Rams Eye The Track Guy

By now, I imagine all F1 fans have probably watched the first Grand Prix of the season. I finally had a chance to watch it last weekend and I must say, I was quite disappointed with the noise. The major changes to cars have been decreasing engine size, rpm limit and cylinder count, a return to turbocharging, limiting fuel use, body changes to promote safety and increase passing opportunities and increase available power boost from the electric motor, both in duration and magnitude. If you want to learn more about the changes, click here to go to the summary on the Formula 1 official website  or watch the video below prepared by the Red Bull. The changes to the engine itself are the ones that most affect the noise. Firstly, a drop from a V8 to a V6 means fewer cylinder fires per engine revolution and, therefore, per unit of time (second, minute, etc.). This is coupled with a drop in maximum rpm from the typical 18,000 - 19,000 to 15,000. This means fewer fires per r...

I unfortunately haven't been able to write lately but, luckily, it was for a very good reason. I am very happy to say that just over two months ago, we were blessed with a healthy little boy and I became a very proud father. Things are finally starting to settle down a bit and get into a routine (except for his sleeping schedule but, luckily, the wife is taking care of that) so I will have more time to start writing again. Now, to make this post as car related as possible, I'll conclude this with a few tips for new or expecting parents: 1 - Make sure you put the baby seat in the middle position. Many manuals and forums recommend the middle position but, aside from safety reasons in case of a crash, putting the seat on the left or right sides is less practical because it renders the door on that side basically useless for anything besides getting the baby in and out. Putting it in the middle will also make it easier to get the baby out from either side of the vehicle which is...

The 2015 Mustang is finally here and it must be said, I'm pleasantly surprised (for the most part). The folks at Car and Driver were almost bang on with the final rendering that they posted a few weeks ago ( 2015 Mustang Leaked ). This isn't a rendering though, this is the real thing straight from Ford. Although I am not a fan of a few things, it is much better than I thought it would be. Considering all the talk about the Mustang going global and ditching traditional styling, I am very happy with the result. I think it looks absolutely fantastic. There's one problem, though, which is that it is unmistakably a Mustang only from most angles, not all. Looking at the picture below, if you remove the iconic pony from the wheel centre cap, it does not look like a Mustang. And it doesn't have to look retro to look like a Mustang because the rest of the car is very distinctly Mustang but looks very modern. From the front wheels back, it looks excellent; the pr...

As long as Mustangs and Camaros are in production, Ford and Chevy will always be trying to one-up each other. Ford announced that it will be using a 4-cylinder EcoBoost that's larger than the one used in the Focus ST for the next generation Mustang. Instead of Chevrolet trying to one up Ford by offering a turbo 4-cylinder with more power, better fuel economy or both, they skipped the 4-cylinder option all together. Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer, recently said that the next gen Camaro will continue to have a V6 as the smallest engine offering. "As long as they'll pay me to be the chief engineer, I'm going to fight for every horsepower I can and every cylinder I can," he said. The benefit, in my opinion, isn't power or performance. I would actually expect that the 4-cylinder turbo to have a slight edge in performance compared to the base V6 options in both the Mustang and the Camaro plus there will be a far better aftermarket potential. It's s...

A couple of weeks ago, I made a post about a recent Motor Trend test of the Lincoln MKZ lineup. In that post, I suggested that the testing itself was hurting Lincoln's image. The vast majority of the review was about performance numbers and that doesn't seem to be what Lincoln is after so, naturally, Lincoln cars don't put down numbers you can brag about. They're simply adequate. That doesn't necessarily mean they are bad cars though. For example, if someone were to take a Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe and compare its performance to a new Corvette Stingray Z51, the Phantom would come up really short. In reality, the Phantom Coupe is very far from bad or even average. It's simply not a performance car. In fact, it's so far from a performance car and offers so much more luxury and brand prestige than a Corvette that they would never be cross shopped, but you get the point. If you use the Corvette yardstick, the Rolls Royce would come up short. The opposite ...

If you mention hit and run, you already know there are bad driving manners involved. How do you define a bad hit and run? I think this video sums it up pretty well. In an attempt to run away and avoid having to provide insurance information, the driver hits not one or two but three cars. That's three cars while attempting to get away - i.e. three in addition to the car the driver hit in the first place for a total of four hit and runs within a few minutes. That's a bad hit and run.. luckily, the getaway was caught on camera so hopefully someone was able to get the license plate number.   

Just a few weeks before the reveal date of the much anticipated 2015 Mustang, pictures and information have been "leaked." This new Mustang is very important for Ford because the aim is to take it globally which means it has to appeal to buyers not only in North America but in other markets as well. This model celebrates the 50th birthday of the Mustang and will be the first truly global Mustang model which means it not only has to be appealing to different markets, but it also has to make a very good impression and Ford is counting on three major changes - exterior design, suspension and powertrain options. The new design is certainly striking (go to Car and Driver for a 360 º  interactive view - 2015 Ford Mustang Leaked! ). The car clearly shares resemblance with the Evos concept and the current generation Ford Fusion while looking muscular. I do wish it looked more like an evolution of the current Mustang but I do like the design. I'm not a huge fan of t...

It's no secret that Lincoln has been struggling lately to establish itself as a serious luxury brand, often being criticized of not differentiating itself enough from its parent, mainstream company, Ford. Motor Trend's most recent test of the MKZ line-up is in line with all recent Lincoln reviews. I think part of the problem is with the reviews, though, not Lincoln and its offerings. Let's look at this latest review. You don't need to read a whole lot to notice the problem ( 2013 Lincoln MKZ Full Line First Test - Motor Trend ). In fact, you only need to read past the first couple of lines. They said that the Lincoln MKZ has changed things but is it good enough to be more than "Ford-Plus? That's still a tough case to make, when given all the data." Notice the problem? The problem is the data. Or rather, using data. Over the years, performance figures have become a huge factor in judging a luxury car. So huge, in fact, that the vast majority of the ...

How do you know that track conditions are rather slippery? If the safety car spins out. The video below shows a Lamborghini Gallardo spinning out due to very wet conditions on the track during the 2nd race of Campiona Italiano GT at Vallelunga. I doubt he will forget that moment. To rub salt in the wound, the video shows some of the race cars warming up their tires right after showing the Lambo spinning out.

I don't know who had the idea first, Car and Driver or Motor Trend, but they both go out every year and line up a group of the best performance cars that were updated or introduced the preceding year in a comparison test. The first Lightning Lap feature was in 2006 and I believe the first Motor Trend feature (used to be America's Best Handling Car) was in 2007. I'm not sure if either had earlier equivalents but based on these dates, it looks like Car and Driver had the idea first. I actually like the Lightning Lap feature better. I think it's because ranking in Car and Driver's Lightning Lap is based only on lap times. A better lap time does not necessarily mean a better car. However, ranking cars based solely on their lap times makes the feature very objective. The issue that I find is that many (many) people disagree and argue about Best Driver's Car rankings but there's no arguing with lap times. I think Motor Trend's staff knows this so I usually n...