Autopian Views

More electrons please

2010-02-16T18:35:00.000-08:00

Some time back, I had the brilliant idea of installing a new lightweight battery in the Porsche. The mental salve for such a purchase was that the stock battery was 4 years old and thus on the brink of complete failure. That it never exhibited any of the warning signs of a battery in stress (failure to hold a charge, low cranking power) was of no issue. Perhaps because the purchase of a new battery would allow me to reduce the weight of the battery by more than 50%, a heightened coefficient of cool (to an auto-aficionado), and would create the need for a bit of mechanical design work.
Surveying the market options, there were three brands to choose from. At the ultra-high end was a lithium racing battery. Despite weighing in at under 14 lbs, at $2k-$3k, even I could not conjure up a justification for one of those beauties. The standard choice used by many Porsche owners is an Odyssey battery with matching mounting bracket. As an aside, my desire to replace the stock battery has a tincture of validity. For whatever reason, those otherwise brilliant teutonic engineers chose to put a massive heavy battery in the car. And mounted it relatively high off the ground. More than 50 pounds high above the center of gravity. There must be some hidden reason for their choice, but it remains a mystery to every Porsche enthusiast. The Odyssey weighs in at under 20 lbs., with an extra pound or two with it's optional mounting bracket (more on that later). Altogether, a proven choice. Which leads me to the final option. A carbon-fiber battery made by a company with the odd name of Braille. Very high on the cool/gadget scale (CF for a battery?) and obviously imparts otherworldly capabilities in the car such that even a blind person could drive it. Also at about 20 lbs., with no bracket, it would knock about 60% off of the weight of the stock piece. So, though it was not commonly reviewed by the experts, and requiring some personal mechanical engineering to fashion a bracket, I took the mid-priced road less traveled.

Pause - Resume

2009-08-06T17:28:00.001-07:00

Falling off of the blogging wagon does not necessarily mean the same for the blogging subject. Lots of hands on work in the past months, smiling (mostly) through it all. Makes me realize that, unlike a 'day job' in big tech in which projects, programs and strategies take months or years to play out, the focused act of rebuilding a car, drafting an investment perspective, or trading securities for that matter all have accelerated feedback and gratification. For an ex- (science geek and engineer) :) who was trained in cause and effect, it all feels rather homey.
I'll fill in some of the recent work shortly...

And lo, it was done. And all was good. Very, very good.

2009-02-09T21:38:00.000-08:00

I now proclaim the suspension upgrade for my C2S (Cab) complete. I've taken a minimalist approach (for now) going only with Damptronics and sway (H&R) bars. By the way, I don't know whether it's because I chose H&R (versus GMG) or it's an 'S' and not a 'TT', but the bars I received had no adjustments in the front, and only three settings in the rear. In some respects, it simplifies life in that there are fewer setting combinatorics to play with, but I would have wanted more adjustment options. I've tried to follow Cannga's guidance (http://www.rennteam.com/forum/index.html?vs=19) to the letter, with the coilovers, stiffest sway bar setting in the rear (nothing to adjust in the front) and a GT3-like alignment. This was the last step so a few added comments re this phase. On my 'S', I was only able to squeeze about -1.0 degree of camber our of the hardware. I did not choose to upgrade the shock tower components to give me more adjustability so that's about it for now. And notwithstanding web comments to the contrary, it is quite incorrect that the alignment provides 75% of the value of these changes. Just the other way around. The new coilovers are da' bomb, the bars likely have some value (I could not do the before/after experiment here), and the alignment certainly helps in improving with turn-in (or dynamic instability if you're in to another line of machinery), but nothing breathtaking.

So, my findings are much like Cannga's. This basic mod is a must-have. For folks reading this blog who are not Porsche enthusiasts and question why anyone would hack such a valuable piece of machinery, I admit that perfection-seeking OCD behavior will always find a way. I do not know what further incremental value new drop links, et al would provide though I suspect it's diminishing returns. And this is not a track car. Just an um, aggressive drivers car. With matching driver. Further, although the ride is a bit firmer, I don't think that this aspect should sway (sorry, bad pun) anyone from going with it. The ride is just fine, immerses the driver in the experience, does create more road noise - especially tire noise - likely due to a smaller gap between chassis bottom and road enabling some interesting resonance, and the handling is night and day. Now that I've been driving it a bit, I do wish the Damptronics had some manual adjustments. Though I have no formal experience in this aspect of car mods, it feels like it could use yet more rebound damping to expunge the last of the P-car nose bob. It's mostly gone, but not thoroughly. So, for those who are still considering the change, and are comfortable shelling out nearly twice the entry fee, and want to get it 'just right', and are willing to defeat their PASM system, Moton's or alternative Bilstein's, Penske's, etc., might be the way to go. OTOH, I have no first-hand knowledge re the ride quality trade-off with these others so caveat emptor.

Finally, I had a bit of a grin on my face when the fellow doing the alignment (at TCDesign - very nice folks (http://www.tcdesignfab.com/)) measured and found that, after lowering the car front and back 18 MM, I got the ride height corner variance to +/- 1.5 mm. He said that it was nearly impossible to do - and totally unnecessary for a street car! :) So I guess the techniques cited in a prior blog entry worked. Not a true corner balance by any means, but sufficient for street use. I chose not to drop the car the full 20 MM as discussed on another thread because of road object risks and my plan to substitute the GT3 bumper for the current stock one. Not having the comparison in lip heights, I am not sure yet what to expect. We shall see..

OCD update

2009-01-27T08:45:00.000-08:00

Just a small update from the lowering/balancing exercise or the prior post. Though the technique used to measure and level the car (based on applying a caliper to the coilovers themselves) is accurate and repeatable, it does not take in to account any variance between those measuring points and the actual stance of the car on the ground. That is, once the car is lowered and allowed to settle, there was a side to side variance of 2mm in the front, and 1mm in the rear. Most would say that these numbers are within the practical needs of the exercise. However, in light of the title of this post, I sought to further refine them.
Clearly, I would need to use the cars stance as the actual benchmark to make all of this work, and I'd likely have to iterate a few times to get this right. So here's an alternate technique I used to provide further accuracy in the balancing process and one I'd likely use instead of the micrometer technique. Again, this is not intended to be instructional or advisory for anyone else. This is simply what I did to get this all right. Got it?
Measuring the actual ride height of the car is tricky. On the one hand, 'actual' is laudable, but literally interpreted, assumes perfectly aligned air pressure and a level surface. The Porsche factory technique is an example of this. I chose to factor out the tire/ground thing by measuring the distance from the lower wheel lip to the top of the fender. It's simple, repeatable and very much approximates 'actual'.
Since this was going to take a few attempts, the time to repeat the adjustment process and measure (as well as the wear, tear and risk of jacking/removing/adjusting/remounting/etc.) the wheels needs to be optimized. I chose the following - acknowledging that the goal of this exercise is to get side-to-side balance right. If front-to-back is required, modify these techniques to realize that priority. In this case, I did the front end, but the rear, with more difficulty and dexterity, can be done the same way.
1. Jack up one side of the car.
2. Remove the front wheel.
3. Loosen the coilover adjustment retainer (i.e. lower collar)
4. Turn the collar in whatever direction/distance estimate to level the car.
5. Remount the wheel and lower the car to the ground. Do not tighten the locking collar. Do not re-torque the wheel.
6. Measure. If it perfectly matches the opposing side, proceed to step 14.
7. If not, jack the car until the front wheel is off of the ground.
8. Power up the car (you needn't start it) to get the power steering working.
9. Turn the wheel to whichever lock gets added working space to reach the coilover collar (typically the direction of the side of the car you are working on).
10. Power off the car.
11. Reaching in to the coilover without removing the wheel again (through the space made by turning the wheel AND through the wheel spokes), turn the adjustment collar by hand in the direction and distance estimated to balance the car. Use the wrench if you can, but with the car off of the ground, you can do it bare handed.
12. Power up the car, straighten the wheel, power off the car and lower it.
13. Wait a few minutes here if you can. Bounce the car a few times to ensure it has settled. Then remeasure both sides. If it is balanced from side-to-side, proceed to step 14. Else, return to step 7.
14. Finally, raise the car, remove the wheel, re-lock the collars - being careful not to affect the adjustments.
15. Remount the wheel, lower the car, torque the lugs. Done.
This seems to be a better technique (for me) to affect small changes to the car - either initially or to experiment with different ride heights and different rake angles. A quick test drive of the car shows that the new suspension bits and adjustments make for a radical improvement in the driving performance of my 997S Cab. It IS a rougher more dynamic ride but not painfully so. If you prefer more of a GT-type car, I would stick with the OEM parts. If you want to drive a true sports car, I couldn't more strongly recommend his modification.

Watch one, do one, teach one

2009-01-12T09:23:00.000-08:00

As the title implies, the protocol that surgeons use for training can also be applied to wrenching cars. Thankfully though, this is not surgery, because I'm starting this whole process without the 'watch one' part. However unlike living beings, errors made in most things mechanical are reversible or correctable, so greater risks can be taken or less prior knowledge is required. Hugely valuable for someone with my limited skills.

Speaking of risks, I feel obliged to insert the personal version of a 'Safe Harbor' statement here. The tools, techniques, processes and opinions expressed herein are not intended to be formally instructional in nature, and I cannot accept any responsibility for issues or damages to yourself, your car, or your garage, created by performing the described actions. You're on your own, your mileage may vary, knock yourself out. Choose two.

Finally, pardon the length of this entry. It's a bit complicated and I tend to be, um, verbose.

The following describes the process I used to lower and level a 997S Cab after a set of Bilstein Damptronic coilovers and H&R sway bars were installed. Reviewing many Porsche forum entries and weighing them against the roads, driving hazards and habits that I'll be dealing with, I chose to lower the car 18mm from the stock ride height. The recommended range is 10mm - 20mm with the upper bound (where 'upper' is 'lower') being the preferred level. Bilstein recommends lowering a minimum of 10mm with the Damptronics. In general, with lower settings come improved handling, a rougher ride and the possibilities that your beloved sports car will become an urban farm plow - pushing it's front end through speed bumps, driveways and other metal wrinkling impediments.

The list of recommended tools are:
1. Floor jack (at least one)
2. Jack stands (at least two)
3. Torque wrench
4. Yard stick or equivalent - annotated in either millimeters or sixteenths of an inch
5. A micrometer - preferably digital (this is a personal preference but quite valuable)
6. The Billstein adjustment wrenches - co-packaged with the coilovers
7. Various breaker bars, metric sockets and wrenches and a soft headed hammer;
8. Laptop with a spreadsheet program - or a lab book and calculator. Or both :)
9. Dumbbell plates, equivalent to your driving weight. No fudging here.
10. Time. Unless you're expert, this takes a bit of time. But it's a bit like freshman chem class. A little bit of lab work and a lot of planning and documenting. You will not need to know how to interpolate a meniscus however.

Begin by measuring the baseline height of the car. There are numerous ways to do this, and they all assume that your car is currently set to the factory specs. Do this BEFORE the new coilovers are installed. Before performing these measurements, make sure the car is on level and smooth ground and try to have 1/2 tank of gas (minimizing variance as gas is consumed) in the tank. Do this twice. First without the dumbbell plates in the front seat, and then after. I used blankets to protect the upholstery before dropping the plates in.

Since this is a relatively exacting process, these measurements are important. After measuring, I would recommend that you construct a chart or spreadsheet, converting figures to millimeters, that lay out these initial measurements (pre- and post- weights), the chosen lowering amount, and the resultant height figure. You'll be using this to check your work when you're done. Create a column that is the amount of 'sag' that occurs when you add the weights. You'll be using this figure shortly.

I ended up measuring from the ground to the lip of the fender above the centerline of each wheel.

You'll be repeating this measurement a few times, so make sure you can do it accurately and repeatably. A couple of points here: I ended up using the measurements provided by a number of forum members to determine the proper stock ride height and using this as the baseline rather than measuring my own car. The figures I used are: front: 26.5 inches; rear: 27.5 inches. This is for a 997.1 S. The non-'S' has different tire specs so the height will be different. I originally tried measuring the gap from each of the four jack points to the ground. But they are less reliable because they are not perfectly flat.
Finally, I was sent this diagram, which is the Porsche factory method of measurement. It arrived too late to use, but you may want to try it.

After measuring, pour this data in to your spreadsheet or chart - converting figures to millimeters - to lay out the initial point, the chosen lowering amount, and the resultant height figure. You'll be using this to check your work when you're done.

Oh, did I mention that the adjustments can only be done with the wheels and tires off of the car? Thus you cannot determine if you've done all this correctly until you've reassembled the car and have had a chance to let it settle a bit. It adds to the excitement.

With all of this done, you need to get the wheels off. You can either do one corner at a time, one side at a time, one end at a time or all four at once. I chose the latter.

With the wheels removed, you'll be looking at an assembly like this (front):

The coilover assembly has two locking collars below the coil. These are the objects of your interest. The upper one is designed to pull the coil up and down against the strut and the other one is designed to compress against the upper and keep it all from moving - once set.

Before loosening the assembly, you need to take one more set of baseline measurements. These are to establish how much you must alter the length of the coilover (actually the coil bottom to strut base) after adjusting it. This is where I got lazy. As you can see, the coilover axis is not exactly perpendicular to the ground. Thus, shortening it one millimeter will not achieve exactly one millimeter of lowering. You COULD calculate the angle from perpendicular that it makes, compute the cosine of the implied angle and then determine how much you must alter the hypotenuse to achieve the correct adjustment of the vertical leg of the triangle. Because it was 'close enough' (I'm rather OCD and it pains me to admit that I guesstimated it) I assumed the coilover was perpendicular. It turns out that it's within the range of accuracy of my measurements and so it's a reasonable corner-cutting lab tip.

Be careful to measure each of the four corners. Don't assume that the two fronts nor the two rears match. They don't, but they will when you are done.

In the front, I measured the distance from the top of the hub assembly to the bottom of the upper locking collar.

In the rear, it's a bit trickier. I measured from the bottom-most thread of the assembly, to the bottom of the upper locking collar. It is actually quite repeatable as long as you are careful, just not as simple.

Once you have these measurements, on your spreadsheets or chart, subtract the desired lowering amount from these four figures. With one caveat. To achieve the proper ride height when you're IN the car, the drivers side must be lowered less than the passenger side. The difference is the amount of 'sag' (from the weights in the drivers seat) that you measured earlier. So, drivers side lowering = lowering amount - sag. Passenger side lowering = lowering amount.

Proceed by using the provided wrenches to unlock the two collars or bolts. It takes some firm pressure to do so. This is where I had to tap one of the wrenches with a soft-headed hammer. Then lower the bottom collar a bit to make enough room to measure the changes you'll be making. Then rotate the upper collar in the direction to pull the coilover shaft 'up'. Continue to measure, using the exact same locations and technique you used initially, until you achieve the corner-specific reduction specified in your spreadsheet.

Then relock the collars, making sure that the upper collar does not move in the process. I marked the collar to visually ensure that it did not spin. Completing the first corner, simply rinse and repeat.

Once you're done, remount the tires, and torque them to 94 ft/lbs.

That's it.

By this time, the sun is setting, the NFL playoff positions have been established and it's time to take your newly suspended car for a ride. Be careful when first driving to clear driveways and speed bumps. You'll need to get the feel of how much extra care you'll need in avoiding objects. Don't ask me how I know this...

Oh, the finished product:

Home surgery for fun and profit

2009-01-12T08:38:00.000-08:00

When I last left our story readers, I was awaiting the return of my Porsche - with upgraded coilovers and roll bars. There was a small diversion when the shop determined that the car also needed front rotors and pads, requiring an extra day or so for the parts to arrive, but now the fun begins.
The fun, such as it is, is to tune the settings that were left in rough form at the garage. For reasons of time and cost, I asked the PVG folks to return the car to me before they could complete the lowering/adjusting process. So I thought, 'well, how hard could that be?'. You're about to find out.
I want to restate that the PVG folks are great to deal with. And the day I was there, there was an incredibly eclectic collection of cars sprinkled around the shop and lot: a Shelby GT350, a 1980's Rolls Royce, a 1980's Maserati, an original Mini and many others. I assume that they upload the skillset to work on these things a la 'The Matrix'. No other way they could know all this stuff.
A few Porsche blog forum readers have asked me to lay out the process I used to lower/balance the car. I'm happy to do so, but please remember that I'm a complete rookie and amateur at all this, that I have no previous experience doing this and thus likely didn't use the Porsche standard techniques to complete this process.
OTOH, it was a great opportunity to do the things that appeal to the 'XY' chromosome set: play with tools, cars and watch NFL playoff football - all while in my garage on an unusually warm northern California day.
So, taking a wrench to a big dollar sports car? What could go wrong?? :)

Before I go on, here's a photo or two:

Stock ride height:

The parts (there are three other coilovers in the box - promise):

Upgrade: Part deux

2009-01-07T11:05:00.000-08:00

I spent the better part of December poking around the net in search of an ideal solution to the Porsche suspension upgrade quest. Lots of good information. The best thread and thoughtful advice came from this thread:

http://www.rennteam.com/forum/index.html?vs=19#20073008 where contributor Cannga discussed his research, analysis and results.

It seems like the options are relatively constrained - assuming one wants to preserve the features of the PASM system. It boiled down to the following categories:

- Replacement springs for the existing struts. Good - maintaining PASM functions, low cost; Minus - still left with the questionable shock units, limited adjustments due to the OEM shock design, PASM system may protest when the car is lowered to the desired level.

- Race-quality coilovers. Good - really high quality technology, extremely broad range of adjustment across many parameters; Minus - defeats the PASM system, generally provides a very harsh track-centric ride, very costly.

- PASM-compatible coilovers. Good - PASM compatible (duh), improved ride/handling, only modestly degraded ride comfort, replaceable coils for further performance modifications, adjustable; Minus - some ride degradation, fewer adjustments than race-quality versions, pricey (though less than most race-quality versions).

In addition, of equal value (at least) is replacement of the anti-sway (i.e. sway) bars. There are a few brands to choose from, most seem about the same, and few individuals on the web cited either a preference or much understanding about the strengths/weaknesses of each. One value is the choice of settings via multiple mounting holes.

Given all these factors, I chose to go with the Billstein Damptonic PASM-compatible coilovers. And a set of sway bars from H&M. I bought the bunch from AWE tuning (http://awe-tuning.com/) because they were highly regarded by the Porsche forum cognescetti, nice folks to deal with, and great end-of-year prices.

The car is over at Portola Valley Garage (http://www.pvgarage.com/) for the install. Then a realignment. Then the drivers report. Pretty excited about it actually...

Lemme Upgrade upgrade...

2009-01-06T09:21:00.000-08:00

Try as I might to keep the Porsche and Ford stock, I find myself succumbing to the need to personalize and improve each of them. In the case of the Ford, there are few things to do, or so I claim, without altering the historic character, personality and collector value of the machine. The Porsche (a 997S Cab) has, much to my wife's lament, no such limitations.

The value of pursuing an evolutionary (versus revolutionary) development program is that Porsche 911's have had 40 years to build an ecosystem - of enhancement parts, owners clubs, online forums, racing programs and more. As I learn more about it all, the scale and variance of Porsche's world is just enormous. There's a lot of value in understanding how Porsche has managed the dynamics of this world, how it's helped lift Porsche to be the the premier sports car maker in the world, and how it could be applied to many other businesses - particularly SV businesses - to achieve similar success. But of the many values this ecosystem provides, is the broad level of expertise and tuner parts to turn any Porsche in to any kind of car you'd like.

Right out of the wrapper, as great a drivers car as the 911 is, there are some clear deficiencies that beg to be addressed. Specifically, and exacerbated by the rear-engine design of the car, anything that can be done to upgrade the suspension is, to quote Martha Stuart, 'a good thing'. Here's why.

Like all engineering implementations, the P-car suspension is a study in trade-offs. The smooth-riding nature of the car sacrifices road-holding, remaining flat in hard cornering and directional control when on the edge. No doubt there have been cost trade-offs (even at the price of a 911) when choosing the suspension bits of the stock car. Specifically the coilover shocks, roll bars, and links. Neither are adjustable beyond the basic setting of the dash-mounted PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) controls.

And finally, there are the physics challenges of a rear-engined design. White-coated lab techs in Stuttgart have done everything short of defying gravity to make a horribly flawed design run with the big dogs. But, on the edge, and challenged with the compromises of ride comfort and cost tradeoffs, the car gets wiggy.

So, I set out to upgrade the suspension to address all of this. Accepting that I'd be trading off some comfort to achieve my goals, the intent was to:

1. Reduce the famous Porsche nose bob. For every 911, Boxster/Cayman and 914 I've ever driven, they have this odd tendency to allow the front end to bob up and down, like the suspension is made out of rubber bands;
2. Maintain consistent steering accuracy when on the edge. At 8/10's the Porsche is a model citizen. But any further, and the twisting of the suspension - front to back - coupled with body lean and extreme angles of the rear suspension arms create a real challenge for the driver. Though a real hoot to deal with, it's unnecessarily dangerous and hinders the ultimate potential of the car. Further, pushing the PASM button simply hardens the ride, causing the car to skid across bumps while turning, and radically increasing the likelihood that you'll be needing dental work after your ride. Honestly, in current form, the 'hard' suspension setting is just useless.
3. Reduce body lean. Again, at more than 8/10's, the body roll exacerbates the suspension geometry changes, and induces more yawing, direction changes, and reduced tire footprint than seem necessary.

Stand by for a nick to the checkbook...

Branding the experience - Part 1

2008-12-23T12:05:00.000-08:00

In today's world of disposable products, support service outsourcing and America's expressed preference for bulk versus quality, finding an individual, organization or process that exceeds expectations is both exceedingly rare and worthy of a long term relationship.

I've been thrilled by brands such as FedEx, Porsche, Apple, Sony, Costco, and BMW. Whether products or services, the people in these organizations create such a compelling product, sales and support experience that I would never stray from any of them in their particular market.

At a more focused level, my nearby motorcycle dealer, Cal BMW/Triumph (http://www.calmoto.com/ ) is a member of that all-too-short list. The sales people are positive and knowledgeable, the showroom is a perfect balance of form and function, the service department floor is as clean as the table linen in a fine restaurant. And the waiters, um, techs all wear surgical gloves for reaching in to their perfectly clean and sorted tool cases parked uniformly next to every bike stand. I've purchased a few Beem'ers there and would never hesitate to recommend them to anyone. They provide a perfect customer experience in all aspects of motorcycle ownership. If you have a chance to check it out, swing by there and say hello to Kari Prager whose personal brand defines the entire place.

More recently and worthy of the autopian moniker, I've found an individual and organization who so absolutely exceeds all reasonable expectations of skill and professionalism that I just have to share.

Having owned a Ford GT for a year now, I've been planning a number of modifications – constrained by my desire to keep the car close to stock (and reversible to stock), improving safety and durability, and implementable by someone of my mid-level wrenching skills. After accumulating the required parts from a well respected supplier, I repeatedly opened the rear clamshell and, wrench in hand, attempted to begin the modifications.

Keyword: repeatedly. With each attempt the thought of applying a wrench to a car fulfilling a 45-year long dream, with a cost basis well beyond my first home, and with an ever-increasing collector resale value forced me to just step back, gently close the lid and walk away shaking my head in shame. It was a bit like prep'ing your abdomen for some do-it-yourself appendix surgery. With scalpel in hand, it's overwhelmingly hard to make that first incision. Or so I'm told.

Spring, summer and now fall approaching, I decided to outsource. But my fear of shipping my dream machine and leaving it in some others hands was daunting as well. And finding an expert in Ford GT internals is non-trivial. Even the most highly acclaimed service techs have rarely seen, no less worked on one. I didn't want my GT to be 'patient zero' for anyone.

Luckily, I'm within reasonable transport distance to two Ford GT experts. Since many of the purchased parts came from CoolTech LLC (http://www.cooltechllc.com/), a highly regarded Ford GT accessory supplier and tech expert located in southern California, I chose to ship the car there, despite it being twice the travel distance versus my alternative. However, this whole procedure got off to a very bad start after an unfortunate mis-step with a car carrier. The recommended carrier showed up with an unenclosed angled platform trailer behind his pickup truck - planning to drive it that way the 800 miles to L.A. and back. But it's a Ford GT so shame on the people recommending him. Shame on him for not telling me the configuration of his transporter. Shame on me for even feeling guilty giving him a generous tip and sending him on his way.

So ladened with bad car-karma, I decided to reset my plans and turned to Bill (aka 'Shadoman' to the Ford GT Forum crowd (http://www.fordgtforum.com)) of Discovery Automotive in Placerville, CA. Sometimes good fortune rains down on you for the oddest reasons. And, much like FedEx, Apple, Porsche and others, I came away with another example of the perfect customer experience.

Snug as the proverbial bug:

More to follow...

A parable (reprinted)

2008-12-07T08:36:00.001-08:00

While preparing updates to this forum, I've lately had the opportunity to closely observe and dissect the issues facing the U.S. economic system, highlighted most recently by the challenges in the domestic auto industry. Though it's not my preference to focus on the work and thoughts of others, I felt there was value in reprinting this posting from http://www.6speedonline.com in which member 'gretapass' submitted the following. I can't help but think how this punctuates the state of U.S. business:

A Modern Parable......

A Japanese company ( Toyota ) and an American company (Ford Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order; American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing. Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rowers. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses. The pension program was trimmed to 'equal the competition' and some of the resultant savings were channeled into morale boosting programs and teamwork posters.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles. Humiliated, the American management laid-off one rower, halted development of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses. The next year, try as he might, the lone designated rower was unable to even finish the race (having no paddles,) so he was laid off for unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India.

Sadly, the End.

Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US , claiming they can't make money paying American wages. TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building a dozen plants inside the US. The last quarter's results: TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses. They both build automobiles . Ford folks are still scratching their heads, and collecting bonuses...and now Ford Executives want us, the United States Taxpayer, to loan them 25 Billion Dollars,. to help them create that same series of mistakes all over again.... Or, a 25 Billion reward for exercising total stupidity and morbid indifference to the product requirements and desires of the American automobile customer.

Let them take a chapter 11 like every other business who screws up their products and marketplace.

==========

Now I for one don't believe that we can afford to realize the Ch.11 conclusion. And this note also reflects the anger that many of the american public holds with the U.S. auto industry. But there is simply too much at stake in the U.S. economy to invoke the, "Burn the village to save it" strategy. Nonetheless, it does illustrate how dramatic the changes will need to be - far beyond loans of any scale - to execute a vital but brutally challenging turnaround.

The Autophile and the physicist...

2008-09-28T09:24:00.001-07:00

So, the auto lover, looking for his dream car drops by his neighbor, a physicist and says, “Can you help me? I'm looking for the perfect car. One that has infinite acceleration and top speed, stops on a dime, has perfect weight balance, and weighs virtually nothing. Where can I find such a thing?”. The physicist pauses, tamps his pipe, looks back at his friend and says, “Well first, assume a spherical car...”.

This story proves that: physicists should stay away from comedy; that there remains an enormous gulf between science and engineering; and that neither of our protagonists have ever experienced an Ultima GTR.

I am certain of the last point because, having now driven in an Ultima (http://www.ultimasports.co.uk/), I can unequivocally state that the Ultima accelerates, stops and changes direction better than any car I have ever experienced. At 2,200 pounds, 500+ horsepower, mid-engine induced weight distribution, and bespoke suspension, brakes and steering, the Ultima makes F-cars, Lambo's, Corvette's, Ford GT's and anything else German, Italian, American or British seem like economy cars without back seats.

Oh, and did I mention that it's anything but spherical? In fact, it's absolutely and stunningly gorgeous.

Just one thing. You have to finish the car yourself. How much finishing and how long it will take is a function of your interests, your option list, and the size of your wallet. Ted Marlow, president of Ultima LTD,showed my son and I around his tightly packed factory in Hinkley, U.K. - about two hours outside of London. A patient, enthusiastic and knowledgeable fellow, Ted spent two hours with us, explaining the history of the Ultima, how bespoke (we call them 'custom' here in the good old USA) parts have been designed and manufactured to ensure the highest quality performance, reliability and cost-optimization of the car, and how the philosophy of the build experience is designed as a hobby to be relished rather than a painful step on the way to completion of a world class automobile.

Oh, and did I mention that it's absolutely and stunningly gorgeous?

Ultima rolling chassis' are designed to be mated to a Porsche G50 or Getrag transmission and powered by V8's of varying tunes from Chevrolet U.S. Ultima partners with engine tuner American Speed (http://www.amerspeed.com/scgi-bin/showultimaengines.cgi). The demonstrator had a 400 horsepower carbureted classic. The Chevrolet motors have been chosen for their low cost, high power, parts availability, durability and relative high levels of sophistication. I was quite surprised when Ted informed me that connecting rods in the LS7 engine (available in 566, 650, 725 and 800 horsepower) were made of titanium. The American Speed engines are pre-configured to mate with specified transmissions and 'drop-in' to the Ultima cars.

Returning to the physicist reference, an Ultima GTR with an American Speed LS7 650 horsepower engine has a power to weight ratio unlike any other production sports car. Coupled with a supple, street-capable chassis that nonetheless is highly performant on the race track leads to some remarkable numbers (http://www.ultimasports.co.uk/company/newsflash.html).

Then there's that remarkably beautiful design thing.

And of course, on the road, this is the most frequent view of the car by others:

So, two issues remain. Ultima makes two cars. The GTR is their closed top coupe designed car reminiscent of a classic LeMans racer. Remarkably civilized with a purposeful race-oriented interior, it clearly is the better all-around design for street and track. The Can Am is the cabriolet version of the same car. Same chassis, drivetrain, build experience but with conventional and track-oriented windshield designs and a removable soft top. Both are equivalently capable automobiles. But, as a resident of the Bay Area of California, the soft-top capital of planet earth, my eyes wander to the latter.

So, Ginger?

Or Mary Ann?

The second item of course is whether I'm going to take the plunge. I must admit that after seeing the car and speaking with Ted I'm more impressed than ever. I still haven't made the final call, but I must admit that the garage remodel has begun. :)

Auto S.A.T.'s

2008-09-22T14:54:00.001-07:00

In the U.S., all high school students planning to further their education are required to take an exam called the S.A.T. The Standard Aptitude Test. A time consuming ordeal, it's part of the rites of passage for all academically inclined adolescents.

One of the sections of the exam is devoted to analogies. For example: Doctor : Hospital :: Professor : X (answer: X=College).
Applying this technique to the automotive industry, here's an interesting one for you experts: Aircraft : Clarence 'Kelly' Johnson :: Automobiles : X.

(Hint: Clarence 'Kelly' Johnson was the head of the famed organization referred to as Lockheed's Skunkworks group. With a unique working style, a small but ever-changing group of team members, and a variety of design goals, Kelly Johnson was responsible for some of the most famous and legendary aircraft of our time. Examples include the F-104 Starfire, the U-2 and SR-71 family of spyplanes, and the F-117A stealth fighter. All focused on extreme and focused performance, unique efficient design and technological breakthroughs.

A number of names are possible in this auto-S.A.T. test, but the best fit, and thus the winning answer is a gentleman by the name of Lee Noble.

Though Lee Noble started his automotive career as a talented sports and formula car driver, he early on demonstrated excellent engineering skills. Even more telling, Lee imparts a design sense shared with Kelly and other true design innovators across industries (e.g. Steve Jobs – Apple, Ken'ichiro Ashida – Nintendo). He imparts a sense of taste, style and elegance in his designs. In the late 1980's, growing tired of working on other people's cars, he directed his energies toward the 'kit car' market – which has the properties of lower cost of entry and ease of modifying design without the cost and time overhead that typically goes with the automotive industry.

Lee's first offering, and one of his most enduring, was the Ultima. A mid-engine design relying on powerplants principally from Chevrolet, and gearboxes from Getrag and Porsche, a recent version has set records for being the fastest accelerating car (0-60 in 2.6 seconds), fastest in the 0-100-0 test, and surpassed the McLaren in highest top speed for 2WD/RWD vehicles.

Simple spectacular:

...even when it loosens it's tie just a bit:

In 1992 Ted Marlow purchases the rights, jigs and moulds for the Ultima Mk2 and Ultima Mk3 from Noble Motorsport Ltd.(www.ultimasports.co.uk/history/). and also marked the end of any involvement in the future development of the Ultima by Lee Noble. The company, called Ultima Sports Ltd. was formed by Ted and Richard Marlow based in premises at Long Itchington, Warwickshire. More than 600 of these beautiful and powerfully performant cars have been built to date.

After the Ultima came other designs – the Noble Lotus 23 replica; the Ferrari P4 replica; the ProSport 3000 circuit racer; the MidTec Spyder – a Lotus 7 like machine. Noble then entered into the supercar space with the Ascari and now the Noble (Moy) (http://www.noblecars.com/) series of supercars. These mid-engined twin-turbo designs are visually impressive and have been very favorably compared with cars from Porsche and Ferrari.

The 'business end' of Noble M15:

But none of this S.A.T. testing nor historical overview bears on the true reason for this entry. The reality is that I am, at this moment, winging my way over the polar caps to meet Ted Marlow and visit his factory to examine and ride in a demonstrator of the Ultima GTR and Can-Am with the intent of beginning a new chapter in my auto interests. As noted prior, I have, for years, moved from admiring, to owning, to wrenching some interesting and wonderful automobiles. The obvious next step is to create one or, more accurately, to finish one.

I'll keep you posted on the details of my trip.

Correcting a flaw

2008-09-16T06:57:00.001-07:00

It's about time that they put some power in this thing.

Getting outrun by an Ultima GTR (wait for it, wait for it) just won't do.

(http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=18678)

Auto Company Algebra

2008-09-14T17:26:00.000-07:00

Every auto enthusiast knows about Lamborghini. The 'also ran' of Italian supercars. Or rather, the masters of gratuitous design - big, bold and outrageous design statements. But heavy steering, bad visibility, cobbled manufacturing and horrible reliability marked the mark. Pointed straight ahead, fresh from an overhaul, with a driver having taken enough Bikram yoga to cope with the driving position and the overheating cockpit, Lambo's could be quite thrill.

The iconic vehicle that represents all that was good and less good for Lamborghini was the Countach. Introduced in 1974, it is rumored that the the car's name is based on an Italian dialect term uttered in surprise by Nuccio Bertone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuccio_Bertone) upon seeing the car for the first time.

As a college student, I was stunned by the photos of the Countach. Part car, part F15, part childs doodling and part cartoon character, it looked far more impressive and performant than indeed it was. I had a chance to study one up close and personal at the recent Pebble Beach Concours.

One of the few supercars that is better looking from afar:

Reminiscent of the business end of an F15 Eagle

Sorry but I did not include any side/close-up/interior pictures. I just didn't have the heart to publish them. The interior was a compost heap of ill-fitting parts, odd angles, and relatively low-rent bits and bobs. Again, I love this car but it's best left on a pedestal. Neither closely examined nor driven.

During the multiple changes in ownership, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini) Chrysler (that U.S. auto company that has accumulated a dubious merger and acquisition record) and Megatech (an Indonesia financial holding company) Lamborghini delivered the Diablo. A bit more conventional than the Countach, it nonetheless possessed many of the features that made classic Lambo's, um, unique.

But then a miracle occurred. In 1998 Audi became the exclusive owner of Lamborghini. In a world in which corporate acquistions frequently spell disaster, Audi's managed to maintain Lamborghini's unique design personality while giving them access to their excellent parts bin, planning and construction techniques and quality and design expectations required to build cars that are worthy of all aspects of admiration.

Algebraically: Countach + Audi = Gallardo

The new Gallardo, the LP560-4 looks to be an honest competitor to the best of Ferrari. The penultimate version was on display at Pebble.

Unique, dramatic and beautiful:

Nothing like it - and that is finally to the lament of all competitors:

With real fit, finish and a driving position suited for the anatomically average:

Thank you Audi. You've enabled the creation of an honest-to-goodness supercar. No excuses. And if I were Ferrari, I'd stop laughing. The next bake-off between the F430 and the LP560-4 will be a close one.

It started with a bike ride... (Part 1)

2008-09-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

In my life experience, the zenith of all things automotive revolves around the Ford GT. With references both historic and personal in nature, it's a story that, so far, has a very happy ending.

Rewind to the mid-60's when the unholiest of corporate mergers - The Ford Motor Company and Ferrari – was under consideration. As the story goes, Ford was surreptitiously approached by a Ferrari representative to initiate consideration of an acquisition. Enzo Ferrari (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzo_Ferrari) was not happy with the distraction of building and selling street-going sports cars to support his passion for racing. His hope was that in a post acquisition Ford+Ferrari world, he could focus all of his time, energy and additional funds on the purity of racing.

While Ford was investing a great deal of time and money crawling through Ferrari's people, financial and operational processes and increasingly growing excited about the prospects of such a marriage, Ferrari and Enzo was becoming more taciturn when considering what life would be like living and working in such a big American company. At some point, Enzo silently turned the tables and instructed his people to learn all they could of Ford's intellectual property and then once satisfied, he unceremoniously and surprisingly pulled the plug on the acquisition. This so incensed 'Hank the Deuce' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford_II) that he decreed that Ford would supplant Ferrari in their own endurance racing bastion of success – the 24 hours of LeMans.

The car would be called the Ford GT 40. with the '40' representing the overall height, in inches, of the car. Much of the work was carried out in the U.K., with many parts coming from across Europe and so it would be inaccurate to claim that car was a purely U.S. endeavor. It took a bit of debugging, with mechanical problems dogging the cars entry in 1964 and 1965, to get to the winners circle. But the resultant design placed first in the LeMans race in 1966-1969. Four consecutive years of Ferrari watching from behind. An astonishing fulfillment of an aggressive and audacious goal. (There's numerous books that describe this aspect of Ford's history. One is: http://www.biggerbooks.com/bk_detail.aspx?isbn=9781844253050) Here's a photo of the first winning car:

Overwhelmingly beautiful. The perfect sports/racing car:

Always a car geek, shortly after the race (there were no satellite feeds at the time) I had the chance to watch segments of it on ABC's Wide World of Sports. What caught my eye was the incredible design of the GT40. The first mid-engined car I recall seeing, aerodynamic, curvy and low to the ground, it was the most beautiful car I had ever seen. I watched intently on my black and white television hoping to see a few close-ups of this remarkable machine.

Fast forward a year or two: As a young kid growing up in New York city, I spent a lot of time on my bicycle. Rounding a corner near my brick row house, parked on the street before my very eyes was one of the very few street-registered Ford GT's. There it was in the mechanical flesh. White with blue center stripe it was even more spectacular up close than on television. I spent the better part of an hour circling the car on foot ogling every little detail – the Halibrand mag wheels, the raw open rear engine compartment with the seven liter V8 under the rear glass, the bank of toggle switches framing a wide set of gauges with the speedometer on the far right. I traveled nearly every day to visit the GT40. Parked in the same position, never meeting it's owner, I would check on it as part of every ride. Then one day it was gone. Never to be seen again but indelibly etched in my mind as the design against which all other cars would be compared. And to this day, no other car, absolutely nothing could measure up. Quietly, in the back of my mind, the dream of owning a street-worthy Ford GT40 began to turn over.

Fast forward again: Reading my monthly home delivery of Car and Driver, Ford CEO Bill Ford rolled out the Ford GT concept at the 2002 North American International Auto Show in Detroit commemorating their 100th anniversary. Shortly after the rollout, Ford announced their intent to build 4,000 of these recreations. With a small design team led by the young and brilliant Camilo Pardo (http://www.mazdausamedia.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=23971 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDT1VLN-qYc) the team worked quickly to convert a show car to a deliverable for the 2005 model year.

Here's how Ford described their forthcoming supercar:

'The Ford GT delivers 550 horsepower and a certified 205-mph top track speed rating, with styling inspired by the historic racecars and a comfortable and contemporary interior, all for a base price (MSRP) of under $150,000. An ultra high-performance two-seat sports car, the Ford GT is built on an aluminum spaceframe chassis with super-plastic-formed aluminum body panels and an aluminum-over-carbon engine cover. A mid-mounted supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 delivers 500 pound-feet of torque. Power flows to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transaxle. Independent suspension, large Brembo brakes and Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires on 18-inch front and 19-inch rear wheels all are standard equipment.'

Perhaps more beautiful than the original. Thank you Camilo.

Later learning that Ford had lost ownership of the GT40 brand, and accepting that the recreation was in fact 44 inches tall, the production version would be called the Ford GT. I remember the house, room, piece of furniture and position I was in when I set my eyes on the new old GT. The decision, right there, was to resume my old plan – I have to get one. But seeing the pricing, I rationalized it with the amendment of the standard term 'some day'. The hope was to wait for production to get going and in 5 years or so, perhaps the price would drop to an affordable level.

Well, it didn't quite work out that way. Somewhere during the second year of the model run, Ford announced that they were going to stand by their word and halt production of approximately 4,000 cars, at the end of 2006. And six months or so after that last production date, my weekly Ebay check showed an early trend that triggered alarm. The historic nature, limited availability and unique design of the car was beginning to drive the collector market to drive the pre-owned pricing higher than list prices. My plan of waiting for the prices to fall was never going to happen. If I was was to own one, there was no other time than the present. Discussed quickly with my very understanding wife, I found one for sale at a Lambo dealer with 214 miles on it. I was quite focused on buying an as-new model with as much warranty remaining, and a minimum chance of 'overuse' in the hands of an avid sports car owner. There was no negotiation on price, but a protracted wait period while a cracked windshield in an otherwise perfect car was dealt with. In October of 2006, build #899, a 2005 model with all options and of course white with a blue stripe, was tucked comfortably in to my garage.

Dream realized:

More to come...

Verde

The name game

2008-09-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

As part of my day-job in Silicon Valley, I deal with the naming and branding of new products. Part art and part science, everyone voices strong opinions about their choice and justification of new names, brands and logos. But unlike other topics in high-tech, there is no right versus wrong here, enabling the relaxation of any inhibition when lobbying for their particular position. It gets pretty wild, consuming more email, meeting time and the occasional lobbing of over-ripe fruit across the conference room table than almost any other topic in our business.

Which brings me to another item on this years comment-worthy list from the Pebble Beach Concours. As a bona fide car geek, it's unimaginable to think that there could be a manufacturer, no matter how modest or obscure, that would be unknown to me. But at the Italian car gathering, I came across not one, but two brands that met both criteria - previously unknown names, and names that could have been well served by just a bit more tossing of very, very ripe fruit.

Lets start with the very serious one. A car that meets my criteria for lust, interest and respect on almost any axis. Stunning in every regard save for the name it is none other than the Gumpert Apollo. Check it out at http://www.supercars.net/cars/3313.html. Now it turns out that Gumpert is the fellow who was very involved in the initial Audi Quatro program. Clearly an individual who commands great respect in automotive circles - notwithstanding the fact that the Apollo is a RWD design.

Intense in it's purposeful design, mid-engined, virtually no ground clearance, gull-winged doors, an Audi V8 that's received a non-trivial amount of extra attention yielding a 0-60 time of 3.0 seconds, this is a stunningly beautiful car. It screams to be driven hard. In an Italian car event dominated by Ferrari and Lambo marques, virtually all other cars looked anemic and emasculated by comparison.

Here are a few pictures from the show:

Darth, your car is ready...

A racing-oriented interior with a hint of Audi design:

Six-point seat belts:

No attempt to hide the diffusers. This is a form-follows function machine:

And a bit of YouTube'ery:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHuu0HoF9ZY

So let me be clear: I want to learn more about this machine. It's priced out of reach, but I want, no no I need to drive it. It is exactly a design that should be in my garage. If any of you have information or experience with this outstanding machine, please share it with us all. Oh, and if you were part of the team that finalized the name, I'd be happy to give you some personal advice.

Contestant number two, a bit more lighthearted in design, in fact all the way down to the name. Built by Funke and Will AG, it's the YES (Young Engineer Sportscar) car. Actually quite impressive in specs and shape: it too has a mid-engine design, light weight (2,000 lbs), an Audi powerplant with a nod toward extra power, and a much more approachable price tag ($75,000-$100,000 U.S.) it all comes together to be a very interesting and impressive spyder design. Check out their site: http://www.yes-roadster.net/. It's what a TT should be if Audi paid more attention to performance and less to art-deco.

Here's a photo or two. Sorry for the absence of a complete shot. Both the web site and the YouTube video will provide a clearer perspective.

Audi TT on a budget design diet:

Odd and inconsistent shapes - but it comes together nicely:

A better view, if not a better monologue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVtEmiNQPkw&feature=related.

For those of you who feel that life would be better if you never saw another Toyota, Honda or Chevrolet again in your lives, acquiring your own auto-obscurata might be just the cure. Gumpert or YES.

The automotive version of Ginger or Mary Ann. And hold the fruit.

Verde

Veyron - nicely plated

2008-09-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

Eye candy maximus at the Pebble Beach Concours was the Veyron display. As every enthusiast knows, the Bugatti Veyron is a legend in it's own time:

$1M (U.S.) ++ price tag;
1K+ HP;
250+ MPH top speed;
12 cylinders, 4 turbos, all-wheel drive; air brake, modal performance settings.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But in case you are concerned that your next Bugatti purchase will have you looking like every other owner driving up and down the streets of America, the thoughtful folks at Bugatti have brought you all a special edition - the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Pur Sang (http://www.motorauthority.com/news/supercars/bugatti-veyron-pur-sang-pure-blooded-exclusivity/) and were kind enough to bring one to the show. At more than $2.4M (U.S.), this brushed aluminum beauty will have most owners intimidated when taking it out for a cruise on our highway's, byway's and drive-through's. So Bugatti has apparently included a motorized spinning platter so that you can just ogle your Veyron from infinite angles in the safe confines of your garage.

Those Bugatti folks think of just about everything.

Every vantage point is a perfect one when your car does the spinning:

Another fine view...

An extra million (U.S.) buys a very subtle logo:

But why limit yourself to just one? Buy one of the standard models as well, for those Costco runs, or as your airport car when you need to leave your basic transportation at overnight- or long-term parking.

For those 253 MPH runs to Costco and Ikea:

Verde

No mas! No mas!

2008-09-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

If you've ever attended one of those Sunday brunch gatherings at an upper crust hotel, you know the drill. Stand up from your chair and before taking your first plateful, a quick lap around the banquet tables. In short order your eyes and brain are supersaturated with the view - food of every description. Infinite scale and infinite choice. Starving when you arrived, the feeling of overfilled sets in before your first plate is cleaned. Leaving sooner than you ever thought you would, the sense of guilt for not tasting one of everything lingers for days.

I had that same feeling at the recent Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance (http://www.pebblebeachconcours.net/) . Perhaps the most elegant and encompassing annual auto event in the U.S., neither my calendar nor my wallet permitted me to attend the final day and auction, so a few of my buddies and I headed down there the Friday of Concours week.

I'll offer up a few retrospective entries but first choice has to be the Italian Concourso held at the Monterey Airport. Set to be all Italian all the time, it included breeds and brands from many nations. But the centerpiece, the banquet table so to speak, was Ferrari. Dozens. No, hundreds. F-cars as far as the naked eye could see. All colors, all years, all styles, all models. Lane after lane, row after row, some brand new, some rare classics. It took at least two hours to take a full lap of the setting.

It was both spectacular and overfilling. Never in my life did I think I'd be over-satiated with F-cars. On average, Ferrari builds the most beautiful and exciting automobiles in the world – and have done so for many many years. But frankly, I could go another few weeks without seeing even one. Who knew that even supercars are better in smaller doses?

To wit:

That messy Ferrari buildup:

OK, no matter how full, you have to sample the caviar:

They've always had the touch:

Always:

One of my favorites. Absolutely timeless...

A snoutful of V12 from a 599:

My wife's fav. The Dino:

A Superamerica. More carbon fibre than an F22:

A passing phase. But still beautiful:

Verde

As smooth as as the inside of a bunny's ear...

2008-08-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

I mentioned that I purchased my Porsche pre-owned. All good, and for many, I'd highly recommend it from a price/performance perspective. But the Porsche option list has a greater thud-factor than War and Peace. So, much like monkey's successfully typing the constitution, the probability of the original buyer having the exact taste and choice as your own is about nil and thus, finding a car that closely matches your personal taste is equivalently low. Further, I'm a passionate student of design, and the interior of a car is target-rich in opportunities to demonstrate the taste and ergonomic skills of an auto company.
Here's are a few examples of interiors great and poor, modern and classic:

Modern and outstanding (Audi R8)

Modern and very sad (Corvette C6 - A great car nonetheless)

Classic and outstanding (Bentley Flying Spur)

Classic - well just old actually; and horrible (Jeep Wrangler - it's not clear that this car has any redeeming qualities)

The minimum benchmark for any car interior is the man/machine interface. All of those points that the driver explicitly touches or controls the car. The higher the frequency and likelihood of that interface, the higher priority for excellence. But, like random monkey's, the original buyer couldn't have done more poorly in his/her pursuit of such excellence. The stock Porsche wheel is too thin, too slippery and unworthy of of the purchase price of the car. The stock seats pale in comparison to the racing or upgraded seats available somewhere on page 761 of the option book. All options related to steering wheel and seats were left unchecked. Comparing the price of steering wheels versus seat upgrades, the answer was simple. Seats were simply out. Porsche OEM sports/racing seats – with side airbag - cost more than $10,000. That's one out of every ten of my list price car dollars spent to suspend my bottom. Sorry, no can do. That leaves the wheel.
So recently, while waiting at my local dealer, I had the chance to sit in a new GT3 RS on the showroom floor. The wheel was made out of a material called Alcantara. Much like artificial suede, it's used more and more frequently in the auto industry for headliners and other interior components. But, since it's pricey stuff it's almost always on some latter page of the manufacturers option book. Warm in winter, cool in summer. Thick, easy to grip and soft to the touch. It feels like the inside of a bunny's ear. And, the dark grey RS wheel has this nice yellow centering stripe on the top. I guess it's for informing the driver that the wheels are pointed straight ahead. So, if the strip is at the top, and the car is not going straight, you must be skidding. Brilliant. I had to have it. And the matching shifter and boot. And parking brake handle. All now one big bunny ear. And, while the patient was opened, I added the Porsche OEM short-shift kit. 20% shorter shifts. Crisper and more secure. I ordered the parts from some very nice folks at SunCoast Automotive (http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?) and my local garage did the installation. Now, I'm a tough judge, so when I grade things, many are often disappointed. But in this case, on a scale of 1-10, I'd give it all an 11. It IS a bit odd every morning to grab a bunny's ear, but otherwise simply perfect.
But here you go:

Verde

The Fleet

2008-08-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you a bit about the fleet. This should not be seen as hubris gone wild. Better to look at it all as a publicly-visible psychological profile. If the car tells you something about the owner, then the cars should say even more. So, I'll just ramble off the list – and over the next few entries, I'll tell you how they came to be part of the extended Verde fleet. So here we go:

2005 Ford GT – yes, the 100-year anniversary re-creation. I had to have this car. And will soon explain why.
2005 Porsche 997S Cabriolet – The supercar you can drive everyday (and, notwithstanding my PAFE - wait for it, wait for it), I do.
2005 Prius – I waited 8 months to take order of this Gen2 model. It's a modern miracle.
2005 Lexus SC430 – My wife fell in love with it the day she saw it and smiles every time she drives it - (except it needs a manual transmission).

Other fleet auto-detritus:
2000 Lexus LX470 – The SUV that has been relegated to dorm trips and dog carrying. Nothing else. Nothing.
1998 Subaru Forrester – my daughters car - a new college grad with an art degree. Enough room for portfolio.
1995 Volkswagen Jetta – #1 son's car, entering college this fall, drives this one.
1989 Saab 9000S – other #1 son's car, bought when he was 18 months old and he sat in the back in a child seat. Now he's the owner and driver - off in college.

So, there you have it. Surely worthy of the term 'fleet'. Two are not stay-at-home cars – residing with our nest leavers. But they're returned on a regular basis for wrench and oil work brought to you by this blogger. Also worthy of further detail. You'll get it. Promise.

Hello and welcome

2008-08-24T22:47:00.000-07:00

I'm an unabashed car lover and have been so since I was a young boy. But it's a bit of a leap from lover to blogger, so let me fill you in on why I feel so leap-worthy.

For most of my child, adolescent and adult life, I've lived the auto-interest lifestyle vicariously through others. Growing up in an east coast inner city, car mags and muscle car spotting first off – interspersed with hundreds of thousands of hand-drawn personal designs in the back of the classroom. Later, watching and listening as friends and associates pulled funds together to purchase autos of interest. A 2002tii, a Hemi-Cuda, a Citroen ID19.

It wasn't until quite recently in life that I had the funds and the inclination to move from watcher to participant. More about that transformation in a bit. But it's that long delay from admirer to owner that's enabled me to construct what I hope to be an unusual and compelling soapbox from which to cite and share observations with the rest of you all in the auto-phile community.

So, here's some of the building blocks of my platform that will support our discussions. In no prioritiy order:

I'm a geek and work in the high tech field. So I do, or at least pretend to have a decent take on the technology side of the auto world;

I'm a business executive so I'll do my best to factor the demographics, buying habits, industrial politics and economic realities of the industry;

I'm a Northern Californian, perhaps the best place on earth to be involved in auto-mania. Perfect weather for any type of vehicle. The land of individualism where some of the oddest and appealing 4 (plus or minus 2) wheel devices turn up. And enough discretionary wealth here and there to see some rolling works of art otherwise reserved for the web, magazine, or museums.

Finally, I'm the father of some young adults. So I've got my own built-in opinion shapers of another generation from my own.

A final word about it all. There are two types of bloggers. Those who want to blast their opinions across cyberspace and reaction be damned; and those (like I) who welcome the dialog. Like what you read? Tell me. Think it's all wrong? Tell me. No, rather, tell us all. Add all of the color and discourse you can think of.

And finally, enjoy it all. Lets face it, there's transportation and then there's the love of all things automotive. The visceral pleasure of our passion is what keeps us coming back to it. So join me in making this a good time.

Verde