Cars and other kinds of motoring gibberish

From HuffPo:

R.I.P. Tape Decks In Cars: The End Of An Era Arrives

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If some of your fondest memories include road-tripping across the U.S. while flipping cassette after cassette of your favorite tunes, the next sentence will make you very sad.

According to the New York Times, new cars will no longer come with a pre-installed tape deck.

"For the 2011 model year, no manufacturer selling cars in the United States offers a tape player either as standard equipment or as an option on a new vehicle. The most recent choice for a factory cassette deck was the 2010 Lexus SC 430," the Times reports.

Cassettes, once a dominant audio format, are now but a novelty. Indeed, 2010 not only saw the end of the tape slot in cars, but also saw Sony ship its last batch of cassette Walkmans.

The Times indicates that CDs may be spinning their way into obsolescence, right behind compact cassettes and their eight-track predecessors. "The iPod and its ilk are easing the journey along the path to the increasingly popular concept of file storage known as the cloud -- that place in the Internet ether from which music is streamed, generally through a Web-connected mobile device that communicates with the car by a wireless Bluetooth connection," writes the Times.

Meanwhile, if you're a driver who doesn't mind juggling a stack of cassettes, you can still purchase and install a tape deck on your own. The question is: for how much longer?

From HuffPo:

BMW Going 140 MPH For YouTube Lands Stanislav Vadimovich Bakanov In Jail

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Story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/14/bmw-going-140-mph-for-you_n_822717.html

bmwracer wrote:From HuffPo:

BMW Going 140 MPH For YouTube Lands Stanislav Vadimovich Bakanov In Jail

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Story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/14/bmw-going-140-mph-for-you_n_822717.html

Crazy.

^ I've done 125mph back when I was young and stupid... Now I'm old and stupid.

bmwracer wrote:^ I've done 125mph back when I was young and stupid... Now I'm old and stupid.

I remember driving back down to LA from college. I hit about 110mph on my modified rice rocket at the time.

I did travel on the Autobahn many moons ago, but I was not driving, just a passenger on the way to the hotel.

Tu_triky wrote:I did travel on the Autobahn many moons ago, but I was driving, just a passenger on the way to the hotel.

Neat trick: driver and passenger. :beaten:

bmwracer wrote:
Neat trick: driver and passenger. :beaten:

Oops. Typo. As you gathered, not driving just as passenger. :bonk:

Tu_triky wrote:Oops. Typo. As you gathered, not driving just as passenger. :bonk:

Hanging on for dear life?

bmwracer wrote:
Hanging on for dear life?

I wasn't rolling around in a Porsche GT3 RS but yeah people were driving around at markedly higher speeds that we are used to seeing here.

Aside from the speeds, I have a distinct memory that it was a very very smooth road. Well built that is....but heck, it's German!

Tu_triky wrote:Aside from the speeds, I have a distinct memory that it was a very very smooth road. Well built that is....but heck, it's German!

Yup.

With it being so smooth, you probably don't realize the speed you're going... :sweat:

bmwracer wrote:
Yup.

With it being so smooth, you probably don't realize the speed you're going... :sweat:

Exactly! That's the sensation you get while traveling on the Autobahn. That's the memory that I associate with that brief experience.

Heidfeld Replaces Kubica at Lotus
By BRAD SPURGEON

The Lotus Renault GP team announced Wednesday that Nick Heidfeld would replace Robert Kubica to drive for the team this year, after the Polish driver injured himself in a rally accident.

Heidfeld tested with the team last week, and set the fastest time on his first day of testing. The 33-year-old German has started 172 races in the last 11 seasons.

gI would have liked to come back to Formula One in different circumstances,h said Heidfeld. gBut Ifm proud to have been given this chance. Everything has happened so quickly, but Ifve been very impressed by what I have seen so far in terms of the facilities and the dedication of the people at Enstone,h the teamfs British base. He added: gI really enjoyed the test last week in Jerez and Ifve already settled in well with the guys at the track. I have a good feeling for the car, which is quite innovative.h

Porsche Diesel Super.

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And it's official:

Bahrain GP called off

Mon, 21 Feb 12:20:00 2011

Bahrain Grand Prix organisers cancelled the March 13 opening race of the Formula One season on Monday due to unrest in the county. The race could still be rescheduled but organisers said in a statement issued on their behalf that no decision had been taken yet.

"The Bahrain International Circuit today announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain would withdraw from hosting this year's F1 Grand Prix race so that the country can focus on its process of national dialogue," they said.

Seven people have been killed and hundreds injured in a crackdown against protesters demanding more say in the Gulf Arab kingdom.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has asked his son, the crown prince, to conduct a dialogue with all parties.

"At the present time the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain," Prince Salman said.

"Although (F1 supremo) Bernie Ecclestone had graciously made clear that a decision on the race was entirely Bahrain's to make and was not yet required, we felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain's Formula One race to a later date," he added.

Ecclestone added in the statement that F1 looked forward to returning soon.

"It is sad that Bahrain has had to withdraw from the race, we wish the whole nation well as they begin to heal their country," he said.

^ It was inevitable.

Even the rims cause down force. Wow.

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Koenigsegg Agera R
It's a shame how often our modern society overuses the word "extreme," but it works perfectly for describing the Koenigsegg Agera R ($TBA). Packing a 5.0L, biofuel-drinking twin-turbo V8, the Agera produces an extreme amount of horsepower \ 1,115 hp, to be exact. Other ultra-severe features include a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission, a carbon fiber monocoque so stiff that the roof is completely removable, Vortex Generating Rim (VGR) wheels sporting spokes that act as turbines to maximize downforce, and specially-made Michelins for keeping things under control at extreme speeds.

^ Biofuel, huh?

So when it zips by, you smell freshly cooked waffle fries from Chik-Fil-A? :mrgreen:

bmwracer wrote:^ Biofuel, huh?

So when it zips by, you smell freshly cooked waffle fries from Chik-Fil-A? :mrgreen:

The exhaust notes...I smell hints of carbon monoxide with a heady aroma of peanut oil. Takes the senses away.

Tu_triky wrote:The exhaust notes...I smell hints of carbon monoxide with a heady aroma of peanut oil. Takes the senses away.

Johnson & Johnson should add it to their Glade line of air fresheners.

bmwracer wrote:
Johnson & Johnson should add it to their Glade line of air fresheners.

If I could have a car like that in my garage I would gladly be the George Washington Carver of the automotive world.