Car News Articles

Via
Forbes.com

Commentary
The True Cost Of March Madness
By Chris Schonberger

In 2006, one critic took on a report by Challenger, Gray &Christmas–a report claiming that March Madness costs employers $3.8 billion or more in lost productivity from workers.

The critic, Slate’s Jack Schafer, wrote that Challenger–a consulting company headquartered in Chicago–reached this catastrophic figure “based on an average wage of $18 an hour and 58 million college basketball fans spending 13.5 minutes online each of the 16 business days” between the start of the tournament and the championship game.

Schafer poked a few obvious holes in the assumptions behind this calculation–most notably that the base of rabid college basketball fans is probably not that large and that there are a lot of other ways employees procrastinate during a normal workday (such as online shopping and congregating by the proverbial water cooler).

Indeed, an AOL and Salary.com survey from 2005 revealed that the average American worker wastes 2.09 hours per eight-hour workday, mostly by hanging 10 on the Net. By 2007, that number was down to 1.7 hours, so maybe Challenger needs to crunch some numbers on the waning loyalties of NHL fans.

As a writer, I am inherently unproductive. But these calculations–and Schafer’s misgivings–spurred me to ponder the true nature of workplace efficiency. For one thing, are those 13.5 minutes of college hoops really in addition to the preexisting 2.09 hours of inefficiency? Even if they are, it’s clear that obsessive bracketology is just one prevalent example of a wider phenomenon.

So why did college basketball bear the brunt of this exposé? Perhaps the college basketball lobby isn’t strong enough. What about the presidential race? A year of obsessive clicking on URLs containing polls and punditry must take a heavy toll on the nation’s productivity, no?

(3 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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As a specialist we know your car better, especially when it comes to the right way to make economical repairs that a general repair shop wouldn’t know about or a Subaru dealer would never consider. Sometimes a vehicle will develop a pattern failure and a real solution needs to be found or a more economical repair procedure can be had.

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Ferrari released the first official photos of its all-new California GT. Styled by Pininfarina, the California is the Italian firm’s entry-level Grand Tourer, slotting into the range below the 599 Barchetta.

The California is powered by a 4.3-liter V8 engine that features direct fuel injection and a ‘flat’ crankshaft, generating 460 Hp at 7,500 rpm. The V8 which is mounted for the first time in the marque’s history in the mid-front position supplies power to the rear wheels via a seven-speed twin-clutch transmission. Ferrari says that the California starts from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 4.0 seconds.

Under its aluminum body, the California hides a new multilink rear suspension system while it is also equipped with the marque’s F1-Trac traction control system which made its debut on the 599 GTB Fiorano along with Brembo brakes featuring carbon-ceramic material discs.

Ferrari’s newest GT model will be officially unveiled at the Paris International Auto Show. Expect the first examples in showrooms in 2009 priced at around $250,000.

While the rest of the automotive world searches for ways to produce power more efficiently, it seems HSV still subscribes to the “mine is bigger than yours” school of engine development.

Holden’s performance division has just announced a new 6.2-litre V8, replacing the old 6.0-litre engine in the current HSV range.

The new engine delivers just 3 per cent more power - and no more torque - for its additional size and is no faster in the 0-100kmh sprint than the car it replaces. Yes, it’s better to drive by all accounts, but it also makes the new HSV range among the thirstiest passenger cars on the planet.

Fuel consumption has improved slightly on some models and got worse on others. The ClubSport manual now uses 15.3 litres per 100km and the Maloo uses 15.7L/100km.

Not content with a 6.2-litre engine, HSV will shoehorn a 7.0-litre engine into its upcoming hero car, the W427. We don’t know yet what that engine’s fuel consumption will be, but we know the pricetag will be on-par with the luxury German brands.

So let’s take a look at how the 6.2-litre HSV cars compare to the rest of the world for fuel efficiency.

The 4.0-litre V8 in the BMW M3 puts out 309kW and is quicker to 100kmh than the ClubSport, but uses just 12.4L/100km. To put that in perspective, the ClubSport uses 23 per cent more fuel to make less than 3 per cent more power – and it’s slower.

The Mercedes-Benz C63 has the same size engine as the HSV but puts out 336kW and uses just 13.5L/100km.

Meanwhile, the Lexus LS600h engine produces 327kW and uses just 9.3L/100km. Yes, all these engines belong to cars that cost at least twice as much as the ClubSport but if you think I’m being unfair comparing Holden with the world’s latest and greatest engines, let’s look closer to home.

Ford’s 4.0-litre XR6 turbo engine puts out 270kW of power and uses 11.7L/100km. That means the ClubSport uses 30 per cent more fuel for 17 per cent more power. And by Drive’s stopwatch, the turbo Falcon is quicker.

HSV boss Scott Grant says the company is evaluating hybrid and diesel solutions for the range, but admits he is “nowhere near” confirming the direction in which the company will go.

He also points to the fact that the fuel crisis has done nothing to dampen Australian’s appetite for V8 Holdens and he’s right – HSV’s order books have never looked better.

Don’t get me wrong, there are few greater pleasures in the world than flooring the accelerator on a hot Holden V8, but isn’t it time the Lion tamed its thirst for our dwindling oil reserves?

Richard Blackburn