|
Hungarian GP
this weekend
After a three-week break, the roundy-roundy guys are at it
again. This time at the Hungaroring, a most interesting venue
for a motor race, and one where the city sets up a demountable
brothel out the back of the pits! Well, they did last year and
by all reports it made money, so one would expect it again.
The championship was wrapped up two
meetings ago, with Michael Schumacher continuing to dominate
the year. Currently Juan Pablo Montoya is in second position
with 40 points and Rooby Baby Barichello is third on 36, with
Baby Schumi Ralf fourth on 35 points. Any one of those drivers
could end up 2nd in the championship, though it is just a
matter of personal pride. Who ever remembers who came 2nd in
anything? Ferrari are swinging behind our Rubinho setting up
the T car for him etc., etc., as if they get him up into 2nd
place then they will naturally have won the Constructor’s
Championship as well. Personally I think they couldn’t give
a tinker’s cuss as to Rooby Baby’s personal aspirations.
The telecast will be at 7 p.m. on the
Sunday night the 18th and I watch it on the big screen in
Shenanigans. Join me in the Shenanigans Roast Carvery
beforehand and then barrack for your driver. If Schumi the
elder wins this one he will have won more races in a season
than any other driver - another record! For interest, Schumi
has also had a 100% finishing record for the past 12 months.
Not a statistic that they keep for “record breaking” but
one that is most impressive. You have to hand it to the guy -
he’s quick, he’s consistent and he keeps the machinery
together. Love him or loathe him, he’s definitely the best
at present.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I mentioned some famous
cars which were sold with a white elephant radiator cap mascot
and I asked what was it? It was the Bugatti Royale - a motor
car that really was a white elephant (in the Western sense).
So to this week. This one is a little more
difficult. There was a vehicle designed to be bigger and
better than the Bugatti Royale. This was built by (I think,
three) brothers who squandered the family fortune and managed
to build three of the behemoths. It had an in-line 16 cylinder
engine. What was the name of the car?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be
the first correct answer to fax 038 427 596 or email [email protected]
Good luck!
|
Aston Martin
Number Plates again
Our Down-Under correspondent John Weinthal responded to my
eagle eyed review of the AML 1 number plate used on many Aston
Martins over 33 years. Apparently the plate AM V8 was used by
the MD’s or sometimes used on a car for the “owner of the
month” or suchlike. This pic dates back to 1984 (the year
the world was going to end or something, if I remember
rightly, as well as the title of George Orwell’s book) and
John fondly remembers the week he had with the car. What a
wonderfully “British” track through the woods too!
|
More
wonderful vehicle names
A few years ago now, Jean Lindamood
reported on a few interesting names of cars in the
“Automobile” magazine. The Japanese manufacturers in
particular are prone to give their show cars/concept cars
“suitable” English names. Here are a few beauties:
Nissan Big Thumb (“thumbs up”, I
presume),
Nissan Leopard J Ferie (Bryan Ferry?),
Mazda Bongo Brawny (remember the Bongo?),
Mazda Proceed Marvie Wild Breeze (wind in the hair perhaps),
Mazda Familia Interplay (getting close to the knuckle Mr.
Mazda),
Toyota Hiace One Day Trip (was this the warranty?),
Toyota Estima Lucida G Luxury Joyful Canopy (the mind
boggles),
Mitsubishi MUM 500 Shall we join us? (let no man put asunder
what Mitsubishi has joined together!)
| The
Great Jaguar debate and an AML as well
A couple of weeks back I asked
what S.S. stood for in the pre-Jaguar era and got back a
mixed bag of answers from Swallow Sidecars, Swallow Sports
and even Swallow Cars. My sources claim it stood for
Standard Swallow, although another reference book I just
thumbed through claimed the initials never officially
stood for anything! So perhaps we were all correct, so buy
yourselves a beer and send one to me!
Then a goodly number of you pointed out
my gaffe, where I said that the number plate AML 1 stood
for Aston Martin Limited, when it should have been Aston
Martin Lagonda. Thank you all, I have now slashed my
wrists with my editorial red pen.
Now another of the respondents turned
out to be an employee at Jaguar Engineering who informed
me that the main reason for putting both F and blown X
types on ‘hold’ is not directly due to blue oval
intervention. He wrote, “Bottom line is that there is
currently a lack of resource (manpower) within Jaguar to
do the projects properly and without impacting on the core
models. You can’t just conjure up the X number of
engineers (even on contract) required in England at the
moment. The R Coupe’ was only ever (so we were told) a
show concept car - so no real loss there.”
My informant continued saying how
embarrassing it is for the people at Jaguar watching the
(Ford) Jaguars falling by the wayside just not going fast
enough and struggling to compete with Arrows and Minardis
- SAD SAD SAD. He went on to say what he found the
strangest is Irvine, de La Rosa and Lauda talking about
going testing to find out ‘how the car works’ and
‘what’s happening with the new aero package’. He
wrote, “What happened to the Tetrabytes of Hewlet
Packard computing power that we were told was going to be
used to CFD a winner. Is this engineering with science and
numbers or is it Harry Potter land?” Well said, that
man!
As well as answering the quiz, another
respondent, R.N. Russell, wrote of his experience renting
a vehicle in the UK. “I tried to rent a car in U.K. with
Hertz with a Thai licence - they would have accepted, but
could not determine the date of expiry. So I produced a
U.K. licence (instead).” Looks like the idea of a
certified translation might be the way to go, after all.
|
Hello Hyundai Tiburon V6
The once strangely styled Hyundai Tiburon has won a fair
amount of support over the years, even to the point of being
called “Tibby’s” in the US of A. How it got its name, I
have no idea, but there is a place in California called
Tiburon. Our Down-Under correspondent John Weinthal has just
spent some time with a “Tibby” and here are the Words from
Weinthal.
 “Finally,
Hyundai has come up with a car that will win sales for reasons
beyond its apparent value-for-money and long equipment list.
With its sleek new Tiburon Hyundai has hit the styling button
dead-centre with apologies to none. To show their confidence
in it Hyundai first showed the Tiburon at the Geneva Motor
Show and the first press drives were based in Monte Carlo.
“The Tiburon is Hyundai’s fourth crack
at the sports coupe market - a sector ruled until now by the
likes of the Toyota Celica and the Honda’s Integra. First
was the highly forgettable Scoupe, then two versions of the
very good but strangely styled Coupe.
 “As
always with Hyundai, value is a big attraction. But here we
also get a car which is thoroughly sophisticated in its
styling, engineering, and build quality. Tiburon boasts a host
of successful and largely original design themes from front
side gills to clear blister headlight lens, twin fat sports
exhausts, an aircraft style fuel filler surround and original
tail lamp design.
“Inside the story is much the same. It
all amounts to a sporty look and feel with a blend of modern
materials and styles. It also has all the hoped-for equipment
from cruise control, air con and 6 stacker in-dash CD to an
item I have never seen before - a torque gauge. I have to
admit the purpose of this item escaped me totally, but it
provides a novel talking point.
“While the rear is cramped much like its
main competitors, there is a large deep boot. Compared with
the former Hyundai Coupe the Tiburon is 50mm longer, 30mm
wider and a fraction taller. Wheelbase and track are both
extended for an even more purposeful stance and improved
handling.
“The Tiburon’s front seats grip nicely
and proved comfortable over a couple of hours’ run and
there’s a ton of adjustment for the driver’s seat and the
steering wheel is height adjustable, so getting comfortable is
not difficult. The relatively small window area can make for
an initial feeling of claustrophobia, and rear vision is
always a bit dubious.
 “The
front-wheel-drive Tiburon is available with a 102kW 2 litre
four cylinder engine or a 127kW 2.7 litre V6. The 1333kg V6
tested had a slick 6-speed gearbox with nicely spaced ratios
which means one uses all six gears naturally and easily.
“The ride is, to put it politely,
sporting. It is firm certainly and at times harsh. Thankfully
it handles well, with good communication between driver and
road. I imagine it would be terrific on a smooth race circuit.
“As I said, this Hyundai comes up against
cars like the Celica, Integra and Nissan 200SX in particular,
but when equipment - and, dare I say it, styling - is taken
into account the Hyundai is streets ahead on value for money.
“So that is it. Hyundai has another
winner here, although the firm to harsh ride and slightly
claustrophobic interior were mild demerits for me.
The coffee clubbing and ladies-who-lunch
brigade will miss out on a good thing if they let the Hyundai
name put them off this time around.”
|
