What did we learn from the British Grand Prix?
Well we learned that despite all the hype
around McLaren-Mercedes, Ferrari have the faster car. With
so much hanging on qualifying, young Lewis Hamilton did a
heroic job in collaring pole position at the last second,
and there was no time left for the other top spot contenders
to have another lash at getting a good time. Top marks to
the youngster there.
However,
the strain on Hamilton did show, with his over-reacting to
the lollipop. It is however interesting to note that other
teams just hold the lollipop and then lift it, whilst
McLaren hold the lollipop, then turn it over to say select
1st gear, and only then lift it.
We also saw that Massa can “tiger” coming from the rear of
the field up to 5th after his Ferrari stalled on the grid
when he selected 1st gear after the warm-up. However we also
saw that young Robert Kubica was able to hold off Massa for
the final 13 laps. Kubica is driving better since his
monumental crash in Canada, and what is more – is outdriving
team mate Heidfeld. It is well known that Dr Mario Theissen
favors Kubica, and I would not be surprised to see the
line-up of Kubica and Vettel next year, with Heidfeld at
Toyota, replacing Ralf Schumacher.
Wurz (Williams) and Speed (Tossing Roarer) had a coming
together, with each blaming the other. This will not happen
in 2008, as neither will have a drive.
Toyota – what can you say? Trulli complaining bitterly that
the car was undriveable, while Ralf had his left front wheel
bearing begin to collapse. Toyota should bring Trulli over
here to teach the Yaris One Make drivers how to avoid
accidents, and give Ralf his pipe and slippers and a new
Corolla and show him the road to Kerpen where he came from.
Another in the pipe and slippers brigade is Fisichella,
getting his usual radio call to go faster because he has the
same car as his team mate but he (Fisi) is going slower.
Last year it was Alonso. This year it is new boy Kovalainen.
A new Renault Megane for Fisi will be in his Xmas stocking,
but no F1 contract for 2008.
Alonso did drive well in the race, and other than showing
some Spanish petulance in the press conference after
qualifying, behaved himself and didn’t blame his team.
And talking about the team, poor old Ron Dennis is certainly
having his problems over the ‘Stepneygate’ affair in which
(now ex-) Ferrari engineer Stepney is accused of passing on
Ferrari secrets to (now suspended) McLaren designer Mike
Coughlan. Interestingly, the whole sorry mess came to light
after a photocopy shop reported someone furtively copying
engineering drawings, which they thought could have been
terrorist bomb plans. Bombs or not, it certainly has blown
up in Coughlan’s hands! Stepney is also now really out in
the cold, saying “Ferrari is unique in Italy; it’s a
religion. If you go against it, it’s like going against the
Vatican.” Which should be enough to have him ex-communicated
as well.
Will somebody please fix Mark Webber’s hydraulics? That was
about the fourth time this year that his hydraulics have all
gone, leaving him without power steering, throttle or gears,
just while he was looking a points position. His Red Bull
certainly is no ground pawing steer, but more like the red
bull post-abattoir.
Who have we forgotten? Ah yes, Spyker and Super Aguri. Not
only did we forget them, but so did the TV director. I don’t
think we saw Albers or Sato for the entire GP, and we only
saw Sutil when his engine detonated, and Davidson when he
retired, several times.
The next race is in Germany on July 22 from Nurburgring.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I mentioned the London to
Sydney marathon was run in 1968 and was given much
publicity, but I asked who was the first from London to
Sydney? The answer was Francis Birtles, driving a 14 HP
Bean. He left London on October 19, 1927 and arrived in
Sydney on July 15, 1928. Now that’s what I call an epic!
So to this week. Engineer Malcolm Loughead invented a
hydraulic brake so what did he call it? (Clue – think
phonetics.)
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected].
Good luck!
Shooting the messenger?
Auto News in America has reported a huge shake-up in GM’s
advertising. This comes hot on the heels of the
consolidation of Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealerships, so GM
also is combining those brands’ advertising, sources
familiar with the move say.
GM told dealers that it has fired longtime advertising
agencies McCann-Erickson which held the Buick account for
nearly 50 years, and Lowe Lintas & Partners Worldwide, New
York, from the GMC accounts. The three brands will be
serviced by Pontiac’s advertising agency, Leo Burnett
Detroit.
Mark LaNeve, VP of North American vehicle sales, service and
marketing shook out the ad agencies last year as well. Last
June, he fired Leo Burnett Detroit from the Cadillac account
and gave it to Modernista. Burnett had held the account
since 1935. Also last year, Chevrolet’s ad agency,
Campbell-Ewald, lost a piece of its business to Deutsch, of
Los Angeles. Deutsch handled negotiations for Chevrolet’s
2006 Major League Baseball and motor sports ad campaigns.
Showing that there was more than just rationalization in
these moves, LaNeve indicated that Buick would focus its ads
more on product and less on the brand’s celebrity endorser,
golfer Tiger Woods.
It has taken some time, but it would seem that GeeEmm is
finally realizing that people buy cars they want, not ones
that the manufacturer wants them to buy, even using
celebrities to peddle the product.
Ferrari goes on a diet
According to sources in the UK, Ferrari is putting their
future cars on a diet. Rather than chase performance through
increasingly expensive engine technology, the answer is to
make the cars lighter.
Ferrari
Millechili
Ferrari engineers say that if the Enzo had weighed 1000 kg,
rather than its existing 1365 kg, its 485 kW power output
would be effectively equivalent to 600 kW. An obvious power
advantage over other supercars.
Ferrari used its recent 60th anniversary celebrations to
reveal an Enzo-derived concept known as the FXX Millechili
(shortened form of “mille chilogrammi” Italian for 1000 kg)
and the car embodies the specialist carmaker’s new goal of
achieving efficiency through weight savings and cutting-edge
technology.
The Millechili is more compact than the Enzo and its
wheelbase of 2112 mm compares with the latter’s 2351 mm. The
distance from the top of the windscreen to the tip of the
nose is also shorter – 976 mm versus the Enzo’s 1107 mm.
The Millechili is not a publicity exercise and Ferrari has
reportedly said it plans to make each of its future vehicles
300 kg lighter than their predecessors.
Other F1 inspired concepts and others being designed for the
future road cars are regenerative braking, advanced turbo
engines and biofuel-compatible powerplants.
According to Autocar in the UK, Ferrari is also working with
Imperial College in London on an innovative ‘active
aerodynamics’ system that uses air pumps to push air over
and under the car to streamline the airflow.
Ferrari are certainly a niche manufacturer, but with the
emphasis on technology has joined Porsche as a technological
leader in the supercar stakes.
Jaguar on the block
As they did with Aston Martin, cash-strapped Ford Motor
Company have put another of their acquisitions up for sale,
with the combined Jaguar and Land Rover concerns up for
grabs for a reputed B. 190 billion. This has become
necessary after Ford reported a loss of B. 380 billion last
year. And you think you’re doing it tough!
The sale offer was reported in the pages of the world’s
financial press (always an interesting place to get
automotive low-down) and Middle-East money is already
interested, after Aston Martin came into their clutches this
year. And they have money, with one Kuwaiti investor tipping
in almost B. 17 billion into the Aston Martin purchase.
To turn Ford around is going to be difficult, but like GM,
Ford has to better understand its market and make reliable
cars that people want to buy, at affordable prices. The way
Toyota and Honda do. They don’t need better examples.
Honda tops UK reliability survey
Honda has practically swept the board in this year’s Which?
Car reliability survey, the biggest-ever owner satisfaction
survey in the UK with almost 100,000 cars rated.
The Honda Jazz is the most reliable new car, with a rating
of 96 percent in the ‘supermini’ class. More than 1,300
owners confirmed it rarely lets them down – cementing its
reputation as the number one for dependable motoring.
Not only does Honda make the most reliable supermini, it
also either wins or shares the honors in the large car
(Honda Accord), MPV (Honda FR-V) and off-roader (previous
generation Honda CR-V) categories.However, the new Civic in
the UK did not fare well, with a reliability rating of only
82 percent. Owners have reported problems with the fuel
system, steering and suspension.
The least reliable new car in the Which? Car survey is the
Land Rover Discovery 3, with an error-prone rating of 79
percent. Maybe that’s why Ford is trying to get rid of it.
Other notable disappointments are the VW Passat, contrary to
Volkswagen’s reputation for reliability, the Peugeot 307 and
Renault Megane, all with 82 percent.
Which? Car also includes a manufacturer league table,
showing the year’s brand reliability winners and losers.
Unsurprisingly, Honda is top of the table with an overall
reliability index of 86 percent. Toyota, just one point
behind, is another extremely reliable brand.
Behind the two Japanese giants, six Asian makes vie for
third place: Daihatsu, Hyundai, Lexus, Mazda, Subaru and
Suzuki all score 82 per cent. Land Rover as a manufacturer
is rooted firmly at the bottom of the reliability table on
68 percent, just behind Renault and Fiat.
Which? Car Editor Richard Headland, said, “Congratulations
to Honda, which has topped the reliability table in most
mainstream categories. Honda is setting the benchmark in car
reliability and it’s up to other manufacturers to raise
their standards to match. Several Far Eastern car makers are
hot on its heels, but European manufacturers still have some
catching up to do.”
