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Archive for September, 2010

Opel is developing three battery-electric versions of its Meriva as part of the MeRegioMobil research project which is funded by the Ministry of Economics and Technology in Germany.

GM’s Opel electric Meriva will feature electronic controls which will allow high power electrical recharging using both a 230-volt single-phase current (charging time is approximately 3.5 hours) as well as a 400-volt three-phase AC (takes less than an hour to charge).

The vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capability of the car via the bi-directional charging system (when the car is not in use and the driver permits it) will be the real test. This demonstration of two-way charging technology will test the practicality of distributed energy storage in car batteries for home usage.

The car will be coming equipped with a 16 kWh battery pack which will provide a range of 64 km (40 miles) and the vehicle will be able to hit a top speed of 130 km/h (81 mph).

(Via AutoblogGreen)

Thoroughbred horse racing in Hong Kong is a pivotal part not only of many lives but it is vital to the economy, contributing massive taxes and being the major supporter of most charities. Thoroughbred racing in Hong Kong is therefore naturally followed far more passionately than anywhere else in the world.

Hong Kong has two race courses, the main one situated at Shatin is a first class track with facilities equal to any track in the world. A big track with both turf and dirt surfaces and a straight 1200m, statistics show that horses get every chance to win from whatever draw.

However Happy Valley where the lesser grade Wednesday night races are held has to be the most spectacular race track in existence. To understand the full impact of this place you need to make the effort to go and experience it.

Situated on the island amidst major housing and retail complexes, Happy Valley is surrounded by the lights of multi level apartment blocks. It is a relatively small track which affords spectators a close up view of the races giving an I can not believe this place feel to visitors.

Tourists can also visit the Hong Kong Racing Museum at Happy Valley, which provides a fascinating historical insight into how the sport has evolved since its mid-19th century beginnings.

Over the last 15 years or so the quality of Hong Kong thoroughbred racing has developed substantially and nowadays it is difficult to imagine a more cosmopolitan racing circuit than can be experienced here. The prize money is so substantial that the champion riders and trainers from France, England, Australia and South Africa all eagerly vie for the few invitations to ride in Hong Kong. In fact the roster of riders in Hong Kong reads like an Academy Award nomination list for the best jockeys in the world.

Fourteen Group 1 races are run in Hong Kong each season, with the Hong Kong International Race day in December being the richest and most important meeting of the year. The Hong Kong International Races are now generally recognized to be the most international event in the racing world and the main meeting point for northern and southern hemisphere thoroughbreds.

Today the international event has been transformed into a set of four races: the Hong Kong International Sprint over 1200m, the Hong Kong Mile over 1600m, the Hong Kong Cup over 2000m and the Hong Kong Vase over 2400m.

The Champions Mile is on April 29, run at 1600 meters over the Shatin turf course and is already part of an international racing series, the Asian Mile Challenge, which comprises the Futurity in Australia, the Dubai Duty Free, the Champions Mile, and the Yasuda Kinen in Japan, all Group 1 races.

The standard of local thoroughbreds has also risen dramatically as can be seen by the number of hotly contested international races now taken out by locals even in the presence of top echelon European, American, Japanese and Australian thoroughbreds.

With a population of around 1,100 thoroughbreds from around the globe, Hong Kong racing works under an easy to understand handicap system, where gallopers gain or lose rating points from their performance on the racecourse, resulting in close and competitive racing.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club has a monopoly on racing and betting in the territory, a holdover from colonial days, and the HKJC is the territories largest taxpayer and charity. Massive betting pools are involved and Hong Kong racing officials understand that it is imperative to share every piece of information there is with the betting public.

The racing club website has easily the best information I have ever seen with full videos and extensive reporting of every race held. Trackwork data, performance history, weights carried, times, everything is easily found and exhaustively detailed.

To summarise, for any thoroughbred racing enthusiast Hong Kong racing is an absolute must see experience. The city is situated on one of the most spectacular harbors imaginable, hotels are plentiful and first class and the shopping and gastronomic delights are legendary.

In my opinion, if you buy a car, you should be able to maintain the healthy of the engine through the air intakes systems. The system will help the engine to have a great performance. I believe that you like to have a great car to help you in your activities. In other word, the benefit of having a healthy engine will be beneficial if you want to make it regularly.

The air intake is one of the treatment so if you think you can take care of the air intakes systems, then you are going to have a great car. The air intake will make the air conditioner in your car becomes cool and also it will help the engine to circulate all the air that is needed by the engine. This article will discuss about how you are going to maintain the air intakes so that the car engine will be healthy. The first one is to check the air intakes systems regularly. If you want it once in a month, you could call the mechanic in your workshop to check about it.

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Pundits are beginning to write that certain races could (or should) be cut down to a more manageable amount of laps. After all, this is the “Now” generation, and we want out pleasures very soon, and very quick.

Hey…..it works for me…..

Bye-bye: Sorry to see Kirk Shelmerdine selling his toys and retiring from Cup, but it certainly was an uphill battle all the way. Under financed, but with a big heart and desire to seek fame and fortune in a sport he loves, Kirk goes the way of many of his compatriots. Very few owner/drivers get to the level of even breaking even, let alone becoming successful.

??: Speaking of owner/drivers, we wonder what RoboGordos game plan is. Looks like he may be drawing away from driving in his Cup car, cuz he hired Kevin Conway to run it the rest of 2010. Maybe Robos got more interest in running the off road tracks, which are probably a lot more fun from a drivers standpoint. But the Conway move smells like he needed a sponsor, and had to hire Conway to get one. Having ExtenZe as a sponsor brings back visions of SirMark running around in the Viagra car. An embarrassment, but it pays the bills.

Walmart: This mega company recently made an announcement that it was not going to sponsor Gordos 24 car. But in the process, it got a lot of press and a lot of free advertisement. What a sneaky (and smart) way of cashing in on NA$CAR..

RPM: Petty Motorsports just might make some big improvements in 2011. By reducing from 4 to 2 cars, and having Dinger and Ambrose as their drivers, expect RPM to be much more competitive than they have been in the past several years.

Da Race: It almost looked like the race was gonna be run without a plethora of Yellows, but after Lap 135 they started dropping out to the sky with regularity. The big news early on was the loss of a cylinder in the 20 car and complete failure of the engine in the 11 car, which sorta put a damper on SassyKyles night. After all, when 2 of the 3 engines crap out with just a third of the race being run, well, it doesnt give one a bunch of confidence about the remaining engine.

Not so Happy: Harvick was tooling around, gaining a bunch of ground on the leaders (per usual), then about 3/4ths through the race he blew his LF and shredded his fender. So, instead of sneaking up on the leaders he was relegated to the rear and that was pretty much the last we saw of him.

Down the stretch: With about 40 laps to go, the 9, 24 and 99 cars got real scrappy. This was perhaps the best racing of the night. The funny thing about this is that of the three drivers, only da Flipster was sniffin the lead at the end. Kasey started a rumble a few laps later, and took the 2 car along with him. Gordo lost his edge and faded to 13th.

Hendrick: Although JJ saw a small glimmer of hope during the night, and Gordo had one flash of brilliance, all in all the Hendrick teams seems to have lost their luster. They no longer are the top dogs in Cup, and seemingly can be beaten on any given night. However, their associate teams (Stewart and Newman) seem to have found what the others have lost.

The Cats back: With da Flipster finishing 2nd and MattyBoy in 11th, the Roush teams are gradually gaining ground. All they need now are some solid finishesand a W.

RCR: Aside from Happys bad luck, his teammates pulled through in 4th and 7th place, and all three are almost assured of getting into the Playoffs. Not a bad turnaround from a year ago

Kudos: To Smoke, da Flipster, and Jburton for their unexpected finishes. I could say the same for FlyinRyan, Pablo and Marcos for their Top 10 finishes.

Heaps of 3s (and Old Spice) all over yer local Office Depot,

Racing Maniac #3