Feb
28
2009
0

USF1 to launch Formula1 car in 2010

usf11Backed by Ken Anderson (acting as Sporting Director) and Peter Windsor (Technical Director), the USF1 team hopes to enter an American-Built Formula One car in the 2010 Grand Prix season. Critics have been quick to point out the difficulty of breaking into the pinnacle of motorsport, but the fledgling team has been planning for several years now and has Bernie Ecclestone’s blessing. They’ve got a lot going for them, as well:

  • The team plans to base its operations out of Charlotte, NC, home to the majority of NASCAR’s garages and a great deal of second-tier fabrication shops. ”Most of the technology in Formula One comes from the United States to begin with,” Anderson said. “The logistics side of it now, less than half the races will be on the (European) continent. The cost of doing business in the United States is significantly cheaper than Europe, and there are a lot of good people here.”
  • Charlotte is also home to the 180mph Windshear Rolling wind tunnel, already in use by several F1 teams and one of the best facilities of its kind in the world. Ken Anderson helped develop the $40M facility and hopes to leverage it to launch a competitive USF1 team.
  • While the global economic downturn has fueled much criticism for the types of budgets on which most F1 teams operate, it may serve to help launch a new team. Many highly skilled engineers and mechanics are seeking employment in this segment and may make it easier for the team to assemble on a tight budget.
  • At the SpeedTV press conference, Peter Windsor maintained that they are “fully funded” and will be ready to enter a car into a Grand Prix next year, in 2010.
  • Driver rumors abound, but team principals all agree that at least one US driver would be strongly considered, with names such as Danicka Patrick, Matt Kenseth, Scott Speed, Juan Pablo Montoya and other successful drivers being mentioned. It is more likely that we’d see some top stars in the Indy series, Formula BMW, Formula 3000 or the AIGP series taking the wheel of the USF1 car in 2010, such as Jonathan Summerton (A1GP) and Richard Antinucci (Indy).
  • The USF1 team does not plan to launch an engine manufacturing effort just yet, probably starting with an engine from Renault or Ferrari in a US built chassis.
    • Written by danponjican in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,
    Feb
    24
    2009
    1

    Great Mustang Marketing by Ford

    We thought this had to be the most innovative car billboard that we had seen to date.

    It turns out the secret is that the billboard is made out of Lexan, a translucent material that blurs the image of everything behind it, creating the illusion of motion.

    Written by danponjican in: General | Tags: ,
    Feb
    19
    2009
    1

    GM High Performance Division is latest victum of Slumping Economy

    The inevitable effects of a slumping economy is beginning to hit the streets.  The 70′s and 80′s economic slump still causes sport car enthusiasts the world over to shutter to this day.  190 hp Corvettes, Porsches that barely broke a 14 second quarter mile and a selection that was as pathetic as the medical system in Canada.  Now, perhaps the greatest American made sports car is feeling the effects.  GM’s troubles no longer allow it such luxuries as the ZR1, CTS-V or the rest of the high performance pipeline.

    General Motors has disbanded its High Performance Vehicle Operations unit, which was responsible for creating such vehicles as the Cadillac CTS-V, Corvette ZR1, and Pontiac G8 GXP. GM’s high-performance vehicles will not be discontinued, but future replacements to these cars might never materialize. In other words, when GM’s existing high-performance models reach the end of planned production, they could be gone for good.

    All high-performance vehicles currently under development have been shelved. It is not clear if this includes cars like the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, which is probably very close to being completed.

    “All high-performance projects are on indefinite hold,” spokesman Vince Muniga told Automotive News. “The engineers are moving into different areas of the organization, and they will work on Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets and Pontiacs.”

    Muniga added there are no longer any plans for performance-oriented variants of any upcoming cars.
    General Motors scraps high-performance division

    Written by danponjican in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,

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