Just a compilation of car crashes, hopefully this is none of our readers or customers

A swiss Ferrari driver has been finsed a record amount – $290,000.

Swiss speeding fines can be calculated taking the drivers wealth into account if they are a repeat offender. The court in St Gallen  found that the unnamed driver was worth more than $20,000,000 and fined him a little over 1% of his net worth.

He was caught by local police driving his Ferrari Testarossa at more than 85mph through a residential area. The speed limit was 50mph.

Swiss media have been running news reports saying the driver owns 5 supercars and has went on record as not being sorry for the latest incident.

Since the model year 1998, all new cars sold in the United States have been mandated to have airbags on both driver and passenger sides of the vehicle. (Light trucks came under the rule in 1999.) To date, statistics show that airbags minimise the risk of dying in a direct frontal crash by about 30 percent. Later came seat-mounted and door-mounted side airbags. Today, there are cars go far beyond having dual airbags to having six or even eight airbags. Having awakened some of the same controversy that surrounded seat-belt use in its early years, airbags are the subject of earnest government and industry research and testing.

When a car crashes, the physical energy required to stop an object is very great because the car’s momentum has changed instantly while the passengers’ has not — there is not a lot of time to work with. The design of any supplemental restraint system is to help stop the passenger while doing as little damage to him or her as possible. What an airbag wants to accomplish is to slow the passenger’s speed to zero with little or no damage. The airbag has the space between the passenger and the steering wheel or dashboard and a fraction of a second in which to obtain its purpose.  Even that tiny amount of area and time is valuable, however, if the system can slow the passenger smoothly rather than forcing an abrupt stop to his or her motion. The bag itself is made of a thin, nylon fabric, which is gathered into the steering wheel or dashboard or, more recently, the seat or door.  The sensor is the tool that tells the bag to inflate.

Inflation happens when there is a crash force equal to running into a brick wall at 10 to 15 miles per hour (16 to 24 km per hour). A mechanical switch is triggered when there is a mass shift that closes an electrical contact, telling the sensors that a crash has happened. The sensors receive information from an accelerometer built into a microchip. The air bag’s inflation system combines sodium azide (NaN3) with potassium nitrate (KNO3) to produce nitrogen gas. Hot blasts of the nitrogen immediately inflate the airbag. The inflation system is much like a solid rocket booster. The airbag system ignites a solid propellant, which burns extremely quick to create a large volume of gas to inflate the bag. The bag then literally bursts from its storage site at up to 200 mph (322 kph) — faster than the blink of an eye!  A second later, the gas quickly escapes through tiny holes in the bag, thus deflating the bag so you can move. Even though the whole process happens in only one-twenty-fifth of a second, the additional time is enough to help prevent serious injury. The powdery substance that is released from the airbag, is regular, everyday cornstarch or talcum powder, which is used by the airbag manufacturers to keep the air bags flexible and lubricated while it’s in storage.

The “NASCAR Sprint Cup Series” is the sport’s highest level of professional championship. It is consequently the most popular and most profitable of the NASCAR series. The 2009 Sprint Cup season consists of 36 races over a 10 month period. Writers and fans often use “Cup” to refer to the Sprint Cup series and the dubious use of “NASCAR” as a synonym for the Sprint Cup series is common. Jimmie Johnson has won the last three consecutive Sprint Cup Series drivers’ championships. His win is second only to Cale Yarborough. The Cup Series had its very first title sponsor in 1972. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which had been banned from television advertising at the time, found a well known and demographically suitable consumer base in NASCAR fans and engaged NASCAR as a publicity outlet. As a result of that sponsorship, the Grand National Series became known as the Winston Cup Series (today called the Sprint Cup Series) starting in 1971, with a new points classification and some significant cash compensation to compete for championship points.

Then in 2004, NEXTEL claimed sponsorship of the premier series from R. J. Reynolds, who had sponsored it as the Winston Cup from 1972 until 2003. It was then formally renamed it the NEXTEL Cup Series. A new championship points system, “The Chase for the NEXTEL Cup” was also put in place, which reset the point standings with ten races to go, making only drivers within the top ten or within 400 points of the leader eligible to win the championship. The “NASCAR Nationwide Series” is the second-highest level of professional competition in NASCAR.

The most recent series champion was Clint Bowyer in 2008. The modern incorporation of this series began in 1982, with sponsorship by Anheuser-Busch Brewing’s Budweiser brand. In 1984 the name changed to the Busch Grand National Series. The Anheuser-Busch sponsorship expired at the end of 2007, and the series is currently sponsored by Nationwide Insurance. Nationwide will also become NASCAR’s official insurance agency replacing all state. The Nationwide Series is the only series of the top three to race outside the United States. The season is a few races shorter than the Sprint Cup, and the prize money is considerably lower. However, over the last several years, a number of Sprint Cup drivers have participated in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series events each weekend, using the Nationwide race as a so called warm-up to the Cup event at the same facility. The ‘”NASCAR Camping World Truck Series” features modified pickup trucks. It is the third of the three national divisions of NASCAR, together with the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup.

The most recent series champion was Johnny Benson in 2008. NASCAR announced the formation of the NASCAR SuperTruck Series in 1994 which is presented by Craftsman. The first series race followed the next year. In 1996, the series was renamed the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to emphasize Craftsman’s involvement. The series was first considered something of an oddity but eventually grew in popularity. Beginning in 2009 the series became the Camping World Truck Series.

Try different routes for your most common trips.  If you can split your commute by using a parallel highway, you will avoid freeway speed and traffic while gaining 10 mpg or more.  If your vehicle is not equipped with an accurate real-time mpg-meter it will help to keep a log between fills to determine which way saves you more.  Get familiar with your route–know where a little gas is required and where you can coast. Reduce wind resistance by reducing speed. Wind resistance roughly doubles between 55 mph and 70 mph. For example if there is a constant 200 lbs fuel-robbing wind pressure on your car at 55, then there will be more than 400 lbs fighting against you going 70. Rule of thumb, consider driving at the speed limit or even lower, if traffic conditions will allow.

Quality of Gasoline.  There doesn’t seem to be a noticed performance changes from the most expensive gas to the cheapest. Use regular-unleaded if your car manufacturer suggests it. Running your A/C system obviously decreases your mileage, especially in the smaller cars. If you want savings, wait to turn on the A/C  until rolling down hill or decelerating. Otherwise keep it off. This way the momentum of the car is running the A/C instead of your fuel. And be sure the air conditioning or defroster is off while climbing a hill. Windshield Defroster.  The A/C compressor is automatically on when the heater is set to defrost and the fan is set to ON.  If you set the knob to defrost but keep the fan set to OFF the AC compressor will be off also. In this setting, you will get a steady flow of air over the window to help keep it clear. Tire Pressure.

Low tire pressure will rob you of your mpg. Every car has a door sticker in the driver’s side. These pressures should be considered the MINIMUM. Higher pressures will give you better savings, but also a harder ride. Beginning from a Stop. This is where you really kill your mileage numbers. Start off as gradually as practical, gradually backing off the accelerator as your speed increases. If there is no traffic behind you, then accelerate more slowly. Climbing a Hill.  Big hills are the second main mpg-killer. Try to find a different road going around the hill if you can or you can or pick a route that doesn’t add significant distance to your destination. Rolling Down a Hill.  Always look ahead. If I know the decline is immediately followed by a steep uphill, begin your decent coasting (or switching to NEUTRAL). Then, as you near the bottom, add enough acceleration to gain momentum for the climb of the oncoming hill. If the hill ends on a long, flat road at the bottom, then keep your momentum.

Then there is the traffic. Don’t drive only by how it “feels”. If it seems like you are slowing, don’t just push the accelerator down, which is a difficult habit to break. Only use enough fuel for the task required. Don’t just “Gas it.” Have a reason. Listen to traffic info on the radio. If you hear of a backup, see if you can go around it.

2. Hybrid batteries need to be replaced. Expensive replacement of a hybrid car’s batteries continue to bother many potential buyers. Those worries are unfounded. By keeping the charge between 40 percent and 60 percent—never fully charged, yet never fully drained—carmakers have greatly lengthened the longevity of nickel metal hydride batteries.

3. Hybrids are a new phenomenon. American car companies developed steam, electric, and gasoline cars in almost equal numbers back in the 1900’s. It wasn’t long before engineers figured out that various sources of power could be combined. Ferdinand Porsche produced the first known hybrid gas-electric prototypes…in 1900. In 1905 American engineer H. Piper filed the first patent for a gas-electric hybrid vehicle.

4. People buy hybrids only to save money on gas. Although Hybrid cars top the list of the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the road, going farther on a gallon of gas is a logical advantage of a hybrid car. But as critics of hybrid technology point out, those savings rarely add up to the extra cost of buying a hybrid over a comparable conventional vehicle. If it’s not to save money, then why are more shoppers going hybrid? Many reasons: To minimize their impact on our environment, to help reduce the world’s need for oil, and to earn technology bragging rights. Who was the first on your block to own a colour TV? Who will be the first on the block to drive a hybrid?

5. Hybrids are expensive. Hybrids are currently available in 15 different models ranging in price from $22,000 to $103,000. ( in 2006) The most efficient models—the Honda Civic and Toyota Prius — are available well below $30,000.

6. Hybrids are small and underpowered. The Lexus Rx400h and Toyota Highlander Hybrid both share the same 270 horsepower system. The Lexus GS 450h hybrid sedan exceeds 300 horsepower and will go from 0 to 60 mph in under six seconds. And the Toyota Volta concept is a 408-horsepower scream machine.

7. Only liberals buy hybrids. The long list of celebrity hybrid drivers includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, and Larry David. They zing around Hollywood in their Priuses and appear on talk shows passing on the virtues of hybrid vehicles. These celebrities were primarily motivated by the environmental benefits. As a result, they created an easy target for naysayers to classify all hybrid drivers as tree-huggers.

8. Hybrids pose a threat to first responders. Now that hundreds more hybrid cars are on our roads each day, some critics have concerns if public safety agencies should be worried about all those high-voltage battery packs moving along at freeway speeds. Yes and no. The first responder has to make rapid technical decisions about how to safely remove the passengers from the vehicle. Unfamiliar hybrid technology can slow things down. So, it’s the worry about potential dangers—when and where to cut power—than the system itself that can cause a problem.

9. Hybrids will solve all our transportation, energy, and environmental problems. In the past seven years hybrid sales in the US grew from 9,500 in 2000 to 350,000 in 2007.

10. Hybrid technology is only a fad. Hybrid technology is often compared to fuel cells, diesel engines, and/or hydrogen as the silver bullet way to sustainable mobility. The biggest hope and investment is in hydrogen fuel cells, which appear to be decades away from commercialization. The failure of hydrogen-powered cars to appear, rapidly underscores the risk of focusing on just one solution.

Concept cars never go directly into production; in modern times all would have to undergo many changes before the design is finalized for the sake of practicality, safety and cost. A “production-intent” vehicle, as compared to a concept vehicle, serves this purpose. Often radical in engine or design, concept cars use use non-traditional, exotic, or expensive materials, ranging from paper to carbon fibre to refined alloys. Some offer unique layouts such as gull wing doors, 3 or 6 (or more) wheels, or special abilities not usually found on everyday cars. Because of these often non practical or unprofitable ideas, many concept cars never get further than scale models, or even drawings in computer design. More traditional concepts can be manufactured into fully drivable (operational) vehicles with a working drive train and accessories.

The state of most concept cars lies somewhere in between and does not represent the actual final product. A very small proportion of concept cars are functional at all where some cannot move safely at anything above 10 mph. Undrivable “mock-ups” are usually made of wax, clay, metal, fibreglass, plastic or a combination of these.  The drive train is often borrowed from a production vehicle from the same company, or may have defects in design.

After a concept car’s useful time is over, the cars are most commonly destroyed. Some survive, either in a company’s museum or hidden away in storage. One unused but operational concept car that hung around for years in the North Hollywood, California shop of car customizer George Barris, Ford Motor Company’s “Lincoln Futura” from 1954 was given a new lease on life as the Batmobile in the Batman series that debuted in 1966 on the ABC Television Network. Some notable concept cars are Chevy Corvair Monza GT, built in 1962, a mid-engined experimental prototype.  Chevy also had the Corvette Maco Shark which previewed the design of the 1968-1982 production Corvette and the Volt, One of the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle concept cars. The Ford Company had the Nucleon which was a nuclear-powered car.  The SYNus mimics the modern obsession with safety. General Motors had the Firebird, a series of gas turbine-powered cars and Pontiac had the Club De Mer, an all stainless steel sport scar that debuted at the 1956 Motorama. Porsche had their Porsche 989, first 4-door car, a predecessor of the Porsche Panamera. Volvo had the YCC, the first car designed entirely by women. The Lancia Megagamma the prototype for today’s modern MPV minivan and GMC offered the Terradyne, the concept truck said to include an on board 5000 watt generator.

It is claimed that in 1839, Robert Anderson built the first electric-powered road vehicle in Scotland, along with other than were generally unsuccessful. Besides being very noisy, the steamer had to wait for a boiler to build up pressure so the concept of an electrical engine that could start immediately and was quiet, was a very attractive idea for sure. But there were disadvantages, electric batteries were heavy, bulky, unreliable, and needed recharging after a short run.

There was a general improvement in the development of longer-lasting batteries in 1880.  There still existed the boundless weight and bulk of the batteries and a need for often rechargings, although electric cabs appeared on the streets of London in the late 1800s. Steamers and electric vehicles gained only confined acceptance on the continent. On April 29, 1899, in France, Camille Jenatzy, driving a Jeantaud electric, pushed the cigar-shaped vehicle to a record of sixty miles per hour, giving the electric car a shining, brief hour of public acclaim.

But the high-speed run burned out the specially developed batteries and the interest in electrics died almost as soon as the cheers of the attending crowd. It was in America that steamers and electric cars gained their most sustained amount of success. Eventually twenty different U.S. car companies would produce electric cars and in the peak of popularity, 1912, nearly 35,000 were out on the American roads.

Steamers were actually more popular because America could not shake the limitations of the bulky batteries and the short driving distances. Over 100 American plants were making steamers, the most famous being the Stanley brothers factory in Newton, Massachusetts.recharging.  The “Stanley Steamer” acquired the affectionate nickname, “The Flying Teapot,” for good reason. In 1906, a Stanley Steamer was tested at 127.6 miles per hour on the sands of Ormond Beach, Florida. In spite of this, the steamers and the electrics, were only living on borrowed time.

Experiments were being done on an automobile powered by a gasoline-fueled, internal-combustion engine, and the steamers and electrics would not survive the clash of the coming collision. Internal-combustion engines did not just appear the scene all of a sudden to push the electrics and steamers off the road. The theories had been on the way ever since 1860, when Etienne Lenoir applied to the authorities in Paris for a patent on his invention, an internal-combustion engine running on coal gas.

A few years later, Lenoir hooked his engine to a carriage and even though it was crude, it worked. It worked so poorly and so slowly (about one mile an hour), however, that he became discouraged and relinquished his efforts. A resourceful Austrian in Vienna, Siegfried Marcus, in 1864, built a one-cylinder engine that combined a crude carburetor and a magneto set-up to create successive small explosions that applied alternating pressure against the piston within the cylinder. Attaching this engine to a cart, Siegfried geared the piston to the rear wheels, and while a strong, human, assistant lifted the rear of the cart off the ground, Siegfried started the engine.

The wheels began to turn and repeatedly turned with each successive “pop.” Marcus signaled the assistant to lower the cart and watched it burp along for about 500 feet before it ran out of fuel. Ten years later, he produced a new, improved form of his motorcar, and then, mysteriously washed his hands of the entire thing, saying it was a waste of time. (The second model, which is preserved in an Austrian museum, was refurbished and taken for a test run in Vienna in 1950. Although Lenoir and Marcus did not have the determination to pursue their inventions, they made valuable contributions to the theory of the internal-combustion engines.

1. INCREASE DISPLACEMENT–Because you can burn more gas during each revolution of the engine more displacement means more power . You can increase displacement by making the cylinders bigger. As displacement is a function of an engine’s bore and stroke, you can either increase the bore (widening the cylinder chamber) or increase the stroke or both. Increasing the bore is usually easier and cheaper.

2. INCREASE THE COMPRESSION RATIO–By creating a larger “explosion,” increasing the compression ratio produces more power . However, the more you compress the air/fuel mixture, the more likely it is to spontaneously burst into flame (prior to the spark plug igniting it). The use of higher octane gasolines avoid this early combustion.

3. STUFF MORE AIR INTO EACH CYLINDER–Increasing the amount of air (and therefore fuel) into a cylinder of a given size, increases the amount of power from the cylinder (in the same way that you would by increasing the size of the cylinder). Turbo chargers and super chargers pressurize the incoming air to effectively cram more air into a cylinder.

4. COOL THE INCOMING AIR–Compressing air raises its temperature. You would like to have the coolest air possible in the cylinder because the hotter the air is the less it will expand when combustion takes place. The most common method is to draw cooler air from outside of the engine compartment, usually through the use of hood scoops. Therefore, “Ram Air” systems generally are design to draw in cooler outside air, rather than truly “ramming” the air into the engine. In addition, many turbo charged and super charged cars have an inter cooler which is a special radiator through which the compressed air passes to cool it off before it enters the cylinder.

5. LET AIR COME IN MORE EASILY–As a piston moves down in the intake stroke, air resistance can rob power from the engine. Air resistance can be lessened dramatically by putting two intake valves in each cylinder. Some newer cars are also using polished intake manifolds to eliminate air resistance there. Bigger air filters or more efficient air filters (such as K&N Filters) can also help air flow.

6. LET EXHAUST EXIT MORE EASILY–It robs the engine of power if air resistance makes it hard for exhaust to exit a cylinder, . Air resistance can be lessened by adding a second exhaust valve to each cylinder (a car with 2 intake and 2 exhaust values has 4 valves per cylinder, which improves performance). If the exhaust pipe is too small or the muffler has a lot of air resistance then this can cause back-pressure which has the same effect. High-performance exhaust systems use headers, big tail pipes and free-flowing mufflers to eliminate back-pressure in the exhaust system. Dual Exhaust systems improve the flow of exhaust by having two exhaust pipes instead of one.

7. MAKE EVERYTHING LIGHTER–Lightweight engine parts help the engine perform better. Most engine parts are made of iron – which is cheap but heavy. Switching to Aluminum parts is a bit more expensive, but can reduce engine weight by up to 100 lbs. In addition to losing weight in the best place (up front and up high), lightweight engine parts results in a more efficient engine. For example, aluminum pistons are more efficient because each time a piston changes direction it uses up energy to stop the travel in one direction and start it in another. The lighter the piston, the less energy it takes.

8. INJECT THE FUEL–Fuel injection allows very precise metering of fuel to each cylinder. This improves performance and fuel economy.

Even the most powerful engine will not perform if it is not properly tuned.

If you test-drive a car whose ride quality is borderline firm, take time to re-think before ordering a car with larger wheels if you haven’t experienced them out on the road. The same thought applies to run-flat tires, which are sometimes an option instead of having a spare tire. All other things being equal, run-flats usually ride more firmly than common tires.  Taller sidewalls don’t just protect you better from bumps in the road — they will certainly help to protect the wheels on which they ride. Hit a bad pothole with a large wheel and sporty low-profile tire, and the wheel is more likely to endure damage than would a smaller wheel. Further, if you drive up against a curb while parking, a smaller wheel will usually emerge with no more than a scuffed  sidewall.

A larger wheel, which is lower to the ground, might not survive such a close encounter. All-season tires are typically installed on most all cars; the exceptions are sports cars that aren’t meant for cold climates, some of which come only with summer performance tires.  Summer, winter and all-season tires are self-explanatory in terms of what they are intended for. What’s less obvious are the safety, efficiency and longevity issues. Though they maximize grip in warm, dry weather, the soft rubber compounds used in summer tires harden when the weather goes cold and become hazardous — and are even more so on snow or ice. Summer and winter tires aren’t your best choice if you’re a stickler for mileage — described either as fuel economy or how long they will last.  Summer and winter tires are less efficient. Likewise, they don’t last as long as all-season tires.

Even if summer or winter tires are a no-cost option when you purchase the car, they’re only truly no-cost if you live in an all-summer or all-winter climate. More often than not, owners with those tires really should switch them twice a year. In these cases there’s the added cost of a whole other set of four tires (different seasonal types cannot be mixed) plus the trouble and expense of re-mounting them twice a year. Even if you own both sets on their own wheels, mounting, balancing and storing a second set are additional expenses you’ll need to keep in mind. So, if you’re in doubt, we recommend sticking with the well known all-season tires. In addition to the longevity and efficiency advantages, all-seasons hold up well in all conditions, and the past few years, we’ve seen them creep even further into performance levels once known only to winter and summer tires.