by Dr. Iain Corness |
Eff Wun Calendar and assorted
thoughts
It is now only three weeks before the first
GP of the 2003 season, and all the indicators are there for a
closer result than we saw last year. The new Qualifying format
will be used for the first time, with Friday’s times giving
the reverse grid run off for the one lap dash for the final
grid positions. With Michael Schumacher often being known to
have the odd ‘off’ in Qualifying, we might see some
different faces at the sharp end of the grid this year. Again,
let us hope so!
Irvine
The F1 grid is without the loquacious
Irishman Eddie (the mouth) Irvine this year, for the first
time in the last decade. Quite frankly, for my money that is
no loss. Eddie was well known for his ‘slagging off’ of
all his fellow drivers, and would do anything to get column
inches. His results were really nothing to write home about,
and his second place in the Championship three years back
(after Michael Schumacher broke his leg) did not indicate his
true worth. That was demonstrated by the fact that Ferrari
didn’t want him again. Do you think Ferrari Team Manager
Jean Todt would have let a potential champion slip out of his
grasp? Not likely! No, our Eddie just happened to be in the
right place at the right time. A few newspapers reported Eddie
as saying he was willing to drive for nothing to get a seat
this year at Jordan for 2003, but Eddie Jordan himself said
this was all rubbish.
I see there is a book out about EJ and pitpass.com (the
best F1 internet site) gave it a good review, so look for it
at the bookstores.
Here’s one
for the Big Bike freaks
My English mate Alan Coates put me on to
this beast of a bike, and all the Harley owners out there
please do not pick on this machine. This is a four wheeled
motorcycle sporting a V10 Dodge Viper engine and will rattle
off the 0-100 kays in a shade over 2 seconds and top 400 miles
per hour if they can find the rider who is willing to hold it
on for that long!
Dodge
Tomahawk
OK, I know it is only a concept bike, but
it is real, it does go and hats off to Chrysler for having the
enthusiasm to make it. Here’s how Chrysler sees the
exercise. “The Dodge brand philosophy always challenges us
to grab life by the horns,” said Trevor Creed, Senior Vice
President - Design, Chrysler Group. “In the case of
Tomahawk, grabbing and holding onto anything for dear life is
a necessity. It’s just that extreme and passionate; a
glimpse into the soul and commitment of true enthusiasts.”
“This is a bold faced slap against
mediocrity,” Creed said. “Tomahawk is a scintillating
example of what creative minds can do when given the
opportunity to run free. It is a pure mechanical sculpture and
a joyous celebration of the artistry and emotion of design.”
Never mind the rhetoric, this is certainly
a mind blowing bit of gear. Brief specifications are:
Dodge Tomahawk Concept
Engine: 505 cu. in./8300 cc aluminium Viper
V-10 engine
Suspension: Four-wheel independent
suspension
Horsepower/Torque: 500 hp/525 lb.-ft. of
torque
Estimated Top Speed: Potentially more than
400 mph
Style: Single rider
Now while the Jeep Wrangler concept made it into production
and the Chrysler Sloper also, I doubt very much if we’ll see
this one make it past concept stage. However, if you want to
order one, expect a ticket price of around $250,000. I have to
say that if I had that sort of money to burn (like the ATM
delivery driver in Bangkok) then I would order one, just to
display it in my lounge room. The ultimate in excesses!
Diesel Fitter!
Remember the old joke? Man claimed he was a
diesel fitter for a lingerie shop. When questioned that this
seemed a rather strange place for a man of his skills, he
explained that his job was to bring the knickers up from the
stock room and hold them up in front of the customer and say,
“Diesel fitter!” Boom, boom!
BMW
320d
Now up till very recently I turned my nose
up at diesel engines, nasty knocking smoking things that they
were (and still are when you look at some of the older song
taews plying the local streets). However, it really is time to
review the whole diesel engine scene, with the Europeans in
particular producing some very good diesels.
Certainly one big plus (especially with
high European petrol prices) is the cheap diesel fuel, and the
incredible fuel economy that you get out of a diesel is the
second. Freeway cruising in a diesel BMW 320 returns something
over 60 miles per gallon (about 21 kays per litre -or 4.7
litres per 100 km - if my maths is holding up correctly) and
that is nothing short of staggering. No wonder diesel is
popular.
Looking at just four of the Euro-diesels,
all round about 2 litres, you have the aforementioned BMW
320d, the Ford Mondeo 2.0 DCi, the Saab 9-3 2.2 TiD, the VW
Passat 1.9 TDi and the Audi A4 1.9 TDi. The quickest is the
Beemer at 134 mph (215 clicks) with the other three only about
15 kays slower. Acceleration times again show just how quick
the BMW really is, with the 0-100 kays coming up in 8.9
seconds, but even the others, which range between 9.9 and
12.1, are not all that slow either.
While we are currently enjoying inexpensive gasoline, this
may not last forever, especially with George Bush’s finger
poised over the button. In Asia, diesel is the fuel of choice,
so about now might be the time to start looking at a diesel
engined import. Citroen, VW and SEAT are all here already. It
doesn’t have to be a song taew!
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked what happened to the
Jaguar XK 100? Well, the XK 100 was a 2 litre four cylinder
version of the XK 120 sports car of 1948 and was released at
the British motor show. The demand was not there and it never
went into production.
It must be time we went back to the other
side of the Atlantic, or our American readers will get upset
(again?). Ettore Bugatti bought a couple of American cars he
saw at Montlhery, near Paris, to adapt the twin cam cylinder
heads for the Bugatti racers of the day. What were those cars,
and what were they doing in Europe?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be
the first correct answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
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A new meaning to the words “A
Large Dealership”
American Roger Penske (yes, the motor
racing Penske) is into flogging cars these days, but if
you’re going into the car sales bizz, then take a look at
this for a dealership. Penske’s place is called Chauncey
Ranch, in Scottsdale, Arizona, and it covers 41 acres (please
don’t ask me how many rai that is, I do not understand area
measurements) and sells 12 brands.
Now if you want to test drive your choices
of new cars then don’t worry, you do not even need to leave
the dealership as there are two test tracks behind the
showrooms, one for bitumen burners and the other for off-roaders.
Servicing facilities? Again don’t worry.
There are 253 service bays. Each of the service bays at
Chauncey Ranch includes a bench, toolboxes, a computer, fluid
delivery and recovery systems and a hydraulic lift. Parts the
technicians may need are delivered from 46,000 square feet of
inventory through Remstar International’s automated storage
and retrieval equipment.
Penske expects to sell a staggering 12,000
vehicles at the complex this year, and is convinced that the
sheer size of the complex is an advantage that will justify
the huge investment, reportedly in excess of $100 million.
Chauncey Ranch was completed late last year
by UnitedAuto Group Inc. (UAG), which was ranked the second
largest dealership group in the United States in 2001 with
revenue of $5.9 billion. And incidentally, Penske is the CEO
of UAG.
The dealership also houses the Penske Auto
Racing museum and even has a Starbucks coffee shop on the
second floor. Parking for the old jalopy? No worries here
either, behind the showrooms is a 3,000 space parking lot,
plus a Hertz rental outlet, collision repair shop, a fuel
station and a car wash that can clean and detail as many as
700 vehicles a day.
Of interest are the margins that a huge
operation such as this is expecting. While not disclosing
specific details for Chauncey Ranch, a spokesman said that
anticipated margins for various departments should be similar
to those for UAG as a whole. According to the 2001 annual
report, gross margins were:
8.3 percent for new vehicles
10.6 percent for used vehicles
44.9 percent for service, parts and
collision repair
58.5 percent for finance and insurance.
While the margins look slim when selling
new cars, if you sell enough of them the bottom line looks
fine. Again from their 2001 annual report, the money came from
the following:
New car sales: 35 percent
Service, parts: 34 percent
Finance, insurance: 17 percent
Used-car sales: 14 percent
Now then, does anyone want to buy a used
pick-up?
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