Tot hier en verder!!!

Geniaal toch, onze joep…. Deze week een aantal avonden tot diep in de nacht aan het klussen geweest. De meeste stickers zitten er inmiddels op en met ook nog een flinke bullbar is Joep een echte rally auto geworden. Helaas is het niet alleen zonneschijn aan het Team Discovery front. Gisteren ook de eerste lekke band gehad… Hoewel een goede oefening voor de rally, zou het toch ook wel fijn zijn, als ie gewoon doet wat ie moet doen!!!

RaceFanNetwork Covers ARRC At Road Atlanta

If you are a vendor who is thinking of participating in the American Road Racing Championship (ARRC) at Road Atlanta next weekend; do we have a broadcast value for you. RaceFan will be streaming audio and video live at the circuit for three days. So, if you want your product message heard and seen in conjunction with the event contact business@prracewire.com and we’ll get you set up with a low cost ad blitz program.

Prepaid Credit Cards - Use for holiday shopping online

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Day 13 & 14

I had back to back trading days, so I’m combining them into one post.

On Friday, the market was down a little under 1%. Seeing as I was gunning for the Pullback that Never Wanted to Happen Ever, I decided that the next retreat the market makes, I’m going to buy buy buy. Actually, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy. And that is what I did. With about 5 minutes left until the closing bell, I started spending. I expanded upon APOG, BAC, GE, and YHOO. I thought I expanded on SPIL, but I overbought BAC and didn’t have any available funds left for buying the lot I wanted.

With those four purchases, I effectively decimated my margins on each of those positions. I once was up over 110% on BAC. Post purchase? Say hello to 14%. Thankfully, I had such enormous gains with each of those positions that I am still up overall. Again, as a die-hard Buffetor (I have a million names for this), this is all about the long run. And having more shares at a relatively low average price will always benefit me as gains will accumulate faster.

So, that was pretty much Day 13…a 5 minute shopping spree. Oh wells.

Actually, not “Oh Wells.”

This morning the market was up nearly 100 points for no reason whatsoever and then TANKED. I lost money on pretty much every trade I on Friday. To add insult to injury, SPIL was up. Semiconductors are weird like that- they just go against the current. After one giant, “Ugh” I looked that the only other bright spot in my portfolio today: DBB. Given my history with DBB, it really didn’t take much for me to see a perfect opportunity to sell. And sell I did. I made a pretty penny. But because selling is a lot more complicated than buying, I’m not going to see that paper for about 5 days. And that was Day 14.

So what will I do with my WINDFALL? I’m kidding, its not a windfall, but I like thinking that I’ve got all this money coming back to me that I’ve had tied up in stocks for the past 7 months. I’m considering expanding again on remaining positions (EGO, APOG, BAC, GE, YHOO, SPIL).

Why, the astute Newbie would have noticed that F isn’t there. It’s because I’m planning on selling that too. I dunno, something about F isn’t sitting right with me lately. Maybe its because Cash-for-Clunkers is over, maybe its the $20B in debt that is coming due next year with no clear form of cash flow. I dunno, but either, I think it is time for to take the profit and run. The stalker Newbie would have also noticed that SU isn’t there either. I’m selling because I don’t think high oil prices are sustainable. I’m just waiting for it to touch $40 (the share price) for me to sell out!

Another thing I am considering is actually getting into Retail now. I know, I’ve been trying to get into that sector since before Beverly National was around. (For new readers, I make fun of my savings bank for still not allowing online transfers. Isn’t that , like, so prehistoric?) But yeah, I think I might. With these two pullbacks, those prices are looking pretty sexy. SKS: 5.96 (6.00 in after hours trading), ZLC:6.00.

I have stopped tracking SIRI because they were served with the 180 days notice. Pretty much they have 180 days to bring their market value to over $1 or they will be delisted from the NYSE. 6 months is a long time, but I don’t have that appetite for risk yet, so I’m going to avoid it for now.

24 HP 1910 A.L.F.A.

Multe cifre si litere, fara foarte mult sens pentru publicul larg. Un titlu greu comestibil, dar care merita sa fie primul de pe acest blog. De ce? Pentru ca 24 HP a fost primul model al masinii pe care o stim acum drept Alfa Romeo. Pentru ca 1910, adica acum 99 de ani, se nastea o marca auto ce avea sa schimbe complet senzatiile de la volan. Pentru ca inainte de Alfa Romeo, a fost A.L.F.A.

Asadar, sa incepem.

Verona Motorbike Show 2009

America a dat tonul la moda motocicletelor facute pe comanda, dar europenii au reusit sa se impuna prin stiluri bine definite, originale, etalate la Verona.

Timp de cinci ani, celebra expozitie de motociclete custom de la Padova a izbutit sa se remarce in calendarul manifestarilor de profil din lume. Din cauza (sau, mai curand, datorita) crizei economice, in perioada 16-18 ianuarie au avut loc doua expozitii cu aceeasi tematica, la Padova si la Verona. Disensiunile dintre organizator, Fran­ces­co Agnoletto, si reprezentantii locatiei din Padova au condus la organizarea a doua expozitii in paralel. Cu toate ca traditional se organiza la Padova, cei mai multi expozanti s-au aliat cu organizatorul si l-au urmat la Verona, mai ales ca Agnoletto detine si drepturile de a organiza Campionatul International de Custom Bike Building.

Doua Saloane in acelasi timp
In cele trei zile de expozitie, peste 90.000 de vizitatori platitori au admirat creatiile unor nume grele, venite din Statele Unite, Japonia si Europa. Cele sapte hale acoperite, totalizand peste 75.000 mp, au fost ocupate de circa 600 de expozanti.
Case de productie, fabrici de piese si accesorii aftermarket, artisti plastici, dealeri zonali si cluburi de motociclisti au trait la maximum un weekend fierbinte.

Printre personalitatile din domeniu prezente cu opere de arta ii mentionam pe Jesse James de la West Coast Choppers, Cory Ness, Russel Mitchell – Exile Cycles, Peder Johansson de la Hogtech, Mark Battistini, Markus Walz, Fred Kodlin, japonezii de la Zero Engineering, pe care i-am intalnit si la EICMA, anul trecut.

Premiile Custom Bike Build
Afilierea cu concursul international de la Sturgis a permis acordarea a doua premii cu greutate in domeniu, unul pentru un constructor national, iar cel de-al doilea pentru un competitor international. Cei doi castigatori au fost Gigi Espozito de la Big Twin Motors, cu “Panster”, iar al doilea – germanul Fred Kodlin, care a prezentat “Xwedge”. Italianul a declarat ca motocicleta sa, in valoare de peste 40.000 de euro, nu este de vanzare, in timp ce germanul a recunoscut ca a vandut-o inca dinainte de expozitie unui compatriot.

La noi, APIA a anuntat ca nu va organiza un Salon Auto in acest an, din pricina crizei economice.
In schimb, motociclistii vor avea doua Saloane, la distanta de o saptamana, dar in aceeasi locatie. Este cumva criza?

      

 

 

 

Sursa [http://www.autoshow.ro/article--Moto-Prezentari-Criza%3F_Nu._Custom%3F_DA%21_%E2%80%93_Verona_Motorbike_Show_2009--2848.html]

                                                                                                      By Matza

FORD F-150 SVT RAPTOR, poliţist texan

Când am văzut fotografiile cu maşina asta pe site-ul www.ridelust.com , mi-am amintit brusc de celebra serie de filme cu ,,Walker, poliţist texan”, în rolul principal aflându-se Chuck Norris. Nu, nu Andrei Costin, colegul de facultate şi unul dintre amicii prietenei mele, ci actorul ăla bărbos şi cu pălărie. După ce am lămurit problema, putem spune că se cere şi o nouă serie cu Walker, pentru că din 2010, maşina aceasta va apărea pe piaţă. Desigur, adresată pieţei din Texas, dar asta e deja altă poveste. Ce, nu ai rude prin America? Lasă, că poate ai prieteni. Atunci, vei putea afla mai multe despre această maşină direct de la sursă. Până una alta, noi te vom informa la nivel teoretic. De exemplu, nu ştiu dacă vrei să ştii că maşina are un motor V8 capabil să producă 320 CP care legat de o cutie automată cu 6 viteze. Motorul de 5,4 Litri, va genera mai mult ca sigur un consum uriaş, tipic americanilor (se mai miră cum de au intrat în criză). De încălţat, uriaşul deşerturilor va purta bocanci BF Goodrich ® All-Terrain, calibraţi special pentru drumuri off-road şi pentru o stabilitate mai bună, după cum aflăm tot de pe site-ul amintit mai sus. Garda de sol este mai înaltă în spate decât în faţă. Un detaliu practic mai ales atunci când vrei să cari. Dar nu cartofi. Poate saci cu bani recuperaţi din misiune.

  

 Ca în bancurile cu Chuck Norris (în care Andrei este expert, de unde îi vine şi porecla, ba chiar ar putea să-şi dea doctoratul pe tema asta!), nu maşina se supune gravitaţiei, ci gravitaţia se supune maşinii…

  

 Crezi că ai noroc, javră?

 

 Poliţistul texan în costum, la angajare…

  

 Iar apoi, direct în acţiune, pentru că infractorii trebuie prinşi, bătuţi, bătuţi, bătuţi şi…bătuţi. Iar apoi arestaţi.

  

 O pauză de ţigară…

 Nu-i aşa că ai vrea şi tu să fii poliţist texan? Sau măcar Chuck Norris, să te distrezi cu aşa ceva în film. Noi am fi dispuţi să ne facem şi cascadoriile singuri, din pasiune şi din datorie, desigur!

Op m'n gemak in Bretagne

Bretagne (Breizh voor intimi) is één van de Franse regio’s waar wij ons erg op ons gemak voelen. Er hangt een heel bijzondere, mystieke en soms bizarre sfeer. Geweldig! Zeker als er Bretons wordt gesproken. Dan besef je helemaal dat je in een on-Frans gebied verkeert. En als je dan ook nog in een kek autootje rondrijdt, kan de pret niet meer op.

Deze Mini is alleen komend weekeinde te koop in Morlaix.

Goed Frantons
Deze Mini kwam ik vandaag tegen op het internet. Degene die deze Mini gaat kopen (je moet er snel bij zijn, want de voorraad op de ‘Salon de l’Auto’ in Morlaix is beperkt en je kunt ‘m alleen komend weekeinde aanschaffen), laat niet mis te verstaan weten dat hij (of zij) zich op zijn (of haar) gemak voelt in Bretagne. In goed Frantons (samentrekking van Frans en Bretons) staat het er ook: A l’aise Breizh! Kijk maar eens op de banieren.

Het Bretonse vrouwke (inclusief kanten muts) op de Mini spreekt boekdelen.

Autopech

De relatie tussen mij en “joep” is al zwaar onder druk komen te staan. Zo trots als ik donderdag was bij het ophalen, zo zwaar hebben wij het nu. Met groots machtsvertoon heb ik “joep” laten zien aan mijn collega’s in Eindhoven. Toen ik vol goede moed terug ’s avonds wegreed voor een bezoekje aan mijn ouders (verjaardag vader), werd het onze joep even te veel. Nog voor ik de snelweg bereikte besloot hij even pauze te nemen. Midden op het kruispunt ging joep slapen. En dan bedoel ik niet een kleine ‘powernap”… Nee het was een heuse winterslaap….

Daar sta je dan…. stromende regen, motorkap open en een auto vol stickers “AMSTERDAM-DAKAR”. Je bergrijpt dat joep en ik de atractie waren van de avondspits!

Om een kort verhaal lang te maken. Ik heb joep 2 keer hardhandig (lees: startkabels) wakker kunnen schudden uit zijn diepe slaap. Gelukkig was ik vlak bij onze  grote vrienden van AUTOPOLAR. Nadat ik  joep onder luid gelach het terrein op heb geduwd. Kon ik met vervangend vervoer alsnog naar de verjaardag van mijn vader. Het was de bedoeling dat ik met onze stoere Audi aan zou komen rijden. Hoewel iedereen zijn lach in probeerde te houden en me een bemoedigende blik toewierp, was het duidelijk;  “wat een dwaas”

En zo blijkt maar weer. Het is letterlijk en figuurlijk nog een lange weg naar Dakar. Volgende keer meer nieuws

North American share of auto output to shrink: prof

North America’s share of global auto production will continue to shrink through 2015 even as sales worldwide grow, a leading automotive researcher predicts.

Currently, North American automakers produce about 19 per cent of vehicles sold worldwide, according to Tony Faria, co-director of the office of automotive research at the University of Windsor’s Odette School of Business.

While worldwide sales are expected to reach 80 million vehicles in 2015, the North American share is “going to decline another per cent to 18 per cent by 2015,” Faria said. This would represent 14.4 million units.

Faria’s projection came as about 100 analysts, economists, politicians and industry followers convened at the University of Windsor on Wednesday to discuss the future of the auto sector.

Industry must ‘reinvent itself’

For many, that future is grim.

Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Corp. reported sales declines in September, of 5.1 per cent, 42 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively, from September 2008.

Automotive consultant Dennis DesRosiers addressed a conference of industry experts at the University of Windsor Wednesday.(Allison Johnson/CBC)

The auto industry “has to totally reinvent itself this coming decade to meet the needs of society,” said Dennis DesRosiers, the founder of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc.

“You look at GM and say ‘What are they doing different?’” DesRosiers said. “Yes, they cleaned up brands and cleaned up their cost structure. But are they positioning vehicles on the market differently than in the past? Arguably not.”

The outlook is discouraging for student Mario Tancoc-Marcu, a Windsor native who has spent four years at the University of Windsor in hopes of working in the auto industry.

“You see your friends and family getting laid off,” he told CBC News, “so your perception is that you are not going to find a job after you graduate.”

Uninsured Motorist, What does it cover?

Covers you, the insured members of your household and your passengers for bodily/persona injuries, damages, or death caused by an at-fault insured or hit-and-run driver. What if you are involved in an accident where the other driver is at fault but has no insurance? Your policy will cover your medical expenses up to the limit on your policy. Who benefits from buying uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage? The millions of people who currently have no health insurance. That is why it is important to choose the adequate limit of Uninsured Motorist coverage (UM), because anything above the limit chosen, you are personally responsible for paying the additional amount. Did you know that Florida is among the TOP 5 states of uninsured motorists? That is why CWI underwriters is passionate about making sure you are covered properly. Let us review your current insurance policy to see if we can better your coverages! Call us 888.636.6438 or visit us at www.cwiunderwriters.com

Scuterul BMW Mottorad C1-E

Dacă marii producători auto au în gamă pe lângă bicicletele de firmă şi scutere (cazul Peugeot), BMW propune pe timp de criză un scuter, după cum aflăm de pe site-ul www.ridelust.com . Oferta vine în sprijinul celor care vor prestigiul şi calitatea BMW, alături de senzaţiile oferite de acest ,,mini-motor”. Nu ne întrebaţi de preţ, că momentan nu vă putem furniza această informaţie. Vă putem oferi în schimb o fotografie preluată de pe site-ul menţionat mai sus p’nă vom aduce alte informaţii.

 

Cha Cha Cha Changes!

Just like the leaves and the seasons here in the Northeast Kingdom are transforming, the farm itself is undergoing a few changes of its own. Our new friends are preparing to leave on a cross-country expedition of their own. Just like us, they have decided to travel powered by grease, and their moving craft is a great big yellow, now also blue and purple, school bus. The bus has just been recently converted and is still undergoing some renovations to make it a comfortable home for all 4 of them (plus a dog). We are excited for them to have many great adventures as we did on our trip.

Hickory and Ben Working on the Bus

We had the pleasure to meet Ben and Lea when they came to visit the farm to do the vegetable grease conversion for the bus. Ben and Lea also live and travel in an awesome converted bus of their own. They are also in a fantastic and energetic band called The Prodigal String Band who we saw play at Langdon Street Café a few weeks back. It was really nice having them around and getting to know them. We even had the treat of all playing music together one evening in the cabin- how often can we play alongside stellar fiddle and upright bass players? They were so fun, and we hope to see some more of them while here in Vermont and catch another performance by their band!

The leaves have turned bright yellow, orange, and red, and are covering the ground to create splashes of color all over. One morning, we even awoke to see the rain had turned to fluffy, thick snowflakes pouring from the sky! And so we will remain in the cabin for the winter and watch over the farm, chickens, and Wavy Gravy (the cat). The farmhouse will be filled with some new people for us to get to know and spend time with. There are three rooms already claimed of the four (that includes the finished attic known as the “up up”). A young mom with her four-year old and boyfriend and two other ladies have all committed to moving in by mid November. We are still in search of another person or couple to fill in an empty room… interested???

The two of us are truly looking forward to our visit back to Philadelphia from mid to late October. It will be so good to see friends and family and also attend friends Matt and Amanda’s wedding! By the time we return, Earthdancer and family are planning on being moved into the bus and our new communal neighbors will have arrived. Lots of transition ahead!
Feel free to browse some of our recent photos from our time in VT on our Flickr page.

Yeshtu doora = Auto Fare

These yellow and black three wheeled fellows… as much as we hate them we just can’t do without them in this city can we?

Recap of a few conversations I had recently with friends

SCENE 1: driving past my office

Poojitha: hey hey, this building is where I work… my office is on the first floor

Friend 1: oh this one is it…

Friend 2: wow not bad, this place is not too far from your home is it? How do u travel everyday?

Poojitha: yeah it’s not too far, 20 Rs by auto!!!

SCENE 2: on Gmail chat

Friend: hey, I m going to be coming down to Bangalore day after tomorrow.

Poojitha: wow, that’s great… how are u gonna be travelling?

Friend: I am taking the night train from here, will reach Bangalore in the morning. Acha tell me how far is Marathalli from Majestic

Poojitha: hmmmm hmmmmm hmmmm distance hmmm….

Friend: acha chodo… bol auto mein kitna padega

Poojitha:  :) auto mein around 150!!

These conversations got me thinking on how I have stopped measuring distances in kms or even time… it’s now measured by the AUTO FARE. I wondered if it was just me and so I started paying attention to how people responded when asked How far is so and so place??? …. Ha ha and 90 % of the time it is the AUTO FARE!!

These fellows have become such an integrated part of our lives that they have replaced the common measurements of distances!!! Sheesh!!

I wonder if any of those time and distance sums back in school would have been easier if they had to be solved using auto fares instead.. Like we had a Log Book (that cute lil blue book which I began to find less cute as we progressed through the chapters in our maths text book)…What if we had an auto fare reference book to solve sums!!!

STUPIDITY I know… wonder why I even typed those last few lines  :)

2010 Porsche Panamera S in Platinum Silver with Black Interior

This is our first Panamera to arrive. It is equipped with 19″ Panamera Turbo Wheels with colored crests, Bluetooth Phone Interface, Park Assist, Variable Assist Power Steering, XM Satellite Radio, Universal Audio Interface, Soft Ruffled Leather Seats and Floor Mats. I will post more color combinations as they arrive. You have to get out to your nearest dealer and drive this car! It may be a sedan but it is all Porsche!

Coffee of the Week + Custom WB

Purchased the Coffee of the Week at Starbucks a couple of days ago and was toying around with the LX3’s custom white balance that I decided to test it out on the CotW coffee bag.

Our coffee for the week is a Sumatra/Peru blend. Nice asian flavor with a good kick. This is one of Starbucks’s organic blends. We got a Starbucks Passport when we purchased this. It’s some promo that Starbucks is running where when you buy ten packs of coffee beans from Starbucks, you get one more free.

Now on to custom white balance. After reading up on it, custom white balance is basically having your camera manually adjust to the proper color adjustment for your shoot setting. Notice when you see an image you want to capture but it doesn’t come up in the right colors after you shoot it? Our eyes have the amazing ability of adjusting color and lighting but our cameras don’t. That’s why a lot of the photographers use gray cards to adjust their white balance during shoots. They re-adjust every time they move to a different spot because lighting may be different there. And although there are firmware updates to make Auto White Balance more intuitive, it still does not capture colors as well as a customized white balance does.

You notice with the image above, the shot looks bluish. I chose the coffee bag because of its multiple colors. When I said bluish, the tinge of the picture in general is cool. Probably because of the effect of the fluorescent lighting. I did not adjust the AWB towards any color so it’s set right in the middle. And yet the result still has a bluish tinge to it.

Now look at this image with the custom white balance. This is closer to what the eyes actually see. This was done after I used the LX3 to shoot a gray card first under the same lighting conditions as this coffee bag. No bluish tinge around the bag area. It may seem desaturated compared to the image above but you’ll notice that the colors on the bag are still pretty rich.

I’ve only started using custom white balance recently and the results have been interesting. The color is definitely better than my previous shots done on AWB.

This doesn’t mean though that I won’t be using AWB anymore. Of course, there are instances when you just need to pull out the camera fast and shoot a picture right away without the luxury of doing custom white balance. But for still shots where I shoot inanimate objects and I have all the time in the world to do so, I’ll utilize custom white balance on the Panasonic LX3.

How many of you actually use a gray card for shooting your toys?

Martin Rapide. Aston Martin Rapide. Pentru un Bond căsătorit

Aston Martin Rapide a fost lansat la salonul Auto de la Frankfurt, în septembrie anul curent. Sedan-ul ultra-lux cu patru uşi este propulsat de un motor V12 de 6.0 litri capabil să dezvolte 470 CP şi 600 Nm, după cum relatează site-ul www.informatiiauto.ro . Chiar dacă primele livrări se vor face din 2010, pe net a apărut un filmuleţ de prezentare al noului model de la Aston Martin. Din nou vedem cum un concept prinde viaţă şi ajunge să fie expus la vitrină pentru vânzare. Conceptul a luat naştere în 2006, şi este concurentul direct pentru Porsche Panamera, dar şi primul vehicul cu patru uşi din gamă. Dacă va fi produs, Lamborghini Estoque va fi de asemenea unul dintre concurenţi. 

 „Rapide este cea mai elegantă maşină sportivă cu patru uşi. Modelul completează gama Aston Martin, îmbinând atributele clasice ale mărcii precum puterea, frumuseţea şi sufletul”, a spus Dr. Ulrich Bez, director executiv al Aston Martin, de asemenea informaţia fiind preluată de pe site-ul de mai sus. Este clar că întotdeauna frumuseţea unui Aston Martin produce o rezonanţă specială, iar tradiţia şi conservatorismul britanic s-a menţinut în timp. Dacă ne întrebi de preţ, nu este rău să ştii că va fi în jurul sumei de 150.000 de Euro. Mult dacă te dai cu Dacia, puţin dacă eşti fotbalist proaspăt căsătorit şi tată responsabil.

Iată-l: singur, împotriva tuturor…este Martin. Aston Martin. Oare se va vinde cu rachete?

  

 La naştere, înconjurat de 007, agentul Q şi…nu, din păcate nu.

  

  Iată-i: ei sunt inamicii…primul, Porsche Panamera…

    

 Inamicul numărul 2: Maserati Quattroporte…

  

  O posibilă ameninţare: Lamborghini Estoque. 

 

   (Surse foto: www.informatiiauto.ro , www.ridelust.com . Sursă video: www.youtube.com )  

Iar filmuleţul de avertizare, care nu se va autodistruge în 10 secunde, iată-l chiar aici:

 

 Acum, dacă tot vrei să fii un 007, nu strica totul plimbând fufiţe de Dorobanţi în ea. Nu este un sfat.  

Sobota w mieście

Hehe, pojechaliśmy oglądać auta (Nissany Primera – niestety jeden za mocny [140 KM, na co nam tyle?], a drugi za drogi; w komisach nic ciekawego), po drodze zahaczając o jedną z galeryj. Efekt był taki, że kupiliśmy sobie po parze butów.

A wieczorem imprezka urodzinowa z Osadnikami z Catanu (i znajomymi). Do upadłego. Team Mąż+Żona prawie wygrał. Ustanowiliśmy remis i z ulgą zakończyliśmy po tym, jak dywersant J. wylał sok na planszę. A już ich prawie mieliśmy w garści.

Jeszcze rano Grzegorza Jana wychrzczono. Spokojny koleś taki, ale nie jemu jednemu chciało się spać o tej godzinie. Grzegorzu, rośnij zdrowo i strzelaj kupy w pieluchy radośnie i celnie!

Ford Focus RS

Asteptam de mult sa apara o masina ca Focus RS. Este genul de utilaj in a carui constructie inginerii au ultimul cuvant de spus, facut pe principiul „pentru ca se poate!”. Intradevar, poate ca 305 CP sunt un pic mai mult decat trebuie pentru puntea fata, dar cui ii pasa? Este probabil cel mai reusit hot hatch lansat pana in prezent. Cei drept, cele 5.9 secunde pana la 100 km/h nu sunt un record in materie dar, senzatiile pe care le traiesti in spatele volanului te vor face sa spui RS o data la trei cuvinte cel putin doua zile dupa ce l-ai condus.

La exterior sunt cateva elemente care diferentiaza RS-ul de ST si, implicit, de un Focus obisnuit. Gurile de aerisire din capota, eleronul cat casa, deflectorul si jantele iti spun ca ai in fata altceva decat un ST standard, tunat si vopsit verde. Cat despre interior, mentionez numai scaunele Recaro special create pentru acest model. Acestea au profilele laterale imbracate in material textil de culoare verde si culoarul median din piele intoarsa. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daca te intrebi cum merge, raspunsul este unul singur: asa cum vrei tu! Poate fi condusa cu usurinta in traficul aglomerat, fara grija ca vei face febra musculara la gamba stanga de la ambreiaj. Poti sa o conduci sportiv, sa o calci din cand in cand si sa fi impins de la spate de scaunele mentionare anterior, delectandu-te cu zgomotul grav si sacadat al motorului. Exista si o a treia varianta, atunci cand incerci sa-i afli limitele, in care RS devine o masina de raliu. Pana la urma, echipa care a dezvoltat acest model este raspunzatoare si pentru Focusul de WRC. M-am trezit de multe ori la iesirile din viraj cu volanul bracat, spre exemplu, catre dreapta, dar masina tinea neaparat sa parcurga o trasa aleasa de ea. Ai ghicit, torque steer. Partea buna e ca tot procesul e controlabil. Daca virezi mai mult, vei putea merge pe trasa aleasa de tine, cu acceleratia la podea. 

Cum e torque steer-ul? Pai…J  daca pneurile nu sunt incalzite, intervine chiar si la viteze mari (60-70 km/h, in linie dreapta, in treapta a doua). In momentul in care s-au incalzit pneurile si esti si tu un pic obisnuit cu masina, vei putea doza acceleratia astfel incat sa exploatezi aproape corect herghelia ce numara 305 caluti. Pentru a diminiua torque steer-ul, inginerii Ford au dezvoltat Revo Knuckle. Aceasta este, pe scurt, o suspensie MacPherson cu pivotul separat. Iar in colaborare cu o suspensie mai rigida cu aproximativ 40% fata de cea a ST-ului, ofera o stabilitate uimitoare in viraje. Diferentialul Quaife isi aduce si el aportul la transimiterea puterii catre cele doua roti motrice. Cei 305 CP au fost obtinuti dupa cum urmeaza: s-a luat motorul de 2,5 l de pe ST, au fost schimbate pistoanele, axa cu came, galeriile de admisie si evacuare si, nu in ultimul rand, turbina. Aceasta din urma poarta semnatura Borg Warner (K16) si ofera o presiune constanta de 1,4 bari.

 Daca as fi avut 32.052 euro (pretul de pornire), as fi asteptat inca de la 5 dimineata sa se deschida un showroom Ford. Daca as fi fost inca de varsta liceului, probabil ca as fi avut deja un poster cu Ford Focus RS.

 

 

 

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Gestern war ich noch beim Arzt, weil mein Nacken richtig weh getan hat. Außerdem konnte ich meinen Kopf nur mit Schmerzen nach links drehen. Leichtes Schleudertrauma… Na super. Naja, aber mit den Tabletten geht es heute schon besser. Außerdem habe ich heute in der Werkstatt angerufen: mein Auto ist reparabel, die Ersatzteile sind da & ich kann es wahrscheinlich Ende nächster Woche abholen.
Heute war ich meinen Führerschein abholen (hatte ihn ja verloren & nicht mehr wieder gefunden und musste einen neuen beantragen) & in der Stadt. Habe bei H&M ein neues Kleid gefunden. Danach war ich noch mit Jan, Lukas & Claudio in der Mensa. Gleich fahre ich mit Lukas und Claudio einkaufen. Muss mal wieder einen Großeinkauf machen, habe kaum was frisches hier. Brauche ausserdem mal was gesundes.