Hungarian GP this weekend
As a racing venue, Hungary has a long
history, with its first GP run in 1906, and regular events
in Budapest since 1926. Built with state backing, and laid
out in a natural amphitheatre, the Hungaroring opened in
1986 and attracted an estimated 200,000 spectators.
Hungaroring
Though the event was well organized, and the hosts very
appreciative, it was felt that the 4 km Hungaroring had been
laid out more in the style of a twisty street circuit rather
than a bespoke road track. There were few opportunities for
overtaking, though things were eased from 1989 when a tight
corner was by-passed and the lap distance became slightly
less than 4 km. However, it remains a circuit that is not
high on any of the drivers’ lists, unless you are after a
piece of quick action behind the pits, as the Hungarian
government actually erected (nice word in the sex scene)
some mobile brothels a couple of years ago. I think they are
still in use today!
With Lewis Hamilton now having taken the lead in the world
championship, there has been a huge contingent of Brits
crossing the channel and headed for Hungary. If the
youngster (still in only his second season in F1) can keep
it all together, and McLaren avoid silly strategy calls, he
will be difficult to beat.
I will be watching from my favorite roost at Jameson’s Irish
Pub on Soi AR (next to Nova Park) and the racing begins at 7
p.m. but check your local TV feed. We watch the South
African channel so are not troubled by ads or with the silly
talking heads on UBC, or even if UBC will broadcast the
race. Join me at around 6 p.m. for a natter (the carvery is
great value) and some food and then sit down for the Grand
Prix.
Are hybrids a new
technology?
While many people think that the hybrid
technology is something new - it isn’t. In 1900, a Belgian
carmaker, Pieper, built a three and a half horsepower
“voiturette” in which the small petrol engine was mated to
an electric motor under the seat. When the car was cruising,
its electric motor was in effect a generator, recharging the
batteries, but when the car was climbing hills, the electric
motor, mounted coaxially with the petrol engine, gave it a
boost. The Pieper patents were used by a Belgium firm,
Auto-Mixte, to build commercial vehicles from 1906 to 1912.
In 1902, German Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, at age 25, built his
first hybrid, using an internal combustion engine to spin a
generator that provided power to electric motors located in
the wheel hubs. On battery alone, the car could travel
nearly 75 km. So much for the 64 km goal espoused at the
Plug-in 2008 conference!
In 1905, an American engineer named H. Piper (not to be
confused with the Belgian Pieper) filed a patent for a
petrol-electric hybrid vehicle. His idea was to use an
electric motor to assist an internal combustion engine,
enabling it to achieve 40 km/h. Up to the start of WW I,
there were petrol engines, steam engines, electric (battery)
engines and hybrids, but then in 1913 the self-starter was
invented to make starting of petrol engines easy, and killed
steam, electric and hybrid sales.
Some manufacturers persevered and in 1916, two prominent
electric-vehicle makers - Baker of Cleveland and Woods of
Chicago - offered hybrid cars. Woods claimed that their
hybrid reached a top speed of 60 km/h and achieved fuel
efficiency of 48 mpg. The Woods Dual Power was more
expensive and less powerful than its gasoline competition,
and therefore sold poorly.
Despite the hiatus, the concept stayed alive in some
engineering brains, and in 1974, Dr. Victor Wouk and his
partner built a hybrid power source which they installed in
a Buick Skylark. This they entered in an obscure research
program called the Federal Clean Car Incentive Program
(FCCIP). This resulted in their subjecting their hybrid to
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and it passed
their stringent anti-pollution testing. However, a month
later, the EPA sent a report citing 75 reasons why the
hybrid would not go into the next phase of support. One man
in the EPA was against this branch of technology and
eventually Victor Wouk just gave up.
But in 2004, one year before his death, Victor Wouk was
asked what might have happened if EPA officials running the
Federal Clean Car Incentive Program had been less committed
to an anti-hybrid view. “Do you think it would have meant a
different outcome for this country and the evolution of
hybrids cars?” Wouk replied, “That is what I had been
espousing for almost 30 years. If we must reduce automobile
pollution and reduce automobile fuel consumption a large
amount in a short period of time. The only thing you should
do is use existing technologies, and as these technologies
improve, you just go ahead. But nobody did anything about it
until, independently, the Japanese - Toyota and Honda.”
So there you are. We have been ignoring fuel economy by
deluding ourselves that oil was cheap and would last
forever. However, it no longer is, and apparently the oil
reserves are finite. And we should not forget that while
crude oil is $130 a barrel as I write this, the Middle East
is going from strength to strength, building new cities in
the deserts, paid for by you and me and everyone who has a
gasoline engined vehicle. And while governments may give lip
service to the motorist’s plight, do not forget that
governments all over the world get a tremendous rake-off at
the pumps in the form of tax. The motorist pays again!
Victor Wouk
and his hybrid Buick
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I mentioned Lotus and the Lotus
14 which was released at the London Motor Show in 1957 and
was called the Lotus Elite. A beautifully smooth design, it
was the world’s first fiberglass monocoque. Colin Chapman’s
accountant was very much involved with this car. I asked
what was his name, and what part did he have to play? His
name was Peter Kirwan-Taylor and he designed the body.
So to this week. The first man to fly the English Channel
was Frenchman Louis Bleriot. Why should we remember him when
we drive at night?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
