Twelve mostly oval drivers paid a visit to the occupant of the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon.
Those drivers from NASCAR's 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup had a meet and greet with United States President Barack Obama and the quips were flying.
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| Tony Stewart, 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, and Barack Obama, President of the United States of America. (Photo: NASCAR) |
The event took place on the South Lawn as the President thanked NASCAR officials for their continuing hard work and support of the military.
He also lauded Carl Edwards sportsmanship - handling his runner up finish on a tie-breaker to the 2011 and three-time Sprint Cup Champ Tony Stewart. "Everybody who saw Carl after the race — it was a great lesson in how you handle disappointment with grace and with class," Obama said. "He's a outstanding representative for all of NASCAR."
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| Tony Stewart and Barack Obama. (Photo: NASCAR) |
President Obama remarks to Stewart praised the grit needed to comeback from a slow start and capture the title by maximum performance.
"Nobody saw it coming," said President Obama. "We've all heard about athletes who say they're going to do what it takes to win it all, but back in August with the season winding down, Tony predicted he wouldn't be able to pull it off. In fact, he said if he did end up winning the championship, and this is a quote, ‘I'll declare I'm a total bumbling idiot.' But I think Tony's hero, the great AJ Foyt, put it best when he said the reason Tony won is because ‘he drove the best race of his life, period'."
All of the competitors were treated to a special tour of the Presidential residence.
From GMM
Dr Helmut Marko has aimed fire at F1's new rules for 2012, claiming they were devised "deliberately"
to end the era of Red Bull dominance.
"We no longer have the superiority that we had last year. This is due to several technical changes that were introduced deliberately against Red Bull," the energy drink owned team's Austrian consultant acknowledged on
Servus TV this week.
He conceded that the new rules apply to every team, but is clearly suggesting that the exhaust blown diffuser clampdown, and the tougher rigidity tests for the front wings, were devised with Sebastian Vettel's utter dominance of the 2011 season in mind.
"But that is not an excuse for our car not being at the level it should be at," Dr Helmut Marko insisted.
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| Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull. (Photo: WRi2) |
The rear-drive performance sedan isn't a favorite mode of transportation with most cold-blooded Canadians travelling in the winter. Often considered ‘slippery', ‘scary' or ‘unstable', many shoppers dealing with snowy roads avoid rear-drive cars in favor of front or all-wheel-driven models.
But RWD can be beautiful to drive in the snow - let alone all year round. More balance, more steering feel, more agility and livelier overall handling are some of the reasons why.
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| Photo: Justin Pritchard/Auto123.com |
These are all attributes delivered, to varying degrees, by the
Hyundai Genesis 5.0 R-Spec - one of the Korean automaker's latest models which intends to give pricier European and Japanese models a run for their money.
The R-Spec is big, heavy, and has the better part of 429 horsepower attacking its rear wheels. In late fall, your writer was tasked with evaluating this Korean power-sedan's operation over the course of a winter in Northern Ontario.
Assigned to me for use only in nasty weather, the R-Spec spent many days parked in my driveway until heavy snow accumulations called it into action.
Spring has now sprung across Canada - and I've done what many in the Canadian auto marketplace think is seemingly impossible. I survived the winter north of the ‘Snow Belt' in a rear-drive, V8-powered sedan.
Driven carefully and operated with appropriate tires, this isn't a car you need to skip if you live in the North. Here are some observations from my 4-month, 6,000-km winter test.
- The Genesis's Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system is fast-acting and diligent. There's no worrying about how softly to apply the throttle on snow and ice - as even a slight amount of wheelspin numbs the throttle and reduces power output. Enough slippage is permitted to get moving through deeper snow at low speeds, though during cruising, even slight losses of traction are detected and neutralized instantly. Often times, the ‘ESC' indicator illuminates in the cluster before drivers even realize they've lost traction.
- Smooth performance is the name of the R-Spec's game. World-class levels of quiet and refinement are present here. Even when cruising through snow gently, or spinning the wheels to clear the snow-plow hump at the end of a driveway, minimal noise or harshness are transmitted to the cabin. And since the R-Spec is comfortable and quiet, it's an easy car to operate in a state of elevated relaxation when required by nasty weather.
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| Photo: Justin Pritchard/Auto123.com |
- I managed to get the R-Spec stuck twice. Both times involved fairly deep snow left behind by snowplows, combined with too low a speed to escape them. A little shoveling and a few handfuls of sand were sufficient to free the car. Many front-wheel drive vehicles would have gotten similarly ‘hung up' in the same situation - though Genesis drivers are advised to exercise a little caution in placement of their rear wheels when parking in deep snow, especially on an upward incline.
- Decades ago, older rear-drive cars were front-heavy, more frightening and more ‘slippery' in the snow. Nowadays, rear-drive cars have a weight balance closer to 50/50, meaning more weight and traction at the rear end. The Genesis R-Spec is one such car.
- The washer-fluid reservoir readily accepts a full jug of windshield juice.
- Winter tires were fitted to the tester. Potential shoppers are advised strongly to invest in a set. My favorites include Pirelli Sottozero and Michelin X-Ice. A good winter tire will give all electronic aid systems more traction to work with, dramatically increasing overall performance and safety. A fellow Genesis owner I met at the local gas station complained of low traction in his 2011 Genesis V6, though he was using all-season rubber.
- The 5.0L V8 heats up relatively quickly, providing cabin heat in 2 or 3 minutes even in extreme cold. High-visibility LED taillights cut through snow and fog easily as well, as do the xenon projectors up front. I did wish for a headlight washer system, though. Heated seats are powerful, and the heated steering wheel was a welcomed touch.
- The ESC system is fully defeatable with a single button press, should owners wish to partake in a little donut action on a frozen lake or empty parking lot. Just saying.
The owners of the German chemical plant where an explosion led to the shortage of a key automotive resin material said it will be at least three months before it can return to normal production.
The owners of the German chemical plant where an explosion led to the shortage of a key automotive resin material said it will be at least three months before it can return to normal production.
TRW Automotive Holdings says it received orders for its electric park brake technology from three major North American automakers.
Audi has lifted the veil on a production-based concept from its quattro performance division that previews a range-topping variant of the Q3 for European markets.
The 2013 Dodge Dart compact is priced to compete, but much of the car's success depends on its reliability, automotive analysts say.
Private equity firm Carlyle Group is looking to sell auto parts supplier Metaldyne and hopes to fetch as much as $1 billion as it cashes in on a strong recovery in vehicle production volumes, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Ford RS200. Ferrari 250 GTO. Opel Manta 400. Chevrolet Camaro Z28. Dodge Charger Daytona.
Also in this episode: Sticker prices are set for the 2013 Dodge Dart, Volkswagen is ready to buy
Honda said it will start the world's first mass-production process to extract rare earth metals from used car parts and recycle the expensive materials mainly controlled by China.
Just by means of a preamble, I clearly don't expect when ringing either the French President's office in Paris or the British Business Secretary's equivalent in London, to be immediately rushed the minutes of their various meetings by high-speed courier.
Ladies and gentlemen, you have three more days to register for the Autoweek VIP Race Weekend Experience.
On April 17, 1964, at the World's Fair in New York, Henry Ford II brought the world its first pony car, the Ford Mustang.
Lada has said it was ending production one of its classic 1982 models after sales shrank for a vehicle that was dated from the moment it was introduced.
MG Motor has revealed sketches of its latest concept car, the Icon.
General Motors' Australian unit Holden will develop at least two new car models for China after sealing a deal with GM's Chinese partner.
Hardline Fiat union, FIOM, is to appeal against a swathe of rulings imposed by the Labour Court of Turin as it looks to secure union recognition at the automaker's Italian plants.
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