Autoblog

click above for more images of the HiQ service center

As some of us are pretty sharp with a wrench, we loathe taking our cars elsewhere for repairs. Most of the time, we want to watch the guy doing the work, and that's usually not possible so we end up chain-drinking burnt coffee in the waiting room. HiQ, a new automotive service chain in the UK, is revamping its brand and has decided to allow customers to get in on the action. To prove their new concept, cooked up by branding wizards Fitch, HiQ has opened a new facility in Nottingham. The design is clean and more retail chic than a greasy-fingernailed muffler shop. Our favorite feature, by far, is the glass wall that allows you to stare down the monkey lad as he applies several hundred pound-feet of torque to your wheel lugs with an impact wrench.

Thanks for the tip, Larry!

[Source and photos: the Cool Hunter]

If you've got your money on Prodrive making an unprecedented F1 debut next season, we'd recommend calling your bookie and changing your bet. The British racing consultancy was preparing to hit the grand prix circuit using equipment obtained through a deal with McLaren, but the agreement that was all but dotted and crossed has reportedly fallen apart.

Neither Prodrive nor McLaren have yet to comment, but according to Autosport.com, the deal is off. As we'd reported previously, Prodrive were to become an effective second McLaren team by using the same chassis next season, but that all depends on the FIA Court of Appeal's ruling on the legality of such an arrangement. That procedure was, according to Prodrive chief David Richards – also chairman of Aston Martin and former lyteam principal at first Benetton and then BAR-Honda – was the last obstacle standing between the new team and its fight for podiums in 2008. It would appear, however, that McLaren is less than confident that the regulatory body will rubber-stamp the customer-car deal, as they've reportedly told their employees not to prepare the additional Prodrive cars.

Mad props to our reader andybee for the tip!

[Source: Autosport]

Teams aren't teams in Formula One, they're constructors. It's part of the definition that makes F1 what it is: each team builds their own cars. Engines can be obtained from a major manufacturer – though BMW, Renault, Honda and Toyota have joined Ferrari in doing it all in-house – but in theory, at least, each team is supposed to have its own chassis.

That notion, however, is coming under fire. Red Bull and its satellite Scuderia Toro Rosso used a common design this year. Super Aguri is preparing a chassis acquired from its engine supplier Honda, and newcomer team Prodrive just announced it'd be fielding cars bought wholesale from McLaren. The potential result is being billed as "super teams", essentially giving several racing outfits four cars instead of two.

The jury is still out at the FIA as to just how "kosher" this development is, and in the process the fates of several teams lie in the balance. Never prepared to sit on the sidelines, Ferrari is rumored to be considering providing a complete car instead of just an engine to one of the teams it currently powers, though while the motorsport press is suggesting Toro Rosso as the potential recipient, its tie-in with Red Bull Racing might leave the recently sold (and soon to be renamed) Spyker team a more likely partner. For McLaren's part, however, having two teams in which to split their star drivers could prove the most convenient of all.

[Source: F1i.com]