LONDON AND FORMULA 1 - SIMILARITIES WITH MONTREAL 76 SUMMER OLYMPICS...

LONDON MAYOR BORIS JOHNSON SAID THAT HE'D LIKE TO SEE F1 IN LONDON. HE'S DREAMING




Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, says that would certainly be willing to look at a proposal for a Formula 1 race in the city.

"I am always interested in projects that attract jobs and bring growth," he said. "The question of air quality and noise impact will have to be looked at, but I am broadly positive providing we can satisfy the air quality and noise issues."

The reality is rather more complicated than that, because the city would need to pay the race fees for an event. These run from around $30 million to $50 million a year, depending on the deal that is negotiated. The cities involved usually have to sign over most of the signage, the hospitality and even sponsorships and they have to agree to price hikes each year. It is occasionally possible for private-public collaborations - such as in Singapore - but the private investors need to be in a position to earn a LOT from each event if they are to avoid making a loss. Politicians struggle to convince their electorate that the events pay back the money invested - and often they fail. It is difficult to accurately measure the economic impact of an event, but it is not difficult to add up the cost.



When it comes to big events such as the Olympic Games it is impossible to justify the investment and politicians need to rely on the goodwill and nationalism of the taxpayers. The Games only really work when the people paying do not care how much it is going to cost. Beijing, for example, used the Olympic Games to show the world about developing Chinese economic power, while Athens in 2004 tried to gain long-term tourism dollars from the event and it failed massively. Montreal was a similar story with the city paying off the 1976 Olympics until 2006.




The one thing that the Games will do for a city is to create impetus to complete infrastructure projects that would in any case have been required. Formula 1 is great value compared to the Olympics but does not really require much new infrastructure. But would it really benefit a city that already has a strong tourist trade?

THE RUMOUR MILL IN F1 IS BEGINNING TO SPOOL UP FOR 2016

VERSTAPPEN AND FERRARI ???


Max Verstappen in Homestead Florida.

Max Verstappen has taken F1 by storm this year, despite being only 17 years of age. The

Belgo-Dutch driver scored his second points of the season in Austria, to move ahead of
his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr in the World Championship, but Verstappen could have scored on several other occasions if he had not had mechanical trouble and, of course, his celebrated collision with Romain Grosjean at Monaco. Without the failures he could conceivably be eighth in the Drivers' Championship, ahead of Daniil Kvyat.


There are more than a few teams that have spotted this and there is no question that Max is a man in demand, although his Red Bull contract would stand in
the way of progress, unless someone wants to buy it. Mercedes was showing interest in Max before the Red Bull deal came along, but it was not in a position to offer him a racing deal for 2015 and so Max decided to go with Red Bull, in order to get into an F1 car.

The word is that one team that has been showing interest is Ferrari, which has the financial muscle to buy Verstappen's contract. It is very clear that Kimi Raikkonen is not doing a particularly good job, although it is better than his effort's last season. To date he has collected 72 points to teammate Sebastian Vettel's 120. He could lose fifth place to Valtteri Bottas if his fellow countryman has a few more good results, which is likely given that the Williams likes the faster circuits.


Bottas is obviously on Ferrari's list as a potential team-mate for Vettel, but the list is also believed to include Nico Hulkenberg and perhaps even Romain Grosjean. Ferrari also has its young driver development programme but the loss of Jules Bianchi means that the most senior member of the programme is now Raffaele Marciello, who is currently the test driver for Sauber and racing in GP2.

The key question is whether or not Ferrari believes that Verstappen is sufficiently special to be
grabbed at the first available opportunity. Verstappen is believed to have a three-year contract with
Red Bull that will cover 2015-2016-2017, but in the past Red Bull has generally dumped its young
drivers after two seasons, so the deal could be shorter.

Pastor Maldonado might be running out of sponsorship dollars...

 Lotus says that  Pastor Maldonado's position within the team is solely dependent on finance. The economy in Venezuela is a mess with the income from oil insufficient to pay the country's debts, which run to $70 billion.

The government has been servicing its debt thus far by using its foreign reserves, which have fallen by 32 percent in recent months. It is reckoned that the country will run out of money at the beginning of next year. This may be delayed if the government sells more of its assets or if there is a financial bailout from Russia or China.

There may be space for Jolyon Palmer in the Lotus F1 Team line-up next year.

Good News $$ for McLaren Automotive

McLaren Automotive has posted a second consecutive year of profitability with an increase of sales in 2014 of 18 percent. The company pre-tax profits grew significantly from $7 million to $23.6 million. The company says that it delivered a total of 1,649 vehicles to customers. The firm is currently seeking planning permission to expand its facilities in Woking.

It's time for Corvette to attack Porsche

For most of its existence, Porsche was a smug little sports car company with a fairly limited lineup and small but steady sales. Any time the company strayed from its air-cooled, rear engine formula, the purists would turn their noses. The 944? The 948? "Not a proper Porsche," they'd sniff. And then came the greatest sin of them all: the Cayenne. To the purists, this was treason. Porsche making an SUV? Horrors!

Of course, you all know how it turned out. Porsche grew to be a profit-generating juggernaut within the Volkswagen Group. And since one SUV wasn't enough they added another, the Macan. By the end of the decade Porsche will have quadrupled its global sales. You have to wonder what else it has up its sleeve.

Couldn't this be a lesson for General Motors? It has a terrific sports car brand in Corvette. In fact, it's arguably the most iconic brand within GM's full-line portfolio. But for its entire existence that brand has been locked up within Chevrolet.

Maybe it's time for GM to treat Corvette as a stand-alone company.
Maybe it's time for GM to unlock that brand and treat Corvette as a stand-alone company. A Corvette SUV could be a killer first step. Since Porsche only makes two SUVs, maybe Corvette could make three. Small, medium, and large. And just as Porsche has the Panamera, an executive sedan from team Corvette could become an instant "gotta-have" for the yacht-buying jet set.

Of course, the Corvette purists will cringe. And the biggest hue and cry will come from Chevrolet's US dealers. That's why the best place to launch the new Corvette brand would be far away from those franchisees: in China. Chinese consumers have no pre-conceived ideas that 'Vettes can only be sold in Chevy stores. And Chinese enthusiasts very much admire Corvette's historic pedigree.

You've no doubt read about how Chinese authorities are cracking down on conspicuous consumption. That makes the timing even better. Corvette's selling point has always been that it is an amazing bargain for the performance you get. What a perfect way to undercut Porsche.



Chevy Corvette

In fact, pairing the Corvette brand with Cadillac in China could be just the shot in the arm that Cadillac's Chinese dealers need. Despite having very competitive cars, Cadillac lags far behind Audi, Mercedes, and BMW. What Cadillac dealers need is a lot more showroom traffic. And a jaw dropping lineup of Corvette-branded vehicles could bring in throngs of buyers.

Once proven in China, the Corvette brand could then fan out all over the world. Who cares if the Corvette lineup competes with Cadillac? Does that stop the VW Group from having Porsche and Audi compete against each other? Of course not. They even share some vehicle architectures. If you want to dominate the luxury segment you have to tolerate a degree of product overlap with different brands. It's all about the power of those brands.

Last year Porsche sold 47,000 vehicles in the US market, with seven models. Corvette sold 35,000 cars with one.
Besides, I think Porsche is vulnerable. Yes, its cars are a dream to drive. Yes, they have stunningly beautiful interiors. But the exterior styling? Meh. I can't believe how hard Porsche works to keep its exterior styling as bland as it is. This is where Corvette can go for the throat. It can beat Porsche with razor sharp styling. And finally it can give a green light to a rear, mid-engine exotic.

The sales numbers are intriguing. Last year Porsche sold 47,000 vehicles in the US market, with seven different models. Corvette sold 35,000 cars with one. Imagine what Corvette could do with more models in its lineup. I smell blood.

How much could unlocking Corvette add to GM's bottom line? One billion dollars? Two? Talk about boosting shareholder value.

Spinning the Corvette brand off on its own is not a new idea. Peter DeLorenzo, the Autoextremist, talked about this on my Autoline After Hours program some time ago. But now is the opportunity to strike. At a time when activist investors are beating the war drums and demanding that General Motors to do more for shareholders, isn't this is the perfect time to distract them with bright and shiny objects?

Source: Autoline On Autoblog With John McElroy

Audi of AmericaR8 e-tronR8 V10Technology

Operating concept of the new Audi R8 very similar to that of a race car
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg: “Car racing has been part of our Audi DNA for many decades now.”
New Audi R8 e-tron: driving range of up to 450 km (279.6 mi)
At Audi, race cars and production cars have a lot in common in many technical areas – including their controls and displays. The best example is the similarity between the Audi R18 e-tron quattro race car prototype, which will start at the 24 hours of Le Mans this weekend, and the new production Audi R8 sports car.

The designs of their steering wheels and digital displays show significant commonalities. The high-performance sports car, which will go on sale late this summer, is part of a sporty model family together with the GT race car, the Audi R8 LMS, and the battery-electric powered Audi R8 e-tron. In its latest evolutionary stage, the Audi R8 offers even more power, speed and endurance.



“Motorsport has been a part of our Audi DNA for many decades,” says Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Board Member for Technical Development. “Audi stands for automotive dynamism more than any other brand. This is especially true of our new high-performance Audi R8. Its concept is extremely close to that of a race car – in its controls and displays too.”

Steering wheels and displays: great similarities

In the new Audi R8 V10 plus, the steering wheel has 20 controls, including four new satellite buttons – and in the LMP1 race car, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro, there are as many as 33. In both cars, the driver shifts gears from the steering wheel, and color indicators let the driver know when the engine is nearing its rpm limit. Key driving dynamic parameters can be set via control buttons on the steering wheel. In both the production sports car and the race car, information – such as tire pressure and lap times – appears on a digital display.



Audi R8 e-tron: 340 kW of power
In its latest development stage, the new Audi R8 e-tron – the first all-electric car from Audi – offers fascinating dynamics. It offers 340 kW of power, which enables a 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) sprint time of 3.9 seconds, and it has a maximum driving range of 450 kilometers (279.6 mi). This high-performance sports car serves as a mobile laboratory for developing new electrical concepts and components at Audi. The R8 e-tron will be produced in the small-scale production facility of quattro GmbH at the Audi Neckarsulm site in the Böllinger Höfe.

Petrolicious shows Mercedes 280SL as architecture in motion

While still an absolute beauty today, the design of the pagoda-roof W113 Mercedes-Benz SL was revolutionary when it debuted. Moving away from the soft curves of the previous SL models, the all-new generation brought an upright, angular shape that was as much architectural as automotive. In the latest video from Petrolicious, owner and architect Daniel Monti expounds on the inspiration that he gets from his 1969 280SL's fantastic styling.

The roof is the most famous design feature of this generation of SL. Look at the top from the front or back, and you can see a gentle, downward arc that evokes the look of a pagoda. That one styling element is also a fabulous counterpoint to a vehicle that is largely more angular than curvaceous.

Petrolicious wonderfully illustrates how some of the SL's form-follows-function design aesthetic can be found in the architect's work in this video's heaping helping of mid-century modern goodness.

Childhood Vehicle Playsets Meet the Information Age at the Tokyo Toy Show

Tokyo, Japan, June 17, 2015―Ever wonder how you would look racing to rescue a cat from a tree in a purple fire truck? Or cruising around town in a hot pink hot-dog truck? Now you can see for yourself through Camatte Vision, an all-new interactive experience from Toyota for families, debuting at this year's International Tokyo Toy Show.



Camatte Vision is the latest way to experience Toyota's Camatte line of exploratory concepts seeking to break the traditional boundaries of the way children play and tinker with vehicles. The aim is to let kids and their parents share the child-like wonder and excitement of cars and trucks. Blazing fast hot rods, life-saving ambulances, hearty construction crane trucks, and many more are available in a rainbow of colors. Through an innovative augmented reality tablet app, see how you and your family would look in a virtually limitless combination of vehicle types and colors.

Of course, the fun doesn't end in the virtual world: the latest physical manifestation of the Camatte family, the Hajime, will be on display for families to explore hands-on.
Toyota's booth at the International Tokyo Toy Show

How Camatte Vision works
- Hop into the Camatte Hajime and take a photo of you and your family.
- Grab one of the tablets available at the booth, and customize a car by mixing and matching 13 body types and 12 colors.
- Take your tablet to the model driving course and hold it over the road. Your customized car will appear on the course with you and your family inside!

Meet the Camatte Hajime

Although "Hajime" means "beginning" in Japanese, it is actually the sixth member of Toyota's Camatte family, following the Sora, Daichi, Takumi, 57s and 57s Sports that debuted at previous Tokyo Toy Shows. The Hajime was named to signify that the fun has just begun with the Camatte concept and there is much more to come.

Building on Camatte's spirit of customizability and fun, the Hajime will feature Camatte's signature swappable exterior panels and adjustable pedals and seat to let kids get in the driver's seat with their parents close behind in the two rear seats.

The Camatte Hajime is a real working car, but won't be drivable during the Tokyo Toy Show. However, kids will still be able to get in, buckle up, turn the steering wheel and push the pedals.

Camatte Hajime specifications
Length 3,020 mm
Width 1,320 mm
Height 1,240 mm
Wheelbase 1,800 mm
Seating capacity 3
Powertrain Electric motor

The 2015 Tokyo Toy Show will take place at Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba, Tokyo, with buyer's days on June 18-19 and public days on June 20-21.

Oil supplies reach historic levels

Unless something significant happens in the coming months, the world is poised to experience the longest period of oil surplus since 1985. According to data from the International Energy Agencycompiled by Bloomberg, the crude supply has exceeded demand globally for the last five quarters, nearly surpassing the previous recent record of six consecutive quarters in 1997-1998.

It would take eight quarters of global surplus to smash through all the records back to the '80s, but oil industry analysts think that's possible. There's little evidence of OPEC cutting back production in the near future, according to Bloomberg.Saudi Arabia, the group's largest member, might actually pump additional crude to increase the pressure on the shale fields in North America. Also, if Iran is able to strike a deal to end sanctions, then worldwide supply could increase even more.

According to Bloomberg, OPEC pumped 31.3 million barrels a day in May. If that rate continues, it could allow for a million-barrel daily surplus in the third quarter of 2015 and a 600,000-barrel-a-day excess in the fourth quarter. The strong numbers are expected to last at least through 2016.

This trend towards high production from OPEC, particularly from Saudi Arabia, has been developing since last year. It was thought that the move was meant to deter the more expensive shale oil and deep-water wells in the US. More recent reports suggested that crude oil might not break $100 a barrel again for another decade and could dip as low as $40 at times.

FERRARI ALTER RED BULL RING TEST LINE-UP TO RUN TEENAGER

Ferrari has apparently altered its plans for the forthcoming post-Austrian Grand Prix test and will instead run a highly rated teenager and their reserve driver, instead of Kimi Raikkonen and/or Sebastian Vettel.

With only two in-season tests taking place in 2015, the Maranello team was criticised by Italian media last month when it revealed the driver lineup for Barcelona.

“It is really difficult to understand why Ferrari is not fully exploiting this chance to test,” La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote at the time.

Indeed, while rival teams all fielded a race driver at the post-Spanish grand prix test, Ferrari ran junior driver Raffaele Marciello alongside reserve Esteban Gutierrez.

And now, Ferrari has announced that Gutierrez, linked with several Mexican team sponsors, will return to the cockpit in Austria next week, this time joined by teenage GP3 junior Antonio Fuoco.

But Turun Sanomat claims that Raikkonen had initially been scheduled to test at the Red Bull Ring. That plan, however, was before Gutierrez and Marciello lined up in Barcelona.

It is suggested the original plan was for Vettel to test in Spain, before Raikkonen gets the Red Bull Ring outing.

Had Raikkonen run as originally scheduled in Austria, however, it would have tipped the testing tally in his favour, after both the Finn and teammate Vettel got six days apiece in the winter.

The Beast is Unleashed: Rezvani Motors Unveils Production Beast Supercar

Orange County, CA., 06/15/2015 — Built in California, USA, Rezvani Motors drops the curtain on the lightweight 500-horsepower Beast supercar. Hitting the streets in June of 2015.

Born on the track and designed for the road, the Rezvani Beast gives new meaning to the lightweight, high-performance sports car, mixed with world class styling. Featuring a carbon fiber construction, weighing only 1,650 lbs, and reaching 60 mph in just 2.7 seconds, every inch of Beast was built with the driver in mind — raw, pure, and powerful.

Pure Performance

In an age where many supercars rely on electronic aids, the Beast gives control back to the driver. Using a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine featuring a crank-driven Rotrex supercharger and turbocharger, and a manual gearbox (optional sequential automatic), Beast sends 500 horsepower to the rear wheels.



Weighing in at a featherlight 1,650 pounds, Rezvani engineers were able to keep the car as light as possible using advanced materials such as carbon fiber, and a carbon steel chassis from the Ariel Atom 3 that was significantly upgraded to be even more rigid. To 60 mph, Beast can manage in just 2.7 seconds, on to a top speed of 165 mph.

"We really wanted to get people to enjoy driving again," said Founder and CEO Ferris Rezvani. "By limiting as much electronic interference as we could, we were able to allow the driver to feel every inch of the road at their fingertips."



Rezvani used lightweight aluminum forged wheels wrapped in front 235/35/19 and rear 295/30/19 tires to further enhance performance and lightness. On the road or track, Beast proves to be one of the most responsive and best handling cars in the world.

The interior features carbon fiber seats, a carbon fiber steering wheel that weighs in at less than a Formula 1 steering wheel (300 grams), and Apple CarPlay— a first ever in the segment.

Inspired Design

Under the direction of Rezvani Motors, award-winning automotive designer Samir Sadikhov was able to create the Beast's stunning and aerodynamic look.



The very definition of an aggressive, open-top supercar, the Beast uses minimalist surfaces and low-friction carbon fiber body panels to allow for the ultimate performance proportions and maximum downforce at high speeds. These design techniques were introduced by Co-Founder Kam Hosn at the Global Lightweight Vehicle Manufacturing conference in Detroit on April 14th, 2015.



Rezvani used advanced 3D-printing techniques to create the unique shapes of the headlight casing, taillight casing, and mirrors. Windshield is optional.

Purchase

The Beast is available for purchase starting at $165,000. Current build estimates are between 8-12 weeks. Beast is currently available for public viewing at our showroom:

2920 Red Hill Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA., 92626

Creating Jobs in SoCal

Rezvani Motors will support several jobs in the Southern California area with continued production, growing more jobs and assisting in the local economy.

Digital Media Partners

Special thanks to launch video director Amir Motlagh, production manager Nima Rezai, photographer Ted7, interior trim design by Max Stein, Erich Meltvedt of Integrity Media, and Animal Media Labs.

About Rezvani Motors

Rezvani Motors was founded in 2014 with a mission to create the lightest, highest performing car on the market— but at a reasonable price. With a carbon fiber construction, a manual gearbox and rear wheel drive, customers get one of the most beautiful cars on the planet in the Beast, all for around $165,000.

VW Group to split brands under four holding companies

The Volkswagen Group is planning a tremendous shift in its internal structure that will decentralize operations by splitting its 12 brands into four different holding companies. Here's the breakdown.

Things will be split logically, considering the inter-sharing of parts, platforms, and engines. TheVolkswagen brand, Seat, and Skoda make up a passenger vehicle division led by former BMW manHerbert Diess. Audi, which is tightly intertwined with Lamborghini and motorcycle manufacturer Ducati, will be managed by current Audi exec Rupert Stadler. Porsche and Bentley, which are already quite close, will be joined by Bugatti and run by Matthias Mueller. Finally, a commercial vehicles division will include Volkswagen Commercial, Scania, and Man. Former Daimler exec Andreas Renschler will take care of the big vehicles.

The massive move, according to Automotive News Europe, is part of an internal VAG effort to move away from the structure established by ousted Chairman Ferdinand Piech, who favored a compact, but highly centralized, management structure to oversee the independent actions of the company's brands. Criticism of Piech's arrangement stemmed from the company's slow responses to changes in the market, ANE reports. The new structure should make for a more efficient, streamlined company that's better able to make crucial decisions.

What are your thoughts? Should VAG decentralize, or did Piech have the right idea? Have your say in Comments.

CHESTER BELIEVES F1 CAR COULD WIN LE MANS

Lotus’ technical boss Nick Chester thinks a Formula 1 car could win the Le Mans 24 hour race.

The fabled 24 hour sports car race is in the headlines at present, after full-time Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg won on Sunday for Porsche.

Not only that, former grand prix winner Mark Webber has switched full-time to the ever-burgeoning world endurance championship and thinks it may have taken over from F1 as the most challenging category.

“I mainly think about the drivers,” Webber told the Telegraph. “If they’re happy, and on the edge, and it’s risky, pushing the boundaries, then the fans love it. At the moment it’s not like that.”

On the other hand, the former Red Bull driver said, the top Le Mans cars today are “extremely futuristic, sexy – beasts to be tamed”.

But Nick Chester, the technical boss at Lotus, thinks the regulations shift in F1 in recent years means he can now imagine a grand prix car winning at Le Mans.

“The current engine regulations mean we have an engine and gearbox which could cover the race distance and that certainly wasn’t the case in the past,” he said.

“The current F1 car could go in an endurance race such is the performance life of so many of the parts these days. In the past with the V8s and older gearboxes, you wouldn’t have the durability.

“Maybe it’s something we should talk to the ACO about,” added Chester, referring to the Le Mans governing body. It would be a lot of fun and I’d love the challenge of engineering an F1 car for a 24 hour race.”

Respected F1 correspondent Kevin Eason thinks that, given formula one’s current problems, Chester’s idea could be an ideal opportunity for the sport.

“Instead of a driver (Hulkenberg) getting a day off to compete at Le Mans, give a team the funds and the time to develop a formula one car to compete at Le Mans,” he wrote in the Times. “Prove that F1 is still the greatest of them all.”