Clearly, a less important concern - for the moment—than Ford Windstar recalls might be what Levine Breaking News reported March 14, 2006: an anti-gay/conservative Christian group are seeking retribution by boycotting Ford Motors…because Ford advertises in gay publications.
Tell me when did we give up the right to spend our hard-earned money on costly advertising, top-class merchandise, and any ^%$# publication we wish to read, write for, subscribe to, publicize in, or be a demographic target for? Okay. Hold on. Before I get all involved in who has what - ahem - RIGHTS, I should calm down, digress, and recoup to the more significant concern or issue: Ford Winstar recalls. There are several of them, that vary from safety and other recall issues (and usually getting increasingly lessened by year), but a mention here will suffice, as other investigations thoroughly cover by describing and explaining.
FORD WINDSTAR RECALLS, 2003
-Seats: mid- and rear-assembly
FORD WINDSTAR RECALLS, 2002
-Seats: mid- and rear-assembly
FORD WINDSTAR RECALLS, 2001
- Mid- and rear-seat assembly
- Windshield wiper/washer motor
- Electrical system: air conditioner
- Air bags frontal sensor control module
- Accelerator pedal
- Seat belt assembly
- Trailer hitch
FORD WINDSTAR RECALLS, 2000
- Structure: body/hood
- Vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal
- Glass: side- and rear-view mirrors
- Electrical wiring under dash
- Electrical system wiring; windshield wiper/washer motor
- Seat belts
- Trailer hitch
FORD WINDSTAR RECALLS, 1999
- Structure: body/hood
- Hydraulic brake foundation: hoses, lines, piping, fittings
- Master cylinder
- Electrical: air conditioning system; interior/under dash wiring
- Windshield wiper/washer motor
FORD WINDSTAR RECALLS, 1998
- Structure: body/hood
- Hydraulic brake foundation: hoses, lines, piping, fittings
- Front wheel suspension springs and coils
- Automatic trans/power train
- Exterior lighting
- Steering: gear box/shaft
- Child seat
FORD WINDSTAR RECALLS, 1997
- Hydraulic brake foundation: hoses, lines, piping, fittings
- Front wheel suspension springs and coils
- Automatic trans/power train
- Exterior lighting
FORD WINDSTAR RECALLS, 1996
- Structure: body/hood
- Automatic trans/power train/gear position indication
- Exterior lighting
- Hydraulic brake foundation: hoses, lines, piping, fittings
- Front wheel suspension springs and coils
FORD WINDSTAR RECALLS, 1995
- Structure: body/hood
- Electrical system wiring
- Hydraulic brake foundation: hoses, lines, piping, fittings
- Front wheel suspension springs and coils
- Alternator/generator
- Gasoline storage tank assembly
With all of or despite all the recalls, I am still a huge Ford fan—having brought up around, in, and looking at and listening to hot rods and trucks made by Ford Motor Corp.. What's more, I would still fight for the right to sell, buy, advertise, drive, think about or talk about any damned material item I please. Go Ford!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Forget The Bike And Accessorize Yourself With Harley Davidson Clothing
After you have purchased your priceless Harley-Davidson, it is now time not to think about modifying it. Your Harley-Davidson has its own image of toughness and ruggedness and would not need any alteration. What should you be thinking of is how to match yourself to the bike and not the other way around.
Of course you would buy things that match your personality- that of course include your bike. And you somehow have to think what type of Harley should you buy based on who you are. Well, you have done that already. Now, its time to dress up and hop in your Harley.
Having said that, you should start looking Harley-Davidson clothing.
Here are the Harley-Davidson clothing must haves that should be included on your shop list:
The Black Leather Jacket - It may be quite obvious to you that you should wear something that would protect you from the wind, dust, and sand. And you might be aware of the trademark Harley-Davidson black leather jacket. Have it and you are almost a complete transformation.
The Black Leather Pants – After the jacket comes the pants. Black leather pants is extremely popular clothing not only because it complements the jacket but also because it completes that whole Harley-Davidson rider effect. Be mindful that you are not a cowboy and you do not ride a horse for you to wear jeans. You are riding a Harley it deserves only the black leather pants.
The Black Leather Boots – You must have watched at least one of several “Terminator” movies. And you must have noticed what Arnold Schwarzenegger is wearing on all of his “Terminator” movies. And oh, don’t forget the bike. Have you bought the same model? Anyway, “The Terminator” is wearing black leather boots aside from his black leather jacket and pants. Have you seen yourself in that look?
The Harley-Davidson Helmet – Of course, while you ride, you need some head protection; thus the helmet. Many might not feel like wearing one but you must accept the fact that you can never tell when would accidents strike. And when it does, you should come prepared. And the Harley-Davidson helmet is the one you should have.
The Goggles – Whether you use it to keep the dust out of your vision or have it as an added Harley look, goggles are good Harley accessory.
These five would be enough complete the list of your Harley-Davidson clothing must haves. Your tasks is to search for them whether online or offline.
Of course you would buy things that match your personality- that of course include your bike. And you somehow have to think what type of Harley should you buy based on who you are. Well, you have done that already. Now, its time to dress up and hop in your Harley.
Having said that, you should start looking Harley-Davidson clothing.
Here are the Harley-Davidson clothing must haves that should be included on your shop list:
The Black Leather Jacket - It may be quite obvious to you that you should wear something that would protect you from the wind, dust, and sand. And you might be aware of the trademark Harley-Davidson black leather jacket. Have it and you are almost a complete transformation.
The Black Leather Pants – After the jacket comes the pants. Black leather pants is extremely popular clothing not only because it complements the jacket but also because it completes that whole Harley-Davidson rider effect. Be mindful that you are not a cowboy and you do not ride a horse for you to wear jeans. You are riding a Harley it deserves only the black leather pants.
The Black Leather Boots – You must have watched at least one of several “Terminator” movies. And you must have noticed what Arnold Schwarzenegger is wearing on all of his “Terminator” movies. And oh, don’t forget the bike. Have you bought the same model? Anyway, “The Terminator” is wearing black leather boots aside from his black leather jacket and pants. Have you seen yourself in that look?
The Harley-Davidson Helmet – Of course, while you ride, you need some head protection; thus the helmet. Many might not feel like wearing one but you must accept the fact that you can never tell when would accidents strike. And when it does, you should come prepared. And the Harley-Davidson helmet is the one you should have.
The Goggles – Whether you use it to keep the dust out of your vision or have it as an added Harley look, goggles are good Harley accessory.
These five would be enough complete the list of your Harley-Davidson clothing must haves. Your tasks is to search for them whether online or offline.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Formula 1 - A History To 1980
The Formula One series has its roots in the European Grand Prix motor racing of the 1920s and 1930s. However, the true history of Formula One began in 1946 with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA's) standardisation of rules. A World Drivers' Championship followed in 1950.
Although the world championship has always been the main focus of the category, non-championship Formula One races were held for many years. Due to the rising cost of competition, the last of these occurred in 1983.
National championships existed in South Africa and the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. After World War II, a new formula was initiated — originally called Formula A but soon to be known as Formula 1 — for cars of 1.5 litres supercharged and 4.5 litres unsupercharged. The minimum race distance was reduced from 311 miles to 186 miles, allowing the Monaco Grand Prix to be re-introduced after a two-year break in 1950.
The FIA announced plans for a World Championship at a meeting held that year. On 10 April 1950, Juan Manuel Fangio, in a Maserati, won the Pau Grand Prix, the first contest to be labeled an "International Formula One" race. A month later, Silverstone hosted the British Grand Prix, the first sanctioned championship race for Formula One Grand Prix cars, and the F1 World Championship was born.
The sport's title, Formula One, indicates that it is intended to be the most advanced and most competitive of the many racing formulae.
Formative years (1950–1980)
The first Formula One World Championship was won by Italian Giuseppe Farina in his Alfa Romeo in 1950, barely defeating his Argentine teammate Juan Manuel Fangio. However, Fangio won the title in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 & 1957, his streak interrupted by two-time champion Alberto Ascari of Ferrari. Although Britain's Stirling Moss was able to compete regularly, he was never able to win the World Championship, and is now widely considered to be the greatest driver never to have won the title. Fangio, however, is remembered for dominating Formula One's first decade and has long been considered the "grand master" of Formula One.
The first major technological development, Cooper's re-introduction of mid-engined cars (following Ferdinand Porsche's pioneering Auto Unions of the 1930s), which evolved from the company's successful Formula 3 designs, occurred in the 1950s. Jack Brabham, champion in 1959 and 1960, soon proved the new design's superiority. By 1961, all competitors had switched to mid-engined cars.
The first British World Champion was Mike Hawthorn, who drove a Ferrari to the title in 1958. However, when Colin Chapman entered F1 as a chassis designer and later founder of Team Lotus, British racing green came to dominate the field for the next decade. Between Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, John Surtees, Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, and Denny Hulme, British teams and Commonwealth drivers won twelve world championships between 1962 and 1973.
In 1962, Lotus introduced a car with an aluminium sheet monocoque chassis instead of the traditional spaceframe design. This proved to be the greatest technological breakthrough since the introduction of mid-engined cars. In 1968, Lotus painted Imperial Tobacco livery on their cars, thus introducing sponsorship to the sport.
Aerodynamic downforce slowly gained importance in car design from the appearance of aerofoils in the late 1960s. In the late 1970s Lotus introduced ground effect aerodynamics that provided enormous downforce and greatly increased cornering speeds (though the concept had previously been used on Jim Hall's Chaparral 2J in 1970). So great were the aerodynamic forces pressing the cars to the track, some cars did without springs in their suspension and substituted solid blocks of aluminium to minimize the change in ride height due to the drastic change in downforce from low speed to high speed, depending entirely on the tyres for any small amount of cushioning of the car and driver from any irregularities in the road surface.
The formation of the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) in 1979 set off the FISA-FOCA war, during which FISA and its president Jean Marie Balestre clashed repeatedly with the Formula One Constructors Association over television profits and technical regulations.
Rise in popularity (1981–2000)
1981 saw the signing of the first Concorde Agreement, a contract which bound the teams to compete until its expiration and assured them a share of the profits from the sale of television rights, bringing an end to the FISA-FOCA War and contributing to Bernie Ecclestone's eventual complete financial control of the sport, after much negotiation.
The FIA imposed a ban on ground effect aerodynamics in 1983. By then, however, turbocharged engines, which Renault had pioneered in 1977, were producing over 700 bhp (520 kW) and were essential to be competitive. In later years, notably 1986, the Formula One turbo cars produced in excess of 1,100 bhp (820 kW) in racing trim (and as much as 1,400 bhp / 1050 kW in qualifying trim). These cars were the most powerful open-wheel circuit racing cars ever. To reduce engine power output and thus speeds, the FIA limited fuel tank capacity in 1984 and boost pressures in 1988 before banning turbocharged engines completely in 1989.
In the early 1990s, teams started introducing electronic driver aids such as active suspension, semi-automatic gearboxes and traction control. Some were borrowed from contemporary road cars.[citation needed] Some, like active suspension, were primarily developed for the track and later made their way to the showroom. The FIA, due to complaints that technology was determining the outcome of races more than driver skill, banned many such aids for 1994. However, many observers felt that the ban on driver aids was a ban in name only as the FIA did not have the technology or the methods to eliminate these features from competition.
The teams signed a second Concorde Agreement in 1992 and a third in 1997, which is due to expire on the last day of 2007.
On the track, the McLaren and Williams teams dominated the 1980s and 1990s. Powered by Porsche, Honda, and Mercedes-Benz, McLaren won 16 championships (seven constructors', nine drivers') in that period, while Williams used engines from Ford, Honda, and Renault to also win 16 titles (nine constructors', seven drivers'). The rivalry between racing legends Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost became F1's central focus in 1988, and continued until Prost retired at the end of 1993. Tragically, Senna died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix after crashing into a wall on the exit of the notorious curve Tamburello, having taken over Prost's lead drive at Williams that year. The FIA worked to improve the sport's safety standards since that weekend, during which Roland Ratzenberger also lost his life in an accident during Saturday qualifying. No driver has died on the track at the wheel of a Formula One car since, though two track marshals have lost their lives, one at the 2000 Italian Grand Prix, and the other at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.
Since the deaths of Senna & Ratzenberger, the FIA has used safety as a reason to impose rule changes which otherwise, under the Concorde Agreement, would have had to be agreed upon by all the teams - most notably the changes introduced for 1998. This so called 'narrow track' era resulted in cars with smaller rear tyres, a narrower track overall and the introduction of 'grooved' tyres to reduce mechanical grip. There would be four grooves, on the front and rear, that ran through the entire circumference of the tyre. The objective was to reduce cornering speeds and to produce racing similar to rain conditions by enforcing a smaller contact patch between tyre and track. This was to promote driver skill and provide a better spectacle.
Results have been mixed as the lack of mechanical grip has resulted in the more ingenious designers clawing back the deficit with aerodynamic grip - pushing more force onto the tyres through wings, aerodynamic devices etc - which in turn has resulted in less overtaking as these devices tend to make the wake behind the car 'dirty' preventing other cars from following closely, due to their dependence on 'clean' air to make the car stick to the track. The grooved tyres also had the unfortunate side effect of initially being of a harder compound, to be able to hold the groove tread blocks, which resulted in spectacular accidents in times of aerodynamic grip failure e.g. rear wing failures, as the harder compound could not grip the track as well.
The more innovative teams have found ways to maximise this dramatic change. McLaren, in a car designed by Adrian Newey, used a 'fiddle' brake on their 1998 car which allowed the driver to apply the brake to one or the other of the rear two wheels to provide them with a better 'toe' into a corner. This was eventually banned as a driver aid.
Drivers from McLaren, Williams, Renault (formerly Benetton) and Ferrari, dubbed the "Big Four", have won every World Championship from 1984 to the present day. Due to the technological advances of the 1990s, the cost of competing in Formula One rose dramatically. This increased financial burden, combined with four teams' dominance (largely funded by big car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz (DaimlerChrysler)), caused the poorer independent teams to struggle not only to remain competitive, but to stay in business. Financial troubles forced several teams to withdraw. Since 1990, 28 teams have pulled out of Formula One. This has prompted former Jordan owner Eddie Jordan to say that the days of competitive privateers are
Although the world championship has always been the main focus of the category, non-championship Formula One races were held for many years. Due to the rising cost of competition, the last of these occurred in 1983.
National championships existed in South Africa and the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. After World War II, a new formula was initiated — originally called Formula A but soon to be known as Formula 1 — for cars of 1.5 litres supercharged and 4.5 litres unsupercharged. The minimum race distance was reduced from 311 miles to 186 miles, allowing the Monaco Grand Prix to be re-introduced after a two-year break in 1950.
The FIA announced plans for a World Championship at a meeting held that year. On 10 April 1950, Juan Manuel Fangio, in a Maserati, won the Pau Grand Prix, the first contest to be labeled an "International Formula One" race. A month later, Silverstone hosted the British Grand Prix, the first sanctioned championship race for Formula One Grand Prix cars, and the F1 World Championship was born.
The sport's title, Formula One, indicates that it is intended to be the most advanced and most competitive of the many racing formulae.
Formative years (1950–1980)
The first Formula One World Championship was won by Italian Giuseppe Farina in his Alfa Romeo in 1950, barely defeating his Argentine teammate Juan Manuel Fangio. However, Fangio won the title in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 & 1957, his streak interrupted by two-time champion Alberto Ascari of Ferrari. Although Britain's Stirling Moss was able to compete regularly, he was never able to win the World Championship, and is now widely considered to be the greatest driver never to have won the title. Fangio, however, is remembered for dominating Formula One's first decade and has long been considered the "grand master" of Formula One.
The first major technological development, Cooper's re-introduction of mid-engined cars (following Ferdinand Porsche's pioneering Auto Unions of the 1930s), which evolved from the company's successful Formula 3 designs, occurred in the 1950s. Jack Brabham, champion in 1959 and 1960, soon proved the new design's superiority. By 1961, all competitors had switched to mid-engined cars.
The first British World Champion was Mike Hawthorn, who drove a Ferrari to the title in 1958. However, when Colin Chapman entered F1 as a chassis designer and later founder of Team Lotus, British racing green came to dominate the field for the next decade. Between Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, John Surtees, Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, and Denny Hulme, British teams and Commonwealth drivers won twelve world championships between 1962 and 1973.
In 1962, Lotus introduced a car with an aluminium sheet monocoque chassis instead of the traditional spaceframe design. This proved to be the greatest technological breakthrough since the introduction of mid-engined cars. In 1968, Lotus painted Imperial Tobacco livery on their cars, thus introducing sponsorship to the sport.
Aerodynamic downforce slowly gained importance in car design from the appearance of aerofoils in the late 1960s. In the late 1970s Lotus introduced ground effect aerodynamics that provided enormous downforce and greatly increased cornering speeds (though the concept had previously been used on Jim Hall's Chaparral 2J in 1970). So great were the aerodynamic forces pressing the cars to the track, some cars did without springs in their suspension and substituted solid blocks of aluminium to minimize the change in ride height due to the drastic change in downforce from low speed to high speed, depending entirely on the tyres for any small amount of cushioning of the car and driver from any irregularities in the road surface.
The formation of the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) in 1979 set off the FISA-FOCA war, during which FISA and its president Jean Marie Balestre clashed repeatedly with the Formula One Constructors Association over television profits and technical regulations.
Rise in popularity (1981–2000)
1981 saw the signing of the first Concorde Agreement, a contract which bound the teams to compete until its expiration and assured them a share of the profits from the sale of television rights, bringing an end to the FISA-FOCA War and contributing to Bernie Ecclestone's eventual complete financial control of the sport, after much negotiation.
The FIA imposed a ban on ground effect aerodynamics in 1983. By then, however, turbocharged engines, which Renault had pioneered in 1977, were producing over 700 bhp (520 kW) and were essential to be competitive. In later years, notably 1986, the Formula One turbo cars produced in excess of 1,100 bhp (820 kW) in racing trim (and as much as 1,400 bhp / 1050 kW in qualifying trim). These cars were the most powerful open-wheel circuit racing cars ever. To reduce engine power output and thus speeds, the FIA limited fuel tank capacity in 1984 and boost pressures in 1988 before banning turbocharged engines completely in 1989.
In the early 1990s, teams started introducing electronic driver aids such as active suspension, semi-automatic gearboxes and traction control. Some were borrowed from contemporary road cars.[citation needed] Some, like active suspension, were primarily developed for the track and later made their way to the showroom. The FIA, due to complaints that technology was determining the outcome of races more than driver skill, banned many such aids for 1994. However, many observers felt that the ban on driver aids was a ban in name only as the FIA did not have the technology or the methods to eliminate these features from competition.
The teams signed a second Concorde Agreement in 1992 and a third in 1997, which is due to expire on the last day of 2007.
On the track, the McLaren and Williams teams dominated the 1980s and 1990s. Powered by Porsche, Honda, and Mercedes-Benz, McLaren won 16 championships (seven constructors', nine drivers') in that period, while Williams used engines from Ford, Honda, and Renault to also win 16 titles (nine constructors', seven drivers'). The rivalry between racing legends Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost became F1's central focus in 1988, and continued until Prost retired at the end of 1993. Tragically, Senna died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix after crashing into a wall on the exit of the notorious curve Tamburello, having taken over Prost's lead drive at Williams that year. The FIA worked to improve the sport's safety standards since that weekend, during which Roland Ratzenberger also lost his life in an accident during Saturday qualifying. No driver has died on the track at the wheel of a Formula One car since, though two track marshals have lost their lives, one at the 2000 Italian Grand Prix, and the other at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.
Since the deaths of Senna & Ratzenberger, the FIA has used safety as a reason to impose rule changes which otherwise, under the Concorde Agreement, would have had to be agreed upon by all the teams - most notably the changes introduced for 1998. This so called 'narrow track' era resulted in cars with smaller rear tyres, a narrower track overall and the introduction of 'grooved' tyres to reduce mechanical grip. There would be four grooves, on the front and rear, that ran through the entire circumference of the tyre. The objective was to reduce cornering speeds and to produce racing similar to rain conditions by enforcing a smaller contact patch between tyre and track. This was to promote driver skill and provide a better spectacle.
Results have been mixed as the lack of mechanical grip has resulted in the more ingenious designers clawing back the deficit with aerodynamic grip - pushing more force onto the tyres through wings, aerodynamic devices etc - which in turn has resulted in less overtaking as these devices tend to make the wake behind the car 'dirty' preventing other cars from following closely, due to their dependence on 'clean' air to make the car stick to the track. The grooved tyres also had the unfortunate side effect of initially being of a harder compound, to be able to hold the groove tread blocks, which resulted in spectacular accidents in times of aerodynamic grip failure e.g. rear wing failures, as the harder compound could not grip the track as well.
The more innovative teams have found ways to maximise this dramatic change. McLaren, in a car designed by Adrian Newey, used a 'fiddle' brake on their 1998 car which allowed the driver to apply the brake to one or the other of the rear two wheels to provide them with a better 'toe' into a corner. This was eventually banned as a driver aid.
Drivers from McLaren, Williams, Renault (formerly Benetton) and Ferrari, dubbed the "Big Four", have won every World Championship from 1984 to the present day. Due to the technological advances of the 1990s, the cost of competing in Formula One rose dramatically. This increased financial burden, combined with four teams' dominance (largely funded by big car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz (DaimlerChrysler)), caused the poorer independent teams to struggle not only to remain competitive, but to stay in business. Financial troubles forced several teams to withdraw. Since 1990, 28 teams have pulled out of Formula One. This has prompted former Jordan owner Eddie Jordan to say that the days of competitive privateers are
Monday, December 27, 2010
Formula One - Drivers And Constructors
Since 1984 Formula One teams have been required to build the chassis in which they compete, and consequently the terms "team" and "constructor" are more or less interchangeable.
This requirement distinguishes the sport from series such as IRL, Champ Cars, and NASCAR, which allow teams to purchase chassis, and "spec series" such as GP2, which require all cars be kept to an identical specification.
In its early years, Formula One teams sometimes also built their engines, though this became less common with the increased involvement of major car manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Toyota, and Honda, whose large budgets rendered privately built engines less competitive (and redundant).
Early manufacturer involvement came in the form of a "factory team" (that is, one owned and staffed by a major car company), such as those of Alfa Romeo, Ferrari (FIAT) or Renault. Companies such as Climax, Repco, Cosworth, Hart, Judd and Supertec, which had no direct team affiliation, often sold engines to teams who could not afford to manufacture them. As the manufacturers' deep pockets and engineering ability took over, almost all engines are now produced by major manufacturers.
After having virtually disappeared by the early 1980s, factory teams made a comeback in the 1990s and 2000s, and now form half the grid with Toyota, Ferrari (FIAT), Honda, Renault and BMW either setting up their own teams or buying out existing ones. Mercedes-Benz (DaimlerChrysler) owns 40% of the McLaren team and manufactures the team's engines. Commercial engine supplier Cosworth exited the sport at the end of 2006. Thus all the teams will run on factory supplied engines from 2007.
The sport's 1950 debut season saw eighteen teams compete, but due to high costs many dropped out quickly. In fact, such was the scarcity of competitive cars for much of the first decade of Formula One that Formula Two cars were admitted to fill the grids. Ferrari is the only still-active team which competed in 1950, and as of 2006 eleven teams remain on the grid, each fielding two cars. Although teams rarely disclose information about their budgets, it is estimated that they range from US$66 million to US$400 million each.
Entering a new team in the Formula One World Championship requires a £25 million (about US$47 million) up-front payment to the FIA, which is then repaid to the team over the course of the season. As a consequence, constructors desiring to enter Formula One often prefer to buy an existing team: B.A.R.'s purchase of Tyrrell and Midland's purchase of Jordan allowed both of these teams to sidestep the large deposit.
Each car is assigned a number. The previous season's World Drivers' Champion is designated number 1, with his teammate given number 2. Numbers are then assigned according to each team's position in the previous season's World Constructors' Championship. There have been exceptions to this rule, such as in 1993 and 1994, when the current World Drivers' Champion (Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost, respectively) was no longer competing in Formula One. In this case the drivers for the team of the previous year's champion are given numbers 0 (Damon Hill, on both occasions) and 2 (Prost himself and Ayrton Senna - replaced after his death by David Coulthard and occasionally Nigel Mansell - respectively). The number 13 has not been used since 1974, before which it was occasionally assigned at the discretion of individual race organizers.
Before 1996, only the world championship winning driver and his team generally swapped numbers with the previous champion – the remainder held their numbers from prior years, as they had been originally set at the start of the 1974 season. For many years, for example, Ferrari held numbers 27 & 28, regardless of their finishing position in the world championship. As privateer teams quickly folded in the early 1990s, numbers were frequently shuffled around, until the current system was adopted in 1996.
Michael Schumacher holds the record for having won the most Drivers' Championships (seven) and Ferrari holds the record for having won the most Constructors' Championships (fourteen). Jochen Rindt became the only posthumous World Champion after a fatal accident at the 1970 Italian Grand Prix.
This requirement distinguishes the sport from series such as IRL, Champ Cars, and NASCAR, which allow teams to purchase chassis, and "spec series" such as GP2, which require all cars be kept to an identical specification.
In its early years, Formula One teams sometimes also built their engines, though this became less common with the increased involvement of major car manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Toyota, and Honda, whose large budgets rendered privately built engines less competitive (and redundant).
Early manufacturer involvement came in the form of a "factory team" (that is, one owned and staffed by a major car company), such as those of Alfa Romeo, Ferrari (FIAT) or Renault. Companies such as Climax, Repco, Cosworth, Hart, Judd and Supertec, which had no direct team affiliation, often sold engines to teams who could not afford to manufacture them. As the manufacturers' deep pockets and engineering ability took over, almost all engines are now produced by major manufacturers.
After having virtually disappeared by the early 1980s, factory teams made a comeback in the 1990s and 2000s, and now form half the grid with Toyota, Ferrari (FIAT), Honda, Renault and BMW either setting up their own teams or buying out existing ones. Mercedes-Benz (DaimlerChrysler) owns 40% of the McLaren team and manufactures the team's engines. Commercial engine supplier Cosworth exited the sport at the end of 2006. Thus all the teams will run on factory supplied engines from 2007.
The sport's 1950 debut season saw eighteen teams compete, but due to high costs many dropped out quickly. In fact, such was the scarcity of competitive cars for much of the first decade of Formula One that Formula Two cars were admitted to fill the grids. Ferrari is the only still-active team which competed in 1950, and as of 2006 eleven teams remain on the grid, each fielding two cars. Although teams rarely disclose information about their budgets, it is estimated that they range from US$66 million to US$400 million each.
Entering a new team in the Formula One World Championship requires a £25 million (about US$47 million) up-front payment to the FIA, which is then repaid to the team over the course of the season. As a consequence, constructors desiring to enter Formula One often prefer to buy an existing team: B.A.R.'s purchase of Tyrrell and Midland's purchase of Jordan allowed both of these teams to sidestep the large deposit.
Each car is assigned a number. The previous season's World Drivers' Champion is designated number 1, with his teammate given number 2. Numbers are then assigned according to each team's position in the previous season's World Constructors' Championship. There have been exceptions to this rule, such as in 1993 and 1994, when the current World Drivers' Champion (Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost, respectively) was no longer competing in Formula One. In this case the drivers for the team of the previous year's champion are given numbers 0 (Damon Hill, on both occasions) and 2 (Prost himself and Ayrton Senna - replaced after his death by David Coulthard and occasionally Nigel Mansell - respectively). The number 13 has not been used since 1974, before which it was occasionally assigned at the discretion of individual race organizers.
Before 1996, only the world championship winning driver and his team generally swapped numbers with the previous champion – the remainder held their numbers from prior years, as they had been originally set at the start of the 1974 season. For many years, for example, Ferrari held numbers 27 & 28, regardless of their finishing position in the world championship. As privateer teams quickly folded in the early 1990s, numbers were frequently shuffled around, until the current system was adopted in 1996.
Michael Schumacher holds the record for having won the most Drivers' Championships (seven) and Ferrari holds the record for having won the most Constructors' Championships (fourteen). Jochen Rindt became the only posthumous World Champion after a fatal accident at the 1970 Italian Grand Prix.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Formula One - Grand Prix Cars
Modern Formula One cars are mid-engined open cockpit, open wheel single-seaters. The chassis is made largely of carbon fibre composites, rendering it light but extremely stiff and strong. The whole car, including engine, fluids and driver weighs only 605 kg. In fact this is the minimum weight set by the regulations – the cars are so light that they often have to be ballasted up to this minimum weight.
The cornering speed of Formula One cars is largely determined by the aerodynamic downforce that they generate, which pushes the car down onto the track. This is provided by 'wings' mounted at the front and rear of the vehicle, and by ground effect created by the movement of air under the flat bottom of the car.
A significant difference in the design of the latest breeds of F1 cars is that they make far greater use of vortex "lift," or in this case, downforce. Since a vortex is a rotating fluid that creates a low pressure zone at its center, creating vortices lowers the overall local pressure of the air.
Since low pressure is what is desired under the car, allowing normal atmospheric pressure to press the car down from the top, by creating vortices, downforce can be augmented while still staying within the rules.
The aerodynamic design of the cars is very heavily constrained to limit performance and the current generation of cars sport a large number of small winglets, "barge boards" and turning vanes designed to closely control the flow of the air over, under and around the car. The "barge boards" in particular are designed, shaped, configured, adjusted and positioned not to create downforce directly, as with a conventional wing or underbody venturi. They are designed so that air spillage from their edges will create these vortices.
The other major factor controlling the cornering speed of the cars is the design of the tyres. Tyres in Formula One are not 'slicks' (tyres with no tread pattern) as in most other circuit racing series. Each tyre has four large circumferential grooves on its surface designed to further limit the cornering speed of the cars. Suspension is double wishbone or multilink all round with pushrod operated springs and dampers on the chassis. Carbon-Carbon disc brakes are used for reduced weight and increased frictional performance. These provide a very high level of braking performance and are usually the element which provokes the greatest reaction from drivers new to the formula.
Engines are mandated as 2.4 litre normally aspirated V8s, with many other constraints on their design and the materials that may be used. The 2006 generation of engines rev close to 20,000 rpm and produce up to 740 bhp (552 kW).[10] The previous generation of 3-litre V10 engines are also allowed, albeit with their revs limited and with an air restrictor to limit performance.
Engines run on unleaded fuel closely resembling publicly available petrol. The oil which lubricates and protects the engine from overheating is very similar in viscosity to water. For 2007 the V8 engines will be restricted to 19,000 rpm with limited development areas allowed, following the engine specification freeze from the end of 2006. As outright speed and power are effectively being capped it is widely believed that teams will work on improving reliability, and the torque range of the engine to improve driveability.
A wide variety of technologies – including active suspension, ground effect aerodynamics and turbochargers – are banned under the current regulations. Despite this the 2006 generation of cars can reach speeds of up to 350 km/h (around 220 mph) at some circuits (Monza).A Honda Formula One car, running with minimum downforce on a runway in the Mojave desert achieved a top speed of 415 km/h (258 mph) in 2006. According to Honda, the car fully met the FIA Formula One regulations.
Even with the limitations on aerodynamics, at 160 km/h, aerodynamically generated downforce is equal to the weight of the car and the often repeated claim that Formula One cars are capable of 'driving on the ceiling' remains true in principle, although it has never been put to the test. At full speed downforce of 2.5 times the car's weight can be achieved.
The downforce means that the cars can achieve a lateral force of around four and a half times the force of gravity (4.5 g) in cornering - a high-performance road car might achieve around 1 g. Consequently in corners the driver's head is pulled sideways with a force equivalent to 25 kilograms. Such high lateral forces are enough to make breathing difficult and the drivers need supreme concentration to maintain their focus for the 1 to 2 hours that it takes to cover 305 kilometres.
The cornering speed of Formula One cars is largely determined by the aerodynamic downforce that they generate, which pushes the car down onto the track. This is provided by 'wings' mounted at the front and rear of the vehicle, and by ground effect created by the movement of air under the flat bottom of the car.
A significant difference in the design of the latest breeds of F1 cars is that they make far greater use of vortex "lift," or in this case, downforce. Since a vortex is a rotating fluid that creates a low pressure zone at its center, creating vortices lowers the overall local pressure of the air.
Since low pressure is what is desired under the car, allowing normal atmospheric pressure to press the car down from the top, by creating vortices, downforce can be augmented while still staying within the rules.
The aerodynamic design of the cars is very heavily constrained to limit performance and the current generation of cars sport a large number of small winglets, "barge boards" and turning vanes designed to closely control the flow of the air over, under and around the car. The "barge boards" in particular are designed, shaped, configured, adjusted and positioned not to create downforce directly, as with a conventional wing or underbody venturi. They are designed so that air spillage from their edges will create these vortices.
The other major factor controlling the cornering speed of the cars is the design of the tyres. Tyres in Formula One are not 'slicks' (tyres with no tread pattern) as in most other circuit racing series. Each tyre has four large circumferential grooves on its surface designed to further limit the cornering speed of the cars. Suspension is double wishbone or multilink all round with pushrod operated springs and dampers on the chassis. Carbon-Carbon disc brakes are used for reduced weight and increased frictional performance. These provide a very high level of braking performance and are usually the element which provokes the greatest reaction from drivers new to the formula.
Engines are mandated as 2.4 litre normally aspirated V8s, with many other constraints on their design and the materials that may be used. The 2006 generation of engines rev close to 20,000 rpm and produce up to 740 bhp (552 kW).[10] The previous generation of 3-litre V10 engines are also allowed, albeit with their revs limited and with an air restrictor to limit performance.
Engines run on unleaded fuel closely resembling publicly available petrol. The oil which lubricates and protects the engine from overheating is very similar in viscosity to water. For 2007 the V8 engines will be restricted to 19,000 rpm with limited development areas allowed, following the engine specification freeze from the end of 2006. As outright speed and power are effectively being capped it is widely believed that teams will work on improving reliability, and the torque range of the engine to improve driveability.
A wide variety of technologies – including active suspension, ground effect aerodynamics and turbochargers – are banned under the current regulations. Despite this the 2006 generation of cars can reach speeds of up to 350 km/h (around 220 mph) at some circuits (Monza).A Honda Formula One car, running with minimum downforce on a runway in the Mojave desert achieved a top speed of 415 km/h (258 mph) in 2006. According to Honda, the car fully met the FIA Formula One regulations.
Even with the limitations on aerodynamics, at 160 km/h, aerodynamically generated downforce is equal to the weight of the car and the often repeated claim that Formula One cars are capable of 'driving on the ceiling' remains true in principle, although it has never been put to the test. At full speed downforce of 2.5 times the car's weight can be achieved.
The downforce means that the cars can achieve a lateral force of around four and a half times the force of gravity (4.5 g) in cornering - a high-performance road car might achieve around 1 g. Consequently in corners the driver's head is pulled sideways with a force equivalent to 25 kilograms. Such high lateral forces are enough to make breathing difficult and the drivers need supreme concentration to maintain their focus for the 1 to 2 hours that it takes to cover 305 kilometres.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Formula One - The Rise Of Renault
In 2005, Formula One saw Ferrari fade out of sight, as the works Renault team dominated the early part of the season, and Fernando Alonso forged a clear championship lead. In the latter part of the season McLaren were significantly the stronger team, with consistently better results and a win tally of 6 from 7 races. However their early record of poor reliability had meant that catching Renault in either Drivers' or Constructors' Championships was a tall order.
For a while it looked close between Räikkönen and Alonso, but by Brazil Fernando Alonso had become Formula One's youngest ever champion. The Constructors' Championship looked even more likely for McLaren, widely regarded as the faster car and with reliability much improved.
However a retirement for Juan-Pablo Montoya in the season finale at Shanghai secured the Constructors' title for Renault. One statistic proved the two teams' dominance: they together won all but one of the races, the controversial US Grand Prix, (in which neither of the two teams participated) which was Schumacher and Ferrari's only win of the year.
Arguably, the final small specialist racing team disappeared with the September 2005 purchase of Minardi by Red Bull to be renamed as Scuderia Toro Rosso and run as a separate entity alongside Red Bull Racing. Jordan had been bought by Russo-Canadian steel company Midland early in 2005 and was renamed Midland F1 for the 2006 season. In June 2005, BMW bought a majority stake in Sauber, which became their factory entry. The Williams team ceased their partnership with BMW as a result, entering a commercial arrangement with Cosworth instead.
From 2006 manufacturer teams have an unprecedented level of involvement in the sport. Honda also bought BAR. 2006 was the last season with two tyre manufacturers: The two manufacturers at the time were Japanese manufacturer Bridgestone and French company Michelin. In December 2005, the FIA announced that from the 2008 season, there would be only one tyre supplier. Five days later, Michelin announced it would quit Formula One at the end of the 2006 season as it did not want to be in Formula One as the sole tyre supplier, leaving Bridgestone as the sole supplier from 2007.
Renault and Fernando Alonso established early leads in both the Constructors' and Drivers' Championships. The Spanish World Champion achieved six wins (including four consecutive victories) in Bahrain, Australia, Spain, Monaco, Britain, and Canada. Teammate Giancarlo Fisichella won his third career race in Malaysia. Schumacher won the United States Grand Prix (his fourth consecutive victory at Indianapolis and fifth career victory there) and the French Grand Prix. He also won the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, with Alonso finishing 5th.
Jenson Button achieved his first Formula One career victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Alonso had a mechanical failure whilst leading in the later stages of the race whilst Michael Schumacher retired after a collision with Nick Heidfeld. However Schumacher was promoted to 8th place in the standings (having been classified 9th following a retirement three laps from the end) because of Robert Kubica's disqualification in his first race. The Polish driver had finished 7th in the BMW Sauber.
Felipe Massa won the next Grand Prix in Turkey, so for the second race in a row, Formula One had a debut winner. Fernando Alonso extended his lead over Michael Schumacher by two points after he managed to finish a tenth of a second ahead of the German in second place.
Schumacher managed to reduce Alonso's lead to only two points after winning the Italian Grand Prix, while Alonso suffered an engine failure in the late stages of the race. Despite a fourth-place finish for Alonso's teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella, and a flat-spotted tyre causing Felipe Massa to score no points, the race also saw Ferrari pull ahead of Renault for the first time in 2006. Polish driver Robert Kubica took his BMW Sauber to his first ever podium finish, in only his third race, but the race results were largely overshadowed by Schumacher announcing, during the post-race press conference, that he would retire at the end of the season. Afterwards he did say that he would hold a position in the Ferrari F1 team for 2007, though he did not disclose what.
Three weeks later, with his victory at Shanghai right ahead of Alonso, Schumacher drew level on points with him him at the head of the championship. Schumacher officially lead the World Championship for the first time in 2006 after the race, as he had won 7 races compared to Alonso's 6. Massa did not finish the race, and Renault gained again the lead in the constructors' championship thanks to Fisichella's third place.
A week later at the Japanese Grand Prix, Felipe Massa took pole ahead of Michael Schumacher in second and Fernando Alonso in fifth. Schumacher quickly took the lead and set about gaining a five second lead, which continued until after the second round of pit stops. However, Schumacher's engine failed with 17 laps to go, forcing him to retire and handing Alonso the win ahead of Massa.
At the final round, the Brazilian Grand Prix, Massa again took pole. Drama in qualifying saw Michael Schumacher have a fuel pressure problem[24], meaning that he started down in 10th, while Alonso began in 5th. In the race, Schumacher had yet more bad luck, suffering a puncture just a few laps in. He recovered to finish fourth, while teammate Massa became the first Brazilian to win his home Grand Prix since Ayrton Senna, in 1993, and Alonso finished second to secure his second successive championship, adding the record of the youngest man to secure back-to-back titles to his ever-increasing list of records. Fisichella finished 6th for Renault, meaning that the French outfit secured their second successive title.
For a while it looked close between Räikkönen and Alonso, but by Brazil Fernando Alonso had become Formula One's youngest ever champion. The Constructors' Championship looked even more likely for McLaren, widely regarded as the faster car and with reliability much improved.
However a retirement for Juan-Pablo Montoya in the season finale at Shanghai secured the Constructors' title for Renault. One statistic proved the two teams' dominance: they together won all but one of the races, the controversial US Grand Prix, (in which neither of the two teams participated) which was Schumacher and Ferrari's only win of the year.
Arguably, the final small specialist racing team disappeared with the September 2005 purchase of Minardi by Red Bull to be renamed as Scuderia Toro Rosso and run as a separate entity alongside Red Bull Racing. Jordan had been bought by Russo-Canadian steel company Midland early in 2005 and was renamed Midland F1 for the 2006 season. In June 2005, BMW bought a majority stake in Sauber, which became their factory entry. The Williams team ceased their partnership with BMW as a result, entering a commercial arrangement with Cosworth instead.
From 2006 manufacturer teams have an unprecedented level of involvement in the sport. Honda also bought BAR. 2006 was the last season with two tyre manufacturers: The two manufacturers at the time were Japanese manufacturer Bridgestone and French company Michelin. In December 2005, the FIA announced that from the 2008 season, there would be only one tyre supplier. Five days later, Michelin announced it would quit Formula One at the end of the 2006 season as it did not want to be in Formula One as the sole tyre supplier, leaving Bridgestone as the sole supplier from 2007.
Renault and Fernando Alonso established early leads in both the Constructors' and Drivers' Championships. The Spanish World Champion achieved six wins (including four consecutive victories) in Bahrain, Australia, Spain, Monaco, Britain, and Canada. Teammate Giancarlo Fisichella won his third career race in Malaysia. Schumacher won the United States Grand Prix (his fourth consecutive victory at Indianapolis and fifth career victory there) and the French Grand Prix. He also won the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, with Alonso finishing 5th.
Jenson Button achieved his first Formula One career victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Alonso had a mechanical failure whilst leading in the later stages of the race whilst Michael Schumacher retired after a collision with Nick Heidfeld. However Schumacher was promoted to 8th place in the standings (having been classified 9th following a retirement three laps from the end) because of Robert Kubica's disqualification in his first race. The Polish driver had finished 7th in the BMW Sauber.
Felipe Massa won the next Grand Prix in Turkey, so for the second race in a row, Formula One had a debut winner. Fernando Alonso extended his lead over Michael Schumacher by two points after he managed to finish a tenth of a second ahead of the German in second place.
Schumacher managed to reduce Alonso's lead to only two points after winning the Italian Grand Prix, while Alonso suffered an engine failure in the late stages of the race. Despite a fourth-place finish for Alonso's teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella, and a flat-spotted tyre causing Felipe Massa to score no points, the race also saw Ferrari pull ahead of Renault for the first time in 2006. Polish driver Robert Kubica took his BMW Sauber to his first ever podium finish, in only his third race, but the race results were largely overshadowed by Schumacher announcing, during the post-race press conference, that he would retire at the end of the season. Afterwards he did say that he would hold a position in the Ferrari F1 team for 2007, though he did not disclose what.
Three weeks later, with his victory at Shanghai right ahead of Alonso, Schumacher drew level on points with him him at the head of the championship. Schumacher officially lead the World Championship for the first time in 2006 after the race, as he had won 7 races compared to Alonso's 6. Massa did not finish the race, and Renault gained again the lead in the constructors' championship thanks to Fisichella's third place.
A week later at the Japanese Grand Prix, Felipe Massa took pole ahead of Michael Schumacher in second and Fernando Alonso in fifth. Schumacher quickly took the lead and set about gaining a five second lead, which continued until after the second round of pit stops. However, Schumacher's engine failed with 17 laps to go, forcing him to retire and handing Alonso the win ahead of Massa.
At the final round, the Brazilian Grand Prix, Massa again took pole. Drama in qualifying saw Michael Schumacher have a fuel pressure problem[24], meaning that he started down in 10th, while Alonso began in 5th. In the race, Schumacher had yet more bad luck, suffering a puncture just a few laps in. He recovered to finish fourth, while teammate Massa became the first Brazilian to win his home Grand Prix since Ayrton Senna, in 1993, and Alonso finished second to secure his second successive championship, adding the record of the youngest man to secure back-to-back titles to his ever-increasing list of records. Fisichella finished 6th for Renault, meaning that the French outfit secured their second successive title.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Freight Exchange Or Baked Beans?
Truckers and haulage drivers have a tough choice sometimes. And while the sweet taste of a juicy breakfast may seem the perfect end to a job well done, a well planned backload from a freight exchange can create more paid work on completion of a job.
Let me explain.
In traditional haulage and freight transportation a trucker gets a delivery, and takes it from A to B (let’s say Aldershot to Basingstoke). Trucker gets paid, company get their delivery – everyone’s happy.
Except that the trucker has the trip back to their Aldershot to look forward to, and this time without any pay to cover the distance – or dead mileage. It wastes time, it wastes money and it eats into profits – whether the driver is an owner operator or works for a big haulage company.
And this is where freight exchanges come in.
Think of a freight exchange as a dating service for cargo. Freight forwarders post the loads they want to be delivered and the truckers sign up for loads they want to deliver. Then the two parties agree an appropriate fee and the delivery is made.
But how does this help our friend making the lonely journey back from Basingstoke? Simple – if he’s aware in advance that he’s going to be running empty back to Aldershot that afternoon, he can visit the ‘freight dating’ scene and look for any freight forwarders looking to send a package from Aldershot to Basingstoke – or any town en route. If he finds a backload (as they are known in the business), the company get their package delivered in a timely manner, the driver cuts down on his time driving unpaid, and the freight forwarder gets their load delivered. Everybody wins – except as mentioned earlier, our haulage driving friend delays his juicy breakfast reward, but life’s a compromise.
Freight exchanges are nothing new, and have been around for decades, but as technology develops we’re seeing new technologies in the industry, making things even easier. The freight exchanges I represent, Courier Exchange (http://www.courierexchange.co.uk) and Haulage Exchange (http://www.haulageexchange.co.uk), have their own e-payment system for the quick transfer of invoices, a mobile phone network allowing drivers to be contacted by the freight exchange while on the road and a system of freight alerts which inform haulage companies and owner operators when new loads are posted on the freight exchange which are suitable for them.
It’s come a long way from just driving freight from A to B, and no doubt there are some interesting developments for the humble freight exchange in the future.
Let me explain.
In traditional haulage and freight transportation a trucker gets a delivery, and takes it from A to B (let’s say Aldershot to Basingstoke). Trucker gets paid, company get their delivery – everyone’s happy.
Except that the trucker has the trip back to their Aldershot to look forward to, and this time without any pay to cover the distance – or dead mileage. It wastes time, it wastes money and it eats into profits – whether the driver is an owner operator or works for a big haulage company.
And this is where freight exchanges come in.
Think of a freight exchange as a dating service for cargo. Freight forwarders post the loads they want to be delivered and the truckers sign up for loads they want to deliver. Then the two parties agree an appropriate fee and the delivery is made.
But how does this help our friend making the lonely journey back from Basingstoke? Simple – if he’s aware in advance that he’s going to be running empty back to Aldershot that afternoon, he can visit the ‘freight dating’ scene and look for any freight forwarders looking to send a package from Aldershot to Basingstoke – or any town en route. If he finds a backload (as they are known in the business), the company get their package delivered in a timely manner, the driver cuts down on his time driving unpaid, and the freight forwarder gets their load delivered. Everybody wins – except as mentioned earlier, our haulage driving friend delays his juicy breakfast reward, but life’s a compromise.
Freight exchanges are nothing new, and have been around for decades, but as technology develops we’re seeing new technologies in the industry, making things even easier. The freight exchanges I represent, Courier Exchange (http://www.courierexchange.co.uk) and Haulage Exchange (http://www.haulageexchange.co.uk), have their own e-payment system for the quick transfer of invoices, a mobile phone network allowing drivers to be contacted by the freight exchange while on the road and a system of freight alerts which inform haulage companies and owner operators when new loads are posted on the freight exchange which are suitable for them.
It’s come a long way from just driving freight from A to B, and no doubt there are some interesting developments for the humble freight exchange in the future.
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