Category Archives: World of Cars

World of Cars

Daphne roars again

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It’s been a long 18 months since Daphne – my faithful 1956 Renault Dauphine – broke down while on the way back home from work. It was devastating, depressing, and also confusing.

I think the devastating and depressing parts are obvious – never fun when your classic stops working. She’s like a member of the family, and it felt as though I let her down, somehow. I guess it maybe a thing with owners of vintage (Ed: do you mean old?) cars.

The confusing part was the cause of the breakdown. Having previously owned a 6V 1963 Volkswagen Beetle – her name was Roxanne because she didn’t put her red lights on – and she was constantly giving me similar issues to what Daphne was doing. And Daphne is also a 6V car.

I checked the distributor cap and it seemed fine. When the fine mechanic from TCS came by, he also said it was fine. We checked everything else (Ed: do you mean HE checked everything else?) and it all worked. And yes, because of past experiences, I also filled up the fuel tank, just in case.

I was towed home and Daphne sat there in my drive, idle. Forlorn. It was sad. I even tried to fire her up occasionally – it didn’t work.

The, I did what anyone else would – I hit the web. I searched high and wide, in the depths of the net, through mountains of useless drivel, and copious sites in French (Ed: bit obvious – it is a French car, duh). I also found some sites that, well, laid bare other things (apparently, Daphne is a preferred porn star name).

Then I gave up.

Daphne sat there, now wrapped up in layers and layers of covers to protect against the elements, jacked up to keep away from the snow to avoid rust issues.

When spring finally arrived, I opened her boot again (the engine is at the back) and went back to the distributor. And there it was, right in front of my face – the problem was that the top contact had come undone, and it was sitting there on the side.

My mechanic tried to find the part with no success, so we once again towed Daphne home. And again, I hit the net. The difference this time was that I actually knew what I was looking for – and I also found that a 1956 Dauphine distributor cap is special and very hard to find.

I did, eventually, in the States of all places.

The part arrived in November 2017 and I installed it. Finally. Drum roll… I turned the key, and it didn’t work. Repeated attempts bore the same result. No, no, no, no.

The covers went back on and Daphne settled down for winter.

Come March, the sun reappeared and I had a renewed vigour to get Daphne on the road. The battery was charged, tank filled (actually, it was full since it hadn’t moved for a long time), distributor removed and refitted. All was set, and I turned the key… nothing. Again… nothing, Again… still nothing. A fourth time… nope. Then, on the fifth attempt, there was what sounded like a fumbled attempt at firing up. I turned the key again and Daphne finally started up. I hadn’t heard her purr for such a long time. But she still had to visit the mechanic.

He is actually a race driver cum mechanic, and man did he work his magic. When I collected Daphne, she is amazing. Now, she’s roaring again and man it feels great. Finally, back on the road again.

 

World of Cars

F1: Qualifying mess

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My wife question my sanity when I woke up before 7am on Saturday morning to watch the F1 qualifying. “It’s only qualifying,” she said. After recovering from the shock of such a statement, I tried to explain the importance of qualifying in motorsports. She wasn’t bothered.

So Saturday morning arrived and I duly woke up early for qualifying. I was excited. The four-month wait was finally over, yeah!

Lights turned green and Hamilton set the ball rolling on the 2016 season. It was a great start, with a great deal of traffic and excitant. It didn’t last. The staggered exclusion is, on paper, a great idea. In reality, it sucks.

Firstly, some teams seemed not to realise that when the time ran out, the time ran out and that was that (like Haas F1, whose driver Grojean had a superb lap which was useless as he was already out).

The problem was that since it was a staggered elimination, drivers who were not directly affected chose not to bother after setting a good lap. Boring doesn’t even start to explain it. I found the ad breaks far more entertaining (thanks Renault, Clio looks great).

However, the worst part came at the end where drivers simply gave up / were not interested / couldn’t be bothered to take to the lap. Once Hamilton set a pole-winning lap, everyone just got out of their cars and went wherever it is that drivers go after qualifying.

The Swiss TV presenter seemed a bit shocked at the fact that with more than 2 minutes remaining, it was all over. Even Hamilton looked somewhat confused.

Now, let’s be fair to the FIA. Their aim was to improve the sport. This measure obviously didn’t work. To avoid criticism, they should revert to the old system or introduce something else for Bahrain. But please, FIA, don’t keep this qualifying format – it’s terrible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

World of Cars

F1 2016 – 13 reasons to watch, and five not to

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OK, keep clam and breathe – just one week left until the F1 season starts again. I know, it’s bene a long, hard winter, but are finally within touching distance.

Now, many think FIA’s F1 is really boring – of course, they are wrong. And this year, there are many reasons why I believe F1 will be more fun, more entertaining, more dazzling and maybe, just maybe, more competitive.

  1. Haas F1: I can hear the groans… “They’re American, they can go fast in a straight line or an oval, but nothing else.” A bit unfair, I’d say, and maybe there might be some truth. I have a feeling that the new outfit may have some surprises up their sleeve. For a start, they have secured the services of Romain Grojean and Gutierrez. And despite some initial glitches, their car is based on Ferrari (they have a Ferrari power unit and have bought as many Ferrari parts as is legally allowed), and Ferrari is now becoming more competitive, which brings me to my second point…
  2. Ferrari is becoming more competitive and they may possible challenge Mercedes, which brings me to my third point…
  3. I support Lewis Hamilton and am of course very happy that he has won the last two championships (and he also has two amazing dongs, but that’s irrelevant). Go HAM, make it three in a row
  4. I’m not sure what the new qualifying will bring. It possibly will be more exciting, but you do need to have a degree in rocket science to understand what’s going on. The new rules aim to keep drivers out more (I believe). If you want to know what the new rules are, read this
  5. Any slightly older person will remember the successes Renault had in F1 – it’s therefore great to have them back in the fold as a team
  6. It’s F1 for heaven’s sake – of course it fun
  7. The pit lane girls (actually, I wanted to include this for WTCC and forgot, so I thought I’d include it here)
  8. Manor could win their first points. I don’t know why, but I have a soft spot for them. Hopefully, the Mercedes engine (yeah, yeah, I know we’re not supposed to call it engine) and development programme will help they get off the mark. C’mon Manor.
  9. Williams are another of those fun teams and their Mass / Bottas line-up can achieve much more. I guess they may even challenge for second in a head-to-head with Ferrari
  10. McLaren anyone? According to reports, Honda have pulled their socks up and will provide the team with a far-improved, erm, power unit. And with two (albeit ageing) world champions on board, they may even sneak in a podium, possibly, maybe…
  11. Of course, Sauber. The Swiss outfit may be having some financial issues, but they are always a force to be reckoned with. I guess they will remain mid-table. I will surely be waving and cheering when they go by. Hop Schwiiiz
  12. There are 21 races this season that’ll take us all the way to end November. Fantastic!
  13. Max Verstappen, simply because he is Max Verstappen. Greta driver who’ll be around for a long time. He is definitely a World Champion in the making. And he’s still a teenager…

But there are also some negatives…

  1. Red Bull are still not competitive, and that’s a big pity. Come on Red Bull, buckle up…
  2. Mercedes domination – for the same reason as point 1, the Mercedes domination makes the sport somewhat boring at time. It’s a good thing I support Hamilton. Otherwise, it’d be very frustrating
  3. Still no female F1 driver, and now Susie has retired. She has, however, launched the #DareToBeDifferent campaign that seeks to get more women drivers into the sport. Read about it here
  4. Less time with the children on Sundays (sorry kiddos!)
  5. Overtaking, or the lack of it. Let’s hope we get more this year

The engines come to life on 20 March in Australia. It’ll be an early start of the day, but well worth it as the first race sets the tone for the rest of the season.

World of Cars

WTCC: What can we expect?

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Some may write it off as insignificant, but the Word Touring Car Championship season this year promises to be one of the best ever.

After Citroen made its debut in the sport, it effectively took over the reins from Chevrolet and won nearly every single race. No surprises there considering the marque and the budget behind their participation. Honda was also there as a works team, along with Lada, but they only dented the raging French machine. Now, there are new players in the field.

Here is why I think it’s going to be a great season:

  1. The double H: Rob Huff has swapped his wheel at Lada for the Japanese outfit and this combination can only be good for both of them and the WTCC in general. According to Monteiro, the Honda upgrades will make the car extremely competitive and help cose the gap with Citroen. Huffy will be rubbing his hands in glee at the thought of topping the table again
  2. Lada have signed veteran driver Tarquini, who previously was with Honda. See where I’m going with this? No? Well, even though Tarquini and Huff are friends, it’ll be gloves off on the track. I think the Italian (who is definitely not past his prime) wants to prove a point to his former employer.
  3. Polestar Volvo. Now this was probably the most exciting news that hit WTCC for a long time. The S60 TC1 looks the part and I hope it dents the Citroen domination (nothing against you chaps)
  4. Eat my cheese: Tom Coronel has just announced he will be racing this year. Phew, that was close. The WTCC would not be the same without Tom Coronel, both for his driving, superb character and because he’s driving a Chevy
  5. Nürburgring is still on the calendar. You can’t really go wrong there, can you?
  6. Michelisz, the Hungarian ace, also joined Honda after years with Zengo. Being with a works team might be the push he needed to step up his game
  7. Two races are held on race weekend, the second with a reverse grid, meaning the 10th placed in qualifying starts from pole. This always makes the second race very interesting.
  8. As always, you have real, recognizable cars. As the WTCC put it, it’s bumper to bumper, door handle to door handle action
  9. Winning cars will have extra weight added as last season, but this is increased to 80kg from 60kg

 

There are some downsides:

  1. Sebastian Loeb will not be there. I quite like him – not sure why.
  2. Sebastian Loeb will be there with his team, albeit not in person. That should be good, but he is fielding more Citroens. Aren’t there enough already?
  3. Citroen following Chevy: The French are officially leaving as of the end of this season. Pity, but the cars will probably still be on the grid in 2017, assumingly a little bit less fast (it would be unfair to use the word ‘slow’ and ‘Citroen’ in the same sentence), thus making it more competitive. Whatever my opinion on Citroen, it’s always bad when a manufacturer leaves
  4. Chevrolet, which stopped its works team participation back in 2012, will struggle with the remaining privateer cars fielded. Makes sense – there has been no development for, well, four years
  5. The FIA WTCC timetable clashes with the FIA F1 timetable at least five times. Five time! Seriously? Don’t they speak to each other at the FIA?

The WTCC season kicks off on 3 April 2016 at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France – this race will be very telling. Best way to keep in touch is following Touring Car Times and their Twitter account. Also, have a look at the official FIA WTCC website.

World of Cars

Speechless then, wordless now

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I think my five-year-old daughter must have noticed how my face lit up when I saw the Opel Rekord and Ford Cortina classic cars for sale, so she came to have a look.

I’m not sure she claimed she like the cars because of how enthusiastically I spoke about them or whether she actually liked them. As I scrolled through the photos of the cars, she asked when we were going to get the car. This is where it became difficult.

Losing my job, I explained to her, meant that it probably wasn’t the best time to buy a classic car, however much I liked them. I tried to explain that maintenance and running costs would be difficult to sustain.

She looked puzzled and pensive at the same time, and that made me unsure of how to tackle such a situation. Money, for kids, is something somewhat alien. The fridge fills itself up alone and clothes – mysteriously of the right size and colour – all appear out of nowhere. Or so I thought.

To my surprise, she jumped of my lap and told me to wait. So I waited.

A few minutes later, she came back wearing a big smile and carrying her little piggy bank. “Here Daddy,” she said proudly, “now you can buy the car you like.”

I was speechless then, and I’m wordless now.

Sports, Thoughts, World of Cars

New job, cr#p hotel and Olympic dreams

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Camaro photoshoot in Spain. Many early mornings and long days - but one hell of a lot of fun!

Now 2011 has been one hell of a ride, and I’m seeing it off with a mixture of satisfaction and anticipation for next year. It took some time, but things are finally falling into place.

The year started off with news that I got the job I wanted at Chevrolet (General Motors). It was great news at the tail end of a year, 2010, I would sooner forget.

Work at my former employer had become untenable for a number of reasons – incompatible chemistry, divergence of opinion of how things should be run and a salary that was – by Swiss standards – laughable. It was neatly closed off with a broken promise by the company boss in NY for a reference letter. But that’s the past, way past in my books. The only good thing about it is that I met some nice people (still following you on the social media highway, chaps).

In my new job, there are the usual office clashes and bumpy rides, late nights and early mornings, long meetings and uncooperative people (you know who you are!). But you know what? It doesn’t matter. It’s still great and I love it. And my bosses are great, colleagues too, our products are best in class and our Europe-wide team rocks! Even the folks across the pond and beyond are helpful and supportive.

I sometimes wonder why it took me so long to get into the business. I guess we just tend to be dragged along into a job that pays the bills. People don’t seem to understand that I chose my job because I love it. And judging by the faces of some people on trains or in cars, during the morning and evening commutes, I’d say that the vast majority of people do not particularly like their job/boss/life.

My only complaint during my time there so far is that cr#p hotel I stayed at during our Centennial event. Man, was it bad. The Sternen Hotel in Worb, near Bern. For a start, calling it a hotel is an offence to hotels worldwide. Can you imagine that after a long day at work, I arrive, at around 8.05pm and was shouted at (really!) by the owner-cum-receptionist because I was late. No, seriously. I was told off because I was late arriving at a hotel! Not only, she walked up the steps and turned a sign round sternly saying that guests should arrive from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.

Now two things spring to mind – 1. It was turned the wrong way, so even if by chance I had driven by, I would not have seen it, and 2. the first time I got there was when I arrived to check in – how on heaven’s earth should I have known. So I duly apologised for being but a mere client paying good money (it wasn’t cheap!) – she didn’t get the sarcasm. So if you are ever in Worb and need a hotel, DO NOT GO THERE! The room was OK, although the TV was a relic of the 1970s (you could hear what’s on but not watch), the towel was normal sized if you were an elf, and the windows had little pieces of cloth which you had to stick on with Velcro. Oh, the mini-bar was simply not there (although the piece of furniture that housed it was there, vents and all).

My year is now ending and I have just one resolution – I’ll be moving up from Sprint Triathlons to the Olympic distance. Cycling and running should not pose too much hassle, if I survive the swimming.

I close my first year as a blogger with three little notes: the first is that my eldest kid (Kim) is an up and coming gymnastics star, the second is that my middle child (Mia) is a little artist, and finally, my youngest (Lea) is a tough little cookie who will probably go on to rule the world (must make sure not to piss her off, I guess).

PS: Jerry has four leaves now!