Finnish Roll Cage Testing

They don't call them Flying Finns for for nothing.

Chevy Volt is NOT an electric car

I was discussing the upcoming Chevy Volt with a colleague yesterday who proudly how the US is getting into the electric vehicle business because "even Chevy makes an electric car".

I pointed out the the Volt - despite it's electric name - is in fact a hybrid, no different that a Toyota Prius. "No, No, No, it's an electric car" he stammered, "the gasoline engine only charges the batteries"

I beg to differ...

The new Chevy Volt is no more an EV that a Toyota Prius. It uses the gasoline engine to assist the electric motor to drive the wheels when necessary. You see my colleague made the mistake of actually listening to GM.

GM has recently uh.. 'adjusted' many of the original claims about the car. The first one to go as the 230 MPG claim. How didn't see this one coming. In August 2008 then-CEO Fritz Henderson claimed "230 MPG in city driving". Popular Mechanics recently tested a pre-production model and saw about 37 MPG, more than a little short the original GM claims.

I could write that off and new product optimism. What pisses me off is that contrary to 2+ years of PR claims, it's not even an electric car. It's a plug-in hybrid very similar to the current Toyota Prius.

GM now claims the original description was misleading because they wanted to ensure all their patents were approved before disclosing the real nature of the drive system. So, dishonestly is fine in the name of IP protection.

I'm not saying the Volt isn't fuel efficient, or that it's a bad car. I'm saying when you call something an electric vehicle for 2+ years and then launch a hybrid partially driven by it's gasoline engine, some people are going to cry "foul".

Izzy gets sick -- again

It's hard to believe that there are some places that so remote that you can't get wireless data service. On Saturday I learned that Pt. Reyes Station, CA is one of those places. 30 miles from central San Francisco yet a thousand miles away. The wife and I went up there to visit my newly rediscovered bubba Mike at Black Mountain Cycles and to procure some of that fine cheese at the Cowgirl Creamery.

Sure, that sound remote. But the fully grasp remote (in the 2010 context) take the long and bumpy drive through the Pt Reyes National Seashore to the Pt. Reyes Lighthouse. Out there you are on the dark side of the moon -- no cell service at all.

I know this because this is exactly where Izzy (the wife's E46 328ci) decided that power steering should be a optional luxury. So less than 100 yards from the parking lot and ~25 miles from cell service, Izzy started making Bad Sounds (tm) from the front end so strong they shook the steering wheel.

At first I though 'flat tire' but the sound was clearly tied engine speed which aint a flat tire. The fact that Izzy was now steering like a supertanker is what we call a clue. Nothing was amiss under the hood, even the power-steering fluid was still full so we reviewed our options. Hmmm.. ten cars in the parking lot but no people. ~25 miles back to town. No cell service. Ok, so we drive it.

What a workout. All in I drove that thing almost 50 twisty, turny mountainous miles in the quest to get home. The worst miles were the 10 miles stuck behind a tourist bus at 25 MPH. Three days on, I'm still a little sore.

Safely home, a little time on the internets showed that E46s share the habit of failing PS pumps. Typically the shaft between the pulley and the pump fails. Not ours, ours failed inside the pump, creating a loud buzzing sound that felt like something very heavy fell off and was dragging along the ground under the car.

My new cali-style mechanic (frosted hair and all) is now replacing the pump, reservoir (with built-in filter) and a couple of hoses. He's also going to replace both idler pulleys as a preventative measure as well. Tally: $1k

Ouch. Oh, I never did get to see that damn lighthouse but the bike shop was spectacular (How many Charley Cunningham road bikes have YOU seen?) and the cheese sublime.

Dick Trickle -- Heh, heh, heh...

Listenin'

While the internet give anyone the ability to publish their thoughts, some thought are more worthy than others. I recently discovered Adam Carolla records a really entertaining daily podcast. I listened to him for years on Loveline and really appreciate his sense of humor. He's also a real car guy and records a weekly show that is focused exclusively on cars. After discovering the AC show, I found that stand-up comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan also does a daily show.

Both are available on-line and on a mobile phone via Stitcher. The Stitcher app makes it easy to listen to the shows in the car without having to download them or sync in advance.

Deep Thoughts

If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
Albert Einstein

JB007 for Sale

THE quintessential James Bond car is crossing the auction block at the RM in London. The Aston Martin DB5 used in the movies Goldfinger and Thunderball is expected to sell for as much as $5 Mil and in doing so set a new price record for film car.

There were two DB-5s used during principal photography on Goldfinger. The second car was stolen from the Miami Airport in 1997 and has yet to be recovered. The DB-5 body is easily my favorite among Aston Martin cars, More fluid that the earlier cars and not yet burdened by the heaviness of later models, it strikes a fine balance.

Note: JB007 sold for $4.5MM.

Senna TAG

I learned today that TAG Heuer made no less than 5 different Ayrton Senna commemorative watch models. I discovered three different versions while shopping for mine, but didn't know there were so many. I now own a 2002 model (top right) and have seen two different versons, one with the Senna signature on the face and one (mine) without. It turns out there are actually two Link models without the signature (2001 and my 2002) and a completely different watch from 1994.

I love mine, it's a bit coarse and weights a metric ton but has been a faithful everyday companion for almost 4 years. It replaced my previous TAG Heuer S/EL Chrono, a quartz watch I wore daily for over 10 years. There is just something about the look of a black-faced chronograph that just looks right to me.

USGP Track layout announced

Looks really cool. I wonder of it will ever be open for amateur events?

The Stig - Self outing

The identity of The Stig was revealed today after the BBC lost a court case to keep Ex-F3 driver Ben Collins from publishing an autobiography about his time in the role.

Not exactly the best kept secret ever, but at least now occasional viewers can stop claiming the Michael Schumacher was the Stig

Best Driving Instructor video ever...

Every instructor has had this guy at least once. I've had him twice.

The event formerly known as "The Historics"

Endurance

I'll be crewing again for one of the teams driving in the WERC enduro at Thunderhill August 21st.

Landing in California

So, we're here -- you know, in California again. We have moved most of out stuff into our (old) new house and are now focused on un-boxing everything. The M3 is living in the driveway while we try to find a better place for all the stuff piled high in the garage. The long weekend should allow us to make some real headway.

I applied to instruct with the local NASA chapter but will have to wait until the next instructor certification session to start. Apparently 10+ years of teaching and three instructor certifications (NASA-RM, PCA and POC) aren't enough here.

Izzy gets sick

My wife's 3 series -- called Izzy after the BMW Isetta -- got sick a few days before moving to California. The coolant reservoir cracked while she was in traffic on a particularly warm day. She heard/felt it let go and quickly pulled off.

This is a common failure among older BMWs. The plastic reservoir (and many other cooling system parts) becomes brittle with age and heat and cracks. In this case however, it looks like the controller for the auxiliary fan failed causing the car to overheat which caused the reservoir to fail. Izzy has traveled over 150k miles now so was overdue for a complete cooling system overhaul so that what we did. Radiator, hoses, belts, water pump, thermostat, everything.

We were quite lucky, most cars don't survive a cooling system failure on a hot day. Only Kathy's quick response prevented this from becoming a full-on nuclear meltdown. Well done, you have saved Izzy's life.

M3 : Shipped

Yesterday afternnon I dropped the M3 off at DAS Auto Shippers for it's trip to our new home in California. It should take about 7 days so I can pick it up next Monday in Livermore. Driving it to the drop-off point reminded my how much I like that car -- even on the street.

A brief pause

I've taken a new job and am going to scale back my track activities for the rest of the season. I'll also be moving back to the Bay Area. I'll pick up blogging again after I get settled out there...

NASA TT @ Buttonwillow

I survived my weekend in California and got a glimpse of what to expect at Nationals this fall. The level of prep is significantly higher than here in Colorado. Many of the TT cars are full-on race cars that are trailered to the track.

I worked my way up a finished second or third in TTD but to put my performance in perspective: I'm 10 seconds off the TTD record and 6 seconds off the TTE record. That a lot. In fact the TTC time is faster than the BMWCCA IP M3 LTW I crewed for over the weekend. Fast!

Helmets

Helmets are quite difficult to pack for air travel. I finally caved and used a bag that was too big to carry on. I hate checking luggage.

Packing for NASA TT @ Buttonwillow

Somehow flying to an event seems more stressful than driving.

Don't forget these important things:

1. Helmet, gloves, suit, socks, balaclava
2. Earplugs
3. NASA License
   
4. Traqmate + cables
5. Instructor intercom

Or these slightly less important things:

• 2 Long Sleeve Shirts
• 2 pr pants
• 2xSox/2xUnd
• Hat
• Sunscreen
• Camera