Cars and other kinds of motoring gibberish

2011 FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX - Results

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Pos - No - Driver - Team - Laps - Time/Retired - Grid - Pts
1 - 3 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren-Mercedes - 55 - 1:37:11.886 - 2 - 25
2 - 5 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 55 - +8.4 secs - 5 - 18
3 - 4 - Jenson Button - McLaren-Mercedes - 55 - +25.8 secs - 3 - 15
4 - 2 - Mark Webber - RBR-Renault - 55 - +35.7 secs - 4 - 12
5 - 6 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 55 - +50.5 secs - 6 - 10
6 - 8 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 55 - +52.3 secs - 7 - 8
7 - 7 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 55 - +75.9 secs - 8 - 6
8 - 14 - Adrian Sutil - Force India-Mercedes - 55 - +77.1 secs - 9 - 4
9 - 15 - Paul di Resta - Force India-Mercedes - 55 - +101.087 secs - 10 - 2
10 - 16 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber-Ferrari - 54 - +1 Lap - 16 - 1
11 - 17 - Sergio Perez - Sauber-Ferrari - 54 - +1 Lap - 11 -
12 - 11 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams-Cosworth - 54 - +1 Lap - 24 -
13 - 10 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 54 - +1 Lap - 12 -
14 - 12 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams-Cosworth - 54 - +1 Lap - 23 -
15 - 19 - Jaime Alguersuari - STR-Ferrari - 54 - +1 Lap - 15 -
16 - 9 - Bruno Senna - Renault - 54 - +1 Lap - 14 -
17 - 20 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus-Renault - 54 - +1 Lap - 17 -
18 - 21 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus-Renault - 53 - +2 Laps - 18 -
19 - 24 - Timo Glock - Virgin-Cosworth - 53 - +2 Laps - 19 -
20 - 23 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT-Cosworth - 53 - +2 Laps - 22 -
Ret - 22 - Daniel Ricciardo - HRT-Cosworth - 48 - Electrical - 20 -
Ret - 18 - Sebastien Buemi - STR-Ferrari - 19 - Hydraulics - 13 -
Ret - 25 - Jerome d'Ambrosio - Virgin-Cosworth - 18 - Brakes - 21 -
Ret - 1 - Sebastian Vettel - RBR-Renault - 1 - Puncture damage - 1

Evolve Motorcycles shows off $50k Xenon lightcycle, Lithium electric streetbike

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This year's Milan International Motorcycle Show is definitely featuring a healthy assortment of battery-powered two wheeled machines, and now Evolve Motorcycles has two more plug-in designs to add to the list. First up is its Xenon, aka the Tron Lightcycle replica, which is a real bike that you can purchase 32-inch hubless rims, OLED light tape and all for $50,000. It's even claiming a top speed of 100mph with a 100 mile range on its custom lithium ion battery system, so all you have left to do is regret not grabbing one for $35k on eBay last year. The Lithium however, chooses to keep things more conventional as a streetfighter concept built around a 54hp electric motor that is expected to cost around $20,000 when it actually goes on sale. Check after the break for a pic of the Lithium, or head over to our friends at Autoblog Green for a gallery full of eyecandy featuring both bikes.

At the LA Auto Show (and the upcoming Mission: Impossible movie):

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gaijinmark wrote:
Somehow, F1 and Texas just don't mix. :crazy:

And they might not:

Eccelstone ready to cancel US Grand Prix

Formula 1 commercial rights manager Bernie Ecclestone says he is ready to cancel the United States Grand Prix in Austin in the wake of internal disputes between the race organizers.

Ecclestone had intimated at India that the race was at risk, but the situation reached a critical point this week when circuit construction was halted amidst a growing dispute between the event promoters and the track's developers. On Tuesday, Austin's Circuit of the Americas announced that it was suspending construction work. Now, it appears that Ecclestone's patience has run out.

"We've done everything we bloody well can to make this race happen," Ecclestone told Britain's Press Association. When asked whether the race was in danger of being dropped, he replied: "Yes, it will be for sure, 100 percent."

Ecclestone said that his original contract, with Tavo Hellmund's Full Throttle Productions company – which owned the rights to host the race – had been canceled recently. He said he had instead started negotiations with the track developers, the Circuit of The Americas, who halted construction work on Tuesday after claiming contract talks had not progressed as previously agreed.

Ecclestone says he is yet to receive a guarantee of payment from COTA, and has given them three weeks to resolve the situation or risk having the race dropped from the 2012 Formula 1 calendar when the World Motor Sport Council meets in New Delhi on Dec. 7.

"We had an agreement with Full Throttle Productions," Ecclestone explained. "Everything was signed and sealed, but we kept putting things off like the dates, various letters of credit and things that should have been sent, but nothing ever happened. Then these other people [COTA] came on the scene, saying that they wanted to do things, but that they had problems with Tavo [Hellmund]. They said they had the circuit, and that they wanted an agreement with me.

"I told them they had to sort out the contract with Tavo, which they said they would. But that has gone away now because we've canceled Tavo's contract as he was in breach.

"We've waited six months for him to remedy the breach. He knows full well why we've canceled. He's happy. But these other people haven't got a contract. All we've asked them to do is get us a letter of credit.

"We are looking for security for money they are going to have to pay us. That is via a letter of credit, normally from a bank. If people don't have the money they find it difficult to get the letter of credit, and so we don't issue a contract."

The dispute means F1's current four-year absence from the U.S. market, could be prolonged for another year, until the newly announced street race in New Jersey comes online.

^ Bring it to California!

Laguna Seca! :victory:

Honda Fit EV goes lease-only for 2012, should hit US next summer for $399 per month

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If you're looking to buy a car to keep around for the long-haul (200,000 miles, anyone?), then Honda should probably near the top of your list. That's why we're a bit surprised to see that next year's all-electric Fit won't have a purchase option -- not initially, at least. The car does carry an MSRP of $36,625, but at this point that figure will be used for little more than to calculate the approximately $399 per month lease fee. If your credit's up to snuff and you end up behind the wheel, expect the 20-kWh lithium-ion battery to provide an estimated city range of 123 miles, with a combined rating of 76 miles. The on-board 6.6-kW 32-amp charger juices up the battery in as little as three hours with level-two EVSE. You can expect the all-blue Fit to reach parts of California and Oregon next summer, with East Coast dealers stocking the EV by 2013. Only 1,100 cars are expected to reach U.S. shores, however, so you may want to add your local Honda dealer to the holiday card list -- it certainly can't hurt your chances of getting Fit next summer.

Final race of the season.

FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2011 - Qualifying

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Pos - No - Driver - Team - Q1 - Q2 - Q3 - Laps
1 - 1 - Sebastian Vettel - RBR-Renault - 1:13.664 - 1:12.446 - 1:11.918 - 17
2 - 2 - Mark Webber - RBR-Renault - 1:13.467 - 1:12.658 - 1:12.099 - 16
3 - 4 - Jenson Button - McLaren-Mercedes - 1:13.281 - 1:12.820 - 1:12.283 - 18
4 - 3 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren-Mercedes - 1:13.361 - 1:12.811 - 1:12.480 - 22
5 - 5 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1:13.969 - 1:12.870 - 1:12.591 - 22
6 - 8 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 1:14.083 - 1:12.569 - 1:13.050 - 21
7 - 6 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 1:14.269 - 1:13.291 - 1:13.068 - 18
8 - 14 - Adrian Sutil - Force India-Mercedes - 1:13.480 - 1:13.261 - 1:13.298 - 23
9 - 9 - Bruno Senna - Renault - 1:14.453 - 1:13.300 - 1:13.761 - 20
10 - 7 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 1:13.694 - 1:13.571 - No time - 18
11 - 15 - Paul di Resta - Force India-Mercedes - 1:13.733 - 1:13.584 - - 17
12 - 11 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams-Cosworth - 1:14.117 - 1:13.801 - - 17
13 - 19 - Jaime Alguersuari - STR-Ferrari - 1:14.225 - 1:13.804 - - 18
14 - 18 - Sebastien Buemi - STR-Ferrari - 1:14.500 - 1:13.919 - - 22
15 - 10 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 1:13.859 - 1:14.053 - - 16
16 - 16 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber-Ferrari - 1:14.571 - 1:14.129 - - 18
17 - 17 - Sergio Perez - Sauber-Ferrari - 1:14.430 - 1:14.182 - - 21
18 - 12 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams-Cosworth - 1:14.625 - - - 11
19 - 20 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus-Renault - 1:15.068 - - - 11
20 - 21 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus-Renault - 1:15.358 - - - 14
21 - 23 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT-Cosworth - 1:16.631 - - - 8
22 - 22 - Daniel Ricciardo - HRT-Cosworth - 1:16.890 - - - 9
23 - 25 - Jerome d'Ambrosio - Virgin-Cosworth - 1:17.019 - - - 10
24 - 24 - Timo Glock - Virgin-Cosworth - 1:17.060 - - - 10

FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2011 - Results

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Pos - No - Driver - Team - Laps - Time/Retired - Grid - Pts
1 - 2 - Mark Webber - RBR-Renault - 71 - 1:32:17.464 - 2 - 25
2 - 1 - Sebastian Vettel - RBR-Renault - 71 - +16.9 secs - 1 - 18
3 - 4 - Jenson Button - McLaren-Mercedes - 71 - +27.6 secs - 3 - 15
4 - 5 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 71 - +35.0 secs - 5 - 12
5 - 6 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 71 - +66.7 secs - 7 - 10
6 - 14 - Adrian Sutil - Force India-Mercedes - 70 - +1 Lap - 8 - 8
7 - 8 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 70 - +1 Lap - 6 - 6
8 - 15 - Paul di Resta - Force India-Mercedes - 70 - +1 Lap - 11 - 4
9 - 16 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber-Ferrari - 70 - +1 Lap - 16 - 2
10 - 10 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 70 - +1 Lap - 15 - 1
11 - 19 - Jaime Alguersuari - STR-Ferrari - 70 - +1 Lap - 13 -
12 - 18 - Sebastien Buemi - STR-Ferrari - 70 - +1 Lap - 14 -
13 - 17 - Sergio Perez - Sauber-Ferrari - 70 - +1 Lap - 17 -
14 - 11 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams-Cosworth - 70 - +1 Lap - 12 -
15 - 7 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 70 - +1 Lap - 10 -
16 - 20 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus-Renault - 69 - +2 Laps - 19 -
17 - 9 - Bruno Senna - Renault - 69 - +2 Laps - 9 -
18 - 21 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus-Renault - 69 - +2 Laps - 20 -
19 - 25 - Jerome d'Ambrosio - Virgin-Cosworth - 68 - +3 Laps - 23 -
20 - 22 - Daniel Ricciardo - HRT-Cosworth - 68 - +3 Laps - 22 -
Ret - 23 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT-Cosworth - 61 - Alternator - 21 -
Ret - 3 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren-Mercedes - 46 - Gearbox - 4 -
Ret - 12 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams-Cosworth - 26 - Spin - 18 -
Ret - 24 - Timo Glock - Virgin-Cosworth - 21 - Wheel - 24 -

Final Team Standings:
Pos - Team - Points
1 - RBR-Renault - 650
2 - McLaren-Mercedes - 497
3 - Ferrari - 375
4 - Mercedes - 165
5 - Renault - 73
6 - Force India-Mercedes - 69
7 - Sauber-Ferrari - 44
8 - STR-Ferrari - 41
9 - Williams-Cosworth - 5
10 - Lotus-Renault - 0
11 - HRT-Cosworth - 0
12 - Virgin-Cosworth - 0

Final Driver Standings:
Pos - Driver - Nationality - Team - Points
1 - Sebastian Vettel - German - RBR-Renault - 392
2 - Jenson Button - British - McLaren-Mercedes - 270
3 - Mark Webber - Australian - RBR-Renault - 258
4 - Fernando Alonso - Spanish - Ferrari - 257
5 - Lewis Hamilton - British - McLaren-Mercedes - 227
6 - Felipe Massa - Brazilian - Ferrari - 118
7 - Nico Rosberg - German - Mercedes - 89
8 - Michael Schumacher - German - Mercedes - 76
9 - Adrian Sutil - German - Force India-Mercedes - 42
10 - Vitaly Petrov - Russian - Renault - 37
11 - Nick Heidfeld - German - Renault - 34
12 - Kamui Kobayashi - Japanese - Sauber-Ferrari - 30
13 - Paul di Resta - British - Force India-Mercedes - 27
14 - Jaime Alguersuari - Spanish - STR-Ferrari - 26
15 - Sebastien Buemi - Swiss - STR-Ferrari - 15
16 - Sergio Perez - Mexican - Sauber-Ferrari - 14
17 - Rubens Barrichello - Brazilian - Williams-Cosworth - 4
18 - Bruno Senna - Brazilian - Renault - 2
19 - Pastor Maldonado - Venezuelan - Williams-Cosworth - 1
20 - Pedro de la Rosa - Spanish - Sauber-Ferrari - 0
21 - Jarno Trulli - Italian - Lotus-Renault - 0
22 - Heikki Kovalainen - Finnish - Lotus-Renault - 0
23 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - Italian - HRT-Cosworth - 0
24 - Jerome d'Ambrosio - Belgian - Virgin-Cosworth - 0
25 - Timo Glock - German - Virgin-Cosworth - 0
26 - Narain Karthikeyan - Indian - HRT-Cosworth - 0
27 - Daniel Ricciardo - Australian - HRT-Cosworth - 0
28 - Karun Chandhok - Indian - Lotus-Renault - 0

Props to Vettel his second championship but I think Button drove better this year finishing second than he did two years ago to won it all. :applaud:

Toyota, BMW to work on greener car battery

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TOKYO (AP) \ Auto giants Toyota and BMW said Thursday they have agreed to collaborate on research for cleaner, next-generation car batteries, underlining the growing push in the industry for green technology.

The agreement brings together Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's No. 1 carmaker and a leader in gas-electric hybrids, and BMW AG of Germany, a European maker that has a strong luxury brand image in both Japan and Europe.

"We are now joining forces to further develop environmentally-friendly technologies and to expand our innovation leadership in each of our segments," Norbert Reithofer, chairman of BMW, said in a statement.

The two automakers will also work on improving lithium-ion battery technology, typically used in batteries for electronic gadgets and relatively new to autos.

bmwracer wrote:I am leaning more and more towards buying a new car... It's just a matter of when.

Well, they just opened a McLaren dealership over on Wilshire: http://www.beverlyhills.mclaren.com/

gaijinmark wrote:Well, they just opened a McLaren dealership over on Wilshire: http://www.beverlyhills.mclaren.com/

Slightly out of my price range... And besides, they stopped building the F1.

EDIT: I guess that's where Jay Leno will take his F1 for service...? :)

If there's a Ferrari specialist bodyshop in Japan, he's going to be busy for awhile: http://jalopnik.com/5864856/massive-japanese-crash-claims-eight-ferraris-three-benzes-and-a-lamborghini

gaijinmark wrote:If there's a Ferrari specialist bodyshop in Japan, he's going to be busy for awhile: http://jalopnik.com/5864856/massive-japanese-crash-claims-eight-ferraris-three-benzes-and-a-lamborghini

Japan's answer to NASCAR?

Bridgestone rolls with air-free tire concept

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The days of flat tires and spares are numbered. Sure, self-inflating tires are all well and good, but don't protect from the darn puncture itself. Similar to Michelin's tweels, Bridgestone has cooked up some air-free concept tires that use a use a tough but flexible thermoplastic structure that behaves like a normal tire with nary any horizontal force produced. Each wheel is able to support around 150kg, although on a typical electric mobility scooter the load is more likely to approach 50kg. Bridgestone is looking to show off those curved, hypnotic spokes on the retail model, but is still researching how to protect against objects getting lodged inside.

bmwracer wrote:Bridgestone rolls with air-free tire concept

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The days of flat tires and spares are numbered. Sure, self-inflating tires are all well and good, but don't protect from the darn puncture itself. Similar to Michelin's tweels, Bridgestone has cooked up some air-free concept tires that use a use a tough but flexible thermoplastic structure that behaves like a normal tire with nary any horizontal force produced. Each wheel is able to support around 150kg, although on a typical electric mobility scooter the load is more likely to approach 50kg. Bridgestone is looking to show off those curved, hypnotic spokes on the retail model, but is still researching how to protect against objects getting lodged inside.

Is that the new big wheel on sale for Xmas at Toys R' Us?

Tu_triky wrote:Is that the new big wheel on sale for Xmas at Toys R' Us?

Haha. :hehe:

A little pricier, though.

US Grand Prix in Texas given OK by F1

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) \ Yeehaw! Formula One is returning to the United States in 2012, bringing its ultra-fast cars and flair for the exotic to the land of longhorn cattle and cowboy hats.

Barbecue in the pits, anyone?

Formula One's 2012 calendar with the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin on Nov. 18 was approved Wednesday at a World Motor Sport Council meeting in New Delhi, India. Race organizers announced a 10-year deal with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, ending a contract dispute that threatened to kill the race and a new $300 million track being built for it.

Work on the Circuit of The Americas had been stopped for several weeks during the dispute. Race officials said construction would resume immediately and would be finished in time for the race.

The Austin race will mark F1's first in the United States since 2007.

KOBOT City EV Concept Vehicle

http://youtu.be/6sqljRqBvaU?hd=1

Jav_sol wrote:KOBOT City EV Concept Vehicle

http://youtu.be/6sqljRqBvaU?hd=1

The girls are more interesting than the vehicle. :mrgreen: