Dope. #20

author: unknown

What to watch this weekend (Oct 30th - Oct 31st)

• Mille Miglia - The Spirit of  a Legend. A look into this historic race. Sunday @ 10am - 12pm (Discovery's High Def Theater - THD)
• D1 Grand Prix - Fuji International Raceway in Shizoukaken, Japan. Sunday @ 2pm - 3pm (SPEED/SPEEDHD)
• Australian V8 Supercars - Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, Australia. Sunday @ 3pm - 5pm (SPEED/SPEEDHD)

Slim pickins this weekend, but I suggest you check out the THD special on the famous Mille Miglia race. This is a documentary from 2007, which looks into the bloodline of this historic one thousand mile endurance event; it also shows how this 'tribute race' is held in current day (Mille Miglia Storica) compared to its raw motorsport roots originating in 1927 (Mille Miglia).

Photo courtesy of Drew Phillips of Fast-autos.net

Quick Vid: Renault F1 Engine Test

I love Formula One for a lot of reasons, one of which is the technology put into motorcycle-like revving, small displacement, high cylinder count motors. One of the better classic videos showcasing the development and bench testing of these engines is one of testing done by Renault. If you look around the web for vids like this, from a year or two ago you won't see any. Thankfully due to the high turnover and progression of F1 technology across competitive Works teams, older (unclassified) information from decades past isn't hard to come by. Enjoy.


Video hosting courtesy of PyroPower94.

Driving in the USA - Speed Cameras

I drive a lot on a weekly basis. By a lot I mean just under 600 miles a week, sometimes more depending on what I get into on weekends. Accordingly, I have to watch out for a lot of things to keep my traveling expenses as low as possible. There are many things that can ruin my day during a (should be) one-hour trip to or from work; traffic, ill-timed traffic lights, slow drivers on one-lane roads, poor weather conditions and those too scared to drive normally and safely in it...the list goes on and on. Now a days, however, speed cameras (fixed or mobile) are the newest obstacle to slalom.

Now understand that I have no problem with speed limits or needing to slow down traffic in situations which could become dangerous, but since the inception of speed cameras (and red light cameras for that matter) in the DC & Baltimore Areas I've been cynical of the true intentions of these devices. On a daily basis I make it a point to locate and obey the mobile speed camera units that occupy I-95 construction areas, always trying to stay out of the rolling shot frame that some unaware motorist is cruising into, as well as ensuring no un-speed-camera-aware big riggers speeding downhill to save fuel is behind me, to avoid accidents and/or needing to fight a ticket I don't have time for. One of these days I'll record my ~53 mile trip to work and put it on ROTLtube, but until then trust me when I say it's a jungle out there.

One of my favorite daily automotive news coverage programs on the web, FastLaneDaily (see the 'Web Entertainment' page on the top right), has a Thursday only program called The Road Testament. This weekly program covers a variety of interesting and discussion provoking topics and wouldn't ya know it, they had an episode on speed cameras last week. Take a look.



While part of me says I shouldn't piggy back on their video and steal interaction between their viewers an them, I'm fine with it in this case as would've come to this point anyway with or without backup from outside sources. I planned on having a whole series on sht that pisses me off while behind the wheel, when I came up with the idea for this site, but I've bit my figurative tongue due to the inherent need to revise the manner in which I did so first. I recommend you all to subscribe to FastLaneDaily, because I think you all will enjoy it. If this video speaks to you, comment on youtube to share your views with FLD. On our side of things, for all our ROTL readers here, I want to start discussions about things like this on our FB page (I'm one step ahead of ya), but you can feel free to answer the following question in the comment section below this post as well.

While I'm very proud to say ROTL has over 50 countries represented in our readership (hell yea), this discussion is mainly for those of you in the USA. To our foreign friends, feel free to chime in on the matter, but please state the country you're from in your posts for clarification. On to the question then; in my opinion, the quality of drivers in this country has dropped drastically over the past 10-15 years that I've been driving. Why do you think that is? How can this be turned around?

For the love of P. #4 - Singer Porsche

The ultimate Porsche.

Whether you pronounce it with one syllable or two, your favorite car has been an early 911 with a hotted up motor. It's gotta be one of those bright colors, not quite psychedelic, but certainly eye catching and classic. "Ach!" I hear you exclaim, "but what of reliability?". Of course. Every nut and bolt, every piece of rubber, of metal and fibre remade, reformed, or replaced. "Ach Lieber! But what of the performance!" How about modern brakes, modern tires and sizes, but all in a classic mold? Well, they've gone and done it.

Singer Vehicle Design has brought a classic shape into the modern world. Nearly every panel has been reworked with carbon fiber, or retrofitted with modern verisons of relatively ancient technology, all in the name of Porsche. Just look at this frontend! Projectors retrofitted into original glass from the 70's, and look at the trick way those foglights were integrated into the marker lights next to the turn signal. The attention to detail is unbelievable.

"Restored, Reimagined, Reborn"

I'd say they nailed it.

Check out founder Rob Dickinson's interview on Adam Carollas "Carcast". It's a great podcast for automotive enthusiasts, and he's got a bit of a softspot for the euro crowd.

See more pictures here and here