A V8 Mazda Miata? Hell, yeah!

Hat Tip to Jake W.

It'll fit! Oh, it will fit. It will just hurt a little...

Pastor Maldonado in the Simulator

Hat Tip to Mark D.

I swear I've seen these same shunts from Maldonado in real races!

Name That Caption (No. 81)

Hat Tip to John B.

Yanking a wiener on the side of the road?

The Most Expensive Hair Dryer in the World!

Mark Webber at his last F1 race of his F1 career!

A V8 Sings "Waltzing Matilda"

Race car drivers can be good musicians too! Here is a V8 singing Waltzing Matilda - Australia's most popular song, its unofficial national anthem.

And here is a rendition by Slim Dusty from the 2000 Sydney Olympics, so you compare the two. I like both but will have to take the one from the V8 for my road trip collection!

The 2013 Racing Season Is Over!

Today's F1 race at Interlagos, Brazil marks 

the end of the racing season. 

Unfortunately, this is all the racing we have left 

between now and the 2014 Rolex 24 in January:

The Rolex 24 can't come soon enough. We'll be there to cover it again.

1 Mile on R-Comp Tires for Sale - Sounds Legit!!

One Hot Mile!

To Err on The Side of Error - Part I

As hard as we try, we don't always get it right. Yes, automotive journalists in general are fairly astute individuals. We read newspapers. We study trends. A lot of times we even scribble notes at events in order to remember things. All of this comes in handy when our job calls upon us to use this insight and cast a prediction of the auto industry. A good amount of time, we hit the nail right on the head. Other times? Well, that's what this article is for.

Predictions regarding the automobile industry have been around since the beginning of the automobile. News on new technology was, and always has been, a hot topic of automotive discussion. The ability to stay ahead of the competition is similar to a war tactic: predict the guy's next move and beat him to it. What we are going to discuss here is the ability to get things completely wrong. Astonishingly so.

The 1954 Ford Atmos used hand grips for steering, 

it had a radar screen, and the driver sat in the middle.

For the most part (sadly), safety is one of the things that comes from governmental regulations. While most manufacturers had innovative safety programs, it was government mandates that made items standard, such as a three point seatbelt, airbags, and traction control. Of my research in this, airbags stood out due to the consumer's stubbornness to accept them. These little balloons of safety have been responsible for saving untold numbers of lives, but there were growing pains associated with their public acceptance.

Of Racer Chasers, Pit Lizards and Track Tramps

Alright guys, fess up. They are really called trophy wives.

Of Turbulence in F1 Cars

Look at the turbulence comparison between the Red Bull and the Ferrari.

Is it any surprise then that the Red Bull is so much faster?

Adrian Newey's magic at work!

Name That Caption (No. 80)

Spotted at NHMS

Turbo car for hair stylists?

Quick Takes on the 2013 United States Grand Prix

Most interesting part of the 2013 US Grand Prix?

The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders of course!

There were 135k spectators total over the 3-day weekend. The Circuit of the Americas' total capacity is 120k and most of the grandstands looked far from sold out. The customary fan celebration on the front straight after the race looked very tame compared to Montreal and especially Monza.

Loved watching Jay Leno in the McLaren P1 around the track. He was not especially fast but he makes up for it by being funny as always. That was a thinly veiled ad by the way -- admit it, Jay, even you could not turn down an offer to drive a P1 around COTA! Is it a coincidence that the Forza 5 ads looked like a McLaren infomercial as well? I think not - that's McLaren's PR machine hard at work. In a season where they've had one of their worst showings in their storied history, they'll need all the PR they can get!

Leigh Diffey in the Vettel interview: "How do you stay so humble and grounded?" What a joke, Leigh -- you cannot possibly be forgetting that Vettel is a selfish whiner who's been a total ass on a few occasions even to teammate Mark Webber. You should be ashamed of yourself for asking a question like that just to kiss up to him.

Loved Sam Posey's narration - Vettel is like Senna and Schumacher who "... all believe that destiny called for them and them alone to win!" That's more like it, Diffey.

Great Article on Mario Andretti!!

Source: The Wall Street Journal

I really enjoyed this WSJ article on Mario Andretti. It gives us a great insight into his personality and background. It's so easy to forget that he was the last American to win a Formula 1 race... Wonder if a talent like him could ever make it all the way to the top like that today...

As a teenager, he was working in a gas station when he and his brother hatched the idea to build a race car from a Hudson Hornet. They borrowed $500 from the bank and got fake IDs. (They were 19 at their first race; the legal age for racing was 21.)

Name That Caption (No. 79)

Let's see if these Camaro drivers can mud wrestle their way out of trouble.

evo Car of the Year 2013: Part 1

Hat Tip to Dave S.

This video is really well put together by sports car enthusiasts

who actually know how to drive and call it like it is!

2013 Car of the Year finalists: 

 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S

Audi R8 V10 Plus

Mercedes SLS Black Series

Porsche 911 GT3

Alfa Romeo 4C

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

Porsche Cayman S

Mini JCW GP

Name That Caption (No. 78)

I can't help it, I like breakdancing so much, 

sometimes I spontaneously start doing it in the middle of a race.

A 2:08 Watkins Glen Lap with Data in an E36 M3

BMW E36 M3
3,000 lb race weight

BFG R1 225/40/17 tires
Driven by Nick DeRosa

Bump Drafting: Good for 3 Seconds a Lap in a Stock Miata!

Hat Tip to Logal L.

How do you find 3 seconds a lap in a stock Miata? Well, simple enough: find another Miata driver willing to bump draft you the entire lap! Who needs horsepower when you have bump draft Miata buddies!

My Biggest Fear!

I think most of us can identify with this!

There will be some real bargains to be had after we're gone!

Hey James Allen, How About a Real Explanation?

So everyone is wondering how Vettel's race pace can be so much faster than anyone else's in Formula 1, including teammate Mark Webber driving an identical car. Even James Allen is trying to grab some attention on his site with a headline like Analysis: How Does Sebastian Vettel Find the Speed?

Vettel has found a way in terms of balancing and driving his car, to extract close to the maximum consistently in qualifying, but then to push hard on heavy fuel at the start at the same time as maintaining the life of the tyres over a longer period. It’s about not sliding the tyres too much, being precise with the steering in those sub 130km/h corners, being precise with the throttle on corner exit to avoid wheelspin which also overheats the tyres.

So this is it then, just being precise with the steering and preserving the tires?! I bet every driver (well, except for Hamilton perhaps) takes good care of their tires. Why is a super smooth driver like Jenson Button not the fastest then? An entire article devoted to how Vettel does it and this is the only meaningful "insight"? I really expected more from James Allen. Much more: Does Vettel lean on the fronts? Does he compress the braking zone? Does he get on the throttle early but more gradually? Just throwing a time chart like that doesn't explain how he does it and an F1 insider like James Allen should know that very well.

11/8/2013 UPDATE
Peter Windsor breaks it down further for us. In the end, so much of it is about what we always tell first-time autocrossers: "Look Ahead!"

Pictures from BMW CCA Boston Autocross Event 8

Respect the cone!

In tune with the fall colors

Link to all pictures from Event 8

Name That Caption (No. 77)

Whatever it takes to find the fastest line through the turn!

Lamborghini Turns 50 Coverage on 60 Minutes

Lamborghini Turns 50 was a fantastic segment on this weekend's 60 Minutes. Very educational and fun to watch -- it's well worth 12 minutes of your time if you have not seen it yet. Now, if host Scott Pelley's pink shirt could only make up for his utter lack of driving skills... Even Lamborghini test driver and instructor Mario Fasanetto had trouble keeping up a straight face!

What Would Steve McQueen Drive Today?

The case for RS6

Tips for Achieving Optimal Weight Distribution

Q: What's the best way to even out the weight 

from front to rear in a front-heavy car?

A: Putting in the biggest-ass exhaust silencer known to man!!