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Archive for October, 2013

5 Reasons Why Mark Webber is Better off Without F1

As we all know, Mark Webber is at the end of this year leaving Formula 1.

After more than a decade in the business (with a large and loyal following, albeit minimal success) he is off to drive for Porsche in the World Endurance Championship in what may well career wise be an excellent move.

F1 is in many ways a stagnant industry – here are 5 reasons Mark Webber is better off without it and out of the business altogether.

The Money

Not really anything to do with getting more of it – to be honest, it’s more the other way around. We all know the money in F1 is silly…the sponsor’s, the business deals, the parties, the girls….it all adds up to a lucrative but otherwise fairly boring and ‘safe’ environment

The Racing

If F1 is a safe environment both on and off the track, the world of Porsche will seem like a breath of fresh air and the most rebellious thing Webber has ever done in comparison. The racing will be intense and the pressure in many ways greater than in F1…something Webber will undoubtedly relish.

The Back to Basics Approach

Arguably Webber will ultimately benefit in the Porsche Cup because he’s a proper man. Without taking it away from any if the other F1 drivers out there…it’s safe to assume that because Webber is the oldest he also has the most distrust of the technical wizardry that rules the roost these days. I may be wrong, but….

The Lifestyle

When anyone gets to a certain age, with responsibilities, they like to take a step back and admit that family comes first. F1 doesn’t give you that option…and the alone time living out of hotels must get wearing. Things won’t automatically change at Porsche, but they’ll certainly have a different outlook on the work/life balance.

Finding Success

It’s safe to say that Webber has had less success than expected in the past couple of years. Ultimately, without motivation and the mental strength to carry on in the industry, success won’t be there, and he’s far better off finding an avenue to pursue which makes him feel passionate about racing again.

Any more reasons you can think of? Don’t forget to let us know on TwitterFacebook or Google +!

Mark Webber Leaving F1

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A two door car with a huge boot: it's goodbye to the ute.

News released on the 27th October comes as a bitter blow for those that like their two door cars with a huge boot; Holden has decided, along with Ford, that the humble yet much loved ute will cease to be from 2016. To blame are a number of factors but chief amongst them appears to be our free trade agreement with Thailand, where the majority of our traybacked vehicles are sourced from.

Coupe utilityThe “coupe utility” was born right here in Australia; the well worn story has it that Ford designer Lew Bandt developed the vehicle in response to a request to Ford Oz HQ, asking for a vehicle that could take the wife to church on Sunday and the pigs to market on a Monday. This was in 1934, well before any American based designs and ahead of Holden, which released its own ute in 1951, on the 48-215 chassis. The ute has been a staple part of the Aussie carscape ever since, in two and four form and in two or four wheel drive configuration. Both Ford and Holden tried the high rise look, to limited but cultish success, 1950-48-215 Holden-ute 001but it’s been a slow decline for the ute.

As one in five new vehicles sold in Australia are sourced from Thailand, with under one in ten vehicles delivered sourced from an Australian manufacturer, the numbers simply no longer stack up for Holden and Ford (Toyota and Mitsubishi never built a ute but Chrysler did) and with the mooted change to a front wheel drive large car for both, there’s no plans for a ute. As it stands, the Holden Commodore ute is down by a frightening 31 percent in year to date figures whilst the VF sedan and wagon are up by 15 percent with the irony being the ute is effectively based on the wagon design….Since the beginning of the year there’s been over 100, 000 Thailand sourced 4WD utes compared to 4100 Holden and 3500 Ford utes.

FG uteThe situation Australia faces can be said to be dire when it comes to local manufacturing; VF utethe Button car plan is seen as the root cause now for the decline of our car industry and with manufacturers outside of Australia utilising a zero percent tariff costbase in Thailand, there’s been no real protection for Ford and Holden. Come 2016 it will be a sad goodbye to our two door car with a huge boot, the ute. http://credit-n.ru/kreditnye-karty.html

Range Rover Tackles The Empty Quarter: Should We Be Impressed?

…Boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

P.B. Shelley, “Ozymandias”

The Empty Quarter, also known as Rub al’Khali, stretches across a large extent of the Arabian Peninsula. It’s the desert of legend, all sand dunes and shifting sands and the Khamsin sandstorms.  It’s a land of scorpions, nomads and mirages.  There might even be a lost city or two hidden deep beneath the sands.  Here, the stars look down on an empty landscape, like they have done for millennia, the only constant in a harsh and unforgiving world…

It’s also the part of the world which has the richest oil reserves, and has kept the petrol dollars pouring into Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Yemen and Oman.

camels-magi-star-christmas-storyIt’s in this environment that the Land Rover/Jaguar group wants to set a new record.  Using a standard production Range Rover Sport, they’re going to try crossing this desert in record time. It’s going to be 1000 km of hot dry driving in terrain that’s usually tackled by specialist sand machines. Behind the wheel will be a Spanish veteran of the Dakar Rally by the name of Moi Torrallardona who’s used to tackling this sort of terrain.

The record attempt is nicely timed so that, if all goes planned, the new Range Rover Sport that did the crossing will turn up as the Dubai Motor Show starts, all ready for interviews, photos and general oohing and aahing.

To motorists in the UK, where Jaguar/Land Rover is based, this desert crossing sounds very romantic, adventurous and exciting, along the lines of the first few paragraphs of this article (which were quite fun to write). Will they do it or won’t they? Can they cross a desert that’s the size of France?  To them, it’s an epic struggle of man and machine versus towering sand dunes, trackless wastes and scorching heat.

However, I’m not so sure if we ought to be quite as impressed over in our part of the world. We’ve got a larger sand dune desert in the form of the Simpson and the largest sand dune to boot, and they’re just as trackless as the Empty Quarter. And we’ve got them all in one country rather than four.  We’ve even got the camels.  And a few of our park rangers probably have more experience in driving through sandy desert conditions than Señor Torrallardona. OK, top marks to Jag/Landrover for an attempt to cross the Empty Quarter in record time in a production vehicle rather than some customised thingummy.  It’s a good road test to see if the new Range Rover will be suitable for these conditions.  Those interested in getting a vehicle for Outback operations may be interested in the media releases from Jag/Land Rover on November 4th.

Or you could just take a look at the results from what could be called the “Down Under Dakar”: the Australasian Safari. This is an annual 4×4 (and dirt bike) race that’s usually double the distance that Range Rover’s attempt, and has been running for the last 28 years. A quick peek at this year’s results reveals not a single Range Rover or Land Rover in the finalists, but plenty of Toyota Hilux, Nissan Patrol, Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Pajero examples, with a few other vehicles thrown in for good measure.

OK, Range Rover, there’s your new challenge! http://credit-n.ru/potreb-kredit.html

Driving with Dad

I am not usually someone to point out the obvious, but there are times where necessity overrides my nature. Driving is one of the great pleasures of the modern age. Nothing compares to the liberation and joy we feel behind the wheel of our very own dream machine. We may not realise it, but driving gives us all a surge of confidence. We have the control. We have the power. We own the road.

…well I thought I did. When I am behind the wheel, I am the Lord of my machine. Until of course, the form that materialises in the passenger seat is that of my dad.

It would only now seem fair that I provide some context to this seemingly confusing statement. At the end of the day, this is either a problem suffered by us all, or it may just be me living in my own world of eccentric dazzlement. First, it is time to take a holiday into the dark depths of the past.

When I was a young lad, my father defined what life was for me. As with any child, he was my dad, friend, hero, you know, all that classic cheesy stuff. One of the most important things however was the fact that he was my ticket to the rest of the world. Wherever I needed to go, he was my ride. He was my taxi driver, my fountain of driving knowledge, and of course my ride home. As much as I have always been an independent little so and so, there were times when a bus just would not cut it.

When the ripe old age of 17 came and slapped me in my confused little face, the time had come for me to learn to drive. But that is another story. A year later I had my own license and very quickly, my own car. And with that, my dad’s services were no longer needed. It was at this time that everything began to change. A deep grumble in the very fabric of my family. A power shift turned everything I once knew on its head.

The worst part was how it crept up on me. My innocence shattered forever. Suddenly he asked me for a lift. Everything I once knew had changed forever.

The only way I can attempt to explain just how terrifying this felt is by means of a comparison. Let us just take a second. Imagine if you will your ultimate music hero. Whether it is your Beatles, your Queen or your Rolling Stones does not matter. But imagine if you will performing for them. The very thought of that sends a pang of terror to my bones. And driving my dad absolutely anywhere is that exact same feeling.

I would like to think that 99.9% of the time that I am actually a very good driver. But as soon as my dad sits down next to me in my car, I turn into a pile of brain dead bone and tissue. There was one time where I literally forgot how to drive for a good few minutes. How he did not notice I will never quite know. But for that I am massively grateful.

…yet here I am writing this very blog with the full knowledge that he will get to reading this. I really did not think this through at all now did I?

Driver

I really wish I could explain it. But there is something about driving a man who I respect so much that does bring the nerves in the truck load. I have been having to do this now for around 4 years and even now I still struggle to keep my cool. There are times when my dad does actually compliment my driving, but even so I still feel that he is just being nice.

I really hope that it is not just me who has these feelings. Where better to share my thoughts than somewhere as great as Private Fleet.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any thoughts!

Follow me @lewisglynn69

Keep Driving People!

Peace and Love! http://credit-n.ru/vklady.html