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?

While I was looking up the commercials for the Shelby Charger Car Lust, I stumbled across this for-sale walkaround of a 1978 Dodge Magnum XE–a previous featured car here.

These walkaround videos always hypnotize me with their silent, languid movement, and in this case I was especially entranced. This is a gorgeous, gorgeous Magnum XE. Not many people seem to care for these, so I doubt anybody (including potential sellers) really cares, but this is a beautiful car.

–Chris H.

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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First update and first setback.

So we have had a few questions about how the project is coming so here is the first update.

Due to the Subaru Legacy having ABS (Anti-Lock Braking) there really isn’t a whole lot of room in the engine compartment. The book we bought specs out a generator that won’t really fit where I wanted to put it. So based on the available room we have I am currently looking for a suitable alternative location, or I will look for a used Legacy without ABS and enlarge the generator and thus problem solved.

Due to the precision involved in some of the design and build. I have had to send the stainless steel tubing to a machine shop as I want this to be perfect.

The gap in between the inner and outer electrodes seems to be pretty crucial to the function of the generator. Rather than hack it up myself as I am better at repairing than building this seems like a better way to go. I am also at there mercy as the machine shop I am using is very busy as they are well known for working with precision air craft parts.

We have had a lot of interest and I appreciate the support but this is probably going to take a little while to finish as it is just to hard to dedicate a large chunk of time as we do have a shop to run and families as well. We will do our best to have this done in a couple of months so keep checking back for updates

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The Hyundai i90 test mule in camouflage was caught on road testing.

The Hyundai is ready to take on Germany’s premium brands. It will be crammed with the kind of technology usually reserved for premium brands like Audi, Mercedes and BMW.

This includes an iDrive-style cabin control interface, as well as a collision mitigation brake system (CMS), which detects an imminent accident and warns the driver to take preventative action. Plus cabin space to match the likes of BMW’s 7-Series, the i90 will carry a similar price to a Ford Mondeo. It will reach the dealerships in 2009, powered by a petrol V8 with around 350bhp.

There’s no doubt the world of cars is changing rapidly given the skyrocketing price of fuel and increased focus on environmental friendliness.

Sales of diesel-powered passenger cars (not including 4WDs) increased by 71 per cent from 2006 to 2007. For the first four months of 2008, diesel passenger cars are up another 55 per cent.

Okay, so the overall numbers are quite low - just 27,000 diesel-powered passenger cars – but it’s indicative of a trend towards more efficient vehicles and cars that will cost a little less at the bowser, even if the cost of diesel itself has increased markedly.

Now car makers are relying on diesel as more than just a way to reduce running costs, even if they’re not necessarily the solution when it comes to helping the environment. As we’ve reported before, diesels are great for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but poor when it comes to many noxious emissions.

Still, Audi already has its potent Q7 4.2 diesel – with a hefty 760Nm of torque – and the brand is working on a V12 diesel for the Q7 and, it’s expected, its R8 sports car.

Renault is also set to become the Australian importer to sell a proper hot-hatch with a diesel engine (there are other sporty diesel hatches, but the Renault Megane RS dCi is the most serious effort yet).

Even Saab has jumped on the diesel bandwagon with a 9-3 Aero utilising a diesel engine. Aero is synonymous with performance so it’ll be interesting to see if Australians warm to the idea of a hot-shot diesel.

It all raises the question of just how sporty – and how fun – a diesel engine can be.

I’m a big fan of some of the modern diesel engines and the prodigious torque they can deliver. Volkswagen’s V10 springs to mind, as does the aforementioned Audi 4.2 V8. Even some of the new Fiat diesels can be pretty fun devices.

But diesels lack that high-revving personality of many petrol engines. The nature of a diesel means they rarely need to rev beyond 4500rpm, which is about the point most petrol engines are starting to get really exciting.

So just when you’re getting used to the acceleration of a diesel it changes to the next gear, all the while relying on the torque that characterises a diesel.

That diesel power delivery is fun – and the torque of some can be addictive – but it’s still not as entertaining as a great petrol engine.

Diesels also don’t have anything like the high-pitched wail of a Ferrari, the characteristic snort of a Porsche six-cylinder, or the classic burble of a V8. Perhaps that’s why Porsche and Ferrari are adamant they will never do a diesel.

Diesels do well at thrusting you back in your seat, but they seem to miss some of the other senses that petrol engines attack at all the right times.

But they do have a character of their own, and it usually involves plenty of whistling and wheezing as the turbos start spinning.

But it raises the question of whether diesels will live up to the expectations of buyers of sporty cars. After all, a sports car is about a lot more than straight-line acceleration.

What do you think?

Toby Hagon