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| Cockpit, Ferrari 290 Mille Miglia |
Joe Walsh, the rock guitarist, has a comeback CD out called Analog Man. It doesn't impress me much, including the title track of the same name. But like Joe, "I'm an analog man." This is what you should see when you climb behind the wheel of your steed, be it a race car or your daily driver.
I don't want a flat screen display shooting me alerts on a need-to-know basis. I want to be involved with the car. Show me the revs (the tach should be the center gauge, and big), water and oil temperature, amps, and fuel level. And none of those clever ribbon gauges with disappearing (or appearing) dots, please. Or digital displays. Black dial faces, white markings, needle pointers...pointing..., soft red lighting at night.
And look at that shift gate! A work of art. Electronically-controlled paddle shifters make a ham-fisted driver look like a pro. But that's the point: double-clutching a heel-and-toe downshift takes some skill. You have to manage the controls and the car, not just pull/push a lever.
Yes, that steering wheel is atop a javelin pointed at your vital organs. Is it more classy than a plastic-encased air-bag? Does it invite you to drive the car?
Electronics have made cars more efficient, reliable, and cleaner. The engine in my Honda Civic Si is the best one I've driven: powerful and smooth from 800 to 8000 revs. I wouldn't trade it for a carbureted one, or those terrible first and second generation fuel-injected engines. But I'm glad the car doesn't have paddle shifters, and I'd like a dash that looks like this.
7 comments:
Cept for tyre strategy Alonso should have won today !
Soft tyres went off and Webber pounced !
Comment had nothing to do with the post cept for the Ferrari photo.
Yeah, if its in the car, Alonso will get it out. Do you remember that drive where he held off Schumacher's Ferrari for LAPS a few years ago, when he was coming up?
I haven't figured this season out. Red Bull implodes, Ferrari qualifies crappy but shines in the race, Hamilton qualifies well and then his stops and and own mistakes screw him.
Looks like nobody but Alonso wants to win it!
Not a Hamo fan. Petulance is his downfall I think.
Hey, RC 51 Mark, thanks for the posts!
Yeah, Hamo doesn't deal with adversity well. Changed his agent, changed his girlfriend. On the other hand, "It ain't your father's McLaren" (Ron Dennis era). The pit stop and strategy f*** u*s are kinda amazing.
Generally, I don't mind drivers with their hearts on their sleeves. Mansell and Mario Andretti were whiners too.
Too much money sloshing around, and Bernie Ecclestone needs to let some new blood in and go Emeritus.
I am a Chelsea football fan so now I have to support Sauber too ! Given their longevity in the sport I do not have much of a problem with that and I think Perez has a good future [in whatever team] if handled right.
BTW, what does Sauber have to do with Chelsea?
I should stop asking these naive questions. Found out today that Audi owns Ducati. Audi owns EVERYTHING over there, like JP Morgan Chase does over here.
It would not surprise me to learn that Dr. Evil is running the whole show from a bunker in Switzerland. ;-)
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