F.A. Porsche Dies, and Germany Is Winning the Car Wars

Posted on Aug 19, 2021 in Racing | 1 comment

2012 Porsche 911 Cabriolet World War II was of course not the end for Germany, though the country was pulverized. The three Porsches, all named Ferdinand, were still alive, but it was Ferry, son of the founder, who brought the car company to fame and success in the late 1940s. His Porsche 356 took the prototype Volkswagen—created under Hitler in the 1930s but...

the Lotus Exige S Roadster

Posted on Jun 15, 2021 in Racing | 2 comments

A few folks have been modifying present Lotus Exige S cars, converting them into soft-tops (see comment by wallabyguy here), but now the factory does it for you. And it has made other alterations to make this a most desirable sports car. This is part of Lotus’s comeback story. The firm has had lots of ups and downs but has always kept to the “less is more”...

NASCAR: Why?

Posted on Apr 5, 2021 in Racing | 3 comments

I know, it brings in a lot of money even though attendance keeps dropping. It’s a spectacle, yes, though so was throwing Christians to the lions. It takes some skill to drive 200 mph in a pack. Skill does not equate to sport. The recent series of fiascos at the Daytona 500 just confirms what we all know from watching South Park’s 2010 send-up of NASCAR (wherein...

Peugeot Out, Toyota In for Le Mans Race

Posted on Feb 1, 2021 in Racing | 1 comment

World racing fans were shocked last week when Peugeot, after some real successes, abruptly withdrew from the Le Mans LMP (Le Mans Prototype) 24-hour competition. Peugeot has had a great back-and-forth duel with Audi, both running turbodiesels, particularly last year, when the team lost by some 13.8 seconds after much lead-changing. Peugeots finished second...

Man Hopes to Set New Land Speed Record of 2,000 MPH

Posted on Jan 24, 2021 in Racing | 1 comment

The Bloodhound SSC: Can it be beaten? “Dad, did you know the fastest car ever went 2,300 miles per hour?” These were the words of my 9-year-old son yesterday morning, as we were discussing the top speed of various supercars. “I don’t think so — it seems like the current land speed record is somewhere around 700 miles an hour,” I replied. “No,” he said, “A car...

Subaru BRZ May Revive the Lightweight, Affordable Sports Car

Posted on Dec 11, 2020 in Racing | Comments Off on Subaru BRZ May Revive the Lightweight, Affordable Sports Car

The BRZ was shown in Tokyo last month, and a bunch of reviewers got to drive it at Subaru’s test track. There were very few niggling comments; most everyone loved the handling of the car and its broad power band. After so many years of idiotic horsepower wars, muscle-car wars, 0-60 mph wars, maybe it’s finally time to look at what a sports car should be—light,...

Cars Coming Soon: Audi A4 Allroad and a $100,000 Ford Focus

Posted on Nov 14, 2020 in Racing | 3 comments

A Focus by any other name is still a Focus. Right? We see them every day in shopping-mall parking lots across America. We rent them during trips to Dallas. We see them advertised by dealers for low, low monthly payments. We have friends who drive a Focus. We’ve considered buying a Focus. But a Focus for almost $100,000? That’s just crazy talk. Or is it the...

Dan Wheldon’s Unnecessary and Awful Death

Posted on Sep 14, 2020 in Racing | Comments Off on Dan Wheldon’s Unnecessary and Awful Death

Here we go again. Dan Wheldon, a highly talented, respected and loved race driver dies in a horrifying crash that should have been prevented. IndyCar racing has now claimed six drivers since 1996. Six were injured in this 15-car crash alone. Driver Alex Zanardi lost both his legs in a crash in 2001. Sunday’s IndyCar 300 race in Las Vegas was just another...

A Pause for IndyCar Champ Dan Wheldon

Posted on Aug 8, 2020 in Racing | Comments Off on A Pause for IndyCar Champ Dan Wheldon

It’s always difficult to choose a topic after such an intense weekend of auto-related news and events. Unfortunately, the biggest news this weekend was the tragic death of IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon, who died in a massive accident yesterday during the Las Vegas Indy 300. It makes other news and developments feel trivial, so I’d like to devote this post to the...

Porsche to Revive the 550 Spyder; New 911 Pics and Specs

Posted on May 12, 2020 in Racing | 3 comments

“I can imagine that such a modern version of the famous ‘James Dean’ Porsche would be well-received by our customers. The new model will not be retro-styled.” Thus spake Matthias Mueller, Porsche’s CEO, confirming that a new version of the iconic 550 Spyder will be built. James Dean, famous film actor in the 1950s, loved racing and prepared one of the 90 550s...

Racing: It’s for ALL the Idiots!

Posted on Mar 1, 2020 in Racing | 3 comments

A new generation of speed freak! I drove for the first time when I was about 9 years old. That’s also when I crashed for the first time, slamming hard into a big blue dumpster after the brakes on my homemade go-kart failed. Those early days behind the wheel of a go-kart I made with my dad are what sparked my love for cars and my desire for speed (not to mention...

The 100th Indy 500 Is History

Posted on Jan 15, 2020 in Racing | 2 comments

Wheldon’s 2011 Indy 500 winning car By now, most of you have heard about J.R. Hildebrand’s hitting the wall on the last lap and giving the race to Dan Wheldon. Hildebrand made a rookie’s mistake, staying on throttle while passing and going too high on the turn. He crashed but coasted to second place, 2.1 seconds behind Wheldon. Graham Rahal finished...