What did we learn from Brazil?
We learned that Jenson Button in his
Brawn GP can drive. He showed spirit and controlled
aggression and some brilliant passing maneuvers, which if he
had brought these out in the second half of the year would
have had people comparing him to Michael Schumacher. Button
has finally shown he has the skill and daring to be top dog.
He has deserved that World Championship.
Local hero Barichello started well, but then after his first
pit stop was heard complaining, “What is wrong with this
car?” The answer was nothing, other than a problem with the
nut behind the wheel. Rubinho will not be asked to stay at
Brawn GP.
Mark Webber (Red Bull) drove a faultless race, claiming the
fastest lap as well, on his way to an easy victory. His team
mate Vettel was compromised from the Saturday where he ended
up way down the back after a dreadful qualifying. He drove
well to finish fourth, but needed the win if he were to have
any chance of a world championship. He is young enough and
his chances are coming.
Renault saw any chance of points disappear when Alonso was
hit by Sutil in the first lap’s demolition derby. Grosjean
in the second Renault continues to act as the mobile
chicane, with Bob Bell, Renault team principal saying, “At
least he brought the car home.” After the other drivers in
that seat, this was an improvement.
Jarno Trulli (Toyota) was involved with Adrian Sutil’s Team
Poppadum on the first lap and the excitable Italian went
storming up to the German after they had parked their
million dollars of carbon fiber junk, sprinting across the
track to confront him. Trulli’s protestations did not wash
with the stewards, however, who decided the accident was
just a racing incident, but his Italian epithets were
considered ungentlemanly and fined the Roman $10,000.
My pick for the driver of the day has to be Kobayashi in the
second Toyota. Brave to the point of lunacy, but with car
control much better than his lack of F1 experience would
make you believe. His fastest lap was only 0.9 seconds
slower that Mark Webber! He was unlucky to finish just
outside the points and deserves a race seat somewhere next
year. His compatriot Knuckles Nakajima (Williams) does not,
crashing out yet again.
I know things down in the BMW garage are tight, but sending
Heidfeld out with no fuel is inexcusable. Perhaps they gave
it all to Kubica who drove well for his second position?
Kubica is going to Renault next year, but no indication of
who will be the second driver.
Buemi in the Toro Rosso scored points again, and deserves a
good berth in 2010. Renault perhaps?
Kovalainen (McLaren) tried wrestling with the petrol
anaconda, dragging it down pit lane and attempting to set
fire to Raikkonen to see if the iceman would melt. He didn’t
and finished sixth, while Kovalainen was fined $50,000 for
unlicensed pyrotechnics. Lewis Hamilton with his magic KERS
button secured third after a measured race, but without any
real displays of skill and daring. We also were given no
shots of his girlfriend jumping up and down in the pits to
demonstrate a movable superstructure. Perhaps she didn’t go
to Brazil and the lad was pining.
Ferrari had a miserable day, with Fisichella even saying
that so far, nothing has gone according to plan during his
time with the Scuderia. It might have been his Italian dream
to drive the red cars, but so far it has been a nightmare.
Unfortunately Abu Dhabi November 1 will be anticlimactic.
Driving home under the
weather
Up till recently, all the drivers in Thailand
were aware of the fact that the police did not have any real
way of proving you were driving with a blood alcohol reading
of over 0.05. They didn’t have any breathalyzer kits. But
that situation has gone. They do have kits and very shortly
they will be in your province. You have been warned.
AlcoSense
I believe the best and surest way to counter claims of high
readings is to have your own breath tester. For one, if you
find you are over the limit, take public transport home, and
two, if you are challenged you have some sort of evidence
that you are not DIC.
There is a new handheld tester in the UK, AlcoSense One, and
it is the lowest priced product ever to be approved by the
tough US Dept of Transport Standard for Hand Held
Breathalyzers.
Interestingly, a recent Drink Drive survey undertaken by
AlcoSense revealed that no less than 90 percent of
respondents underestimated the number of units of alcohol in
a pint of lager and in a 250ml glass of wine. Both drinks in
fact contain 3.4 units. The most popular answer was 2 units,
almost half of the correct alcoholic content.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked which British Queen drove
an electric car around the grounds of Sandringham House?
It was Queen Alexandra in 1901, and the car was a
Columbia made in the USA.
So to this week. What British Grand Prix team built
their cars to the 3 liter formula, when the limit was 2
liters? Clue - it was 1922.
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first
correct answer to email [email protected].
Good luck!
A bummer for Hummer?
The iconic US monster Hummer, much loved by
the military, has finally been sold to China’s Tengzhong
with an 80 percent stake. A private entrepreneur,
Suolang Duoji, will hold the remaining 20 percent stake.
It wasn’t too expensive at USD 150 million, as far as
brands are concerned.
Under the agreement, which is still subject to final
approval by government agencies in the US and China,
Tengzhong will acquire ownership of the Hummer brand,
trademark and trade names, as well as specific
intellectual property rights necessary for the
manufacture of Hummer vehicles, but does not get the
manufacturing plants in the US.
GM’s Shreveport plant in the US will continue to build
the Hummer H3 and H3T until June 2010.
Since the fighting in Afghanistan will continue for a
little while yet, the ready market should continue.
Top 10 cars - another
survey
A recent British magazine (Octane) has published
its list of the top 10 ‘coolest’ cars. Their definition of
‘cool’ that meant the cars had to be post-war, non-racing
and not uptight or neurotic, whatever that is supposed to
mean.
Jaguar
XKSS
So here we go, in reverse order to keep the suspense going:
10. Bentley T1 James Young. More than 1800 Bentley T1s were
sold, but body-builder Jim Young only built 15 of his
version, which cost 10 times more than the standard H.J.
Mulliner model. So if ‘cool’ means expensive, this one is
right there. But for you and me? Forget it.
9. Mercedes-Benz 300SL. This one in the gull wing form is
probably one that we would all vote for - unless you have
already owned one and know that the air circulation inside,
with the non-wind down windows is hopeless. Great one to
keep in the garage and store for the next 50 years as well.
8. Jaguar E-type Series 3. Octane went for the last of the
E-types, and specifically the last 49, which were all black
and came with a plaque to tell you exactly that. This V12
will overheat anywhere from five degrees south of the north
pole.
7. Citroen SM. This is the Citroen with the Maserati engine.
Two losers in the early 70’s placed together. Think of
Mussolini driving a 2CV and you’re starting to get there.
6. Buick Riviera. Built between 63 and 65 and has almost as
much rust as the Fords of the era.
5. DB5 Shooting Brake. Only 10 were built by Harry Radford
until he learned the error of his ways. The saloon was much
better.
4. Land Rover SIIA. They’ve got to be pulling our legs.
3. Ferrari California LWB. This is more like it. A genuine
classic (only 51 were built) which none of us could afford
these days. Around USD 6 million.
2. Mini. This I also agree with. The Mini changed the way we
thought about small cars and the Cooper S models were
definitely ‘cool’.
1. Jaguar XKSS. This car was the result when Jaguar decided
to turn its racing D type into a road car. One of the
world’s most desirable cars. I’d make it number 1 too.
Many countries looking
at Thailand’s light cars
The AAT factory on the Eastern Seaboard looks to
have its future guaranteed as many countries are lining up
for the Mazda2 and its Ford Fiesta siblings. The facility is
a joint-venture between Mazda and Ford, known as the
AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT).
Mazda Australia is investigating the possibility of
importing its Mazda2 hatchback from the new factory in
Thailand - a move that could significantly reduce the price
of the Japanese brand’s smallest model in Australia, and it
is the bottom line that drives the auto sales business.
Ford
Fiesta
The Thai-made Mazda2, which will be the brand’s core model
in the ASEAN region, is expected to attract 20,000 sales a
year across Asia.
“The Thai-produced Mazda2 will be a key element in Mazda’s
future growth in the ASEAN region, which is continuing to
see growing demand for small cars,” said a Mazda spokesman
at the start of Mazda2 production at its new plant in
Thailand, which has a free trade agreement with Australia,
dispensing with the 10 percent duty rate for passenger cars
(five percent from January). The retail price advantage of
new vehicles imported from Thailand, which also has lower
labor costs than in Japan and Europe, is substantial.
Consequently, Ford Australia has already announced it will
source its Fiesta hatch - currently built in Germany - plus
a new sedan derivative, from the same Thailand plant from
mid-2010.
The $500 million AAT factory will supply a range of ASEAN
nations with both Fiesta and Mazda2 models, and Mazda
spokesman Steve Maciver has confirmed that Australia could
be one of them.
“We’re obviously aware of what’s going on at Mazda at a
global level and at this stage Mazda2 production in Thailand
is confirmed only for South East Asian countries from next
year,” said Maciver.
Like all of Australia’s Japanese-brand utilities, most of
Honda Australia’s passenger car range now comes from
Thailand, including the five-door Jazz and the closely
related light-sized City sedan.
Similarly, an all-new light-car from Nissan, which could
replace the Micra, has also been confirmed for production
from March 2010 in Thailand, which is rapidly becoming the
automotive production powerhouse within Asia.
