Archive for August, 2019
Monterey Car Week: The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering.
The Quail. An unusual name, one big event. It’s part of the week that celebrates new and classic autos, new and classic aircraft, high end personal items and cordon bleu’ food in the coastal town of Monterey, California, every August. The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering itself is held in the beautifully manicured grounds of the Quail Lodge Resort and Gold Club in Carmel, just a few miles south of Monterey and a couple of miles east of Pebble Beach.
It’s perhaps the youngest of the numerous automotive themed events and shows that are held in the area, with this being more focused on motorsport. There are plenty of historic style vehicles that attend, but such is its stature, major brands such as Lamborghini and Bugatti, choose The Quail last year as the launch event for a new vehicle. Bugatti, for example, took the covers off of the Divo, powered by an 8.0L W16 engine. It’s a short-run car priced at “just” six million dollars…
This year’s event is to be held on August 16 and each year the organizers go for a theme or two. For this year, Bentley will celebrate and commemorate 100 years of motoring excellence, whilst McLaren will showcase a quarter century of its ground breaking F1. Modern times are given a nod with A Tribute To the Electric Car Movement also being part of the day.
Mclaren Senna (Photo Credit McLaren
It’s the sniff of petrol, the scent of grease, the raw appeal of well worn leather in the motorsports part of the event that draws the crowds. Traditional Classes such as Post-War Sports and Post-War Racing feature heavily, as do Custom Coachwork builds alongside Sports and Racing Motorcycles. There have been racing team displays such as Martini, who have brought along a selection of their legendary Lancias. Pagani have been here, Ferraris old and new gleam in the westering sun, performance companies such as Hennesy have highlighted their Venom F5, and Datsun/Nissan have provided rolling history lessons with classic rally cars.
Rimac’s California Edition C Two Hypercar (Credit: Somer Hooker/New Atlas)
Crowd management is simple. Tickets to enter are limited and this is done to maximise the usage of the location. It enables the cars to be properly viewed and enjoyed without fighting through crowds. It allows the useable space to showcase the event’s reason for existence: the cars. And it adds exclusivity which means the sponsors and haute couture suppliers aren’t pushed to the limit with supplies. Each ticket is fully inclusive too, so the once off cost covers an attendee for everything inside the grounds. However, there are tickets for the philanthropic which donates a portion of the ticket cost to charity, with a premium ticket granting access to helicopter transport to the Laguna Seca Raceway for associated events.
Genesis Essentia Concept: super smooth(Credit: Somer Hooker/New Atlas)
But it’s the judging, the concours, that brings the masses, and it’s done differently here at The Quail. Cars are put into classes and each car is judged by the owners of the other cars in the same class. The winner receives the “Best In Class” award and each of the winners then competes in a “Best Of Show” contest in the Rolex Circle of Champions, and again the winner is the one adjudged by the owners of the cars in competition. Last year’s winner was a truly beautiful example of the best from Italy.
Curtiss Zeus
A Pininfarina concept, a one off, and built upon the chassis of the Lancia Aurelia B52, the 1953 Lancia Aurelia PF200C owned by Anne Brockinton Lee stamped itself as being worthy of the accolade awarded from 235 competitors. A ten year restoration process ensured no part was left untouched in its meticulous rebuild. It’s this that makes The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering virtually unique in automotive week on the Monterey Peninsula.
Montery's Auto Week: McCall's Motorworks Revival.
Monterey, California. It’s located slap bang in the middle of the state’s coastline and once a year plays host to a number of car shows. Those two words, however, do not do justice to what is made available as there are events such as the fabled Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to attend in a must-see automotive week.
The McCall’s Motorworks Revival on August 14 is the ignition point for the week and for 2019 will be held once again at the Monterey Jet Center. It’s an ideal location as it allows the organisers the opportunity to take advantage of the open spaces, combine aircraft, luxury and sports cars, high end personal luxury items, and more.
Of note for the 2019 event will be the attendance of world renowned performance car company, Roush. They’ll be showcasing their one-of-a-kind Stage 3 Mustang and a powerplant producing 710 horsepower. It’ll sit by the side of their new F-150 SC pickup. Power here is from a supercharged 650 horsepower 5.0L V8.
High end watch maker, Chronoswiss, will be there and they’ll be unveiling their startling Flying Grand Open Gear ReSec. Limited to just 50 pieces this beautiful and stylish timepiece embodies true Swiss watchmaking.
Along with the airport’s modern and historic aircraft displays, historic motorsport cars will appeal to those with more than a hint of gasoline in the blood. This year will see the BMW 320 Turbo race car, as campaigned by Jim Busby in the International Motor Sports Association competition. This car is just one of only two of its type built in 1978. It’s been raced at Silverstone, the Nurburgring, and competed with Jim behind the wheel in the 1979 IMSA GTX series. There will also be a LeMans winning Porsche at this year’s event in the shape of a GT3 RSR. Porsche have a long history with that famous race and this car is sure to have plenty of eyes on her.
Cessna is a name familiar around the world to anyone with even a passing interest in aviation. McCall Events are delighted to have this year’s Motorworks Revival Cessna’s new Citation Longitude. This sleek business jet is powered by a pair of Honeywell HTF7000 turbofan engines, has the quietest interior in its class, and can be configured to seat up to 12 passengers.
Attendees can taste high end fare, such as the gourmet caviar options from the California Caviar Company, or down a finger of tequila from El Jefe Tequila., whilst admiring Lamborghinis, McLarens new and historic, Gulfstreams, Pilatus aircraft, and perhaps even a James Bond Aston Martin DB5 or the original, prototype, Ford Mustang.
This year marks the 28th McCall’s Motorworks Revival. At its core is Gordon McCall, a man with plenty of events and concours experience. Gordon has over a quarter century of judging experience at Pebble Beach, and is the co-founder & motorsports director for “The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering”.
Tickets for the event go on sale the year before, shortly after the previous event, and are highly prized amongst regular attendees.
It’s A Man’s World In The Crash Test Facility
Notice the design of the chest, biceps, neck and jaw…
Take a look at your typical crash dummy – the sort they use in the ANCAP and similar tests (see the photo, sourced from ANCAP). Notice anything about them and what they’ve got in common? Ten points (or should that be five stars?) for you if you noticed that a crash test dummy tends to look like a guy. I don’t know if you can really refer to a crash test dummy as a male but it (he?) is definitely masculine.
Yes, indeed. Skipping the whole thing about gender identity and all that, there are only two basic human skeleton and tissue types: the male sort and the female sort. And, in case you haven’t been paying attention, they aren’t the same. Women (in general) have wider pelvises, narrower chins, a higher proportion of body fat, smaller hands and feet and thinner necks than men. They’ve also got their centre of gravity in a different place. When guys get a bit chubbier, they put it on their tummies; when women do the same, it goes on the butt and thighs. Men have flat chests and even my A-cup sisters have boobs. Women are, on average, shorter (yes, we’re talking typical and average here and I know perfectly well that there are tall women and short men). Male bones are denser and have a higher proportion of muscle mass. Women have a larger lumbar lordosis (the curve in the lower spine that lumbar support in the driver’s seat is supposed to fit snugly into), which means that their pelvis tilts at a slightly different angle, which affects the walk. In fact, high heels are designed to increase that lumbar lordosis, the tilt and the swaying walk. And the list goes on.
Unfortunately, in spite of the key role of my heroine Bertha Benz in getting the whole horseless carriage thing started, car designers have used “standard” or “typical” human figures when designing cars. Unfortunately, as most car designers up until now have been guys, guess what they see as being “standard” or “typical”: the others sitting with them around the drawing board, who are all guys.
Surely, I’m not the only woman driver who has sat there fiddling with the lumbar support control and wondered why the heck it doesn’t come out any further because it’s not quite getting into the right place, and why the seat angle is never exactly right. We tend to start playing around with cushions at this point. As for the problems that crop up when you’re a female driver in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, trying to negotiate a seat belt around the baby bump and the set of Pamela Andersons you’ve picked up… don’t even get me started! Apparently, women sit in the “wrong” driving position when they’re behind the wheel.
However, the safety systems that have been put in place by car designers have been developed and tested with the standard crash test dummy. Which is based on the average male. The smaller size, the different shape, the different centre of gravity, the different tissue density and all the rest of it means that a female body does not behave like a male body during a collision. OK, they did try during the 1980s to introduce a feminine crash test dummy, but this (1) had the same proportions as the male ones but just scaled down rather than having curves and (2) is usually put in the passenger seat during crash tests.
Can we just pause and think about that for a second? When they do crash tests, they mostly put the female dummy in the passenger seat. This was pointed out just last year by a pair of (female) Swedish road safety researchers*. Crash tests, in general, assume that women don’t drive. These tests weren’t being carried out in Saudi Arabia, for goodness sake! What were they thinking?
A truth that’s even more inconvenient than Al Gore’s is that women have a much higher rate of being injured in a car crash than men. Given the same speed and impact type, women get hurt worse. The simple reason for this is because the cars’ safety features have been engineered and tested with the average male body in mind.
To take just one example, think of whiplash. A lot of new cars have active head restraints that are designed to cradle the head and neck to prevent whiplash. However, you can guess what these have been tested on most of the time. In fact, when the NHTSA started using “female” crash dummies (which they started doing in 2003), they used them for the side impact tests… which aren’t quite such a problem for whiplash, given the vectors of the forces involved. Now, no woman is Barbie but we do have thinner necks than guys. In fact, if you’re an artist or cartoonist, one of the quickest ways to make a head and shoulders to look masculine or feminine is to adjust the proportions of the neck.
Women’s necks don’t have the muscle and sinew there that guys do, so our heads and necks don’t behave the same way during the sort of crash that is most likely to lead to whiplash. Add in the fact that women aren’t “sitting right” in the driver’s seat because we’ve got different pelvises, plus the fact that seatbelts are hard to get right if you’ve got anything on your chest bigger than a B cup, which is the case for most women. Heck, we all know that fitted T-shirts and jeans for men and women are cut differently, for goodness sake! Given all these differences, and it’s no wonder that women’s rate of getting whiplash is much, much higher than that of guys.
I’m going to be charitable here and put forward the notion that the guys designing cars and doing the crash tests are nice guys at heart rather than a bunch of sexist pigs. Perhaps the idea of using a crash test dummy that looks more like a real woman jars with their inner knights in shining armour and a plan to put even a replica of a damsel fitted with lots of sensors so you can see just how much distress she gets into is upsetting. If this is the case, well, that’s sweet of you guys, but you’re actually not doing us any favours.
However, change is afoot and more and more women are getting into car design and the safety side of things, although anything like a 50–50 proportion in the workplace is a long way off. Yet another (female) vehicle safety researcher from Sweden has looked at the stats and is developing a proper female crash test dummy with female proportions. Known as EvaRID, this dummy is designed with the whiplash issue in mind. You can hear Dr. Astrid Linder introduce this dummy in her TEDx talk (in English, don’t panic!):
As you can expect with those safety-minded Swedes, Volvo is getting on board with the E.V.A. initiative (which stands for Equal Vehicles for All as well as cleverly echoing the name of the dummy, which is the Swedish for Eve, the first woman). The senior technical specialist at Volvo Cars Safety Centre, Dr. Lotta Jakobsson (yes, another Swedish woman), is doing her bit by collecting real world crash data and heading a design team to make cars just as safe for women as they are for men. In fact, Volvo’s existing WHIPS design was tested on the EvaRID dummy as well as on the male one (the name of the most recent one is Thor, continuing the Nordic theme), and Volvo’s getting right behind the initiative. This makes me want to run out an buy a new Volvo right away. However, as we saw many years ago with the invention of seatbelts, where Volvo goes, others are soon to follow.
The fact that the designers, modellers, engineers, researchers and analysts focusing on the gender differences happen to be mostly women is also noticeable, which is also an argument for encouraging just as many girls as guys to get into the field of engineering. We don’t need to go to the extremes of having a vehicle that is designed solely to fit a woman’s body – although it sure would be a best-seller – but making sure that we don’t forget 50% of the population (and let’s not even get started on ethnic differences in body size and type) by ensuring that some of said 50% knows their stuff with engineering will make better cars for all humans.
And, gals, you’ve still got no excuse for not wearing a seatbelt even if sits badly on your chest, so buckle up!
* Linder, A., & Svedberg, W. (2018). Occupant safety assessment in European regulatory tests : review of occupant models, gaps and suggestion for bridging any gaps. Presented at the 18th International Conference Road Safety on Five Continents (RS5C 2018), Jeju Island, South Korea, May 16-18, 2018, Linköping. Retrieved from http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:vti:diva-12886
CarReview: 2019 Genesis G70 2.0L Turbo
This Car Review Is About: The revamped and relaunched as a two car range, Genesis. No it’s not the Phil Collins version. It’s the rejig of the 3.8L V6 first seen a half decade ago, now called G80. And now there’s a BMW hunting smaller version, the G70. This comes in three trim levels and two engine choices, being 2.0T, 2.0T Sport, and 2.0T Ultimate or with the 3.3L V6 as found in the Stinger.
How Much Will It Cost?: There’s a sticker price of $58K plus on roads for the entry level, $62K for the Sport, and a hefty $71K for the Ultimate in four cylinder guise. The Genesis website says $65,533 driveaway, or with sunroof $68,158. In Sport and Ultimate trim it’s $69,733/$72,760 and $76,978.
Under The Bonnet Is: The same potent turbo 2.0L as found elsewhere in the Hyundai and Kia families. It’s a 180kW/353Nm turbocharged 2.0L four cylinder. This is mounted “north-south” and drives the rear rubber via a slick eight speed auto. Otherwise there’s a 3.3L V6 effectively lifted from Kia’s underappreciated Stinger. Economy is rated as 9.0L per 100km for the combined cycle in the Sport, 8.7L in the standard 2.0L Our average around town barely moved from 8.7L/100km, and that was enjoying some of the fruits of the spirited engine.
On The Inside It’s: Pretty nice in this entry level trim spec. Leather seats, heated, not vented (sigh) are comfortable, supportive underneath and around the abdomen and electrically powered for both sides. There isn’t memory seating though. The top level has a diamond quilted leather trim option for the seats. There’s a sunroof, of course ($2500 as an option), and mood lighting in the housing around the switches for the interior lights. If there’s an option to change the colour it wasn’t readily found. All models have a remote key for entry and exit, and it’s cleverly designed to fit in between the spring loaded supports inside the cup/bottle holders in the console.
In the traditional styled centre console is a rocker gear selector, a drive mode dial, and a nook with wireless charging for smartphones, plus USB and 12V sockets. The charge pad is a tad fiddly and requires precise placement of the handset in order to initiate charging. The touchscreen is a 8.0 inch with a familiar look. As a result it’s super easy to use and to read. Satnav is standard and SUNA updates are included. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are embedded. Sound is via DAB and Bluetooth streaming. The 9 speaker output is beautifully balanced, crisp, and with plenty of balance in the bottom end.
Paddle shifts are standard and work well with the smart transmission, which has rev matching technology when it comes to the cog swaps. There are five drive modes which are activated via a dial near the gear selector. Custom, Comfort, Eco, Sport, Smart, are the choices and each change the colour of backlight in the driver’s dash LCD screen. They also bring up a graphic on the main 8.0 inch centre screen which show a layout of the car and highlights areas with different colours. Embedded in the sub-menus here is the option to change the steering and transmission between Comfort and Sports.
The rear seats are not excessively spacious in regards to leg room. Even with an average height driver the rear of the front seat is just a few inches from the squab of the rear seat, and they just don’t look as if there is real comfort for anyone of certain sizes. That’s due to a shortened wheelbase that, although it endows the G70 with great handling, then compromises for a proper 2+2 or 2+3. It also compromises boot space, with the BMW/M-B-esque end holding 330L. The spare is a space saver, not a full-sizer.
What About Safety? There’s nothing left out in real terms. A console mounted tab for 360 degree camera was fitted in the review car, and the actual feature is standard in the Ultimate. Forward Collision Avoidance with pedestrian alert is standard, as is Lane Keep Assist with steering assist. The actual assist is aggressive and overly so in how it works to keep a car in between the lines. Rear Cross Traffic and Blind Spot Alert are also standard, as are a full suite of airbags including driver’s knee.
On The Outside It’s: Low, slinky, full of sensual curves, and obvious who it’s looking to hunt down. It’s a long, long, bonnet on the 4,685mm G70, with lines and shapes that evoke BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and thanks to the badge, had a number of school yard car-spotters saying Aston Martin. It’s fair to say that the deep electric blue metallic paint is eye-catching, and on the school run had plenty of eyes on stalks swivelling to follow its progress. Even on the highway and residential roads the unfamiliar shape and badge had people stop or watching from inside their own car, eager to try and get a glimpse of the svelte lines. It’s a four coupe, almost, in profile, and the bootlid is a stubby, truncated affair with a built-in spoiler design. The grille on the Sport is a classy, black coated, diamond mesh design. On the front flanks is a chromed, boomerang shaped insert, and there is pressure relieving vents ahead and behind.
The tail lights are LED and there’s even a hint of Mustang in the three vertical stripes when lit. There are puddle lamps in the wing mirrors that shine the Genesis logo, and the headlights and indicators are high intensity bi-LED and full LED respectively.
Out On the Road It’s: Engaging. Wonderfully so. Dialing up any of the drive modes from another brings small but perceptible changes in the G70’s behaviour. In Sports mode for the steering it’s razor sharp, though process sharp in its reaction to steering wheel input, and adds a discernible heft to how it feels as it’s turned. Eco dulls the engine and transmission down to a smooth, slurry,easy going feel. Sport goes the other way, tightening up the responses for a crisper, sharper, experience.
But even Sport doesn’t completely dial out the unexpected. There is turbo lag, that gap between hitting the pedal and the engine lighting the candle. Once fired up via the push Start/Drop button, the motor settles into a ready for action mode. It’s sometimes too eager, like an energetic puppy, pulling at the transmission in its willingness to move. Get to a stop sign, the engine spins down. Go pedal pressed and there’s a hesitation as the electronics engage and the turbo finds boost once 2000rpm is seen on the tacho as the G70 gets underway.
On song, the 2.0L turbo pulls nicely in all driving areas. Having the eight speeds to choose from, along with the rev matching tech, means it’s hardly ever found wanting for response in throttle applications. Feather it into a twisting mountain road and the tacho blips and flickers as the engine and gearbox work side by side in keeping the revs where they need to be. Cruise on the highway and it’s inaudible. Plant the hoof and there’s a sharp intake of breath before a cog or two is swapped and it launches forward. In Sports mode there is a rumble fed through the audio system to add to the experience.
Ride quality is never anything less than very good. The taut rear end will skip around, the steering in Sports mode is razor sharp in its response time. The suspension is a delight. Its compliant to a fault, dealing with the usual lumps and bumps without issue, even dialling out the dreaded shopping centre speed reducers without qualm. Road noise on harsher tarmac from the 265/45/18 tyres was surprisingly intrusive. Smoother roads were much quieter. There are 18s on the entry level, black painted alloys on the Sports, and bespoke Ultimates in 19 inch diameters for the top level. the Sport has Michelin Pilot Sport 225/40/19s and stopping power comes from renowned brake company, Brembo. These are super effective, hauling up the G70 time after time with pin point precision thanks to one of the best calibrated brake pedals going.
And The Warranty Is: For five years. There is free servicing for those five years too, along with the Genesis ownership experience, and 24/7 roadside assist. There is also a free service for drop-off/pickup when booking the car in for service if the owner is inside a 70km circle of a Genesis Studio. In Sydney, currently there is only one and it’s in the city itself.
At The End Of the Drive.
There are a couple of things holding the Genesis up from making its mark in the Aussie automotive landscape. Chief amongst the list is the brand recognition. When Genesis launched with the 3.8L V6 version, it was seen with a small measure of respect, a larger measure of disdain, and quickly fell into the hands of hire-car companies. Only Hyundai can explain why. Right now, with a presence that’s still virtually invisible, the marketing team needs to get behind it and let people know it exists.
The next hump is the bias that Australians have when it comes to cars from Korea. Inexplicably, there is still a stigma attached to both brands, even with the superb quality and outright clout the cars have. Hyundai’s N class, for example, showcases real-world ability against class leaders like the Golf GTi. The Stinger has shown that a V6 powered rear wheel drive sedan has punch. The i30, the Highlander, the Santa Fe are plentiful on road, but still have that upturned nose and sniff of derision to cope with. And that’s unfair as Korea makes the best selling Samsung and LG TVs, phones, home appliances…
For a Genesis rebirth, there’s work to be done. Find out more, here.
Level 2, 9 Help Street