by Hunter S. Thompson
Showing posts with label All Things Fast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label All Things Fast. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
"Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. "
Song of the Sausage Creature
There are some things nobody needs in this world, and a bright red, hunchback, warp-speed 900cc café racer is one of them -- but I want one anyway, and on some days I actually believe I need one. That is why they are dangerous.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
How To Build Your Own Arcade-Style Racing Simulator
Always wanted to own your own arcade-style race simulator? 0-60 's put together a downloadable 66-page guide to building your own for just $500 plus electronics and the beer your friend's help will cost. What you'll need to build it below.For starters, you'll need the following parts:
The rest of the 66-page guide, including CAD-like drawings on stuff like sheet board optimization, can be found here .
jalopnik
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The black beauty
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Friday, September 04, 2009
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Ariel Atom 3: First Drive
FreeRange user Anthony_bonacci@hotmail.com wanted you to see this:
"Ariel Atom 3: First Drive [Jalopnik Reviews]"
Super cars don't come much more dedicated than the Ariel Atom 3 , a car that's fast becoming a legend. And if you're a dedicated driver they don't come much faster, as we found out at rainy Lime Rock last weekend.
Yes, super cars certainly come prettier in the conventional sense, but they have "bodywork." The Atom pretty much has shrouds that cover the hot parts and the moving pieces, at least most of them. They come more luxurious, but they have "interiors" where the 1375-pound Atom has a pair of seats — really, with its open frame, it barely has an exterior. But if you're the right sort of driver, it looks exactly like it should — see, right there's the engine, there are the Bilsteins, there are the brakes (Alcons on our example), and there are the tires (Toyo R888s) — and it's exactly the right place to be. It's a tool, and like a chef's knife or a stonecutter's mallet, it's made as simple and direct as possible with nothing added to it that you don't need to generate velocity along the appropriate axes.
Unfortunately, gorgeous Lime Rock Park was not quite the place to be on Saturday, as it had been drizzling steadily all day and the track was a glistening piece of black snakeskin where there wasn't actually standing water, so we would be limited to a few laps on the autocross track. This was disappointing, but it gave me time to talk to the people from Trak Motorsports International, who took over building the Atom from former owners Brammo last year; they'd already after handled the Ariel Atom Experience driving events for them and knew what they wanted to do with the car.
Primarily, they decided to replace the Atom 2's Ecotec, which was serviceable but still a compromise. They went back to the Atom's roots with a version of the K20A two-liter four found in Japanese-market Civics, a potent engine that makes 245 horsepower normally aspirated or 300 with a Jackson Racing supercharger. "It's a serious little engine, a race engine," TMI's engineer told us, "no balance shafts, baffled oil pan, Hondata ECU." It shows; the Atom has never in its short existence been anything like slow, but the supercharged Atom 3 gets to 60 in under three seconds. It's now a much more useful speed tool, and it's still relatively cheap to own and operate.
I wasn't able to approach that on the autocross track, naturally. On my own raggedy laps, the engine was flexible enough that it could be left in third and dart around just fine. TMI vice president Mark Swain had told us that the car was a very direct and transparent instrument-"It will do exactly what you tell it to. Exactly," were his exact words. My limited and damp time in the five-point harness proved him correct. The Atom turns in immediately; don't cough or twitch. It accelerates immediately; be prepared. And it stops the same way, except when it stops while going backwards because you weren't paying attention to just how quickly it turns and accelerates-but even then, it's just doing what you told it to, like Swain said. There is definitely as much speed there as you can get out of it. Like any tool, it reveals the strengths and shortcomings of the tool-user; you can use a chef's knife to prepare an epic feast, or you can take your hand off at the wrist.
Later that afternoon a dry line opened on the track and Swain, who turns out to be an extremely fast and smooth driver for a vice president, was allowed to take us for a handful of laps around Lime Rock lovely mile-and-a-half to give us all more of a feeling for its potential. I expected the Atom, at speed on a larger track, to feel darty, frenetic, and nervous, but that didn't seem to be the case; the still-damp track didn't upset it even through the water flowing across the track, it took the transitions through the esses in stride, and despite the astounding speed it seemed composed and solid. The Atom may have been running out of steam at the end of the half-mile straightaway, as top speed is "only" 140 or so, but it was never straining.
So if you're dedicated enough, or have the patience to try and become driver enough, and you have $65,000, by all means, get an Ariel Atom 3 . It's a phenomenal track car, and in some places it could be a unique and character-building road car. It's certainly the sharpest and simplest — and cheapest — tool in the supercar trade. One way or another, you'll be a better driver for it.
Special thanks to the Manhattan Car Club and TMI AutoTech for providing the Atom and track time.
Photos by Peter Orosz
jalopnik
FreeRange WebReader - bringing the Internet to your mobile phone like never before!
Reading this on your Windows Smartphone, Palm or Blackberry? Try it now by clicking http://mwap.at
"Ariel Atom 3: First Drive [Jalopnik Reviews]"
Super cars don't come much more dedicated than the Ariel Atom 3 , a car that's fast becoming a legend. And if you're a dedicated driver they don't come much faster, as we found out at rainy Lime Rock last weekend.Yes, super cars certainly come prettier in the conventional sense, but they have "bodywork." The Atom pretty much has shrouds that cover the hot parts and the moving pieces, at least most of them. They come more luxurious, but they have "interiors" where the 1375-pound Atom has a pair of seats — really, with its open frame, it barely has an exterior. But if you're the right sort of driver, it looks exactly like it should — see, right there's the engine, there are the Bilsteins, there are the brakes (Alcons on our example), and there are the tires (Toyo R888s) — and it's exactly the right place to be. It's a tool, and like a chef's knife or a stonecutter's mallet, it's made as simple and direct as possible with nothing added to it that you don't need to generate velocity along the appropriate axes.
Unfortunately, gorgeous Lime Rock Park was not quite the place to be on Saturday, as it had been drizzling steadily all day and the track was a glistening piece of black snakeskin where there wasn't actually standing water, so we would be limited to a few laps on the autocross track. This was disappointing, but it gave me time to talk to the people from Trak Motorsports International, who took over building the Atom from former owners Brammo last year; they'd already after handled the Ariel Atom Experience driving events for them and knew what they wanted to do with the car.
Primarily, they decided to replace the Atom 2's Ecotec, which was serviceable but still a compromise. They went back to the Atom's roots with a version of the K20A two-liter four found in Japanese-market Civics, a potent engine that makes 245 horsepower normally aspirated or 300 with a Jackson Racing supercharger. "It's a serious little engine, a race engine," TMI's engineer told us, "no balance shafts, baffled oil pan, Hondata ECU." It shows; the Atom has never in its short existence been anything like slow, but the supercharged Atom 3 gets to 60 in under three seconds. It's now a much more useful speed tool, and it's still relatively cheap to own and operate.
I wasn't able to approach that on the autocross track, naturally. On my own raggedy laps, the engine was flexible enough that it could be left in third and dart around just fine. TMI vice president Mark Swain had told us that the car was a very direct and transparent instrument-"It will do exactly what you tell it to. Exactly," were his exact words. My limited and damp time in the five-point harness proved him correct. The Atom turns in immediately; don't cough or twitch. It accelerates immediately; be prepared. And it stops the same way, except when it stops while going backwards because you weren't paying attention to just how quickly it turns and accelerates-but even then, it's just doing what you told it to, like Swain said. There is definitely as much speed there as you can get out of it. Like any tool, it reveals the strengths and shortcomings of the tool-user; you can use a chef's knife to prepare an epic feast, or you can take your hand off at the wrist.
Later that afternoon a dry line opened on the track and Swain, who turns out to be an extremely fast and smooth driver for a vice president, was allowed to take us for a handful of laps around Lime Rock lovely mile-and-a-half to give us all more of a feeling for its potential. I expected the Atom, at speed on a larger track, to feel darty, frenetic, and nervous, but that didn't seem to be the case; the still-damp track didn't upset it even through the water flowing across the track, it took the transitions through the esses in stride, and despite the astounding speed it seemed composed and solid. The Atom may have been running out of steam at the end of the half-mile straightaway, as top speed is "only" 140 or so, but it was never straining.So if you're dedicated enough, or have the patience to try and become driver enough, and you have $65,000, by all means, get an Ariel Atom 3 . It's a phenomenal track car, and in some places it could be a unique and character-building road car. It's certainly the sharpest and simplest — and cheapest — tool in the supercar trade. One way or another, you'll be a better driver for it.
Special thanks to the Manhattan Car Club and TMI AutoTech for providing the Atom and track time.
Photos by Peter Orosz
jalopnik
FreeRange WebReader - bringing the Internet to your mobile phone like never before!
Reading this on your Windows Smartphone, Palm or Blackberry? Try it now by clicking http://mwap.at
Friday, August 21, 2009
Bonneville-It-Yourself: Ten High Speed Venues For The Frugal And Stupid [Bonneville Speed Week]
FreeRange user Anthony_bonacci@hotmail.com wanted you to see this:
"Bonneville-It-Yourself: Ten High Speed Venues For The Frugal And Stupid [Bonneville Speed Week]"
Only Bonneville is Bonneville . But where do you go if you have a hunger for speed but not the time, money, or character for Speed Week? Provided you're very stupid, here's ten places to speed on the cheap.
So you've made the decision to drive your car as fast as possible? Fantastic! But you haven't made the deep personal commitment necessary to prepare yourself and your vehicle to the performance standards, and more importantly the safety standards, of the Southern California Timing Association ? Magnificent! And you can't be bothered to actually travel out to upper Utah, even if you hadn't already missed Speed Week this year? Stupendous! Now that we've established your bona fides, let's take a look at where you can top out that magnificent machine of yours. Keep in mind that this is going to be tough –- what you and your machine need is a big, long, flat stretch of a suitable surface, and only an idiot goes all-out on something like a public highway.
Public Highway
Well, hell, you're an idiot right? These things are everywhere, just begging to be used!
Pros: They're usually in fairly good repair, well-lit, and usually come with mile markers. Long straight stretches are plentiful. Equipped with built-in radar-equipped speed-certification service employing remarkably professional uniformed men and women who will provide documentation, certify your top-speed run before judges, and in the case of truly remarkable achievements, provide you with limited accommodations.
Cons: Audience on public highways can be remarkably unappreciative. Fines double in construction zones. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Country Road
Congestion too much of a problem on the highway? Do what our much-storied forefathers used to do: find a long, straight piece of backroad and mash the gas on the ol' Probe!
Pros: Less vehicular congestion than the public highway. Lots better scenery on which to become a thin red smoking layer. Out here, the ambulances are often helicopters, and helicopter rides are badass.
Cons: What traffic there is tends to be more substantial and includes tractors, milk and cattle trucks, and pickups. You may also hit deer, cows, raccoons, and/or possums, all of which are smarter and more useful than you are. Road surface can be iffy and seems to narrow dramatically at upwards of 90 MPH. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: geograph.org
Abandoned Mall Parking Lot
Whoah, that back road was like a tightrope when the ol' Celica got up there, huh? Luckily, retail has collapsed-this is why you showed up to Lidz last week and it was all locked up-and malls nationwide are going out of business, leaving nice wide parking lots like little Bonnevilles all across decaying suburbia.
Pros: Big, flat, and wide. Rent-a-cops have all been laid off. Lit at night, sometimes. The kind of women you like still hang out here from force of habit.
Cons: Not as big, flat, and wide as you'd really like, plus there's this big building in the middle. Real cops now watch the lot extremely closely. Lights are on big solid metal poles. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: camdennewjersey.org
Urban Drainage Facility
Okay, now we're getting somewhere! A huge ditch, like the ones you're always driving your Cavalier into, but paved! It's like they knew you were coming.
Pros: Is in a lot of cool car movies, like the one you think you're in. Banked sides will keep you inside, probably. In cities like L. A., they're huge. Sound carries nicely.
Cons: Flash-flooding. Mud. Once you're in, getting out can involve snickering guys in wrecker trucks. There's usually a yard-wide rut down the middle. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: lashp.com
Abandoned Factory
Luckily for you, it isn't just the malls that are going under! Industry is collapsing too, which sometimes leaves really hulking factories empty-except for you and your Stealth, that is!
Pros: Loading doors often wide open. Machinery has often been shipped to China, leaving floor empty. Driving in a big building is just wicked rad, dude-bro. Harder for the Man to see you, even with his helicopter.
Cons: Machinery has not always been shipped to China, or if it has, may have left large holes in factory floor. Your loud aftermarket exhaust may shatter skylights, showering you with plate glass. Crashing into rusty drums full of old chemicals not as cool as in Toxic Avenger movies. Harder for the Man to find you in his ambulance. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Abandoned Dragstrip
Now we're talking. Asking around will often point you and your Geo to a paved, quarter-mile strip that's as bankrupt financially as you are intellectually!
Pros: It's a real racetrack, just without the mechanical or medical support equipment or personnel or any recent maintenance. Therefore, you are a real racer, just without the training or experience or safety equipment or anything.
Cons: You could damage what might be a perfectly salvageable racetrack. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: Yellowbullet
Abandoned Airstrip
Have you seen that one foreign show where they drive on an airstrip? With the loud guy with no chin, the short guy who's kinda pretty, the smart guy with bad long hair, the silent guy in the white suit and helmet? You can be the silent guy in the white suit and helmet! Except you talk too damn much and you think suits and helmets are for losers.
Pros: Runways are often even longer than dragstrips, and wider too. There's probably runways going more than one direction, which is good because you get bored easily.
Cons: It can be hard to find them. The surface is often quite poor. You could damage what might be a perfectly salvageable airstrip. They're often Federal property, which could get you into brand new flavors of trouble. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: freeman.com
Abandoned Highway
It's looking like the highway was your best bet after all, but it had all those pesky people on it. Luckily, there are highways no one uses, like parts of Old Route 66, or the Pennsylvania Turnpike, pictured here. As long as you can get the old Impulse over the dirt berms that some tightass put up, this seems perfect, right?
Pros: It's a highway! But with no cops and no other drivers! Truly this is heaven on Earth.
Cons: It still has hikers and bicyclists. Also, they stopped keeping up the pavement when they abandoned it. And depending upon the right-of-way's current legal disposition, you will come across park rangers, who may wear funny Smokey Bear hats but often have terribly serious attitudes, plus sidearms. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: pahighways.com
Frozen Lake
Okay, maybe you're not thinking right. Think! You've heard the Salt Flats were a lake, once, right? So you need, like, a solid lake. Therefore, this winter, you and the Justy will take a fast drive off a short pier.
Pros: Wide open. Good visibility. Interesting traction and slip-angle dynamics. Speedo can maxed out when car doesn't seem to be moving, for some unknown reason. Law enforcement may harass you, but mysteriously, there's a point beyond which they won't pursue, allowing you to think you've outrun them for a few seconds.
Cons: You will feel stupid explaining how you ran over a fisherman. You may scare the fish. You have no way of judging ice thickness, density, or structural integrity. Being trapped under ice not as cool as Metallica song of the same name. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Dry Lake
Maybe what you need to do is find a dried-up lake or something that could be just as good as Bonneville! Or maybe, in the absurd progression of poor reasoning common to persistent idiots, you've managed to talk yourself into a substitute that will cost you just as many resources as be the real thing.
Pros: Huge, open, usually has a consistent surface.
Cons: Not that common. Often already in use. For instance, this one in Nevada is called Groom Lake and is used to test military aircraft. Frankly, if you're the kind of person who would actually do any of this stuff, we really hope you do wander onto Groom Lake and get exactly what you've got coming.
Look, we're all for speed, but if you want to go to flat-out, then make the commitment to go to a racetrack, or even Bonneville itself. By and large, driving flat out anywhere else is just a good way to get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: Militaryimages.net
jalopnik
FreeRange WebReader - bringing the Internet to your mobile phone like never before!
Reading this on your Windows Smartphone, Palm or Blackberry? Try it now by clicking http://mwap.at
"Bonneville-It-Yourself: Ten High Speed Venues For The Frugal And Stupid [Bonneville Speed Week]"
Only Bonneville is Bonneville . But where do you go if you have a hunger for speed but not the time, money, or character for Speed Week? Provided you're very stupid, here's ten places to speed on the cheap.So you've made the decision to drive your car as fast as possible? Fantastic! But you haven't made the deep personal commitment necessary to prepare yourself and your vehicle to the performance standards, and more importantly the safety standards, of the Southern California Timing Association ? Magnificent! And you can't be bothered to actually travel out to upper Utah, even if you hadn't already missed Speed Week this year? Stupendous! Now that we've established your bona fides, let's take a look at where you can top out that magnificent machine of yours. Keep in mind that this is going to be tough –- what you and your machine need is a big, long, flat stretch of a suitable surface, and only an idiot goes all-out on something like a public highway.
Public HighwayWell, hell, you're an idiot right? These things are everywhere, just begging to be used!
Pros: They're usually in fairly good repair, well-lit, and usually come with mile markers. Long straight stretches are plentiful. Equipped with built-in radar-equipped speed-certification service employing remarkably professional uniformed men and women who will provide documentation, certify your top-speed run before judges, and in the case of truly remarkable achievements, provide you with limited accommodations.
Cons: Audience on public highways can be remarkably unappreciative. Fines double in construction zones. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Country RoadCongestion too much of a problem on the highway? Do what our much-storied forefathers used to do: find a long, straight piece of backroad and mash the gas on the ol' Probe!
Pros: Less vehicular congestion than the public highway. Lots better scenery on which to become a thin red smoking layer. Out here, the ambulances are often helicopters, and helicopter rides are badass.
Cons: What traffic there is tends to be more substantial and includes tractors, milk and cattle trucks, and pickups. You may also hit deer, cows, raccoons, and/or possums, all of which are smarter and more useful than you are. Road surface can be iffy and seems to narrow dramatically at upwards of 90 MPH. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: geograph.org
Abandoned Mall Parking LotWhoah, that back road was like a tightrope when the ol' Celica got up there, huh? Luckily, retail has collapsed-this is why you showed up to Lidz last week and it was all locked up-and malls nationwide are going out of business, leaving nice wide parking lots like little Bonnevilles all across decaying suburbia.
Pros: Big, flat, and wide. Rent-a-cops have all been laid off. Lit at night, sometimes. The kind of women you like still hang out here from force of habit.
Cons: Not as big, flat, and wide as you'd really like, plus there's this big building in the middle. Real cops now watch the lot extremely closely. Lights are on big solid metal poles. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: camdennewjersey.org
Urban Drainage FacilityOkay, now we're getting somewhere! A huge ditch, like the ones you're always driving your Cavalier into, but paved! It's like they knew you were coming.
Pros: Is in a lot of cool car movies, like the one you think you're in. Banked sides will keep you inside, probably. In cities like L. A., they're huge. Sound carries nicely.
Cons: Flash-flooding. Mud. Once you're in, getting out can involve snickering guys in wrecker trucks. There's usually a yard-wide rut down the middle. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: lashp.com
Abandoned FactoryLuckily for you, it isn't just the malls that are going under! Industry is collapsing too, which sometimes leaves really hulking factories empty-except for you and your Stealth, that is!
Pros: Loading doors often wide open. Machinery has often been shipped to China, leaving floor empty. Driving in a big building is just wicked rad, dude-bro. Harder for the Man to see you, even with his helicopter.
Cons: Machinery has not always been shipped to China, or if it has, may have left large holes in factory floor. Your loud aftermarket exhaust may shatter skylights, showering you with plate glass. Crashing into rusty drums full of old chemicals not as cool as in Toxic Avenger movies. Harder for the Man to find you in his ambulance. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Abandoned DragstripNow we're talking. Asking around will often point you and your Geo to a paved, quarter-mile strip that's as bankrupt financially as you are intellectually!
Pros: It's a real racetrack, just without the mechanical or medical support equipment or personnel or any recent maintenance. Therefore, you are a real racer, just without the training or experience or safety equipment or anything.
Cons: You could damage what might be a perfectly salvageable racetrack. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: Yellowbullet
Abandoned AirstripHave you seen that one foreign show where they drive on an airstrip? With the loud guy with no chin, the short guy who's kinda pretty, the smart guy with bad long hair, the silent guy in the white suit and helmet? You can be the silent guy in the white suit and helmet! Except you talk too damn much and you think suits and helmets are for losers.
Pros: Runways are often even longer than dragstrips, and wider too. There's probably runways going more than one direction, which is good because you get bored easily.
Cons: It can be hard to find them. The surface is often quite poor. You could damage what might be a perfectly salvageable airstrip. They're often Federal property, which could get you into brand new flavors of trouble. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: freeman.com
Abandoned HighwayIt's looking like the highway was your best bet after all, but it had all those pesky people on it. Luckily, there are highways no one uses, like parts of Old Route 66, or the Pennsylvania Turnpike, pictured here. As long as you can get the old Impulse over the dirt berms that some tightass put up, this seems perfect, right?
Pros: It's a highway! But with no cops and no other drivers! Truly this is heaven on Earth.
Cons: It still has hikers and bicyclists. Also, they stopped keeping up the pavement when they abandoned it. And depending upon the right-of-way's current legal disposition, you will come across park rangers, who may wear funny Smokey Bear hats but often have terribly serious attitudes, plus sidearms. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: pahighways.com
Frozen LakeOkay, maybe you're not thinking right. Think! You've heard the Salt Flats were a lake, once, right? So you need, like, a solid lake. Therefore, this winter, you and the Justy will take a fast drive off a short pier.
Pros: Wide open. Good visibility. Interesting traction and slip-angle dynamics. Speedo can maxed out when car doesn't seem to be moving, for some unknown reason. Law enforcement may harass you, but mysteriously, there's a point beyond which they won't pursue, allowing you to think you've outrun them for a few seconds.
Cons: You will feel stupid explaining how you ran over a fisherman. You may scare the fish. You have no way of judging ice thickness, density, or structural integrity. Being trapped under ice not as cool as Metallica song of the same name. You will get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Dry LakeMaybe what you need to do is find a dried-up lake or something that could be just as good as Bonneville! Or maybe, in the absurd progression of poor reasoning common to persistent idiots, you've managed to talk yourself into a substitute that will cost you just as many resources as be the real thing.
Pros: Huge, open, usually has a consistent surface.
Cons: Not that common. Often already in use. For instance, this one in Nevada is called Groom Lake and is used to test military aircraft. Frankly, if you're the kind of person who would actually do any of this stuff, we really hope you do wander onto Groom Lake and get exactly what you've got coming.
Look, we're all for speed, but if you want to go to flat-out, then make the commitment to go to a racetrack, or even Bonneville itself. By and large, driving flat out anywhere else is just a good way to get yourself and others killed.
Photo Credit: Militaryimages.net
jalopnik
FreeRange WebReader - bringing the Internet to your mobile phone like never before!
Reading this on your Windows Smartphone, Palm or Blackberry? Try it now by clicking http://mwap.at
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
We've Got More Horsepower In Our Driveways And That's A Good Thing [Car Culture]
FreeRange user Anthony_bonacci@hotmail.com wanted you to see this:
"We've Got More Horsepower In Our Driveways And That's A Good Thing [Car Culture]"
Science writer Alexis Madrigal put together an analysis showing we have more power in our garage than in our power plants. The data is interesting but the conclusions are fantastically wrong. Having more power is a good, nay, awesome thing.
Here's the data he runs, based on the "peak" horsepower available, which ignores that most vehicles don't frequently use their peak horsepower:
Unfortunately, this is where things go awry. After pointing out that we were able to defeat Hitler with 80% less horsepower, which makes little sense, he comes to three conclusions.
Technically, this is true, but with a top speed of 65 MPH it's not going to get there as quickly. Nor does the Tata Nano have to carry the same amount of safety equipment as a comparable car built in Europe or the U.S., so if that Nano gets into an accident the chance of injury is much, much higher (but none of his arguments work if you factor in progress). And if we're concerned about energy efficiency, the new Toyota Prius gets approximately the same mileage as the Tata Nano and will get there faster and with more comfort, more safety equipment, and more style.
Yes, pity the poor people of Omaha with computers, air-conditioning, live-saving equipment like MRIs, and televisions. Clearly, it would be better if we went back to living without as much electricity.
First of all, the Chinese are in fact doing all they can to mimic American cars and it is a growing market for American cars. So, they're apparently as crazy as we are.
But what's really missing here is that American cars are becoming more efficient in large part because of power increases. Automakers are using lightweight parts, direct injection, turbocharging, and other technology to increase power and, at the same time, lower fuel usage. The 2010 Ford Flex with Ecoboost (direct-injections plus twin-turbo) nets 355 HP, an increase in power of 93 HP over the naturally aspirated V6 model, while actually improving the mileage of the vehicle. We've engineered V8 power with V6 fuel efficiency.
Better efficiency is a good thing, but so is comfort, safety, and reliability. People in India aren't buying Nanos because they've made the conscious decision to limit themselves to 33 HP, they're doing so because they can't afford anything else. They're going in the opposite direction by trading the efficiency of bikes and motorcycles for something bigger. Americans can afford bigger, nicer, safer, more powerful cars for the simple reason that we, as an economy, have sought out progress, not rejected it. [Greentechhistory ]
jalopnik
FreeRange WebReader - bringing the Internet to your mobile phone like never before!
Reading this on your Windows Smartphone, Palm or Blackberry? Try it now by clicking http://mwap.at
"We've Got More Horsepower In Our Driveways And That's A Good Thing [Car Culture]"
Science writer Alexis Madrigal put together an analysis showing we have more power in our garage than in our power plants. The data is interesting but the conclusions are fantastically wrong. Having more power is a good, nay, awesome thing.Here's the data he runs, based on the "peak" horsepower available, which ignores that most vehicles don't frequently use their peak horsepower:
I decided to run the numbers for today's overpowered vehicle fleet. (The math is below.) Turns out we have something on the order of 51 billion peak horsepower sitting in our driveways. That's an incredible 38,276 gigawatts of power available. That absolutely dwarfs the nameplate capacity of our electrical power plants, which total up to a mere 1,087 gigawatts. In fact, each week of 2008, a horrible year for car sales, almost 38 gigawatts of capacity rolled into the streets of America.
Unfortunately, this is where things go awry. After pointing out that we were able to defeat Hitler with 80% less horsepower, which makes little sense, he comes to three conclusions.
The Tata Nano Argument
One, the current size and power of our cars and trucks is just stupid. The Tato Nano, with its 33 horsepower engine, is the way to go. (If all of the world's cars looked like that, going electric would also be a lot easier.) Let's merely note here that the average American passenger car has 7.5 times as much horsepower as the Nano and yet both vehicles will get you to the grocery store or to Nevada or wherever.
Technically, this is true, but with a top speed of 65 MPH it's not going to get there as quickly. Nor does the Tata Nano have to carry the same amount of safety equipment as a comparable car built in Europe or the U.S., so if that Nano gets into an accident the chance of injury is much, much higher (but none of his arguments work if you factor in progress). And if we're concerned about energy efficiency, the new Toyota Prius gets approximately the same mileage as the Tata Nano and will get there faster and with more comfort, more safety equipment, and more style.
The We Don't Need It Argument
Second, the people of just one hundred years ago would be awed by the amount of horsepower every American has access to. The funny thing - the irony, perhaps - is that we no longer need that amount of horsepower to do anything useful. The people of the prairie were scratching and clawing for every kilowatt hour of useful work they could wring out of some oil or the wind. The people of Omaha these days don't need anything like the direct energy services of their forerunners.
Yes, pity the poor people of Omaha with computers, air-conditioning, live-saving equipment like MRIs, and televisions. Clearly, it would be better if we went back to living without as much electricity.
The Insanity Argument
Third, and here's the hopeful part - no sane country would encourage its consumers to get on the technical and performance treadmill that led us to this point. Who would want this piece of the American technological infrastructure and set of consumer expectations? It's resource inefficient and expensive. I wouldn't expect the Chinese to follow our path to the American car anytime soon.
First of all, the Chinese are in fact doing all they can to mimic American cars and it is a growing market for American cars. So, they're apparently as crazy as we are.
But what's really missing here is that American cars are becoming more efficient in large part because of power increases. Automakers are using lightweight parts, direct injection, turbocharging, and other technology to increase power and, at the same time, lower fuel usage. The 2010 Ford Flex with Ecoboost (direct-injections plus twin-turbo) nets 355 HP, an increase in power of 93 HP over the naturally aspirated V6 model, while actually improving the mileage of the vehicle. We've engineered V8 power with V6 fuel efficiency.
Better efficiency is a good thing, but so is comfort, safety, and reliability. People in India aren't buying Nanos because they've made the conscious decision to limit themselves to 33 HP, they're doing so because they can't afford anything else. They're going in the opposite direction by trading the efficiency of bikes and motorcycles for something bigger. Americans can afford bigger, nicer, safer, more powerful cars for the simple reason that we, as an economy, have sought out progress, not rejected it. [Greentechhistory ]
jalopnik
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Why Bonneville Is Important [Speed Week]
A Great Article about Speed Week
FreeRange user Anthony_bonacci@hotmail.com wanted you to see this:
"Why Bonneville Is Important [Speed Week]"
After taking in the famous Bonneville Speed Week , the journey home provided time to reflect upon the experience. We've concluded there's a subtle importance not reflected in any record book of the event.
It was on the last day of my pilgrimage to Bonneville when the full importance of the place came into focus. I broke camp before the sunrise and watched the light blue melt the stars away and the fiery red sun rise rapidly on the horizon, turning the sky into a painting the Renaissance masters could never have captured. I drove out to the starting line well before the beginning of racing, and stood in the silence, occasionally taking photographs of the cars parked in anticipation of the day. It was cool, with a light breeze, and they'd moved the track over to a new path, virgin salt awaited the man eager enough to make it to the line first. A special kind of privilege on a day like that day.
One of the line officials asked another gentleman and me if we'd mind helping him set up their tent for the day, and of course we obliged. Afterward, I and the older fellow got to talking. This was his first time on the salt since 1963. He'd been active in the racing community in his youth and drag raced with friends all over southern California during the 60's. The joy which came from recalling those memories played on his face and in his voice. He recalled his plans of a Bonneville racer, but his life got in the way. He took a wife and had some children, and his drag racing had to be put on the shelf along with his land speed record chasing dreams. He gladly shouldered the responsibility of working for his family rather than himself. But that dream was still there, the salt fever was always present. For 45 years he'd played with various projects cars and eventually started his own shop having nothing to do hot rods or racing, but bears the name Bonneville as a reminder. An homage.
As he stares retirement in the face, he's honest about age in this sport; vision must be acute, reaction times fast, and strength at the ready. He can sense his window of opportunity closing, but it's not closed yet. Coming to this event, this Mecca of speed, he's found some measure of resolve, after the decades of "maybe next year"s, maybe it's this year. He's got a car perfect for the salt, and an engine that would do the job in a modified stock class. He'd be happy with just one run, just one time down the salt which has carried so many legends to their glory.
This is Bonneville. It is important not because of the records, but because it is a goal, a community, a dream. A marking post by which men and women measure their future and pay respect to the past. At every pit they share each others insights, their failures, and their successes. It puts men to the test as much as machine, and makes them think bigger, bolder. They live more because of Bonneville. It is said there is only one class of people on the salt, a community of people who leave their wallets behind. From the slowest stock class to the most unfathomable streamliners, the only difference is the record they chase, and all are given equal respect. Any man behind a wheel faces the same danger of death as another.
There are sponsors for the event, but they remain transparent. This is a rare commodity when modern wheeled sports are oftentimes in danger of dilution through promotion. The remoteness of the place and the brutality of the conditions filter out the riff raff and the hawkers and the television crews and the ready market demographics. Bonneville happens because of a burning competitive spirit and force of will, not because of network contracts and merchandise marketing. Bonneville is important because it has somehow in this day and age managed to remain pure. It is important because it can seduce a man to hold a dream for 45 years.
Eventually the salt will go silent. The memories of the racers and their triumphs will disappear. The record books will reduce to dust. Our rational mind tells us when these things happen the world will go on, this dry lake bed will continue being a dry lake bed, and the trivialities we place importance on will continue being trivialities in geologic time, but a little, irrational part of us hopes the salt will remember.
jalopnik
FreeRange WebReader - bringing the Internet to your mobile phone like never before!
Reading this on your Windows Smartphone, Palm or Blackberry? Try it now by clicking http://mwap.at
FreeRange user Anthony_bonacci@hotmail.com wanted you to see this:
"Why Bonneville Is Important [Speed Week]"
After taking in the famous Bonneville Speed Week , the journey home provided time to reflect upon the experience. We've concluded there's a subtle importance not reflected in any record book of the event.It was on the last day of my pilgrimage to Bonneville when the full importance of the place came into focus. I broke camp before the sunrise and watched the light blue melt the stars away and the fiery red sun rise rapidly on the horizon, turning the sky into a painting the Renaissance masters could never have captured. I drove out to the starting line well before the beginning of racing, and stood in the silence, occasionally taking photographs of the cars parked in anticipation of the day. It was cool, with a light breeze, and they'd moved the track over to a new path, virgin salt awaited the man eager enough to make it to the line first. A special kind of privilege on a day like that day.
One of the line officials asked another gentleman and me if we'd mind helping him set up their tent for the day, and of course we obliged. Afterward, I and the older fellow got to talking. This was his first time on the salt since 1963. He'd been active in the racing community in his youth and drag raced with friends all over southern California during the 60's. The joy which came from recalling those memories played on his face and in his voice. He recalled his plans of a Bonneville racer, but his life got in the way. He took a wife and had some children, and his drag racing had to be put on the shelf along with his land speed record chasing dreams. He gladly shouldered the responsibility of working for his family rather than himself. But that dream was still there, the salt fever was always present. For 45 years he'd played with various projects cars and eventually started his own shop having nothing to do hot rods or racing, but bears the name Bonneville as a reminder. An homage.
As he stares retirement in the face, he's honest about age in this sport; vision must be acute, reaction times fast, and strength at the ready. He can sense his window of opportunity closing, but it's not closed yet. Coming to this event, this Mecca of speed, he's found some measure of resolve, after the decades of "maybe next year"s, maybe it's this year. He's got a car perfect for the salt, and an engine that would do the job in a modified stock class. He'd be happy with just one run, just one time down the salt which has carried so many legends to their glory.
This is Bonneville. It is important not because of the records, but because it is a goal, a community, a dream. A marking post by which men and women measure their future and pay respect to the past. At every pit they share each others insights, their failures, and their successes. It puts men to the test as much as machine, and makes them think bigger, bolder. They live more because of Bonneville. It is said there is only one class of people on the salt, a community of people who leave their wallets behind. From the slowest stock class to the most unfathomable streamliners, the only difference is the record they chase, and all are given equal respect. Any man behind a wheel faces the same danger of death as another.
There are sponsors for the event, but they remain transparent. This is a rare commodity when modern wheeled sports are oftentimes in danger of dilution through promotion. The remoteness of the place and the brutality of the conditions filter out the riff raff and the hawkers and the television crews and the ready market demographics. Bonneville happens because of a burning competitive spirit and force of will, not because of network contracts and merchandise marketing. Bonneville is important because it has somehow in this day and age managed to remain pure. It is important because it can seduce a man to hold a dream for 45 years.Eventually the salt will go silent. The memories of the racers and their triumphs will disappear. The record books will reduce to dust. Our rational mind tells us when these things happen the world will go on, this dry lake bed will continue being a dry lake bed, and the trivialities we place importance on will continue being trivialities in geologic time, but a little, irrational part of us hopes the salt will remember.
jalopnik
FreeRange WebReader - bringing the Internet to your mobile phone like never before!
Reading this on your Windows Smartphone, Palm or Blackberry? Try it now by clicking http://mwap.at
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