24 Hr of Le Mans, 1 Hour in

The leading Audi R18, second overall to a Peugeot, just collided with a Ferrari and has caused yellow. The SpeedTV Corvette is right in front of the #1 Audi, providing great reverse chase cam view of the car.

To follow Le Mans on line, use SpeedTV Corvette Streaming, follow Michelin Le Mans Live website, or download the “Audi Sport” app on iPhone.

As a footnote: The Corvette is being passed left and right; sure by the LMPs, but also BMWs and Porsches. Might just be because of the way they are streaming the cockpit view. Still, allez-y!

Volt vs Leaf

While they don’t compete head to head, this plug-in hybrid vs pure electric is a philosophical war indicative of future mass market direction. But philosophical wars tend to favor the underdog, so the Leaf holds the lightning bolt.

Predication for 2011 Le Mans

Audi wins with their R18, with which they have already won the qualifying.

BMW 1-series needs a better box to be in

While I have always been a strong defender for BMW styling, being huge fans of all generations of the Z4 and the 3-series, and even at time enamored with vulgarity of the X6, the 1-series – in all its iterations – have looked “askew” to me. The image above is the new 1-series and it looks uncomfortable. The car is trying to “grow” out of its sheetmetal, but is forcefully constrained by design (aka by marketing). The BMW styling scales up wonderfully for the 5-series and the 7-series, but it does not look right being small. They need to come up with something that scales better. Maybe look at the MINI for inspiration?

Make electric cars look like gasoline cars

Despite the lack of combustion engine and its associated heat, electric cars should keep the radiator grill looks on cars. They make cars look better, and better looking cars are more desirable cars.

Sure, radiator grills are not the most aerodynamic elements, so design a better one. But big gaping holes up front are what Rolls-Royce and Audi and BMW and all classic cars are known for.

Automotive Racing Triple Crown – All the right numbers

Indianapolis 500, Speedway, IN, USA. Sunday May 29, 2011.

• Fixed distance: 500 miles (200 laps).
• Purpose-built course. (“Indianapolis Motor Speedway”)
• Since: 1911.
• Lap length: 2.5 miles.
• Typical lap time: 1:12.
• 2010 Winner: Dario Franchitti.
• Time taken: 3 hrs 5 min 37 secs.
• Average speed: 162 mph.

Monaco F1. Sunday May 29, 2011.

• Fixed distance: 162 miles (78 laps).
• Road course (“Circuit de Monaco”).
• Since: 1929.
• Lap length: 2.1 miles.
• Typical lap time: 1:15.
• 2010 Winner: Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault).
• Time taken: 1 hr 50 min 13 secs.
• Average speed: 88.4 mph.

24 Hr of Le Mans, France. Saturday June 11-12, 2011.

• Fixed time: 24 hours.
• Road course. (“Circuit de la Sarthe”)
• Since: 1923.
• Lap length: 8.469 miles.
• Typical lap time: 3:20
• 2010 Winner: Audi R15 TDI Plus
• Distance covered: 397 laps / 3,362 miles
• Average speed: 140 mph.

Nissan makes the Leaf, which is not a Volt

Nissan makes the Leaf electric car. Yet, I have realized that I have inadvertently yet repeatedly made the mistake of calling this car the Nissan Volt* (sic). This must mean that the Chevy Volt branding worked for me. Even when I refer to its contemporary competitor, I evoke the Volt name. Volt, in turns, evokes – to me – an image of not just electricity, but also a powerful surge of that. It makes the car sound like an exciting thing to push to the limit, while enjoying the benefits of its electric power.

The Leaf name, however, does little of that to me. Instead, it brings to mind spring, fresh air, prettiness. It’s nice and all, but I want something a bit raw in my salad.

What is MPGe from the EPA? Measuring electric cars.

MPG is the number of miles to be driven per gallon of traditional fuel. Examples of fuels measured in gallons include gasoline, diesel, ethanol. Of course, one gallon of gasoline costs different from one gallon of diesel. Therefore, cars that use different fuels cannot have their operating costs or efficiencies judged based purely on its MPG number. For example, in the US, diesel is almost always more expensive than gasoline, but diesel cars always get higher MPG.

Also keep in mind that different fuels may require different maintenance procedures that vary in cost and effort.

MPGe stands for MPG-equivalent. This is used for all cars that can operate in purely electric form. This not only includes purely electric cars such as the Tesla Roadster and the Nissan Leaf, but also any hybrids that can run on only the electric motors, like Toyota Prius and Chevy Volt.

Typically, to measure electricity usage, the unit is kWh (kilowatt hour), which is what the utility companies charge for usage at home. However, since kWh is not directly comparable against MPG, the EPA created MPGe, less to indicate operating cost but more to indicate environmental impact.

Of course, no single number can capture real life scenarios in which battery conditions may vary, road conditions may vary, and driving habits may vary. In an ideal world, we each would own a couple of cars — “pick the right tool for the job”. If that sounds too far fetched, we should find the appropriate car that fill 80% of our needs, rather than a car that can do 100% but sucks at everything it does.

For more information, refer to EPA fueleconomy.gov and Wikipedia.

Lexus LFA and Nissan GT-R – Culture clash

Both Toyota and Nissan have their marquee cars on the market. Both the Lexus LFA and Nissan GT-R are high-performance automobiles from Japanese consumer car manufacturers, both designed to attain the highest of technical standards and utmost brutal strengths. Yet, the way these two are marketed cannot be more different.

The LFA is a present for the well-to-do, the true connoisseurs of supercars, who strive for exclusivity and prestige. And with such high price tag naturally comes great quality, and these vehicles will be trophies in clinically clean garages, occasionally enjoying some free-revs on exotic manicured race circuits, finished off with a night time victory lap in the streets of Monaco. It is telling that Toyota decided to brand it under Lexus, its luxury brand. This, together with the IS-F, an obvious attempt to elevate the brand from people careers to truer weekend racers, to be mentioned in the same breath as its German counterparts by keeping company with Prancing Horses.

On the other hand, when the GT-R first was released, many potential owners lamented that it was branded under Nissan, instead of its luxury flag Infiniti. People who were eager to own the supercar were also longing for supercar owner treatment. Yet, GT-R, following in its predecessor’s footsteps, respects its roots. It is a supercar for the rest of us. It is Porsche 911 Turbo performance for the family man who has a little extra money but cannot stand the minivan. Anyone can make a car fast, but within a tight budget makes the GT-R a miracle, even 4 years after its been introduced.

What went wrong with BMW 5 GT

Reports emerged today that the BMW 5 GT (F07) four-door coupe is faring alarmingly bad in the market place. This is supposed to be a sexy, sleek, yet practical, sensible car for the sophisticated. It’s a 5 series with a sexy sloping roof. It’s an X6 for the family guy. What could go wrong?

Well, despite the roof, it isn’t sexy. What makes X6 works – its raw, vulgar betrayal of the BMW stereotype – does not work in this smaller package. It’s not vulgar enough. It needs shooting flames, and spinner wheels, and a gold plated exhaust. And let’s also add a sky high wing for “aerodynamics”. But as it is, it’s a briefcase of a car.

Do be on the look-out for 2011 BMW 1 Series M Coupe. Mm.