My son asked what would happen if his finger were in the path of the electric window when it closed. I suggested we stick a piece of Red Vine licorice in the window to find out. The results weren't pretty, though to this day I'm still finding tiny bits of red licorice stuck in the channels of the window frame. Boys...
In a move aimed at preventing incidents like these in vehicles, a bill was sent to President Bush earlier this week with brand new safety regulations for automakers. Under the new bill, power windows would be required to automatically reverse themselves if resistance is encountered from a finger or, say, a Twizzlers. Some high-end automakers already include this type of window safety system in their vehicles, thought they are not currently mandated industry-wide.
A second provision says that there must be a minimum standard for driver visibility to the rear of the vehicle, presumably to help parents avoid backing up over Timmy's Big Wheel... or Timmy himself. Automakers could meet this new rule with additional mirrors, cameras, or sensors to the vehicle. New uses for Infiniti's Around View Monitor come to mind. The third and final provision is designed to prevent accidental shifting of vehicles out of park, and would likely turn your floor-mounted shifter into the auto-equivalent of a child-proof lighter.
The entire auto industry is reportedly behind the legislation and it's obviously already passed both houses of Congress, so analysts expect the President to sign it without any changes. While these new laws will undoubtedly make vehicles less dangerous for children, an alert driver still remains the most important piece in the safety puzzle.
With revenues and attendance declining, Merlbourne's Albert Park circuit is in danger of losing the Australian Grand Prix to another venue Down Under, but the organizers aren't giving up without a fight. With cash from title sponsor ING, which has been pouring big bucks into its F1 sponsorship program, the 2008 Australian Grand Prix is gearing up to be a huge spectacle that will include a V8 Supercars race and even a two-hour KISS concert in addition to the headline Formula One contest. Now the organizers have added another supporting event that will mark the first time the Fiat 500 will be raced.
The race-prepped retro-minis will be the car of choice for the Celebrity Challenge, which pits local Australian celebrities against each other on the race track. Although no information has been provided on what sort of race preparation the Fiats will undergo for the event, we wouldn't expect the modifications to go far beyond basic safety equipment, like a roll cage and racing buckets with competition harnesses visible in the photos.
In addition to being the 500's racing debut, the event will also mark the car's unveiling for Australia and New Zealand, as well as the debut of the right-hand-drive version of the tiny Fiat.
Scheduling conflicts between the Grand Prix and the V8 Supercars series were reconciled to allow the two races to take place together, while race officials denied rumors that they were intent on following Singapore's lead in changing the Australian Grand Prix to a flood-lit night race.
Check out the images in the high-resolution gallery below, and the full press release after the jump.
With plans on the drawing board to potentially move the defunct USGP from Indianapolis to Las Vegas, BMW is ostensibly testing the waters by staging one of its popular Pit Lane Park demonstrations in Sin City this coming January.
BMW stages the public demonstrations at various grands prix and events around the world. The park features demonstrations of the team's F1 cars, a live pit lane display and a variety of hands-on experiences for racing fans. At the recent event staged at the British Grand Prix, the team brought in Nigel Mansell and Johnny Herbert who returned to the wheel of an F1 car for the fans' enjoyment.
The Vegas event, which will be located on the Gold Lot by the corner of Paradise Road and Convention Center Drive, will be held during the Consumer Electronics Show, held from January 7 to 10, 2008. At the same time as CES, Vegas is also usually host to a pornographers' convention, which, notwithstanding the wealth of electronic technology packed into a modern F1 car, may actually come closer to the obscenely ecstatic sight of the formula race cars pulling donuts and smokey burn-outs at close range.
Remember when we suggested there was no way that rapper 50 Cent would choose to put two Pontiacs, the G8 and G6 GXP, in his video for "Amusement Park"? In fact, we went so far as to say that you'd have to suspend disbelief in order to think that Fiddy would want his girlz sliding all over Pontiacs instead of Lambos and Bentleys.
Well, we were wrong.
What we should have remembered is that rappers work in mysterious ways. According to a Pontiac spokeswoman, 50 saw the G6 GXP -- a car that could be called "Flipper" based on that massive, trunk-mounted fluke -- and G8 at the NAIAS, and requested them himself. Total cost to Pontiac: $0.00.
The last time we heard about 50 being pulled over, it was in a Murcielago Roadster, and word is he's also selling his Connecticut mansion. Does his new album "Curtis" and the Pontiac fetish herald a slower, more frugal 50 Cent?
In the United States, racing fans get one chance a year to see F1 cars in action at the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis. Those willing to trek over the border get another shot at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, each pitting a couple dozen current Formula One single-seaters against each other in pursuit of the world championship. British fans, however, are in for an even sweeter treat in the form of GPLive, a spectacular display of over 200 historic grand prix racers that will take place at Donington Park later this month.
Running over the course of the weekend from May 18-20, GPLive will feature what promises to be the largest single gathering of F1 cars, spanning decades of the sport, in one fast-paced, high-octane retrospective. Dozens will be on display from the famous Donington Park collection, in addition to others from private collections. More than a hundred, meanwhile, will take to the track again to relive their glory days, including several former world champions' rides.
One of the highlights will undoubtedly be the four cars taking part from the private collection of 1979 world champion Jody Scheckter, including his championship-winning Ferrari 312 T4. Joining Scheckter's cars will be cars driven by past champions including James Hunt, Alan Jones, Jim Clark and Mario Andretti. Ayrton Senna's 1986 Lotus-Renault 98T, in full JPS livery and 1000-horsepower spec, as well as dozens more, will also be on hand for the enjoyment of the crowd of motoring enthusiasts, for whom this is shaping up to be the event of a lifetime.
Follow the link for more details of the historic racing machines to be included in the GPLive show.
The Emirates are gearing up for the opening of FerrariWorld in Abu Dhabi, but they won't have the monopoly for long, it seems. Union Properties, a real estate development company based in nearby Dubai, has secured the rights from Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One Management to construct a series of F1 theme parks around the world.
Wait a second, a series? Not just one? That's right. Union Properties is thinking big, and spending big. The first will be built in Dubai, with construction set to begin soon with a targeted opening date in 2009... right around the same time as FerrariWorld is set to open its doors. The company anticipates signing a deal for the second park some time this year, likely to be constructed somewhere in Europe. A third park in the Far East would be the next location, but Union Properties would be wise to take things one step at a time and take a page out of the Disney playbook. Disney's theme parks steadily grew in size and number over the span of decades, and while parks in Anaheim, Orlando and Tokyo might be raking in the dough (or is that the Dow?), EuroDisney was not quite the runaway success they'd hoped for.
One thing's for sure, Union isn't cheaping out on the cost. The Dubai park is budgeted for $360 million, and the company is borrowing $1.6 billion to build 'em all. This should be interesting.
Ferrari has grown from a racing team to one of the most recognized brand names in the world over the past few decades, and after targeting the likes of McLaren and Renault on the race track, Ferrari is setting its sights on Disney with its latest project. As we've reported before, the sheiks of Abu Dhabi – who happen to own part of Ferrari – are preparing to begin construction of the Ferrari World theme park. More details are emerging and it's our pleasure to bring you the latest on what promises to be the biggest automotive attraction in the world.
Ferrari World, as it has now been revealed, will include some 24 attractions. Among them will be an F1-themed roller-coaster with two tracks that will race one grid of cars against the other. There'll also be a 70-meter high g-force tower, go kart and dune buggy racing and some sort of pitlane experience.
The project is being built on the Yas Island development, along with the new FIA-spec race track that will host the recently-announced Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, plus beaches, night clubs, restaurants, premium stores, luxury hotels, condos, two marinas, a golf course, a polo field and equestrian facilities.
It may be a bit too soon to start packing your bags – the doors aren't scheduled to open until 2009 – but freeing up your vacation time in advance wouldn't be premature.
Robotic parking garages haven't caught on in the U.S. like they have in other developed countries. Perhaps that's because we're not as strapped for open space as other nations, or maybe its because the only robotic parking garage in the U.S. has dropped both a Cadillac Deville and a Jeep several stories and trapped its patrons vehicles inside for 26 hours because of a software glitch. We reported on that robotic garage back in August when a legal dispute between the city of Hoboken, NJ and Robotic Parking Systems, Inc. trapped even more cars inside.
In the Big Apple, however, space for parking is at such a premium that they're willing to risk the aforementioned pit falls to give this robotic storage-and-retrieval thing the old college try. A new robotic garage will open in Chinatown in early February that, unlike the Hoboken facility, stores its cars underground beneath an apartment building. Built by Automotion Parking Systems (click link to watch a demo), the Chinatown facility will be able to fit 67 vehicles where a traditional garage could only fit 24. Patrons can pay $25/day to park or $400/month, which the AP report tells us is competitive for NYC parking. Automotion claims there's a virtual impossibility of any snafus occuring similar to the ones that plagued the parking patrons of Hoboken, though time will certainly tell on this one.
As always, we here at Autoblog would like to extend our warmest greetings to our new robotic overlords, and just say that we look forward to becoming their sole source of power after we scorch the sky.
BMW unveiled a new system this week in Munich that enables a car to park itself without driver involvement. The remote parking-assist technology uses off-the-shelf technology already in use on many BMW vehicles, including sensors like those that measure distance and alert the driver when the vehicle approaches an object too closely. This system requires the installation of a reflective tape on the wall directly ahead of the vehicle's parking spot that enables the system to coordinate its position.
The video shows the driver exiting the car after he's positioned it outside his garage and simply pressing a button on a key fob. The BMW then retracts its outside mirrors and begins to inch forward into the tight spot between another car and a wall.
BMW says the technology should be available on production vehicles within three years. It's a pretty neat trick, but we doubt any BMW owner would ever hit the button and just walk in his house. Would you trust the people who gave us the iDrive to park your $50,000 sedan without supervision? Chances are it'd get lost on the way to the garage.
Posted May 9th 2006 1:03PM by John Neff Filed under: Etc.
We can all stop complaining about our mortgage payments, because at least they're paying for a roof and somewhere to plug in the TiVo. This parking space in Knightsbridge, U.K. only offers its owners a "very hard layer to park your car" for £80,000 or over $147,000 US. We hear Seinfeld and Leno have already put in bids.
My son asked what would happen if his finger were in the path of the electric window when it closed. I suggested we stick a piece of Red Vine licorice in the window to find out. The results weren't pretty, though to this day I'm still finding tiny bits of red licorice stuck in the channels of the window frame. Boys...
Officially Official: 2010 Ford Mustang!
2010 Ford Mustang revealed early on Ford's own website!
2009 Nissan 370Z rolls out early in So. Cal
VIDEO: 2009 Nissan 370Z revealed early in So. Cal.
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