AutoWeek articles from June 2008

AutoWeek archives from June 2008

JETTA WAGON REVIVAL; Volkswagen believes the time is right for its practical and efficient SportWagen.
June 2, 2008... Byline: JONATHAN WONG After a short hiatus, a wagon returns to Volkswagen's Jetta model line with the SportWagen. Rising gasoline prices have VW believing that old-fashioned wagon flexibility will lure customers and serve as a loyalty...

Striker strikes the fancy of open-wheel racers.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Rob Geiger Striker strikes the fancy of open-wheel racers The future of road racing could reside in a non-descript building in the tiny north Texas town of Sanger. That's where a team of engineers and former racers are building...

CALLAWAY CRUISER; When 430 hp isn't enough.
June 2, 2008... Byline: MARK VAUGHN You enter the Callaway compound, in deepest Orange County, California, through massive wooden doors that are not unlike those guarding the fictional Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz. Like Oz, Callaway's is a place of...

Ready to Change?
June 2, 2008... Byline: Dutch Mandel We may be getting closer to that point in our national vehicle fleet where we have to reconsider What We Want versus What We Can Afford. What we can afford is now measured not so much in big-block,...

MARKET; 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Sport Roof.
June 2, 2008... Byline: DAVE KINNEY Russo & Steele, Hollywood, Fla. March 28-29 302-cid, four-barrel V8, four-speed manual transmission and traction-lock differential. Good-year Polyglas GT tires on factory-style Magnum 500 wheels. Grabber orange...

PLANS, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES; Custom Mopar collector has a big piece of Pennsylvania in his garage.
June 2, 2008... Byline: PHIL BERG Buying a house in 1994 that had an attached garage, one in which the previous owner had installed a commercial-grade hydraulic four-post lift, was just part of Don Williams' plan. "When I saw the lift in it, that clinched...

DID YOU KNOW?(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Byline: DONALD DAVIDSON * Scott Dixon is the first Indianapolis 500 winner from New Zealand and the 19th driver to have won from the pole. * This was the second time Vitor Meira has been runner-up. He joins Rex Mays, Dan Gurney,...

ECCLESTONE VS. MOSLEY?
June 2, 2008... Formula One commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone denied FIA president Max Mosley's claims last week that his group of companies wants to take over the entire F1 world championship, including the sporting and technical regulations (Competition, May...

EXTRA.
June 2, 2008... F1 GETS SIRIUS Formula One fans who can't be in front of a television at race time now have another option: They can listen in on Sirius Satellite Radio. Sirius will broadcast the season's remaining races live. Listeners will be able to...

RESULTS; TRACK: INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.
June 2, 2008... 1. Scott Dixon, 200 laps at 143.567 mph avg. speed; 2. Vitor Meira, 200; 3. Marco Andretti, 200; 4. Helio Castroneves, 200; 5. Ed Carpenter, 200; 6. Ryan Hunter-Reay, 200; 7. Hideki Mutoh, 200; 8. Buddy Rice, 200; 9. Darren Manning, 200; 10....

THE REAL DEALS; With CXC, you might never need a real racetrack again.
June 2, 2008... Byline: MARK VAUGHN This is not an arcade game, it's not a video game, and it's not Grand Theft Auto IV. "These were designed as driver-training tools,'' Chris Considine explained about the CXC driving simulator. "I was looking to...

CALLING A SPADE A SEDAN; We like the Passat CC even more than the other Passat sedan.
June 2, 2008... Byline: NATALIE NEFF There are legends in the marketing world, wizards capable of making consumers believe, among other things, that eating nothing but pork fat can make you skinny and that a four-door car can be called a coupe. We...

CASINO ROYALE; McLaren gamble and fine driving give Lewis Hamilton an action-packed Monaco win.
June 2, 2008... Byline: NIGEL ROEBUCK After Monaco Grand Prix qualifying, McLaren-Mercedes looked to be on its back foot. Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen qualified third and fourth, which was hardly a disgrace, but the Ferraris lined up in first and...

Drivers's Log.
June 2, 2008... GRITZINGER: This latest version of BMW's "entry'' model eschews some of the $9,000 worth of options that punched the price of our previously tested 135i to $45,000. This car proves that you could certainly live without the six-speed automatic...

GREAT, SCOTT! Ganassi's Dixon wins Indy.(Scott Dixon)
June 2, 2008... Byline: CURT CAVIN Scott Dixon is a man of few words and little visible excitement, which makes his reaction to winning the 92nd Indianapolis 500 something like an out-of-body experience. Dixon yelled-yep, he actually yelled-to his...

INDY EDUCATION.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Curt Cavin Graham Rahal was the first driver to hit the wall during the Indianapolis 500, and he was joined in disappointment by Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing teammate Justin Wilson, who made wall contact in a different form. But...

RESULTS; TRACK: LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY.
June 2, 2008... 1. Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 400 laps at 135.772 mph avg. speed; 2. Greg Biffle, Ford, 400; 3. Kyle Busch, Toyota, 400; 4. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 400; 5. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 400; 6. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 400; 7. Matt Kenseth, Ford, 400;...

RESULTS; TRACK: Circuit de Monaco 2.075-MILE street circuit DATE: MAY 25.
June 2, 2008... 1. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes, 76 laps at 78.398 mph avg. speed; 2. Robert Kubica, BMW-Sauber, 76; 3. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 76; 4. Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault, 76; 5. Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari, 76; 6. Rubens...

TWO-WHEEL LOWDOWN; 2008 VICTORY VISION TOUR.
June 2, 2008... Byline: GEORGE P. BLUMBERG The "other'' American motorcycle company applies industrial design to heavyweight touring, with a rigid cast chassis and comfortable ergonomics. 1731-cc, 92-hp air-/oil-cooled 50-degree sohc V-twin; 849-lb dry...

Justify My Love.
June 2, 2008... Byline: Corey Farley One of life's little ironies is that the cars I want always stay precisely the same distance out of reach. The first time I went shopping for wheels, I'd scraped together $150. In those days, there were cars in...

SPORTING AMBITIONS; New Maxima is more sedan than sports car.
June 2, 2008... Byline: ROGER HART Car companies are very good at telling people what they want their cars to be. Call it advertising or marketing; it's mostly hyperbole. Case in point: Nissan is touting its flagship 2009 Nissan Maxima as the return of...

RACE REPORT.
June 2, 2008... Byline: AL PEARCE Kasey Kahne got lucky when he was voted into NASCAR's previous event, the All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway (Competition, May 26). He and crew chief Kenny Francis gambled on a late-race, no- service pit stop...

LOWE'S LOWDOWN; Off-track business arguably eclipses the Coca-Cola 600.
June 2, 2008... Byline: AL PEARCE The show is usually the main thing, and the Coca-Cola 600 certainly had its highlights, but three off-track stories dominated the talk at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The first was Humpy Wheeler's "retirement'' after 33...

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June 2, 2008... Scott Dixon (leading) got his second win of the season, netting him a record payday and the series points lead.

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June 2, 2008... E.J. Viso and Oriol Servia (above) were encouraged by their performances, while Graham Rahal (below) looked good until he crashed.

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June 2, 2008... No payout: Ferrari risked changing Felipe Massa's strategy mid-race, but Massa suffered the opposite result of a similar move for Lewis Hamilton.

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June 2, 2008... BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica led briefly on his way to his best-ever Monaco finish and only the second runner-up spot of his career.

TALE OF THE TAPE.
June 2, 2008... After an incident in the Indy pit lane, where Penske Racing's Ryan Briscoe took out AGR's Danica Patrick, America's racing sweetheart looked loaded for bear. Before cooler heads-and the head of Speedway security-prevailed, Patrick stomped...

Media-crity.(Interview)(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Heaven forbid these uber- liberal actors in Speed Racer are anything but politically correct . . . Q: Are you car enthusiasts? Christina Ricci: I used to be, but I'm not anymore. It's too much work. . . . The vintage ones break down,...

How would you like to make that call?
June 2, 2008... U.K. paper The Sun reports that a sports-car dealer employee was taking a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano to a repair shop when it spontaneously combusted at a stoplight. Martin Bullen, 43, had to call his boss to report the problem-since it was the...

TV June 6 - 8.
June 2, 2008... Friday, June 6 * NASCAR Sprint Cup practice from Long Pond, Pa., noon, Speed (L) * NASCAR Live, 1:30 p.m., Speed (L) * Formula One practice from Canada, 2 p.m., Speed (L) * NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying from Long Pond, Pa., 3:30...

Meanwhile, outside our car world . . .
June 2, 2008... On Sept. 11, terrorists attack the United States; two hijacked airliners ram into New York's World Trade Center, and one hits the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., as a fourth crashes outside Pittsburgh. The dead and injured number in the...

REALITY CHECK; Challenge X strives for extreme fuel economy and real-world driveability.
June 2, 2008... Byline: GEORGE P. BLUMBERG Although the venue was New York City's posh Tavern on the Green, the engineering students from 17 universities who were assembled on May 16 at the Central Park restaurant seemed oblivious to their upscale...

59 Years of Automotive Passion.
June 2, 2008... 2001 The Los Angeles and Detroit auto-show season brings the Ford Thunderbird roadster and Bullitt Mustang, the Porsche GT2, the Lexus IS 300 and the Subaru WRX. Concepts include: Ford Forty-Nine, BMW X-Coupe, Buick Bengal, Chrysler Crossfire,...

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June 2, 2008... The winning entry from Mississippi State (above). Tulsa team members Mari Riera, Zach Jones and Scott Rainwater (below, from left).

ONE SPICY SAUSAGE; 1968 BIZZARRINI SPYDER SI.
June 2, 2008... Byline: JOHN F. KATZ Having left Ferrari and then the short-lived Automobili Turismo Sport (ATS), Giotto Bizzarrini still longed to build race cars. In 1962, he signed on with Renzo Rivolta, who, having successfully licensed the Isetta...

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June 2, 2008... Some '60s muscle cars and '30s street rods (like the Dodge in the foreground here) share a suburban space.

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June 2, 2008... Ready to rumble: Danica Patrick was smokin' mad at Ryan Briscoe, but Speedway security would not allow another pit-road punch-up.

WAGON, WHOA! The engine in Audi's new A4 Avant is a prize winner.
June 2, 2008... Byline: J.P. VETTRAINO The 2009 Audi A4 Avant is very easy to like. It is compact but comfortable, versatile and available with nearly any gizmo you might need to entertain yourself. It's satisfying to drive, wagon roofline be damned, and...

This Week - Extra.
June 2, 2008... Rolls Shows Baby Rolls-Royce has released design sketches of the "baby Rolls'' scheduled for launch in 2010. Codenamed RR4, the new sedan will be smaller than the Phantom. Built on the chassis underpinning the next-generation BMW 7 Series...

HYBRID SUPREMACY; Honda hopes to have it in four years.
June 2, 2008... Byline: GREG MIGLIORE Honda is planning a four-car global hybrid-product onslaught that the Japanese company says should give it the most comprehensive hybrid lineup in the world by 2012. The United States will get three of the cars: a...

PARALLEL PASSIONS; Competition & cars fuel Olympic athletes.
June 9, 2008... Byline: PETE LYONS Chevy's El Camino first came out in 1959, way before Amanda Beard was a baby. But ask this Olympic-gold-medal swimmer about her dream car, and that's it: an El Camino. "I get made fun of a lot about it, but I'm being...

HEY, GOOD-LOOKING; 1984 Lamborghini Countach.
June 9, 2008... Byline: STEVE KASH In italy's Piedmont region, where Lamborghinis are made, "Countach'' is a wolflike gasp of appreciation by a man gazing upon a beautiful woman. In the early 1980s, Hollywood seized on the car's "bad boy'' label. A...

This Week -- Extra.
June 9, 2008... BMW confirms X1 plans BMW plans to build the new X1 small sport/utility vehicle alongside the 1 Series and the 3 Series at its plant in Leipzig, Germany. The X1 is based on the 1 Series and will share some parts with the 3 Series. It's due...

Driver's Log.(Mercedes-Benz S63)
June 9, 2008... WONG: This Mercedes-Benz S63 is a supreme cruiser. It has more gizmos than the Sharper Image catalog and makes one heck of a statement on the road. Although it's probably not something I would consider buying, I appreciate everything it brought...

TOYOTA'S BRONCO; We drive the torquey TRD FJ Cruiser.
June 9, 2008... Driving the TRD-tuned V6- powered Toyota FJ Cruiser, you are immediately reminded of another fine truck, something from way back in the '60s, when displacement was king, something still celebrated regularly on the covers of four-by-four...

POWER TO THE PUNY; Suzuki seeks respect with turbocharged SX4t concept.(Brief article)
June 9, 2008... At 143 hp, the all-wheel-drive Suzuki SX4 crossover already had the most horsepower in its class. So the logical thing to do, of course, was to add more power. This SX4t concept takes that 2.0-liter four and adds a turbocharger. The result...

RESULTS; TRACK: MILWAUKEE MILE.
June 9, 2008... 1. Ryan Briscoe, 225 laps at 133.428 mph avg. speed; 2. Scott Dixon, 225; 3. Tony Kanaan, 225; 4. Dan Wheldon, 225; 5. Helio Castroneves, 225; 6. Oriol Servia, 225; 7. Justin Wilson, 224; 8. E.J. Viso, 224; 9. Danica Patrick, 224; 10. Buddy...

RESULTS; TRACK: DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY.
June 9, 2008... 1. Kyle Busch, Toyota, 400 laps at 121.171 mph avg. speed; 2. Carl Edwards, Ford, 400; 3. Greg Biffle, Ford, 400; 4. Matt Kenseth, Ford, 400; 5. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 400; 6. Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 400; 7. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet,...

HILLARY WILL, JOHN FORCE WIN IN KANSAS.
June 9, 2008... For the first time since his crippling accident in Dallas last September, John Force returned to the NHRA winner's circle with a big win at the O'Reilly Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kansas. A 126-time winner, Force shared the podium with...

EXTRA.
June 9, 2008... SCHUMACHER LANDS JOB Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher has been named chairman of the FIA's new Motor Sport Safety Development Fund, which is financed with the $100 million fine levied last year on McLaren Racing when it...

Better Baby Aston; Engine, chassis and interior revisions freshen Vantage lineup.
June 9, 2008... Byline: JONATHAN WONG Three years after Aston Martin's V8 Vantage stormed onto the scene, the automaker is performing some updates to its Porsche 911 fighter. Highlighting the 2009 changes is a reworked V8 powerplant with increased...

Behind the Handshake.(design of new Jaguar XF)
June 9, 2008... Byline: Steve Thompson Behind the Handshake Jaguar calls the four dash vents that rotate open when the engine starts in the new XF a "surprise and delight'' feature, part of the "Jaguar handshake.'' A Jag rep confirmed that there is...

CARS AND FOUR STARS; L.A. legends honored at Petersen Museum.
June 9, 2008... Byline: PETE LYONS Once upon a time, to hobnob with the likes of Bob Bondurant, Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Parnelli Jones and Carroll Shelby, you'd have to hang out at racetracks. Hot, dirty, noisy places. On May 8, you could have done it in...

2002 Ferrari unveils its FX supercar, which will be called the Enzo.
June 9, 2008... Introductions at the Los Angeles auto show include the Jaguar S-Type R, the Hummer H2, the production Pontiac Vibe and a "Lexus'' from the Tom Cruise movie Minority Report. Hey, it's L.A., babe! At the Detroit auto show, Nissan announces...

DEAR OLD DAD; Give him something he wants for Father's Day. Here are a few suggestions.
June 9, 2008... Supercars for a Day Give Dad a day driving a variety of supercars courtesy of World Class Driving and chief instructor Didier Theys, a former open-wheel and sports-car standout. The Ferrari 599, the Maserati GranTurismo, the Lamborghini...

TV June 13-15.
June 9, 2008... Friday, June 13 * NASCAR Live, 11 a.m., Speed (L) * NASCAR Sprint Cup practice from Brooklyn, Mich., 11:30 a.m., Speed (L) * NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series from Brooklyn, Mich., 1:30 p.m., Speed (L) * NASCAR Sprint Cup...

Fiesta For All.
June 9, 2008... There's nothing like a little $4-per-gallon gasoline to change attitudes, starting with the U.S. market's aversion to hatchbacks. Ford thinks that stigma from the 1970s might be weakening, so the company has decided to sell hatchback versions...

NURBURGRING 24 HOURS IS LIKE NO OTHER RACE IN THE WORLD.
June 9, 2008... Byline: PATRICK C. PATERNIE Boris Said calls it the "best-kept secret in the world.'' "Secret'' is a relative term, of course; almost 200,000 spectators show up each year. But outside Germany, even dedicated motorsports followers know...

THE REPLACEMENT BECOMES A KILLER; Ryan Briscoe shuns pressure for a Milwaukee win.
June 9, 2008... Byline: CURT CAVIN The Australian came to the IndyCar Series in 2005 as Chip Ganassi's hot young prospect, but he was foiled immediately by a Toyota-powered car that was a treacherous slug. Briscoe crashed left and right in a predicament...

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June 9, 2008... Toyota's throwback FJ Cruiser (standard model pictured here) gets major mojo with a TRD-installed supercharger under the hood.

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June 9, 2008... John Force races to another win. By the end of the year, he will have scored 106 career wins and secured his 12th Funny Car title.

Meanwhile, outside our car world . . .
June 9, 2008... U.S. and Afghan troops attack remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, while President Bush vows in his first State of the Union address to expand the fight on terrorism and labels Iran, Iraq and North Korea the "axis of evil.''...

THE $400 MILLION FORD ECONOLINE; Camper van plays key role in Canadian cancer charity.
June 9, 2008... Byline: ALEX LAW When the two-toned, shag-carpeted Ford Econoline camper van first rolled onto the national stage in Canada in April 1980, virtually no one noticed But when news broke that the battered old box had been found and was...

They're Going Faster.
June 9, 2008... Byline: Kevin Wilson Amid the racing on Memorial Day weekend, you probably took time to recognize the war veterans. The rapidity with which we're losing the surviving vets of World War II is frequently remarked upon of late. Less noticed...

RACE REPORT.
June 9, 2008... Byline: AL PEARCE NASCAR might want to put this race video in a lead-lined case and bury it for all time: The Best Buy 400 at Dover International Speedway featured exactly one on-track lead change in 400 laps around a one-mile track. It...

FORMIDABLE FUTURE; Joey Logano impresses in his big-time debut.
June 9, 2008... Byline: AL PEARCE Just in case you have not heard of Joey Logano, no less a NASCAR authority than longtime star Mark Martin said he is "mature beyond his years.'' He also said Logano "has talent like you won't believe'' and called him "the...

CHEVY, ASTON RESUME BATTLE.
June 9, 2008... Byline: GARY WATKINS Only 10 cars will contest GT1 at Le Mans, but the class could easily provide the closest battle in the 76th running of the race. The rivalry between Chevrolet and Aston Martin, represented by the Pratt & Miller and...

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June 9, 2008... Winning pair: Amanda Beard and her then-sweetie, Carl Edwards, celebrate his 2005 victory at Richmond.

FRENCH DISSECTION; Peugeot aims to take Audi apart at Le Mans.
June 9, 2008... Byline: GARY WATKINS So says Audi driver Allan McNish of the battle of the turbodiesel heavyweights, scheduled for June 14-15. The rematch between Audi's R10 TDI and Peugeot's 908 HDi might be one of the most eagerly awaited sports-car...

Olympians & Their Cars.
June 9, 2008... It's not surprising that many Olympic-caliber athletes share our enthusiasm for high-performance machines. Beginning with the athletes featured here, in the coming weeks, we'll profile the automotive passions of a series of today's top...

REVS / MORE FOR DAD.
June 9, 2008... Corvette: America's Sports Car, by Jerry Burton, hardbound, 336 pages, Universe Publishing, www.rizzoliusa.com, $75. This oversize coffee-table tome from one of the top Corvette historians contains 200 color and 100 black-and-white photos. It's...

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June 9, 2008... Scott Speed takes his Red Bull by the horns to win for the first time in one of NASCAR's top three series.

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June 9, 2008... Audi's (below) stout driver lineup and the circuit layout mean that Peugeot should be its only true competitor based on performance, unlike in the American Le Mans Series, where Porsche's RS Spyder (bottom) fights for overall wins in the hands...

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June 9, 2008... Scott Dixon (alongside the race winner) was quick to congratulate Ryan Briscoe, even though a late-race crash kept him from going for the win.

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June 9, 2008... New and improved flavor: The combo of Kyle Busch, JGR and Toyota has blown the competition away recently.

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June 9, 2008... 'Ring tossup: Perhaps only at this race will you find such a wild combination of cars, such as the winning Porsche (opposite) to the Dodge Viper (above), the Apollo hybrid (left), the Lexus LF-A (above right) and the Opel Astra (right). Below:...

They said it: Memorable quotes from the Automotive News marketing seminar.
June 9, 2008... "Next time, I think we should ask them to pay us.'' -Honda executive VP Dick Colliver, noting that downloads of ELO's "Hold On Tight'' increased from fewer than 100 per day to more than 4000 after the song was used in a Honda commercial ...

And here we expected him to say, "Iza total crap''.
June 9, 2008... "I'm thrilled. It's a great Ferrari that delivers unique driving pleasure.'' -Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, after driving the company's new California convertible

Society Notes: Engine abuse.
June 9, 2008... The Associated Press reports that a Salt Lake City judge sentenced Fernando Orozco-Trevizo to serve up to five years in prison for chaining his girlfriend to an engine block. Orozco-Trevizo's lawyer said the woman had wanted to be restrained as...

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June 9, 2008... Press Release We Didn't Finish Pair some iconic iron with some legendary beauties, and you have a potent com-bination-a "Bombshell.'' . . . A combination of four of Hollywood's most famous beauties elaborately captured on the gleaming...

Hyperventilating Hyperlinks.
June 9, 2008... * Speaking of Hollywood cars: http://tinyurl.com/43o65u * Hey, it's better than the dog pound: http://tinyurl.com/4mq75g

ROCKET RACING PREP.
June 16, 2008... Byline: PETE LYONS LIKE MANY AN AEROSPACE PRO-grm, the Rocket Racing League's plan to begin air racing in 2007 fell behind schedule (Competition, Nov. 2, 2006). But at last, the first racer is being flight-tested - watch at...

AW TRUTH & BEAUTY; RETAIL SAIL?
June 16, 2008... Byline: Paul Webb/LAT Photographic As a prelim to the weekend's IndyCar race, daredevil Robbie Knievel successfully jumped over 21 Hummer H2s. Of course, it marked some kind of obscure record at the Texas Motor Speedway; unfortunately for...