What did we learn from the Australian GP?
Button becoming unbuttoned
From where I sat and watched the race the general consensus
was that Jenson Button still has pimples. At every restart
he was convincingly out-thought by anyone who was behind
him. Instead of controlling the situation, like Alonso did,
JB was left at the line every time. I cannot see Button
getting that elusive first win until the field is made up of
drivers of the caliber of the (not very) Super Aguri’s Ide.
While in the Honda camp, it must be getting more and more
difficult for Rooby Baby to think up a new excuse. The
‘soft’ brake pedal was one he used when at Ferrari.
Barichello is becoming a good third driver. It is time that
Honda gave Davidson the race seat. There’s someone who can
deliver. And is consistently quick, outpacing Button in test
sessions between meetings.
Fisichella’s public bollocking by Renault over the team’s
radio will not have helped his Italian blood to cool down.
To be shouted at that you are two seconds a lap slower than
your team mate and this is not acceptable will be a bitter
pill to take. Fisi will be ‘for sale’ by the end of the
year, and I would not be surprised if the entire Renault F1
team was for sale as well. By contrast, Alonso never put a
foot (or wheel) wrong. A mature, well driven race and he
deserved the win.
One day Massa will not hit anything, but it looks like that
day is quite some way off yet. However, Michael Schumacher
also managed to win a wall (comprehensively), leaving
several wheelbarrow loads of carbon fiber for the clean-up
crews. Ferrari are certainly not out of the woods yet.
Another driver to be given the ‘hurry up’ was Coulthard, who
was told he had to pass Scott Speed (great name for a race
driver) in the Toro Rosso. I wonder if the reason that it
was so imperative was that both teams are owned by Red Bull,
and they did not want it to look as if the V10 engined cars
were quicker than the V8’s that everyone else has to use.
Toro Rosso will have their V10 engines further restricted
before the end of the year is another prediction.
Mark Webber was looking strong, but unfortunately the
gearbox of his Williams F1 was not. Sir Frank has to get
these cars more reliable before Webber (or Rosberg) make the
podium. Young Rosberg has also yet to learn that you do not
win races at the first corner – you only lose races at the
first corner.
McLaren is another team that has doubtful reliability at
present, as well as showing another uninspired performance
by Juan Pablo Montoya. Raikkonen is firmly seen in the
McLaren team as the Number 1 driver, and what happens to
Montoya will totally depend on what Kimi wants to do as far
as 2007 is concerned. Stay and partner Alonso, or go to
another team? There is much talk that he will go to Ferrari
if Schumi retires, and this could be so, but a
Massa/Raikkonen driver line-up is not likely.
The next race meeting is at Imola on April 23, and I expect
the start time will be around 6 p.m. but keep reading this
space!
First corner congestion
Motor Shows
in Thailand
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that there were
two auto shows in Thailand, but one of the readers, Tony
Hawkins, has suggested to me that there could be three!
He wrote, “I would like to draw your attention to the
Automechanika Thailand which will be at the Muang Thani
Arena (Impact Exhibition and Convention Center) from 10 to
13 May 2006. This will be the first Automechanika Thailand,
making three motor shows in total now.
The link to the Automechanika Thailand website is
http://www.messefrankfurt.com.hk/en/3Auto/AMT/automechanikathailand.asp.
“There is also the Thailand Auto Parts and Accessories
(TAPA) show which runs from 11 to 15 October, 2006 at BITEC,
but this is geared up more to the trade. The link to the
this show is http://www.thaitradefair.com/fairin/tapa06”
I had a look at the Automechanika site and it has exhibitors
from all over, including a huge number from China. The
Chinese revolution is not coming. It is here already, and in
our backyard. You have been warned.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked which motor vehicle manufacturer
was bought by the British Central Equitable Trust – and why?
The answer was Bentley, and the trust was being used as a
‘front’ to hide the fact that Rolls-Royce wanted to buy
Bentley to stop the competition from the rival manufacturer.
So to this week. I have mentioned the Segway. Who invented
it?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Sailing along on a Segway
Consider these predictions. Dwindling
supplies of fossil fuels. Pollution reaching record levels
from exhaust emissions. Congestion on the roads making
commuting a thankless task of sitting for endless hours in
traffic jams. We are all subject to this, and this is the
real picture. Right now.
Segway
What will the picture be like for the commuter in 10 years
time? Twenty years? (Thirty years is beyond the range of my
crystal ball, but unless there is some rapid change, the
future looks bleak.) Oil prices per barrel such that only
the G8 countries can afford to buy it. Pedestrians will have
to wear respirators as the toxic particulate levels go well
past “safe” levels, and people will have to queue for public
transport, as there will be no room on the roads for private
cars. A Sunday drive in the country? Forget it. It will be
Tuesday before you get there.
To get over the fossil fuel problems, we have to look
towards alternate fuel sources, and electricity we have, we
know and we know how to control it. Electricity is virtually
non-polluting, but how shall we get over the traffic
congestion with too many cars, with single occupants? Forget
about car pooling. It has not worked, nor will it ever work,
while human beings are still able to be individuals.
The answer as I see it, is your own personal transport
system which runs on electricity and can carry you to work
and back, using only a small amount of space, just slightly
greater than that taken up by a pedestrian. Is this Utopia?
No it is not, because it is here now.
There is a personal transporter. It is the Segway. One you
stand on and it carries you in any direction you want –
intuitively. You “think” where you want to go, and the
Segway carries you there almost noiselessly. In many ways,
it is an extension of your mind and body.
Now while that sounds a little like science fiction, it is
not. I had the opportunity to play with the Segway range
last weekend, and it was amazing, just how quickly people
would grasp the mobility concept. A couple of the delivery
girls at the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital took less than 30
seconds to cotton on to what to do and within five minutes
were whizzing soundlessly along the hospital corridors.
(Mind you, it should be pointed out that a certain American
President fell off while trying to use one. This may explain
quite a lot.)
So how does it work? Simple. Lean forwards and it goes
forwards, lean back and it goes back. Inside the Segway are
five gyroscopes which detect an ‘out of balance’ situation,
and correct this with the appropriate motion. In actual
fact, this is how a baby learns to walk. The baby stands and
then leans forward and unless something is done, it falls on
its face, which it does continuously until it learns to
place one leg forward to stop the falling motion. This is
Step Number One. Remaining in the leaning forward position
it will then bring the other leg forward. This is Step
Number Two, and us bi-peds go on from there. When we become
more adept at this, we can even walk backwards and learn to
turn in any direction.
So just how does the Segway, a two wheeled personal
transporter, accomplish this ‘humanoid’ behavior? Basically
it does just like us, detecting the out-of-balance situation
and moves forward in response to this. Because we can
balance ourselves, we only need two legs, or in the Segway’s
case, two wheels.
It has two independent electric in-wheel motors, so it can
change direction easily, in fact it can turn in its own
length. This is controlled by a simple twist grip.
Ingenious, and intuitive. Tomorrow is here today.
Segway Thailand can be contacted at 02 385 1345 and
www.segway.co.th. But please be seated when you hear the
price. Tomorrow’s technology does not come cheap.
The Aussie Tuk-Tuk
Many years ago, in my previous existence
in Australia, I was the owner of a Thai restaurant called
Thai Tasty in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. As
always, facts can be checked to show the veracity of these
reminiscences!
Thai
Tasty was memorable for many reasons – it was the first
“Thai fast food to go” in Brisbane – it was my first foray
into the food bizz - and it was my first foray as a Tuk-Tuk
driver. This was a genuine Bangkok Tuk-Tuk which we had
imported via Sydney, shonkily registered it in that city and
then brought up to Brisbane on a truck.
I can still remember it being unloaded from the transporter,
firing it up and roaring off down the road. At the very
first corner I thought I was either going to go straight on,
or roll over! A diabolical device, and I began to understand
why being a Tuk-Tuk driver is one of those occupations
reserved for Thai nationals! It is! Look up the statutes –
shoe cleaner is another one. No joke!
However, the Tuk-Tuk soon became the symbol for Thai Tasty,
and I rode (rather than ‘drove’) it everywhere. I soon also
became the target for my local Inspector Plod who wanted to
know why it was registered in Sydney, and I was in Brisbane
1000 km away. I could fudge my way out of that one by saying
we were in the process of changing addresses. He also
decreed that if it were a motorcycle I must wear a helmet,
but if it were a car I had to wear a seat belt. My pleas
that this strange vehicle was neither a car nor a motorcycle
were to fall on deaf ears. Inspector Plod recognized two
categories of vehicle only, and Tuk-Tuk was not in his book
of rules.
Since the thought of attaching a seat belt mount to the
vinyl roof was more than faintly ridiculous, and I had no
desire to wear a helmet, Tuk-Tuk became hidden at the back
of the restaurant and only used for surreptitious nocturnal
blasts around the block, taking the last few diners for the
ride of their lives. By this stage, I must add, I had
mastered the art of two wheeled cornering which resulted in
the predictable screams from the rear seat.
When I sold the restaurant, the Tuk-Tuk went with it, but I
still have this masochistic hankering for one even today.
But I lie down till the need passes over!
