2011 Turkish GP Results

Well, it's obvious I'm happy from the looks of this picture. Two blue suits on the podium always makes me happy! I was also happy to see Fernando Alonso finish in third with his first podium of the season. I was also amazed at how much of a beast Kamui Kobayashi was and finished in 10th after starting in last! He is really proving how talented he is this season, and I'm glad to see him doing so. I knew he had it in him.
The next race will be in two weeks in Spain. All these gaps between each race are making me crazy but I guess it's a sign since I'll be studying for finals that weekend! I hope to see more Red Bull suits on the podium in two weeks!

Saturday's Istanbul Qualifying

There was a lot of surprises at Saturday's qualifying in Istanbul, Turkey. First, Kamui Kobayashi faced mechanical issues leaving him unable to place a time to qualify in Q3. This left him to start in dead last at 24th, which I was very sad about. Nico Rosberg qualified third overall (which I was very happy about, he needs to podium this season), with Red Bull's Mark Webber in second, and my favorite and Webber's Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel. Tomorrow should be an interesting race! Can't wait!!!

Scion FR-S

Scion has never really manufactured anything that I would consider cool. If I had to do a good car bad car piece on it, it would probably just be a bad car bad car segment constantly criticizing them and how Toyota is now producing crap. BUTTTTTTT they may have just redeemed themselves with the Scion FR-S (front engine, rear-wheel drive, sport). Originally known as the Scion FT-86, it's the first rear wheel drive scion with a 2.0 liter boxer engine that's shared with Subaru. While it's a major step in the right direction, I still don't know how I feel about the way it looks. Maybe once I see it in person it will change my opinion and it may eventually grow on me. For now, I'm glad to see this Toyoton (Toyota/Scion) making something that may be track worthy.

Porsche GT3 RS 4.0

As if the idea of owning a Porsche GT3 RS didn't sound awesome enough already, get ready for the 2011 Porsche GT3 RS 4.0. The GT3 RS normally has a 3.8 liter flat 6 engine, but now the 4.0 has the largest engine ever offered in any 911 model and is 4 liters.






It has the largest horsepower per liter output of 125hp/liter, totaling to 500 hp. It goes from 0-60 in 3.8 seconds and reached 112 on the race track just under 12 seconds. Only a total of 600 can be found worldwide. With a price of only $185,000 (excluding destination), how could you say no? These masterpieces are being released sometime later in 2011.


For more info and full specs of the GT3 RS 4.0 visit: http://press.porsche.com/news/release.php?id=644

Driver Profile: Sergio Perez

Rookie, Sergio Perez has been scored a place in my heart since the start of the 2011 season. He is only 21 and the first Mexican Formula 1 driver in 30 years.

Perez drives for Sauber Ferrari. He qualified 12th in the last race in China and placed 17th. That's a huge accomplishment for his third F1 race ever, and I hope great things come out of him in the future. The race in Turkey is in less than an hour and he qualified 15th. Best of luck to the "Likable Mexican!"

Circuit of the Americas

WATCH OUT NASCAR! I was going to type this entire post in caps lock to show my excitement, but then I remembered how annoying reading in caps lock can get! Anyway, I cannot express how excited I am for the Circuit of the Americas and to FINALLY be able to watch a Formula 1 race LIVE. IN PERSON. Not only that, the circuit looks like it's going to be AMAZING! It's going to be 3.4 miles with some gnarly elevation changes. It will make for interesting races! Here's a video with more details on the circuit. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fast Five Movie Review

Sunday May 2nd, I made my way to the theater to watch Fast 5 on the last day of it's opening weekend. I was surprised to hear that it had a rating of 8.5 on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.9 on IMDB. I mean lets face it, the Fast and the Furious movies don't exactly have a reputation for being the best and most accurate car movies out there. However, Overall I was surprised. It was a lot better than I expected but I still wouldn't give it an 8.5. Yet, no matter how crappy the movie may be, the Fast and the Furious series is one that all car enthusiasts should watch even if it is just to make fun of it. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it. It's probably the second best to the third movie of the series, Tokyo Drift. 

Here's the trailer! Also, make sure you stay after the credits there's a part you're not going to want to miss! 

Thursday night CHM meet

Getting involved and meeting other car enthusiasts is kind of hard and sometimes intimidating. So, you get involved by attending different events and best of all, car meets! Every Thursday night in the parking lot of Chili's in Chino Hills, CA the forum Mazda Owners Club of California (MOCC) holds a meet. It isn't specifically just for Mazda owners and everyone is friendly. People always ask what goes on at car meets and a common question is if we "street race." That's a big no.

Everyone has a different intention when modifying their car. Some do it for style or stance and some people are trying to build full on race cars. In the end though, it's just a bunch of car enthusiasts meeting up, having dinner, making friends, and seeing some awesome cars. At the thursday night Chino Hills Meet (CHM) the regulars have become one big family.

The meet has been active for 2 years now, and the 2 year anniversary meet was on Thursday, April 28th. There was over 60 cars there and it went well into the night. Here are some pictures of the event! If you're ever in the area on a Thursday night, don't be scared to drop by!







For more pictures check out my friend Olivers album from the 2 year anniversary! http://s878.photobucket.com/albums/ab345/OliverMz3/chm2yearanniversary/

Porsche V. Ferrari Vlog

Lewis Hamilton to play himself in Disney Pixar's Cars 2

Lewis Hamilton has a role in the upcoming Cars 2 from Disney. He's one of the only characters to use his real name in the movie and he's playing a "sleek and seriously fast #2 Grand Touring Sports Champion." If his character complains a lot, he'll play the role perfectly.

Also, British F1 announcer David Hobbs is playing 

David Hobbscap, a 1963 Coombs Lightweight Jaguar E-type, who Car and Driver reports has 20 Le Mans starts and retired from racing to become a broadcaster, exactly like his human counterpart.

Cars 2 is set to be released on June 24th. It's just around the corner and I can't wait!!

The Game has Changed

The Shanghai race that took place last Sunday is definitely something to talk about. First, Lewis Hamilton ended Sebastian Vettel's winning streak and took the first place victory (unfortunately) leaving Vettel in second. Mark Webber took third place, but in this case his third place podium is not something to be taken lightly. Webber qualified 18th on Saturday which means he passed 15 other drivers during Sunday's race to take third place. He showed that he is serious and in it to win it! Even though neither of the Redbull drivers took first place, I was definitely to see them both on the podium!

Long Beach Grand Prix

Saturday, April 16th I was fortunate enough to spend my day in Downtown Long Beach at the Long Beach Grand Prix. I saw awesome cars and watch the American LeMans Series (ALMS) race. Here are some pictures from the event!

Major changes call for interesting races this season

Three major changes have taken place this season that are changing the game for all the drivers. This year Pirelli is the tire provider for the teams. They're different from the tires previously provided by Bridgestone. The new tires wear a lot faster than the previous so drivers need to make more pit stops and create effective pit and tire strategies. The second change is the KERS system that pretty much gives you a boost. The last change is the DRS which is an adjustable rear wing that helps when passing another driver. If all of this sounds foreign to you, Michael Schumacher explains each with a little more detail in the video above.

Race 2 of the F1 season: Malaysia

The second race of the season was almost as exciting as the opening race two weeks ago in Melbourne. First place went to Sebastian Vettel, which was no surprise to me, but second place went to 2009 world champion Jenson Button. Third place went to Nick Heidfeld giving him his 13th podium of his career. This season has been really exciting and it's too early to make any predictions as to who will be the 2011 world champion. I still hope it's Sebastian Vettel though!

A surprising race in Melbourne

If you didn't watch the opening race of the F1 season, I feel bad for you. It was the most exciting race I've seen in a really long time, and Sebastian Vettel lived up to his 2010 F1 Champion title by taking first place and blowing everyone away in qualifying. Lewis Hamilton's second place victory was not as surprising (unfortunately) as Russian, Vitaly Petrov taking third place. This was the first podium victory of his career and it surely wasn't expected by many. All in all, while my main man Seb took first place, I was most impressed with Petrov! I'm excited to see how the rest of this season plays out. I can't wait for the April 10th race in Malaysia!

Ebisu Circuit

Ebisu Circuit in Japan is surrounded by the area of Fukushima, which was hit hard by Friday's earthquake and the town North of Ebisu was wiped out by the tsunami. Ebisu also faced a great amount of damage. The garages are sliding down the side of a cliff and even the track has some damage. Here's a link to an article about Ebisu with some pictures of the damage. Lets all pray for Japan!

Ebisu Circuit Article

A countless number...

of heart wrenching images of the devastating results of Friday's earthquake and tsunami in Japan have been circulating throughout the media. Many car manufacturers have stopped production to conserve electricity in a time of rolling blackouts and shortages. Since 80% of the Japanese cars sold in America are manufactured here, the US imports aren't really affected. However, with some companies like Nissan and Mitsubishi there are some parts that are imported from Japan so that may set some of the production back, but not a great deal. Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Toyota plan to continue manufacturing by Wednesday. Suzuki and Honda are assessing the affect of operations and have not yet confirmed when they will begin production again. Overall the manufacturers were lucky enough to not suffer extensive damage under the intense circumstances.

Red Line Time Attack

I try to go to a car related event at least once a week whether it be an auto cross, car show, track day, or race event because they're usually a lot of fun and I get to see a lot of awesome cars in person. So this past Sunday, March 6, I went to the opening event of the Redline Time Attack series at Wilow Springs in Rosamond. This was the first time I had gone to a Redline Time Attack event outside of the AAA speedway in Fontana, CA, so I was looking forward to it. I've been to several of their events in the past and they were a lot of fun. Sometimes Paul Walker showed up with his right hand drive R34 Skyline. I had high hopes and expected a lot out of the event, especially with the hour and half drive it took just to get there. Unfortunately, since the event is now under new management a lot of my favorite teams were nowhere to be found, such as Sierra Sierra and Stoptech. The website claimed there would be wheel to wheel racing, but there was none. Overall, the new setup of Redline Time Attack gets a big thumbs down. I still had fun because I went with a big group of friends, but if I would have gone alone and specifically to see the cars and racing it would have been a big disappointment.I will check out the Redline Time Attack at AAA just to see if it was just because of the location that the event bombed, but I don't have high hopes for that event at this point. But if you want to see some of the cars at the event, check out the link below for Redline Time Attack's coverage of the event.
Redline Time Attack

Only 21 days...

Until the first practice of the 2011 Formula 1 season! Now I know this may make me sound crazy because on February 17th I said there was only 21 days left. But due to anti-government protesting in the Gulf Kingdom, the first race of the season was supposed to take place in Bahrain with practice Friday, March 11th, qualifying Saturday, March 12th, and the actual race on Sunday, March 13th. Now, the first race is going to be held in Melbourne, Australia March 25-27. The race had been in doubt because of the deadly uprisings, but it wasn't until February 21st that the plug was officially pulled. Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, current prince of Bahrain claimed that the priority of the nation is to overcome the tragedy and that they do want to hold the race at a later date. Bahrain has been on the F1 race set since 2004 but at this point there still has been no new date set. Hopefully everything will eventually settle down and a new date will be set, considering the Bahrain circuit is definitely one of my favorite and will be missed by many if there isn't a new date. More information regarding Bahrain to come as soon as there are any new announcements!

Live Post: A ride along at an Autocross event

The smell of rubber from tires and exhaust fumes is pungent. The parking lot looks like a giant sea of bright orange cones but if looked at carefully, you can vaguely make out the autocross course that the cars are driving through. My brother pulls up to our pit spot in his '76 911 and asks me if I want a ride along through the course. Being the adrenaline junky and racing enthusiast that I am, instead of responding I grab my helmet and jump in the car. I strap my harness and wait anxiously at the start of the course. It's been nearly three months since my last ride along at Buttonwillow raceway. As my brother takes off on his cue to go, I realized that this ride along was long overdue. I got that butterfly feeling in the pit of my stomach and let out a faint giggle. The car is powerful enough to put me back in my seat and before I know it, I am being tossed left and right in my seat as we go through the turns, thank goodness for this five point harness! It isn't long before we hit a straight again and rather than sliding left or right, I am put back in my seat again. However before I even have time to blink we hit the next set of turns and I am sliding again. The sliding doesn't scare me but it does begin to bug me so I make a stupid attempt at tightening the harness straps to stay in place. Attempt 1 failed. My hand slips off as we go through the chicane and I continue to bounce around. Attempt 2 is successful, but the engine is no longer roaring, I look up and we're at the end of this  90 second course. I was so distracted by my harness that I didn't even get to soak up the last 30 seconds of the course. Luckily, we get back in line behind the other cars to go again. Round 2, and this time it has my full attention!

Good Car Bad Car: Chevrolet

This week's Good Car Bad Car piece is on Chevrolet

Good Car- C6 Corvett

Whenever a car enthusiast thinks of an America sports car they think of the Chevy Corvette. For over half a century the Corvette has been the staple of American sports car racing.  The C6 Vette was the obvious choice out of the entirety of Chevy’s model line up considering how impressive the car is in every aspect. Off the showroom floor, this car is right at home at the race track and also comes in enough variations to keep any car enthusiast happy. The base model is tame enough to drive in gridlock traffic while the ZR1 is the ultimate track weapon.  Despite the performance gap between the base model and the ZR1 the base model is still a monster on the track. The base C6 has incredibly impressive performance numbers. A 430 horsepower 6.2 liter V8, double wishbone suspension, and lightweight body panels make the base model put most manufacturers sports cars to shame.   The icing on the cake is the cars overall affordability.  While the interior may have more plastic than an Ikea, and most German sports car owners will remind you of this fact, it won’t matter when you pass them down the straight, around the outside of a corner, or dive bomb them in the braking zone.   

Bad Car- Aveo

While the C6 Corvette may be one of the best cars GM has ever built, the only thing the Aveo has in common with the Corvette is the offensive interior. But the pain doesn’t stop there. After you’ve gotten over how terrible it is inside the cabin, you’ll be greeted with the fact that your power to weight ratio is worse than that of a U haul truck. Most may argue that it was designed for dealing with traffic and commutes, but the overall lack of quality is inexcusable. While the smart car and base mini coopers may offer some quirks to perspective owners, all the Aveo seems to offer is embarrassment, plastic, and insurance that there will never be a second date. The $11,000 price tag may seem enticing to those buying car on a budget, but when one looks at what kind of newer used cars are available for $11,000 it’s obvious the penalty of buying a car that’s a few years older is easily overlooked.  When taking a closer look at the Aveo it becomes obvious why this Korean built “American” car is the cheapest car sold in America. 

Only 21 days...

And 58 minutes until the first practice of the 2011 Formula 1 season! With Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, and Lewis Hamilton battling it out for the championship during the last race of the 2010 season in Abu Dhabi, the final race let alone the entire season was anything but dull. Luckily, my main man Sebastian Vettel came out on top and became the youngest Formula 1 champion in history. With that said, I’m sure you can understand why I am beyond ecstatic to see what this season has in store for my personal favorites Vettel (of course), Fernando Alonso, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nico Rosberg. For now, enjoy them trying to imitate the sounds of their cars and doing a terrible job! 

Good Car Bad Car

This weeks Good Car Bad Car segment is about Nissan 

Good car: 370Z

Nissan is an automotive manufacturer where picking a single good car to write about is the most difficult part. For decades Nissan has built excellent cars from the Hakosuka GTR to the 370z.  Their sports cars have excelled in not only the motorsports world but the tuner scene as well.  For the good car I went with the Nismo 370Z.  I was inspired to use the 370Z after seeing it in action this past weekend at the track.  Nissan hit the nail on the head with this one.   The 370Z is an all around winner that does everything well. It has a great amount of power, a chassis and suspension that does anything you ask, and whether you’re going out for a night on the town or a weekend at the track, it will get you there comfortably and with the Nissan reliability everyone has come to love.  

Bad car: The Nissan Cube

What the hell was Nissan thinking with this one?! Talk about going a step in the wrong direction.  The Cube single handedly makes it difficult to compliment Nissan on making countless cult status cars. It’s the exact opposite of what any car enthusiast would contemplate driving.  While the Cube may fly with adolescent girls, to hardcore automotive enthusiasts the car is complete garbage.  It couldn’t possibly get uglier, down the quarter mile it’d lose to a school bus, and I won’t even comment on it’s corner carving prowess (or lack there of) considering I’d be too scared to take it around a corner quickly because it would probably flip at the apex.  The only purpose this car would serve is as a portable fish tank.  I’m disgusted thinking about it. 

The First Post...

Hello! My name is Touda and I made this blog for an opinion writing class of mine. This blog is about many different aspects of my favorite hobby, cars.  Each week I’ll have a segment called good car bad car in which I pick a certain manufacturer and two specific models and do a biased and opinionated comparison. I will also have lots of posts about the upcoming Formula1 season along with new car releases with a review, and a few other posts about random things within the car community here and there. Please keep in mind this has to be an opinionated blog, and it will be a VERY opinionated blog, but offending people isn’t my goal with this. I hope you enjoy it!