What did we learn from the British Grand Prix?
McLaren Mercedes finally made it to the top
step on the podium, but with the wrong driver in the seat!
Instead of Kimi Raikkonen trouncing Renault’s Alonso, it was
Juan-Pablo Montoya who outdragged the normally flawless
starting Renault to take a lead he never really relinquished.
Raikkonen did well to get to third, from his 12th slot
starting position after being demoted for having changed
another engine. Mercedes’ Norbert Haug was not happy and is
critical of the one engine for two Grands Prix rule. Guess
why! Unfortunately for Norbert, his seem to be the only
hand-grenading engines at present.
What else did we learn? Well, we learned
that you can throw mega-millions at these cars but you can’t
get round the human error factor! Takuma Sato’s BAR
suffering from our Japanese hero driver pushing the wrong
button (no pun intended) and shutting down the engine, and
everything else on the way to the grid. The ‘real’ Button
just slowly went backwards, despite the British TV director.
Fastest race laps were interesting, with
Raikkonen and Montoya the fastest from the two Renaults, with
Fisi faster than Alonso. Fisi blotted his copy book (again),
stalling in the pits when it looked as if he would catch
Alonso. From Renault’s point of view, it was better for
Alonso to be in front, so with team orders not allowed,
perhaps Flavio Briatore had his finger on the ‘stall’
button again? We will never know!
What else? Klien drives like a jack-rabbit,
Karthikeyan stopped on lap 11 for a Lamb Vindaloo (the only
retirement), Michael Schumacher is still one second off the
pace, and the BMW Williams duo were almost three seconds
slower than the McLarens. Ouch!
The next GP is on the 24th July from Germany.
Lexus GS 300
Lexus has spent almost fifteen years to
come from nowhere to be the top of the heap in the luxury
class. Don’t believe me? Look up the J.D. Power surveys for
the past few years. Lexus has been a regular recipient of
quality and customer satisfaction awards from the J.D. Power
and Associates analysts. In fact, in May 2003, Lexus scored
its seventh successive Initial Quality awards and became the
highest ranked Premium Luxury car in the US.
The history is interesting. Toyota took the
bull by the horns in the mid-1980’s. By 1983 Toyota had
built up a name for solid, dependable motor vehicles, but they
had nothing to challenge the upper echelon Mercedes-Benz or
BMW. At a secret meeting of Toyota management, Eiji Toyoda
proposed the building of a luxury car to rival the world’s
best. This concept was called “Flagship 1” and was then
known as “F1” to the inner circle.
Lexus
GS 300
By July 1985 the first of 450 running
prototypes was built. It represented the work of 60 designers,
24 engineering teams, 1,400 engineers, 2,300 technicians, and
220 support workers.
It was four years later that the final
product was shown at the motor shows in Detroit and Los
Angeles, with the brand name “Lexus” and the designation
LS 400, which stood for “Luxury Sedan” of 4 litres in
capacity. LS 400 grew into LS 430, but by now I believe it
needs replacing.
The GS series is another model line-up and
the new car does no longer look “Japanese”, with a clean,
classic new styling approach overseen by British designer
Simon Humphries. In profile it even looks a little like the
CLS Class Mercedes, which was, for my money, the car of the
show at the Bangkok International Motor Show in March this
year.
The V6 is a new, 60-degree, all-alloy
engine with plenty of design trickery including
variable-timing inlet and exhaust camshafts as well as direct
fuel injection. With a fairly high 11.5:1 compression ratio,
the 3 litre engine delivers exceptional power and torque for
its capacity; 183 kW and a quite astounding 310 Nm of torque.
The concept of going to a bent six is also new, as up till now
they had been persevering with in-line sixes in the GS series.
The impressive V6 is attached to a
six-speed automatic transmission developed by Lexus that gives
the GS line its first sequential-shifting gearbox and replaces
the old five-speed E-shift. Power is sent through to the rear
wheels. Again this is the Lexus meeting the challenge issued
by the BMW 5 Series.
The suspension is all-new, with a
multi-link arrangement replacing the double-wishbone setup
used previously and matching the double wishbones at the
front. Lexus says it’s a light weight system, with cast
aluminium used for the suspension uprights, both at front and
rear. Anti-Dive geometry is included in the new package.
All this works in with a carefully
thought-out underbody where the aerodynamics play a part in
keeping the overall Cd figure to a low 0.27 while creating
stability-inducing downforce at speed. Aerodynamics play a
part in road-going cars these days, as well as in F1.
According to testers Down-under, the Lexus
handles impeccably too. The steering is nicely weighted and
responds quickly to driver input, while the ride is firm and
well controlled without being in the least bit harsh. It’s a
well-sorted suspension package, although the tactility of any
of the German opponents is missing.
What buyers relate to in the GS300 is the
exquisite quality, the generous standard equipment and the
sense of complete refinement even in this supposedly
driver-oriented model.
However, the feeling that comes across is
the total divorce of human from the road, a negative factor
from the sporting motorist’s point of view. The tester’s
final appraisal was that the GS is superb as far as styling,
technology levels, safety features, comfort, refinement, build
quality, cabin quietness, performance, engine smoothness,
handling, and equipment levels are concerned, but from the
sporty driver’s position, it lacks passion and aural
excitement.
The new V6 GS300 will set you back 5.3 million in this
country! A great car if you’ve got a chauffer.
Autotrivia
Quiz
Last week, I asked which band leader drove
for 52 hours straight to win a European rally, after his
co-driver fell ill. The answer was Belgian Johnny Claes,
winning the Liege-Rome-Liege for the second time in a Lancia
Aurelia GT in 1953.
So to this week. An easy one. Who made the
first Jeeps, and what engine did they have?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be
the first correct answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Minardi team for
sale?
Here is your opportunity to become an Eff
Wun team owner! Take in millions of dollars from financially
well heeled young drivers who will pay heavily to sit in your
old outdated F1 cars and spend each lap looking in the rear
vision mirrors! If you are really lucky, 14 cars might not
start and you can actually win points in the championships,
but you will have to say that you really didn’t want to
race, but you had to, because four others were lining up.
No, in the latest threat to F1, Minardi
boss Paul Stoddart claims he will sell the Minardi team and
quit F1 unless Max Mosley resigns as FIA president.
Stoddart’s call is the just latest in his quest to get
Mosley to relinquish his presidency in what has become a
long-running feud between the two and which intensified
following the United States GP tyre debacle.
Of course this threat to F1 stability has
about as much effect as slapping Max on the wrist twenty times
with a wet train ticket. The garrulous Stoddart was reported
talking to the “highly” regarded motor racing publication,
the News of the World, which will publish anything about
anything, as long as they can get a half naked girl in the
story as well.
“The teams have had a gutful of Max,”
he told News of the World. “Either he goes or F1 as we know
it today will go. I think a breakaway series is guaranteed. It
doesn’t matter who replaces him. He is so bad now that
anyone could do it. If Max does not resign then I am not
staying in F1. Life is too short to be involved in this
political s**t. That’s it as far as I am concerned. I will
finish this season off and see what happens. If Max stays, I
am going to put the team up for sale.”
Paul, it can’t come quickly enough. You
have become an embarrassment and have dragged the once proud
name of Minardi down into the depths.
Go-Karts in Pattaya this
weekend
One of the regular readers sent me the
following email. “I stopped by the middle-size Kart track
near the bungy jump on Thepprasit Rd., Soi 9 this morning.
Here’s the straight scoop regarding the next scheduled race
as posted on the bulletin board at the track: Organized Kart
races are Saturday and Sunday, 16, 17 July 2005. About seven
different classes from peewee kid’s in 60cc Karts to portly
Farangs in 125cc Karts will be competing. Saturday is
dedicated to regulated practice and qualifying trials. Sunday
7.20 a.m. there’s more practice until the first
wheel-to-wheel heat scheduled for 9.20 a.m. Racing is
scheduled all day Sunday in 5-15 lap heats with a break for
lunch. The final round for all classes is scheduled for 3 p.m.
“Kart race organizers appear to have
their act together with very professional organization and
serious safety standards. For spectators, the entire track is
visible from tables in the covered refreshment area, making
for exciting and comfortable viewing.
Cheers,
Robert Peterson AKA Thaibobby”
So there you are Go-Kart fans down on the
Eastern Seaboard region, the action is this weekend. It is
also a great track, so there should be plenty of action.
GM becomes the leader of the
slashers
With GM having managed to increase sales by
the simple expedient of slashing prices, it seems everyone now
wants to jump on to the cut-price bandwagon. GM were offering
a 15 percent “staff” discount which was enough to increase
their sales numerically, by almost 50 percent, compared to
June 2004.
Interested watchers on the sidelines
included Ford Motor Corporation, whose sales have not been
filling the corporate coffers. In a classic example of a “me
too” campaign, FoMoCo are offering the “Ford Family
Plan,” in which Ford will shave thousands of dollars off the
sticker prices of most 2005 model vehicles, said company
spokesman David Reuter.
Again, in an exact copy of the GM plan,
Ford will sell its vehicles to anybody at the same prices Ford
employees pay. “It’s a great deal that we’re going to
deliver in a simple, consistent way to customers,” Reuter
said. “We’re going to advertise this widely, in a huge
significant way throughout the month.”
In yet another “me too”, the Chrysler unit of
DaimlerChrysler has brought out its own employee pricing
program, showing perhaps it is the lack of original thought
that has been putting Detroit in the doldrums for many months!
Whatever, there will be some bargains for the next 30 days or
so, until Detroit’s parking lots of unsold cars are cleared.
