Car accidents are one of the biggest health risks we face, and this week that risk jumps higher. July Fourth is typically one of the worst days of the year for traffic fatalities.
The best thing you can do to protect yourself in a car is to wear a seatbelt, obey traffic laws and don't drink and drive. What you drive can also make a difference. Now there are a number of Web sites that show just how well your car held up in a crash.
Last fall, a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) showed that safety improvements in the design of passenger vehicles -- not safer drivers -- are the reason motor vehicle death rates have been improving for the past decade. The study found an "increasingly dangerous traffic environment," and that drivers are actually getting more careless about seatbelts, speeding and driving while intoxicated. In fact, the study showed that if vehicle designs hadn't improved since 1985, traffic death rates would be on the rise.
Although most cars now come with airbags and anti-lock brakes, crash test studies show there's a big difference in safety among cars today. One of the best places to check out your car is www.iihs.org4. Click on "Vehicle Ratings." The IIHS is supported by auto insurers and is viewed as one of the most credible sources for research on car safety. The group publicizes the best performers in crash tests, but many consumers don't know the safety data is free online.
The IIHS vehicle ratings page lists its top picks for 2007, the first year the institute has rated cars for electronic stability control, which helps drivers maintain control in an emergency. Research has shown that ESC features significantly reduce the risk of dying in a car accident.
Get your wheels ready for cold and snow: A thorough winterization is no longer necessary -- but if you live where it snows, there are a few things you can do to prepare your car for winter.
• Check the coolant for the proper mix of antifreeze and water. You can have a mechanic do this or you can buy a tester at your local auto parts store.
• Check the oil recommendations in your car's owner manual. Some manufacturers recommend a different grade of oil that flows better in cold temperatures.
• Check the battery, specifically the level of electrolyte. If it's low, top it off with distilled water. (Note: Electrolyte can be nasty stuff; wear eye protection or have a mechanic check it for you).
• Buy a set of snow tires. They do a much better job than the all-weather tires fitted to most cars. If you've upgraded the wheels on your car, mounting the snows on the original wheels will make changing over much easier.
• Check your tire pressure. So, you didn't get those snows, huh? Well, at least make sure your tires are properly inflated
to ensure you’ll have the best possible traction as you drive along —
and traction is often severely jeopardized in wet, snowy or icy
conditions. You can expect to lose 1 pound per square inch
whenever the temperature drops by 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Replace your windshield wiper blades with snow blades.
• Examine your belts and hoses. Make sure the belts and hoses get checked for wear and tear — even if you’re driving a modern car. Cold weather wears belts and hoses, so they deserve attention.
• Get a snow brush and an ice scraper; leave them somewhere in the car.
• Run your car air conditioning (at least) once a month. (Running the A/C speeds up window defogging).
• Stock up on windshield washer fluid and top the washer tank off regularly. Be careful not to pour windshield washer fluid into the wrong tank!
• Prepare an emergency kit. Store this stuff in your trunk during the winter months, especially if a road trip is in your future: A flashlight, flares and a first-aid kit. Jumper cables, a tool kit and tire chains. A blanket, warm clothes and gloves. Paper towels. A bag of abrasive material, such as sand, salt or non-clumping kitty litter. (Use this for added traction when a tire is stuck). A snow brush, ice scraper and snow shovel. Extra washer fluid. Extra food and water. Extra boots and gloves Small shovel
Sources:
How to winterize your car Aaron Gold About.com http://cars.about.com/od/adviceforowners/a/winterize.htm
Winterize Your Vehicle Brent Romans Edmunds Automotive http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/howto/articles/43799/article.html
Its a holiday weekend, so I'll be out on the boat:
The XSR48 is a supercar on water, a luxury powerboat with supercar looks. With a total of no less than 1600hp, and as much of 2000hp, from two bi-turbo diesel engines, the XSR48 has supercar acceleration to match its stunning appearance. Top speed: over 100 mph.
Mitchell Friedman drives a German-made Audi S4, designed to go 150 miles per hour or more for long stretches. But the 48-year-old New Jersey businessman has never come close to pushing the needle that far.
Although he's fascinated with fast cars, Mr. Friedman confesses to being "a bit scared. Besides, I've got two young children, and my wife won't let me drive fast."
He and other U.S. drivers fearful that their cars' capabilities exceed their own have another option on the horizon: touring, a deceptively sedate name for a pastime that strives to preserve the pulse-pounding speed of competitive racing but eliminate its spectacular smash-ups.
Originated in Europe, the concept is being introduced in the U.S., with one of the first touring tracks under construction in Monticello, N.Y. At an expected cost of $50 million, it's scheduled to open next year.
Tourers typically drive fast on wide, specially paved private racetracks with plenty of room for error. An instructor usually sits in the passenger seat telling drivers how fast or slow to go as they negotiate straightaways, the quick-succession of left-right turns in chicanes and the abrupt change of direction in hairpins. Cars on the course stay out of sight of each other -- often up to a half-mile apart. Passing isn't allowed. Speeds can reach up to 200 mph, instructor permitting.
This racing concept may have originated in Europe, but its coming to America:
"Michael Kaplan, a former mergers-and-acquisitions attorney who is leading the investor group behind the Drive & Race Club, says he wasn't interested in building a track where amateurs can race each other; there's already about three dozen of those. The track is not for someone "looking to be next to some crazy kid who's trying to beat him," he says, but for "someone who wants to be with guys with fast cars who are just as scared as he is."
Nestled in the Catskill Mountains foothills about 80 miles northwest of New York City, the facility is being built at a time when well-heeled baby boomers have been buying expensive, high-performance automobiles capable of race-car speeds.
Their appetite is stoked by advances in aerodynamics, fuel-injection systems and carbon-fiber bodies that have made possible lightweight cars that can exceed 230 mph. "If you drive through any number of upscale neighborhoods with a keen eye, you'll see all these shiny new cars just sitting in garages," Mr. Kaplan says.
In the New York area -- where bankers and brokers have been enriched by a bullish stock market -- the demand is so great that the wait for a Lamborghini can be about a year and about two years for a Ferrari, several local dealers say.
The initiation fee at the Monticello track will be up to $100,000, with annual dues of up to $7,500 depending on how often members will use the track. Mr. Kaplan says membership will be limited to 750 and he has signed up about 100, with a goal of reaching 200 by the time of the facility's opening next spring.
And its coming to a newly built track near you:
After sifting through motor-vehicle records, Mr. Kaplan says he found that the Northeast -- especially New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts -- had the highest concentration of fast-car owners in the nation.
Experts say that car owners in other metro areas -- Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Phoenix -- have expressed interest in touring tracks. Several are on the drawing board, including ones in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.
"If these tracks can be built with an element of safety to them," says Elliot Johnston, a California-based racing instructor, "I can see these types of clubs really taking off."
Building a high-speed course for amateurs, especially for drivers protective of their expensive sports cars, isn't an easy task. To construct the Monticello course, Mr. Kaplan has turned to former racers and engineers at Rutgers University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Factors to be considered: the gravitational forces on the driver that can equal those on a fighter-jet pilot and the difficulty of stopping at high speeds.
"When you're going at 180 mph and you put the brakes on, it feels like you have no brakes at all," says Brian Redman, a 70-year-old former British racing champion and a Monticello consultant. At about 3.5 miles, the Monticello track will be one of the longest in the sport. Straightaways are twice the width of a U.S. highway lane. Around corners, they will be triple the normal width.
Special "high-friction" surfaces will be installed on the bends and other tricky spots to keep the stray Porsche from skittering off the track. The outer fringes will be laid with two types of surfaces: coarse asphalt for greater tire grip and a rubber composite for bringing the car to a faster stop.
The course meanders through 225 acres of rolling hills. At its straightest point, it stretches for about a mile -- great for high speeds. The rest of the course is broken up by hairpin turns, corkscrews and bends.
The club has hired an MIT researcher to set up cameras on the track, in cars and at the clubhouse to film members as they wind their way around the course. Analyses of the footage can help drivers improve their performance. MIT's AgeLab views the club as a rare opportunity to study the reflexes of aging baby-boomers behind the wheel.
Very, very cool.
Source: A Not-So-Crash Course An Auto Touring Track Offers The Fast and the Timorous A Safer Way to Race Hot Cars By JOSEPH PEREIRA July 3, 2007; Page A7 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118342731765056191.html
You can pretty much sum up all of the accolades in a quick factoid from Gerhard Richter, vice president of BMW M Power, who said in Motor Trend
that the V8-powered M3 clocked 3.4 seconds faster on the Nürburgring
Nordschleife than the V10 M5. That’s 8:10 a lap. He added: “I could do
that while talking to you as I drive.”
But there’s another side to that story. In the same Motor Trend
review, Angus Mackenzie, the magazine’s editor in chief, called the E92
M3 “a pussycat around town.” And he wasn’t the only one.
What Car? said it was “comfortable and well equipped, and is as eminently suitable as an everyday car as it is at home on racetracks.” AutoWeek said it was “not quite as tactile in its actions, perhaps, as the car it replaces.” And Car thought that “in trying to hit so many targets, the E92 leaves purists wanting.”
Kind of sounds like the bean counters have turned the M3 into an
AMG: all big engine and great numbers and a drive that’s too refined.
Very cool.
>
Source: Is the BMW M3 Too Perfect? Richard S. Chang
NYT, July 12, 2007, 10:50 am http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/is-the-bmw-m3-too-perfect/
"Of course, stoking demand with limited production doesn’t make sense unless the demand is there in the first place. With all the hoopla over this car, you’d think it would be nearly impossible for it to live up to expectations. But the F430 manages to deliver, despite the baggage inherent in its status as the It Car of the prancing-horse brand.
This car plays in the realm where performance numbers are everything, and on that front it duly hangs with the Porsche 911 Turbos and Corvette Z06s of the world (as well it should, considering its price).
But the F430 is more than a cold-blooded G-force generator. It’s a total experience, one that dopes every pleasure receptor in your brain with automotive giddiness. Achieving that abstract goal is always trickier than hitting hard performance targets — call it the alchemy of desirability.
You get the impression that in designing the F430, Ferrari’s every decision was framed by the question, “How can we make this more like a Formula One car?”
So the 4.3-liter, 479-horsepower V-8 got a motor with a high-pitched, hard-edged wail that’s unlike anything else you’ll hear from a car with license plates. That high-strung motor is mounted behind the passenger compartment and ahead of the rear axles, just like a Formula One car.
The F1 sequential manual transmission does away with a clutch pedal, instead giving the driver shift paddles on either side of the steering column, just like a Formula One car (although traditionalists can still order a six-speed manual). The steering wheel features Ferrari’s “mannetino,” a small rotary switch with six settings to tailor the car’s electronic aggressiveness, from a snow-and-ice mode (as if!) to race, to the position beyond race that Ferrari’s people politely asked me not to engage, as it disables all traction and stability control . . .
“I think 1957 was a high-water mark for Ford design; Chrysler as
well,” said Greg Wallace, manager of General Motors’ Heritage Center in
Sterling Heights, Mich.
The enduring popularity, not to mention collectibility, of
Chevrolet’s 1957 cars “speaks for itself,” he said, adding, “The ’57
Chevy was quite simply the best-looking car of the entire postwar era.”
It was a Golden Era, but a fleeting one. It would end before the year was out.
Fifty years ago, things were very different for the now-beleaguered
Ford Motor Company. Ford’s 1957 lineup was all new for the first time
in five years. The 21 models included a restyled Thunderbird sports
car, a new generation of F-100 pickups, the car-based Ranchero pickup
and the Fairlane 500 Skyliner — the first American convertible with a
retractable hardtop. Sales were way up — so much that Ford outsold
Chevrolet for the first time since 1935.
Together, Ford and Chevrolet accounted for fully half of American car production.
The public viewed the Chevys and their General Motors siblings as
somewhat dowdy compared with competing 1957 cars. Critics derided the
G.M. designs as passé because they were essentially makeovers of the
1955-56 models, with high rooflines, voluptuous fenders, short
wheelbases and stubby overall lengths — the shoebox look favored by
G.M.’s styling czar, Harley J. Earl."
Too cool . . .
>
Source: Fifty, Finned and Fabulous JERRY GARRETT NYT, May 20, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/automobiles/collectibles/20FIFTY.html
"The car employs Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system, but the torque split is far more rear-biased than on any other Audi. As with its cousin, the Lamborghini Gallardo, the R8 strives to mimic the feel of a rear-drive car, so only 10 to 35 percent of the V-8’s torque is ever sent forward. At one particularly enthusiastic first-gear launch, I was surprised to find the enormous 295/30/19 rear tires spinning briefly before all four wheels dug in and catapulted the car forward. Burnouts are something you don’t expect from an all-wheel-drive Audi, even an RS 4.
As I said, I didn’t get to drive the R8 on a track, and exploring this car’s limits on a public road would constitute sociopathic behavior on par with juggling chainsaws at a baby shower.
But I can tell you that the R8 grips so tenaciously that it wanted to bounce my head into the side glass on right-hand corners, and there was more g-force in reserve. Midengine cars have a slight weight bias to the rear, which is the best possible setup for maximum grip. Meanwhile, all-wheel drive delivers outstanding traction. Combine a midengine design with all-wheel drive and you have a lesson in what it feels like to have the force of gravity applied to your noggin on the lateral plane.
The stereotypical knock on high-performance Audis is that they put up impressive numbers without delivering much in the way of driver involvement. The R8 delivers the numbers, certainly — 187 m.p.h. top speed and 0 to 125 m.p.h. in 14.9 seconds, to name a couple — but it also has soul."
Source: Growling at the Exotics’ Door Behind the Wheel | 2008 Audi R8
EZRA DYER NYT, May 20, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/automobiles/autoreviews/20AUTO.html
Some people buy cars because they fall in love with the style, the curves, the attitude of something new. But a lot of people buy cars for the same reason they buy a dishwasher: They need an appliance to do a job.
There's good news for the latter group: Cars really are lasting
longer, and that is starting to have an impact on the way the car
business works from the factory to the dealership.
Passenger Cars
Light Trucks*
50% survived until age
Expected lifetime travel in miles
50% survived until age
Expected lifetime travel in miles
1977 Data
10.5
107,000
14
128,000
1990 Data
12.5
127,000
15.5
154,000
2001 Data
13.0
152,000
14
180,000
*Light
trucks include pickups, vans, and sport utility vehicles under 10,000 pounds
GVWR.
Here's an excerpt from a recent WSJ analysis on the subject:
"In 1977, half the cars on the road survived until they were 10.5 years old and you could expect to put about 107,000 miles on a car during its useful life, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data. By 1990, half the cars put into service stayed on the road for 12.5 years, and owners could expect to get 127,000 miles out of their vehicles.
The government's latest survey, using 2001 data, found that 50% of cars were lasting 13 years, and drivers could expect to roll up 152,000 miles on a new vehicle over its life.
The data for light trucks, the category that includes pickups, sport utility vehicles and minivans, make a choppier graph. The government's measure of 50% survival rates for light trucks has bounced from 14 years for 1977, up to 15.5 years in the 1990 sample and back down to 14 years in the 2001 sample. But the expectation for miles traveled over the vehicle's life has risen to 180,000 miles as of 2001 from 128,000 in the 1977 survey.
There are other signs that consumers are hanging on to cars longer. Although 2004 was a pretty good year for new-vehicle sales, with 17.4 million registered, only 11.9 million vehicles were sent to the junkyard. The vehicles scrapped in 2004 were equivalent to just 5.4% of total vehicles registered. A decade earlier, the number of vehicles scrapped was 6.6% of total registered vehicles. At one time, car makers assumed that roughly 8% of vehicles on the road would get scrapped in any given year."
Sales data suggests a lot of consumers put a high value on brands that have a track record of delivering cars that last. The brands that had the biggest market-share gains during the 2000-to-2005 period -- BMW, Toyota, Nissan and Honda -- also had relatively strong records for functional reliability, according to an analysis by Walden Consultants. Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge and Chrysler have lost share or stayed flat in that period, and they also have worse-than-average reliability records.
IT looks like a Volkswagen Microbus, the
sort that starred in last year’s film “Little Miss Sunshine,” somehow
squeezed into a sphere six feet in diameter.
The ball is the work of the artist Lars-Eric Fisk of Burlington,
Vt., who specializes in sphere-shaped sculpture. His work has been
shown in museums including the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in
Lincoln, Mass., outside Boston, and the Dartmouth College museum.
In the catalog for the DeCordova exhibition, he called the sphere
was a “simple, seamless form expressing movement and the concept of
endlessness and timelessness without a beginning, without an ending.”
“Everyone gets it,” Mr. Fisk said of his use of the sphere in a recent interview.
He completed the VW ball in 1999. “I don’t know why, but the VW ball keeps surfacing every few years on the Internet,” he said.
The VW ball is in a private collection. Mr. Fisk, who was born in
Vermont in 1970, has made other balls with auto themes: a school bus, a
green John Deere tractor, a drab brown U.P.S. truck and a white Mister
Softee ice cream truck, complete with lights.
“A U.P.S. guy saw the U.P.S. ball and stopped by the house of the
owner,” Mr. Fisk said. “He thought it was a package ready for
shipping.”
His spheres come with windows and steering wheels. He does all the
work using metal and glass fabrication skills he taught himself. He has
also sculptured a street ball, a sphere of asphalt marked with painted
dotted lines. Mr. Fisk’s barn ball, with wood painted red and a window,
was used for the cover of the Phish album “Round Room.”
He has moved beyond the balls into new modes of sculpture. “The new
theme for some reason seems to be garbage,” he said. Among his latest
pieces, shown at the Taxter & Spengemann Gallery in Manhattan, is a
sculpture of a garbage can and another of a garbage bag. PHIL PATTON
Every profession has its lingo. A list of common terms — and a few of the most colorful ones — can come in handy. With cars, words and metal share territory: each brand’s vocabulary of shapes is collectively known as its design language.
The beltline divides the greenhouse, or glassed-in upper body, from the portion that extends down from the window sills. Equally important is the A-line, said Michael Castiglione, principal exterior designer at DaimlerChrysler’s Pacifica studio in Carlsbad, Calif. The A-line runs the length of the body from headlight to taillight, tracing the car’s silhouette. The car may also have a character line, a crease formed in the sheet metal of the sides.
Vehicles are said to have styling cues that prompt viewers to recognize models by their resemblance to other family members — a brand’s characteristic shapes and flourishes, the form of its grille or the arc of the roofline.
Porsche Design Studios is bringing some Stuttgart style to the boating business with its first-ever seacraft (the waterlogged 928 in Risky Business doesn't count). Set to debut at the Miami Boat Show, the 28-foot-long high-speed cruiser is a collaboration with Florida-based upstart Fearless Yachts. "We reached out and said, 'You have a blank canvas,'" says Fearless CEO Jeffrey Binder, and the German creatives set about designing a luxury racer that could dominate what they dubbed the "aquabahn."
The boat boasts a fiberglass hull with the sleek curves and lean silhouette of a European coupe, and its "unitized," or seamless, construction does away with unsightly rivets that might slow it down. There's also a 525-horsepower Viper engine that helps the craft reach a top speed of 80 mph, which may not break any world records but will make you grateful for the Latham precision steering controls. Should 28 feet (and room for five) prove insufficient for your entourage, Porsche and Fearless are expanding the line to include vessels of up to 150 feet in length, and while the prices may be steep—the 28 starts at $300,000—they have this advantage: They manage to make a 911 look like a bargain.
"The consensus among enthusiasts is that Ford’s reign over Aston
Martin has been largely benevolent. Still, the question among
collectors is how a change of ownership may affect the value of older
Aston Martins.
Just as Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters made before the
company’s takeover by CBS are the only instruments that matter for
collectors, most of the collecting activity in Aston Martins is with
cars produced during the marque’s golden era of 1947 to 1972, when it
was owned by David Brown, a British industrialist.
The DB4 and DB5 of 1958-65 are generally considered the apex of the
David Brown era (he’s the DB in the model names) and are among the
loveliest front-engine grand touring cars ever produced. Built using
the complicated Italian superleggera method — draping hand-wrought
alloy body panels over a frame of tiny steel tubes — they were built to
blast safely across European motorways, autostradas, autobahns and
routes nationale, at speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour. And they
had to look good parked in front of places like Brenner’s Park-Hotel
and Spa in Baden-Baden, Germany, or the Gstaad Palace hotel in
Switzerland."
There's a lot more Astom martin info here, here and here.
I've driven this little beastie (at Limerock) and its absolutely splendiferous
Excerpt:
When Audi engineers set out to build a competitor to BMW’s M3 sport sedan, they pretty much obliterated their target, too. The M3 is the highest-performance derivative of BMW’s 3 Series line of compact sport sedans. The RS 4 is meant to be the ultimate expression of Audi’s parallel A4 series. Instead, the RS 4 overshoots the mark by so much, it lands somewhere closer to the mighty BMW M5.
Certainly, care must be taken when comparing German cars; it’s easy to wind up comparing apples to apple strudel. The M5 is BMW’s performance version of its midrange 5 Series sedan, and its most direct competitor at Audi should be the A6-based S6. The S6 is a larger car than the A4/S4, with a larger engine — the V-10 adapted from the Lamborghini Gallardo — but the RS 4 can whip it, and whip it good.
So what monster lurks under the RS 4’s hood? One of the world’s great V-8’s.
Source:
Behind the Wheel | 2007 Audi RS 4 Mighty Morphin’ A4 Power Ranger JERRY GARRETT NYT, December 24, 2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/automobiles/autoreviews/24AUTO.html
TEXT:
BEHIND THE WHEEL/2007 Audi RS 4; Mighty Morphin' A4 Power Ranger
THERE is a scene in ''Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid'' where the outlaws, holding up a payroll train for the
second time, come prepared with extra firepower. When the boxcar is
inadvertently obliterated, along with the safe full of money, Sundance
asks, ''Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?''
When
Audi engineers set out to build a competitor to BMW's M3 sport sedan,
they pretty much obliterated their target, too. The M3 is the
highest-performance derivative of BMW's 3 Series line of compact sport
sedans. The RS 4 is meant to be the ultimate expression of Audi's
parallel A4 series. Instead, the RS 4 overshoots the mark by so much,
it lands somewhere closer to the mighty BMW M5.
Certainly, care
must be taken when comparing German cars; it's easy to wind up
comparing apples to apple strudel. The M5 is BMW's performance version
of its midrange 5 Series sedan, and its most direct competitor at Audi
should be the A6-based S6. The S6 is a larger car than the A4/S4, with
a larger engine -- the V-10 adapted from the Lamborghini Gallardo --
but the RS 4 can whip it, and whip it good.
So what monster lurks under the RS 4's hood? One of the world's great V-8's.
Though
it starts with the 4.2-liter engine block from the S6, the
built-in-Hungary V-8 in the RS 4 gets ultra-high-compression 12.5:1
pistons, a new crankshaft, new cylinder heads, low back-pressure twin
exhausts and the FSI direct-fuel-injection system that was developed
for Audi's Le Mans-winning racecars. Though it produces ''only'' 317
pound-feet of torque, horsepower output hits 420 somewhere just south
of the tachometer's howling 8,250 r.p.m. red line. (In contrast, the
S4's engine is rated at 340 horsepower at 7,000 r.p.m., and peak torque
of 302 pound-feet.)
It is important to explain where the RS 4
is meant to sit in the Audi line. In North America, Audi offers six
basic model lines: the A3, A4, A6, A8, Q7 and TT. Within those lines
Audi has what most Americans would consider differing trim lines and
engine choices. But Audi considers these all separate models. The ''A''
indicates a base model, and ''S'' designations for the 3, 4, 6 and 8
series denote sport versions with suspension and engine upgrades. So a
car company that we may think offers a limited range of models,
actually -- as far as Audi is concerned -- offers dozens. There are 18
variations of the A4 and S4 alone, not counting the RS 4.
Think
of the RS 4 as the über-A4. It starts life on an A4 chassis, but the
finished product isn't even truly an Audi. It is made by Quattro, an
affiliate of Audi, which in 1996 actually became a company
manufacturing its own vehicles. Yes, quattro is the name for Audi's
proprietary all-wheel-drive system; Quattro helped to develop the
system but has branched out into sport and lifestyle specialty
vehicles.
When Quattro was founded in 1983, it had 20
employees. Today it employs more than 400. Quattro is, in many
respects, the Audi equivalent of the M performance division at BMW or
the AMG arm of Mercedes-Benz.
''But we are not in the same
league anymore,'' said Thomas Riffel, director of export sales at
Quattro. ''We still do things in small numbers, much of it by hand.
BMW, for example, has already produced 70,000 units of the M3.''
This
RS 4 will have a short shelf life; the planned two-year model run will
end late next year. Only about 12,000 are likely to be produced, and
that would be a sales record for the RS series. The RS lines may be
exclusive to Quattro, but they have such special cachet in the Audi
world that only four such models have ever been produced. The first to
carry the designation was the 1994 RS2 Avant, a boxy little station
wagon into which Quattro inexplicably stuffed a 315-horsepower Porsche
engine. Only 2,881 were made, and those that are left are prized, if
homely, collectibles.
In 2000-1 came the RS 4 Avant, a compact
wagon propelled by a 380-horsepower V-6 with twin turbochargers. Only
6,030 were made, and they were sold only in Europe. The first halfway
handsome model was the RS6 sedan, which sold 8,081 units in 2002-4. The
RS6, which is still spoken of in reverence around Audi, could be hurled
into sublunar orbit by its 450-horsepower twin-turbo V-8.
The
RS designation didn't reappear on the A4 line until 2005, when an RS 4
sedan, wagon and convertible went on sale in Europe. Early this year,
the sedan was released to the North American market. The wagon and the
convertible are staying in Europe; Audi doesn't think enough of them
would sell here.
In fact, all RS 4 production will be winding
down soon. The engineers at Quattro have already turned their
attentions from the RS 4 to an exotic Audi sports car, the R8, that
will go on sale next year on a modified Gallardo platform. But the R8
will not use the Gallardo's 520-horsepower V-10. Audi prefers the RS
4's V-8.
Audi published a conservative 4.8-second 0-to-60
m.p.h. time for the RS 4, but I managed to break 4.5 seconds without
much effort. The 2006 M3, with 333 horsepower, was hard pressed to
break 5 seconds. No wonder BMW is switching to a V-8 with 400
horsepower next year, and that still may not be enough to catch the RS
4. Audi likes to say that in praising an RS 4, all these glowing
''words are silver, driving is gold.'' King Midas, your car is ready.
Consider
the engineering sleight of hand it took to make a front-engine sedan
that weighs nearly two tons handle with such enviable balance. The
heavily modified all-wheel-drive system is, of course, an important
factor in its mastery of the open road. But there's more: a Torsen
center differential has replaced the standard viscous coupling; it
ordinarily sends 60 percent of the torque to the rear wheels, and 40
percent to the front. But if the wheels slip, up to 100 percent of the
torque can be sent to either axle.
An active ride system
controls the four-link independent front suspension and the double
wishbone rear. Pitch, yaw, dive and roll are hydraulically, not
electronically, controlled by diagonally linked dampers. The
quick-ratio rack-and-pinion steering easily carves through curves. Huge
racing-bred brakes stop better than a cease-and-desist order.
An
''S'' button is for track day; it turns the marginally compliant
suspension to concrete. Enthusiasts will appreciate that the stability
control can be turned off for maximum wheelspin (and occupant terror).
A
six-speed manual is the only transmission, and it was effortless to
work. My biggest chore was keeping the RS 4 under the legal speed
limit; you can be breaking every posted United States limit by the time
you reach third gear. The RS 4 is probably not intended for the type of
person who is conflicted by the ethical implications of deliberate and
inveterate speeding.
Because of its mild-mannered looks, the RS
4 doesn't draw as much attention as it deserves. Bulges around the
fenders are the most notable departures from the plebeian A4 --
although Audi says the two cars share no sheet metal whatsoever. The RS
4 rides two inches lower, gets 19-inch wheels and tires and has a
bolder grille. Other than that, I invite the average bystander to point
out the differences.
Inside, lustrous carbon fiber panels
accent the dashboard and doors. Enveloping Recaro leather seats are
equal to the performance capabilities of the car. Otherwise, I felt I
was sitting in an A4.
But a word of caution: If you're a fan of
the A4 , don't test an RS 4 -- it will only upset you. This is an A4
done right, and it will ensure that you never fully enjoy an A4 again
-- the RS 4 is superior in every way.
The superiority,
unfortunately, includes the price, including a $2,100 gas-guzzler tax.
Which brings me to my one beef about this $68,820 sledgehammer
($73,280, as tested).
How far do you want to take this
wolf-in-sheep's-clothing business? Are you willing to pay more than
twice as much for a car that's a dead ringer for a $28,950 sedan?
INSIDE TRACK: Superman in a $70,000 Clark Kent suit.
Sleek, loud and fast, the TSO, still in prototype, could have easily been
mistaken for a Bond car. It was also Marcos's first new release since
Mr. Stelliga took over the classic British brand in 2001. From early
reports, it seemed like the company had a hit. Car critics in England
were gushing over it. The TSO beat other British and American sports
cars in comparison tests, and appeared on ''Top Gear'' -- a popular
prime-time TV show in England about car culture -- to high praise.
But
even as the prototype was impressing journalists and dealers, inside
the Marcos studio there was a raw fiberglass model of the exoskeleton
on blocks, in the throes of cosmetic surgery. A pair of designers were
busy sanding, shaping and analyzing the lines and edges, with one
important question in mind: Is it British enough?
''This car
has got to be quintessentially British,'' Mr. Stelliga said at the
time. ''Everybody around the world has this resonance with British
sports cars. It's got to sound British. It has to have the big British
muscles on the back. It's got to have the E-Type Jaguar front end.''
>
Source: The Sporty British Look, by Design RICHARD S. CHANG NYT, October 25, 2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/25/automobiles/autospecial/25marcos.html
Buying a car can seem like a huge hassle, from figuring out what price you should pay to handling the hard sell on the dealer's lot. You can avoid the work in one of two ways.
The Easy Way: Hire a car buyer If you are willing to spend an extra $400 to $800, you can reduce the entire car buying experience to a couple of phone calls and one visit to the dealer to pick up the keys. Car buying services such as AutoAdvisor.com and CarQ.com will find the model you want, negotiate a competitive price and loan terms with the dealer and, in many cases, set up a test drive.
That's the premium approach; do-it-yourselfers can still make this a relatively painless exercise:
Almost as Easy: Buy online If you want to save as much money as you can, do it yourself. Even that doesn't have to be hard if you tap the Net. First go to Edmunds.com and use the True Market Value (TMV) tool to find out what people in your area are paying to drive your desired model off the lot. Aim to pay this price or less. You may also want to get pre-approved for a bank loan and ignore dealer financing until you have settled on a price.
Next solicit dealer offers online. At Edmunds.com (or Autobytel.com), you enter the model you want, your contact info and your zip code (or nearby ones), and within a few hours you'll get quotes by e-mail or phone. You should have an easier time haggling because the dealership's Internet department makes commissions based on volume, not the price. They won't waste time wheeling and dealing you.
>
Source: 7 Shortcuts for Major Money Hassles Kate Ashford, Carolyn Bigda, George Mannes, Walter Updegrave and Penelope Wang CNN Money http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/moneymag/shortcuts/6.html
Power up: Ferrari, in a big change, puts the engine of the 599 GTB up front.
My heart is thumping. I press the brake, punch the red
ignition button on the steering wheel and the engine revs with a roar
that has literally been composed by sound engineers to purr and growl
differently at each setting. I go first with the automatic-transmission
choice -- yes, there's a choice -- and we glide into Beverly Hills,
Calif., traffic.
Then, I venture into the six-gear manual transmission
and the car mothers me: It downshifts when it sees fit. There's no
stick shift and no clutch to push -- just two finger-operated paddles
by the steering wheel that serve to shift down (left paddle) and up
(right paddle). An LED panel on the steering wheel flashes a warning if
the revolutions-per-minute near the 8,400 red line...
Ferrari buffs say this car is groundbreaking, with its
620-horsepower V12 engine installed up front to more evenly distribute
weight. This is an innovation over the rear-engine Ferraris that I'm
told make driving in Beverly Hills traffic much like guiding a bronco
through a rodeo chute. The engine placement allows the car to sit up
higher off the ground, making it easier to get into and out of -- in a
skirt (though I felt more comfortable in pants). This is supposed to
make the 599 the first Ferrari to appeal to women and less
race-oriented drivers. I'm thinking of it as the soccer moms' Ferrari.
Pretty hot wheels.
Sources: Just Off the Boat From Italy We Jump the Waiting List For the $265,000 Ferrari; CHRISTINA BINKLEY WSJ, October 27, 2006; Page W1 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116191181858805527.html
A Lamborghini isn’t just a car, it’s an event. The Murciélago, named for a famous Spanish fighting bull, has been out since 2001 with a 580-horsepower V-12 engine, and more than 2,000 have been sold — a huge number for a supercar. The LP640 is a new variant that is more powerful and more user-friendly.
The LP designation refers to the engine’s mounting position (“longitudinale posteriore”) behind the two seats; 640 is the horsepower it makes in European specification. Because of slight changes to meet American emissions rules, the output in this country is slightly less, at 632 horsepower — akin to the difference between getting hit by a .44-caliber bullet or a .45; the wounds are pretty much the same size.
The V-12’s displacement has grown to 6.5 liters, from 6.2, by increasing the cylinder bore and lengthening the piston stroke; torque output is improved to a mighty 487 pound-feet.
Gas mileage is on par with the thirstiest big trucks, just 9 miles a gallon in town and 13 on the highway, earning the government’s biggest gas-guzzler tax, $7,700. This is part of the price you pay for the most powerful street-legal (to use the term loosely) Lamborghini ever. It is also the fastest. This 3,670-pound projectile has a claimed a top speed of “over 211” miles an hour. The numbers on the speedometer go up to 220, in case you catch a good tailwind.
We scared up some more photos of the badass looking wheels: When the French automakers steal the limelight in style, you know something cool is going on:
The Peugeot 908 RC design study.
For Peugeot, that something is the 908 RC, a design study to be displayed at the Paris auto show this month. The sleek black 908 RC is an answer to the S-Class or 7 Series, a lux limo powered by a 700-horsepower V-12 diesel designed for endurance racing.
It is unmistakably French: like the cathedral of Notre Dame, it has flying buttresses — rakish forms stretching from the rear edge of the roof to the rear deck.
First look: THE French are used to the Germans getting attention for automotive engineering, but when Mercedes-Benz, with the flowing lines of its CLS, and BMW, with its controversial Chris Bangle designs, steal the limelight in style, something must be done.
The Peugeot 908 RC design study.
For Peugeot, that something is the 908 RC, a design study to be displayed at the Paris auto show this month. The sleek black 908 RC is an answer to the S-Class or 7 Series, a lux limo powered by a 700-horsepower V-12 diesel designed for endurance racing.
Source: Score One for France
PHIL PATTON
NYT, September 15, 2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/15/automobiles/17BEAM.html
This 1937 Delage D8-120 S Pourtout Aéro Coupé, owned by Sam and
Emily Mann, won Best of Show at the 2005 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
>
1938 Horch 853A Erdmann & Rossi Sport Cabriolet
This 1938 Horch 853A Erdmann & Rossi Sport Cabriolet, owned by Joseph and
Margie Cassini, won Best of Show at the 2004 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
>
1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic
This 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, owned by Peter D.
Williamson, won Best of Show at the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
>
1930 Mercedes-Benz SS Erdmann & Rossi Roadster
This 1930 Mercedes-Benz SS Erdmann & Rossi Roadster, owned by
Arturo and Deborah Keller, won Best of Show at the 2001 Pebble Beach Concours
d'Elegance.
>
1937 Delahaye 135 M Figoni et Falaschi Cabriolet
This 1937 Delahaye 135 M Figoni et Falaschi Cabriolet, owned by
Jacques and Betty Harguindeguy, won Best of Show at the 2000 Pebble Beach
Concours d'Elegance.
Some nice wheeel, huh?
Source: The Long Road To Pebble Beach Elite Classic-Auto Show Cuts Number of Entries This Year; 30 Years to Restore a Wanderer GINA CHON WSJ, August 17, 2006; Page D1 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115577313621237788.html
![[Ferrari]](http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/WK-AH837_DRIVEB_20061026164752.jpg)
![[A side view of the 2007 599 GTB Fiorano]](http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/WK-AH863_ferrar_20061026184116.jpg)
Ferrari buffs say this car is groundbreaking, with its
620-horsepower V12 engine installed up front to more evenly distribute
weight. This is an innovation over the rear-engine Ferraris that I'm
told make driving in Beverly Hills traffic much like guiding a bronco
through a rodeo chute. The engine placement allows the car to sit up
higher off the ground, making it easier to get into and out of -- in a
skirt (though I felt more comfortable in pants). This is supposed to
make the 599 the first Ferrari to appeal to women and less
race-oriented drivers. I'm thinking of it as the soccer moms' Ferrari.
