Car News Articles

Valentino Rossi wins US Grand Prix but Stoner not happy with Rossi’s race tactics.

World champion Casey Stoner accused Valentino Rossi of dirty tactics after the Italian great ended his winning streak with an aggressive ride at the US Grand Prix early yesterday.

An uncompromising Rossi fought a torrid duel at the front with Stoner and crossed 13 seconds ahead after the Australian crashed with eight laps remaining and remounted to claim second ahead of countryman Chris Vermuelen.

“The pace was really high and that’s good,” Stoner said.

“I made a mistake in the last turn, it was completely my fault.

“Val was riding well, but some of his passes were very aggressive, some of them not really fair.

“I enjoyed a lot of the race, but I felt that some of the passes were a bit too much for me.

“I’ve been racing for a lot of years and have come through a lot of different ranks, and for me just a couple of passes were a little too much. I would have liked to have had a little bit of a cleaner battle,” he said.

While Rossi stretched his lead in the series to 25 points, Stoner’s runner-up finish at the Laguna Seca circuit in California allowed him to take over second place in the standings from Spain’s Dani Pedrosa, who could not compete after breaking his wrist in the German Grand Prix.

Rossi’s victory brought an end to Stoner’s storming run of wins in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany. Rossi described the race as “unbelievable, a great battle with Casey.”

“It was fun, a lot of fun in this race. It was a high-level battle for sure,” Rossi said.

Stoner had dominated the weekend and led away from pole position before he and Rossi began their ferocious duel, which at times took them off track.

- AAP

About 750 of the iconic cars got together to celebrate its centennial.

Ford is marking the 100th anniversary of the Model T, the first low-priced car that introduced motoring to the masses, at a time when motorists are cringing at the cost of fuel. But a week-long celebration of the Model T in its birthplace offered some nostalgic balm for fans.

About 750 of the iconic vehicles were on display in the US this week in what is being called the largest gathering of Model Ts since they left the factory. Edsel Ford II, great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, addressed the crowd at Richmond, Indiana, at an opening banquet.

The gathering transformed the Wayne County Fairgrounds into what looked like a movie set for a motion picture depicting life in the early 1900s.

Drivers created Model T traffic jams as they picked their way among the barns. Jay Klehfoth, the CEO of the Model T Ford Club of America, which is based in nearby Centerville, says owners of the Model T are like a big extended family.

“Sometimes we refer to ourselves as the similarly afflicted,” Klehfoth says.

“We recognise we are only temporary custodians of these rolling pieces of history.”

Roger Peterson, 71, of Greeneville, Tennessee, has owned 11 of the Model Ts over the years.

“You don’t own just one Model T,” Peterson says. “You buy another one … and another one … and another one.”

John Heitmann, a history professor at the University of Dayton who has taught classes on motor vehicle history and its impact on American life, says the Model T is one of the most historically significant cars of the 20th century — and possibly the single most important American car. Henry Ford realised there was a big market for cars, and not just for the wealthy.

He knew people would keep buying them, Heitmann says, adding: “It was kind of the common car for the common person.”

The first production Model T Ford was assembled in Detroit on October 1, 1908. With the development of the sturdy, low-priced car, Henry Ford made his company the biggest in the industry, according to the Henry Ford Museum.

In a span of 19 years, Ford would build 15 million cars with the Model T engine.

The Model T, nicknamed the “Tin Lizzie”, was probably the most important vehicle in leading to social change in America, Heitmann says. It helped transform the nation’s cities, enabling residents to move away from the city and create the first ring of suburbs.

Australian celebrations will include a charity drive across Australia in September.

Six of the delicate old vehicles will make the drive across the Nullarbor Plain from Perth to Adelaide, and then possibly on to Melbourne.

But the organiser, Perth businessman Alan Rose, says it won’t be a quick trip.

“The 1913 four-seat Tourer has the most powerful engine and a two-speed differential,” he says. “It’ll go as fast as 70km/h … [but] the others will do 50km/h.”

Original plans were to leave on September 7, reaching Adelaide on Sunday, September 14.

However, Ford Australia says it is interested in the convoy continuing on to Melbourne. But this plan is yet to be cemented.

Rose’s car was upgraded by its previous, Sydney-based owner. It sports features unavailable for the age of the chassis, including an overhead-valve engine with a proper ignition distributor and a “Buffalo” brake system that combines the braking efficiency of the rear wheels with the transmission.

The rear axle is a two-speed Ruckstell that effectively doubles the number of forward gears to four. It also has wire wheels in place of the standard model’s wooden spokes.

It has electric lights, not the factory-issue acetylene lamps. Clearly, the Ferrari of the fleet.

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The original Citroen 2CV was the Ford Model T and the Volkswagen Beetle of France. In it’s over forty years of continuous production, it put France on wheels and stuck around long enough to be an icon for the starving artist. The frugal car was nothing more than basic. The diminutive two-cylinder engine (ranging from 375 cc to 602 cc.) never made more than 29 horsepower in its lifetime. It is the kind of icon that is loved by designers, but ignored by drivers.

With the advent of technology, classic cars can be turned into concept cars on a computer that’s powered with modern rendering software. And that’s exactly what car designer David Portela has done. He has taken original 2CV and modified every aspect without cutting out the trademarks.

While this kind of ’modernizing’ has been witnessed before, the number of designers in the Auto industry have multiplied. Blogs are able to project the talent of aspiring designers, like Portela, who may be the next to bring modern interpretations of classics, like the 500 and Mini, back to life.

Disney is planning a sequel to its cult classic, Tron. Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Flynn, though the character may take on a more menacing tone in part two. Teaser footage was unveiled just yesterday at the San Diego Comic Con. While Tron was just moderately successful at the box office, the film’s legend has grown along with its 80s-era fans, enough to earn itself a sequel over two decades later. The Light Cycles starred in what was perhaps the original film’s most iconic scene, and they make a grand comeback in Tr2n, the tentative (and very unfortunate) name of the sequel.

Seriously, watch the crappy, clandestinely-obtained footage from the convention panel after the break. Color us super excited based on this early teaser. When we see a proper copy of this, we’ll likely be even more stoked. Seriously, how cool are the new Light Cycles? We think they look awesome in their new uncovered form, and the updated graphics make us hope that the new story, said to be written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz from Lost, lives up to our childhood Tron memories.

[Source: Slashfilm]

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London’s £25 congestion charge scrapped

By
Ben Pulman

08 July 2008 09:30

The UK’s £25 congestion charge is no more following a consent order that legally brings a formal end to any court proceedings between Porsche, Transport for London and the London mayor.

In his pre-election plans Boris Johnson had always stood against the proposed charge – a huge hike from today’s £8-a-day charge. Once in power, Johnson’s legal team advised him that the charge was unlawful and should have taken into account research carried out by King’s College. That research showed the proposed charge would increase CO2 output in Greater London by 182,000 tonnes per year.

It’s not just the £25 charge that’s axed, so are low-CO2 concessions

As well as scrapping the £25 charge, Boris Johnson also today ditched plans that would have allowed low-emission cars free entry into the congestion charge zone.

Porsche has been awarded legal costs following the consent order and will donate the money to charity. The costs – expected to be a six-figure sum – will be given to Skidz, a charity that takes young people off the street and trains them as car mechanics.

‘We were always confident that our legal case was right and that we would win in the end,’ said Andy Goss, managing director of Porsche Cars GB. ‘The charge was clearly unfair and was actually going to increase emissions in London.

‘Porsche is proud to have played a decisive role in striking down such a blatantly political tax increase targeting motorists. We are pleased to now be able to give back to London by donating our costs to a cause that concerns all of us, reducing knife crime.’

Click here to read Ben Oliver’s blog on why Boris Johnson is wrong to scrap the £25 charge