Monday, March 26, 2012

Auto Club 500 at Fontana Wrap-Up

Tony Stewart is on fire this year. He notched his second win of the season on Sunday at Fontana, CA when rain shortened the race by 71 laps. This marks Stewart's seventh win in the last 15 Sprint Cup races. Stewart's win was the result of choosing to stay out when the caution flag dropped for rain at lap 123 following the strategies of David Reutimann and Joey Logano who both won races in 2009 using the same rain rush strategy. Unlike those two examples, Stewart had the dominant car throughout the race and is deserving of the win.

After starting 10th and moving through the top 10 for during the early part of the race, Stewart took the lead at lap 85 and never looked back.

When the caution dropped, Denny Hamlin (who was running second and catching Stewart) elected to pit losing his second place position. Hamlin ended up 11th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also continues his impressive run this year netting a 3rd place finish.

Next week we will find the series at Martinsville for the Goody's Fast Relief 500.

The top 5:
1. Tony Stewart #14 Office Depot Chevrolet
2. Kyle Busch #18 M&M's Toyota
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet
4. Kevin Harvick #29 Budweiser Chevrolet
5. Carl Edwards #99 Subway Ford

Monday, March 19, 2012

Food City 500 at Bristol Wrap-Up

Photo Property of Yahoo! Sports
Just seconds after pulling into victory land, Brad Keselowski posted a picture of his view from the winning race car. Keselowski dominated the race leading 232 of the 500 laps including the most important, final lap en route to his second Bristol victory. He managed to hold off Matt Kenseth even as he seemed to jump the mid race restart without any reaction from NASCAR officials.

Keselowski did manage to avoid a major wreck on lap 25 by just inches after Kasey Kahne (who fell back to 32nd in points) cut in-front of Regan Smith also taking out Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch.

Besides the win from Keselowski and the #2 Miller Light Dodge, we saw a great race from Michael Waltrip Racing who fielded the 3-4-5 place finishers with Truex Jr, Bowyer, and Vickers respectively. This was a bounce-back race for Brian Vickers with his fifth place finish in his first Sprint Cup race of the year since Red Bull closed its doors following the 2011 season. I look to see Vickers perform well in his remaining five races as he looks to prove he deserves a Sprint Cup ride.

The next race is the Auto Club 400 at Fontana.

Top 5:
1. Brad Keselowski #2 Miller Light Dodge
2. Matt Kenseth #17 Best Buy Ford
3. Martin Truex Jr. #56 Napa Auto Parts Toyota
4. Clint Bowyer #15 Five Hour Energy Toyota
5. Brian Vickers #55 Aarons Rentals Toyota

2012 BMW 328i Review

Photo Property of BMW North America. Photo Shows 2012
BMW 328i in the luxury line.
There are always comments against a new 3-series when there is a change in vehicle size, engine displacement, or cylinder count. This new 328i has all three. Overall length is up by 3.7 inches with a stretch in wheel base of 1.9 inches. In addition, the engine has shrunk to a 4 cylinder 2.0L twin scroll turbo engine putting out 240hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. The 335i carries over the same engine, a 3.0L turbo charged straight six engine producing an even 300hp. On top of the engine, the 3 series now gains a no charge ZF eight speed steptronic automatic. 


During my review I had a chance to sample a 328i with the eight speed automatic in mineral white metallic with beige Dakota leather. This car included the optional premium package ($3,600) (auto-dimming mirrors, moonroof, comfort access keyless entry, lumbar support, power front seats, a universal garage door opener and a choice of leather seat options), split fold down rear seat ($475), heated front seats ($500), satellite radio ($350) and alarm system ($400). This brought the total as-tested price to $41,670 including 895 for destination and handling in addition to the $34,900 sticker.


To start with, I was not a fan of the last generation E90 3 series. I found the design to be awkward with bad placement of buttons (especially the window switches) to go along with awkward lines that defined the Chris Bengal era of BMW. I found the transmission to be jerky and harsh to go with an engine lacking pep (in the 328 anyway). With this new BMW, I have found all of my qualms of the previous generation repaired. I find myself falling back in love with the 3 series that I felt died with the production of the E46 line. My concerns about the reduced engine size, the creation of turbo lag and a boost in curb weight to support the increased size were immediately erased (in fact the new 328 is 80 punds lighter even with the increase in length).




Photo is Property of BMW North America. Sport Line
Interior Shown.
Inside the new 328 you will find a new driver oriented cabin that is both comfortable and stylish. The dash is turned slightly towards the driver with all controls in easy reach for the driver. This take the driver back to the E46 feel of control over the cabin. Fit and finish has a feel of quality to it. Seats, as is typical with BMW, are extremely supportive and comfortable even after a long period of time. The seats have plenty of side bolstering and the lumbar feature added from the premium package can make anyone comfortable. In addition, the rear has found an increase in legroom due to the extended overall length and wheelbase. Also trunk space has grown .7 inches bringing it to a total of 17 cubic feet. 


On a technology front, iDrive is now standard with a much improved interface. The car some stock with a 6.5" video screen that increases in size to 8" with the added navigation option. With the much improved interface, I found my iPhone connected quickly and also got the phone set up to play music through the stereo. 


On the exterior, you will find some carried over cues fromt eh previous generation but it is a new design that seems like a baby 5-series. I am a big fan of the connection of the headlights to the grille area, the dipping hood, and the slightly forward angle of the grille. The traditional ultra-short overhangs of earlier 3-series has grown with the increased length by about one inch at both ends. 


One of the most discussed new features were the four lines that would be offered. In addition to the base 3-series, there are now the modern, luxury, and sport lines. Each line features its own tweaks (including different interior and exterior cues) and 18 inch wheels. The M Sport line is not currently released but look for that later this year.


Another addition to the 3-series is start-stop technology. I am typically not a fan of this because I find it to be a frustration to a driver who is often stuck in stop-and-go traffic. This is far from a seamless system and you often find the car stuttering back to life of restarts and often did not even shut off at stops. This even began to annoy my BMW rider who looked to shut off the option shortly after leaving the dealer.


One feature was particularly useless. This is the ability to open the trunk by placing your foot under the rear bumper. This was disappointing to see when even a trained technician took five minutes trying to open the trunk before giving in. 


BMW has also reduced the number of drive modes to four (Eco Pro, Comfort, Sport and Sport+). Eco Pro mode reduces drag on the engine by running systems such as the air conditioning and seat heaters at less than full capacity. This mode, however, kills throttle responsiveness turning your $40,000 BMW into a car capable of losing to a Toyota Yaris in a drag race. While you are in the mode you are constantly receiving dash icons suggesting that you slow down and let off the gas. It did not take long to change to the other modes. All of the modes affect throttle responsiveness, suspension dampening (with the adaptive suspension) and steering effort. The only difference between Sport and Sport+ is that the computer puts the stability control into dynamic mode. Although sterring is a massive improvement over the BMW active steering fromt he E90, the steering often found more lock than you would ask for and a bit more variability that you would like.


The suspension is as great as you would expect it to be in a 3-series with perfect 50-50 weight distribution and a generous stability control system (which was still turned off anyway). The car felt controlled and easy to play with while driving around. It was very hard to notice a suspension difference between Sport and comfort modes, however. 


Overall, this is a great example of what BMW can do. I love the new efficient engine, the quality interior, and the ability to change the car from a quiet luxury car with a smooth ride to a wild beast of a sports car just by modifying the drive mode. I feel that the steering feel (or lack there of) as a result of the change to electronically powered steering assistance is a downside but since you are finding this in most current vehicles (even the new Porsche Boxster), it is not a major negative. I feel that the fantastic textured wood trim that I had in my test model should be more widely available. Finally, I feel that the increase i size was done well but there must be a point where it is too much. This 3-series passes the last generation 5-series in size.


Specs:
Body style: 4-door sedan
Accommodation: 5-passenger
Construction: Steel unibody



Measurements
L x W x H: 182.5 x 71.3 x 56.3 in
Wheelbase: 110.6 in
Track F/R: 60.3/61.9 in
Headroom F/R: 40.3/37.7 in
Legroom F/R: 42.0/35.1 in
Cargo capacity: 13 cu ft
Weight: 3406 lb
Fuel capacity: 15.6 gal
Powertrain
Engine: 16-valve DOHC I-4 turbo
Displacement: 2.0 liters (122 cu in)
Power: 240 hp @ 5000 rpm
Torque: 260 lb-ft @ 1250–4800 rpm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Drive: Rear-wheel
Fuel economy: 23/34 mpg (city/highway, estimated)
Chassis
Steering: Electrically assisted rack and pinion
Turning circle: 37.1 ft
Suspension, front: damper struts, coil springs
Suspension, rear: multi-link, coil springs
Brakes: Ventilated discs, ABS
Wheels: 19-inch aluminum alloy
Tires: Bridgestone Potenza S001
Tire size, front: 225/40R-19
Tire size, rear: 255/35R-19

Friday, March 16, 2012

2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Update

For those looking to pick up the newly designed and rejuvenated Ford Shelby GT500 with a newly packed 650bhp engine can now begin their visual dreams as the online configurator has gone live on www.ford.com. This vehicle follows other configurators from Ford and you can deck out your Mustang in multiple colors, stripes, and accessories.

There are a lot of available options for the vehicle including Sync, voice activated navigation, and a shaker sound system with three subwoofers. Recaro seats are even available for about $1600.

A fully decked out Stang will run you about $66,500 sticker and a base vehicle will start at just over $54,000 but will be the first stock mustang capable of going over 200mph.

Auto Lawsuit Round-Up

This is a long week for automakers who are being sued for their vehicles or their business practices.

Heather Peters vs Honda Motor Corporation (California): Peters, who recently won just under $10,000 in a California small claims court over the argument that her Civic Hybrid did not meet the as advertised mpg rating of the vehicle, is not trying to get the California Supreme Court to cancel the class action suit against Honda because each person in the suit would only receive $100-200 instead of the $9600 she won because of perceived unfairness (lawyers stand to make $8.5 million from the case).

Cobra Landscaping and Construction Inc vs Ford Motor Company (New Jersey): Ford is being sued for allegedly selling F-Series trucks and E-Series vans with defective fuel tank linings over a 10 year period. The complaint states that these vehicles built between 1999 and 2008 can have the fuel tank linings separate or flake off causing the truck to stall. Supposedly Ford issues a "secret" technical service bulletin to dealers about the issue but has not issued a recall. No Comment by Ford at this point.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Battle of the Champions: Las Vegas Recap

With an amazing three wide pass, Tony Stewart passed Jimmie Johnson to take the lead on a late restart to finally win at Las Vegas. Coming back with a new crew chief and hope of finally winning at Vegas, Stewart hoped to overcome hit late race pit road mishap of last year. This year, Stewart took the lead with 34 laps to go and did not look back even with a few late race cautions.

The race also continued the Johnson Daytona comeback even after suffering a wreck in Saturday practice that cause him to go to a back-up car. This cause him to start at the back but soon saw him leading around lap 83. Johnson managed to hold on to second place to bring him back in the top 35 in points after his horrible Daytona race and the point penalty from NASCAR for failing pre-race inspection during speedweeks.

On another note, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was on fire during the beginning of the race as we saw him lead more than 70 laps (more than he led all last season) only to find himself in the back as he took a four tire pit stop putting when others took two. Junior managed to get 10th place out of it as he tried climbing his way back up extending his winless streak.

Delay

Dear Readers:

I apologize about not posting recently. I have spent the last few days driving some cars to post reviews including the 2012 BMW 328i and the 528i. I will also be reviewing the 2012 Mustang GT. those reviews in addition to my Las Vegas race summary will be posted withing the next day or two. Again sorry for the delay.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Subway Fresh Fit 500 Phoenix Wrap-Up

Photo Property of NASCAR
Yesterday's race at the Phoenix International Raceway is the perfect example of a strategy game in real life sports. The race came down to a fuel millage shootout where the last man running was the one going home with the trophy. The race was mostly typical for a track like Phoenix International Raceway where you would see most of the incidents caused by cut tires or someone getting loose.

With 59 laps to go, the race restarted with Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick battling it out for the win. Hamlin was able to hold on and has begun to show promise for the 2012 Season after holding off the closer until he ran out of gas with 1 to go and coasted to a second place finish. This race also shows how a fresh perspective can help a race team with Darian Grubb, the championship winning crew chief who was fired from Stewart Haas Racing, coming on board to replace Mike Ford. Hopefully this showing means that Hamlin is on the way back to his 2010 level where he finished second in the points to Johnson. Hamlin had a miserable underperforming season last year.

The race also saw a bounce back for Jimmie Johnson who clawed his way back to a fourth place finish after a shaking wheel set him back midway through the race. Johnson appeared to be the favorite for the race after leading early on with a fast Chevy Impala. His fourth place finish still leaves him in 37th in the standings after his bad showing at Daytona and his 25 point fine for Chad Knaus' illegal modification which is under review.

The newly paved surface at Phoenix also added some problems with Kasey Kahne and Paul Menard both sliding into the wall and Ryan Newman took a hit after Carl Edward's 99 car slid up into him sending Newman spinning.

Next up is the Kobalt Tools 500 at Las Vegas.

Forza Horizon and Forza4 Porsche Expansion

It has just been announced that we can finally expect to see Porsche's like the 2010 911 Sport Classic and the 2010 Boxster S returning to Forza in two months. The new expansion pack with feature over 30 Porsches left out of the original game because EA would not allow Turn 10 Studios to use the license. This pack will be available for 1600 microsoft points (or $19.99) and will also include 20 Porsche centric events and 10 new Xbox Live achievements totaling 250 Gamerscore points.

In addition we can expect new rivals features for the Porsche pack as well as AI driven Porsches and online access. The pack may even include some new Autovista Porsches.

On to bigger news. It has just been announced that Forza Horizon will hit shelves this fall. This game is a collaboration between Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games (known for working on games such as Grid and DiRT). This game is expected to be an open world type of game equivalent to what people were hoping to receive for Test Drive Unlimited 2. This is rumored in incorporate street racing into the game surrounded by cars from Forza 4.

Not much has been said about this upcomming game but a teaser trailer suggesting the game style has been released which you can see here: