Interesting Automotive Articles [Naughty Ferrari]

[CarMadMike]

Hey :duck:s,

 

I spend an unhealthy amount of time reading Jalopnik, Autocar, AutoExpress, Pistonheads, Autoblog etc (Usually as proscratination, to avoid having to revise/do any work) and come across many interesting articles that aren't about the latest car release or motorsport events that some people may miss or not realise they're worth reading.

 

So here's a place to post them and hopefully discuss them!

 

Mercedes 190E EVOII - $700k?! - Jalopnik

 

 

this Mercedes-Benz 190E that’s priced so high above the competition that it’s comical, but it may not be without reason. [...] This 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evo II is a real-life, no-fooling unicorn. It is the rarest Mercedes this side of a Gullwing, except this one has four doors and you can theoretically do your grocery shopping in it. Read More Here

 

I didn't even know the existence of EVO II 190Es, I know only 500 were made but still. He makes a valid point, a 700k classic car should A) Be in slightly better condition unless they're race-wounds and B) No where near enough information on it, for a 7K C-class maybe it'd be okay with that much info, but for a car 100 x the cost of one, simply not acceptable.

 

 

Bloodhound: How do you stop a 1000mph car? - Topgear

 

 

Bloodhound will use disc brakes below 200mph, and perforated airbrakes to initially slow its charge. But a good old-fashioned parachute will still handle the lion's share of the stopping. [...] the very engine that powers this 542bhp V8 Jag will be used as a the fuel pump for the record car's rocket motor. Read More Here

 

If anyone hasn't been following the Bloodhound SSC construction I highly recommend catching up on it, a highly entertaining and jaw-dropping feat of engineering! The fact the F-Type's V8 engine is simply only good enough as a fuel pump shows just how mammoth a task this will be.

 

Should Formula 1 be very worried about its future? - Autocar

 

 

because there is a very small pool of car manufacturers with the resources to enter expensive top-line motor racing. The fact is, the more that commit to sports cars and other championships, the fewer there are to consider Formula 1 Read More Here

 

The lack of manufacturers is indeed very worrying in F1 but the fact it's not the most discussed issue with F1 at the moment shows just how many problems the sport has. I love it so hate to accept just how many issues it has, I don't think it's anywhere near as boring as it is criticised to be but I do think that people are correct in calling out most of the other issues (Lack of manufacturers, Ecclestone's leadership, some less-exciting tracks, increasing costs, the strategy group being elitist and many more).

 

 

 

DISCUSS AND POST YOUR OWN FINDINGS BELOW! :nods:

[Ryzza5]

So just get Red Bull, Mercedes, Lotus, Renault, etc to plan entries for the WEC and kill the sport that way.

[CarMadMike]

So just get Red Bull, Mercedes, Lotus, Renault, etc to plan entries for the WEC and kill the sport that way.

 

Kill it? A financially stable sport (for those that run it) that still has a fairly huge audience around the world? That seems completely logical, thanks for your input, please, don't hesitate to give more.

 

425 Million global viewers

$500 million profit

[TIMELESS]

Kill it? A financially stable sport (for those that run it) that still has a fairly huge audience around the world? That seems completely logical, thanks for your input, please, don't hesitate to give more.

 

425 Million global viewers

$500 million profit

 

It's still profitable no doubt, but losing 5% of viewers on the previous year is a serious loss. I think it's starting to get to that point where the viewers are divided, sure they may still watch but they don't enjoy it like they used to. The change in engines, and various other problems has alienated viewers I guess. They say Moto GP is the same, the change in classes and restrictions, the fact that you're basically watching the same cars with hardly any differences between them, get's boring. That's what I love about BTCC and WEC, there's a much greater variety of cars, each with their own advantages.

[Camel]

They're using a Jag V8 as a fuel pump. :eek: At least it will sound nice!

 

I would have thought there would have been another way of going about it though. One that saves the extra weight of a big engine and the fuel for said big extra engine. How do fighter jets pump their fuel to the thingy?

[mau92]

Weren't they going to use a Cosworth F1 V8 as fuel pump? I saw that Harley posted it on his FB a time a ago

[Ryzza5]

That's half the problem. As long as it's profitable the big wigs probably see no reason to change anything. It's way too corporate and they couldn't give a racoons backside what others think. I'd rather watch a bunch of amateurs racing Formula Ford.

[CarMadMike]

Weren't they going to use a Cosworth F1 V8 as fuel pump? I saw that Harley posted it on his FB a time a ago

 

Either the two teams didn't work together well, Cosworth couldn't find realistically contribute to finances or the parts provided simply weren't suitable for the Bloodhound as you're correct:

 

2010: Cosworth providing eletronics and Fuel Pump: Cosworth Group F1 engine and electronics announced as key components in 1,000 mph SuperSonic Car | BLOODHOUND SSC

 

2013: Cosworth and Bloodhound SSC's partnership has come to a close: Bloodhound and Cosworth partnership to close | BLOODHOUND SSC

 

2014: Jaguar come into the picture the F-Type's V8 engine: JAGUAR SUPPORTS BLOODHOUND SSC RECORD BID | BLOODHOUND SSC

 

How weird :hmmm: Either way, glad they stuck with british engineering.

[calster17]

Interesting articles?

 

There is what you guys would call interesting & what I'd call interesting...

 

Such as this Ogel SX1000 having been found for sale last week. Whats an 'Ogel'? It was a car based on the original mini. And very few were made.

 

eBay find of the Week: Ogel SX1000

[ATTACH]23682[/ATTACH]

[CarMadMike]

I've seen pushchairs for babies with bigger rims than that thing :p

 

Never heard of Ogle before, so the obligatory Google 'DID YOU MEAN OPEL!?' came up haha.

 

The founder of the company, David Ogle, was killed in a crash in one of those SX1000s :eek: Not exactly a flying endorsement to purchase one.

[The Compensator]

#ChevyGoesEmoji

 

WHY

 

[Eudemon]

A Lamborghini Sesto Elemento is on sale for €3million (£1.9million) if anyone is interested?

 

lamborghini sesto elemento for sale

[CLR-GTR]

Just to point at that 190 EVO II, they rarily get over 90K. Super-excellent would be 90-100K maybe but that would almost have to be a sub-500 km mileage car in beyond perfect condition. Most of the well-kept yet driven ones are around 80K. Anything over 100K should be a perfect preserved, maintained actual 190 DTM car driven by a famous driver and collecting a lot of prizes.

 

That pricetag of 700K is only understandable if it's in Zimbabwe currency (no offence, but they're the country with X-million dollar bills).

[Eudemon]

Eeek! That's going to cost a bit to put right.

 

I'm so upset i can't even think of anything witty to say :(

[Camel]

Way to go off-topic. That's not interesting, it's just plain upsetting. :(

[Ryzza5]

If the car is worth as much as they say I'm sure it will be repaired, even if they have to pay someone to learn how to create those panels by hand.

[CarMadMike]

:eek: That seems to be about 10 mins away from me, right by Manchester Airport.

 

Awful thing to see, but it shouldn't be a write off you're right.

[CarMadMike]

I Just Lost $25,500 On My Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 And I Couldnt Be Happier

 

Really cool read over on Jalopnik from Tavarish.

[CarMadMike]

Uh oh.... VW have made a boo boo. They've supposedly been cheating their way around US emissions tests:

 

Volkswagen to recall 500,000 pollution-hiding cars in US - BBC News

 

This could be rather bad for the company if the US government wants to make an example out of them etc.

 

Would not surprise me if this is the first to be caught, and many other car company's skeletons regarding emissions will start to fall out of the cupboard too.

[Eudemon]

I Just Lost $25,500 On My Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 And I Couldnt Be Happier[/url]

 

Really cool read over on Jalopnik from Tavarish.

I have always been a big fan of the VR-4 cars by Mitsubishi. My mates dad owned one, he owned a couple of pubs and was always in something fast but could eat up the motorway miles. The 3000 though he bought just because he loved it.

Uh oh.... VW have made a boo boo. They've supposedly been cheating their way around US emissions tests:

 

Volkswagen to recall 500,000 pollution-hiding cars in US - BBC News

That is damn sneaky indeed, they deserve to be taken head-on if true and of course it would not surprise me in the slightest to find out others are doing it too.

[Ryzza5]

I wonder if that's the same for other countries. Although to be fair, these tests only tend to make the cars worse to live with day to day. Shifting to maintain as low revs as possible, cutting the engine at traffic lights, it's all a PITN to live with. I spent $600 on a sports steering wheel with gear-shift paddles and then $900 re-tuning the DSG box so that it uses 1750rpm as a minimum instead of 1400. It may use 0.2l/100kph more but it's so much more nicer to drive.

[Ryzza5]

An update on the VW scandal

 

The New York Times

 

Looks like it's going to cost them big.

 

We don't appear to have anything like that down here. Cars only have to be tested as to roadworthiness when you buy/sell a car. Not every 6-12 months. And those roadworthiness checks don't include emissions monitoring.

 

 

I am however quite concerned about Australian standards on motorcycle helmets. Well, we don't even have a standard, as it's different from state to state. Ride across a border and you could be fined for wearing an illegal helmet. Out-of-date legislation also means that there is no such thing as a compliant helmet in my state today being sold. Being unable to import helmets reduces competition and sends prices sky high. Being unable to affix stickers means some who wear GoPros on their helmets have been fined.

 

European CE standards have been proven to be better, and are used in both F1 and MotoGP. To meet AU regulations, our helmets have to to be tested using a magnesium head, which is not a suitable analog for a human head. This means that to pass the test, the helmet must be heavier and more dense, which reduces the cushioning 'air-bag' effect of the foam and makes it more likely that a human skull would be damaged (as it's not made of magnesium). AU also has a spear penetration test, which doesn't exist for Europe, and according to crash statistics pretty much never happens in real life - this also reduces protection. Petitions have been around for a long time asking AU to either unify regulations across all states or preferably abolish them and permit riders to use any CE or DOT helmet.

 

You can read more here.

[Camel]

A potential penalty of $18billion in the US alone. And that's before they fix the issues which by the sounds of it can't be done without significant changes to the engines. And then the loss of sales as they've had to pull cars from sale. And then the damage to their brand as a whole.

 

Ouch. I know VAG are a humongous company but still, the cost to put all of this right would probably hurt even Apple.

[Ryzza5]

Well at 35k per vehicle they've bassically been giving them away for free for the past 6 years then

[The Compensator]

Both EPA and ICCT performed real-world tests on trucks and passenger vehicles before "Dieselgate." The US isn't alone in this, though, as some European organization has done this as well but for some reason they kept it under the table...

 

In Europe, VW offers TDI's both with and without SCR. On paper, you cannot tell the difference because apart from eco specs (TDI SCR get a higher MPG and CO2) they are 100% identical. However, in real world the SCR-less engine is noticeably slower. Guess why.

 

Winterkorn's early response was ridiculous and for that alone he should be fired. It took VW a long time to admit the fault, too.

 

IMHO, the core problem is not in the technology. The problem is in the emission standards which are in many ways way too strict.