Steve Parker, Motoring Journalist

NEW 'FACE' FOR CHEVROLET?

We really like the new 2006 Impala. The LT version, even equipped with "only" the new 3.5 liter 211 horsepower V6 pushrod engine is a great family car, something, finally to really challenge Accord and Camry. And we mean that seriously!

AutoWeek says the car pictured on the right shows the "face" for Chevy, for some reason being developed in South Korea.

The Korea-built Epica -- the first car produced exclusively by GM Daewoo Auto & Technology's design team in Korea -- shows the new "face" of Chevrolet, said Epica's lead designer, Sung Paik.

The Epica's design cues -- a larger grille and emblem, more creases and increased interior sophistication -- will be carried over to more Chevrolet products, including North American vehicles, as GM tries to establish Chevrolet as the automaker's entry brand.

Paik's design team had a clear mission: Create a new global look for Chevrolet. "You will see the design cues of the Epica in all of our global products in the future," Paik said during a press event here. "The goal was to make sure Asian and European customers identify future products and know this is a Chevrolet."

And here's a picture I took just today of our Impala LT tester (with all the bells and whistles, priced under $23,000). The car has all-new sheetmetal for this year; any family resemblance to the Epica "world car" shown above? Whaddya think?

 

SMART: ON AGAIN, THANKS TO PENSKE

Those who have been to Europe, Mexico, Central and South America and Asia are familiar with DaimlerChrysler Corporation's Smart. You might have even driven one of the zippy little sporty cars. Designed in conjunction with Swatch Watch in Switzerland, the small car has been available in two-seat coupe and two-seat sports car styles and four-seat four-door versions.

Smart was working on an all-new, larger SUV-ish car specifically for the North American market, to be built in Brazil, equipped with a BMW engine, when the project's development cash was pulled by DCX last year.

DCX announced a few weeks ago that they needed a partner to market, sell and service Smart if they were really going to sell it in the USA. Now Smart has announced that partner and the car which Smart will initially market in America. Both are a bit of a surprise. Here's the (edited) story from, Automotive News:

DaimlerChrysler will bring the two-seat Smart ForTwo minicar to the United States in the first quarter of 2008, and has partnered with legendary automotive marketing sales genius and race team owner, Roger Penske, to sell and service the vehicles (Smart 'ForTwo' pictured above and to the right).

Penske is CEO of retail chain UnitedAuto Group, currently operating 173 new-car stores in the USA. UnitedAuto ranks No. 2 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 dealership groups in the United States, reporting sales of 178,157 new vehicles in 2005.

Penske says he plans to appoint 30 to 50 dealers initially. He said he will consider all dealer candidates, not just dealers within his UnitedAuto chain.

Penske says he is optimistic about Smart’s U.S. sales prospects because the brand has done well in Canada. He noted that Smart’s first-year sales target in Canada was 1,500 units, but sales totaled 4,000 units.

Smart already is sold in 36 countries. Italy is Smart's biggest market, with annual sales of 40,000 units.

SWATCH has been linked in friendship with the United Nations for years. In 1992, Nicolas G. Hayek, President and Delegate of the Board of Directors of the Swatch Group, was one of the first people outside the world of politics to address the public on environmental issues in the General Assembly in New York.

At the same time, SWATCH launched its “environmental protection” watch for the environmental summit in Rio. In 1995, SWATCH dedicated a watch model entitled Unlimited to the 50^th birthday of the United Nations, as an acknowledgement of the UN’s past and future work. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of these two watches have gone to a UN foundation for environmental, educational and communications projects for youth around the world.

DaimlerChrysler expects to sell 20,000 Smart ForTwo models annually in the United States, with an emphasis on big cities on the west and east coasts. Smart's US sales target is about half that of BMW's Mini brand.

The automaker originally planned to launch the Smart brand in the United States with a new, four-seat SUV. But the plan collapsed as mounting Smart losses forced DaimlerChrysler to cut costs.

Smart's spiffy ForTwo model is shorter than the (BMW) Mini; it will be the smallest car sold in the USA. How Smart owners will enjoy doing battle with the huge 18-wheeler big rigs that ply the nation's highways remains to be seen. (Smart convertible interior, below left, Smart sports model, below right. All photos by Steve Parker at Tokyo Motor Show, October, 2005).

    

HONDA TO BUILD PLANT IN INDIANA

Honda has an existing engine-making facility about 100 miles from the OVER HALF-A-BILLION DOLLAR assembly plant just announced today. The company says the existing factory will supply four-cylinder engines to the new plant. No word yet, though, on which cars/trucks/motorcycles might be built there.

Honda Motor Co. has chosen a 1,700-acre site in southeast Indiana to build its sixth auto assembly plant in North America.

Construction on the $550 million project begins this fall on the site, near Greensburg, Honda officials say. Production is expected to start in the fall of 2008, with a maximum annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles.

Indiana beat out Ohio and several other states as the site for the plant. The automaker disclosed in May that it planned to build an assembly plant in the United States as part of a major expansion of its manufacturing capacity in North America.

The plant is expected to employ about 2,000 people initially, Honda officials said.

Koichi Kondo, CEO of American Honda Motor Co., said during a media conference call that Honda decided to locate the plant in the Midwest to stay close to its existing supplier base and manufacturing network.

“Additional factors in selecting the Greensburg site were excellent transportation systems, the necessary infrastructure to support industry, the available, well educated work force and the friendly communities,” Kondo said.

Other major "additional factors" Kondo-san failed to mention is that the chosen site, like so many others picked by Asian and European manufacturers looking to "build where they sell" here in the USA, are high unemployment and strong patriotic, but anti-union, sentiments.

So far, not one "transplant" factory has been unionized, and the single one where there has been some slight favortism shown the UAW by the workers, the Flat Rock, MI Ford/Mazda "AutoAlliance" facility, has been plagued by problems since it opened almost 20 years ago.

The Indiana site is about 100 miles from Honda's engine plant in Anna, Ohio, and about 50 miles southeast of Indianapolis. Honda officials said the Anna plant will supply four-cylinder engines to the Greensburg plant. Might those four-bangers be used as the basis for some of Honda's upcoming gas/electric hybrids (pictured above)? (courtesy: Automotive News).

SHELBY DELIVERS FIRST GT500 FOR CHARITY

Ol' Shel his-own-self was on-hand, according to the folks at www.StangsUnleashed.com, to present the first Mustang Shelby GT500. Barrett-Jackson auctioned the rights to that first car for $600,000 (you read right); it was purchased by Ron Pratte. Proceeds benefited Carroll Shelby's Childrens Charity for heart transplant surgery. Hey! Ol' Shel' is profiled in this month's VANITY FAIR mag --- Pretty good piece, too, pretty dang honest, though most car people might not read that monthly...

StangsUnleashed watched on June 23, 2006, as GT500s were rolling off the assembly line and Carroll Shelby handed the keys to the first Shelby GT500 (Grabber Orange with Tungsten Stripes) sold to the public to Ron Pratte, the winning bidder in a charity auction last January. This car was won for $600,000 from the Barret-Jackson auction house. All the proceeds went to Carroll Shelby's Childrens Charity.

"On behalf of the management and workers here at AutoAlliance, I'm proud to hand over the keys to this Shelby GT500," said Gary Roe, President, AutoAlliance. "The Shelby GT500 is an instant classic and the AutoAlliance team couldn't be happier to be a part of the Ford-Shelby history."

Carroll Shelby was at the event today that took place at AutoAlliance, to personally oversee the delivery of the first Shelby GT500. Mr.Shelby also personally signed the first GT500 on the passenger side glove box for Mr. Pratte.

Shelby often tells people about his cars, "The most valuable thing on it is my signature on the glovebox", and while that may often be true, at least this time the money is going to a good place.

SMART FORTWO FOR USA? WSJ SAYS "YES"!

After years of "yes", "no" and "maybe", the venerable and never-wrong (just ask them) WALL STREET JOURNAL reports on 6-26-06 that next week, DaimlerChrysler will officially announce that the small SMART "fortwo" will be going on-sale in the USA next year.

We don't believe all this news, here at THE CAR NUT BLOG. We think the fortwo has been considered  for the US before several times, and always it's been considered just too small for doing battle with big rigs on the Interstates. SMART makes larger vehicles in Brazil, and was in the midst of developing a larger, only-for-USA model when DCX shut that project down last year. But still, through Autoblog, WALL STREET JOURNAL and Winding Road, it's announced that the SMART fortwo will be launched in the U.S. as early as next year. CEO Dieter Zetsche is reportedly hoping that U.S. sales could help SMART turn a profit, which it has failed to do for DaimlerChrysler since its inception in 1998. WSJ says that an agreement has been reached with a U.S. distributor to sell the SMART car in major metropolitan markets on the East and West coasts where small car sales are strongest. Though the exchange rate is not in DCX's favor, the company is hoping that high gas prices will make its tiny car attractive to consumers.

IT'S DIESELS, DIESELS, DIESELS IN EUROPE SPORTS MODELS

With the recent victory of Audi's diesel-powered race car at the legendary "24 Hours of LeMans", American car-makers, buyers and critics and analysts are starting to get serious about these engines which use 1/2 the amount of fuel of gasoline-powered vehicles, can go 1,000,000 miles and more with only basic care and maintenance, and, as proved by Audi at LeMans, have no trouble running in excess of 150 miles per hour for 24 hours at a time.

AUTOBLOG now reports that Renault will be incorporating the 2.0L diesel powerplant from the Laguna in the Megane RenaultSport. The turbodiesel will be good for around 180 horsepower, a top speed of roughly 139 mph, and a 0-62 time of 7.5 seconds. According to Germany's Auto Motor Und Sport magazine, the oil-burning sport model should hit the European market in March 2007.

The primary marketplace competitor for the diesel Megane RenaultSport is said to be Volkswagen's Golf GT TDI. While these machines will make great reading in AUTOWEEK in their "Not For Sale Here" pages, it's getting to be time that diesel engines were offered in a serious way in the USA. Every major car company in the world builds them (including GM, Ford and DCX for cars and trucks worldwide) and even in the automotive-sophisticated UK, the best-selling car is a small Honda model outfitted with a turbo-diesel powerplant.

ANOTHER 'ENZO' BITES THE DUST!

According to AUTOBLOG, Ferrari Enzos continue to appreciate in value due to the lack of driving skills and the stupidity of its owners, as well as its limited production and hyper-exoticness. Here's another unfortunately wrecked Enzo, this one from Sweden.

According to the Swedish blog Bilfeber, this Enzo met its maker outside the Seoul, Korea airport. Thankfully, the damage doesn't seem as bad as what happened to the now-infamous UNEnzo on California's Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu a few weeks ago. Although, considering we can see only one side of the car in this shot, the other side might be a real mess. Word is that the occupants walked away unscathed as they did from that absolutely destroyed Malibu Enzo.

The sad part is: Both these cars will be completely rebuilt by their owners (usually a bank) and sold to some investor or at a Barrett-Jackson Auction (where they will probably be advertised as "new"...If you know anything about their auctions!). If the VIN plate exists, and it usually does after even the worst conflagration, the cars will be rebuilt and sold for the astronomical prices which their wrecks helped drive up!

Steve Parker Joins Patt Morrison on 89.3 KPCC, NPR station in Los Angeles/Pasadena!

A California State Senate bill (SB1613) would ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. Similar laws have been passed in NY, NJ, CT and Washington, DC. The New York law, passed in 2001, has been very difficult to enforce and while cell phone use lowered for a time, NY State Troopers now say hand-held cell phone use is, in 2006, close to what it was before the law was enacted. What to do, what to do? Steve Parker says: Enforce the many existing 'distracted driving' laws nationwide and provide DRIVER EDUCATION. "Today, anyone who can find their local DMV office wins a driver's license," says Parker. "We need to move to a European or Japanese model which demands strict instruction and constant updating and testing, which builds PRIDE IN DRIVING."

Click here to listen to Steve Parker on Patt Morrison's show on 89.3 KPCC talking about this crucial driving issue of whether or not hand-held cell phones ought to be banned from use while driving. Photo is of Patt "The Hatt" Morrison, not STeve...

"IT'S AN AUDI DAY, IT'S A DIESEL DAY, IT'S A DAY OF TECHNOLOGY": Audi PT1 Driver Emanuele Pirro

Audi dominates "24 Hours of LeMans" with DIESEL-powered race cars finishing first and third. Judd (Honda)-powered Pescalaro, local favorite, finishes second overall. Corvette C6-R wins its class in last few hours. Will Audi diesels winning both the "12 Hours of Sebring" and the world's toughest auto race, the "24 Hours of LeMans" this year finally convince American manufacturers and drivers that the technology can be made not only as good as gasoline-powered engines, but even be far superior? Here's the full story:

(Courtesy lemans.org) - In the final hours of the 74th running of the 24 Heures du Mans, there were no more surprises - unless one counts the unlikely eventuality of the world's premier endurance race being won by a diesel-engined sports car. Unlikely as it may seem - and it would have been deemed impossible until recently - diesel is not just economical, not merely practical, beyond unexpectedly torquey, it is now a type of engine with a Le Mans win to its name.

The brace of Audi R10 TDI cars, powered by a 650 hp V12 TDI engine, were by far the fastest and most economical cars. Even before the victory of the No.8 Audi Sport Team Joest R10, in the capable, mature hands of Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner, and the third place of its sister No.7 car driven by Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish, the car was changing the face of racing. Peugeot announced it will contest the great race next year with its own V12 diesel, with much the same specifications as Audi's TDI.

But the Audi will always be the first diesel to win Le Mans, and it extends the Ingolstadt manufacturer's record to six outright victories in the last seven years. It also demonstrates the incredible soundness and adaptability of the Audi R8 racing platform, from which were developed both the R10, and the Bentley Speed 8 which is the only other winner in the 21st Century. From all these perspectives, the 2006 24 Heures du Mans was historic.

History may not have been on the minds of the multitude of fans as they rushed onto the Grandstand Straight and towards the famous podium gantry to celebrate with all the race winners. Rather, the spectators, totalling 235,000 at the circuit this year and millions around the world, were honouring a simply superb race. Every year it is joked that Le Mans is not won in the first hours, but this year it seemed a genuine 24 Hour sprint as drivers could allow themselves no respite from the competition, lapping within seconds of their qualifying times throughout the race.

If history was on anyone's mind it was perhaps Henri Pescarolo, his team, and their many fans. While he made it onto the podium, this is the second year in which the team has had overall victory within its grasp, only to be defeated by the might of Audi. Throughout the final hours of this race, the No.16 and No.17 Pescarolo Judds appeared to run 'like clockwork', coming in for scheduled pit stops, getting back on the track without incident, maintaining a speed which in other years might have secured victory.

Pescarolo Sport must once again be considering 'what might have been'. As it was, the No.17 car of Eric Helary, Franck Montagny and Sebastien Loeb came second in the race, and the No.16 of Nicolas Minnasian, Emmanuel Collard and Erik Comas was fourth in the LM P1 class. Pescarolo's quest for Le Mans laurels is legendary, and 2006 may have been his best chance yet. It seems inevitable that Pescarolo will return in 2007, and that he will again be a favourite.

Behind the LM P1 cars were GT1, where a titanic battle raged for the entire race. In the end a Corvette, the 'works' No.64 Corvette C6.R driven by Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen, won its class again at Le Mans, suggesting that experience and preparation will out.

The circumstances might also suggest that racing is a fickle sport. Three hours from the end it seemed impossible that the No.009 Aston Martin Racing DBR9 would not hold off the No.64 C6.R as it had for so much of the race, superb drivers and technicians in both teams matching one another move for move, lap for lap. But with victory seemingly in sight the No.009 car fell victim to a clutch problem and was forced to settle for fourth in class. Ironically, the winning No.64 Corvette's sister car, No.63, also suffered a clutch problem early on Sunday morning; at the time, the Aston Martin seemed invulnerable. Some consolation for Aston Martin came from the No.007 Aston Martin Racing DBR9 of Thomas Enge, Andrea Piccini and Darren Turner finishing second in class, ahead of the No.72 Luc Alphand Adventures C5-R of Luc Alphand, Patrice Gouselard and Jerome Policand.

In LM P2, where the attrition was particularly fierce, the No.25 RML Lola AER of Thomas Erdos, Mike Newton and Andy Wallace managed a solid win, having led the class for almost the entire race Behind it were the No.24 Binnie Motorsports Lola Zytek of William Binnie, Allen Timpany and Yojiro Terada, and the No.27 Miracle Motorsports Courage AER of John Macaluso, Andy Lally and Ian James.

GT2 saw three different marques on the podium. The winner was the No.81 Team LNT Panoz Esperante driven by the all-British team of Tom Kimber-Smith, Richard Dean, and Lawrence Tomlinson. Second place was won by the No.83 Seikel Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Lars Erik Nielsen, Pierre Ehret, and Domink Farnbacher, which suffered such misfortune in the last hour of the race; what seemed certain victory was denied them by a technical problem. In third place, in the model's Le Mans debut, was the No.87 Scuderia Ecossse Ferrari F430 GT in the hands of Chris Niarchos, Tim Mullen and British GT champion Andrew Kirkaldy.

VW JETTA WAGON EXPOSED!

According to Autoblog, Volkswagen will show an all-new Jetta wagon at an upcoming major European auto show. Many VW products are based on Audi architecture, thought to be by most buyers to be superior to that of 'more basic' VW's. Often the VW versions have lesser interiors, but the engine and running gear might be he same as the much more expensive Audis.

The five-door wagon version of the Volkswagen Jetta is expected to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show this fall, according to TheCarConection. In a preview to journalists, VW showed off the new design of the vehicle, which has a "sweeping roofline" akin to that of the Saab 9-3 SportCombi and Mercedes-Benz C-class wagon. It also sports a roof spoiler, more room than its predecessor, and several engine options: 2.5L inline five cylinder, a 2.0L turbo four cylinder and a GLI sport model. The diesel should return in 2008 once VW and the U.S. government can work out its diesel differences.

LE MANS PREVIEW: AUDI DIESELS AIM FOR VICTORY

Audi won the "12 Hours of Sebring" endurance sports car race, held March 18 at the Sebring, Florida Airport, with their 12-cylinder turbo-diesel engine. Drivers Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish completed 349 laps in their Audi P1-class R10 TDI POWER closed-wheel race car, four laps more than the second-placing car, a Lola B05/40/AER-powered P2-class racer (interestingly, piloted in part by the coming event's only female driver, Frenchwoman and equestrian Liz Halliday). With Le Mans-style endurance sports car racing barely a blip on the radar screens of even most racing fans in the USA, it's hard to say how Audi's win at Sebring in March and potential victory at next weekend's "24 Hours of Le Mans" might affect American's knowledge of and desire for diesel-powered vehicles. More than 50% of all vehicles on the road in Europe are diesel-powered. The best-selling car in the UK is a diesel-powered Honda model. But when Mazda won the "24 Hours of Le Mans" in 1991 with their four-rotor 787B rotary engine-powered super-exotic race car, they barely trumpeted that fact outside of Japan. Americans didn't know about it at all. Will Audi follow the Mazda template of what a car company should do when they win Le Mans using a surprising type of engine? (Photo: Audi R10 diesel-powered race cars look pretty for the camera).

Diesel engines, with their need for a less-expensive fuel than gasoline, their ability to provide, with minimal maintenance, over 1 million miles of service, their huge amount of low-end take-off and towing torque and, with turbochargers and superchargers (sometimes both) fitted to the engine, V8 gasoline engine-type cruising abilities, lowered emissions, both visible and invisible, lowered engine noise and their deserved reputation for a low occurrence of breakdowns, have a lot to offer, especially to American drivers.

DaimlerChrysler, at the start of June, announced they would be selling a diesel-powered version of their Grand Cherokee, but discontinuing a Liberty diesel-powered model though buyer demand far outstripped DCX's production abilities.

As long as auto manufacturers are unable to sell diesel-powered cars and light trucks in states such as California and New York, two states which account for a huge percentage of every car-makers' sales in the USA, and states which ban diesel sales through state laws, no car company will make a big commitment to diesels being sold in any large numbers in the USA. Even those diesel Jeep models will see many, if not most, of their sales in Europe, South America and Asia. (Photo: At Tokyo Motor Show, 2005,  TDI R10 street version of Audi's "Prototype 1"-class race car).

Here's some of what the AUDI AG Press Department has to say about the upcoming (next weekend, June 17-18) race this year at the famed Sarthe Circuit:

As the world’s first automobile manufacturer, AUDI AG aims to take overall victory at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans with a diesel sportscar. The first important milestone in this ambitious project was Saturday 18 March: Audi won the 12-hour race at Sebring (US state of Florida) with one of a pair of R10 sports prototypes.

The Audi R10 is powered by a V12 TDI engine producing almost 650 hp and which has more than 1100 Newton metre torque available. It follows in the tire tracks of the Audi R8, which is the most successful Le Mans Prototype ever with 61 victories form 77 races to date. (Photo: Liz Halliday in Lola sports car; she'll be only woman in Le Mans line-up).

SAVE GAS HERE! WELCOME KFYI/PHOENIX/CRUMMEY LISTENERS!

CAR NUT STEVE PARKER saw a large display ad recently in the LOS ANGELES TIMES for a company inviting "potential distributors" to come to a hotel ballroom meeting ("Free!") to find out how to become "distributors" for the "NEW, SECRET GAS PILL" which would "INSTANTLY SAVE 25% OF THE GAS IN YOUR TANK!" And he got mad. So he wrote the following (after he sold the idea to THE DESERT SUN newspaper's Business Editor Dennis Britten) for THE DESERT SUN, the Gannett newspaper which covers the Coachella Valley in southern California, one of the fastest-growing areas in the nation. It's by-far the most-read newspaper in the area. Home to Palm Springs, Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indio, Coachella and more cities and towns, some famous, others not so, the area is said to be second-only to Las Vegas in growth numbers and percentages. STEVE PARKER has been a columnist for THE DESERT SUN since moving to the desert area from Marina del Rey in Los Angeles in 2000. Oh, attorneys general in several states have filed charges against the "magic pill" people --- And say they made some $25 MILLION in just a few weeks! Now, here's HOW TO REALLY SAVE GAS AND MONEY:

They’re baa-a-ck!

The creepy, sleazy characters who sell “secret” devices, pills, fluids, mechanical contraptions and other things “Detroit doesn’t wan you to know about!”, all to supposedly help you save gas and money. Since prices skyrocketed, even a man who “runs his cars on tap water” has been profiled on CNN. With prices up and probably not coming down, these folks are more numerous (and perhaps enticing) than ever.

For the average driver, cars and trucks come from the factories tuned for the best possible mileage. Laws of physics, not magic, determine how much fuel it takes to power an engine to produce the “horsepower” to move a vehicle a certain distance.

And gasoline remains the single most efficient fuel for the internal combustion engine.

There are, though, many reliable and proven ways you can save fuel and funds, whether you’re driving the latest hotshot from Europe or Asia or a classic

Detroit

chariot. And we’ll tell you their prices, too (not including installation).

The first and easiest thing to remember is: Stay away from the mid- and high-grade fuels. Most vehicles less than 20 years old will run fine on the least expensive 87 octane gasoline. Try a tank full of low-grade, and if you notice no difference in your vehicle’s performance (like engine knocking, pinging or hesitation, stalling or bucking), keep using it! If these symptoms do appear, use a tank full of the expensive stuff, then go back to the cheap gas until the problem arises again. This alone can save as much as $0.75 cents a gallon.

An annual change of spark plugs (or more often, depending on their condition, which your technician should check) and a check of all belts and hoses is important.

Spark plugs cost from $2 to $15 apiece, and in this case, pricier may be better.

Loose belts, especially with today’s one-belt “serpentine” systems, can hurt fuel mileage. Replacements run from $25 to $50.

Ignition wires often are overlooked. They wear out slowly, cooking in the heat of the engine bay and the desert summer. Silicon-covered replacements (as much as $75) can increase mileage and give a noticeable performance boost.

Check, clean and replace (when necessary) all air, oil and gasoline filters. Replacing them all with original equipment costs less than $100. A washable, “high-performance” air filter can improve mileage and emissions (about $60).

The oil filter should be replaced every time you change the oil, every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. Use a pre-mixed blend of conventional and synthetic oils; there’s a number of them on the market and they all meet the same American Petroleum Institute (API) standards. Prices are usually under $10 per quart.

Aftermarket exhaust systems and bolt-on turbocharger and supercharger systems cost a lot but can generously increase mileage and improve performance and emissions. Serious drivers might also want to investigate aftermarket performance “chips” for their engine’s computer.

A simple and free check of tire pressure is mandatory every two or three weeks. Many new cars and trucks have dashboard monitors reporting tire air pressure (systems will be mandatory starting in 2009). Proper air pressure means better mileage, safer driving and longer tire life.

Many of these items have to be checked and inspected more often here than in coastal areas due to local heat, sand, dust and wind. All of these attack every rubber and plastic part on a car, including tires and even in the engine bay and under the vehicle.

Those looking for the “quick fix” with “magic potions” are falling victim to their own greed. One company which recently advertised in major national newspapers has been indicted by several states’ attorneys general. One report says this outfit made $25,000,000 from eager investors who wanted to distribute the company’s “magic gas tank pill” fuel-saver in the last year.

Improving fuel mileage is not difficult. It takes common sense, a few dollars, and most important, a lighter throttle foot. Slow down! Also, in stick-shift cars, be like fuel-saving race car drivers and “short shift”; that is, shift into the higher gear at lower-then-usual engine rpm’s.

Yes, even race car drivers need to save gas sometimes!

(Steve Parker has been reporting on the auto industry for 35 years. The two-time TV Emmy Award winner is heard Sunday from 8-10am on NewsTalk 920 KPSI radio and seen on CAR NUT TV on TIME-WARNER Channel 10. Visit his blog and email him at www.SteveParker.com)

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L. RON HUBBARD UNDER THE HOOD!

Just like some major automaker "sneaking into" NASCAR through the back door, L. Ron Hubbard, the dead science fiction author who invented a religion and got lots of people to give him lots of money so they could be in it, too --- Is now a factor in the world's fastest-growing motorsport. Yes, NASCAR's first Scientology-sponsored race car is planned to enter an event at Los Angeles' Irwindale Speedway on Saturday night, June 7th.

If any sport can be said to "Spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ," it is NASCAR. Invocations, at the start of every race, generally delivered by a local pastor with some connection to the track, implore "Jesus Christ" to protect the racers and the fans and provide for a great day of racing. Other religions, it would appear, are "Not Welcome Here". NASCAR grandstands and infields also serve as museums of the Old South, as the "Stars and Bars", the traditional "Rebel" flag, fly in great numbers throughout the crowd, something NASCAR might grumble about privately but does nothing to stop publicly. It's still difficult for many to imagine NASCAR being serious about their ongoing "Diversity Program", when the symbol of the rebellion which broke apart the United States, assassinated a US President, killed hundreds of thousands of Americans and which was based on economic conditions determined by the free labor provided by Black slaves, is allowed to be freely displayed.

No word on whether or not Tom Cruise (who starred in the NASCAR film "Days of Thunder"), Isaac Hayes, John Travolta, Tom Cruise, Chick Corea, Kirstie Alley, Nicole Kidman, Kelly Preston, Priscilla Presley or Lisa Presley or any of the other cult members will be part of the pit crew. Maybe founder L. Ron Hubbard will re-appear. But here's how the Associated Press is reporting the story, out of Charlotte, North Carolina:

  Race fans, let the couch-jumping begin.
   The Church of Scientology, the religion for which actor Tom Cruise crusades, will attempt to spread its "Ignite Your Potential" message into auto racing through sponsorship of a race car in one of NASCAR's lowest levels.
   Kenton Gray, a 35-year-old Californian, will attempt to make the field for a late model race Saturday night at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway. His No. 27 Ford Taurus will be sponsored by Bridge Publications, which publishes Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's bestseller "Dianetics."
   The hood of the car will say "Dianetics" on it, along with a volcano to mimic the book cover.
   Details of the sponsorship agreement were sketchy Wednesday.
   A woman who answered the phone at Freedom Motorsports, the team Gray founded, referred all calls to Bridge Publications. Danielle Methvin, spokeswoman for Bridge Publications, did not immediately return a call for comment. And there was no word if Cruise, who famously jumped on a couch during an Oprah Winfrey appearance last year, will be attending the race.
   NASCAR, for now, has no issue with the sponsorship.
  "The sponsorship at the weekly and regional touring level are made independent of NASCAR, unlike our three series on the national level," spokesman Jim Hunter said. "However, we would step in at any level if we deemed it to be in bad taste or bad for the sport. But in this case, we don't
think it is."
   According to Freedom Motorsports' web site, Gray announced the five-year sponsorship deal on May 6.
   "Dianetics is a book that helped me in many ways since I first read it many years ago," Gray said in a statement. "It helped me get better control over the obstacles I had to get through to reach goals I was passionate about. Its a great honor to have a sponsor relationship that's so directly related to my
making it this far."
   Will Gray use Scientology's gimmicky "E-meter" (photo) to help with his racing efforts?
   Scientology is not the first religion to make its way into racing.
   Morgan Shepherd has competed the past few years in the No. 89 Victory in Jesus Racing Ministries  car. NASCAR had to sign off on his paint scheme, and refused to let his first offering onto the track before finally agreeing to allow the message "Racing With Jesus" onto the hood of the car.
   And in 2004, Bobby Labonte drove the season-opening Daytona 500 in a car that advertised Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of The Christ."
   Still, NASCAR keeps a close eye on what it allows on its tracks.
   "When you get into philosophies and morals, that's a slippery slope," Hunter said. "But we do understand that NASCAR has broad national appeal, and we reach millions of people every week. Not all of our fans agree with some sponsorships, but they do understand that it is imperative for our cars to have sponsors in order to succeed.
   "Obviously, philosophically, everyone has different opinions."

Car Nut thought: It's going to be difficult, if not impossible, for NASCAR to keep Scientology out of the sport. NASCAR promotes both Christianity and encourages the memory of a violent attempted overthrow of the legitimate US government. How could they stop other organizations with "points of view" from becoming sponsors?
 

A DEALERSHIP GROWS IN HARLEM

First, President Bill Clinton moved his offices to Harlem to make a point about the area --- That it was booming and coming back to its old glory. General Motors seems to have thankfully agreed! Good for GM and their all-new stores in Harlem!

General Motors bigwigs and New York City officials gathered Friday (June 30, '06) to christen Harlem's first new car dealerships in 40+ years.

Company executives hope the pair of two-brand showrooms (one Cadillac/Hummer and the other Chevrolet/Saturn) will help shore up the company's results in urban markets, one area where GM consistently underperforms.

The new dealerships are located in east Harlem, away from much of the trendier areas that have benefited from gentrification over the past few years. Reportedly, the new dealerships are responsible for creating 150 new jobs, with more than double that amount expected as they get up to speed.

A1 GRAND PRIX RAISES SHORT-TERM FUNDS; SERIES BACKED BY DUBAI SHEIKH

A1 Grand Prix, which ran its first season this past year, and successfully so, staging events with "spec" open-wheel race cars driven by an interesting combination of retired F1 drivers and up-and-coming hotshoes, seems to have the cash to continue, at least for another season or so, thanks to an IPO on the London Stock Exchange. Started and backed almost completely by a Dubai Sheikh (his purchase of the race cars and engines was the single-largest racing equipment buy in history, they say), A1 GP has caught the attention of many fans, running in nations and during times of the year when F1 is not active. Also, the series unashamedly pits nation against nation, with national franchises sold to various racing interests in that country. Here's the latest from AUTOWEEK:

Rumors during the recently completed A1 Grand Prix season suggested the series was in serious financial trouble, but it appears that at least its short-term future is secure. A1 GP announced initial public offering plans, with a listing on the London Stock Exchange.

The series has engaged Nomura Securities to raise funds prior to an IPO, and London investment management firm RAB Capita has agreed to act as the lead investor.

The A1 GP company structure will also change, with the series founders Sheikh Maktoum and Tony Teixeira assuming less prominent roles, and a new management board that will include five non-executive directors. “This means there is no way that A1 GP can fail. The banks have been convinced enough to put up the money,” Teixeira said.

“When we started A1 GP, we were underfunded. We had to sort out our accounts, and now every single creditor has been paid and we have secure financial backing. This gives us the confidence to go forward and plan for the long term".

AW SHUCKS, BILL! Y'ALL GONNA RUN THAT JA-PAN-ESE CAR?

Here's something of a surprise from NASCAR. Bill Elliott, perennially known as "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville (GA)", and the winner of NASCAR's "Most Popular Driver Award" so many times that he pulled his name from that competition and now the trophy is named FOR him --- Will drive a car for TOYOTA later this year! With Elliott, Dale Jarrett and both of the amazingly irritating Waltrips on-board, what's TOYOTA going to do next? Free tickets to Daytona for the winner of NASCAR's "Best BBQ" contest? In other words: TOYOTA could not be getting MORE American!

Bill Elliott will run three races this season for Red Bull Racing as a warmup for its 2007 debut as one of Toyota's initial teams.

Elliott, NASCAR's 1988 champion, will attempt to qualify for races in Concord, N.C., Atlanta and Texas. The car make he'll drive has not been decided, but it won't be a Camry because the model has not been approved for 2006 competition. (Car Nut note: This will probably be our first official competitive look at NASCAR's so-called "Car of Tomorrow", COTO, the spec race car which all teams will eventually be running, phasing-in starting this year. That COTO means every NASCAR racer will be exactly alike, with the only differences being the decals.)

"It's an honor to have a driver of Bill Elliott's caliber help us get the program ready for 2007," Red Bull general manager Marty Gaunt said Monday. "His championship pedigree and his penchant for providing technical feedback make Bill the ideal fit for this important role."

Red Bull is one of three teams that has announced plans to field Toyotas next season when the Japanese automaker makes its Nextel Cup debut. (Car Nut note: For those who don't know, RED BULL, makers of the first of the popular 'energy drinks', is so wealthy and so committed to motorsports that they own TWO Formula 1 teams, each of which estimated to cost some $100 million annually. Money is not a problem for these guys).

So far, Michael Waltrip is the only car owner with a driver lineup - he and Dale Jarrett will team to drive two entries. Bill Davis Racing has yet to announce its '07 driver lineup, and Red Bull appears to be having trouble finding a top-name driver.

Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick both signed extensions to stay with their current teams, leaving Casey Mears as the next best driver with a contract expiring at the end of the season. But Mears has maintained he wants to remain with Chip Ganassi Racing and is not talking to anyone about driving a Toyota.

Red Bull potentially could talk Elliott into piloting one of its cars next year. He's run a limited schedule the past two seasons, and his 2006 calendar has him driving five races for Waltrip and a select few for MB2 Motorsports.

Red Bull asked him to drive three this year as it tries to assemble a crew for the 2007 season-opening Daytona 500.

"The organization and its competitive spirit are what attracted me to Team Red Bull," Elliott said. "My job is simple, to put the car in the show, drive it toward the front, and provide valuable input so that Team Red Bull is fully prepared by the Daytona 500."

This story seems to have been corroborated by the latest (6-6-06) from The Associated Press:

Jim Aust, vice president of Toyota Motorsports and president and CEO of Toyota Racing Development, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that two of its current teams in the Craftsman Truck Series are hoping to run some races in 2007 with the new Car of Tomorrow that NASCAR plans to launch at Bristol next spring.

Germain Racing, which fields trucks for Todd Bodine and Ted Musgrave, and Wyler Racing, which has Jack Sprague as its truck driver, have told Aust they are looking for sponsorship to run a limited Car of Tomorrow schedule next season.

The Car of Tomorrow is a bigger, boxier vehicle with a front-end splitter that NASCAR has designed to eventually replace the slick aerodynamic models that manufacturers spent the past 10 years developing. The Car of Tomorrow is scheduled to run in 15 races next season in a phase-in process that will be complete by 2009.

JEEP DIESELS: DCX GIVES AND TAKES AWAY

The diesel Jeep is dead, long live the diesel Jeep! Sounds stupid, right? Well, you'll think what DCX (DaimlerChrysler) is doing is stupid after reading this. The company announces just a few days ago that a diesel version of the popular Grand Cherokee will be made. "Hoo Yah", screamed we off-road lovers of low-end torque worldwide! But wait! Today (6-6-06) they tell us that the super-popular Jeep Liberty diesel is being discontinued. Why? The same old story: DCX doesn't want to spend the money to Federalize the diesel engine in that vehicle.

Less than a week after announcing plans to offer a diesel-powered Grand Cherokee sport-utility vehicle in the United States, DaimlerChrysler's (DCX) Chrysler Group said it is ending production of the diesel version of its small Jeep Liberty SUV.

The Liberty's diesel engine doesn't meet tougher federal emissions standards taking effect next year, and Chrysler said it wasn't cost-effective to replace it with a newer version.

"Our initial plan was always to offer a Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel as long as the Jeep Liberty diesel tested well" among consumers, Chrysler spokeswoman Dianna Gutierrez said Monday. "It's still a strong seller, it's got great benefits to it — better fuel economy, more towing power ... but emissions standards for 2007 became more stringent."

Chrysler has opted to not develop a cleaner diesel engine for the Liberty, Gutierrez said. "We couldn't make a credible business case for such an investment, especially for a limited production number of vehicles."

Sales of the Liberty diesel have exceeded Chrysler's expectations since its introduction in the 2005 model year. More than 11,000 have been sold, the company said.

For 2007, the Liberty will be available only with a gasoline engine. However, Gutierrez said, "We are still committed to diesel technology." (Car Nut note: Yeah, we can see how committed you really are.)

Chrysler Group President and Chief Executive Tom LaSorda introduced the diesel-powered 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee last week. The company also will offer a 2007 Grand Cherokee with a 4.7-liter V-8 engine capable of running on E85 ethanol, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. (Car Nut note: The ethanol-loving bandwagon is beginning in Detroit: "Don't need no ticket, y'all just git on-board". GM is now blaring about what a "clean car" company they are because of their ethanol-ready vehicles. Problem is, you can only buy the stuff in about 600 of the 20,000 gas stations in the country, almost all of them in the corn-growing, ethanol-loving midwest and ethanol gets about 20% fewer miles than a comparable amount of gasoline. Finally, corn is one of the worst crops to make into ethanol. It is a seasonal-only crop, it takes up huge amounts of land and chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers to grow and will eventually leave that land barren. Sugar cane and sugar beets make much, much better ethanol fuel [called cellulose-based ethanol, as they use in Brazil].)

Diesels accounted for only about 3% of U.S. vehicle sales last year, compared with 50% in Europe. But Chrysler is betting that will change as cleaner diesel fuel reaches the U.S. market this fall and more consumers discover diesel's improved fuel economy and power. (Car Nut note: Until California and New York change their rules concerning diesels, large-scale sales in the USA will never happen. If comopanies can not sell their vehicles in those two states alone, even only their diesel models, they will never make the commitment to production. EXACTLY THE REASON JEEP IS DROPPING THE LIBERTY DIESEL MODEL.)

GOOD CHECKLIST: USA TODAY LISTS AND EXPLAINS ALT FUELS

Thanks to Sharon Silke-Carty at USA TODAY, here's a good primer on the current world of alternative fuels.

With gasoline prices high, politicians and auto executives are talking up the benefits of alternative-fuel vehicles — from cars that run mostly on corn-based ethanol to gas-electric hybrids, from diesel-powered vehicles to cars that burn natural gas.

But sorting out what's in showrooms and what the fuel savings are can be confusing. And industry watchers say many consumers are sitting on the sidelines because they aren't sure gasoline prices will stay high. "It's almost impossible to tell where (gas prices) are going," says David Cole of the Center for Automotive Research.

As of Monday, regular gasoline was selling for an average $2.859 a gallon, down 5½ cents from a week ago and up about 75 cents from a year ago, motorist club AAA says.

If you're convinced gas prices will stay high, and you're willing to buy a new car now, here's a guide to alternative-fuel vehicles.

Hybrids

Tell someone you're thinking about buying a gas-electric hybrid, and there's a chance the person will whip out a calculator to prove what a dumb idea that is.

Hybrids save fuel by using an electric motor at times rather than the gasoline engine. But the cost of the extra motor, an additional battery and other needed technology have made hybrids about $3,000 more expensive than their traditional gas-only counterparts. That cuts into the savings on gas.

However, the equation may soon start changing in hybrid's favor. For one thing, higher gas prices mean bigger savings with a hybrid.

Toyota said last month that it is planning to dramatically increase the efficiency of its popular Prius hybrid; it had already said it wants to cut the hybrid premium to about $1,500.

Other automakers also are responding to price sensitivity in the hybrid market. General Motors announced last month that it will price the new Saturn Vue hybrid SUV at $23,000, about $1,500 more than a comparable gasoline-powered Vue.

Vue is a "mild" hybrid, which means it uses its electric motor to assist the gasoline-powered engine, but the electric motor doesn't run on its own.

Vue "makes true hybrid fuel savings available to more people than ever before," says Saturn general manager Jill Lajdziak.

Buyers also may get a tax credit for purchasing a hybrid. It varies, based on fuel economy, from under $1,000 to more than $3,000 and is limited to a certain number of vehicles.

Diesels

Shedding their reputation as belchy, smoky messes, diesel engines are growing in popularity among American consumers. Since 2000, registration of diesel-powered passenger vehicles has gone up 80%, according to R.L. Polk.

"Americans are increasingly looking to diesel as a readily available solution to help alleviate their pain at the pump," says Allen Schaeffer of the Diesel Technology Forum.

Diesel fuel can cost more than gasoline — about 9 cents a gallon right now, says AAA — but diesel gets 20% to 40% better fuel efficiency, meaning you go farther on a gallon.

Right now, there are only a handful of diesel cars available to U.S. consumers. Volkswagen sells its Beetle, Golf and Jetta in diesel versions, and Mercedes sells the E320 sedan in diesel. Chevy, Dodge, Ford and GMC sell diesel pickups.

There could be more in the future. Strict emissions laws have kept many automakers from jumping on board. But DaimlerChrysler promises its BlueTec engine, when used with low-sulphur diesel available in the USA this fall, will make its diesel engines clean enough to meet new emissions standards in all 50 states.

Chrysler Group said Monday that it will quit selling the diesel version of Jeep Liberty's small SUV in the USA because its engine doesn't meet the new standards. However, Chrysler will sell a diesel version of the 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee full-size SUV with a Mercedes engine.

Ford is considering a diesel hybrid engine, and BMW is considering bringing a diesel version of its 330 sedan to the USA.

The downside? Even though the technology is better, diesels are still louder than traditional gas engines.

Flexible-fuel

The hype surrounding ethanol is making Detroit automakers and corn farmers happy.

There are already about 5 million flexible-fuel vehicles — FFV — on the road that can run on E85, a blend of 85% corn-based ethanol and 15% gasoline, or on regular gasoline. All are from domestic automakers, who are primed to introduce more of them.

There are two big downsides to ethanol: One, it's less efficient than gasoline, so vehicles get fewer miles to the gallon and drivers need to refuel more often. That leads to the second big downside: There are only about 600 refueling stations in the USA, most in the Midwest.

Ethanol producer VeraSun Energy has a guide to help determine if your vehicle is an FFV at www.ve85.com/FlexibleFuelVehicles/FFVIdentification/. Lists of stations that carry E85 are available from the Energy Department, http://afdcmap2.nrel.gov/locator/, or the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, www.e85fuel.com/database/search.php.

Natural gas

California drivers can buy the Honda Civic GX, which runs on natural gas. This fall, New York residents will be able to buy Civic GX too.

To make refueling convenient, owners also can lease a natural gas home-refueling appliance, dubbed "Phill." It is mounted on a garage wall and allows the GX to refuel overnight from a homeowner's natural gas supply line.

Natural gas is about 50% cheaper than regular gasoline when purchased at home. (At a refueling station, the savings are about 25%.) Natural gas burns more cleanly than regular gas. And buyers are eligible for a $4,000 tax break.

The Civic GX starts at $24,440, about $2,000 more than the Civic hybrid and $10,000 more than the base Civic coupe. "Phill" can be leased for $36 to $79 a month.

CAR NUT'S MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND RACE ANALYSIS

If you live in the civilized world, you could not miss watching at least SOME auto racing on television during Memorial Day weekend. The following is adapted from Steve Parker's "Motorsports Update" (sorry for the "all caps"; it was originally a script!) which is a 2-minute segment that runs on "CAR NUT TV", seen on Coachella Valley and San Diego County Time-Warner cable systems. Read on, and let us know YOUR opinions on the current state of worldwide open- and closed-wheel racing!

IF YOU’RE A RACING FAN, MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND HAD SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!

IN EUROPE, THE FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX OF MONACO BRINGS THE WORLD’S BEST AND OLDEST EXISTING TEMPORARY STREET CIRCUIT TO FANS AROUND THE WORLD. DID YOU KNOW THE CBS ANNOUNCERS WERE NOT AT THE RACE, BUT IN A STUDIO IN NEW YORK?

AND REMEMBER WHEN ABC-TV WOULD SHOW THE RACE AT LEAST A MONTH AFTERWARDS, WITH THE ‘WEE SCOTT’ JACKIE STEWART AS ONE OF THE ANNOUNCERS? AND OF COURSE THE RACE WAS ON FILM, NOT VIDEOTAPE. HECK, THESE DAYS, THE BEST WE GET FROM CBS IN THE BOOTH IS FORMER CART RACER DANNY SULLIVAN, BUT WE DO SEE THE QUALIFYING SESSIONS ’LIVE’.

THE FINAL MONACO F1 QUALIFYING SESSION ON SPEED CHANNEL WAS THE MOST INTERESTING AND ACTUALLY HISTORY-MAKING. SIX-TIME WORLD CHAMPION, FERRARI’S MICHAEL SCHUMACHER, FAKED A CRASH, BLOCKING THE TRACK, SO CURRENT WORLD CHAMP, RENAULT’S FERNANDO ALONZO, COULD NOT BEST SCHUMACHER, WHO HAD THE PROVISIONAL POLE, FOR THAT #1 POSITION. ALONZO STARTED ON THE POLE AND WON THE RACE. SCHUMACHER STARTED LAST BECAUSE OF HIS CHEATING, YET STILL MANAGED FIFTH, AN AMAZING FEAT IN ITSELF. AND MONACO LOOKED GREAT!

IN MANSFIELD, OHIO, CERTAINLY NOT MONACO, RON HORNADAY JUNIOR, A GREAT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RACER, WHOSE BROTHER IS AN LA COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFF, WON HIS FIRST SEARS CRAFTSMAN TRUCK RACE IN MORE THAN A YEAR IN A CHEVY TRUCK WITH NO CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP. THE TRUCK SERIES CONTINUES TO PRODUCE SOME OF THE BEST RACING IN THE USA . AND GOOD FOR RON!

ALSO, GOOD FOR CARL EDWARDS IN THE BUSCH RACE AT CHARLOTTE’S LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY, WHO WON HIS FIRST RACE THIS YEAR WHEN BAKERSFIELD’S CASEY MEARS, WHO LED MOST OF THE RACE, RAN LOW ON GAS WITH ONLY FIVE LAPS TO GO. WHY DO THE ALLOW ONLY ONE FUEL PICK-UP IN THE NASCAR FUEL CELLS? MY TEAM WOULD PUT ONE IN THE CENTER AND AT EACH OF THE FOUR CORNERS, ASSURING THE FUEL GETS PUMPED TO THE ENGINE NO MATTER HOW BADLY IT MIGHT BE SLOSHING AROUND IN A NEAR-EMPTY TANK. MUST BE A NASCAR RULE.

IN NASCAR’S LONGEST AND TOUGHEST OVAL RACE OF THE YEAR, THE COCA-COLA 600, 26 YEAR OLD KASEY KAHNE, FROM WASHINGTON STATE, DOMINATED AND WON THE EVENT IN HIS RAY EVERNHAM DODGE. EVERNHAM REMAINS THE TOP MAN FOR ALL THE DODGE TEAMS. HE SIGNED THE ORIGINAL CONTRACTS AND DEALS TO BRING DODGE BACK INTO NEXTEL CUP (DODGE HAD ALREADY BEEN ACTIVE IN THE CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES); THOSE DEALS INCLUDED PUTTING BILL ELLIOTT, PERPETUALLY THE FAN’S FAVORITE DRIVER (THE ‘MOST POPULAR DRIVER’ AWARD IS NOW NAMED FOR ELLIOTT!), INTO THE FIRST NEW DODGE ON THE TRACK.

HERE’S A NASCAR STORY FROM THE COCA-COLA 600:

MICHAEL WALTRIP COULDN’T QUALIFY FAST ENOUGH TO MAKE THE FIELD, SO HE BOUGHT A CAR WHICH HAD! DERRIKE COPE, WHO WON THE DAYTONA 500 A LONG TIME AGO ( TWO WINS IN OVER 400 STARTS), HAD QUALIFIED HIS DODGE FOR THE 600. IN NASCAR, THE CAR QUALIFIES, NOT THE DRIVER. SO WALTRIP GAVE COPE ENOUGH MONEY TO ALLOW HIM TO RACE IN AT LEAST THE NEXT TWO NEXTEL CUP EVENTS (ACCORDING TO MIKEY), AND MOVED HIS #55 CAR NUMBER, ALL THE DECALS AND THE BIG ‘NAPA AUTO PARTS’ SPONSORSHIP TO COPE’S CAR FOR THE DAY. WALTRIP DID IT TO KEEP HIS STREAK OF SOME 270 STARTS INTACT. HE DID ACHIEVE THAT, BUT FINISHED 41ST AFTER STARTING 43^RD, DROPPING OUT EARLY DUE TO BRAKE PROBLEMS. WALTRIP DID POCKET $81,605, MADE A LOT OF NEWS FOR HIS SPONSORS (THOSE WALTRIP BOYS ARE CANNY!) AND MAYBE MADE ENOUGH TO PAY FOR THE COPE CAR HE PURCHASED. BUYING THAT CAR WAS PROBABLY THE LAST THING MIKEY WAS PLANNING ON DOING AT THE COCA-COLA 600. IN ANY EVENT, MIKEY WILL DRIVING A TOYOTA CAMRY FOR BILL DAVIS RACING NEXT YEAR. KASEY “THE KID” KAHNE WON IN POWERFUL FASHION.

FINALLY, THE INDY 500. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 10 YEARS, THE RACE HAD SOME REAL EXCITEMENT (UP FRONT) AS THE POLE WINNER, PENSKE’S SAM HORNISH JUNIOR, IN HIS DALLARA HONDA, TOOK THE WIN IN THE FINAL 100 YARDS OF THE LAST LAP, PASSING 19 YEAR OLD MARCO ANDRETTI FOR HIS FIRST INDY WIN, IN THE SECOND CLOSEST INDY FINISH EVER. MARCOS’ DAD, MICHAEL, STILL HASN’T WON AT INDY, BUT FINISHED THIRD. BOTH FATHER AND SON ARE ON THE ANDRETTI GREEN TEAM. WHAT A PODIUM PHOTO FOR THAT FAMILY!

DID MICHAEL LET HIS SON PASS HIM WITH A FEW LAPS TO GO? DEFINITELY NOT. MICHAEL’S CAR HAD BEEN MID-PACK AT BEST MOST OF THE DAY, AND MARCO HAD BEEN IN THE FRONT DICING WITH THE LEAGUE’S BEST DRIVERS. ALSO, MICHAEL AND MARCO BOTH KNEW THAT MARCO HAS A LOT MORE INDY 500’S IN HIM, WHERE THAT MIGHT NOT BE THE CASE FOR MIKE.

BOTH AL UNSER, JR., AND AJ FOYT HAVE PROVEN THEY ARE NOW OFFICIALLY ON THE “I HELPED MAKE TONY GEORGE WHAT HE IS AND NOW HE OWES ME ENTRY INTO THE INDY 500 WHEN I DEMAND IT” CLUB. NEITHER UNSER, JR., OR FOYT’S ENTRY DID ANYTHING IMPORTANT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE 500 MILES.

KUDOS TO PJ JONES, SON OF PARNELLI JONES. IN 1963, PARNELLI, “A TOUGH KID FROM A TOUGH PART OF A TOUGH TOWN” (TORRANCE, CA), WON THE INDY 500 IN A RACE CAR OWNED BY THE FAMED SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RACING PROMOTER JC AGAJANIAN, CAR #98. AT THIS YEAR’S INDY 500, HIS SON DIDN’T WIN, BUT HAD THE SAME-NUMBERED CAR AND SPONSORSHIP FROM THE AGAJANIAN FAMILY AND MIKE CURB, FORMER LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA , RECORD LABEL OWNER AND ERTSWHILE RACE CAR DRIVER. PJ JONES FINISHED 19TH.

BUT YET AGAIN, AT LEAST 20 OF THE 33 DRIVERS IN THE RACE DIDN’T BELONG THERE IF DRIVING SKILL WERE ANY MEASURE, AND THE RACE THIS YEAR MADE THE BEST CASE YET FOR A REUNIFICATION, AND SOON, OF THE IRL AND CHAMP CAR.

ATTRITION SHOULD NOT BE THE #1 REASON DRIVERS GAIN POSITION IN THE INDY 500. THERE WAS ESSENTIALLY NO RACING GOING ON UNTIL THE FINAL 20 OR SO LAPS. NOT A REASON TO COMMIT ONE’S SELF TO SOME FOUR HOURS OF ROUNDY-ROUND WITH A LOT OF DRIVERS NO ONE EVER HEARD OF BEFORE.

DANICA PATRICK REMAINS AN UNPROVEN QUANTITY. IT APPEARS AT THIS POINT THAT THE  ONLY REASON FOR THE RAHAL-LETTERMAN TEAM TO KEEP HER ON-BOARD IS FOR THE PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING VALUE SHE BRINGS WITH HER. BUT THAT ‘SPECIAL TREATMENT’ IS EVENTUALLY GOING TO RUB OFF, AND WHEN THAT TIME COMES, THE TEAM WILL DROP HER LIKE A LEAD WEIGHT. ALSO, MORE WOMEN WILL ENTER THE SPORT, AND KATHERINE LEGGE IN ATLANTIC/CHAMP CAR SEEMS TO HAVE ‘THE RIGHT STUFF’. SHE WON A MAJOR SECOND-TIER RACE AT THE LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX IN THE ATLANTIC SERIES (SOMETHING PATRICK HAS NOT DONE), CHAMP CAR’S SO-CALLED ‘FEEDER SERIES’.

IF THE INDY 500 MIXES BOTH SERIES