What a morning!
BMW quits Formula 1 (ah, that's where ctm's quote came from) and Schumi makes a comeback for Ferrari due to Massa trying to plant a Liverpool kiss on a piece of debris during practice.
This is going to have the guys at Sniff Petrol going bananas, I'm sure.
Some have mentioned a possible tilt at F1 by Koenigsegg, but I don't think there's anywhere near enough money in the pot to have a crack at something so expensive at this point, if ever.
It's probably best for them to concentrate on the fundamentals at the moment. You know, survival, building quality Saabs, etc.
And the big question is - do car companies get real value from their efforts in F1?
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.....and still on motorsport, kind of.....
The next edition of the Forza Motorsport video game for the Xbox 360 will feature the 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo X.
It'll also add Spain's Catalunya circuit as well as bringing back the Nurburgring. Other cars added for this new edition will be the Alfa Brera, which may or may not lead to an R rating due to automotive pr0n.
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.....and still on motorsport.....
I'm hoping to have a kinda big announcement to make about a Saab in a motorsport event, and a Saabs United tie-in. Soon.
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Jalopnik have another edition of "You're doing it wrong"
Very good.
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I can't believe it's still legal.
Saab should use their eye-monitoring software to build an extendable punching fist into the dash for anyone who's picked up by the software as texting whilst driving.
Call it an active safety feature.
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Sent in by Seth H
A visual history of Saab's logo development, which I'm quite sure is also the subject of a story somewhere on the web, too.
I guess they can now add the wordmark to this diagram as a mark of the new Koenigsegg era.
It'll be great to see how Schuey compares to Webber, Button, Hamilton, and the other recent top drivers. Sure makes for an interesting finale to the season.
On a side note, I wonder which Saabs will be included in Gran Turismo 5 (the real driving simulator) when released for PS3.
Saab is a Rally natural.
@Seth H: Thanks for the excellent graphic, and to Swade for posting it. I already decided that my Saab-Scania medallions on my 9-3 stay with me no matter what happens to the car (no real plan to do anything except keep it running for the next three+ years, but I really want XWD with that logo.)
About that texting while driving? Whether it is legal or not, it seems so unsafe to even think of texting while driving. Hard enough to light a cigarette! (yes, I want any interior redesigns to consider the fact that some of us still smoke cigarettes while driving our Saabs)
Surely you're not counting yourself among 'us'.
[Lest my virtual image of you as a fully oxygenated being evaporate :)].
The F1 efforts would be in line with that if BMW would still use the KERS system, and KERS as an hybrid technology would stay in F1 and been further developed.
But BMW's KERS has failed, and this was the first and last Year of KERS, F1 doesn't fit to the actual statement of BMW, and the current performance of the team has helped a lot to that decision.
But on the other hand BMW should also trash the M-cars (M3, M5, M6) and the 760 and maybe also the whole X-line to show they are really
Seeing that Renault posted a heavy loss today, I would be surprised if they are on the F1 starting grid next season.
however it would be sad if Renault left Formula 1..but as you said..in the end its all about money.
@karen Yes, keep them :)
But I somehow like the logo of 1974, it looks quite "modern" to me ;)
Same Font, same letter-spacing, just perfect.
As for BMW and F1, they can come with any bad excuse they want (who do they think they are fooling?) but the truth is that they have failed to reach their goals and someone has realised that spending several hundred million euros per year for losing isn't money well spent. But that's hardly the first time that have happend, car manufacturers tend to come and go to different motor racing series as business dictates. Sometimes they win and after have reached their goal they decide to quit, and sometimes they fail, like BMW, and decide to leave because of that.
Renault names the special edition RenaultSports after the F1 cars e.g. the R26, R27. They also get stickers on them saying they've won the championship.
Surely when you can get 200hp out of a 2.0L NA engine you know what you’re doing with engine.
Renault benefit too much from F1
It's illegal in NSW, ACT and VIC (I'm assuming the same for the rest of Australia). Although I imagine it's hard to catch people.