Get Ready For The Arrival Of Hybrid Sports Cars

Posted by admin on July 17th, 2008 filed in Sport Smart Super Auto Car

Now I can get excited about hybrid cars. The industry is finally thinking about the people that don’t want to sacrifice performance for gas mileage. The Japanese as always it seems are leading the way in this new segment of the hybrid industry working on cars that feature lithium batteries and electric motors. Incredible as it may seem there is a report that there is at least one sports car under development that is capable of producing 470 horsepower!

Hydrogen fueled cars are also being developed as well and it seems that Mazda is putting a lot of research into this segment using its rotary engine. Mazda has been working on being able to produce a hydrogen burning car for years and hopefully they will be able to do it without giving up performance.

The hybrid that seems to have the most promise currently is from the Japanese automaker giant, Toyota. Their Priapus is a normal gas-electric hybrid that is capable of accelerating from zero to sixty in under 4 seconds which seems to be the equivalent of the 4 minute mile for performance cars. The car also still maintains decent fuel economy getting over thirty miles to the gallon. The 70k price tag will make it less than affordable for most and it will be tough to make up for it in gas savings. Personally for another 10k I would have to buy the new totally electric car coming out next summer from the new Tesla Motors that will give you a real opportunity to recoup the investment.

The hybrid industry isn’t being dominated by just the Japanese; a couple of former designers from Jaguar are working on a V10 version of the hybrid that has even received grants from the government in England to help them bring the car to production.

Nations all over the world are instituting higher standards for fuel efficiency to try to force automakers into making cars with better fuel economy. With gas prices continuing to rise and the ever present instability in the Middle East you can expect to see more attention to be paid to hybrid research as well as other alternatives. On top of all of the savings we will begin to see some of the negative effects that gas burning cars have done to the economy.

With the recent trend to offer sports cars from the hybrid camps and the newly unveiled Tesla concept car being built by 2007 all fears that sports cars were headed the way of the designer are disappearing. We will see high performance sports cars that will offer the best performance imaginable along with great fuel economy or not using gas at all!

Gregg Hall is an author and internet marketing consultant living in Navarre Florida. Find more articles about cars and car care products at http://www.5starshine.com

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Learn About Sports Cars Before You Buy One

Posted by admin on July 4th, 2008 filed in Sport Smart Super Auto Car

Nothing beats the exhilaration brought about by speed. Anyone who has ever driven an automobile has at least dreamt of taking the role of Steve McQueen in “Bullitt”, getting into a high-speed car chase. If not Bullitt, each driver has dreamt playing Michael Caine’s Charlie Cosker in “The Italian Job”, driving that gorgeous convertible into the very heart of the gold heist.. Anyone who has ever taken control of the wheel has at least once dreamt of driving not just to get from point A to point B but to go from point A to B in flair. And driving a fantastic sports car fulfills this dream.

In making an automobile or any land vehicle for that matter, a lot of factors are being considered: cost of material, safety, efficiency, and performance are only some of these at play on the drawing board of a car maker. A sports car however, in definition gives priority to performance above all other factors. By performance, speed is usually the first thing that comes to mind. Speed relies heavily on the power of the car’s engine.

Most sports cars do have muscle engines which can outrun even the fastest sedans easily. A sports car engineer therefore puts it first on the list of factors that he has to consider: how to travel the distance with the least amount of time possible.

But of course, even if performance is a cut above every other consideration, the other factors are never neglected. Safety cannot be compromised, because even the fastest sports car needs a driver on the wheel at all times, and safe at all times. Besides, everyone wants to drive from start to finish in one piece, after all. So a performance-oriented vehicle must pay attention to the other factors and not rely solely on the car engine’s power.

A number of sports cars compensate for a not-so-powerful engine with a light body, paying due respect to the laws of physics: the lighter the mass, the smaller amount of force required to move this mass. This is also the reason why a sports cars usually are smaller, and do not have backseats. If these cars do have backseats, these are not as convenient as a sedan’s and is only a throwaway to please the insurance companies. One may also notice that a sports car quite often only has two doors, and it shares the same reason as that of the backseat.

Because it can outperform any of the regular four-seater cars out in the market, sports cars are sold obviously at a higher price. Another reason is because quality materials are almost always being used to withstand the heavier wear and tear in this type of vehicle.
This also explains why purchasing a sports car remains a pipe dream to most car enthusiasts. But it doesn’t have to be that way anymore. It is easier to get one’s hands on the steering wheel of a sports car than most people think. One just has to have the imagination and acumen to do so.

Buying a sports car does not have to mean going to your nearest car dealer and getting a brand new vehicle off the rack. There are quite a handful of these vehicles beyond the dealer’s garage, in very good condition and sold at a lower price. You can always check out car auctions and watch out of sports car models being sold at pancake rates. Pre-owned sports cars are always available on your local car magazine or website; sometimes it just requires you to pay more attention to these ad placements; you’ll never know when the sports car of your dreams is right under your nose.

Buying second-hand sports cars maybe the best way to go if one is facing monetary constraints. If a pre-owned sports car is taken cared of properly, it will give one the same excitement that a new one can provide.

There are also private sellers particularly of sports cars. More often than not, owners of these sports cars found themselves short of cash and are willing to dispose of their sports cars at considerably low prices, much to their resistance. Desperation is in a way good for buyers on the look-out: they get their dream vehicles at bargain prices.

And once you have spotted the car of your dreams, it is wise to exercise routine vehicle inspection, the way one does when buying a regular car. Do not forget to visually inspect the engine, the interior and the body. It is a folly to disregard these simple reminders, especially when buying a pre-owned sports car. You as a buyer can easily assess the condition of the car, how well it was maintained by the owner, simply by looking at it. Then, the proof of the pudding is in the eating: do not forget to test-drive your prospect sports vehicle before closing the purchase. Give it a go and see how it feels. If it feels good - and you feel like Steve McQueen in Bullitt - it is time to call that sports car your own.

Lee Dobbins writes for sportscars.unique-articles.com where you can learn more about the sports care and get tips on buying a sports car

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Drag Racing - Take It Off The Street And To The Strip!

Posted by admin on June 27th, 2008 filed in Sport Smart Super Auto Car

Drag racing, a contest between two cars starting from dead stop to determine which car can accelerate quicker to a given point. Drag racing started in the 1930’s where competitors raced along desert stretches of road to see who’s hot rod was faster. Over the coming years the sport became more organized and the National Hot Rod Association was formed in 1951. 54 years later, the NHRA is now the largest sanctioning body in motorsports with over 80,000 members.

Most people probably got their start with drag racing on the streets, sitting at a light
when your neighbor or friend pulls up, both of you itching for the light to finally
turn green so you both can hammer the throttle and see who could get to the next
light first. There’s no doubt that it’s exciting, anticipating the green light, just
waiting for the right moment to send the tires screeching for traction to get the
edge on the car just a few feet to your side.

With improvements in automotive technology and manufacturing, faster and more
powerful cars are being released each year. Cars on the low end include the
$20,000 Dodge Neon SRT-4, with a 230 horsepower turbocharged engine that can
do 0-60 MPH in 5.5 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 13.9 seconds. High-end cars such
as the $189,000 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG, with it’s 604 horsepower twin-
turbocharged V12 engine can do 0-60 in less than 4 seconds and the 1/4 mile in
11.6 seconds. These cars are made to be fun and exciting, but it’s important to
exercise restrain on the city streets with them.

Most people who purchase a high performance vehicle want to take it out and see
what it can do, especially against other cars. While it’s tempting to do this on the
city streets, it’s also very dangerous. Not only are there severe penalties for drag
racing on public roads, it also endangers many others on the street. Many lives
have been lost due to drag racing contests on city streets.

There are hundreds of places to test our your car’s performance in a safe and
regulated environment, your local Drag Strip. Drag racing facilities are specially
equipped for testing how quick you can get your car from 0 to 1320 feet, more
commonly known as the 1/4 mile. Most tracks operate in a similar fashion and have
special nights set aside for normal street cars to “test and tune” or drag race the 1/4
mile for a nominal fee of $10 - $20. The track will have paramedics and other
safety personal ready to respond to any accidents should they occur.

Each car that will be racing is given a tech inspection to make certain that is safe to
compete in the 1/4 mile contest. After the car has passed inspection, it’s time to
line up and get ready to race. Two cars are signaled by track personnel to pull up to
the staging area, a portion of the track used to line up the two cars evenly at the
starting line. The Christmas Tree is a setup of lights used to line up both cars and
signal the start of the race.

At the top of the Christmas Tree are the Pre-Stage bulbs, as the drivers pull slowly
forward to the starting line, they will activate the Pre-Stage bulbs. These bulbs
indicate the cars are very close to the starting line. As the drivers continue to move
slowly forward, the 2nd set of bulbs, the Stage bulbs will illuminate. When both
Pre-Stage and Stage bulbs for both cars are illuminated, the cars are lined up and
ready to go. At this point the track personal will activate the Christmas Tree to start
the race.

Upon activation, the Christmas Tree will begin flashing a series of lights. Starting
from under the Stage bulbs, there are 3 amber lights, followed by a green light, and
then finally a red light. Each light is flashed a half-second apart ; amber - amber -
amber - green. Once the green lights are on, both cars should be rocketing down
the drag strip 1320 feet towards the finish line. If either car leaves the starting line
too quickly, the red light is flashed, and that car automatically loses the race.

After passing through the finishing line there will be a long stretch of road to allow
the cars to slow down. There are usually a few exits from the track along the way
for the cars to turn around and head back to the timeslip booth to pickup a printed
ticket containing the details of their race. The timeslip will usually show how long
in seconds it took to get to various points down the track; 60′, 330′ , 1000′, and
1320′. It will also data on how fast the car was traveling in MPH at the half-way
point (1/8 mile) and finish line (1/4 mile), and of course who won the race.

Racing at the drag strip is a great way to safely and legally test out the capabilities
of your car while improving your driving skills at the same time. It’s also a great
place to meet up with other people with similar interests. So the next time your
sitting at a stop light and the car next to you is instigating you into a drag race by
revving his engine, tell ‘em to take it off the street and to the strip!

Brooks Weisblat is drag racing/sports car enthusiast and owner of DragTimes.com,
an online drag racing database of 1/4
mile times for cars and motorcycles. To view thousands of 1/4 mile timeslips
and participate in online drag racing discussion forums, visit: http://www.dragtimes.com/

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