You already know the story. Felipe Massa was struck in the helmet with a spring while
rocketing along at 162 mph during the Hungarian Grand Prix, only to be knocked unconscious and crash head on into a tire-wall. The story thickened when we found out he fractured his skull and may have suffered irreparable eye damage. Then Schumi stepped up and took his spot.
Now we have a report from ITV that Massa will leave the hospital on Monday and be flown home in a private jet back to Brazil. He has been recovering in Budapest's AEK military hospital, and his physician Dino Altmann said he was making good progress.
Massa says he is eager to return to racing as soon as he is capable, and was even cracking jokes about Schumacher taking his spot: "We'll see if I let him drive my car!"
Altmann expressed with confidence that Massa will be able to get back on the track - eventually.
Categories: Motorsports
Nissan has taken the next step on the path toward a Phillip K. Dick future with its new technologies called Distance Control Assist and Active Stability Assist.
The Distance Control Assist (DCA) system utilizes map information to adjust the accelerator pedal and braking when navigating around curves. When going into a twisty, DCA will physically move the pedal upward to make you slow down, and, when your foot is removed, will apply the brakes to further control your speed. Nissan says that DCA "focuse[s] on reducing the driver's workload on curvy roads by integrating navigation, accelerator pedal, powertrain and brakes."
Active Stability Assist, on the other hand, synchronizes braking, steering and engine response. It monitors a driver's driving patterns (mostly braking and acceleration) and individually controls braking and the amount of torque applied to each wheel. The system optimizes the distribution of force to each wheel, depending on the radius of the curve, of course.
Both systems will debut on the new Fuga sedan -- Japan's version of the Infiniti M series -- later in Nissan's current fiscal year.
Categories: Nissan
A couple of days ago we posted an unedited version of Rhys' run up the scary Pikes Peak in his 580-horsepower modified Hyundai Genesis Coupe, and we thought that was cool.
This time we have a Top Gear-esque video complete with multiple camera angles, time lapses of the gorgeous Colorado landscape and, lest we forget, enough slow-mo to make even the easiest turn look dramatic.
Rhys Millen Millen set the record time of 12 minutes, 9 seconds on the 156-turn, 12.45-mile course -- more than 1 minute and 23 seconds faster than his nearest competitor in the rear-wheel-drive Time Attack Class.
Categories: Hyundai,Motorsports
Cadillac has been lying again. You remember when it said the Catera zigged? That was a lie. And now this: Cadillac has been hyping the CTS Sportwagon as if it's the first station wagon from the men and women behind the wreath and crest. Nope.
Way back in 1978 Italian-Swiss nutball Franco Sbarro constructed this, um, this, er...constructed the Sbarro TAG Function Car. And, wait...are those sidepipes? Niice!
Anyway, the so-called Function Car was built in association with Techniques d-Avant Garde (TAG) as a mobile office containing two telephones (!), a television, four cushy chairs and two super-classy wood-and-leather secretaries. The stock Cadillac 8.2-liter V8 powered a couple of the six wheels. Sbarro built a grand total of one of these 23-and-a-half-foot-long monsters. There was a plan to contruct 25 of them before sanity prevailed. Sbarro his-own-self owns the Function Car after he failed to sell it to a musician who wanted to install a piano in the back, before sanity prevailed.
We think this whole conversion van/wagon/caddy thing would have worked had Sbarro offered customized airbrush murals for the back and/or curb-feelers. But maybe that's just us.
Cadillac: There's still time to do the CTS Sportwagon up right.
Categories: Cadillac,Wagons
This just in: the House of Representatives has just passed a measure that would add $2B to the Cash for Clunkers money pool. The vote was a lopsided 316 to 109, but next week's vote in the Senate isn't going to be so easy.
Several Republican Senators have already said they'll oppose it, while other Senators have said they'll push for a more stringent fuel economy spread. Should be an interesting battle.
CNN: Government scrambling to avoid Cash for Clunkers suspension
It's not quite as earth shaking as its Formula One announcement earlier this week, but BMW's announcement that it's also ending its American Formula development series is yet another blow to the sport. The BMW Formula Europe and Formula Pacific series will continue.
"In the current economic conditions it has proven difficult to establish the young driver program as successfully on American soil as managed by its sister series in their respective regions. Taken in combination with the - by comparison with Europe and Asia - vastly different motorsport infrastructures prevailing in the Americas, this led to the decision to cease promoting the series in future," BMW said in the release.
In other words, NASCAR still rules American racing, so when it comes time to pick favorites, American drivers are out of luck. It's a shame too, as American Alexander Rossi had recently won the American series and earned himself a chance to test in a Formula One car. BMW said it would still honor that commitment, somehow.
Categories: BMW,Motorsports
Have you heard? There's a government program that gives you money for turning in vehicles that don't get good mileage. It just started, but apparently it's already over. Maybe.
With such a short run you would think there wouldn't be time for a backlash to swell up, but alas there is never a shortage of people with too much time on their hands. And with that comes this, the "Cash for Clunkers Blues". Seriously.
Categories: Auto Industry
Like so many crossovers these days, the 2010 Subaru Outback is suffering from a few identity issues. Is it really the rugged outdoor vehicle its name implies? Or has it been watered down into just another city vehicle on stilts?
Chief Road Test Editor Chris Walton took a spin in the redesigned wagon to find out and came away with some interesting observations.
First Drive: 2010 Subaru Outback
Categories: Subaru
Mini likes to be a little smug, and usually it gets away with it. In today's installment, the manufacturer has announced that it will be distributing these bumper stickers to dealers as part of a new marketing package.
Categories: Auto Industry,MINI
As of this morning, the government's Cash for Clunkers program is still officially in effect. Reports late yesterday said the program might be suspended due to lack of funding, but various government officials are working this morning to try and find more funds to keep it going. We'll keep you posted as more news becomes available.
AutoObserver: Cash for Clunker Limbo: What's Next?
Categories: Auto Industry
rocketing along at 162 mph during the Hungarian Grand Prix, only to be knocked unconscious and crash head on into a tire-wall. The story thickened when we found out he fractured his skull and may have suffered irreparable eye damage. Then Schumi stepped up and took his spot.
