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Archive for April, 2014

BTCC 2014 Review: Unpredictable Weather and Titanic Battles at Donington Park

Following a volcanic return to form, the monumental BTCC machine thundered on to Donington Park. The first three rounds at Brands Hatch were filled with truly top class touring car action. Some of the biggest talking points included the surprising pace of the Honda Yuasa team, who were challenging for the top 3 places having claimed they would struggle. There was of course the stellar drive by reigning champion Andrew Jordan, taking two race wins, alongside Jason Plato who proved the MG was as competitive as ever. Further down the grid, Rob Austin had a legendary drive from the back of the grid, while also after a string of bad luck, returning legend Alain Menu charged from 16th to 5th in the final race of the day. On the other hand, Giovanardi and the rest of the Ford team lacked pace, while Marc ‘the man who beat Button’ Hynes failed to impress after a pre-season filled with hype and seemingly empty anticipation.

The championship moved on Donington…

  • Were we going to see the Honda domination continue?
  • Can Rob Austin finally shake off his bad luck and score some consistent results?
  • Can ‘The Man Who Beat Button’ finally live up to his name?
  • Will the Fords find pace and performance?
  • And those pesky eBay BMWs, will they sneak the top spot again?
And its go go go for Donington Park!

And its go go go for Donington Park! Image Credit: BTCC.net

Qualifying

It must be said that qualifying revealed similar results to that of Brands Hatch; the MG and Honda team were colelctively the fastest teams, followed closely by the ever improving Team BMR cars. I was however surprised by ‘The Man Who Beat Button’; Marc Hynes bagged himself a 10th place in front of the developing Ford of Giovanardi. The best Rob Austin could manage was a lowly 16th place, nearly a whole second off the pace.

It would seem the field was shaping up for the year. Was the result going to be as predictable?

Race Day

As race day rolled around, the drivers were greeted with one of the most exciting things about British motorsport; unpredictable weather conditions. The forecast predicted heavy rain to dampen proceedings, and in some ways this was an accurate statement. With the first race drawing closer, the track was indeed wet but it was showing signs of getting considerably more dry. Having planted his MG on pole position, Plato shot off into a lead that he was destined to keep throughout the race. Considering his worries regarding reliability after the first round at Brands Hatch, it would seem those demons have long since been vanquished. To describe the MG outfit as dominant in the first race would be an understatement.

This processional display was merely repeated in the second race of the day, although this time it was Sam Tordoff who took the first place honours. In both of the first two races it was very much a Honda, BMW and MG party as it usually is. But, considering this involves 8 different cars essentially, it still provides some close racing. The first two races most definitely proved that the Honda team has little to worry about regarding the performance of its new estate racer; the Civic Tourers were easily able to keep up with the leaders and challenge for the top places.

The reverse grid system usually makes for an interesting final race of the day. Sadly, the grid for the third race merely reversed the BMWs, MGs and Hondas, not really changing anything from the norm. But that most definitely did not mean that the race was in any way boring. The track had finally dried out as the cars took to the grid for the third race, and just like at Brands Hatch, Colin Turkington in his BMW shot off into a lead that many thought he would keep throughout. Alas, what actually happened was a race with one of THE most thrilling conclusions you could ever ask for. Gordon Shedden was on an absolute flyer having started 4th on the grid; he had got past his team mate Matt Neal and MG driver Jason Plato and as the race began to enter its final few moments he went all hell for leather.

Usually, gaps between drivers are measured by fractions of seconds, but in the case of Shedden you could visibly see his power burst up behind Turkington on the last lap. As they exited coppice onto the final main straight, Shedden caught Turkington’s eBay shaped slipstream and, living up to his name, Flash went for it. He pulled out of the slipstream and attempted a monumental move around the outside of Shedden going into the chicane. Needless to say, it wasn’t as successful as Shedden had probably imagined it would be. The pair made contact and flew off into the infield at the chicane. Taking a more rally-based route, Shedden exited the corner in front to take the first ever win for an estate car, while an annoyed Turkington was left wondering where it all went wrong.

I was less on the edge of my seat and more on the floor shouting at my monitor. It is overtaking like that that makes me love the BTCC as much as I do. Turkington thought he had the race sewn up, to only succumb to the legendary drive of ‘Flash’ Gordon on the final corner of the final lap. The magnitude of excellence shown by that final corner flourish gave me flashbacks of one of the most famous finishes to any motor race; the final round of the 1992 BTCC season. 3 drivers, 1 title. Final 3 laps. I could explain it, or you could just watch this.

Shedden and Turkington conclude their last lap skirmish with a final corner coming together. Image Credit: BTCC.net

Shedden and Turkington conclude their last lap skirmish with a final corner coming together. Image Credit: BTCC.net

Controversy Over Race 3 Result

Following the epic conclusion to the race, Turkington and the eBay team launched an appeal against the victory of Gordon Shedden. They argued that because Shedden had cut the track, he had gained an unfair advantage and by the rules set forth by the championship, had to give the place back. This is especially relevant because 2014 is seeing the harsher enforcement of track limits; if a car takes more than 2 wheels off the track at any corner, they may be given a penalty, having been deemed to have gained an advantage. I just think it is circuit organizers trying to cut costs on track management, but maybe I am but a cynic. Who knows.

The appeal was over ruled, and I believe that this was the right decision. First of all, the notion that Shedden gained an advantage by cutting the track would be valid if it wasn’t for the fact that Turkington too had to go off track as a result of the corner collision. Some would say that Shedden’s move was harsh, but technically speaking Turkington did not have to shut the door. When you watch the replays, it is clear that the overtake came as a result of nothing more than a racing incident.

Finally, this is touring cars not Formula One. It has always been a sport full of rubbing, scraping and spins, usually because of the intense nature of the championship. Minus the Giovanardi era of the BTCC where the drivers resorted to bullying tactics to get the place, incidents have never really been intentional and just the result of raw motorsport. One of the reasons I love the BTCC is the absence of politics; F1 in recent years has been crippled with accusations, investigations and stewards inquiries, resulting in post race penalties. The BTCC is about the driver, the team and the car coming together in the ultimate theatre of competition, and nothing more. Politics has taken over the rest of our lives, so can we not just have one politics free haven in the BTCC?

The final race was a historic first victory for an Estate in the BTCC. Volvo would be proud. Image Credit: BTCC.net

The final race was a historic first victory for an Estate in the BTCC. Volvo would be proud. Image Credit: BTCC.net

Donington Drama Explained

The Cost of all that Carnage

As is often the case with those Touring Car terrors, Donington Park was not without incident. I would not want to be the accountant of United Autosport or Rotek Racing after seeing the state of James Cole’s and Robb Holland’s cars in race two. After a coming together with Audi’s Robb Holland, the pair went shooting off the soaking track at Redgate and Cole’s car was absolutely ruined. It says a great deal about the safety of these modern machines that he managed to climb out the car without injury. Neither could place the blame on each other; both were attempting to avoid a coming together involving Austin, Stockton and Clarke.

Speaking of Austin, the great and wonderful Rob had another weekend filled with bad luck. In the first race, he made a gamble to change onto intermediate tyres on the drying track, but after a lengthy pit stop and too little of an advantage all he could manage was a solitary point for fastest lap. Race two saw poor Austin spin thanks to a coming together by Stockton and Clarke, and then finally the third race he was rather rear ended by Tom Ingram which led him to retire. Speaking to Touring Car Times, Austin feels that once again he has lost out in a car that should be competitive; he remarked,

There has been some moronic driving out there from some people which has affected both me and Hunter.

It seems that some remnants of the Giovanardi era remain after all…

And then there was Alain Menu, who had mixed fortunes across the weekend. He qualified an amazing 6th, only to finish 13th in race one. In race two, after minor contact with another driver his car went onto the grass and shot down the hill and across the track; the wet grass provided little traction for the Swiss spinner. His out of control car shot into the path of the rest of the field, who all did a phenomenal job avoiding him. Of all these people, my admiration goes out to Chris Stockton who managed to avoid the flying Menu by mere inches without really lifting off. That takes the kind of balls that only a racing driver possesses. In the case of both of Menu and Stockton, I would imagine they were very much needing a change of underwear after that, and rightly so!

Both Cole and Holland walked away from this high speed wreckage with nothing more than some bumps and bruises. Photo Credit: BTCC.net

Both Cole and Holland walked away from this high speed wreckage with nothing more than some bumps and bruises. Photo Credit: BTCC.net

Drives of the Day

After an inspired qualifying drive by ‘The Man Who Beat Button’, Mr Hynes was looking good to finally prove his pre-season hype and put in some stellar performances. In the first race he got himself a strong 11th place finish, which in a field of 31 cars is no easy feat. Perhaps I was wrong after all. As it turns out, his success was short lived. He finished the second race in 23rd, only to then not finish the third race at all. I am still seeing the mistakes usually associated with inexperienced drivers. But he will get there I’m sure. Eventually!

On the other hand, after a quiet first race weekend at Brands Hatch in the BTCC, Glynn Geddie in the United Autosport Avensis forced himself into the spotlight at Donington. Gaining significant finishes of 17th then a 13th, he is showing the growing potential of his new BTCC team. Similarly, Matt Jackson and even Giovanardi are starting to find pace in their Airwaves Fords. Jackson managed a 4th place in the final race of the day. Are we finally seeing the return of Ford to former glories?

Remember after Brands Hatch where Jason Plato said it was impossible to drive from the back of the grid to a top 10 finish? Well if anyone was going to prove him wrong it was going to be his former Williams Renault team mate Alain Menu. After his horrifying moment in race two, Menu drove up to a storming 9th by the end of the final race of the day. This man deserves a race win soon. If only he can sort out his first two race performances he will be on for a high championship finish this year. This is why Menu is the ultimate driver.

Finally, there was my favourite Squelch (Dan Welch), who finally returned to the championship after missing the first round at Brands Hatch. He is definitely showing promise with a 19th and two 21st finishes. His car is still very much in development so it shows exciting potential for the rest of the year. I would love nothing more than to see Squelch on the podium. He definitely deserves it!

After narrowly missing vehicular chaos with Menu, Chris Stockton drove like a true superstar and was fighting for high places. Image Credit: BTCC.net

After narrowly missing vehicular chaos with Menu, Chris Stockton drove like a true superstar and was fighting for high places. Image Credit: BTCC.net

Power to the Max: Chris has been Stocking up on Talent

Of all the drives over the weekend, I must say I was most impressed with Chris Stockton in his Chevrolet. At Brands Hatch, it is fair to say that I didn’t really have much of an opinion of him at all. He was just one of the drivers battling for position at the bottom end of the field. Well, needless to say he must want my attention because since the races at Donington, he fast became one of my drivers of the weekend. Looking at the results alone (24th, DNF and 19th) you would not have thought he was anything too impressive, but when you watch him in the races over the weekend you will see the transformation that has taken place.

The Power Maxxed Chevrolet and Stockton put in a truly inspired charge through the field, and throwing caution to the wind when it came to passing the out of control Menu. Stockton was sadly plagued by the fierce competition of the other drivers which did drop him back, but he pushed none the less. He is definitely climbing his way up the ranks, and at this rate he will be hitting top 10s in the next few race weekends.

Championship positions after Donington Park:

1

Andrew Jordan

Pirtek Racing

87

2

Jason Plato

MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save

87

3

Gordon Shedden

Honda Yuasa Racing

86

4

Colin Turkington

eBay Motors

84

5

Matt Neal

Honda Yuasa Racing

79

6

Sam Tordoff

MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save

57

7

Rob Collard

eBay Motors

56

8

Mat Jackson

Airwaves Racing

38

9

Aron Smith

Chrome Edition Restart Racing

32

10

Tom Ingram

Speedworks Motorsport

27

 

After his god-like drive through the field in the final race, Alain Menu now leads the Jack Sears trophy (which is worked out based on number of overtakes throughout the season) with 42 points, with the two Robs (Austin and Collard) tied on second with 34.

It may have only been two rounds but its needless to say that the 2014 BTCC championship is shaping up to be one of the most competitive seasons in recent years. And with the BTCC menace moving onto Thruxton this weekend, who knows what will happen..

Donington was one of the best weekends of racing I have seen in a long time, in any series. It had everything from unpredictability, to champion drives to all or nothing moves for ultimate victory. What more could you ask for?

Both returning champions, Menu and Giovanardi have said of all tracks on the calendar they are most excited to return to Thruxton. Fast. Flat Out. Fearless.

Follow me on Twitter @lewisglynn69 for live updates across the weekend!

Keep Driving People!

Peace and Love! http://credit-n.ru/offers-zaim/joymoney-srochnye-online-zaymi.html

Duelling Turbos: Kia Pro_Cee'd GT and Fia 500C Abarth Esseesse

Fiat Abarth right front

Pro_Cee'd profileTwo households, both alike in dignity…..the opening line to Shakespeare’s evergreen “Romeo and Juliet” applies equally to two wonderful turbocharged vehicles A Wheel Thing squired for a week: the mental Fiat 500 Abarth Esseesse and Kia’s sublimely potent Pro_Cee’d GT.

Engine wise there’s not much in it size wise, 1.4L under the Abarth’s pert bonnet and 1.6L for the Kia’s scalloped cover. The compact Fiat finds 118kw and a healthy 230Nm of torque while Kia throws out 150kW and a more than useful 265Nm. Impressively, that figure is on tap from 1750 to 4500 revs, meaning even in sixth gear (manual only at this stage, a smart move to attract proper drivers), a gentle (well, maybe 2012-Fiat-500-Abarth-enginenot so gentle nudge) of the loud pedal at freeway speeds sees the inside of a jail cell in seconds. The test car from Fiat came with a five speed auto, with a somewhat counterintuitive push button gear selector (1 for the actual drive, R for reverse, N for neutral and A/M for the box or you to do the work via the flappy paddles) and an excessively jerky change. Under full acceleration, the Abart slingshots forward with alacrity, with a measure of torque steer pulling the tiny car off to the left. Fiat Abarth consoleThere is a system Pro_Cee'd enginecalled Torque Transfer Control which minimises this and it works pretty well. There’s joy to be had by driving the Abarth hard; the sound. Oh dear deity, the sound. A combination of banshee, lion roar and porn film, the quad tipped exhaust emits noise of the most beautiful kind for such a car in its class. There’s a rasp, a braaaaarp! as the gears change (shaking the passengers back and forth as it does so) and when in fifth, Fiat Abarth dashtakes a deep breath before farting fire and and brimstone when the loud (and in this case most definitely loud) pedal is given its instructions. Pro_Cee'd dash 2Punt it into corners, there’s a growl from the exhaust as the transmision changes down bt the slightly higher seating position leaves the body’s COG (centre of gravity) higher than in the lower slung Kia, with the brain wondering at extra angle in a turn. The Kia, on the other hand, is more restrained in the aural department but manages to break the laws of physics as the horizon suddenly appears in your lap. Pro_Cee'd noseWith the dash display a switchable TFT screen, displaying either a normal speedometer or a digital readout with torque and boost pressure, numbers Pro_Cee'd dash 1change quicker than a farmer slams a beer on a hot day. The slick gear lever, a perfectly weighted clutch pedal, a free spinning engine and that mountain of torque form a perfect storm, launching the Pro-Cee’d GT cleanly off the line, a muted yet sprited buzz from the 1.6L, with more noise from the wind flow over the driver’s outside mirror than anything, the Pro_Cee'd rearshort throw change snapping delightfully through the gate as zero to oh myyyyyyyyyyyyy arrives in an eyeblink, even in top gear. There’s the barest tug at the tiller from torque steer as the suspension firms up (sometimes being a touch too jiggly, needing a little more initial compliance) abosrbing most of the imperfections on the road. In contrast, the Fiat’s short suspension and rubber band thick tyres find a five cent piece and enlarge it to a football. Steering in both is sharp, precise, with the 500’s communicating harder bumps with more definition, thanks to the super short travel Fiat Abarth roofsuspension and tyres. There’s a surprising lack of wind noise in the Abarth, over the cloth roof, but naturally is noticeable when semi retracted. The good thing here is being able to listen to that burbling exhaust, all snap crackle pop of it.

Pro_Cee'd right rear quarterBoth share a common body shape, a three door hatch configuration, although in vastly different proportions. The Abarth is a short, squat, rounded, almost eggshell profile; the Pro_Cee’d, the very first of its lineage in Australia, is perhaps more of the traditional hatch style. There’s a long bonnet flowing into a steeply angled windscreen before terminating in a taut and pert bum. Fiat throws in a full retracting cloth roof for the Abarth, programmed in a three or four stop routine whilst the Pro_Cee’d came sans sunroof.
Fiat Abarth left profileThe only hard edges on the Abarth are on the shutlines; it’s near impossible to find a Pro_Cee'd wheelstraight line apart from the doors and bonnet. The GT is much the same, even the swage line from hawkeye headlight to protuberant tail light is soft edged. The Abarth has warpaint that clearly identifies its intent, displayed on both flanks plus a couple of vents in the front bumper. The Kia has the new quad LED driving lights and two cornering lamps, bright to start then fade as the car straightens. Looks cool but the real worth is questionable. The petite Fiat rides 12 spoke, 17 inch, cast aluminuim wheels, painted white and wrapped in Michelin rubber. Each vehicle gets red brake calipers and both haul down with alacrity when the non-go pedal is needed. The Kia gets grippy Michelins also, 225/40s on 18s that look fantastic in grey and machined alloy.

Interiors on both are subtle and understated; sports seats (GT printed on the Kia’s), comfortable, cloth and leather; grippy steering wheels Pro_Cee'd interior 2with piano black on the GT’s matching the plastic surrounding the dials Fiat Abarth interior(the GT’s needs to be thicker), the Sport button mounted dash top in the Fiat (leave it on, Normal mode is MUCH less fun with no overboost), a perhaps somewhat restrained console look for the Kia with cleanly marked controls, with the Abarth retaining the signature circular look of the 500. An oddity in the Kia with the dual zone climate control, to me, if a light is lit on a button I would think it means both zones are controlled via one dial. In this case it means the zones are separate and that’s counter intuitive. Room in the Kia is good, with two kids, two adults and reasonable cargo space (380L seats up); not unexpectedly, the Fiat struggles in cargo space and back seat room, with barely enough leg room for two kids. The GT has wide opening doors however the lower seating position makes it somewhat harder to lever a body from the superb sports seat. The lack Pro_Cee'd bootof extra glass topside does make Fiat Abarth bootthe GT a little claustrophobic with its all black interior while the Fiat’s folding roof takes getting topless to a new level. Neither were fitted with satnav, with the Slovakian buit Kia (yes, they do build outside of Korea) not having an Australian compatible setup. Soundwise the Fiat was fitted with that well known (cough) Interscope setup whilst the Korean came with a bespoke installation; quality in the Abarth was surprisingly good, with decent bass, even with the roof down. Pro_Cee'd taillightThe Kia’s didn’t get a huge workout but did sound mostly ok. What was notable about the view from the Kia’s seat was how reflective the inside of the windscreen is; even with a largely matt black interior it was reflected and was definitely distracting. A non reflective coating for the inside would be MOST handy.

Quite frankly, there is a market for both cars and there’s appeal from each. The Abarth Esseesse has that wonderful, snarly exhaust; the Pro_Cee’d GT has immense driveability. Economy from the small Italian is touted as 6.5L/100km…it’s a small tank, not much bigger than a Fiat Abarth fullroofcan of soft drink at 35L and “proper driving” saw closer to over 8L/100. Kia lobs a 53L tank into the GT, with a claimed 7.4L/100 combined. A Wheel Thing saw that but only on a long freeway run. On a day to day basis though, the GT takes the Abarth to town; a fluid gear change, the interior room, Pro_Cee'd seatsthe immense useability of the engine score the goals. For A Wheel Thing, the Kia takes the points however the the Fiat is by no means disgraced. Price wise….the Fiat suffers from a near $40K price point with the GT landing near $10K cheaper. Dollar for dollar the Kia is a clear leader and that, combined with its overall friendliness, hands the Duel of Turbo crown to the Koreans.

Head to www.fiat.com.au and www.kia.com.au for info and pricing for your area (RRP at time of writing is approx$30 K for the Kia and $39K for the Fiat plus ORCs) http://credit-n.ru/offers-zaim/mgnovennye-zaimy-na-kartu-bez-otkazov-kredito24.html

What They Didn’t Teach At Driving School

More years ago than I really like to think about, I got a few lessons from a professional driving instructor before I went and sat the practical driving test for my licence.  To this day, I’m really, really good at three-point turns, which was the main skill that my lessons covered – as far as I can remember; it was quite a few years ago.

driver ed 4Driving schools and “proper” driving courses are usually great at covering the basic skills of driving – road rules, use of gears, use of brakes, watching out for hazards, changing lanes and so forth.  This is the sort of driver education most of us think about when the topic of training young drivers comes up. A few of us also think about the track-based courses, where you get to practice handling a car in a “risky” situation in a comparatively safe place.  They’ve certainly got their merits, if you’re lucky enough to have access and/or the funds to attend one of these courses.

However, there are a number of things that they don’t teach you in these courses.  They just can’t, for simple logistic reasons.  There are some things that you have to learn the hard way (hopefully not too hard!).  Things like the following:

  • Backing a trailer down a windy driveway.  I still can’t do this very well, although I don’t usually have to, as my other half is an expert at it. (Niche market, anybody?)
  • Coupling up a trailer, caravan or other thing to be towed.
  • Driving with a caravan or horse trailer on the back.  A lot of driving instructor vehicles tend to be little hatchbacks along the lines of Suzuki Swifts, which may explain this one.
  • How to tow another vehicle that’s broken down – and how to “drive” the car that’s being towed.
  • Driving at night.  Driving instructors have a life…  (More niche market potential here.)
  • Driving long-distance and learning how to cope with fatigue.
  • Driving in extreme weather conditions – heavy rain, frost, snow, fog, strong winds…  You can’t arrange what the weather is going to do during your scheduled slot, no matter how much you want to practice driving in wet weather.  I suppose a very good track-based course might be able to give some practical training in these under controlled conditions with the use of fog machines and fire hoses, but the cost of these would be through the roof.  I guess simulators might be able to do it but again, these are pricey.
  • Driving in extreme weather conditions while towing.
  • Driving through a mob of sheep or cows being moved down the road.

I was going to add driving a 4×4, as this was something I had to learn the hard way when my folks got a Mitsubishi Chariot, but there are proper courses for off-road driving in a 4×4 these days.

Where you learn to drive can also affect what’s covered by a “proper” driving course, as opposed to the teaching you get from your parents.  Teenagers learning to drive in rural areas get good at open-road driving, dirt roads and going through stock, but aren’t so hot at multi-lane roundabouts and parking in tight spaces. With urban teenagers, it’s the reverse.  So if you’ve got a teenager, make sure that you get them to drive in a lot of contexts.  As a parent of a teenager learning to drive, I’m certainly going to make sure that my son gets a go at all of these as much as possible. http://credit-n.ru/offers-zaim/moneyman-srochnye-zaimy-online.html

The Ford River Rouge Complex

Ford in Australia is, unfortunately, dying.  It has received a mortal wound and is going through the process of twitching and groaning before ultimately giving up the ghost, more’s the pity.  However, the same can’t be said of Ford in other parts of the world.  So to cheer all my fellow Ford fans up, here’s a bit of info about one of the oldest and possibly largest Ford factories: the Ford River Rouge Complex in Detroit, founded in 1917, which started manufacturing Model Ts since the late 1920s and still at work churning out Fords today.

The Ford River Rouge Complex, often just known as “The Rouge”, has been called one of the wonders of the industrial world and “a city without residents”.  It’s got its own transport system – right from the beginning, it had 100 miles of railroad track and its own internal bus system as well as its own electricity generators.  It was a completely self-sufficient factory: raw materials came in at one end and finished cars came out of the other.  Even the plastic parts originally came from soybean derived oils grown in Ford-owned fields and the rubber came from a Ford-owned plantation in Brazil.  Today, it’s not quite as self-sufficient or as big, but it’s still pretty impressive. It covers 600 acres and employs over 6000 people.

Originally, the factory buildings were designed to be reasonably pleasant to work in, with lots of glass all over the show so that it felt light and spacious for the workers inside.  Today, it’s still doing the architectural design for living thing, with the largest “living roof” in the world to tackle stormwater, and has lots of green space all around the place as well as other eco-friendly features to minimise pollution.

river rouge

However, all has not been rosy for the Rouge over the years and this massive complex did nearly close its doors in the early 1990s when they decided to stop making the Mustang there.  Sure, they were still churning out Dearborn trucks from The Rouge (and still do), but there were howls of protest.  People wanted to save the Mustang and keep the Rouge in production.  Happily, both the Mustang and the Rouge stayed – although the Mustangs are being made elsewhere.  The Rouge is still being redeveloped, with the Henry Ford Museum being closely linked with the Rouge and sharing the site, as well as running tours through the plant.  (Hmmm…  Ford Australia, take note.)  They’re still in the redevelopment process, so it will be interesting to see what happens.

One of the few actual Ford vehicles made at this heritage factory is the Ford F150. We don’t get this over here, as the Powers That Be at Ford have said that the Aussie-made Ford Ranger does the job for this part of the world and they won’t be making the F150 with right-hand-drive.  The F150 is, however, one of the best-selling vehicles in the USA (and has been for over 30 years) and is a tough, stylish ute (or “pickup truck”, as our American friends call it).  With any luck – and I’m guessing here – this will change, given that (a) Ford Australia is shutting its doors, (b) Ford USA is coming out with a new F150 soon and (c) we like our utes over here.  Fingers crossed, everybody.

ford F150

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