24 Heurs du Mans Round-Up

The annual 24 Hours of Le Mans race occurred last weekend and, after years of trying and failing, through breakdowns and superior competition, Toyota finally won the thing, becoming only the second Japanese manufacturer in history to win, the other being Mazda, who used to have freaking awesome race cars. It certainly helped Toyota this year that Porsche and Audi no longer competed in the LMP1 class, leaving them as the only factory team in the World Endurance Championship. It’s awfully easy to come in first when you have the fastest car in the fastest class without any other competitors. Regardless, they didn’t breakdown, which itself is a feat in endurance racing. Porsche meanwhile dominated the LMGTE Pro and Amateur classes with its 911 RSRs, with the number 92 Pink Pig Porsche winning the pro class. You can clearly see why it was called the pink pig, and appreciate that fans were calling the car’s pit stops “pigstops.”

Overall, the race was pretty uneventful, which makes for pretty boring watching. Part of that comes from the fact that new rules meant that no team was allowed to run more than 14 laps per stint and that there was a per-stint fuel limit that was, in many cases, less fuel than the cars were capable of holding, making for some headaches in the pits and a few mistakes that cost drivers time. Another part is because the rules have stifled competition so much that racing has become too expensive for many manufacturers to take part. Thus, Porsche and Audi’s departure for Formula E.

Fortunately, things will be changing in a couple years, as the FIA announced shortly before the race some exciting changes that are coming to the World Endurance Championship. The LMP1 class which currently consists only of Toyota, will be scrapped entirely, being replaced instead with a hypercar-type class that will impose limits on car power, weight, weight distribution, aerodynamics and downforce, but with more freedom to design the cars more closely to road-going hypercars and supercars. This not only gives the race a bit more relevance to real-world drivers, it gives companies a chance to test technology they may be actually able to use on the roads in their hypercars. The class will still mandate a hybrid drivetrain, but internal combustion engines can be up to the manufacturer, so long as they’re limited to 697 horsepower, which is still a lot, especially when paired with a standard 268 horsepower hybrid electric motor. Race commissioners say they want to move the series to the point where “manufacturers can win at Le Mans on a limited budget,” and I’m sure that’s relative, but still a good sign that may invite more competition moving forward. The new rules will be introduced in 2020 and we’ll apparently get to vote on the name of the class, so I look forward to watching the hypercars compete in the racy mcrace-face class in the not-too-distant future.

Authored by
Devlin Riggs

Headlines for the Week of February 19th, 2018

#MeToo Finds its Way to Ford

This year has been incredible so far for the sheer volume of brave women coming forward to call out assault, harassment or inequality, not just across Hollywood but throughout other industries as well. This week the #MeToo movement found its way to Michigan where Raj Nair, executive vice president and North American president for Ford was booted after an anonymous complaint spurred an investigation which found he had committed some inappropriate behavior. Details are scarce, but Nair himself was quoted in Ford’s press release on the matter, saying that he regretted that there had been instances where he did not exhibit leadership behaviours consistent with Ford. Cars in general and the automotive industry is frequently regarded as a sort of old boys club, which has undoubtedly put upon many women undeserved treatment. While reactions to these sort of allegations have varied widely, from some politicians owning up and resigning to some flat-out denying accusations and calling women liars, it’s nice to see Ford taking the right path and committing to a higher standard of conduct than so many of our elected officials.

UberEats Customer Receives Food, Also Death

Photo by WJAX

Last week in Atlanta, an driver for UberEats, Uber’s food delivery service, shot and killed a customer after delivering his food. Ryan Thornton was shot multiple times by the driver, for whom police are still searching. Uber prohibits their drivers from carrying any kind of weapons, but without ever conducting inspections of its drivers, how could they possibly ever know if any driver was violating that policy? Realistically, this guy could’ve been working for any food delivery company, but since it’s Uber and they have a not-so-great record with safety already, it’s an easy target for criticism. I’m sure the company is cooperating with police because the last thing they need is for this to turn into a trend. We’ve had enough killing in this country lately.

Daimler Plays Ally, Fights Off Nazis

Few car companies have been around as long as Daimler, but the German company hasn’t always been on the right side of history. Mercedes-Benz, Daimler’s automotive brand, though named after an Austrian Jewish girl, Mercedes Jellinek, was Hitler’s favorite vehicle and used eastern European prisoners of war as forced labor during World War II. Perhaps this is why some Neo-Nazis have decided that Daimler is the perfect place to stage a right-wing uprising. At the company’s Untertuerkheim factory, Neo-Nazis have formed an alternative Union, Zentrum Automobil to try to spread propaganda and turn laborers to their cause. In the past 70 years or so, Daimler, as with the majority of the rest of Germany, has had some time to think on its role with the Nazis and wants nothing to do with the new right-wing movement and has stated its expectation that all employees will live tolerance in their daily work and act together with respect, openness, faith and fairness. All things Nazis aren’t historically known for being strong at.

When Safety Systems Bite Back

Generally speaking, cars should not be the headline in an article about a bicycle race, but that’s just what happened last week during the Abu Dhabi Tour. In bike races, there’s a lead car to ensure the path ahead is safe, and this car also sometimes provides a draft for lead cyclists to follow so they can eek out some more time at the head of the pack via reduced wind resistance. Well, the lead car in this race was a Mercedes-Benz E-Class equipped with the Pre-Safe Plus system, which applies the vehicle’s brakes when it senses an impending rear-end collision to stop the car hitting the vehicles in front of it. Unfortunately for cyclists, this system doesn’t distinguish between a potential vehicular impact and a cyclist trying to ride the bumper for some increased speed. The car thought the bikes were danger and hit the brakes without the driver’s input, causing cyclists to smash into the back of it, ultimately wiping out five riders, who you can bet have been in touch with their favorite attorneys regarding the matter.

Rolls-Royce Explores the Limits of Hyperbole

Speaking of cars you’d see in Abu Dhabi, Rolls Royce is coming out with a new one, and it’s an SUV called the Cullinan. We don’t have many details about it except the mention last week that it includes a rear Viewing Suite. Basically, what that means is, instead of sitting on the tailgate or rear bumper in your old Range Rover or Volvo, in your Cullinan, you will be treated to two rear-facing leather chairs separated by a small cocktail table, all of which deploy from the trunk at the touch of a button because manual labor is for peasants. From this “luxuriously comfortable viewing platform” as they call it, you are welcome to take in your children’s sporting events or the world’s most breathtaking vistas. Or, as it will probably most commonly be used, as a place to rest and enjoy some Grey Poupon while your driver removes the horse shit from your boots after your polo match.

Tesla Gets OTA Updates Right

Last week, I mentioned how a Chrysler over-the-air update to their UConnect system resulted in boot loop for a bunch of new car owners in the Northeast. Well, Tesla is looking into an OTA update of their own after a Model 3 owner’s recent crash experience. After hitting a parked car while going 60 MPH, the driver of a Model 3 wasn’t able to get his insurance information out of his glove box because it, along with almost every function of the car, is controlled through the big central touchscreen, which broke in the wreck. He tweeted about his experience and, ever the socially-engaged CEO, Elon Musk, responded that they would look into pushing out an update that automatically opens the glove box after the car comes to a stop following an accident. This is a neat feature, but one I can’t help but think could’ve been prevented by just having a simple manual release. So while it’s cool that such updates can fix problems instead of creating them, mark my words, there will be an anti-touchscreen revolution in automotive design. Consumers will demand it.

Formula 1 Debuts Don’t Go as Planned

The Formula 1 season is right around the corner and the teams have all been unveiling their cars this week to varying levels of interest. Mercedes probably made the most waves because they are once again expected to be the favorites after dominating so heavily last year. But in typical Australian style, Daniel Ricciardo came along and made some waves of his own by crashing on the car’s track debut. To his credit, it was pouring down rain, so conditions were poor and he was in an unfamiliar race car, so these things are bound to happen. Unfortunately, Red Bull Racing tweeted out a photo of the car with the caption “That new car feeling” just before the crash, which some might argue jinxed the car. I guess Ricciardo could use a little more feeling from it.

Smug Hybrid Owners to Pay Up in Maine

Gas taxes have been around just about as long as there has been gasoline and for good reason: the revenue allows states to invest in infrastructure improvements. And, in a country with a crumbling infrastructure, states sort of need all they can get to fix our roads and bridges. But with the adoption of hybrids, plug-ins, and electric vehicles, the gas taxes don’t get paid by everyone who uses the infrastructure, so several states have begun charging a supplemental registration fee to owners of hybrid or electric vehicle owners to bridge the funding gap. The latest such case is in Maine where electric vehicle owners would be charged $250 for the privilege of using a car that saves them money on gas and reduces their environmental impact. Hybrid owners will be charged $150 since they still have to fill up every once in a while. Proponents say this evens the playing field whereas environmentalists say this discourages transitioning to more environmentally-friendly vehicles, both of which are correct. But until people get on board with a mileage-based tax, Maine isn’t really left with any other options for reducing their infrastructure deficit. Just remember, hybrid owners, repairing a bent rim because of a pothole costs more than your annual registration fee.

Bad Traffic and Worse Drivers in SoCal

Capture from ABC 7 News

Traffic sucks, and traffic around LA really sucks. What sucks even more than being stuck in traffic is being stuck in the sand. While you wouldn’t think that’s a situation that happens all that often, consider Southern California, where last week traffic on the 10 freeway was so bad, drivers decided that it was a better idea to drive through a field of sand than to simply wait in the slow crawl on the highway to get to their destination. Turns out, driving in sand is tough and cars can get stuck like super easy! It even looks like the road to the sand trap had been barricaded and that drivers had moved the barricades to attempt the crossing. Fortunately a traffic chopper covering the back-up was able to capture some delightful footage of these ill-advised morons trying to frantically dig themselves out of the holes they spun for themselves while the traffic on the highway continues to move on slowly. At least for me, there are few things more satisfying than staying in the fast lane and passing someone who peeled out around me to try to find a faster path in the right lanes. Seeing some impatient jackhole trapped in sand? Yeah, that’s one of those more satisfying things.

Car Thefts Rise with Car Part Prices

Bad news for people who like to keep their cars; vehicle thefts rose by more than 4% in 2017 after rising 7.6% the prior year, and this follows along with the trend of car parts being more expensive. I know when I had to repair the front of my Mazda from a suicidal coyote, I couldn’t believe a non-Mazda repair shop could charge more than $2,500 for replacing front bumper plastic, a splash guard, and my windshield washer fluid reservoir. But as a handy chart from the National Insurance Crime Bureau indicates, car parts are outrageously expensive and even if criminals can’t sell your car whole because of the VIN number, they can sell off parts and make as much as 75% of the car’s total value.

Britton Simultaneously Reinforces and Breaks British Stereotypes

If there’s one thing British people like, it’s pubs. If there are two things they like, it’s pubs and unreliable roadsters. After all, they are great at both things. One Britton named Ben Coombs decided to mark the 70th anniversary of the TVR name by taking his Chimaera on a 23,500 mile trek from Svalbard, Norway in the arctic circle to Tierra del Fuego, Chile. All to visit pubs along the way. The trip was made all the more exciting by the fact that TVR’s reliability record is about as solid as a pub cheddar spread. Luckily for Coombs, the only major incident with the Chimaera was a clutch that needed replacing in Nicaragua. I’m not entirely sure how he got a TVR clutch in a part of the world where such cars were never sold, but I suppose that’s what Amazon is for.

Porsche’s New Showroom Gets High

Speaking of buying things, if you’re looking to buy a Porsche and just so happen to be in the French Alps, a considerable distance from one of the German company’s 700 worldwide dealers, I have great news! Porsche has just opened a new pop-up showroom 7,500 feet above sea level at the alpine resort in Meribel. There, you can look at the solitary Cayenne housed there and book test drives at other actual dealerships after you’ve finished your day of skiing with other rich people. The pop-up showroom will be there until April, when the snow melts and Porsche has to find another place where all the rich people hang out in not winter. Might I suggest Montpellier, Marseille, or Nice?

Honk if you Like Clicking

Since using cars as cars is boring, people have been figuring out different uses for them for decades. They’ve been used as houses, boats, soccer players and now, as a computer mouse. A couple of resourceful geeks converted a Sebring-Vanguard Citicar, a small, slow, wedge-of-cheese-shaped electric vehicle, into a working computer mouse since it sort of looks like the old mouse from the Apple Mac II SE. So how does using a car as a mouse work? Pretty poorly! Apparently Simone Giertz and William Osman, the two responsible for the conversion, were able to send an email and draw a very crude picture of the Citicar they were using. Not that there’s probably much danger of this happening, but it’s probably best to use your car as a car. Most drivers have enough difficulty just with that.

Authored by
Devlin Riggs