As much as people love the New York Subway, there is always something to complain about - the overcrowding at rush hour, the delays, and just the dirt that is found within the system. Last week, the transit advocacy group, Straphangers Campaign made its list of Ten Plagues of the Subway. Although it does not include amphibians hopping around the stations or every passenger exiting the system with boils, the list at least does include flooding (minus the blood).

Delays and overcrowding made it tops on the list. But surprisingly, bugs and rats did not. Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign said that he has "already been chastised for leaving out rats, cockroaches, and subway preachers." Well, bedbugs, though, were spotted on subway benches at Union Square, Fordham Road, and Hoyt-Schermerhorn stations, similar to how lice and gnats attacked Egypt in Exodus' Ten Plagues.

Responding to the list, the MTA stated that the transit agency "has been and continues to work hard to provide the type of mass transit experience that he greatest city in the world deserves."

So what comes next? I guess it's the parting of Second Avenue to build the new subway line in the Upper East Side.

Here is the full list of plagues:

• Overcrowding
• Delays
• Long waits
• Flooding
• Summer heat
• Dirty seats
• Garbled announcements
• MetroCard mis-swipes
• Just missing a train
• Traveling with your newborn

Photo by Flicker user Joe Holmes.

* So you’ve got the wall of death, which is insane enough on a motorcycle, but you add a little more insanity by running it with a four-wheeled board track racer. Then you go completely off the deep end by building an angle-iron sidecar to your board track racer, stuffing YOUR PET LION into it and hitting the wall of death (oh, yeah, and helmetless). “Fearless” Egbert apparently thrilled crowds in such a fashion. And lest one believe ol’ Aslan there was fake, a photo postcard over at thewallofdeath.com seems to indicate otherwise.

* Kit Foster writes that our ongoing Lost AMC Dealership posts constitute “an important part of an underappreciated sub-culture, automotive archeology, the industrial and commercial remnants of our favorite industry.” I’d be happy enough with his fetish explanation as well. In either case, he examines - with exacting detail - the history of the former AMC dealership C&S Motors in New London, Connecticut. I’d certainly love to uncover this much information about each dealership on the list. (logo via)

* Another Four-Links post, another link to BigLorryBlog, this time a mystery truck that they believe may have started life as an airport tug. Either way, they’re not sure of the brand or of the purpose, though I’m going to guess that the carousel horses painted on the sides and the caboose-like trailer in the same fading red behind the truck indicate that the truck at one point pulled the trailer as part of some sort of traveling show.

* And finally, the Microcar and Minicar Club’s blog, Minutia, came across this radio Crosley (as opposed to a Crosley radio), similar to the one we found at Hershey a couple years ago. They noted that many radio stations across the country used Crosleys as mobile units in the same way today’s rock stations use Hummers as mobile units - to take the DJs and reporters to broadcast live from such-and-such location. We will thus join Minutia in putting out an APB for all mobile unit Crosleys.

The good news? Fewer people will take to the skies this summer. The bad news? It'll still be hell.

The Air Transport Association predicts 211 million passengers will take a flight somewhere this summer, down from 214 million last summer. With vacationers getting squeezed by food and gas prices, fewer people are going to shell out for airfare, although filling the tank and hitting the road on vacation will be a pricey proposition, too. And with the economy continuing to soften, businesses are cutting back on travel, further cutting into passenger numbers.

But if you think fewer passengers means fewer hassles at the airport and more empty seats on the planes, think again.

With fewer people flying, airlines are scaling back service. United Airlines is cutting 5 percent of its capacity out of its Denver hub, American Airlines is dropping flights from Dallas and JetBlue has canceled flights out of LAX before they even started. These cuts mean significantly fewer seats available to consumers, which helps airlines in several ways.

Fewer seats create more demand, which drives up prices. Beyond that, airlines have a huge incentive to fly their planes as full as possible. It costs about the same to fly a plane from Atlanta to Seattle if it's 85 percent full or only half full. Every passenger an airline can squeeze onto a flight means more revenue to offset those fixed costs.

Here's a hypothetical example: American Airlines runs ten flights a day between Boston and Chicago. They're all 136-seat MD-80s, so we're talking 1,360 seats per day and approximately 490,000 seats a year. If American cuts just one of those daily flights, total seats drop to 1,224 a day and 445,000 seats per year. American hopes that by offering 45,000 fewer seats on that route in a year, it can charge more per seat, keep its planes fuller and make more money.

One analyst thinks that capacity cuts could reach 20 percent. That's like shutting down American Airlines and its 4,000 daily flights. You think your flight is crowded now? Just wait a few months and you could be begging for that middle seat.

Photo courtesy Flickr user lunchtimemama.

The California law requiring people to use hands-free phones behind the wheel will save almost one life per day when it takes effect July 1, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

It's a startling statistic, but it's at odds with data from the California Highway Patrol that shows gabbing on a cellphone was a factor in just six fatal accidents in 2006, the last year for which data was available. Joe Kolko, who conducted the study, said the problem isn't with his data, but the CHP's. He says the number of cellphone-related traffic fatalities are grossly under-reported.

"Mobile phone use can't be measured accurately at the time of a traffic collision," he said. "A driver may hang up to avoid looking negligent, and police can't easily access mobile-phone records."

California's law will require drivers to use hands-free devices when dialing and driving and bans anyone under 18 from using a cellphone or other mobile device behind the wheel. Kolko says the law will save 300 lives per year.

How did he come up with so specific a figure?

Kolko collected data on mobile-phone ownership and traffic fatalities for all 50 states, then examined the effects of hands-free laws in the states -- New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and the District of Columbia - where they are in effect. Chicago and Santa Fe, New Mexico, have municipal ordinances requiring hands-free phones, and Washington state's law takes effect July 1.

Kolko discovered that traffic deaths during bad weather fell 52 percent within six months of the laws' taking effect. Fatalities on wet roads dropped 38 percent and rush-hour deaths fell 17 percent.

Data from New York, which enacted the nation's first hands-free law in 2001, suggests the pattern holds up over the long haul. Four years after the law passed, traffic fatalities during lousy weather or on wet roads were down about 64 percent. Kolko assumed California would see similar declines and applied those figures to the number traffic fatalities in adverse conditions to arrive at 300 lives saved per year.

Kolko says his estimate is "conservative," but it's still well above the CHP's data, which shows no more than eight cellphone-related traffic fatalities a year between 2004 and 2006. Kolko says collisions caused by people yakking on a phone are underreported because it's tough to determine after the fact if the phone was a factor.

He also says previous attempts to study the impact of cellphones on traffic fatalities are "are all over the map. Some find no effect from mobile-phone use on collisions, and others find very large effects." He argues those studies relied on surveys of drivers and lab simulations and didn't predict the effects of hands-free laws.

Other studies have concluded that talking on a phone while driving is much more dangerous than either the CHP figures or the PPIC study suggests, regardless of whether the driver is using a hands-free device or not. The United States lags behind the rest of the developed world when it comes to mandating hands-free phones in traffic. More than 45 countries, including Germany, France, Great Britain, Japan and Australia, require hands-free phones behind the wheel.

It took six years to pass California's law, which was written by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, and it faced intense lobbying by the cell phone industry. Joe Farren, a spokesman for the mobile-phone trade group CTIA, says the group encourages hands-free use of phones while driving.

Now, what about those idiots who read the paper on the morning commute?

Photo by Flickr user sean dreillinger.

Yes, it’s short notice, but worth mentioning that Rowley’s Auction Service will auction off the entire contents of Bob’s Auto Parts in Fostoria, Michigan, this weekend. And by “entire contents,” that apparently translates into 1,800 cars in a junkyard that’s been in operation since 1938. So, obviously, some interesting collector car material from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s (aside from the immediate postwar Crosley above) is to be had. What alarms me here is that the auction company has placed a $400 minimum bid for all of the cars and pickups “due to high scrap prices.” So it appears that whatever doesn’t sell at auction goes straight to the crusher, making this the very last chance to save some vintage cars and their parts. I was not 10 minutes from this place last year, and if I had known it was there, I’d have been all over it. (via)

This ain't a bubble, folks. Better get used to it.

We've gotten a little relief in recent days, but the stubborn upward spiral of oil prices isn't going to let up to any significant degree. Yes, there's some debate between economists and industry analysts who fall into two camps -- Bubble, Not-a-Bubble -- but the evidence suggests high prices are here to stay.

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is firmly in the not-a-bubble camp. The only way for speculators to have a persistent effect on oil prices, he maintains, is if there is hoarding -- a tightening of supplies. There's no evidence of that. Oil inventories have remained at more or less normal levels throughout the recent run-up in prices.

Kevin Drum, from CBS News, agrees. He points out that the Energy Information Agency has been consistently wrong in its near-term forecasts for months now. The agency seems to insist that we're living in an oil-price bubble, but reality refuses to comply.

On the other hand, the United States is unquestionably in the midst of an economic slowdown. As demand for imported (read: Chinese and Indian) goods slows, it will weaken economies around the world. This will weaken the price of oil, which is used to ship all those goods from country to country to store shelves. So the stubborn price of oil must be a bubble caused by speculators.

Who are you going to believe?

There are signs demand is easing in emerging markets like China and India. Chinese demand for oil dipped in April and India's industrial production fell to its lowest level since 2002. Some analysts believe this accounts for why prices have leveled off in recent days.

Peter Beutel of the energy-risk-management company Cameron Hanover believes the steep run-up since September has primarily been because of the Federal Reserve and the falling value of the dollar (oil is priced in dollars).

"Because we use 25 percent of the world's oil even though we only have 5 percent of the world's population, we'll always pay extra for that incremental barrel of oil when supplies are tight," he says. He believes the price of oil will probably peak by Memorial Day then ebb slightly, depending on the direction of the economy and what the Federal Reserve does.

So oil prices are in a bubble, thanks to speculation and the falling dollar, right?

"No," says Severin Borenstein, director of the University of California Energy Institute. "Real oil changes hands for real demand and real supply. And that price has to be pretty close to the futures' price or you're going to get a crash. So you could see a bubble going for a couple of weeks, maybe, if there was a real miscalculation in supply and demand. But you're not seeing that."

Borenstein maintains that the sustained rise in prices proves that supply and demand are currently aligned. He demurs on making forecasts about where the price of oil is headed.

Could gas fall back to those blissful days of $3 a gallon by summer? Not likely, for reasons that lie somewhere between the bubble, not-bubble camps. Chinese and Indian demand for oil has been rising in a relatively slow upward arc. These countries alone can't explain why oil prices have more than quadrupled over five years. And there's no question that supplies have tightened, but not enough to explain the high spike in prices.

Daniel Yergin, chairman of the Cambridge Energy Research Associates, explains that spare capacity is very tight. The oil market is vulnerable to crises. As a result, speculators are driving up the price. Tight capacity is one reason that, just today, the Senate handed the president a veto-proof vote to stop stockpiling fuel in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over President Bush's strong objections.

So as the global economy slows, we may see a relatively sharp-but-brief downward drop as speculators get burned, then a slow easing of prices until the economy recovers. But in all likelihood, it won't last for long. High prices are here to stay.

Photo: adpowers, licensed through Creative Commons

Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Sports/GTs, Trucks/Pickups, Ford, Australia, FPV

Click above for high-res gallery of the FPV F6, more galleries after the jump

FPV's seemingly endless rollout of its new FG Falcon-based lineup has finally culminated in the actual launch of the cars (how novel), which we've already touched upon. To that end, we'll keep this brief and turn you loose on the multiple new photo galleries now available (check out the rest after the jump). The FPV range encompasses both Falcon sedan and Ute bodystyles, and power comes from either the turbocharged F6 inline-six or the 5.4L Boss 315 V8. The six delivers 415 horsepower and a tire-humbling 416 lb-ft of torque. The eight's no slouch either, pumping out 422 horses (315 kW, hence the engine's name) and 406 lb-ft. A Tremec TR6060 6-speed stick is available across the full range of cars.

Speaking of that, here's the rundown:

• FPV F6 Ute
• FPV Pursuit (V8 Ute)
• FPV Super Pursuit ( Top-of-the-line V8 Ute)
• FPV F6 Sedan
• FPV GT (V8 Sedan)
• FPV GT-P (Premium version of the GT)
• FPV GT E (Top-of-the-line V8 FPV sedan, more subtle styling than GT, GT-P)

You can see galleries of everything below and after the jump. We'll take an F6 sedan in the lime green. In fact, we need one of those approximately yesterday.


[Source: FPV]

Continue reading Pics Aplenty: The new FPV range launches Down Under

 

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How many plug-in hybrids will automakers really build?

GM's Bob Lutz has become a huge fan of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. Nissan has been a hybrid bear, but an electric vehicle bull - at least in terms of talk and future plans. Yet, Honda, the cleanest most fuel efficient major automaker, has been an electric vehicle super bear, claiming conventional hybrid vehicles and then fuel cells are the solution (of course a fuel cell vehicle is an electric vehicle).

What's going on?

There is a whisper in the auto world claiming that while electric automobiles have great potential, automakers have no interest in a major conversion from gas to electric anytime soon. Instead, automakers talking electric have very specific plans to only make enough expensive electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles to balance their fleet fuel economy (CAFE).

Is the move towards the electrification of the automobile a real movement, or just PR and regulation-driven gimmickry?

Filed under: Spy Photos, Supercars

Spies have caught a Pagani Zonda mule during a brief respite from testing and at first glance, not much has changed. The greenhouse looks similar to the current version, while the front end benefits from a revised splitter and a softening of the previous model's hard creases. While these changes are minimal at best, it's not until you scope out the massive air intakes above the rear fenders that you realize that big things are afoot. Those new inlets are rumored to feed a supercharged version of an AMG-sourced 5.4-liter V8 - the same 680-hp mill that powers the McLaren SLR. Partnered with Pagani's extensive use of carbon fiber and other lightweight components, there's little doubt that the new Zonda will crack the three-second mark to 60 and continue on to a top speed of well over 200 mph. No production dates are available yet, but expect the new model to debut sometime next year.

[Source: AutoExpress]

 

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Coachwork by Pininfarina

Chassis no. 07655
Engine no. 07655

Photos by Aaron Summerfield

Specifications
260 bhp, 3,285 cc SOHC Colombo V-12
five-speed synchromesh manual gearbox
four-wheel independent suspension
four-wheel disc brakes
Wheelbase: 2,400 mm. (94.5 in.)

Designed and built by Pininfarina, the 275 GTS replaced the 250 GT PF Series II Cabriolet and shared its engine, chassis and suspension with Ferrari’s berlinetta, the 275 GTB. Despite being introduced simultaneously at the 1964 Paris Auto Salon, the two were markedly different in design. Cleaner and more muscular, with open headlights, an egg crate grille and fender vents, the spyder variant was intended for the American market, and California in particular, where Ferrari knew a grand touring cabriolet would sell.

Built in Turin, the bodies were assembled from steel with alloy doors, hoods and trunklids to form a conservative yet tremendously attractive design. Departures from the GTB continued through to the interior, where the GTS’s seats were less bolstered and trimmed in luxurious Connolly leather.

In keeping with its gran turismo character, the 275 GTS was powered by the latest 3.3-liter version of Ferrari’s proven Colombo V-12. Redlining at 7,000 rpm and producing 260 bhp, this Tipo 213 powerplant was capable of propelling the nimble drophead to 60 mph (100 kmh) in just seven seconds and onwards to speeds in excess of 136 mph. As with the berlinetta, the most important changes were in the chassis. Ferrari had always insisted on live axles and leaf spring rear suspension for his street cars, years after he himself had proven the benefits of independent rear suspension on the track. Perhaps it was his rival Ferruccio Lamborghini’s new 350 GT, with its twin cam V-12 and four-wheel independent suspension, that finally spurred Ferrari to update his road-going models.

Whatever the reason, the changes were dramatic. Rear suspension was now similar to the front, with upper and lower wishbones and coil springs all around. Four-wheel disc brakes were, of course, standard as well. Perhaps the most interesting update was the installation of a new five-speed transaxle, which improved interior room while giving the car much better balance and weight distribution.

Enthusiastically received by both the press and public, production was rather short and continued through early 1966, as the 275 GTS was replaced by the equally attractive 330 GTS. In fact, of the merely 200 examples produced, a great many were destined for American shores, and have since become highly prized collector cars for Ferraristi and enthusiasts the world over.

Characterized by wonderful sounds, superb balance, and great style, the driving pleasures afforded by a 275 GTS are unparalleled. This handsome car exemplifies the Ferrari GT spirit in its purest, V-12-powered form.

Hummers: Not the most visionary vehicle?

We all know that large SUVs and trucks have been GM's bread and butter. And, while many have seen the writing on the wall regarding the death of large SUVs, GM has seemed unwilling to accept this 'reality', until now.

"We've been promoting our trucks more than we should have," Mike DiGiovanni, the company's top sales analyst, told a bankers' conference in Warren. "We're going to shift our marketing toward fuel economy and hybrids."

When it comes to hybrid vehicles, GM has a very intriguing and exciting lineup - on paper. From lithium BAS hybrids to the Chevy Volt, GM seems prepared to compete in the new future, but few of these new hybrids are either on the road or even ready to hit the road.

Can GM let go of the past and fully embrace this new fuel-efficiency-driven future? Or, is this just PR?

Ben Merkel, who I’m sure you’re all familiar with by now, found himself in Hawaii in 1985, courtesy a travel agency he owned at the time. Sweet, he thought, beautiful scenery, beautiful girls, and me with a camera. Alas, he brought his fiancee (as anybody probably should when offered a trip to Hawaii and engaged), and she forbade him from aiming his camera anywhere near bikinis, coconut shells or the combination of two X chromosomes.

So I took pictures of the Stageways since it was safe. Armbruster-Stageway had over 1,000 of their products on the road there and I saw tons of them. No Checker Aerobusses, however. How weird is that?

He recently dug the photos up to share with us, though sans captions, so we’re going to break out the late-model spotter’s guides and see if we can identify what behemoths Armbruster stretched here.

Appears to be the rear view of the car in the lead photo, and appears to be a 1974 Pontiac Catalina with a custom grille

Another Pontiac, this time a 1972 Catalina

Something about those taillamps wants me to say late-1970s Electra, but I’m not sure that’s right

Looks like a 1977 Buick Estate Wagon

Another late-1970s Buick Estate Wagon

And another Buick Estate Wagon

Late 1970s Buick LeSabre

And another Buick to round them off, perhaps a 1975 LeSabre?

Aside from a sexy prototype and a few photos, no one's seen much of the plug-in hybrid Fisker Automotive is working on, but with powertrain testing reportedly underway and an infusion of cash just around the corner, the company already is looking ahead to its next car.

Company founder Henrik Fisker says it will be a smaller, less expensive version of the $80,000 plug-in hybrid sedan he unveiled in January. That car is still a long way from the showroom, but today the company said it's built three prototypes and is track-testing battery software management system and the plug-in hybrid drivetrain developed by Quantum Technologies.

"We are very excited about the initial test results of the Fisker Karma prototype," company founder Henrik Fisker said in a statement. "The vehicle dynamics and fuel economy have performed better than expected and we remain on target for our fourth quarter 2009 initial delivery."

That's an incredibly tight - some say unrealistic, if not impossible - deadline to meet, but that isn't keeping Fisker from planning his next car.

Fisker says he believes advancements in battery technology will cut costs enough to allow him to offer a sedan at half the cost of the Karma within five years. According to CNET, which says the company expects to secure another $65 million in funding next month, Fisker sees the Karma competing with the BMW 7-series and the smaller sedan competing with the 3-Series.

Of course, he's got to build the Karma first. Fisker is using the Q-Drive hybrid drivetrain developed by Quantum Technologies and a lithium ion battery, which will be charged by a small internal combustion engine. The company says it is "fine tuning" the battery software, performing "initial vehicle testing" and starting crash test simulations.

Fisker hasn't offered any specifics about the drivetrain - where it's getting the battery, how big the motor is, what sort of internal combustion engine it'll use to drive the generator - and so far hasn't provided any photos of the hybrid drivetrain in the car. We also don't know just what's happening in those "spy shots" the company sent out last week, or what's under the hood of the car. The company wouldn't tell us, citing "competitive reasons." But a Fisker spokeswoman says we'll see a prototype with the plug-in hybrid drivetrain at the Los Angeles auto show in November.

Fisker says it's received more than 500 orders for the car since unveiling it at the Detroit auto show, and the company is holding fast to its claim that it will deliver the first car by the end of next year. What's more, it plans to turn out 1,250 cars a month by the end of 2010. Where those cars will be built remains an open question; a Fisker spokeswoman says there will be an announcement within a few weeks. There's been some speculation that Fisker will build the cars in Detroit.

Fisker's set some audacious goals given he and Quantum Technologies started working together just 18 months ago. As a rule of thumb, it takes three to five years to develop a car. It took Tesla Motors 3 1/2 years to get the Tesla Roadster out the door, and General Motors is scrambling to get the Chevrolet Volt done in three.

That's not to say Fisker can't do it. But the industry experts we've talked to give him pretty long odds of putting cars in driveways by 2010.

An FAA airspace redesign project designed to reduce delays and congestion at airports within the Northeast corridor is creating pilot confusion that could result in safety problem.

The vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association in Newark says there have been several incidents on the ground there that can be attributed to the new procedures. In one, a United Airlines jet turned the wrong way prior to departure, and in another, a JetBlue pilot communicating with a controller admitted to not knowing how the new procedures worked. Two minutes later, another pilot radioed the tower with questions about the new process. In both cases, the planes were only minutes from takeoff.

The airspace redesign is an attempt by the FAA to deal with delays at airports in the New York area (JFK, La Guardia, Newark) and Philadelphia. It involves creating additional jet routes by allowing planes to fly closer to one another and easing congestion by routing departing flights on a set of parallel paths, rather than having them criss-cross one another.

This change is the first airspace modification since the 1960s, and that might actually be part of the problem. Deeply ingrained habits are hard to break, and pilots who have spent decades flying under the old procedures now suddenly find themselves dealing with a new set of rules. For example, planes departing Newark from the southwest have for decades turned left immediately after takeoff, but can now turn right. And the FAA isn't helping matters any -- it says the pilots are responsible for learning the new procedures, and won't publish the new patterns until they've completed more work on the overall redesign.

On the upside, the FAA estimates that when the project is completed, it will save 12 million minutes a year at JFK, La Guardia, Newark, and Philly.

Photo: PetroleumJelliffe/Creative Commons 2.0

So my travels recently took me to Brattleboro, Vermont, where two - count ‘em, two - AMC dealerships once set up shop. David Greenlees, my Brattleboro contact and tour guide for the day, pointed out where each of the two dealerships once existed. In the picture above, taken on Putney Road, David said Brattleboro Auto Sales once inhabited a building in the parking lot to the south of the H&R Block/Perfect Image Screen Printing location. He said he doesn’t recall Roger and Pearl Moody, the owners of Brattleboro Auto Sales, ever selling AMCs, more Subarus and Saabs, but they’re on my list, so I had to investigate. Roger has apparently passed, unfortunately.

Next, we visited the former site of Raymond S. Roberts Inc., on Canal Street, which has given way to a Walgreen’s. David said that the Roberts dealership - which unquestionably sold AMCs and Jeeps - started in the 1930s and eventually was absorbed into the Brattleboro Auto Mall, which he believes Roger and Pearl Moody may have built.

The citizens of Brattleboro have preserved their architectural history quite well, so it surprised me to completely strike out on my AMC dealership quest there.

Know of any former AMC dealerships in your town? Check out the master list of former AMC dealerships and let us know what happened to them and what has since moved into their locations.

The sport auto Tuner Grand Prix in Hockenheim is the world’s biggest performance competition in the car tuning industry. With driver Jörg Hardt at the wheel, TECHART won the 2008 competition with its 700 PS / 515 kW TECHART GTstreet RS, produced in small series based on the Porsche GT2.

With a lap time of 1.06,811 minutes for the short course of the Hockenheim circuit, the TECHART driver Jörg Hardt won the GT class . TECHART’s overall victory at the sport auto Tuner Grand Prix 2008 again demonstrated the company’s unique positioning on the car enhancement market.

The specialists from Leonberg-Höfingen were able to draw on more than 20 years of experience when preparing the vehicle and modifying the Porsche vehicles from Zuffenhausen. In order to participate in the sport auto Tuner Grand Prix 2008, the black/white TECHART GTstreet RS was required to obtain certification to prove the vehicle’s road-worthiness. It was also required to meet the specific requirements set by editors of the sport auto magazine.

In addition to its powerful TECHART biturbo engine, with an output of 700 hp / 515 kW at 7,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 860 Nm at 4,500 revs, the height-adjustable sports suspension and tires were crucial to securing success in this competition.

The TECHART sports suspension was developed in combination with the TECHART engineers and with vehicle experts from Bilstein so as to be specially adapted to the short course at the Hockenheim circuit. Jörg Hardt, who is one of the most successful drivers in the Porsche Carrera Cup, was very enthusiastic about the vehicle: “The car was prepared to perfection”.

In addition to its overall victory, TECHART Automobildesign also clocked up an additional success in the Cabrio category: Jörg Hardt drove the 580 PS / 441 kW TECHART GTstreet Cabriolet to success in the Cabriolet class with a lap time of 1:10,382 minutes.

Given the tropical temperatures of the Whitsun weekend at the Hockenheim motodrome, it was crucial to use the perfect kind of tire. TECHART’s technology partner, Michelin, contributed its high performance tires Michelin Sport Cup Plus to it.
The light single-component TECHART formula III light metal wheel rims, sized 8.5Jx20 at the front and 12Jx20 at the back, were fitted with Michelin tires in the size 245/30 ZR 20 for the front axle and 315/25 ZR 20 for the back.

Chassis No. 5121GT
Engine No. 5121GT

Photos by Michael Gross

Specifications:
300 bhp, 3,967cc SOHC V-12 engine with triple Weber carburetors
four-speed gearbox with overdrive
independent front suspension with A-arms, coil springs and telescopic shocks
live rear axle, semi-elliptical springs and telescopic shocks
four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes
Wheelbase: 2,600mm (102.4 in.)

The first true four-seat series production Ferrari was the 250 GTE 2-plus-2. This gorgeous, Pininfarina designed car handled beautifully and had the excellent balance of its two-seat predecessors. The first of these cars was used by the Clerk of the Course at the 1960 Le Mans 24 Hour race. This introduced the car to the world via the motoring press present at the great race. Ferrari took six of the first seven places.

The four-seat car introduced Ferrari to a new market: owners who regarded the two-seaters as impractical. The car was a great success, with nearly a car a day produced for about three years. Towards the end of 1963, production ceased and an improved model replaced it. Fitted with the new four-liter version of the Colombo V-12, the engine was conservatively estimated to produce 300 bhp. It incorporated some significant changes from its predecessor, including revised combustion chambers and wider spaced bores, and it was dubbed the “330,” following Ferrari’s practice of naming an engine for the displacement of a single cylinder.

Outwardly, the 330 America was identical to the later 250 GTE 2+2s and shared the same chassis. Ferrari produced just fifty 330s; some carried the name America on the boot, while others did not. The 330 GT 2-plus-2 went into production in late 1963, making the America a rare automobile.

Right under the hood, actually, and we’re talking USDA Prime strip steak here. The guy in the apron and chef’s hat is Emil Onzo, of Milton, New York. What you’re looking at here is not an engine fire, but what Emil simply calls a “carbecue.” He used to be an auto tech before surviving nearly fatal respiratory problems - a consequence of volunteering to deliver relief supplies at Ground Zero following 9/11 - and then switching to the wrought-iron and patio business. Think of this as an alternative-fuel car, with the fuel combining charcoal and marbled meat.

He removed the Corvette’s well-used small-block V-8 and instead fitted a full grilling apparatus in the engine bay. He’s since switched over a 1967 Buick Wildcat for food prep, as well, and assures us he can likewise cooking-convert a car for you starting at $500. You supply the car, of course. Interested? Call him at 518-330-4490 or e-mail him at kandrafiles@nycap.rr.com.

Oh, man. Can you imagine finding a fillin' station that literally couldn't charge what they were supposed to?

Sure, fill 'er up and throw in some Suzi-Qs, too!

What are we talking about? This:

As many as 8,500 of America's 170,000 service stations have old-style meters that need to be fixed -- about 17,000 individual pumps, said Bob Renkes, executive vice president of the Petroleum Equipment Institute of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Referenced articles
CNN: New prices swamp old gas pumps

As you can read in Active Autowerke’s website, “No one buys an M3 because they like limits”. The M3 is a vehicle for pushing the limits, and having a blast doing it. Active Autowerke gave Access to all E36 M3 drivers to the same blower that powers the proven 500 HP supercharger system for the E46 M3.

The amazing 150% power kick that comes along for the ride. This carefully engineered kit matches the Rotrex C38 with the perfect hardware, software and tuning to take the factory 240 HP straight up to 360 HP. All this, with the potential for even more power with other upgrades. Some recomendations include: E36 M3 Gen 3 High Flow, E36 Track Pipe, E36 M3 Gen 3 Lightened Aluminum Flywheel, E36 M3 High Performance Clutch Kit and the E36 M3 Racing Radiator.

Running on 91-93 octane pump fuel with full emissions system intact, this system has stood the test of countless dyno runs and delivers thrill-worthy performance on demand while still retaining that BMW feel for a comfortable daily commute.

Some Key Features
Rotrex C38-71 trim supercharger
Mounting bracket, pulleys and belt
6 larger high-flow fuel injectors
K&N air filter
Active Autowerke Dyno-Tuned Software
All mounting hardware, plumbing, hoses and clamps
Illustrated instruction manual & installation guide
2 Year Warranty with free tech support

Performance Specs
Power : 360 BHP @ 6900 rpm
Torque : 300 ft-lbs @ 5700 rpm
Boost Level : 7.0 psi

Price: $ 4,400.00

Porsche 9ff GT9 came very close to breaking world speed record with its top speed of 409km/h (254mph) during official testing in Papenburg last month. Now 409 is a very big number when you see it on a speed-o-meter.

And even though its attempt to reach the number one position has not succeeded yet, its celebration time for 9ff’s dedicated tuners as their highly modified Porsche GT9 supercar has over taken Bugatti Veyron’s 407km/h (252mph) top speed.

The world record for the fastest production car, however, is still held by America’s SSC Ultimate Aero TT, which reached a top speed of 411km/h (255mph) last September. Good times for Aero TT might end sooner if it is not looking over its shoulder. The competition is fast closing in.

The German tuner 9FF’s GT9 is loosely based on the Porsche 911 GT3, with just 2% of common components between them. It has been stretched by 300mm with roof lower by 120mm to maximize downforce at high speeds. Also instead of using the rear engine layout as in 911 GT3, the 9ff engineers tried to get better weight distribution by using a custom designed mid-mounted twin-turbo 4.2L flat-six engine. It is mated to a six-speed transmission. The engine makes 987bhp and 711 lb/ft of torque and the entire car weighs just 1,326kg courtesy of carbon-fibre and Kevlar construction.

There is more work for guys at 9ff as their GT9 is still 1.7 seconds slower than Bugatti Veyron in 0-60 race and 1mph short of the SSC Ultimate Aero TT’s record top speed. The production of only 20 examples of the ultra exclusive 9ff Porsche GT9 will be done with each commanding a price tag of $854,000.

Ah, to travel by air in the 1960s and 70s.

After arriving at the airport you stroll to the ticket counter, hand your paper ticket to a friendly agent, and watch as she checks your luggage through to its final destination (no additional charge for a second bag -- that's just silly) . Without security screening to worry about, you take your time heading across the tarmac to your plane, and after takeoff you enjoy lots of free booze followed by a delicious hot lunch on real china. Afterwards, you might kick back for a cigarette and cordial, or head to the lounge for a game of cards with other passengers.

Those were the days.

Courtesy of our friends at Aviation Week comes this vintage 1971 TV ad announcing the arrival of United Airlines' first DC-10, and reminding us how good air travel used to be. Note the coach class Friendship Lounge, the actor's giant collar, and the smooth jazz playing throughout.

Besides offering a glimpse into early 70's fashion and aesthetics, the ad also provides some insight into how the US airline industry worked before deregulation in 1978. Up until that point, routes and pricing for most flights were set by the government, leaving the airlines to compete with one another on customer service. This explains the coach class lounge on United's DC-10.

It looks like a nice way to fly, no doubt -- but there are tradeoffs. Average ticket prices before deregulation were 30% higher than they are today, and the Washington Dulles to San Francisco route touted in the United ad is today served by 10 daily nonstops, versus one flight a day in 1971.

A few more old school airline ads after the jump.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, known as North Korea, is known for its Stalinistic dictatorship, severe human rights violations, extensive prison camp system, and food shortages. But within the country, which is the home to "some of the world's most brutalized people," according to Human Rights Watch, the capital's subway system contrasts the rest of the country with the elaborate murals of happy workers. The Pyongyang Metro is one of the most fascinating undergrounds in the world with its design, its operations, and of course, its secrets.

(Photo by Flickr user ninjawil. Used under Creative Commons Attribution License.)

Only until recently has North Korea opened up to foreign tourists. And even so, tourists must take a tour and are usually restricted from exploring on their own. Recently, a few United States and South Korean citizens have been allowed to enter, whom were previously barred from obtaining a visa. North Korea boasts about the beauty of the subway system and therefore includes the Metro on tour itineraries.

Tourists are usually only allowed to see two stations of the subway system, of course, probably the most beautiful stations of the system. A BBC correspondent who snuck out of the guarded hotel, though, found the city's "antiquated public transport system, with old East German trains, complete with their original German graffiti."

It is unclear and uncertain how much information published by the North Korean government about Pyongyang's tube system is true. There are little available maps of the system and those published are inconsistent with each other. There are two lines, but sources speculate the existence of several concealed government-only subway tunnels, since the metro company bought twice the minimum number of rail cars needed to operate the subway from the Changchun Car Company of China.

Unlike traditional subway systems, Pyongyang's subway station names do not correspond to the streets and landmarks on the surface. Names like Kwangbok, or in English, liberation, and Hwangumbol, golden fields, subtly mirror the propaganda images presented in the murals of the station.

With the current energy crisis in North Korea, the current operation of the subway is speculated to be with limited hours, poor lighting, and sometimes power outages. Yet, because of the lack of information (and unreliability of news) provided by the DPRK, there remains uncertainty on what actually happens outside of the two showcase stations.

A great resource about the Pyongyang Metro written by Simon Bone is available on the web. The website features scans of books regarding the capital's subway system published by the North Korean government as well as information about the rolling stock, history, service information, and lots of photos.

Designed by Pininfarina
Coachwork by Scaglietti
Chassis No. 5143GT
Engine No. 5143GT

Photos by Pieter E. Kamp

Specifications
240 bhp, 2,953 cc all-alloy SOHC V