Autoblog

Unlikely Pacer: Ford Fiesta to lead the field at CarFax 400

Zach Bowman — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:33:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Budget, Sedan, Ford

Sure enough, the upcoming Sprint Cup Carfax 400 will be paced by none other than the Blue Oval's tiny 2011 Fiesta Sedan. With less than a third of the displacement of the tube-frame beasts lapping Michigan International Speedway, we wouldn't quite expect lightning-quick pace laps, but hey - safety first. While pace cars are typically some sort of performance product, manufacturers aren't past parading less than muscular new hardware in front of the captive audiences of the raceway.

If Ford was looking for a way to bring its marketing for the Fiesta out of the social media realm and into a more mainstream American venue, they could have hardly done better than the Sprint Cup. On average, the series races net 7.9 million viewers. On Sunday, August 15, each and every one of those souls will get to watch a maroon four door fiesta lead the pack, complete with a massive Blue Oval decal down the side. Talk about cheap advertising. Check out the gallery for a few shots from the car's unveiling.

Gallery: Ford Fiesta Pace Car

[Source: Ford Racing via Facebook]

Unlikely Pacer: Ford Fiesta to lead the field at CarFax 400 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Automotive X-Prize: Finals Stage begins, Edison2 remains only team that can win mainstream class, $5 million

Autoblog Staff — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Specialty

Edison2's Very Light Car - Click above for high-res image gallery

This week, the Finals Stage of the Automotive X-Prize finally begins and, as we found our recently, only one team has any hope of driving away with the $5 million mainstream prize. That team is Edison2, which has two cars still competing in the category, both versions of the Very Light Car we first met at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year. There are also 13 vehicles competing in the alternative classes. The AXP sent out a release today describing what is planned for the Finals Stage:

During this stage, teams will compete in emissions, efficiency, and range events conducted by the competition organizers. In addition, teams must successfully complete various dynamic safety events, including a 0-60 mph acceleration, 60-0 mph braking, and a double lane change avoidance maneuver, conducted and evaluated by automotive engineers from Consumer Reports. The top finalists in each class will be announced July 27 prior to the start of a "coast down" exercise that will allow competition organizers to gain key performance information about the aerodynamics and rolling resistance of each vehicle to properly prepare them for the Validation Stage to be held at Argonne National Labs in August. Winners will be announced in September in Washington, D.C.

As we can see in this PDF, the two cars that Edison2 has left in the mainstream class were tested at 67.3 and 80.3 miles per gallon equivalent (mpge). Those numbers were good enough to pass the Knockout Stage (where 66 mpge was the important number), but there's a long way to go from there to 100 mpge, one of the benchmarks needed to win the X-Prize. One of the cars did manage to reach 101.4 mpge during the Knockout Stage, but took an eight lap penalty for "working on the car" during the highway test cycle and "for failure to meet minimum lap time requirements." We'll get more information on what this means when we visit the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI later this week.

We'll also investigate the other important questions here: What are the Very Light Car's chances to win this thing? If Edison2 doesn't make it, then what happens? Will there be a second Automotive X-Prize to award the $5 million mainstream award? We'll ask soon. Until then, you can read Edison2's words about these cars here. Also, there's a video of how Consumer Reports is testing the cars after the jump.

Gallery: Automotive X-Prize: Edison2 Very Light Car

Photos by Sebastian Blanco / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Edison2, Automotive X-Prize, Damien Somerset]

Continue reading Automotive X-Prize: Finals Stage begins, Edison2 remains only team that can win mainstream class, $5 million

Automotive X-Prize: Finals Stage begins, Edison2 remains only team that can win mainstream class, $5 million originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Michigan International Speedway joining with state to create car test facility

Jonathon Ramsey — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal, Safety, Technology

Michigan International Speedway (MIS) plays host to two NASCAR races: the 3M Performance 400 Presented by Bondo in the Sprint Cup Series, and the Carfax 250 in the Nationwide Series. Both races are likely to involve a fair number of cars crashing into each other, so it's ronic, then, that the MIS has been selected by the Michigan Department of Transportation as a neutral testing facility for car-to-car and car-to-road technology that are expected to one day prevent cars from crashing.

The testing is a part of Michigan's "Connected Vehicles" program, which is examining the practical use of technologies that allow cars to communicate with one another. The $100 million state program is four years into its five-year term, and needed a site where it could test a variety of makes and a range of components without giving anyone home-field advantage. The Speedway is now that site.

Between automakers and technology suppliers, Connected Vehicles is expected to add up to 40,000 jobs to the Michigan economy, 1,000 in 2009 alone. The larger goal behind it is for Michigan to position itself as a center of automotive technology and research -- and were it to succeed and end up creating cars that can't crash, that would make a nice filler for the vacuum created by the Detroit 3.

[Source: Detroit News | Image: Ronald Martinez/Getty]

Michigan International Speedway joining with state to create car test facility originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins in Michigan, ends 76-race losing streak

John Neff — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the darling of NASCAR, but the motorsport's most popular driver was completely winless for the last 76 races until this past weekend when the Intimidator's son won the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Junior won the race in an odd way, literally coasting across the finish line on an empty tank of gas under a caution flag after Patrick Carpenter spun out on lap 203. The race had been extended to overtime after Sam Hornish Jr. spun on Lap 200, and had it not been for the caution Carpenter created three laps later, Junior would likely would've ran out of gas before the finish. Rather than do burnouts afterwards on the track, Earnhardt's #88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy had to be pushed to Victory Ciricle. The win not only ended Junior's drought, but also gave his new employer, Rick Hendrick, his second win of the season. Many thought this might be Junior's year after he handily won the Bud Shootout ahead of the Daytona 500. That was his first race as a member of Hendrick Motorsports and didn't count for points, but the rest of the season has not gone his way until this past weekend.

[Source: NASCAR]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins in Michigan, ends 76-race losing streak originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

VIDEO: Franchitti's harrowing airborne crash during Firestone 400

John Neff — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 12:02:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Indianapolis 500 winner, current IndyCar points leader and husband of actress of Ashley Judd (rank those however you want) Dario Franchitti was involved in a spectacular airborne crash during this weekend's Firestone 400 at Michigan International Speedway, though fortunately he walked away with nary a scratch. Franchitti was doing his best to hold off Dan Wheldon, currently 4th in points, on Lap 144, when his rear end touched wheels with the front of Wheldon's car. Franchitti's car turned sideways in front of Wheldon, which instantly created a giant wing and a ramp from which his car was launched high into the air at over 200 mph. At one point the car was pointing straight down at the pavement. Franchitti eventually landed upside down on top of Scott Dixon's car, narrowly missing the head of the man who is currently chasing him in points. In addition to those three drivers and their cars, Sam Hornish Jr., Tomas Scheckter, Ed Carpenter and A.J. Foyt IV were also involved in this 7-car crash/aerial display. Though no one was seriously injured, A.J. Foyt IV was showing everyone his helmet, which reportedly featured tire marks from Franchitti's car. Wheldon was absolved of any responsibility for the crash by Franchitti, who said after the race, "It's not Dan's fault and I don't believe it's my fault. We're just out there trying to get an advantage."

It's thought Franchitti was on pace to win the race, having led the most laps despite not finishing with 56 left to go. Tony Kanaan took the checkered flag instead, though Franchitti remains the season's points leader.

Check out the crash from every possible camera angle after the jump.

[Source: IndyCar.com, ESPN]

Continue reading VIDEO: Franchitti's harrowing airborne crash during Firestone 400

VIDEO: Franchitti's harrowing airborne crash during Firestone 400 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 06 Aug 2007 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments