--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGU00058 Date: 12/21/97 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 07:45pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Toyota's hiring Industry News / Editor Views Send that Resume to Toyota! November-- As if you couldn't tell from all of the T-badged cars on the road, Toyotas are a huge hit. New vehicles like the Corolla and Sienna are selling like crazy alongside perennial favorites like the Camry and 4Runner. This has its problems; however, the largest being Toyotas limited human resources capacity. Toyota's staffing levels have not kept pace with their rapid growth over the last 10 years. As a result, they found themselves in somewhat of a bind as their product popularity reached a fever pitch this year. Toyota claims that they are actively seeking professionals to fill their slots, but that finding qualified engineers and designers is a painstaking task that must be executed carefully. Consequently, Toyota has had to outsource some of their engineering work to engineering contracting firms. Despite these setbacks, Toyota guarantees that they are still on track for the development and release of their new products for upcoming model years. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGU00059 Date: 12/23/97 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 11:47pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Daytona 24 Hours OLDSMOBILE WINS THE 24 HOURS OF DAYTONA DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- In the closest margin of victory in the history of the 24 Hours at Daytona, Wayne Taylor and his Oldsmobile team Sunday held off a furious push by the Ferrari team on the final laps to emerge the winner of the most prestigious endurance race in America. But it wasn't enough to hunt down Taylor and the Oldsmobile, which finished one minute, and 5 seconds ahead of the Ferrari. The World SportsCar winner completed 697 laps and 2,481.32 miles. "I'm a bit beat," Taylor said. "We didn't have second gear the last nine hours, and that took away the advantage we had in the slow-speed sections of the course. And we knew that Ferrari was coming. But it was a great race and to win in the debut of the car is unbelievable." It was also the first all American-made winner in the 34 editions of the event. The GTS-1 winner was the American team headed by Irv Hoerr, the defending series champion. The Oldsmobile Aurora completed 641 laps and placed seventh overall in the race, in which three types of cars race on the same track but for different trophies and prize money. The GTS-2 winner was the Porsche 911 team with Enzo Calderari at the wheel in the final laps. The European team finished fourth overall, just missing the record of third for the best-ever finish by a GTS-2 car in this event. It was the third straight Daytona title for Richter. Papis teamed with Gianpiero Moretti, Bob Wollek and Didier Theys, who had put the MOMO/Yokohama Ferrari on the pole during qualifying. But the Oldsmobile had held the lead for much of the final hours and appeared to be headed for an easy victory, especially after Wollek collided with the winning GTS-2 car while entering a chicane this morning. But Taylor, nursing a car with no second gear and damaged fuel system, managed to hold off the Ferrari for the win. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Teams Racing teams include FACTORY-BACKED efforts from Dodge, Oldsmobile, Mazda, Porsche, Ferrari, and BMW. Many established PRIVATE teams run Chevrolets, Dodges, Fords, Mazdas, Porsches and others in the country's premier production-based series. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The top 10 finishers, in all categories: No. 4, WSC, Danka/Konica/Oldsmobile R&S MK-III Wayne Taylor, Altamonte Springs, FL; Scott Sharp, Norwalk, CT; Jim Pace, Jackson, MS; Total laps: 697 No. 30, WSC, MOMO/Yokohama/Ferrari 333SP Gianpiero Moretti, Milan, Italy; Bob Wollek, Strasbourg, France; Didier Theys, Brussels, Belgium; Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, CA; Total laps: 697 No. 63, WSC, Mazda Kudzu DLM Jim Downing, Atlanta, GA; Butch Hamlet, Martinsville, VA; Tim McAdam, Vail, CO; Barry Waddell, Evansville, IN; Total laps: 649 No. 55, GTS-2, Porsche 911 Lilian Bryner, Montagnola; Enzo Calderari, Biel, Switzerland; Ulrich Richter, Essen, Germany; Total laps: 649 No. 43, WSC, Payne Racing/Oldsmobile R&S MK-III Lee Payne, Stilwell, KS; Ross Bentley, British Columbia, Canada Franck Freon, Philadelphia, PA; Don Kitch, Seattle, WA; Total laps: 645 No. 78, GTS-2, Porsche 911 Richard Raimist, La Jolla, CA; Mike Doolin, Sandy, UT; Cort Wagner, Los Angeles, CA; Steve Dente, San Diego, CA; Total laps: 641 No. 5, GTS-1, Oldsmobile Aurora Irv Hoerr, Peoria, IL; Darin Brassfield, Monte Sereno, CA; Rob Morgan, Conway, AR; Joe Pezza, Locust Valley, NY; Jon Gooding, Longwood, FL; Charles Morgan, Conway, AR; total laps: 641 No. 6, GTS-1, Yokohama/Ford Mustang Eduardo Dibos, Lima, Peru; Raul Orlandini, Lima, Peru; Jorge Koechlin, Huacho, Peru;Juan Dibos, Lima, Peru; Boris Said, Carlsbad, CA; Total laps: 639 No. 06, GTS-2, BMW M3 David Donohue, Malvern, PA; John Paul, Jr., West Palm Beach, FL; Javier Quiros, San Jose, Costa Rica; Bill Adams, Richmond, VA; Total laps: 638 No. 41, GTS-2, Porsche 911 Franco La Rosa, Belgium; Kurt Thiers, Belgium; Michel Neugarten, Belgium; Kurt Dujardin, Belgium; Total laps: 608 --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGU00060 Date: 12/24/97 From: ALAN MORRISON Time: 12:04am \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Mercedes A-Class Industry News / Editor Views Mercedes Makes Amends November-- After staff members at a Swedish car magazine flipped the much-ballyhooed Mercedes-Benz A-Class last fall, M-B damage control officials went on red alert. First claiming that the A-Class's tires were at fault, Mercedes' engineers admitted defeat on Tuesday, November 11th, deciding to suspend production of the car, retune the A-Class's chassis, and lower its ride height in an effort to make their tall, upright car safer during high-speed direction changes. Ironically, the announcement came only hours before it A-Class was awarded the "Golden Steering Wheel" for the best new car by Bildam Sonntag, a German weekly newspaper. Mercedes has been praised for their forthright attempt to confront this matter. Unlike many manufacturers, which traditionally sweep their safety shortcoming under the carpet, Mercedes has made a commitment to keeping their customers informed about the nature of the problem and how they intend to solve it. The nearly 2,600 customers that have taken delivery of the A-Class, which went on sale in Europe in mid-October, will be given replacement Mercedes until their cars are fixed. In an attempt to further redeem themselves, Mercedes will be fitting all of their A-Class cars with Electronic Slip Protection (ESP) as an added measure of safety. ESP is a traction control system that reduces wheel spin in wet and icy conditions. Technology of this level is not typically seen as standard equipment on subcompact cars. Nevertheless, the news is bad news for Mercedes and their parent company Daimler-Benz, which touted the A-Class as being as safe as their E-Class sedans. This announcement has already caused financial institutions to lower their expectations of Daimler-Benz's fourth-quarter financial performance, thereby prompting a minor sell-off of Daimler-Benz stock. --- Blue Wave/386 v2.20 [NR] * Origin: River Canyon Rd. BBS Chattanooga, Tn (1:362/627) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGU00061 Date: 12/24/97 From: JASON WEDEHASE Time: 08:14pm \/To: KENNY HENDERSON (Read 0 times) Subj: nevermind Kenny Henderson told the story like this: JW> DW> Nah... LT1 makes about the same power as the Cobra... And I'd prefer JW> Huh? KH> Whats confusing about that? Some of the wrong parts were clipped. my "huh" was to someone saying they wanted to put an LT1 in a Cobra. That's simply ridiculous, I think. Jason Wedehase strife66@Psynet.net http://www.Psynet.net/strife66 ... Give me ambiguity, or give me something else. ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 --- QScan/PCB v1.19b / 01-0154 * Origin: MicroLink BBS * Dinuba, CA 209-591-8753 (1:214/80) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGU00062 Date: 12/24/97 From: JASON WEDEHASE Time: 08:14pm \/To: TOM WALKER (Read 0 times) Subj: American Sports Car Tom Walker told the story like this: TW> And Incidentally IF, And that is a big IF, I had the Money I would go TW> for the Vette myself. It is a beautiful car. The Viper on the other TW> hand is as they say "Double Ugly"!! You don't like how it looks? I thin k it's an amazingly beautiful car, and probably the best looking car I've ever seen on teh STREET. (I've seen some neat stuff at shows). Jason Wedehase strife66@Psynet.net http://www.Psynet.net/strife66 ... Jesus saves, passes to Moses. He shoots...SCORE!!!! ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 --- QScan/PCB v1.19b / 01-0154 * Origin: MicroLink BBS * Dinuba, CA 209-591-8753 (1:214/80) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGU00063 Date: 12/24/97 From: JASON WEDEHASE Time: 08:14pm \/To: KENNY HENDERSON (Read 0 times) Subj: weight Kenny Henderson told the story like this: KH> A Supra Turbo is 3450 and a 300ZX TT is somewhere around there as KH> well. The NSX is quite light, right around 3000 lbs if I remember KH> correctly. The RX7 is very light, something like 2700 lbs. KH> Mitsubishi's 3000GT VR4 is a portly 3950lbs.... And my '66 Fairlane, all metal, is 3100 lbs. Ah, the wonders of simplicity and no crumple zones or safety features. Jason Wedehase strife66@Psynet.net http://www.Psynet.net/strife66 ... Once I thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken. ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 --- QScan/PCB v1.19b / 01-0154 * Origin: MicroLink BBS * Dinuba, CA 209-591-8753 (1:214/80) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGU00064 Date: 12/24/97 From: JASON WEDEHASE Time: 08:14pm \/To: KENNY HENDERSON (Read 0 times) Subj: Forced Induction Kenny Henderson told the story like this: KH> Forced induction has given cubes a serious run for the money:) Need it be said AGAIN?! Do the same to the high cube motor! Then let's talk about it! "My supercharged, nitrous boosted, twin turbo, modified and shifting at 12K RPM 4 cylinder can beat your stock V8." Well, darnit, for $45 trillion dollars difference, I most certainly hope so! Jason Wedehase strife66@Psynet.net http://www.Psynet.net/strife66 ... Resistance is futile if less than one ohm. ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 --- QScan/PCB v1.19b / 01-0154 * Origin: MicroLink BBS * Dinuba, CA 209-591-8753 (1:214/80) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: EGU00065 Date: 12/24/97 From: JASON WEDEHASE Time: 08:14pm \/To: KENNY HENDERSON (Read 0 times) Subj: Stupid Mopar Kenny Henderson told the story like this: KH> I think some of their newer stuff is nice looking, like the Avenger. KH> They just ruin it by putting weak engines in everything. I was at a Dodge dealer recently. The only thing available with a V8 is a truck, and the only thign with RWD is trucks and Viper. That annoys me. Also, with the Avenger, one of their very few good looking cars, there is a manual transmission option, but only if you get the 4 cylinder. No manual transmission is available in any V6, and in practically any Mopar at all, for that matter. Mopar has now come to mean "Front Wheel Drive V6." It's old, monotonous, and boring. Jason Wedehase strife66@Psynet.net http://www.Psynet.net/strife66 ... Futility is futile. ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 --- QScan/PCB v1.19b / 01-0154 * Origin: MicroLink BBS * Dinuba, CA 209-591-8753 (1:214/80)