Shumacher: the end of an incredible eara in Formula 1

So we've witnessed Michael Shumachers final race in the Ferrari F1 car. And through all the bad luck in this past weekends final Brazilian Grand Prix for the 7 time champion, he never lost focus, he kept his head down from starting 10th, then dropping to dead last (and 20 seconds behind the next to last car!) after a left rear tire puncture from contact with Fishicella's Renault, and intermittent power loss, to finish in a fighting 4th place, 1 spot off the podium. His final appearance in an F1 race was a fitting end to his storied and almost untouchable career. Although I would have loved to see him jumping for joy at a final race-final victory, the performance he put in was nonetheless proof that he's still the best there is, and probably ever has been.

With a career including 7 World Championship titles, 91 victories, 68 pole positions, more laps led, more fastest laps, and just about every other record a driver in Formula 1 can hold, we are unlikely to ever see his records beaten, or even matched. Personally, after 12 years of watching the master race, I will miss him. I think other folks, even those who don't like him will miss his competition on the track. Best wishes for your future Shumi, you've been my hero for a long time.

'06 Portuguese GP, what was Pedrosa thinking?????

It was the penultimate round of the 2006 Moto GP World Championship, Nicky Hayden has a 12 point lead, Valentino Rossi is trailing in 2nd and on the charge while Nicky's team-mate, Dani Pedrosa is down in 4th. Colin Edwards, Rossi's team-mate knows his job is to help protect Rossi going into the race and you would have thought Pedrosa would have been instructed to do the same for Nicky. So what does he do? Takes out his World Championship leading team-mate in the 2nd to last race!! This really shows his age and I realize he's only 20 or so, but dude, c'mon! 2 races to go, you're a long-shot for the Championship, your team-mate has been leading it most of the year and still has a decent sized lead, it's your job to keep other riders from passing you thus protecting your team-mate.

In the 5th lap of the Portuguese Grand Prix, he decides he want's to pass Hayden on the inside, the front washes out, and BAM! down goes Pedrosa who collects Hayden in the process. Not only was it a lame thing to do in terms of taking out Hayden, but the team didn't score a single point either! Not good for Nicky's individual hopes of his first World Title, nor for the Repsol Honda team's hopes of Constructors World Championship. Pedrosa is brilliant for his young age, but he's got some maturing to do still. Meanwhile, he's got one chance to make it up to Nicky and the Repsol Honda team and the rest of us can keep our hopes up for The Kentucky Kid. Go Nicky!

Super Sedans®

Super Sedans® is a term my buddy Jim came up with to describe the direction my Infiniti Q45t has taken and how the "VIP & EXE" scene can grow in the USA during our many conversations about luxury sedan styling. The very terms VIP & EXE are mostly known to people who are into Japanese car culture or the Asian scene and therefore, very limiting to the possible growth of the style across the nation and globe. So how can this scene ever grow in the US? Give it a new name. Thus, Super Sedans® was born.

What is a Super Sedan®? By definition, it's a V8 powered, rear wheel drive, full size luxury car, with tasteful modifications to the stock starting base point. Since the car must be V8 powered, it excludes the 6 cylinder versions of some models that fit the Super Sedans® theme, such as the Lexus GS series, and Infiniti M series. Although the GS 400 and 430 are Super Sedans®, the GS 300 is not, the same goes for the Infiniti M45 which is a Super Sedan® while the M35 is not.

The very principal of these cars was derived from discussions we had about my car. The whole thing with my car is that it's been modified extensively, but maintains a very clean look. The car is as comfortable cruising to Las Vegas at 100 mph as it is cruising Sunset Blvd. at 10 mph. At high rates of speed Super Sedans® are composed, confidence inspiring, extremely comfortable, safe, and most of all, fun and relaxing to drive. At 100 mph, you are cruising across the land very quickly, but it's smooth, and quiet inside, you almost have no concept that you're traveling as fast as you actually are. This is a Super Sedan®.

A Super Sedan® does not have to be a Japanese luxury car either, it can be a European V8 powered RWD luxury car, it can also be an American V8 powered RWD full size sedan. Now, you can't just buy a Chrysler 300C and slap 24" wheels on it and call it a Super Sedan®, that is not what this is about. However, if you got your Chrysler 300C and lowered the suspension with quality parts, and installed some 20" wheels with a flush fitting offset, you're starting to get the right idea. Now go park your 300C with 2" drop, perfect fitting staggared 20" wheels and nice exhaust next to a bone stock 300C that's got 24" wheels and lets see which looks nicer. I can tell you for certain, it's the Super Sedans® styled 300C that will win. Not only in looks either, it will actually perform better too.

Super Sedans® is about looks & performance, not just one or the other, but a beautiful blend of both. Working together harmoniously, looking great and working as well as it looks. Welcome to Super Sedans®.

Shumi's 8th all but impossible now.

I'm not a Ferrari fan per-se, I've just always been a Shumi fan. What a drag man, but hey, look how he responded compared to the ways that Alonso has responded in similar situations. Did Shumi go and say the team sabatoged him and they don't want him to win? No, he took it like a man, thanked his team and conceded the title. He was so on the way to an unprecedented 8th title too. Oh well. Doesn't look like Alonso is headed off to the right place either, we'll see next year though. Williams and McLaren are my traditional favorite teams (Renault when it used to be Benetton was always in there, but I don't care so much since Renault took over), but then, I root for drivers more than teams, and Kimi is my other favorite driver out there, so I guess next year I'll be rooting for Ferrari again.

Super Autobacs VIP show 10-7-06

Todays VIP theme car show at Super Autobacs was disappointing. There were mostly R.C. drift cars on a small drift track, and about 15 VIP cars scattered all across the lot. Parking should have been reserved for the cars that registered, if the two rows adjacent to the R.C. drift track were blocked off, that would have been a perfect fit for the size of the event, and would have looked much more professional. Think about this next time you guys do a show!