Ferrari F14 T Revealed

There's a ton of excitement swirling around the upcoming F1 season. The main reason is this season will require each team to debut an all new car to comply with the heavily revised 2014 regulations....including turbo V6 power plants and new aero regulations.  It already appears that the 2014 car designs (click here to see them) will vary dramatically and that success hinges on which engineering team was able to balance practicality and creativity while taking on the new rule book. Basically, this season epitomizes everything NASCAR is not (see previous rant here).

Ferrari have officially unveiled the F14 T, the car the Italian team hope will bring them championship glory this year in the hands of new driver pairing, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. In line with the heavily revised 2014 regulations, the Scuderia’s new challenger is powered by a 1.6 liter, turbo V6 power engine and features a new-look nose, quite different to that seen on other 2014 cars so far.

For the past two decades I've been amazed as historically angular F1 designs transitioned into sleek and curvy sculptures that seemed to be zoomorphic at times. I guess the 2014 F14 T design continues to amaze me for the same reason.....but not in a good way. I can't be the only person who thinks the new F14 T looks like an aardvark.

But it doesn't end with Ferrari. The McLaren MP4-29 and Williams FW 36 appear to be styled after the speedy anteater:

Can't wait to see the other designs and how the season plays out.

My Detroit Autoshow Rant

Time for me to chime in on the 2014 North American International Auto Show. Honestly, I didn't feel that this year's show made for 'must see TV.'  There were some very significant debuts but I think that the trend of manufactures 'leaking' photos via social media outlets in the days and weeks leading up to the show somewhat takes the fun out of the event itself. Essentially, the overall anticipation is somewhat diminished as cars/concepts are really being debuted rather than revealed.

So lets start with the highlights....

I'm not a huge fan of concept cars. They tend to all look the same and rarely ever translate into something I'd actually want. For instance, this year Kia showed off a cool concept called the GT4 Stinger. As interesting as it is, its hard to get excited about it because at the end of the day you know Kia will never produce anything that remotely resembles the Stinger.

There was one concept car that was fantastic! The Toyota FT-1 Concept is what concept cars should be all about.  It sends a message that Toyota is not all about the Camry and Corolla.  It says that the stunning Lexus LFA is not the epitome of what they are capable of......its just the beginning.  This concept may never go into production but it makes you want to write letters and beg Toyota for the next Supra.

Now onto the debuts of 'real' cars. You know your car show is somewhat dull when the most significant reveal is the new Ford F-150. With that said, it may be the most important vehicle Ford launches this decade. The interesting thing here has been all the talk about the truck's aluminum body....which I think is cool. I actually find it bizarre when I read in blogs and forums filled with so-called truck enthusiasts complaints about the use of aluminum. The implication being that it is a weaker or inferior substitute for tried and true steel.......what a bunch of idiots. The biggest problem with the F-150 reveal was that Ford declined to reveal specific data about the F-150's power, towing or fuel economy...so who cares if you shaved 700 pounds by switching to aluminum if you cannot illustrate what that translates to in specs.

The C7 edition of the Corvette Z06 debuted. I'm not going to delve into the new Z06 since there are only two things you need to know about it:

1. The Corvette Z06 will have a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 producing at least 625 horsepower.

2. It looks like this....

There were other cool performance related cars like the Lexus RC F, the MK7 Volkswagen Golf R, the BMW M3/M4 and the Subaru WRX STI (it still has a big wing, blue paint and gold wheels).

I think the biggest news might be the big misses....

Porsche introduced a 911 Targa which seems way too complex. The way the rear glass lifts and the silver roof portion changes shape to make way for the retracting top just seems to be asking for mechanical problems.  It also seems heavy,appears to take up valuable space and ultimately I'm not even sure if it actually fits the official definition of a targa top. What's wrong with a couple of latches that you turn with your hand?

But the big winner (or loser) and honestly the only reason I wrote this post was the abomination known as the Equus Bass 770.

The Equus Bass 770 is touted as an American-made homage to iconic American muscle cars leveraging today's technology. The Americana motif even went as far as having three Bass 770's on display (a red one, a white one, and a blue one).  The designers claim that the car includes design elements influenced from all the icons such as Camaro, Challenger, Charger, GTO, and even Marlin.

When I look at the Bass I see a blatant act of automotive plagiarism that would be better suited as a Chinese made knock-off. You know what I'm talking about....like the  'high quality' Adadis sneakers and Calvim Klain clothes you find at your local flea market.

The designers can site all sorts of 'influences' but in reality the car is 90 percent 67/68 Mustang. It also features a Charger tail light panel and a Roadrunner grill.

Equus Bass770

67 Mustang in 'Eleanor' body kit

Equus Bass770

Charger

Equus Bass770

Roadrunner

The cheap imitation gets even worse. 

Next there is the 'Bass' name.....and obvious rip off of Ford's 'Boss' moniker.

Then take the contorting horse emblem.....out of the entire wild kingdom they had to pick a horse?

Then there is the 770 in the name.  770 what? It sure hell's ain't cubic inches (since the power plant  is sourced from GM) but rather 770 cubic centimeters per cylinder!  Meaning 770 times 8 = 6160 cc's....meaning 6.16 liters....which rounds up to 6.2 liters

But the real insult is the price! At least when you buy knockoffs at the flea market you are paying a quarter of what the real McCoy would sell for.  Equus plans of selling the Bass for a quarter of a million dollars!!!!!!!!

So let me close with this simple question. You have $250,000.00 burning a whole in your pocket. Do you buy a Ferrari 458 Italia, Lamborghini Gallardo LP640, Audi R8 V10, the newly shown Corvette Z06 or the next ZR1, the next Mustang Cobra, or a Equus Bass 770?  End of rant.

Drifting in Jersey

The whole drifting thing is somewhat of an enigma to me.  Don't get me wrong, nothing puts a smile on my face like getting a car stupid sideways. But I still  haven't warmed up to the progression of good ol' fashioned hooning to Formula DRIFT (Formula D) in which competitions are subjectively judged based on 'style'......are we racing or figure skating?

But this video literally made me start scouring the internet for a used 240SX to flog. What's better than sponsor laden Formula D cars in high production events? Beater missile cars in New Jersey! Leafless trees, brown grass and crappy lighting due to the position of the non-summer sun.....perfect!   

Classic doesn't just mean old

Every now and then I taunt myself with the idea of selling my '69 Mustang and '67 Cougar and buying a brand new Detroit muscle car (the new Mustang, Challenger and Camaro are fantastic). The performance, usability and reliability of the new car is really appealing. I would love to have goodies like climate control, heated seats, air conditioning, anti-lock brakes, and even airbags. When I consider the over 30k price tag my little mental exercise abruptly ends....not because its something I can't afford, but because I view it as a waste.....let me explain.

You have 25 grand burning a hole in your pocket today (currently 2013) and there are two cars for sale:

Option one is a 1969 Boss 302 Mustang...

Option two is a 2000 Mustang GT with zero miles on it...

Which do you buy?

Looking at these two options today the choice is a no-brainer. One is a iconic classic and the other is just a used car (even with zero miles).

Yet, when faced with the same choice back in 2000 I chose the other way around! To add insult to injury, now 13 years later, the 2000 GT is worth a whole lot less and well, just not that cool. Meanwhile, the Boss has actually appreciated in value and is still as distinctive and iconic as ever. One factor is that that back in 2000 I actually didn't have $25k in hand so the ability to finance the new Ford played into the equation......but the fact that I still hear this suggestion debated among car guys shows that we don't learn from history. As beautifully executed the new Mustang, Challenger, and Camaro are, in a few years (especially once the big three evolve the body styles) they will be considered used cars....NOT classics!

The phenomenon of an "instant classic" does exist, but its a very rare thing. There is an old notion among collectors that says as soon as something is made to be collectable, it is no longer collectable. For example, have you ever seen how many varieties of baseball cards are available today? They have every sort of special edition, limited edition, foil wrapped, hermetically sealed, holographic gimmick you can think of. They are bought by collectors (not kids) and are immediately stashed into secure collections. Will any of these new cards ever sell for the 2.8 Million that the 1909 Honus Wagner sold for? NO! Because those old cards were bought by kids (even though they were in cigarette packs) who enjoyed them (i.e. ruined them) eventually making the rare item even rarer.

So in summary, love your classic. Not because of its potential monetary value (I'll actually lambaste the notion of cars as investments at a later date) , but because it has already stood the test of time and it takes a special kind of person to own and appreciate it.

Remember when NASCAR was cool?

The Daytona 500 kicks off the 2013 NASCAR season in a month....but I don't care! First some eye candy and then my rant....

I grew up as an avid follower of NASCAR in the 80's. However, I have zero interest in current day NASCAR. What happened? I firmly believe that in its efforts to broaden the appeal of the spectacle (which I cannot fault them for), NASCAR ultimately alienated car guys. 

"Two decades ago everybody had their own unique cars," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president for competition and racing development. "Much of the sheet metal was out of the box from the factories and the dealerships, and you built them in a way to get your advantages however you could. You saw quite a menu of spoiler sizes and nose changes and a constant leapfrogging of technology to get an advantage. One car would run good at Michigan and then wouldn't run good at Daytona."

Everything Pemberton described in this quote is exactly why I used to like NASCAR....and it is missing from today's version of the sport.

Coupled with NASCAR's marketing machine keying in on the drivers (both their skills and personalities), the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt triggered a tremendous effort into improving driver safety (with amazing success). This ultimately culminated in the introduction of the generic race car dubbed the "Car of Tomorrow."  Without question, the COT accomplished many of NASCAR's safety goals, but it was also the final nail in the coffin in essentially removing the importance of the car, engineering and technology (all stuff I love) from the equation of determining a race's winner.

 

The crazy thing is I didn't even grow up in NASCAR's glory years (think winged warriors!). I picked it up in the mid 80's. But even then, the Monte Carlos and T-Birds were far more interesting than  today's sterile "Car of Tomorrow." Back then, we all knew people with a mid 80's G-body (Chevy Monte Carlo, Pontiac Grand Prix, Buick Regal, Olds Cutlass) and if you squinted when you looked at them they looked like their racing counterparts.  My brother's first car was a '83 Monte Carlo and we loved that it had race car DNA.  In the 80's we even got a taste of the homologation days as we saw quirky stuff hit the showroom like the Monte Carlo and Gram Prix Aerocoupes...

To me, the beginning of the end wasn't the "Car of Tomorrow."  The writing was on the wall with the introduction of the Chevy Lumina. The second a showroom product that was a unit body, front wheel drive, V6 (at best) automobile appeared on the track as a rear wheel drive, V8 powered race car I knew whatever remained of the illusion of 'stock car racing' was completely gone.  Then the Ford Taurus added insult to injury by proving the showroom variant didn't even have to have the same number of doors as the racing version.  At this point, manufactures don't even offer cars with push rod V8's (but they race them).

But there is a glimmer of hope (just a glimmer).  NASCAR has announced that it intends to reintroduce some diversity among the models being raced in 2013. Its a baby step but its just never going to be what it was. 

    

I will summarize my whole point in 5 words and 2 pictures:

This...

made this...

very cool.