Sunday, November 6, 2011

Infographic: The ins and outs of owning a tank

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Tank ownership infographic

Tanks are a unique form of wheeled transportation. Performance is measured not in terms of speed or quickness, but how much destruction a tank can dish out and absorb in return. Tanks played a huge role in the first and second World Wars, but in our modern age of unmanned drone warfare and undetectable teams of special operators, these iron-sided bears have become to military aficionados what a Duesenberg is to a classic car collector. And thus, owning your own tank may be as attractive a proposition to you as putting an MG in your garage.

This infographic is a good primer for tank ownership, and includes such information as where to buy one, how much you can expect to pay, and the legal requirements you'll need to meet before you can call yourself the proud owner of a weapon of tracked destruction. You'll also be in good company, as the infographic cites a number of other known tank owners, including novelist Tom Clancy, which makes perfect sense when you think about it. Follow the jump to see the infographic from top to bottom.

Continue reading Infographic: The ins and outs of owning a tank

Infographic: The ins and outs of owning a tank originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 05 Nov 2011 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/11/05/infographic-the-ins-and-outs-of-owning-a-tank/

Jaroslav Falta Claudio Federici Tim Ferry Ashley Fiolek Ernesto Fonseca Lauris Freibergs

Tesla confirms Mercedes EV, love of IKEA

Tesla has signed a letter of intent to develop an electric powertrain for an upcoming Mercedes. It be the rumored B- or S-Class EV.

Source: http://feeds.worldcarfans.com/~r/worldcarfans/Jxfz/~3/AiA5ExIg0tc/tesla-confirms-mercedes-ev-love-of-ikea

Daryl Ecklund Erik Eggens Richard Eierstedt Jimmy Ellis Jeff Emig Harry Everts

Kenny Wallace sets new career milestone

Source: http://www.skirtsandscuffs.com/2011/11/kenny-wallace-sets-new-career-milestone.html

Josh Grant Billy Grossi Werner Haas Silvio Habat Larbi Habbiche Ron Hackett

Report: GM taking issue with Saab ownership change

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Saab badge

Big trouble is brewing in little China. While Swedish automaker Saab was has agreed to sell itself to Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. for what seemingly amounts to a pittance ($142 million and up to $854 million in long-term funding), General Motors, Saab's former parent in the United States, is apparently none too pleased.

In a statement by spokesman Jim Cain, General Motors noted the following: "GM would not be able to support a change in the ownership of Saab which could negatively impact GM's existing relationships in China or otherwise adversely affect GM's interests worldwide."

How would GM's Chinese efforts be negatively impacted? Remember that Saab's current line of vehicles uses major structures and technologies developed from The General's latest parts bins. Consider, too, that GM has a major deal with SAIC, the largest automaker in China. If Pang Da and Youngman were able to procure GM's intellectual property and technologies as a result of the Saab purchase - especially at cut-rate pricing - SAIC and its costlier joint venture with General Motors would look more than a bit out of place.

According to Reuters, General Motors likely still has enough control of Saab to squash the pending sale to its would-be Chinese owners if it is in the company's best interest to do so. Plus, the Chinese authorities have yet to put their stamp of approval on the purchase of Saab. In other words, this already long and impossibly complicated story continues to get even more so.

GM taking issue with Saab ownership change originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/11/04/gm-taking-issue-with-saab-ownership-change/

Bjorn Hasli Yasumasa Hatakeyama Mike Hawthorne Nicky Hayden James Haydon Dirk Heidolf

David Vuillemin Talks About Why He Left as Team Manager of MotoConcepts

David Vuillemin spoke with Supercross.com about why he left as team manager of the MotoConcepts supercross / motocross race team. Here's what DV had to say...

You recently left your position at MotoConcepts as the Team Manager, why did you make that decision?

I was ready to work with their "future rider" (Editor's note: We believe the rider is Mike Alessi) in our program and help him improve his supercross skills and become a top 5 contender again. We would budge on the brand of the bike (Suzuki) and some other wishes the rider wanted. But I still wanted to have some control and some say on the program to continue our good work we've been doing for a year. Everything was agreed around Pala National to go ahead and do the deal, but it didn't go thru after all. The rider and the family wanted way more control on everything. At that point, I told Mike Genova (Team Owner) if he wanted to give them all the control, I could not stay in the position just to wear a team shirt and watch someone else run the team. The deal was then off the table, and we started looking at other options by sending offers to a few other riders, but after the Monster Cup, Sunday night, Mike Genova decided to go back and give the rider and his family what they wanted.


Photo courtesy Cycle News

Source: http://www.supercross.com/features/david-vuillemin-talks-about-why-he-left-as-team-manager-of-motoconcepts

Broc Glover Rui Goncalves Josh Grant Billy Grossi Werner Haas Silvio Habat

Los Angeles: Why is Nintendo going to the LA Auto Show?

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The LA Auto Show is less than two weeks away, which means every automaker that will be in attendance is putting the finishing touches on what their executives will say during their respective press conferences. It goes the same for each automaker: An exec will talk about sales numbers, maybe brag about some newly bestowed industry award, and then a new concept or production model will be rolled out. There is one company, however, that will likely do none of that.

If you look over the official list of press conferences for the LA Auto Show, you'll discover that Nintendo has a spot near the end of the second day. Now, companies not endemic to the auto industry have hopped up on soap boxes during auto shows before, but none from any industry we hold so dear to our hearts as video games.

What could Nintendo possibly have to say or show? We don't know. There's speculation that Nintendo could be getting into the business of automotive infotainment, but we've seen no evidence to support this hypothesis. Since Nintendo hasn't leased any space at the show, MotoworldHype guesses that it might announce some kind of partnership with an OEM. Whatever it is, Nintendo is remaining tight-lipped, saying only, "We'll have more info coming soon, but nothing more to announce at this time."

Why is Nintendo going to the LA Auto Show? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/11/05/why-is-nintendo-going-to-the-la-auto-show/

Rui Goncalves Josh Grant Billy Grossi Werner Haas Silvio Habat Larbi Habbiche

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Vitantonio Liuzzi - classic F1

Vitantonio Liuzzi is the latest driver to choose his five all-time favourite grands prix for BBC Sport's classic Formula 1 series.

The HRT driver, who elected to stay in F1 for a seventh season this year with a back-of-the-grid team rather than look for a more competitive drive elsewhere, certainly knows his F1 history. The Italian's selection comprises five all-time classic events.

Vitantonio Liuzzi

Liuzzi decided to join HRT this year to ensure he kept his name alive in F1

The 1979 French Grand Prix

A race famous for what Liuzzi describes as the "amazing fight" between Ferrari's Gilles Villeneuve and Renault's Rene Arnoux over second place in the final three laps, as the two men passed and re-passed each other, occasionally banging wheels in perhaps the most frenetic three laps of racing in F1 history.

The race also marked Renault's first win in F1, courtesy of Jean-Pierre Jabouille, and the first for a car with a turbocharged engine - the type of power-plant that is returning to the sport in the new 'green' F1 from 2014.

The 1982 Monaco Grand Prix

This race featured perhaps the most chaotic closing stages in F1 history, with five different leaders vying for the win, and was described by Murray Walker at the time as "certainly the most exciting, eventful grand prix I have ever seen".

Long-time leader Alain Prost crashed his Renault at the chicane in a late shower of rain, leaving Brabham's Riccardo Patrese in front and on course for his first F1 win. But he, too, was caught out on the slippery track, spinning just three-quarters of a lap later than Prost, this time on the hill down from Mirabeau to Loews.

Patrese managed to bump-start his car but only after being passed for the lead by Ferrari's Didier Pironi, who then stuttered to a halt, out of fuel, in the tunnel. That should have given the lead to Alfa Romeo's Andrea de Cesaris but he, too, had stopped with an empty tank, even before he got to the site of Patrese's spin. And Williams driver Derek Daly, who could also have moved up, had stopped with a broken driveshaft. All that meant Patrese crossed the line in the lead, even though, as Liuzzi points out "he didn't know he'd won".

The 1989 Japanese Grand Prix

A familiar choice, this is a race that is central to the legend of Ayrton Senna and a key event in his bitter feud with arch-rival Prost, then his team-mate at McLaren. Prost led for much of the race but was caught by Senna in the closing stages. When the Brazilian went for a pass at the chicane, the two men collided.

Prost knew he was world champion if both men retired. But as he climbed out of the car, Senna decided to continue. He pitted to replace a damaged nose cone and recovered to pass Benetton's Alessandro Nannini for a brilliant win.

Senna was later controversially disqualified, leading to the extraordinary development of McLaren appealing against the result of a race that had given the world title to one of their drivers. The appeal was unsuccessful.

The 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix

Like Monaco 1982, another chaotic finish in the rain, with perhaps an even more extraordinary result. Heavy downpours led to the retirements of many leading drivers, including world champion Michael Schumacher. And the race was brought to a premature end when first Mark Webber crashed his Jaguar at high speed coming on to the pit straight and then Fernando Alonso's Renault ploughed into the debris.

The result hinged on who had crossed the line at the point the race was stopped. Timekeepers initially handed the win to McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen but Jordan were convinced their man Giancarlo Fisichella had won. Jordan appealed, successfully, and Fisichella was named as the winner, Raikkonen handing him the trophy at a little ceremony before the following race, the San Marino GP at Imola.

The 2005 Japanese Grand Prix

Arguably the best grand prix there has ever been - and one we dealt with when Mark Webber made his selections last week.

As always, we pick one 'feature' race, so this time we have gone for Monaco 1982. The full Grand Prix programme of the time is embedded below. Underneath it, to whet your appetites for the action in Yeongam this weekend, are links to short and extended highlights of Alonso's momentous victory in last year's inaugural Korean Grand Prix.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.


CLICK HERE FOR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 KOREAN GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE FOR EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 KOREAN GRAND PRIX

Viewers in the UK can watch the classic races on digital television, where we will be showing short highlights of France 1979, Monaco 1982, Japan 1989 and Japan 2005 and extended highlights of Korea 2010.

On satellite, cable and Freeview, they will be broadcast between first and second practice on Friday 14 October from 0335-0555 BST.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/10/vitantonio_liuzzi_-_classic_f1.html

Paul Menard Richmond Menards Ford Carlo Abate George Abecassis Kenny Acheson Andrea de Adamich