SEMA 2010 Gran Turismo Award Winner

This year marked the 8th Annual Gran Turismo Awards at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) presented by Kazunori Yamauchi the creator of the renowned Gran Turismo video games.  This years Best in Show award went to Mark Stielow for his 1969 Chevrolet Camaro and his car will be recreated by Polyphony Digital in the next installment of the Gran Turismo series.  This is a great honor and I would like to congradulate Mr. Stielow and look forword to taking his creation for a virtual test drive in the future.

Sources:  Internet, gran-turismo.com

Red Bull Wins in F1

The Red Bull Racing team has won their first F1 Constructors' Championship with 469 points after the recent Brazilian Grand Prix on Tuesday.  This is a great achievement as Red Bull only won their first Grand Prix last year at the hands of Sebastian Vettel.  One of the driving forces behind this great turn around was Red Bull Technical Chief Adrian Newey who has now won a Constructors' Championship with his third F1 team.  With only one race left this season at Abu Dhabi and both their drivers in the running for the Driver's Championship Red Bull truly have reason to celebrate.

Source:  Internet, Live Formula 1 Broadcast, Formula1.com

Korean Grand Prix

The inaugural Korean Grand Prix took place early this morning in Yeongam, South Jeolla, South Korea. The brand new track was just approved by the FIA on Oct. 12th as 'satisfactory' and is being promoted as the best track in Asia. The Korea International Circuit in its F1 configuration is roughly 3.5 miles long being composed of both permanent and temporary sections. This new circuit was built first with plans to build a city center around it later. The estimated cost of this project is 88 billion won or about 78.4 million dollars.

The race started in the rain behind the safety car with very low visibility and little to no grip. After only three laps behind the safety car the race was halted under a red flag due to unfavorable conditions. The main problem was that the track was not draining properly because of the new asphalt and oil on the track keeping the water from running off. The red flag was later lifted but the time during the suspension was still be added to the two hour time limit for Formula 1 races.

The race was resumed after almost an hour under a safety lap with a requirement of wet weather tires. With almost zero visibility the drivers were left with nothing more than their memory of a brand new track and the instruction of the their teams. The race went on with conditions slowly improving due to the cars being used to bail the water off the track.

The race was under a green flag on lap eighteen with all drivers going all out. In the very next lap championship points leader Mark Webber spun out and was clipped by Nico Rosberg taking both drivers out of the race and losing Webber valuable points. The race then continued under a series of mostly yellow laps with several retirements. Their were several odd tire choices with nearly every driver switching to intermediate tires instead of staying on the wets under caution of more rain.

After a race that required so much patience and containing an air of uncertainty it was finished after nearly three hours. The first to finish was former World Champion Fernando Alonso followed by another former champion Lewis Hamilton and in third was Ferrari driver Felipe Massa. This race was an uphill battle from the very start but when full on racing did get to happen it was a no holds bared competition. All things considered the first race at the Korea International Circuit has to be viewed as an event defined by patient waiting punctuated with brief instances of action.

Sources:  Internet, Formula1.com, Formual 1 live broadcast

Ferrari Is On Fire

Ferrari is on fire and not in a good way having recently announced a recall of the new 458 Italia super car.  It appears that the new prancing horse has been literally catching fire due to a faulty adhesive igniting when the engine runs hot.  There have been several reports of this happening and Ferrari is doing everything they can to fix the problem as rapidly as possible.  Ferrari has stated that they will replace the adhesive and if your 458 Italia has caught fire you will get a new one. 

Source:  Youtube, Ferrari

Fiat Returns To The US

Italian automaker Fiat is coming back to the States with its recent purchase of Chrysler last year. Fiat is bringing its current star the Fiat 500 (Fiat Cinquecento) over in December of this year with more to follow soon after. Fiat is looking to open 165 dealerships this year starting with existing Chrysler dealers. In order for a Chrysler dealer to get the rights for a Fiat dealership they must provide a separate showroom with enough room for three to four cars. If the Italians are triumphant in their return we may even see the Alpha Romeo nameplate as well.

The Fiat 500 has several variations that will be coming stateside next year including convertible, electric, and Abrath versions. Abrath is Fiat's in house tuner, think AMG at Mercedes-Benz, with a long history in racing and rallying. In Europe the 500 Abrath is one of the hottest hatches in a long time even beating out its rival the Mini Copper S.

The 500 Abrath is the sport option and you can opt for even more power with the esseesse (SS) package. The European Abrath SS puts out 25 hp more than the standard Abrath giving it 160 hp and 206 ft lbs of torque. The 500 Abrath SS goes from 0 to 60 in 7.4 seconds and a top speed of 131 mph this is one quick little racer. I am truly looking forward to the return of this great brand and hope to get an up close look in the near future.

Source: Fiat

GM Public Offering

General Motors is filing IPO (Initial Public Offering) paperwork with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) with hopes of getting out from under majority government ownership.  After taking bailout money GM has given the U.S. government a 60.8% stake in ownership of the company.  Tesla Motors (TSLA)  was the first U.S. auto maker to offer a IPO earlier this year since Ford (F) in 1956.  GM are looking to raise somewhere between 15 to 20 billion from the IPO allowing them to reduce the government's majority stake.  The big question is to buy or not to buy?  The Ford Motor Co. is looking much healthier profit wise in the last quarter and they are paying back their debt without any bailouts.  General Motors is a fine company with a great history but they need to work on making sales in order for this stock offering to be the smart choice in the long run.

Source: General Motors

Test Drive: Nissan Cube 1.8 S

I recently got a chance to test drive the Nissan Cube. This five door city vehicle has quite a few things going for it with funky lopsided looks and plenty of space for four adults to sit comfortably. The Cube has been a best seller in Japan for years on the city car scene and a favorite of the those who want a car that stands out while still being practical. Nissan had a lot of time to perfect the Cube before bringing it to the U.S. market and this explains why it feels more refined than the Scion xB.

Nissan has done a great job on the practical side of things on the Cube. Visibility on the Cube is great with its wrap around rear window just over the driver's shoulder and a higher seating position than I was expecting giving you a clear view of the road. The cargo area is sufficient for most needs and you can fold down the rear seats for even more room. The 1.8 S comes equipped with a Bluetooth hands-free phone system and iPod interface with wheel mounted controls so it feels much more intuitive. There is such a great sense of space inside the Cube and the interior feels much more spacious than you would expect from such a small car.

The Cube I tested came equipped with the Xtronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) and when mated to the 1.8 liter engine had sufficient power for a small car. The acceleration was adequate for a car its size and the ride was comfortable. The seats and suspension were quite good at evening out the bumps on all the road work I made a point of traveling through. The Cube's turning radius is very tight and well suited to city driving. So while you may not win any races between the lights you will arrive at your destination in comfort and with a bit of style.

The Cube is a great little runabout for the city dweller on the go. It's safe with a five star crash test rating and all the airbags you could ever need. Nissan have also made the Cube very economical with a fuel consumption rating of 27 in the city and 31 on the highway with many owners claiming a 33 mpg average. So if you are in the market for a small, safe, economical city car with plenty of space and character you may want to consider the Cube.

Sources: Internet, Nissan