Steve Parker Motoring / The Car Nut

BUSH CLUELESS ON $4/GALLON GAS: "THAT'S INTERESTING --- I HADN'T HEARD THAT"

Apparently, the leader of the free world is as clueless about living in the "real world" as was his father. The ghost of President George W. Bush's father's failed presidency came to visit him at a White House press conference today, not once, but twice. And it wasn't pretty.

First, Bush was asked if he felt that the current bad economy would doom his party's 2008 presidential candidate, as the bad economy under his father led in great part to the election of President Bill Clinton. Bush's answer was scattered and hesitant; he did say that the US economy, though, is not in a recession, it's just "slow".

But when asked about the many predictions of economic analysts, widely covered in the media, that gasoline would be at $4 a gallon later this year caught the current Bush completely unawares. Bush stated that he had not heard these predictions, and reiterated that more than once in his answer.

"That's interesting, I hadn't heard that," Bush said after a reporter asked about the prospect. "I know it's high now." (Photo - His overseer seems to approve of how well his protege is doing).

Bush's father, George HW Bush, was widely derided as being removed from the "real world" when he was   caught on-camera expressing his wonder, during a visit to a National Grocers Association meeting in Orlando, FL in 1988, at a laser bar code reader at a check-out stand, which had been in wide use since at least 1980, Bush's first year as president.

Maura Reynolds wrote the following for the Los Angeles Times: In the news conference, Bush said, however, that a tax increase by a new Congress and president is as troubling as a prediction of the price of gas.

"If you're out there wondering ... what your life is going to be like, and you're looking at $4 a gallon, that's uncertain," Bush said. "And when you couple that with the idea that ... taxes may be going up in a couple years, that's double uncertainty."

Bush again touted the benefits of alternative fuels and conservation. But he chastised Congress for talking about an $18-billion tax increase for large oil companies.

"All that's going to do is make the price even higher," he said. -30- (end of LA TIMES story)

Bush also made it clear that, in spite of record 2007 profits reported by several oil companies last month, the need for "more research", such as opening up the protected area of Alaska known as "ANWAR", was more important than taxing those oil companies.

Bush also said that "making the tax cuts (on the richest Americans) permanent" was the most important factor in helping the economy, as will be the public spending the "rebate" money they'll be receiving as part of a federal stimulus package, he said, sometime in May.

But the oil companies sure got what they paid for in both Bush presidencies; stalwart protectors, to the last moment, of their employers.

BOYD CODDINGTON, 63, HOT ROD ARTIST EXTRAORDINAIRE

When I read this afternoon that Boyd Coddington had died at the age of 63, it came as no great  shock or surprise. Coddington had gained and lost large amounts of weight during his lifetime, and they say that's tough on anyone's heart, but what struck me most about him was his tenacity, patience, ideals of perfection, and his determination to recover from adversity ... and that's not to mention his gorgeous cars, truly worthy of what someone once called "applied art with a practical purpose". Coddington saw great success, watched as it mostly disappeared, then built himself, his name and his business back up again. What he went through, the tremendous ups and downs, personally and in business, were enough to do-in ten people. I'm just happy that towards its end, his life had become, again, a pretty good success.

While custom car and motorcycle creators have today, thanks to cable TV, become big media stars, like Chip Foose and that family from Orange County Choppers, Coddington was the first.

A decade-and-a-half-or-so ago, we held the "Coolest Car in LA" contest at KTLA MORNING NEWS, which was, at the time, the by-far #1 morning TV show in Los Angeles (and KTLA being one of the first "Superstations", it was also seen nationally). We producer- and on-air types sat down to plan the event, including who we might want to be judges of the contest's finals. The contest ran for about five weeks; there were some 700 entries and all sent a tech sheet about their vehicles along with photos, and the photos were real photos, as this was well before the ubiquity of the Web, and certainly way before digital cameras were priced so to be available to the general public.

As for these judges, one name we all instantly agreed upon the first time it was mentioned: Boyd Coddington. (Photo - "Boydster 2").

JAGUAR, LAND ROVER SALE TO INDIA'S TATA ANNOUNCEMENT NEXT WEEK

Jaguar and Land Rover will soon be owned by Tata, the gigantic Indian car- and truck-maker,  thrust into world view when they introduced their 'Nano' $2,500 (wholesale) four-door, five-passenger sedan at the recent auto show in Delhi. Ford announced several weeks ago that Tata was the preferred buyer for their two UK-based luxury vehicle manufacturers. In the past few days, a flurry of newswire stories detailing the history and success of Tata, led many to believe, correctly, that an announcement from Ford and Tata about the Jag-Land Rover deal was imminent. Today, February 25th, industry weekly Automotive News reported that "Tata Motors will announce its purchase of Jaguar Land Rover on March 5th or 6th."

Ford Motor Company (FoMoCo), like General Motors and the recently privatized Chrysler Corporation is suffering from huge losses and slow sales. The US economy, close to recession, is slamming car and truck sales as many potential car-buyers are having trouble making their house payments, and rents are rising as many people who have lost their homes are suddenly finding themselves back in the rental market. Rental property owners are taking advantage of the situation by raising rents across the board throughout the country. (Photos - Above, The 2000 Jaguar XKR 100, a classic supercharged British drophead coupe, and below, the 2004 Jaguar F1 car driven by Mark Webber; the new 'Force India' F1 team may benefit by bringing some Jaguar engineers and much telemetric and testing information to India).

BLING, BLING! HOT WHEELS' 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED NATIONWIDE!

(Make sure you click on all the photos to enjoy them in large format) When I did a bit of research on HOT WHEELS a few years ago, I learned that, if one were to take the number of people under 18 years of age worldwide and used that number to divide the number of HOT WHEELS ever sold, you'd come up with "6" ... That's right, so many of these things have already been sold that there are enough in the marketplace to equal six HOT WHEELS for every person under 18 on the face of the earth.

And HOT WHEELS had a great exhibit in the main lobby at last year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas, exhibits which caught the attention of just about every one of the 100,000-or-so show attendees. I mean, who didn't have a HOT WHEELS toy ... or many of them ... as a kid? And more than a few of us, truth be told, have them today, too.

There are a lot of stories about how Mattels' HOT WHEELS toys came to be ... The one I've  written about concerns Harry Bradley, a paraplegic instructor at Pasadena's world-renowned Art Center College of Design, one of the very few schools worldwide which produces the majority of designers for car, truck and motorcycle manufacturers --- As well as toy-makers of all types. All these artists come under the more general name of "industrial designer", the people who create can-openers to car door handles to sun glasses to milk bottles to Ferrari V12 engines to, well, just about anything which consumers buy and use. In short, everything! Pasadena's Art Center has a sister school in Switzerland. Bradley, the story goes, drove his customized car to Mattel to interview for a job there, and when his future boss looked out the window and saw Bardley's van in the parking lot, Bradley got the job on the spot and his van was one of the very first HOT WHEELS ever produced. Anyway, that's the story told to me ... by Harry Bradley. Anyone has a problem with it, they can talk to Bradley about it ...

So here's the news, and I'm content to let the Mattel people tell it in their own voice, with perhaps an  interruption or two from Yours Truly (all our photos are of the HOT WHEELS 40th anniversary car "under construction"):

GM's BOB LUTZ: GLOBAL WARMING IS "A TOTAL CROCK OF SHIT"

Bob Lutz, a Vice President of General Motors in charge of North American products, told a group of reporters recently that global warming "is a total crock of shit". Yes, mothers, get your daughters in the house, because Lutz, in his seeming never-ending attempts to become at least as quotable as Lido A. Iacocca, was either just kidding around --- as he is wont to do, and in which case the media would give him a break, as they (we) have done so many times  --- or he really meant it. Now, we find that not only did he absolutely mean it, but he meant it in a way so ethereal and universal in scale that most of us mere mortals simply would not understand.

If any of you ever thought, "Well, you know, this guy Lutz ... He seems really smart, and he says he has balls made of iron ... But does he, you know, 'get it'?"

Well, the official answer is in: No, he doesn't. Lutz,  somewhere north of 74 years of age, wrote a book called "Guts", spends his off-hours collecting, restoring and driving vintage cars, which is to be expected, and he also does the same with vintage fighter jets (no kidding) and has also, by the way, been in-charge and the force behind all of General Motors North American product planning for the past few years and some of that actual product, too.

CHAMP CAR, INDY RACING LEAGUE SIGN AGREEMENT ENDING 12-YEAR SPLIT --- SERIES COMBINE UNDER IRL NAME; RACING STARTS AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI, FL MARCH 29th

ESPN Bulletin (2-22-08) 1:00pm EST Detroit, MI - The Indy Racing League and the Champ Car series have signed a deal to unify the two American open-wheel series.

IRL spokesman John Griffin said Champ Car co-owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe signed the agreement with IRL founder Tony George on Friday. As many as six of the nine teams expected to compete in Champ Car in 2008 could field cars in the IndyCar Series, including Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, PKV Racing, Forsythe/Pettit Racing, Conquest Racing, Walker Racing and Dale Coyne Racing. The addition of up to 10 regular entries from Champ Car teams would increase the size of the IndyCar field to more than 25 cars for the first time since the late 1990s.  -30- (End of ESPN bulletin)

SPEEDTV's Robin Miller, America's best open-wheel series journalist, broke the story about the rift being healed earlier this week, and we carried it on this website. And now, the papers are signed, the champagne uncorker and "Let's go racing!" is the call heard throughout the land. Well, at race tracks, anyway.

HERE'S THE BACKGROUND

There could not have been a better Valentine's Day gift for open-wheel racing fans around the world, and there's also poetic justice, with the split between Champ Car and the Indy Racing League (IRL) being repaired the same week that Roger Penske's Penske South Racing team won their first NASCAR race at the Daytona Speedway; that's because IRL founder/Indy track owner Tony George often held up Roger Penske as an example of everything that was wrong with CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams). George would typically complain on and on at press conferences about how big-time team owners in the sport also had a say in the way the sport was being run, and George thought that a terrible idea. It's poetic justice because at the time of the CART/IRL split, George himself was a quiet-partner in the ownership of at least two IRL teams.

BUSH ORDERED TO FORCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY TO DO ITS JOB

Recently, it's been said that the "hot" cars and trucks of tomorrow will be those which feature the latest hardware gadgets and software updates to make driving safer, more enjoyable and go much farther on a gallon of gas (or use no gasoline at all). Experts and analysts in the industry (including this one) think the "musclecars" of tomorrow may still offer horsepower, but their real "beauty" will be reflected in the vehicle's design and styling, inside and out, and online capabilities, as much as in the size of its engine.

We thought you would be interested in reading the following Sunday, February, 17, 2008 NEW YORK TIMES editorial about the Bush Administration, which has been ordered by both the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the Supreme Court, no wild-eyed radical bunch, to force the Environmental Protection Agency to obey the law and take action to control mercury emanating from industrial smokestacks and to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles. (Photo - The Environmental Protection Agency's headquarters building is in Washington, DC's "Federal Triangle" area, which is just off what's sometimes called "the nation's front yard", the National Mall).

Car Nuts want to know, and indeed need to know, that the government, and especially the EPA (whose creation was by Richard Nixon, of all people, working together with the US Congress), has, by law, specific obligations which it needs to uphold. This editorial from the NEW YORK TIMES defines just some of the problems facing industry, specifically the auto industry.

February 18, 2008

Editorial

Judicial Rebukes on Clean Air

The federal courts have been a bulwark against the Bush administration’s relentless efforts to weaken 40 years’ worth of environmental law, including statutes protecting the nation’s forests, wetlands and endangered species. The courts have been especially important in resisting the administration’s assault on the 1970 Clean Air Act, which began with Vice President Dick Cheney’s 2001 energy report and continues to this day. (Photo - A gold 1964 Pontiac GTO; GTO was, and still is, touted as the "first musclecar" and perhaps doomed due in an oil-less future).

In 2006 and 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the Supreme Court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to follow the law and require utilities to install pollution controls when upgrading power plants. Another Supreme Court decision last year held that the Clean Air Act required the E.P.A. to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, an obligation the agency continues to duck.

This month, the D.C. Circuit ruled that the E.P.A. had once again ignored the law by failing to require deep and timely reductions in mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. Like most clean air cases, this one was mind-numbingly complex. The gist of it was that the E.P.A. — seeking as usual to please industry — had approved a weak set of regulations that would let many plants off the hook for emissions reductions that would be required under any honest reading of the law. (Photo - "Tri-Power" was stock in 1964 GTOs; it was a 389cid V8 with three carburetors, hence the Tri-Power sobriquet).

The D.C. Circuit, by no means a radical group of judges, has become so exasperated that it has taken to quoting Lewis Carroll. In 2006, in a reference to “Through the Looking Glass,” the court said that the E.P.A.’s reading of the law would make sense “only in a Humpty Dumpty world.” This month, invoking “Alice in Wonderland,” the court said the agency’s reasoning recalled “the logic of the Queen of Hearts, substituting the E.P.A.’s desires for the plain text” of the law.

Desire still burns bright at the E.P.A., which reportedly intends to make one last-ditch effort to weaken the rules requiring new pollution controls on upgraded plants. Our advice to the agency would be to take a dispassionate look at its losing streak in the federal courts and, for once, leave the law alone. (end of editorial)

Brand-New Corvette Z06 Smashed After Multiple Collisions; Valet Accused Of Expensive Joyride

Because the Corvette Z06 does not come with a "valet key" or some other type of power-robbing setting, as far as I can remember, Chevrolet engineers and product planners might seriously think about making one available after the people at Bowling Green, KY (the only facility where Corvettes are built) read the news item which follows below.

When a Z06 owner leaves their trusty steed, which carries a starting price over $72,000, in the care of what more-often-than-not is a pimply-faced 17-year old valet with a white shirt and red vest at some restaurant or elsewhere, a "valet key" feature would easily rob some of the horsepower from the machine's 505-horse 7-liter V8 (a 427cid, for you old-timers out there --- Like us!), in order to avoid incidents exactly like the one described below. (Photo - Huge, drilled discs haul Z06 down from high speeds very quickly; the valet in this story should have used them while he had a chance).

We can attest from much personal experience that the car is definitely and absolutely one which  should be driven only by someone with quite a bit of experience with high-horsepower automobiles ... In spite of all the modern safety systems in and on the car, 500 horsepower is still 500 horsepower, and this was certainly one wreck about which it could honestly be said: "It could have been a lot worse!" Thanks to KNBC/TV4, the NBC "O and O" (owned-and-operated) station in Los Angeles. That's the same station which carries the new NBC auto show, "Whipnotic", every Saturday at 3pm --- Be sure to check-out the Whipnotic page on this site; we provide that program's Whipnotic.com site with much of its content. Here's the story the way it ran on the website for KNBC/TV4, Los Angeles:

A valet at Van Nuys (CA) Chevrolet dealership is accused of a joyride that culminated in the crash of a 500- horsepower Corvette, police said Saturday, according to (Los Angeles') City News Service. (Photo - Cutaway of Z06's 505 horsepower 427 V8).

The man walked away without injury, police said.

The high-performance Z06 model Corvette hit a fire hydrant, a light pole and several parked cars on Oxnard Street near Van Nuys Boulevard about 9:30 p.m. Friday -- about a half-mile from Rydell Chevrolet, according to Los Angeles police with the Valley Traffic Division and a camera crew at the scene.

The driver suffered minor injuries and declined to be taken to a hospital, according to On Scene Video. (end of KNBC story) (Photo - Z06 interior).

And we might add: This fellow doesn't want to spend any of his time at a hospital; he'll be too busy looking for a job.

ILLEGAL STREET RACE KILLS 8 IN MARYLAND

The scourge of illegal street racing, which this website has been attacking since its inception, and which we've been very vocally against for decades (and which has not always been welcomed among certain people in the auto industry), has resulted in an "accident" so terrible, so horrifying and wasteful that we're simply going to reprint the entire NEW YORK TIMES story about the incident and let it stand as is (photos are from the NY TIMES, KTLA/TV5 Los Angeles and the LOS ANGELES TIMES).

We'll just repeat what we've been saying for many, many years: Unless and until local civic, religious and community leaders, businesses and governments make available safe, sane and well-managed sites where 1/8-mile and/or 1/4-mile straight-line, classic head-to-head drag racing can be held on a regular basis, these stories will be repeated, again and again and again ... These sites must also be used for proper "driver instruction", which has fallen by the wayside in our nation's high schools as budget cutbacks have done away with other popular programs, such as sports and music instruction.

Every other industrialized nation promotes driver training; in those countries, driving is considered a privilege, definitely not a right, and people are proud of their driving skills. In many European and Asian nations, a single incident of driving while impaired in any way can result in that person's driving privilege taken away ... for life. In America, attorneys specializing in DUI cases advertise freely, turning impaired driving into a "sport" which is won or lost in a court room, no matter what may have happened on the highway.

2009 ROLLER COUPE' IMPROVES ON SEDAN'S LOOKS

OK, now that we've seen the first official photos of the 2009 Roller Coupe', we take back almost everything bad we've said about the sedan version of the car ... from those box-shaped headlights to the overwhelmingly massiveness of the entire car, from front to rear, from tires to roof, in the engine bay and the car's interior ... the intimidating Phantom sedan is simply too much. But this Coupe' is something else again. The front end is a bit more friendly than it's four-door sister, and the whole thing appears, at least in these photos, more balanced and attractive, inside and out, than the sedan. The huge 6.75 liter BMW V12 (that's 412 cubic inches) sitting in the engine bay no doubt provides plenty of low-end torque (531 foot-pounds) and top-end horsepower (453hp) for this vehicle which weighs ... who knows how much? They ain't saying.

Times have changed, though. There's a lot more known about these cars than in years past. When my good friend Reg Abbiss (whose new book, "Rolls-Royce From The Inside; The Humour, The Myths, The Truth", Tempus Publishing Ltd, United Kingdom, 2007, is available everywhere and more-than-worth your few US Dollars or Euros or Yen) was in charge of public relations for Rolls and Bentley here in the US for many years, the company would never release horsepower figures or top speeds. When asked, the world's most-skilled and most-British of all automotive PR people would answer only, "Adequate," to the horsepower question, and, "Rather quickly", when the top speed query inevitably was raised. By the way, there's a wonderful photo of Yours Truly and Reg in his new book, both of us hard at work, with Reg no doubt begging me to interview the thoroughly and happily sleazy Howard Mosher, who ran Rolls/Bentley in the US from 1998 to 1994.

Car Nuts know for certain that times have definitely changed greatly when one mentions "BMW" and "Volkswagen" in the same breath as "Rolls-Royce" and "Bentley". The world used to be much simpler; as far as most Americans were concerned, the two-door, coupe version of Rolls was most always a Bentley.

VW'S 7-SPEED DSG/DCT MEANS HIGHER MILEAGE, BETTER CONTROL

Five years ago, Volkswagen began manufacture of the first mass-production Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT) in the world: the 6-speed Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG). The names of the units are interchangeable. Since then, over one million 6-speed DSGs have been sold. VW now has developed another all-new transmission, the world’s first 7-speed DSG to be produced in high-volume. For many drivers, VW says this could signify the final turn away from conventional transmissions, because this new DSG can do everything better than a manual gearbox, being more fuel efficient, sporty and comfortable.

The most prominent component of the DSG is its dual clutch. In comparison to the 6-speed DSG, there is no "wet" clutch in the new transmission –  a clutch immersed in an oil bath – rather, there is a "dry" clutch, another world first for DSG technology. This and other engineering modifications led to significant improvements to the DSG’s efficiency. The result: Further reduced fuel consumption and emissions values, even greater convenience and driving fun.

Of all the world's car-makers, Volkswagen seems most interested in getting this technology out to the drivers of the world. This automatic transmission system offers benefits including small improvements in gas mileage and emissions, through an end to the wasteful "idle" during gear changes in automatics. It also makes for better handling because the drive wheels are always directly connected to the power being transmitted by the engine on both up and down shifts.

"NAKED" KATANA-STYLE "SUZUKI STRATOSPHERE" CONCEPT AN OLDIE AND GOODIE

Remember "naked motorcycles"? The styling was developed to make motorcycles appear more purposeful, like "applied art with a practical purpose", as some people have said about race cars, which are recognizable as cars, but stripped down to their basics. You could also say the style helped motorcycles "look fast standing still", a statement used to describe some sporty cars and real sports cars. The style uncovered as much of a bike's frame and engine as possible, so it appeared as sort of a 'skeleton' with an engine in its low middle and a wheel at either end. A look at such a bike showed-off its individual parts, including even much of the swing arm and rear suspension set-up. The look was all the rage, especially with Japanese-made machines, back in the early part of this century. Now Suzuki is re-re-releasing photos and info on what must be one of their favorite motorcycle concepts of all time, the Stratosphere concept from the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, an 1100cc monster with an Inline 6-cylinder engine and an automatic transmission. (Photo - Cutaway of the Inline-6 which powered the Stratosphere).

Always one of the best exhibits at the Tokyo Motor Show is that of the motorcycles. If a journalist writes about the motorcycles displayed there, you know that he or she spent a lot of extra time and trouble in covering the show during the two press days, which works out to a total of about only 16 hours to see the entire show, shoot photos, do interviews and somehow be able to explain it all, vehicle-by-vehicle, when they get back home.

The building where the Tokyo planners put the motorcycles (and this past year, the 2007 show, also most of the busses and trucks which were on display again for the first time in about a decade) is a several hundred yard walk from the main building at Makuhari Messe, where the cars are on display. The walk is up and down some huge flights of "decorative concrete" stairs, and if you've saved the bikes for the last couple of hours on the final media day, one thing you don't feel at all like doing is walking on more hard surfaces. But hey, it's a job, and usually doesn't necessitate much heavy lifting, so who are we to complain, right? But patting ourselves on the back a bit, we do have on this site extensive Tokyo motorcycle coverage from both the 2005 and 2003 shows in the form of Photo Albums ... Check the left-hand margin for those albums (we had some digital tech troubles while covering the 2007 show, and didn't have the time to make the fixes we needed in time shoot the bikes, but we did take a slow walk through the gigantic hall, taking notes and creating some 'mental pictures' to help us get the facts straight when we got home).

And instead of using the Suzuki corporate PR release about this machine, we found a website dedicated to Suzuki motorcycles called www.SuzukiCycles.org, produced by a fellow named Jarmo Haapamäki. If you're a Suzuki enthusiast, or just interested in motorcycles at all, we recommend a visit to his site. What you'll be reading below is from Jarmo's site, and I found his writing to be a bit more exciting and interesting that the release from Suzuki.

2005 Suzuki Stratosphere Concept - 1100cc in-line 6 Cylinder

Suzuki Stratosphere
Overall Length: 2,100 mm (82.7 in)
Overall Width: 720 mm (28.3 in)
Overall Height: 1,150 mm (45.3 in)
Engine type: Liquid-cooled 1,100 cc Inline-six, DOHC, 24 valves. 180 bhp.

AMERICA'S DOMESTIC CAR-MAKERS MUST CHANGE AT A MUCH-FASTER PACE

Let's get one thing straight: We want GM, Ford and Chrysler to succeed, and prosper. We want to see all three companies make record profits, produce forward-looking, high-tech, fun and fast cars and trucks which do well on a new and highly-restricted diet of oil products of all kinds. We want big trucks to go back to where they belong --- In the service of individuals and companies which need them to get their work done, and not in the driveways and garages of American homes. I don't care how many kids you have to take to soccer practice; no one really needs a Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Expedition, Jeep Commander and of course, the Hummer, to run errands and go grocery shopping. If foreign-owned companies want to make vehicles that large for the American marketplace, let them go ahead and keep on doing it; at some point, the price of gasoline is going to stop cold all of those privateer-owned trucks dead in their tracks. Analysts are saying that the coming Spring, '08 season will bring the highest gas prices we have ever seen in the US. Something else to consider: Whoever owns one of these behemoths will see the value of their vehicle decline so fast their heads will spin.

Hey, people! We are fighting a WAR over oil right now ... It's on the news every night. You must have heard about it. Has anyone noticed? Besides imploring us to go shopping, how else does the President ask we on the home front help the war effort? If he even suggested the public buy smaller cars and trucks which get better mileage, that would at least get us all thinking about the loss/benefit of small vs. large vehicles.

For GM, Ford and Chrysler to succeed, at least in this country (they are all doing much better in overseas markets, especially China), they must build products which are desired by Americans ... But that can only happen after we Americans go through an agonizing reappraisal of what a car and truck should be. The domestic companies say Americans want big gas-guzzlers, and that's why they build them. Bullsh*t. The car companies created the demand on their own through marketing and advertising; they knew if they could sell huge numbers of huge vehicles, the more money they'd pocket.

BMW's HP2 BIKE; GRAND TRADITIONS OF ENGINEERING, STYLING AND HORSEPOWER IN SEVERAL MARKETPLACES COMBINED

BMW began as an aircraft engine and auto parts builder; motorcycles and then, complete cars, all came a bit later. In fact, following the use of various colors and images as a corporate logo, the blue and white BMW logo (or "roundel", which is also the name of the BMW Car Club of America magazine) is a representation of a plane's rotating propeller and was registered in December, 1917 (all of that info is always good for winning a bar bet). BMW counts for a lot of motorcycle 'firsts', perhaps the most-important of the modern age was being first to offer anti-lock brakes on a two-wheeler (in 1987 on the K100 Mark II), followed-up with ASC, Automatic Stability Control, in K- and R-series bikes in 2007. With all the excitement about the high-horsepower BMW 1-series coming into the US, a lot of people forget that, while the company makes, for the most part, truly fantastic, if heavily-priced, automobiles, they have often used their motorcycle division as a 'test bed' for engine and suspension parts which eventually found their way into the four-wheeled versions of BMW (the same can be said for Yamaha, whose "Genesis" cylinder heads have found their way in some form or another into Toyota and other engines, as well as Honda using their bike-developed engine tech in their automotive division). In fact, BMW spent many of its earliest years as a parts-maker for the then-new aircraft and automobile industries. One of the company's founders, Gustav Otto, was the son of Nikolaus August Otto, inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine. Let us remind you to 'double click' on the photos to really appreciate them. (Photo - 2008 BMW HP2).

BMW motorcycles have always been highly-appreciated by customers who value reliability, top-end horsepower mated with big low-end torque, liquid-cooling, interesting and even, lately, outrageous styling, and aficionados aren't afraid to reach deep into their pockets (and pocketbooks) to bring one home. For instance, BMW was the first motorcycle manufacturer to offer a cockpit fairing as standard equipment in 1973 on the R 90 S, today considered a revolutionary sport bike. In 1976, BMW's R 100 RS was the first production motorcycle fitted with a wind tunnel developed fairing. That worldwide BMW bike audience enjoys the theory and the reality of a "Boxer" horizontally-opposed engine; used by BMW (in their motorcycles, only), Porsche and Subaru cars, the engines have proven tough and extremely dependable. (Photo - 1973 Kawasaki Z1; I road-tested one when they were new!).

Starting in 1996, the California Department of General Services selected BMW motorcycles for use by the California Highway Patrol (CHP). That state purchases about 200 BMW motorcycles every two years to fill their state-wide fleet of about 600 bikes, total. The then-CHP commissioner said that the company's anti-lock brakes explained his decision to purchase motorcycles not made in the USA; traditionally, most American police agencies had used US-made Harley-Davidson bikes, but, starting in the 1970s, US police agencies started buying Japanese motorcycles, especially when Kawasaki broke past the 750cc engine size with their then-revolutionary (1973) 903cc Z1 model. (Photo - 2008 BMW 1-series coupe).

To see BMW's thought-process at work in both their car and bike divisions, just look at BMW's all-new "entry-level" automobile model, the new 1-series. The 135i coupe offers a 300-horsepower twin-turbo'd 3.0 liter V6 ... And, yes, this is a model in their "entry level" series, starting at $35,675. Why, that's only $10K more than the company's all-new HP2 Sport motorcycle (full info below). (Photo - 2008 Rolls-Royce Phantom with an "articulated roof" engineered and installed by EDAG of Fulda, Germany and the Mini Clubman).

Keep in mind that BMW also engineers and manufactures Rolls-Royce and Mini; that's quite a range of vehicles ... We wonder what early GM executives, who set-up that company to provide a car priced right (they thought) for every strata of American society, would think of a company which makes motorcycles and cars ranging in price from around $25,000 to well over $1 million.

By the way, the Mini Clubman, that new "shooting brake" of theirs (that's what they call station wagons in the UK) starts at $19,950; the turbo Clubman S will go for $23,450. And now, we'll let the BMW factory PR people have their say about their new two-wheeler:

"Boxer Fans - Reach for Your Checkbooks

The BMW HP2 Sport, arriving soon at US BMW Motorrad retailers, will have a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $25,375 (excluding taxes, license, options, and handling charge) and a destination charge of $495. The high-performance (HP) two (2)-cylinder Boxer is the third motorcycle in the HP model range customized to meet the requirements of the ambitious sport rider. (Photos below - 2008 BMW HP2; and check out those blue wheels, the single monoshock, gold-colored reservoir and yellow spring system under the seat controlling the swing arm).

The sportiest, most powerful and lightest Boxer ever manufactured, the HP2 Sport follows in the footsteps of the HP2 Enduro and the HP2 Megamoto. It features numerous exclusive details, previously restricted to racing, that were never before seen in series production BMWs. Technology such as the self-supporting and aerodynamically optimized fairings made completely of CFK, the gear shift assistant, a dashboard similar to that used in the MotoGP, the forged aluminum wheels and brakes with radially mounted calipers make the HP2 unmistakably athletic on both country roads and race tracks.

The most striking difference between the BMW HP2 Sport from the endurance racing Boxer is the brand new cylinder heads: each of the double overhead camshafts (DOHC) uses a drag lever to actuate the valves that are larger than those on the BMW R 1200 S. Further modifications, such as the flow-optimized intake and outlet, new forged pistons and adapted connecting rod, help the engine to achieve the necessary higher output compared to the basic engine. A new stainless steel exhaust system is placed below the engine for the first time, keeping the lower area of the motorcycle extremely slim for greater freedom of movement for a "hanging off" riding position. Although designed for racing prowess, the BMW HP2 Sport does not forego the safety benefits of ABS. A sophisticated antilock brake system, specially adapted to the HP2 Sport, is available as an option and is configured so that it can be deactivated for the racetrack.

Following the BMW Motorrad Motorsport design, the carbon-fiber bodywork of the HP2 Sport is partially painted Alpine White, while the engine spoiler carries the two-tone "HP2" lettering and the lattice frame and wheels are painted in the BMW Motorrad color of Motorsport Blue." (end of release)

Now, with BMW's factory folks having had their say above, let me ask a question: Who of you out there, upon first seeing BMW's (then and still) revolutionary R1200C, did not immediately start saving-up to make that purchase?

Maybe you saw it in the 1997 James Bond movie, "Tomorrow Never Dies", maybe at a motorcycle show, maybe in one of the bike magazines. No matter where, we all understood instinctively that something new was upon us, that a new level had been reached, there was a new measure of motorcycle design out there ... and it was all for the best.

Even people who did not immediately like the design had to at least admit that BMW deserved nothing if not our respect for trying something new, and putting it out there in front of the entire world. (Photo - BMW R1200C).

Our feeling is that if BMW had not designed and brought the R1200C and other R12 series bikes to market, then Harley-Davidson would never have had the courage to contract with Porsche to help with the engine and other design aspects of their machines, and the HD VRod would never have been made. (Photo - Harley-Davidson VRod).

BMW has carried with it, perhaps because of its Teutonic background, something of a staid, even at times  boring, reputation. At least in my mind ... But think of the M1, or those first 2002ti cars, the first cars the factory road-raced in the US (with the BRE team taking a lot of wins, BRE stands for Brock Racing Enterprises) and on and on to the latest 6-series; then there were some losers, especially the most-recent 7-series, which has taken a lot of heat for its rear-deck design, and which the company changed in mid-production. Another loser, not as small, though, was the 318i, the last "entry level" car BMW tried to sell in the US. It was a great, great small car, slightly overpriced for the times, but peppy enough to be fun and with that almost-patented terrific tight, BMW handling.

In any event, BMW has made its mark, first in aircraft and motorcycles, eventually in automobiles, with sometimes radical designs which have questioned everything which came before it, which oversees cars from Mini to BMW to Rolls-Royce -- And of course designing, engineering and building some of the best motorcycles the world has ever seen ... or ridden!

   

From top, the first BMW product, an aircraft engine, here in a Fokker, circa 1925; first BMW motorcycle, the R32, 1924; first BMW car, the 1927 Dixi.

CHI-TOWN INTROS, POOR PERSON'S FERRARI, GMC's DUAL MODE HYBRID DENALI CONCEPT AND MORE!

With the Chicago Auto Show, traditionally America's best-attended car show, has its run this week and with the New York Auto Show in Manhattan's Jacob Javits Center opening soon, time to take a quick look at a few vehicles, some shown at Chicago, some not, which knowing about will you a much more sophisticated person ... You hope. With the Los Angeles, New York and Detroit shows held in larger markets than Chicago, what's the secret of that show's high attendance? Well, it's mostly because in the dead of winter there's nothing much to do in Illinois and its nine surrounding states, and that's where the customers come from to view the great spectacle in McCormick Place (and how many of you knew that McCormick Place is owned by the Kennedy family?)

Sit back, scroll down, and enjoy ...

Well, everyone that I know has been waiting for this product, especially now that gasoline costs over $3 a gallon everywhere in the US (thanks to George W. Bush and, especially, Dick Cheney). Yes, my world and yours have certainly been waiting for the "2008 Rolls-Royce Phantom RR01 1100mm Limousine by Mutec". Mutec being a company located in Oberstenfeld, Germany ... But you already knew that!

The press release from the manufacturer consists of a bunch of photos of this monstrosi, uh, I mean, elegant motor carriage, and says just the following: "

Mutec now offers a stretch limousine version of the Rolls-Royce Phantom, adding an additional 44 inches of room as well as rear facing seats." Somewhat amazing that with all the "extras" Mutec put into this car, the front end with those boxy headlights and massive grille is still the single-ugliest part of any automobile in the past 25 years. Make that 50. Talk about "making a statement", the most we can say about it is, "So shut up, already!"

2008 Ferrari FXX Pedal-Car - An Affordable Supercar

On a slightly smaller scale ... Don't worry, it's still possible to buy that "best gift" for the Car Nut in your life. Especially if he or she is under 10. Thanks to the good folks at toy-maker Berg, we proudly present the 2008 Ferrari FXX pedal car.

If the real Ferrari FXX is out of your price range, maybe this FXX inspired pedal car by Berg will be of interest to you, says the firm's PR release.

The standard model costs €499, shown below, which works out to USD$723.75. But, the release goes on, why not splurge for the €1499 FXX Exclusive (USD$2,174.15, shown at left) which has a bucket seat, four-point harness,leather-wrapped steering wheel, wider tires, and an aero kit that gives the pedal-car an even more authentic FXX look. Disc brake detail shown in photo.

OK, maybe we went a little too far including the Ferrari pedal car, but this next new product should catch and hold your interest.

Two wheels not enough? Four too many? A lot of people are settling for three wheels, with a high-tech engine and sophisticated suspensions to make for a powerful and well-controlled ride. (Photo - One of Piaggio's all-new and more powerful three-wheelers)

Now, here's a little history lesson: We used to call these vehicles "trikes" back in the day, and they usually consisted of a rear axle pulled from an auto junkyard, shortened by half or more with a wheel on either end, and naturally, absolutely no rear suspension (ie, in the manner of a Harley "Hardtail"), a front wheel and front fork suspension (if any) taken from a wrecked motorcycle, and possibly extended to some unholy length, an oil-burning Chevy small block V8 moving the lightweight conveyance via the rear wheels, and a straight-from-Central Casting burly biker-type, hanging onto his monkey bars, and let's not forget the wide, comfortable rear seat, where the incumbent babe would relax during the ride, leaning back on the provided sissy bars. Let's not make the mistake of thinking trike-riders are rich urban bikers (the derisively named "Rubbies"), now it's usually a real old time motorcycle gang member driving/riding these Frankensteins of motorcycles. (Photos - Some classic trikes, as described above; the orange bike is using a rear-mounted and air-cooled VW engine and extended front forks, the second bike seems more professionally modified and gives a good view of the all-important comfortable rear seating)

These three-wheelers from Piaggio (and many other makers around the world) are not the fabled "trikes" of yore. Let's allow Piaggio to tell their story ...

2008 Piaggio MP3 - The Three Wheel Revolution Continues

Piaggio Introduces Maxi Scooter Power Couple to MP3 Family:

New 2008 MP3 500 and MP3 400 Three-Wheel Scooters Continue the Personal Transportation Revolution

NEW YORK, January 31, 2008 – Italian manufacturer Piaggio launched a revolution in the personal transportation category when it rewrote the rules with the three-wheel MP3 250 scooter. For 2008, the company again raises the bar with the introduction of two all-new MP3 models, the MP3 500 and MP3 400 maxi scooters. Based on the trademark technical innovations that transformed the MP3 250 into an immediate best-seller, the higher-displacement MP3 500 and 400 offer riders the added benefit of high-performance four-stroke engines, aggressive styling and a new level of premium safety, comfort and convenience equipment. Designed to go the distance, the newest MP3 models are uniquely suited to enjoying the diverse terrain of America's highways and byways.


All MP3 models feature Piaggio's innovative three-wheel configuration. Unique in the category, each MP3 delivers unparalleled stability, road grip and parking ease thanks to two independent tilting, articulated front wheels and an electro-hydraulic suspension locking system that allows the scooter to remain locked upright while at a standstill. At the same time, the MP3 sacrifices nothing when it comes to riding thrills – with a 40-degree lean angle, every MP3 delivers all the maneuverability, agility and entertainment of a motorcycle. Dry or wet conditions, smooth asphalt highway or pot-hole studded city streets, the MP3 models are resilient travel companions. (end of release)

To see the entire press release, which includes specifications and all the important details on these two all-new 400cc and 500cc three-wheelers, and to discover one of the websites where many, many blogs get their supposedly "inside info", simply click anywhere on this line!

2008 GMC Denali XT Hybrid Concept - Chicago Debut

Let's get off our scooters and climb into our big, bad GMC Denali XT Concept dual mode hybrid ... And this concept is  not just some paint-and-tape job, either. This Denali SUT was introduced at the Chicago Auto Show this week, and is the GMC version of the Chevrolet Tahoe SUV which had its world debut at the recent 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show; the Tahoe, with the same dual mode hybrid technology as this GMC Denali, was named, somewhat surprisingly, the "Green Car of the Year" by my old friend, Ron Cogan, editor of industry mag "Green Car Journal".

Again, let's allow the manufacturer to have their say:

GMC DENALI XT HYBRID CONCEPT TRUCK DELIVERS 50-PERCENT FUEL ECONOMY IMPROVEMENT

• New, robust design form serves as a test well for GMC's future design direction
• First combination of GM's two-mode hybrid system with E85 ethanol-capable engine
• Height-adjustable suspension and cargo space-enhancing Midgate®

CHICAGO – GMC unveiled the Denali XT concept at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show. It offers a 50-percent increase in combined fuel economy over comparable small pickup trucks when running on gasoline, and it incorporates a new, muscular form in a performance-styled, hybrid sport-utility truck (SUT). The dual mode hybrid system consists of GM's Active Fuel Management controlling the engine, which can switch between 8 or 4 cylinders, as demand warrants, along with two 60-kilowatt electric motors packaged inside the tranny itself, rather than depending on one large motor to “assist” the engine. GM, BMW and (what was then) DaimlerChrysler took an existing GM bus/truck transmission and re-worked it, working mostly in Europe, for the past three years. The latest version of it can fit in the full-size pickup and SUV GM line-up and can improve fuel mileage, GM says, by up to 50% under certain circumstances. This GMC Denali XT concept SUT can run on electric-only, V8-only, or a combination of the two.

The Denali XT has a anybody architecture and rear-wheel drive, enabling its distinctive design and efficient performance. It builds on the equity of the Denali line and its reputation for advanced engineering and refinement, including the first combination of GM's two-mode hybrid system with an E85 ethanol-capable engine. Denali XT's new, more efficient 4.9L version of GM's small-block V-8 features fuel-saving technologies such as direct-injection technology and Active Fuel Management. (Photo - Artist rendering of possible interior theme for the dual mode hybrid Denali if and when it becomes a production vehicle)

The engine is matched with GM's unique two-mode hybrid propulsion system, giving the powerful SUT  exceptional fuel economy and uncompromising capability – including all-electric drive at low speeds. It is a powertrain combination that makes the Denali XT perfectly suited to a variety of active lifestyle activities, such as hauling skis and snowboards to the mountain or towing a sport jet boat to the lake. (end of release)

To read a comprehensive version of this PR material, just click anywhere on this line!

IRL AND CHAMP CAR: FEUD OVER, TOGETHER AGAIN --- THIS YEAR?

Will this 2008 racing season at last see Champ Car and the Indy Racing League back together as one successful American open-wheel racing series? When it comes to America's two (failing) series, Champ Car and the Indy Racing League, will there finally be "Peace in our time"?

Robin Miller, the most knowledgeable open-wheel motorsports writer in the country, is reporting that 2008 might see these two series combined. Both Champ Car and the IRL have been trying to achieve what was lost since Tony George, whose family owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500 race, decided to split with the very successful CART series (what Champ Car was being called at the time) and establish another national series, the Indy Racing League (IRL). What the megalomaniacal George has actually accomplish ed is nothing short of very impressive (said with tongue firmly in cheek): this inbred and idiot son of Indianapolis managed to destroy not just one open-wheel series, but both the existing Champ Car series and his own IRL. With each series, in almost 12 years of racing since "the split", struggling to stay alive, much less flourish as CART did in the 1980s and early 1990s, Robin Miller reports that a rapprochement might very well be in the works. Now, this is not the first time Miller has said that "things might be worked out between the two series", but this is certainly the first time he has written so publicly and extensively about the insider communication between the two series and their plans for the future. And how the much-wanted "closure" between the two series could very well happen this season.

From 1985 to 1995 CART was the penultimate open-wheel series in the world, second only to Formula 1. Ford Cosworth, Honda and Toyota poured tens of millions of dollars, pounds and yen into some amazing engine technologies, on a par with F1 in some cases, and their engineers proudly cared for "their" drivers in the garages and pits of the events. I was given a tour of the secret Honda facility north of Los Angeles were CART engines were built from the ground up, a place with no outside sign that inside the building was one of the great engine technology companies in the world, maybe the best. In fact, the lay-out of the So Cal facility had been copied, perfectly, from its sister plant in Tochigi, Japan. The size of the engine-building and dyno rooms, the thickness and angle of the floors and walls, even the materials used in constructing the buildings and of course exact copies of the machine tools ... All of it was exactly the same in both buildings, so when a part was being machined in Japan, the same part could be machined in Santa Clarita (oops, I gave it away!) and the resulting part would be, theoretically, exactly the same as mechanically possible. This was the kind of money being spent in CART. (Photo - In 1967, NBC Tonight Show host Johnny Carson took a few laps around the Brickyard in the STP turbine-powered car).

Races were staged in the US and internationally, big-money sponsors were happy with a TV package which reached almost 100% of the households in the US, names like Foyt, Andretti, Unser, Penske, Ganassi, Carl Haas, Paul Newman, David Letterman, Bobby Rahal and others just as world-famous were active in the series as racers or owners, and sometimes both. CART racing itself was done on a combination of short and long oval tracks (from the Milwaukee Mile to the 2.5-mile-long Indy Motor Speedway) and road races on dedicated and temporary street tracks (such as the gorgeous "natural" race track at Elkhart Lake, Indiana, and the massive week-long beach-party event at Long Beach, CA, where the actual race was sometimes sort of an afterthought to the world-class beer drinking and puking). Competition was very tight, the money on the line for each team was enormous and millions of American race fans were treated almost every week during the season to great competition from racers who had personalities which worked well on TV. (Photo - They take the Indy track race seriously in its home state; here Tony Stewart, left, gets his victory ring for the Brickyard 400 in the Indiana State House).

But poor old Tony George wasn't happy with the situation. Why? Because while his family's Indy  500 was still the biggest open-wheel race in America and attracted worldwide attention, there were a lot of bad feelings between the George family and many of the CART team owners. George thought that CART team owners should not be part of the management group which dictated CART rules, costs and where races would be held, but they were, and while George might own a track, he didn't own any race teams. And in complicated business arrangements between the Indy Motor Speedway, the United States Auto Club (USAC) and CART, the George family, Tony thought, came out on the short end of the stick. The reality which no one wanted to talk about publicly was that while most of the CART team owners were succesful, world-class business entrepreneurs, George himself was something of a hayseed, a hick, a wealthy Indianan who was best friends with former US Vice-President and Indiana native Dan Quayle (who had trouble spelling the word "potato" while visiting a classroom on national TV). While George was the kind of guy most CART owners (and motor journalists) would laugh at behind his back, he had enough money to do things his way, if he wanted. Finally he'd taken enough insults, he felt, that his way was going to be the only way.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the first dedicated motoring race track in the world, opening in 1909, built by auto parts entrepreneur Carl Fisher and partners (Fisher also helped create the city of Miami Beach and made millions when, also in 1909, he sold his Prest-O-Lite automobile headlamp business to Union Carbide). The Speedway was saved from possibly being bulldozed after WWII by George's grandfather, Tony Hulman, who bought it from WWI war hero and failed car-builder Eddie Rickenbacker in 1945 for $750,000. But by 1995, Tony George watched while the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach had grown over the years into a huge event which drew almost as many paid spectators and TV numbers as the Indy 500 itself. (Photo - WIth the Queen Mary seen in the background, the Long Beach Grand Prix is the single-most popular sports event in Southern California).

So Tony started his own series. It would be a series run only on American oval race tracks, feature only American drivers, be much less expensive than the CART series and, most important, the team owners would not be involved in any management of the series itself. When Tony George came to the west coast to pitch his new series to motor journalists, I was at the press conference where he first laid out his plans for his all-new Indy Racing League. Of course, as soon as he got to the part of his spiel where he spoke about the "worst aspect of CART" being team owners involved in series management, and that would never happen in his new IRL, racing insiders in the room knew he was lying. George was already involved in the ownership of at least one of the teams he told our gathering would be among the first in the IRL.

So much for Tony George and honesty. In fairly short order, George was found to be either lying outright or at least stretching the truth with every "promise" he had made to journalists and potential series sponsors and teams. IRL quickly added road courses to their "oval-only" schedule, racers were certainly not "American-only", the IRL today is at least as expensive as CART ever was and we already knew that George was involved with both series management and team ownership. (Photo - Eddie Rickenbacker, a WWI flying hero, owned the Indy Motor Speedway until after WWII when Tony Hulman bought it from him for $750,000; the "ringed top hat" was the symbol Rickenbacker placed on the cars built by his short-lived car-making company).

In the years since the IRL was formed, both Champ Car and the IRL have suffered enormously; both  their TV packages are losers, and while the Indy 500 still draws one of the biggest TV sports audiences of the year, the numbers are nowhere near the levels of the sport's heyday of the '80s and '90s. Paid attendance at all IRL and Champ Car events has dwindled, and Champ Car has been forced to buy their own TV time and then try to re-sell the time to advertisers (known as 'brokering' in show biz). Because of longtime relationships which go back many decades between ABC-TV and the Indy 500, the George and Hulman families and especially AJ Foyt (Foyt's fourth Indy 500 win was reportedly the single-most requested segment when ABC's "Wide World of Sports" celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1986 and polled viewers on their favorites), the Indy 500 has always found a warm home with that network.

Sponsorships, naturally, have suffered greatly, too. A two-car CART team, in the sport's best days, could have cost anywhere from $15 to $30 million annually. The IRL's creation killed those days, and fast. Some spoonsors tried having a presence in both series, but quickly tired of their spending producing worse results then when just one series existed. Many made the common-sense decision to cut all their sponsorships until the two series were able to overcome their internal difficulties and run once again as a single American open-wheel racing series.

On any given weekend these days, both series have more than their share of race cars with little or no sponsorship, and many of the events themselves have no title sponsorship. And the level of racing has been on a downward trajectory since the split, with both IRL and Champ Car dominated by two or three experienced drivers and one or two well-financed teams. People who thought F1 was boring got no relief from CART or the IRL. And the IRL, especially, has had too many drivers killed or seriously injured since the series' debut.

Still seeking the kind of respect and acknowledgment which he felt his track and family had never received, George brought NASCAR into the Indy "family" with the "Brickyard 400" every August, beginning in 1994, and even got together with Formula 1 chieftain Bernie Ecclestone to stage some F1 events at the track, too. The annual F1 races began with a sell-out crowd in 2000, but paid attendance dropped seriously every year thereafter, even though George had spent many millions creating an F1-approved garage and pit area and a gorgeous new press center in the famous infield "pagoda". Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when Ecclestone, the all-time poster boy for "Euro Trash" and George, the down home Indiana boy who thinks he's a genius, had their meetings.

In the 2005 race, because of serious tire safety problems on the track, only 6 cars started the race, in  what was the single-most embarrassing event in the history of auto racing of any kind. F1 left Indy after 2007, which leaves the US without any F1 races, and George has said he'll be staging a MotoGP World Grand Prix motorcycle race instead of the F1 race cars, in addition to having already added an International Race of Champions series event at his track. Hey, when business is bad (as in, when Indy's traditional "Month of May" has been replaced by the "Last Week of May", and when the best pit row seats are available for every single day of that week, including for the race itself) a guy's gotta depend on some buddies, as in NASCAR and now, World MotoGP. By the way, George and the Indy Speedway website go to great lengths to promote the golf tournaments ... yes, golf tournaments ... which are being held on the 18-hole golf course in the track's infield. There's a lake there, too (Lake George) and the great Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, the best reason to visit that track on any day of the year.

And having had the honor of driving a lap around that race track (in an antique car during the Great American Race), I think it's nice that Tony George is finally willing to "play nice with others". But if and when the two series get back together, there are certain things we'll miss ... Like when, in a typically desperate bid for public notice of the IRL, AJ Foyt tried to punch-out Arie Luyendyk after a May, 1997 race at Texas Motor Speedway. But it just couldn't top the fistfight (a real one, not staged for TV as AJ's was) during the first-ever live telecast of any 500-mile oval race (the 1979 Daytona 500) when just seconds after Richard Petty claimed a surprising victory, Donnie Allison, brother Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough had a backstretch slugfest that CBS captured for everyone to see and which put the sport called "NASCAR" on everyone's radar. The "modern NASCAR miracle" can be traced directly back to that CBS telecast. AJ slugging the former Dutch Boy Paint-sponsored Luyendyk was something for the ages for die-hard fans of the sport, but for the casual race fan, it just made the point, once again, that "all them racer boys are crazy". (Photo - 2007 Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti sees his image for the first time on the Borg-Warner Trophy).

But maybe all the IRL and Champ Car problems are over. Here's the start of the Robin Miller story, with a link to the entire piece at its end:

The long, costly war between Champ Car and the Indy Racing League is close to being over and, for the first time since 1995, there could be one open wheel series for 2008. But there’s still one major hurdle to overcome to make this long-awaited union a reality. 

SPEED has learned that Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe, the co-owners of Champ Car, have reached an agreement with IRL founder Tony George to race together this season.

As reported by SPEEDtv.com recently, George offered the Champ Car ownership free Dallara chassis and Honda engines to any CC team that signs up for the full season in addition to receiving $1.2 million per car as part of the IRL’s new TEAM program. Additionally, the Champ Car races at Long Beach, Edmonton and Surfer’s Paradise, Australia would be added to the ’08 IndyCar Series schedule. (Photo - The "hot pit" area is both the most exciting and most dangerous place to experience any race, as seen here during the Long Beach Grand Prix).

However, it’s not quite that easy.

The IRL race at Motegi, Japan is scheduled to run April 18-20 which is the same weekend as the Long Beach Grand Prix. Jim Michaelian, the longtime LBGP president and general manager, says the most successful street race in North America is locked into its date and cannot be moved due to prior contract commitment with the Long Beach Convention Center (which anchors the track).

To read the rest of this important Robin Miller story, simply click anywhere on this line.

"YES!" --- SMALL 415hp EURO ROADSTER MAKES US DEBUT AT CHICAGO

"YES!"? No. We don't like the name of the concept Volkswagen of the future, "Space UP!" which the company has been busily exhibiting this year and last in the big world auto shows, and we're pretty negative on the name of the Euro sports car featured below: "YES!". As with both Mini and Smart (BMW wanted us to always use smaller case when writing the name, ie, "mini" and, similar lower-case being pushed by Daimler, ie, "smart"), the marketing people at these companies want all of us to remember their respective vehicles in the font and case used by the manufacturer, always including the all-important  "exclamation mark!". I don't blame the companies for trying to muscle us into doing their job for them, but why do so many journalists and publications always give-in without complaint? Let their advertising convince people why they should try their cars, and we journeys don't always have to be their marketing partners. Reminds of the times in year's past when the Toyota people wanted us all to pronounce the company's name as it is said in Japan, with the emphasis on the last of three syllables, as in: Toy-yo-da'. But thankfully, better minds in Japan saw fit to make the name something we westerners could pronounce (something Mitsubishi, Hyundai and a few other car-making outfits should seriously consider).

That said, Yes does appear to be a winning combination of styling and horsepower, as those Germans absolutely know how to package cars for we here in the Colonies. To be honest, we have not driven one, here in in Europe, so we'll tell you the facts from the company's own PR material, and when we do get one (which should happen sometime around this coming April) we'll let you know how close Yes cars are to their PR fluff.

Since 2001, Funke & Will AG, located in Grossenhain near Dresden, Germany (and we know the  company name sounds like an old "Rowan's and Martin's Laugh-In" joke) has been making their hand-built little sports cars with plenty of under-hood oomph! available outside their home country. This time, it's our turn here in the states, as the company has an exhibit at the Chicago Auto Show and is making lots of noise about their car, already in their second generation, being available in the US starting sometime around June, 2008.

Now, although dealers have not yet been named, we expect that with Yes making some news during the big Chicago Auto Show, and that news being covered in Automotive News and other industry pubs, and with the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention taking place in Las Vegas between February 2nd and 6th in Las Vegas, a lot of dealers will be talking about these cars at their annual convention. Our best guess is that Yes dealers will start springing up in major cities in the US' north, from New York City straight west across the nation through Detroit, Chicago and winding-up in San Francisco, Portland and Seattle (these three west coast cities have a very Euro-sensibility when it comes to their cars; residents see themselves as ultra-sophisticated, certainly more so than their cousins in So Cal, but it's all a bunch of auto BS). And naturally, there will be plenty of dealers along what's known as the "Smile Belt", starting in Atlanta, swinging south to Miami, then across the Gulf of Mexico to Houston and Dallas, then through Phoenix, Las Vegas and ending, finally in World Car Headquarters, Southern California.

The standard Roadster 3.2, which starts at $77,995, has an Audi 3.2 liter, V6 making 225 horsepower. For $97,995, there's a turbocharged version with 355 horsepower that can hits 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, the car-maker claims. An extra $7,995 upgrades the Roadster 3.2 Turbo with a 415-horsepower engine that hits top speeds of 200 mph. Just looking at photos of Yes, I just don't know if it's something I'd be comfortable hitting 200 in; for that matter, who could be comfortable at those speeds, outside of a professional racer?

As for styling, some have said the Yes cars' two doors are "gullwing-like", but a true Gullwing (as in Mercedes-Benz) must have a hard top on which to balance and hold the open doors; no, the Yes' doors are better-described as being "vertical doors", exactly the kind sold by a company in Southern California which helped start the recent vertical door craze, called, believe it or not, "Vertical Doors".

As for safety and comfort, for the first time Yes is available with a removable hardtop, and the company goes to great lengths in their PR material (below) to convince readers that what might have been a fairly pedestrian interior, it's been upgraded to the point where some Americans might well pay $80,000-or-so to get their Yes thrills. The hardtop would no doubt help the car's handling to some extent, and keep driver and passenger warm and quiet, if they should wish. All Yes cars have metal hoops on the top of the bucket seats in an attempt to keep everyone safe and inside the car should a rollover occur; an in-place hardtop would do that job much better.

One problem is that no hardtop version was displayed at Chicago, nor shown in their PR material. We also don't know for certain whether or not the cloth top can be stored in the car. Yes might be a good purchase for someone who has also bought one of those hardtop removers/holders for one of their Mercedes SL models. Those cars' roofs weighed over 50 pounds, and even with two people taking the top off or installing it, it was a difficult operation.

Our take? Call us when you develop an automatic hardtop convertible, which the Mazda people have done with a sports car perhaps not as fast as yours or as luxurious inside, but MX-5 Miata also costs less than half what your Yes does. And someone has to say this: Doesn't this car look a hell of a lot like the old Triumph TR8, with a little Audi TT up front and Honda S2000 in the rear? Look at the photos below and you be the judge ...

And now, Yes' corporate people have their own unexpurgated say:

YES! 3.2 Roadster

The second generation of YES! is larger and more individual than its predecessor and
increases in comfort and safety leaving nothing to be desired. With the introduction of the YES! Roadster 3.2 in 2006, the Funke & Will AG in Grossenhain near Dresden/ Germany mark the start of the second generation of this unique sports car. The uncompromising vehicle was presented to the public for the first time at the international automobile show AMI in Leipzig in April of 2006. The overwhelmingly positive response from media, customers, experts and business partners reflects the great interest of the public in the puristic lightweight and proves once again the successful implementation of this concept, true to the motto: PURE DRIVING
PLEASURE.

Due to the equally positive feedback from America, Funke & Will AG has extended distribution of the YES!  Roadster 3.2 to North America this year. For this purpose the company has founded YES! North America Inc in 2006. Car enthusiasts from all over the world, from New Zealand to the United States have expressed great interest in the individual two-seater with the unmistakable YES! design, as reflected by increasing sales. The design of the new YES! again shows the contours of the Stuttgart designer Oliver Schweizer. The striking features of the YES! sports car are retained in the wedge-shaped lateral contour and the racy front and rear fenders.

The new generation, however, can be equipped with an optional hard top. The YES! can thus be transformed into a luxury coupe on cold days. The level of comfort was significantly raised in comparison with its predecessor. However extras such as heated seats and navigation system are available as option, because the weight of the sports car should be kept at a minimum. The interior of the new YES! was refined using high-quality materials and now, with the multi-media sound system, offers extraordinary sound enjoyment. In addition to the increased comfort, the new
YES! has a longer wheel base and larger motor.

The current model is equipped with a V6 Volkswagen motor. With its 255 hp, the 890 kg two-seater can accelerate to 60 m/h in just 4.8 seconds and gives you the driving pleasure typical of the YES! If that's not enough for you, set your sights on the YES! Roadster 3.2 Turbo. With this turbo version, Funke & Will advance into the realm of super sports cars. Thanks to an exhaust gas turbocharger, the same original aggregate yields 355 hp, catapulting the driver of the merely 930 kg roadster to 60 m/h in just 3.8 seconds. A specially developed rear spoiler ensures the necessary contact pressure to keep the 355 hp safely on the road. The two thoroughbred sports cars with the attractive performance levels have been available since 2006 in other countries in all regions of the world such as New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom, France and Spain, in addition to the local distribution partners in Germany.

The domestic and international distribution network of Funke & Will AG has been continually built up and other competent partners will be added in the future. For this reason among others, the global vehicle manufacturer and DIN ISO certified engineering services provider Funke & Will AG is able to meet the high standards of YES! customers. Funke & Will AG will of course be attending several events, galas, races, and shows. And the YES! Roadster has been awarded again with the Chicago Athenaeum Good Design Award 2007, one of the most prestigious design awards. Current information and exact dates as well. (End of Yes PR release)

2008 SUZUKI GSX-R MACHINES DETAILS AND PRICING

The London Motorcycle Show at the "Excel London" exhibition hall and convention center runs until February 3rd, and we've got two of the newest Suzuki bikes which are being displayed there, along with their pricing (well, pricing in the UK, but we convert it to US dollars for you) for the 2008 GSX-R600 and the GSX-R750. To see the details of these machines and explore all of our "Everything Motorcycle" section, simply click on that section's name in the right-hand margin, or just click here ... and enjoy!

EXXON/MOBIL POSTS BIGGEST ANNUAL PROFIT BY A US COMPANY --- EVER

Well, now here's a big surprise: Associated Press reports that: Exxon Mobil has posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company — $40.6 billion — as the world's biggest publicly traded oil company benefited from historic crude prices at the end of 2007. And, Exxon also set a U.S. record for the biggest quarterly profit, posting net income of $11.7 billion for the final three months of 2007, beating its own mark of $10.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005. The previous record for annual profit was $39.5 billion, which Exxon Mobil had in 2006. (Photo - "Now, hold your breath and bend over").

These figures, and those posted by some of the world's other, smaller, not-as-successful oil companies, should serve to the public as a resounding crescendo to the Bush administration's last year in office --- along with this news, the nation is on the verge of recession, or may already be in one, unemployment is at its highest rate in years, the value of the dollar has collapsed around the world, China and other countries are propping-up the dollar by buying into our Treasury, Toyota has surpassed General Motors as the world's biggest car-maker and car-seller; a record GM held for 77 years and will probably not regain soon, if ever, bankruptcies and home foreclosures are at record highs and probably will go higher this year, the nation's homebuilding, real estate and mortgage industries have essentially collapsed, we're in a possibly illegal war on the other side of the world, a war we got into based on lies from the President, and the respected Boston Globe newspaper reports on the same day these oil profits are announced, "A new congressional analysis shows the Iraq war is now costing taxpayers almost $2 billion a week -- nearly twice as much as in the first year of the conflict three years ago and 20 percent more than last year", and almost 4,000 American troops have died so far in Iraq alone.

So we think that every American needs to look at history, and the fact that in the past century, it took a Democratic president to fix the problems left by almost every Republican administration (check "Great Depression, 1929"). Also, we all need to know these figures and then ask ourselves, "If the nation's economy is in such terrible shape, and we know it is, then why are the oil companies reaping such huge, almost unconscionable profits, while other American companies and whole industries are failing and/or leaving the country for China, India and other points way west? Could it have anything to do with the fact that America's current President and Vice-President have both served as top oil company executives? And why are gasoline prices allowed to go so high?" Repeat all the above three times every morning and take two aspirin, and then read the rest of this news, as reported by the AP (and keep a bucket nearby in case you feel the need):

Seems these oil companies are competing only with themselves --- But there are other oil companies doing their best to screw the publi...uh, trying their best to make us all proud of the world's free and open marketplace. Crude prices reached an all-time trading high of $100.09 on Jan. 3 but have fallen about 10 percent since then. But, the US is nothing if not dependable. Our young men and women are being sent to serve as mercenaries for the world's nations which don't have the gumption to send their own --- And most are not doing anything to develop new energy technologies, guaranteeing that our troops will be necessary in Iraq, and elsewhere in that area, for some time to come (possibly for "100 years or more", according to John McCain).

Also extraordinary was Exxon Mobil's revenue, which rose 30 percent in the fourth quarter to $116.6 billion from $90 billion a year ago. For the year, sales rose to $404.5 billion — the most ever for the Irving, Texas-based company — from $377.64 billion in 2006.

Want to feel a bit more ill? Then read this: Exxon Mobil produces about 3 percent of the world's oil. That's all it takes to make these kind of obscene profits.

Refining and marketing, or downstream, earnings were $2.3 billion, up from nearly 2 billion in the year-ago quarter, as improved refining operations offset lower U.S. refining margins. Keep in mind, though, that an oil refinery facility has not been built in the US in over 30 years, and low refining capacity is often cited as one of the main reasons behind rising gasoline and heating oil prices.

Now, let's hear from some of the other oil companies ...

ConocoPhillips has said record oil prices at the end of 2007 helped it post a 37 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit, even as it produced less crude and natural gas than a year earlier. Its quarterly net income rose to $4.37 billion versus $3.2 billion a year earlier. ConocoPhillips is the nation's third-largest integrated oil company behind Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp.

Chevron reported this week that its profit rose 29 percent in the fourth quarter, as surging prices for crude   oil offset weak results from its refining business. It earned $4.88 billion, or $2.32 per share, from $3.77 billion, or $1.74 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 29 percent to $61.41 billion from $47.75 billion.

And, last but not least, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's largest oil company, posted a 60 percent gain in fourth-quarter profit  to $8.47 billion on asset sales and higher oil prices. Shell said full-year net profit was a company record $31.3 billion, up 23 percent from the prior year.

And we mere mortals stupidly wonder who is buying all the Rolls-Royces, 7-series BMWs, Bentleys, S-class Mercedes, Lamborghini Murcielagos, Ferrari Enzos, A8 Audis and that ultimate expression of too much money, no taste and definitely not enough brains, the Maybach. Any Maybach.

TESLA WANTS TO "OUT-VOLT" GM'S VOLT

Tesla, the beleaguered San Carlos, California company which has had an on again/off again relationship with the motoring media, and recently went through personnel changes which a former official with the company deemed a "bloodbath", now says that in addition to the manufacture of their $98,000 Tesla Roadster starting March 17th, 2008, and their ongoing Research and Development aimed at bringing out an all-electric four-door sedan named Whitestar, which they say is due on-sale in late 2009, they've had another big announcement (which seem to be happening on a weekly basis now): Tesla says they will also be building a gas/electric hybrid version of the Whitestar using technology similar to that in the Chevrolet Volt concept car which has been ballyhooed by GM at many of the largest US auto shows, beginning in January, 2007, at the Detroit Auto Show. For the rest of the story and more Tesla photos, click on "Greening of our Automotive Future" in the right-hand margin, or just click here.

NISSAN GT-R HAS PLANS FOR INTERNATIONAL RACING PROGRAMS

The Nissan GT-R, the current "hottest car in the world", is going to compete in several racing series in Japan as well as South Africa and China, with both factory and privateer support. For the whole story, and plenty more photos of this all-new Nissan GT-R race car which will be campaigning in Japan's "Super GT" race series, visit our "USA, Worldwide Motorsports" section by clicking on that section name in the right-hand margin ... Or by just clicking here! And Enjoy!