BACK SEAT DRIVING - MARCH 2009
This article is from our archives and has not been updated and integrated with our "new" site yet... Even so, it's still awesome - so keep reading!
Published on Thu, Mar 5, 2009
By: The LACar Editorial Staff

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NAKANO: BACK SEAT DRIVING
For the first time, Audi Sport will offer a racing sports car specifically
developed for customer use in the form of the powerful 500 hp plus GT3 version
of the Audi R8 which will be available from autumn 2009. The logistics and
factory space required for the AUDI AG customer programme will be created over
the next few months in Ingolstadt, Neckarsulm and Györ.
"The R8 is the first production Audi bearing the name and genes of a successful
racing sportscar and is therefore an excellent base from which to build up our
first big customer sport programme," explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr
Wolfgang Ullrich. "Ever since the R8 was unveiled we've been inundated with
enquiries about a race version. With the Audi R8 we will offer customers a
racing sportscar equipped with high-calibre technology and the typical Audi
qualities, but which is nevertheless easy to handle."
The Audi R8 conforms to the production-based GT3 regulations allowing the car to
be fielded in numerous national and international race series.
Because the GT3 regulations prohibit the use of four-wheel drive the Audi R8
comes with the typical GT rear-wheel drive. The power is transmitted via a newly
developed six-speed sequential sports gearbox. The suspension uses almost
exclusively components from the production line. A comprehensive list of safety
equipment guarantees the highest-level of passive safety. A modified front end
and a large rear-wing generate the required downforce for the race track.
The Audi R8, which bears the project name "R16" within Audi Sport, was developed
under the direction of Audi Sport. Mid August, the first prototype successfully
completed a roll-out in the hands of Audi factory driver Frank Biela.
The first test races in various European racing series are scheduled for the
2009 season. Delivery to the customers is planned from the autumn of this
year.
The customer cars are manufactured together by Audi Sport and the quattro GmbH,
which is also responsible for production of the Audi R8 street version, and Audi
Hungaria Motor Kft. (Györ). Â
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NAKANO: BACK SEAT DRIVING
THE
EUROPEAN FORDS ARE COMING!
In an earlier entry in Back Seat Driving, I gave
seven reasons why Ford has the
best chance of surviving the current automotive crisis among all the USA-based
car companies. Reason No. 7 is the anticipation of several new, small offerings
from Ford of Europe. Among the possible offerings are the new Fiesta, C-MAX and
S-MAX.
One exceptionally appealing potential offering has just rolled off of the
assembly line at Ford of Europe's Saarlouis plant in Germany. It's the newest
version of the never-in-America Focus RS, and there is heavy speculation that
the car will be built in the USA alongside the European version of the non-RS
Focus.
The RS was created by a small team of engineers, under the direction
of Jost Capito, Ford of Europe's Vehicle Line Director for Performance Vehicles.
For performance road car enthusiasts, the new model marks a welcome return for
the Ford RS badge. This will be the second Focus model to carry the RS mantle.
The RS lineage spans 40 years, beginning in Germany in the late 1960s and gained
momentum across Europe with the launch of the 1970 Escort RS1600.
"We want the new Focus RS to be a serious high performance car - as much a car
for driving enthusiasts as the one before it and classic Ford RS models of the
past" says Capito. "We're staying true to the core RS principles of an
exciting, yet affordable performance road car you can live with every day."
At the heart of the all-new Focus RS is a specially developed, turbocharged
version of the Duratec 2.5-litre 5-cylinder engine. Significantly revised for
high performance, this powerplant is targeting an impressive power output of
300PS and over 410Nm of torque. Early performance testing indicates a 0-100km/h
(0-62mph) time of under six seconds.
"The Ford Focus is an excellent base for a high performance car - agile,
responsive and stable" explained Capito. "We studied at length how best to
enhance these qualities for a high performance model. As you would expect, we
gave all-wheel-drive careful consideration, but by combining and tuning these
elements and learning from Ford's expertise in industry-leading handling, we
have managed to eliminate the weight of AWD from the car and still have been
able to target a class-leading balance of traction, handling and performance."
The new Ford Focus RS will soon be available in more than 20 European countries
including Russia, with the UK, Switzerland and Germany expected to be the
highest volume markets. Ford has not announced whether the Focus RS will make
its way Stateside.
- Roy Nakano Â
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NAKANO: BACK SEAT DRIVING
MEN HAVE CLEANER CARS
LeaseTrader.com released the results of its Spring Cleaning
Clean Car Survey, with Audi A6 drivers having the cleanest cars in America. The
online survey of more than 2,000 also found that Honda Accord drivers have the
most clutter in their vehicles.
To acknowledge the annual "Spring Cleaning" season, LeaseTrader.com polled
customers and asked drivers of each major vehicle brand a series of questions
relating to the amount of clutter found in their vehicle at any given time, as
well as the frequency and time in between cleanings of the exterior and interior
of their cars. Minivan and SUV drivers were not included since these vehicles
are more often used for families that have a higher propensity for clutter.
Other points of interest:
Top five cleanest vehicles today in America:
About LeaseTrader.com
LeaseTrader.com matches car shoppers with individuals looking to escape their
auto lease. For more information visit
www.leasetrader.com. Â
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RaySat satellite TV unit on a
Grand CherokeeÂ
FUHRMANN: BACK SEAT DRIVING
THE TRANSFORMER OF
SATELLITE TV
The Next Advancement in Mobile Satellite TV Has Arrived
Remember the original cell phones that were about
the size of the WWII communication backpacks to send in air support? Thank
heavens the yesteryear monstrosities have been replaced with some cell phones as
small as a credit card and with more bells and whistles than NASA's Space
Shuttles.
In a similar context, has anyone ever had a satellite TV system that mounted to
the rooftop of your car or SUV that weighed about 50 pounds, grotesque and only
received a few channels? As with cell phones, the latest creation in satellite
TV for the automotive industry is wonderfully small, and weighing only three
pounds. With circular dimensions of 1.3L x 10.3W x 4.3H, it will be barely
noticed wherever mounted on your vehicle. And how is this satellite antenna
attached to the rooftop of an auto? A magnet attaches the satellite antenna. No
drilled holes in your car or super glue, just a very strong magnet.
What is this cool innovated satellite antenna? It's from a privately held Dallas
based company known as RaySat Broadcasting Corporation - a company with the goal
to bring state of the art automotive entertainment to the market via its
partnership with AT&T CruiseCast. The great technology with AT&T's CruisCraft is
the unlimited ability to add channels to the network. With buffering technology,
the signals are less frequently lost when going through tunnels and around
buildings. And to keep the kids busy for those long trips, there will be 22
channels of satellite TV and 20 satellite radio stations to be available in the
spring of this year. More channels, including HBO and other premium channels are
anticipated.
AT&T and RaySat are a strong combination of inspiring people. By having the
right people backing this state-of-the-art enterprise, it helps to bring
confidence to all markets. Avis Budget Group, we learn, will be providing
Satellite TV from RaySat to rental cars. Hopefully, this technology will soon be
an OEM option when you buy your new car, truck or SUV. The possibilities seem
unlimited for this combined synergy between AT&T CruiseCast and RaySat
Broadcasting. I look forward to seeing where these companies take the automotive
entertainment world in the near future.
- Kurt Fuhrmann
For more information please see
www.cruisecast.com
For more information about Raysat, go to
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In Japan, a second 2010 Prius
revealedÂ
NAKANO: BACK SEAT DRIVING
A SECOND 2010 PRIUS
In Japan, Gen 2 Becomes 2010, Take Two
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Sales of Honda's new Insight has been strong in Japan. The low price of Honda's
five-door hybrid sedan has been particularly attractive to car-buyers. In
response, Toyota has decided to continue selling the current second-generation
Prius as a lower priced alternative to the new, third-generation Prius. This
second 2010 Prius will compete head-on price-wise with the new Insight.
So, why would anyone want to buy Toyota's five-year old design over the new
Insight? For one, the second-generation Prius still gets better gas mileage.
Second, it offers more room. Last, but not least, it's a full hybrid, with the
ability to accelerate from a standing start in full electric mode.
A Toyota representative acknowledged that a similar proposal is being considered
in the USA, but a final decision is pending.
The idea of selling a previous generation model alongside the current generation
model is not far fetched. Volkswagen decided to sell freshened versions of the
Mark IV Golf and Jetta alongside the Mark V versions in Canada. The older cars
go by the name City, and account for a significant percentage of VW sales in
Canada.
- Roy Nakano
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ALEX LITROV: BACK SEAT DRIVING
FLYING LIKE AN EAGLE
Eagle One Honors Four Car Clubs For Outstanding Community Service Programs
For the past 16 years Eagle One's Golden Rule Awards have confirmed that there
is more to car clubs than cars. The driving force for most clubs is providing
great support to community and charitable causes. Car clubs in four regions of
the U.S. have been selected winners of the coveted Eagle One Golden Rule Awards
for conducting the most outstanding community service program in their region
during 2008.
Winning clubs were: West: Rogue Valley Street Rods, Medford, OR; Midwest:
Southern Cruzers, Lakeview, MN; East: Corvette Club of Delaware Valley,
Philadelphia, PA; South: Victory 7 Mustang Club, Richmond, VA.
The Victory 7 Mustang Club was selected as the Grand Prize winner, an honor
accorded for performing the most compassionate achievement among the four
winners. The club organized a Back To School Rally at which 10,000 K-12th grade
students were provided with note books, paper, book bags and other educational
material. It also organized a Cancer Prevention Health Screening for 800 men.
In recognition of their achievements, Eagle One and co-sponsor Valvoline will
make a combined donation of $1,500 to a favorite charity of the Victory 7 club.
A donation of $500 will be made to a favorite charity of each of the three other
winners. In addition to the cash donations, each club will receive a
custom-designed award and a generous supply of Eagle One appearance care
products and Valvoline products for fund-raising events. Eagle One is a member
of the Valvoline family of brands.
"Eagle One has been proud to recognize and reward club clubs for the outstanding
work they perform in their community while actively engaged in the preservation
of one of our country's greatest heritages, the automobile," said Lorna Willis,
Eagle One brand manager.
- Alex Litrov
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JOURNAL OF LOS ANGELES & ITS CAR CULTURE That
was LA Car's subtitle when it started back in 1997. It's original website
address was about five times the size of lacar.com. Since then, La Car
became LA Car. Its subtitle became
Reporting From Car Culture Ground Zero, then From The Heart of Car
Culture, to today's The Cars and Culture of Southern California. At
all times, however, we aimed to chronicle the Southland's automotive spirit - much like
one's own
journal or diary.
LA Car has always been a great source
to come back to from week-to-week, to see what articles and reviews have been
added to our rather staggering database. With Back Seat Driving, a.k.a.
BSD (note the similarity to two well-worn abbreviations, BS and BFD) and Hot
Wires - Hot & Tender News From the Car Culture (co-located with Back Seat
Driving, and updated at least daily), we give you some reasons to
come back more often (all opinions, by the way, are those of the respective
author).
So, go
ahead and bookmark www.lacar.com. We'll be
sure to always provide a link to Hot Wires and the latest Back Seat
Driving blog entry. In the meantime, welcome to the journal and journey from
the heart of the car culture. - Roy NakanoÂ
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