AUTO RACING PACKAGE: Is NASCAR taking creativity away from teams?

NASCAR has made it clear that its boxy new Car of Tomorrow is practically untouchable when it comes to attempts at creativity by the teams.

With imbedded sensors, lasers to check on them, a new set of templates connected like a jigsaw puzzle and a steely determination by the sanctioning organization to keep the playing field level for all competitors, the big question is whether the arrival of the COT means the end to imagination in a sport known for its ingenuity.


Racing teams, particularly in NASCAR, always have taken pride in the fact that designers, mechanics and engineers have found ways to use the so-called gray areas on the cars to be creative and find at least a temporary advantage over other teams.

But the gray areas keep getting smaller and NASCAR is cracking down on even the smallest thing its inspectors see as a violation on its new car, seven years in development and intended to be safer, more competitive and less expensive to produce.

The new car, which will race 16 times this season, was scheduled to be blended into the schedule over a three-year period. But NASCAR has pushed it forward and the COT will run all 36 races in 2008.

Meanwhile, Chad Knaus and Steve Letarte, crew chiefs for reigning Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and four-time champion and current points leader Jeff Gordon, are serving the second week of a six-week suspension as the Cup teams head for Daytona Beach and Saturday night's Pepsi 400.

Two weeks ago at Sonoma, Calif., inspectors found illegal modifications to the front fenders of the two Chevrolets and NASCAR came down hard. Despite protests from Hendrick officials that the area modified was between the points where the template for that area is supposed to fit snugly, the two cars were held out of practice and qualifying on Friday at Sonoma and had to start from the rear of the field on Sunday.

The other shoe fell several days later when Knaus and Letarte were suspended and fined $100,000 each. The drivers also lost 100 points apiece.

These were the same penalties handed down several weeks earlier to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. after their COT was found to have illegal brackets on the rear wing of their No. 8 Chevrolet.

After NASCAR flagged Johnson and Gordon at Sonoma, Doug Duchardt, vice president of development for Hendrick, said, "We felt we understood fully the rules around the template. We felt that we could work between the points on the template, and it is now clear to us, and I think to everyone, that that is not acceptable.''

So where does that leave all the clever folks who work on these cars?

"They have taken almost all the creativity out of the bodies, which in my prior life was one of the biggest benefits. So that hurts a little bit,'' said Ford NASCAR field manager Ben Leslie, a former crew chief.

"The bodies are locked down pretty tight, almost locked down completely,'' he added. "The chassis is fairly tight. But there's still a little bit of latitude here and there. I think there's just been a shift. The creativity has to go into shocks, springs, bars, bump stops, pivot points and all of that stuff.''

But does that mean the excitement is gone for the people who work on these cars?

"I had a lot of enjoyment when I felt like I had thought of something that somebody else hadn't, meaning other crew chiefs and the rules makers,'' Leslie said.

"That's the job I was given. My car owner gave me the task of making the (No.) 6 car as fast as possible, and NASCAR gives their inspectors the task of making sure everybody's on a level playing field. Yeah, it takes some of the fun out of it. But some of it might have been getting out of hand.''

Team owner and former driver Richard Childress agrees that things might have been getting out of hand in manipulating the bodies of the cars in recent years.

"If you look at the current car, it had gotten so far out of the box - it's twisted and looked like it had been wrecked before the race started,'' Childress said.

"This (COT) is the car that NASCAR has given us and these are the set of rules and, even though I'm not in that job, it's still our job as competitors to beat everybody else in the garage area,'' he added. "You take pride in other areas now.''

John Darby, NASCAR's garage boss, doesn't believe the changes NASCAR is making should stifle creativity at all.

"I haven't seen the toolboxes get any smaller, which tells me there's still plenty of stuff to work on,'' Darby said. "The real fact of the matter is the ingenuity and the things like the car body, which is what we're talking about specifically, it's still there.

"The (rear) wing has got over 16 degrees of travel in it to tailor your rear downforce to whatever you need to do to balance the car. Your front splitter is adjustable. They have a pretty full selection of what wing end plates they can put on the car. Changing all of those things represents the same result as when you used to go home and cut a whole body off and change something.

"It's just a whole lot less work and a whole lot less expensive,'' Darby said.

Robbie Loomis, a former championship crew chief with Gordon and now a vice president at Petty Enterprises, said he believes the penalties to Knaus and Letarte were too harsh and that the key to the situation is more communication.

"We're going through a tough time because it's a transitional period,'' Loomis said. "Mainly, the communications from the teams to NASCAR has got to really get a lot stronger so that it's defined very clearly what a gray area is and what it isn't.''

Childress agreed with that, saying, "We all have to be on the same page and, sometimes, that just doesn't seem to be the way it is. We all, NASCAR and the teams, need to work on that.

"I still enjoy (the sport) but, today, the competition, the responsibility, the microscope we're under, it's so much greater than it was. It never gets easier.''

source : sportsillustrated.cnn.com

June car sales rise 8% to record

June car sales rise 8% to record
Ford's performance is flat and GM drops, but strong Canadian dollar gives automakers pricing power and DaimlerChrysler logs 24.1% gain year over year

Auto sales in Canada rose to a record high in June, posting a gain of nearly 8 per cent year over year, in advance of the summer travel season.

General Motors of Canada was the only one of the major automakers to log a sales decline last month from a year earlier, according to the industry data compilation released yesterday by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

In a note, Dennis DesRosiers described last month as the best June on record, and said it comes on the heels of record sales during May.

"The market is tracking at about 1.7 million units and we now have the possibility of record setting sales for the full year," he wrote.

Scotiabank economist Carlos Gomes said in a report that sales in June were above the annual 1.7 million figure for the third month in a row, and up from an average of 1.62 million in the first quarter.

"As in previous months, imported models led the way, soaring 15 per cent year-over-year and setting a record for June," said Gomes.

DaimlerChrysler logged a 24.1 per cent increase in sales while Ford rose 0.6 per cent. Honda and Toyota both logged double-digit increases.

GM sales were the only sour note, sliding 6.5 per cent in June, according to the DesRosiers data.

Overall sales were 169,200 units, up 7.6 per cent for June, and up 5.8 per cent for the first half of the year.

The surging Western Canadian economy helped boost the sales of light trucks, which jumped 11.9 per cent, while passenger cars increased by 4.2 per cent.

Market leader General Motors said it sold 41,860 units in June, as the company continued to back off from lease incentives and low-profit rental-fleet sales that inflated last year's numbers.

DaimlerChrysler Canada moved 22,029 units while Ford shifted 25,282 vehicles.

"Our outstanding June sales performance shows that Chrysler is clearly on a roll in Canada," said Reid Bigland, president and CEO of Chrysler Canada. "We are solidly in second place in the Canadian market and are seeing consistently strong retail sales, especially of our new, highly fuel-efficient vehicles like Dodge Caliber, Jeep Patriot, Jeep Compass and Chrysler Sebring."

DesRosiers said a number of positives are supporting the strong sales numbers for most automakers.

First, job growth in Canada is quite strong despite the loss of manufacturing jobs in Ontario, he said. And the resource economies in Western Canada are booming.

An examination of city by city sales last month show "there were about a dozen western cities that were up over 20 per cent over the same sales period from a year ago," DesRosiers said. "Now that's hot."

Another positive supporting sales is the strength of the Canadian dollar, which is giving many automakers some pricing power, he said.

Despite the strength in the market, Ford and Chrysler announced this week the re-introduction of big discounts and other incentives.

DesRosiers said the automakers launched the incentives because "they are trying to spruce up their performance." Among other auto companies, Toyota Canada sales were up 12 per cent to 17,256 units, including both Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

Honda Canada sold 12,737 Hondas and Acuras, up 17.9 per cent from June last year.

Its sales were fuelled by record Civic sales of 7,857 units, up 31 per cent, and by all-time record monthly sales of the Fit subcompact of 1,863 units, up 33 per cent.

Smaller car maker Nissan gained 34.8 per cent to 4,393 while Mazda rose 2 per cent to 8,884. Suzuki was up 25.5 per cent at 977.

South Korea's Hyundai recorded a 11.5 per cent increase to 6,801 and Kia jumped 13.2 per cent to 3,003.

Volkswagen was also ahead, up 29.2 per cent, to 2,924.

Higher end luxury vehicles were the only autos to see a major slide. Jaguar slipped 42 per cent to 112 while Porsche was down 1.6 per cent to 187. Yet BMW soared 43.2 per cent to 1,933.

source : www.thestar.com

August 5 San Diego Classic Car & Cycle Show & Swap

The San Diego Classic Car & Cycle Show & Swap has been serving Vehicle Hobbyist since 1990 with its Classic Car & Cycle Open Air Marketplace and Show. Qualcomm Stadium is the place where thousands go monthly to find great wheels and deals. There are always hundreds of classic and collectible vehicles in the Show & Sale area, plus acres of vendors selling thousands of parts and accessories in the Swap Meet area -- all at this open air event. In addition to the dozens of trophies and prizes awarded at these events, there will also be a distinctive "Best of Show" trophy with a $100 cash prize.

All the San Diego Auto Swap events are free for active military. Its their way of supporting our troops. Active military just need to show their ID to gain free entry. This offer is good for show and swap meet spaces also. Those in uniform will receive free refreshments.

The August 5 event is being dedicated to the Memory of Obie Oberlander, who recently passed away. Obie was a mainstay in the automotive collector community. He was inducted into the Street Rodders Hall of Fame, and was past President of the Over The Hill Gang, Car Club Council of Greater San Diego and held many other honorable positions in the car community. Obie was a constant supporter of San Diego Auto Swap events since they began. Obie will be missed.

The next San Diego Auto Swap will be held on Sunday, August 5 from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vendor spaces are only $30 (prepaid), to show or sale a car is just $15, cycles $10 and general admission is $5, with parking and kids under 13 free.

source : www.emediawire.com

August 5 San Diego Classic Car & Cycle Show & Swap

The San Diego Classic Car & Cycle Show & Swap has been serving Vehicle Hobbyist since 1990 with its Classic Car & Cycle Open Air Marketplace and Show. Qualcomm Stadium is the place where thousands go monthly to find great wheels and deals. There are always hundreds of classic and collectible vehicles in the Show & Sale area, plus acres of vendors selling thousands of parts and accessories in the Swap Meet area -- all at this open air event. In addition to the dozens of trophies and prizes awarded at these events, there will also be a distinctive "Best of Show" trophy with a $100 cash prize.

All the San Diego Auto Swap events are free for active military. Its their way of supporting our troops. Active military just need to show their ID to gain free entry. This offer is good for show and swap meet spaces also. Those in uniform will receive free refreshments.

The August 5 event is being dedicated to the Memory of Obie Oberlander, who recently passed away. Obie was a mainstay in the automotive collector community. He was inducted into the Street Rodders Hall of Fame, and was past President of the Over The Hill Gang, Car Club Council of Greater San Diego and held many other honorable positions in the car community. Obie was a constant supporter of San Diego Auto Swap events since they began. Obie will be missed.

The next San Diego Auto Swap will be held on Sunday, August 5 from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vendor spaces are only $30 (prepaid), to show or sale a car is just $15, cycles $10 and general admission is $5, with parking and kids under 13 free.

source : www.emediawire.com

August 5 San Diego Classic Car & Cycle Show & Swap

The San Diego Classic Car & Cycle Show & Swap has been serving Vehicle Hobbyist since 1990 with its Classic Car & Cycle Open Air Marketplace and Show. Qualcomm Stadium is the place where thousands go monthly to find great wheels and deals. There are always hundreds of classic and collectible vehicles in the Show & Sale area, plus acres of vendors selling thousands of parts and accessories in the Swap Meet area -- all at this open air event. In addition to the dozens of trophies and prizes awarded at these events, there will also be a distinctive "Best of Show" trophy with a $100 cash prize.

All the San Diego Auto Swap events are free for active military. Its their way of supporting our troops. Active military just need to show their ID to gain free entry. This offer is good for show and swap meet spaces also. Those in uniform will receive free refreshments.

The August 5 event is being dedicated to the Memory of Obie Oberlander, who recently passed away. Obie was a mainstay in the automotive collector community. He was inducted into the Street Rodders Hall of Fame, and was past President of the Over The Hill Gang, Car Club Council of Greater San Diego and held many other honorable positions in the car community. Obie was a constant supporter of San Diego Auto Swap events since they began. Obie will be missed.

The next San Diego Auto Swap will be held on Sunday, August 5 from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vendor spaces are only $30 (prepaid), to show or sale a car is just $15, cycles $10 and general admission is $5, with parking and kids under 13 free.

source : www.emediawire.com