bimmer they called the porcubimmer (a play on the old bmw pricks on the inside joke) and did ok with it. 24 hours of lemons is really awesome though, I'd love to run a crew for it if I had the garage space, and their race penalties are amazing.
In other news, is it so wrong that I love that little Fiat 500 Chrysler is bringing to the states?
Does anyone know why they had two different styles of the focus for the US and for everywhere else? I saw a few nice looking focuses in Europe about a year and a half ago and couldn't for the life of me figure out why we got the ugly version.
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
Does anyone know why they had two different styles of the focus for the US and for everywhere else? I saw a few nice looking focuses in Europe about a year and a half ago and couldn't for the life of me figure out why we got the ugly version.
Combination of factors. The Focus started the same here as there, but in 2006 or so the focus got a complete remodel in the UK, but with an increase in price to match. In the US, the Focus was Fords lowest echelon car, available as a stripper for about 10k new. Ford America didn't want to risk moving the Focus up-market at that time so they just refreshed the US model. With the introduction of the Fiesta here in the States, and Ford moving almost all product to world-wide platforms, enter the new Focus. The same is gonna happen with the new Fusion. It'll be moved slightly up-market and be the new Mondeo which is gonna be unveiled in Paris next year (2011).
Does anyone know why they had two different styles of the focus for the US and for everywhere else? I saw a few nice looking focuses in Europe about a year and a half ago and couldn't for the life of me figure out why we got the ugly version.
Lots of people complain about this. The short answer is that the focus is more of an upmarket car in Europe, while people in the states can't reconcile the concept of "upmarket" and "compact." This has been changing over the years, and Ford is unifying its lineup to reflect this - meaning we in the US get all the nice styling and exteriors and performance that has been available overseas for a while.
My guess is $25k for the Focus ST, I doubt they'd try to bring it much higher than that. It's comparable to the Mazdaspeed3, which is about $26k nicely optioned.
Does anyone know why they had two different styles of the focus for the US and for everywhere else? I saw a few nice looking focuses in Europe about a year and a half ago and couldn't for the life of me figure out why we got the ugly version.
Lots of people complain about this. The short answer is that the focus is more of an upmarket car in Europe, while people in the states can't reconcile the concept of "upmarket" and "compact." This has been changing over the years, and Ford is unifying its lineup to reflect this - meaning we in the US get all the nice styling and exteriors and performance that has been available overseas for a while.
I don't think it's necessarily "upmarket".
The EU, in general, doesn't seem to go in for cars as large as the US. The Focus isn't considered "compact", it's pretty much a standard family car, and the latest model has actually being criticised for being quite large for its intended market (Looked at straight on it's very nearly the same size as the Mondeo, the next largest Ford model).
The most fiercely competitive sectors are standard hatchbacks (Focus/Astra/Golf/Megane/etc) and small hatchbacks (Fiesta/Corsa/Polo/207/etc). So that's where the manufacturers spend their money. The 2009 top ten selling models for the UK are:
Ford Fiesta … 117,296
Ford Focus … 93,517
Vauxhall Corsa … 84,478
Vauxhall Astra … 67,729
Volkswagen (VW) Golf … 57,187
Peugeot 207 … 48,037
Mini … 39,866
BMW 3 Series … 39,029
Vauxhall Insignia … 36,040
Ford Mondeo … 34,418
Where in the US, our biggest selling segments are pickups and what we define as mid-size sedans (which would be a rather large car in Europe). Here are the top ten in the US for 2009.
1. Ford F-Series: 179,632
2. Toyota Camry: 150,242
3. Chevrolet Silverado: 149,949
4. Honda Accord: 131,043
5. Toyota Corolla: 121,643
6. Honda Civic: 118,459
7. Nissan Altima: 96,428
8. Dodge Ram: 94,516
9. Ford Fusion: 85,146
10. Honda CR-V: 78,917
So we get stiff once in a while. So we have a little fun. What’s wrong with that? This is a free country, isn’t it? I can take my panda any place I want to. And if I wanna buy it a drink, that’s my business.
The Toyota Camry isn't sold in Europe. Toyota sell the Avensis instead, which is similar, but slightly shorter and narrower (we're talking in terms of 2-3 inches here, though) and it's styled as a lift/hatchback rather than a saloon (similar to the Mondeo and Insignia in the list above). Europeans tend to go for hatchbacks rather than saloons because of the added flexibility, usually they're designed so that the rear seats fold flat to give quite a large load area accessible through a large aperture. Saloons don't become common until you start getting into premium vehicles.
Interestingly I've noticed that even among equivalent vehicles the US version of a car will tend to be a saloon rather than a hatch, as in Europe. Our Corollas (though in the EU it's now been replaced with the Auris) and Civics are almost invariably hatchbacks. Saloon versions exist but they're very rarely purchased because they lose value a lot faster than the hatchback equivalents.
Pickups are very unusual because they're difficult to insure. Most mainstream insurance companies will assume you're a self-employed builder and refuse to cover you, specialist insurers will take them but they assume business use so they load the premium.
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ThomamelasOnly one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered Userregular
It's excerpts from the Travis County Commissioners Court meeting on the F1 Race being planned for Austin. I really get the feeling these guys were just assuming red tape would disappear. It's kinda dry, slightly worth it for the Ron Paul dude.
Thomamelas on
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ThomamelasOnly one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered Userregular
It's excerpts from the Travis County Commissioners Court meeting on the F1 Race being planned for Austin. I really get the feeling these guys were just assuming red tape would disappear. It's kinda dry, slightly worth it for the Ron Paul dude.
I was super pissed when the plan for the F1 race in NJ was scrapped by fucking Christie. Son of a bitch, that would have been great, an F1 race only like an hour away.
iguanacus on
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ThomamelasOnly one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered Userregular
Oh yeah, it's definitely good driving and all that. I couldn't do it. But nothing he did really stood out. Even when he was following the guy on the Segway, I've seen similar stunts done before.
The WRC seems to have really taken the focus off tarmac events recently (I haven't really been following it very closely though). I remember there was some grumbling at the Rally Cyprus last year because the WRCars weren't allowed to run slicks or tarmac setups for the tarmac stages, but the Super 1600s were.
The legacy of the Citroen Xsara F2 incident, I suppose.
So we get stiff once in a while. So we have a little fun. What’s wrong with that? This is a free country, isn’t it? I can take my panda any place I want to. And if I wanna buy it a drink, that’s my business.
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SixCaches Tweets in the mainframe cyberhexRegistered Userregular
edited September 2010
Yay, car thread's back. Where did it go, anyway?
Changed my own oil for the first time this weekend. Since I can't put my car up on jack stands (no driveway or garage), I used an oil extractor and it worked great.
Next up is a series of preventative maintenance work: valve cover gasket, spark plugs, o2 sensors, and fuel filter. I was also planning on doing the coolant expansion tank, coolant sensor, and water pump, but I think that can all wait until next spring.
Posts
http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/pricesandrules.aspx
Oh I love reading about the 24 hours of lemons but I just wish they had more local races like those or the Swedish ones. If they had a 24 hours of Lemons in the central Colorado region I would do that too.
Also 24 hours of lemons is once a year where these Swedish races sounded like they were once a month or more often.
SCCA is alright and all but it is usually a lot of money for very little seat time. Plus it doesn't involve a bunch of cars that have been beat to hell and no one cares if you tap each other every now and then.
The 24 Hours of LeMons has races all over the US. I know Houston has one each year and so do other places.
Pistons are custom ordered so they'll take about 3 weeks... once I start digging in to this sweet new small block I'll post some sexy pics!
http://picasaweb.google.com/114040477562741676294/VintageGrandPrix2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCOnjk7e4ruT8YA#
Yes, the Audi R8 pictured is the one that won LeMans several times. Don't know what it was doing at a vintage event, but it was cool to see.
The conti wasn't being raced - someone with a team that had a bunch of old corvettes (you can see a split window in the back) had it - I had just finished telling my buddy that my first automotive purchase given infinite resources would be a 1966-67 Lincoln Continental Convertible, and we turned a corner and there one was.
There were plenty of classics that didn't see tracktime. Like that gorgeous alfa (pictures 60-63 or so).
Too bad, woulda been fun to get some pictures of a Lincoln leaning into a corner with 3 wheels on the ground.
http://jalopnik.com/5638227/ford-focus-st-hatch-hotness-goes-global
I'll take one in blue, please.
I am the winner
I think I just found the replacement for my tC.
Any word on the price? I'm thinking $25k-ish.
I'd say $25k-$35k, these things are not cheap in Europe by any means, the RS went for up to 40k.
They do tend to throw in a substantial US discount, though.
I don't think I can wait that long.
I finally decide on the new Focus, but then they announce the RS for release in 2012. ARGH!
In other news, is it so wrong that I love that little Fiat 500 Chrysler is bringing to the states?
You know there's a new one (ferrari based) in the works?
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/12/video-new-lancia-stratos-gets-ready-for-its-closeup/
Combination of factors. The Focus started the same here as there, but in 2006 or so the focus got a complete remodel in the UK, but with an increase in price to match. In the US, the Focus was Fords lowest echelon car, available as a stripper for about 10k new. Ford America didn't want to risk moving the Focus up-market at that time so they just refreshed the US model. With the introduction of the Fiesta here in the States, and Ford moving almost all product to world-wide platforms, enter the new Focus. The same is gonna happen with the new Fusion. It'll be moved slightly up-market and be the new Mondeo which is gonna be unveiled in Paris next year (2011).
Lots of people complain about this. The short answer is that the focus is more of an upmarket car in Europe, while people in the states can't reconcile the concept of "upmarket" and "compact." This has been changing over the years, and Ford is unifying its lineup to reflect this - meaning we in the US get all the nice styling and exteriors and performance that has been available overseas for a while.
Miata with a Hyabusa engine in it.
Somehow I think doing a fully electric conversion would be easier than this conversion.
Edit: While I am at it here is the all electric miata conversion: http://hackaday.com/2010/02/15/converting-a-miata-to-all-electric/
I don't think it's necessarily "upmarket".
The EU, in general, doesn't seem to go in for cars as large as the US. The Focus isn't considered "compact", it's pretty much a standard family car, and the latest model has actually being criticised for being quite large for its intended market (Looked at straight on it's very nearly the same size as the Mondeo, the next largest Ford model).
The most fiercely competitive sectors are standard hatchbacks (Focus/Astra/Golf/Megane/etc) and small hatchbacks (Fiesta/Corsa/Polo/207/etc). So that's where the manufacturers spend their money. The 2009 top ten selling models for the UK are:
Ford Fiesta … 117,296
Ford Focus … 93,517
Vauxhall Corsa … 84,478
Vauxhall Astra … 67,729
Volkswagen (VW) Golf … 57,187
Peugeot 207 … 48,037
Mini … 39,866
BMW 3 Series … 39,029
Vauxhall Insignia … 36,040
Ford Mondeo … 34,418
1. Ford F-Series: 179,632
2. Toyota Camry: 150,242
3. Chevrolet Silverado: 149,949
4. Honda Accord: 131,043
5. Toyota Corolla: 121,643
6. Honda Civic: 118,459
7. Nissan Altima: 96,428
8. Dodge Ram: 94,516
9. Ford Fusion: 85,146
10. Honda CR-V: 78,917
Interestingly I've noticed that even among equivalent vehicles the US version of a car will tend to be a saloon rather than a hatch, as in Europe. Our Corollas (though in the EU it's now been replaced with the Auris) and Civics are almost invariably hatchbacks. Saloon versions exist but they're very rarely purchased because they lose value a lot faster than the hatchback equivalents.
Pickups are very unusual because they're difficult to insure. Most mainstream insurance companies will assume you're a self-employed builder and refuse to cover you, specialist insurers will take them but they assume business use so they load the premium.
It's excerpts from the Travis County Commissioners Court meeting on the F1 Race being planned for Austin. I really get the feeling these guys were just assuming red tape would disappear. It's kinda dry, slightly worth it for the Ron Paul dude.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TshFWSsrn8
Hell of a driver though.
I was super pissed when the plan for the F1 race in NJ was scrapped by fucking Christie. Son of a bitch, that would have been great, an F1 race only like an hour away.
It's the precision of the donuts that impresses me.
The legacy of the Citroen Xsara F2 incident, I suppose.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11301831
Edit: for reference the cheapest smart car is ~$12k and gets 33/44mpg while this thing costs 9k and could get around 74mpg.
I am sold already.
Changed my own oil for the first time this weekend. Since I can't put my car up on jack stands (no driveway or garage), I used an oil extractor and it worked great.
Next up is a series of preventative maintenance work: valve cover gasket, spark plugs, o2 sensors, and fuel filter. I was also planning on doing the coolant expansion tank, coolant sensor, and water pump, but I think that can all wait until next spring.