Source: http://www.skirtsandscuffs.com/2013/10/chasing-championship-recapping-aaa-400.html
Friday
Ford recalling nearly 24,000 Focus EV and C-Max models over door chime
Filed under: Budget, Hybrid, Recalls, Safety, Crossover, Hatchback, Ford, Electric
Ford will be voluntarily recalling 23,830 Focus Electric and C-Max Hybrid and Energi models equipped with push-button ignition, according to The Detroit News. Why? Because the cars don't make a noise when the driver's door is open, and are therefore in violation of federal regulations. It's not as silly as Honda's badging recall that isn't a recall, but it's close.Actually, that's not exactly fair. The chime is supposed to come on when the driver's door is open, as it reminds drivers not to leave their cars on or leave key fobs in the car, an easy thing to forget when the cars in question make virtually no noise at idle and do not require keys in ignitions.
The recall, which Ford is conducting voluntarily, covers 2012 and 2013 Focus Electric hatchbacks and 2013 C-Max Hybrid and Energi models. The overwhelming majority, around 22,900 units, were sold in the US, while the remaining 900 units are in Canada. How many of each model are covered in the recall is not immediately clear.
Ford will be in touch with owners of affected vehicles, who will need to report to dealers for a software update.
Ford recalling nearly 24,000 Focus EV and C-Max models over door chime originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Oct 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/04/ford-recall-focus-ev-c-max-door-chime/
Jason Leffler David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney
Thursday
Stop what you?re doing and watch this Porsche wreck right now
Wow. This is one heck of a wreck, featuring driver Harry Kleinjan absolutely trashing a Porsche 964. Best part of this is the pyramid effect, how it gets better and better with every passing second:
? The tires smoking as the driver realizes what's about to happen.
? The car hits the barrier.
? The tires rip off.
? The car vaults over the barrier.
? The car flips.
? The car ends up roof-first in the canal.
? The bro on the bank who stops texting only for a moment, then returns to texting.
As the YouTube comments tell us, "Heftige crash van Harry Kleinjan met de Porsche op kp4 van de short rally tijdens de Hellendoorn rally, Rijder en navigator kwamen er ongeschonden vanaf." I have absolutely no idea what that means, but then, the video's pretty self-explanatory, right?
Apparently the throttle stuck, causing the accident. Amazingly, neither Kleinjan nor his navigator, Bart den Hartog, were hurt. You can actually see Kleinjan moving in the video below.
NASCAR Evolution Theory: The Pinniped-aled Car of Today
I enjoyed both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series race from Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The racing has come a long way, on the track, since the intro of NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow prototypes.
The evolution continues. So does the aesthetic weirdness. That aero device attached to the driver’s side c-pillar and deck lid [...]
The evolution continues. So does the aesthetic weirdness. That aero device attached to the driver’s side c-pillar and deck lid [...]
Jean Marc Gounon Emmanuel de Graffenried Lucas di Grassi Cecil Green
Wednesday
Kyle Busch keeps his head and keeps in front of the pack, posts decisive victory at Atlanta
HAMPTON, Ga. - Get in front, stay in front.
That was the rule at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday night at the AdvoCare 500, a night when several big-name drivers saw their Chase hopes take severe, perhaps even mortal hits. For the first time since early April, Jimmie Johnson surrendered the points lead, albeit only briefly. But in the end, as he's done so often in the regular season, Kyle Busch swept past a field full of challengers to post his fourth win of the season, and one that could be a landmark in his career.
"If you can pin a championship on one race, tonight was that night," Busch said. "We had a lot to overcome ... For as far back as we fell, for as tight as we ran, the green flag runs were my best friend."
Busch had a very Kyle Busch-like evening at the track, which is to say, runs of brilliance punctuated by moments of paint-searing rage. Busch had trouble early on in the race, raging at crew chief Dave Rogers, but settled down and began his customary carving up of the competition. Helped by mechanical problems, wrecks and pit-road issues that took Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth out of contention, Busch found himself in the final laps with only Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. to hold off for the win. And following yet another strong restart after the ninth caution of the night, Busch stretched out his lead over the course of the final laps, leaving Logano with no real chance and nothing but a view of the shrinking rear deck lid of Busch's M&M's No. 18 Toyota.
After the race, Logano wore the frustrated grin like a mask, shaking his head in resignation at what could have been. His car was strong on long runs, but as the race wound down, he didn't get the chance to unfurl those long rounds. "It's frustrating when you've got the winning car and you don't win," Logano said. "That's three straight top fives with this car, though, and that's impressive."
[Related: Chain reaction contact on a restart has major Chase implications]
Truex held onto the second wild card spot, though he did so with a screaming wrist, the product of a hard wreck last week at Bristol. If you've ever broken an arm or a leg, imagine having to use that limb over and over again for four straight hours. Truex had to saw away at the wheel, turn after turn, for 325 laps as the cast's padding soaked through and the outer shell cracked and melted. In the media center afterward, he poked at the soggy mess.
"It hurts like hell," he said. "My cast is pretty much like goo ... it got to the point where it didn't feel like it was doing anything. My wrist was moving around a lot more than I wanted it to."
Also moving around a lot more than expected: cars on the mile-and-a-half track. The asphalt at Atlanta is old like a grandparent, and every bit as cranky. "It's like a surprise party every time you drive down in the corner here," Martin Truex Jr. said. "It's tough."
Both the high and low lines had their merits, but the restarts clearly favored the low line. "When you're on the top line on a restart, you're a sitting duck," Busch said. "For whatever reason, the top line just was not moving."
Busch held the low line for eight of the nine cautions, and took advantage time after time. After the race, Toyota announced that this race marked the manufacturer's 250th win in NASCAR across all series, with Busch accounting for 100 of those wins. That's impressive from any angle, but as Busch would be the first to say, without a championship to close it off, it's merely a pleasant round number.
The Sprint Cup series now heads to its regular-season finale at Richmond. Fifteen drivers remain in realistic contention for the 12 Chase spots, and the bubble drivers include three past champions. Logano, Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch are within the top 10, though by no means "safely." Kasey Kahne has secured at least a wild-card spot in the Chase, and Truex holds the other spot. That leaves Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman and Brad Keselowski on the outside looking in, with only Newman presently holding a win this season.
[Related: Brad Keselowski?s repeat-championship hopes dwindle]
Gordon has two wins at Richmond, Newman one, but none of those has come within the last decade. Keselowski now finds himself in the awkward position of having to rely on others to help him make the Chase less than a year after throttling the entire field to win the 2012 Sprint Cup championship.
Further up the standings, it's a happier place. Busch, crew chief Dave Rogers and team owner J.D. Gibbs left victory lane smiling and joking, their exhausted exultation evident. A year ago at this time, the team was flailing, out of the Chase and out of hope. Now? Now the 18 team heads toward the Chase as one of the winningest teams in the sport, and likely one of the three favorites to win the Cup.
"When the highs come your way, you've got to treasure them, because you don't know how many more you're going to get," Busch said. "This was a fun night."
Heikki Kovalainen Kevin Harvick Armour Vienna Sausage Kroger Chevrolet Clint Bowyer
Tuesday
Fantasy NASCAR Preview: Fontana - Auto Club 400
This week the Auto Club 400 will be held at Auto Club Speedway in California, which will be the only event at the track, a tradition started last season after seven straight years of holding two events annually. Auto Club Speedway opened in 1997 and is a D-shaped two-mile oval, most similar to Michigan in [...]
Monday
Sunday
Kyle Larson Earns Top Five in Iowa Speedway NASCAR Nationwide Series Debut
No. 32 VIZIO / Hulu Plus Chevrolet CamaroNEWTON, Iowa (June 10, 2013) - Kyle Larson’s impressive rookie season continued as he brought home a fifth-place finish in the rain-delayed DuPont Pioneer 250, his first NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Iowa Speedway. Larson’s No. 32 VIZIO / Hulu Plus Chevrolet Camaro was fast right off...more»
The article Kyle Larson Earns Top Five in Iowa Speedway NASCAR Nationwide Series Debut is from Catchfence.
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