Tech Talk: Does F1 have a sustainable future?

Tech Talk: Does F1 have a sustainable future?

Tue Jan 05 01:02PM

As the new decade dawns, Formula One's eyes are on a sustainable future - but after the debacle of KERS how can the sport's engineers approach the demands for environmentally friendly racing?

In the great scheme of things, Formula One's collective emissions are miniscule, yet the involvement of global corporations that are seen to be causing harm to the planet creates a dark cloud over the sport.

While it could be argued F1 is so influential, with so many fans around the world, that it is an ideal vehicle for the promotion of sustainability issues, Honda's ‘Earth Dreams' car, which aimed to do just this, proved it is impossible to get such a message across when the perception of the sport is one of fuel-guzzling gluttony.

The KERS system aimed to change that, with the introduction of ‘hybrid power' that would allow car manufacturers to use F1 to develop ways of reducing fuel consumption in road cars by taking energy from braking, storing it and converting it to forward power when required.

It was a good concept, but it was activated poorly and the way in which F1 used it gave the wrong impression. Rather than requiring all teams to use the system to provide a proportion of the car's overall maximum power, and therefore reducing fuel consumption, it was instead used to provide an extra power boost over and above the standard power output.

In the end, it proved too expensive even for F1 teams to develop as the systems the engineers created used technology that had a severely short lifetime and cost hundreds of thousands of pounds per race. It was, ultimately, a casualty of the cost versus technology debate that the sport is now facing up to faster than ever.

To counter this, FIA chief Jean Todt is demanding action. Aware that the sport must change the way it is perceived (currently being singled out as an environmental disaster) he has installed his old engine chief from Ferrari, Gilles Simon, to lead a new working group investigating how F1 can become greener on a budget.

Back in 2008, Ross Brawn, then working for Honda, said: "The great thing about competitive motorsport is it accelerates development...F1 should certainly be looking to introduce further environmentally-focused regulations in future. To develop hybrid and heat recovery technologies which can then be used on road cars demonstrates that F1 can play an important role in developing energy efficient and environmentally friendly technologies."

But F1 has suffered in the last two seasons from the departure of three key environmentally focused car manufacturers - BMW, Toyota and Honda - all of which had been keen to progress and promote the energy efficiency of their road cars through Formula One.

Understandably, since the ‘global financial meltdown' they seem to have decided the hundreds of millions they were spending on high-tech F1 technology could be better spent creating concept vehicles that focus on road car engineering solutions that can be fast-tracked into production.

So perhaps the highest point on the working group's agenda is now the investigation of new energies, and the fuel companies - which seem to be showing solid commitment to the sport - could be the key.

Formula One engines already run on part bio fuel but that is only a small token of what could be achieved. And with three of F1's new privateers - Richard Branson (Virgin Racing/Virgin Airways), Tony Fernandes (Lotus F1/AirAsia) and Vijay Mallya (Force India/Kingfisher) also involved in the aircraft industry, any cross-over opportunities for future fuels could become a goldmine.

Branson was pushing ‘clean fuel' when Virgin first teamed up with BrawnGP last year and although that has all gone very quiet in recent months, the use of F1 to promote this kind of technology would surely be enticing for the oil companies around the world.

It's hard to see these global giants collaborating to develop future fuels, however, so how long will it be before F1 begins to explore the possibility of a single fuel supplier? Perhaps that is the way F1 could start to build an environmentally friendly future.

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Ferrari Driving Experiences

Ferrari Driving ExperiencesSubmitted by Patrick McAleenan on 5th Jan 2010 11:26:17

 

Ferrari... Is there really any more to say? The word Ferrari is one of those universal brands. Almost everyone knows what it means and almost everyone can picture that flash of red roaring through twisty mountain roads.

Ferrari is at the very pinnacle of the motoring world. Those that are fortunate enough to be rich enough to own a Ferrari of their own must certainly feel a sense of importance and success emanating from the car regardless of its worth. Not everyone can experience this feeling on a day-to-day basis of course and that's life. There is however, a better feeling. A feeling that anyone who seeks it can experience if they so wish.

What many people really want to do is get behind the wheel of one of these iconic red masterpieces and blast it full throttle around a race track of their choice for a tiny fraction of the cost of owning a Ferrari for themselves. Look at it this way: upwards of £100,000 will give you the chance of driving a Ferrari around your neighbourhood to the shops to get some milk, but is that really what a Ferrari is for?

Certainly not, a Ferrari needs to be unleashed into it's natural habitat, the race track, with you at the wheel. Ferrari driving experiences are therefore amongst the most popular driving experiences available.

Should you decide to take the opportunity to floor a raging Ferrari around a race track, you will be spoilt for choice regarding the location for this experience. Many companies offer a range of nationwide locations at which Ferrari driving is available so it is a relatively simple task to find somewhere suitable and quite close by. The restrictions as to who can drive one of these cars varies between experience providers but it is generally the case that you need to be in good general health and hold a valid driving licence.

When you arrive you will be greeted and will attend a safety briefing. That should be a comforting statement bearing in mind that a 400bhp super car will be waiting for you to put the pedal to the metal. The briefing will let you know about the specific rules of the track and the conduct required of you. It's not all boring though, because you are then taught the basic principles of how to handle such a high powered car 'in anger' whilst sticking to the racing line of the track (the racing line is the quickest route around the track).

An instructor will then take you for a spin around the track in a sports hatchback so that you can get used to the forces involved in driving quickly whilst someone else is at the wheel. This will also help you to visualise what you were previously taught to ensure that you are properly equipped to handle the Ferrari. What happens next is really down to the individual company and the track at which the experience is booked. At some locations you will next be taken in a Porsche Cayman or an equivalent car so that you can get used to the track and the feel of speed first hand.

This type of car is certainly no slouch, with typically some 250bhp available at the ball of your right foot and to anyone who has perhaps only ever driven family cars this might come as quite of a shock. Once you have had a few laps of the track and have started to refine your racing line you will get straight out of the car and your instructor will hand you a key. Printed on this key will be a horse rearing up on its hind legs on a yellow background; the key to a Ferrari.

The Ferrari's available on these experience days are most commonly the Ferrari 360 which was produced from 1999 to 2005 or the 360's predecessor, the 355. If you found the 250bhp car a little wild, you are sure to find one of these Ferrari's quite exhilarating indeed. Words simply cannot describe this experience.

People often approach the concept of a super car experience day with the mindset that the instructor, who is placed in the with you, is there to ensure that you don't go too crazy and break the car. Whilst this is to some extent true - your safety is their primary focus - those who experience a thrill ride in a Ferrari will often find that the only thing restricting them from going quicker is their own confidence.

It is very often the case that the instructor will be suggesting ways in which you can increase your speed and cornering ability rather than trying to slow you down. The instructors are professionals and are usually racing drivers themselves so you will probably have a hard time trying to push hard enough to make them break a sweat. You will certainly have no trouble with having an exhilarating drive at the wheel of a Ferrari.

It's not quite over yet. At many circuits you will then go straight from the main event (the Ferrari drive) into a further car. This is likely to be something of a racing thoroughbred such as a Formula Renault, which is the younger sibling to a Formula 1 car. These things stick to the road and corner like go-karts but offer the speed of a sports car. This is the chance for you to drive around the track with no instructor at your side because this type of car is almost invariably a single seater so it will just be you, the car and the track...very, very quickly!

A Ferrari driving experience is certainly something that everyone should consider, if not for themselves then perhaps for a loved one. It is one of the most spectacular feelings that a person can experience and that feeling is by no means out of reach of most peoples' pockets.

Media Contact InformationName: Patrick McAleenan
Website: http://www.redletterdays.co.uk/Experience/Driving
Email: search@redletterdays.co.uk
Phone: 0845 640 8000
Address: Red Letter Days Ltd
77 Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill
London
City: London
County/State: London
Postcode/ZIP:
Country: United Kingdom

Santa loves white Xmas

ON reflection 2009 was undoubtedly the year of the Koreans. The Hyundai/Kia group overtook Ford to become the fourth biggest-selling car company in the world - behind Toyota, General Motors and VW - with sales up by 11 per cent to 3.1million.

It was an incredible 12 months in the UK as Hyundai sales more than doubled, with 56,725 sold compared to 28,036 in 2008.

That is an all-time sales record in the UK - the best figure previously was 37,611 (2004).

It represents a jump in sales up by 102 per cent, some feat considering the overall market in the UK last year finished around eight per cent down.

The big successes for Hyundai were their small cars i10 and i20 which soared with the Scrappage scheme - the i10 even became the biggest-selling small car in the UK (24,577), outselling Ford Ka (22,606) and Fiat 500 (24,287). Do you know the way to Santa Fe? ... Phil tests the route around Ayrshire

While they're still on a Hy... the Koreans are certainly hoping to build on that boom in 2010 starting with their new Santa Fe 4x4 which is in showrooms this month and is followed by their slighty smaller SUV iX35 due out in March, priced around �16,000.

Hyundai's little cars may have been the stars over the past 12 months, but their Santa has given them sales by the sackful since the current version arrived three years ago with 10,000 sales.

I've just had a first UK drive of the new Santa Fe, which has been given a major facelift inside and out, with a more powerful and efficient diesel engine and a little cosmetic surgery.

And this Santa was perfect for a white Christmas as it coped with all the snow, ice and freezing temperatures more akin to Moscow - so that's where we tested it to its maximum.

Of course, our Moscow was the one in east Ayrshire, which is probably TOUGHER than the school run in Siberia right now.

The good news is that Hyundai haven't hyped up the price.

It's still good value, starting from �21,495, and the option of five or seven seats ensures the car has plenty of practical appeal.

Taiwan's automobile industry set for roaring good time

TAIPEI: Taiwan's supercar market is set for a roaring good time in 2010, with some automakers expecting a double-digit growth.

While the global automobile industry is still reeling from the economic downturn, the robust potential of Taiwan's luxury car market has fueled fierce competition between automakers.

To tap into this lucrative sector, five supercar makers showed off their latest hardware at the recent Taipei Autoshow.

"Taiwan has already been down since 2005 to 2007. The crisis came earlier here. And we expect Taiwan to recover more quickly than other markets," said Lars Pauly, vice-president of Sales & Marketing at Mercedes-Benz.

"In Europe, we only expect a recovery in 2011 or 2012. In Taiwan, I assume there'll be a recovery in 2010, and there has been already strong recovery in the fourth quarter this year."

The trend is evident, as sales of cars costing more than US$300,000 have been growing at two or even three-fold over the past few years.

In 2009 alone, over 40 Ferrari and 50 Maserati cars were registered in Taiwan. Supercar makers are now projecting a double-digit growth in 2010.

"The taxation makes Taiwan the second cheapest market for luxury cars in Asia," said Fabrice de Murat, president of Modena Motori Taiwan Co Ltd.

"We're cheaper than China and Hong Kong, so we believe a lot of potential customers will buy in Taiwan because it's very good value for them. I strongly believe the market will develop."

The dealers describe the pockets of Taiwanese luxury car buyers as "deep yet fathomable". They believe that the energy and potential of Taiwan's luxury car market have been accumulating for over 20 years, and now is the time to release it.

Domestic carmakers are also looking for a prosperous 2010, and are taking aim at buyers who are conscious of energy costs, cars with smaller engines, hybrid models, or those powered by electricity.

The bi-annual auto show attracted 25 automakers showcasing 30 different vehicle brands at the island's capital.

- CNA/yb

 

 

Miami-Dade clinic owner held on Medicare fraud charges

The Miami-Dade man hasn't held a steady job in more than a decade. Yet Ihosvany Marquez spent millions of dollars on a fleet of Lamborghinis, Bentleys and other luxury cars, along with thoroughbred horses and diamond jewelry, authorities say.

All with your tax dollars, they say.

Marquez, 38, was detained without bond Monday by a federal magistrate judge on charges of submitting $55 million in false claims to Medicare for bogus HIV and cancer services at his seven clinics in Miami-Dade and Orlando. The taxpayer-funded healthcare program paid Marquez and other partners in the alleged conspiracy about $22 million from 2005 to 2007, according to an indictment.

``This is an absolutely massive Medicare fraud scheme, even by Miami standards,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Stumphauzer said, pushing for no bond, noting that a suspect in a related case fled the country last year to avoid trial.

Marquez's lawyer, Michael Walsh, who entered a not guilty plea for his client, challenged the government's claim that his client would skip town. ``You don't think he's going to use one of these horses to flee?'' Walsh questioned an FBI agent on the witness stand.

``I don't think that's going to happen,'' FBI agent Avatar LeFevre said.

Magistrate Judge Barry Garber was not amused by Walsh's quip, saying that Marquez's expensive possessions, unemployment history and criminal charges ``would represent a substantial flight risk.''

Among Marquez's alleged purchases for himself, his wife and other family members: A Lamborghini Gallardo, a Lamborghini Murcielago, a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, two Bentley Continental GTs, two Mercedes Benz CL63s and at least six Mercedes Benz S550s -- all worth $2.7 million.

``He even bought a car for his personal trainer who helped him lose weight,'' said Stumphauzer, who is handling the case with prosecutor Daniel Bernstein.

Marquez also purchased more than a half-million dollars' worth of diamond jewelry, Rolex watches and other baubles from a Miami store, Stumphauzer said. In addition, Marquez bought more than $1 million in thoroughbred horses, he said.

Marquez is accused of operating six fraudulent Miami-Dade clinics -- including one called Tender Loving Care -- with partner Michel De Jesus Huarte.

Huarte was indicted separately in June on charges of submitting more than $50 million in bogus claims to Medicare for purported infusion therapy to treat patients with cancer, AIDS and varicose veins.

The partners are accused of laundering the Medicare payments through shell companies such as Babalu Telemarketing and Madreagua Construction -- named after Santeria saints.

Huarte, 38, has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced later this month.

The partners' infusion treatments, purportedly administered intravenously, were neither prescribed by doctors nor provided to patients, Stumphauzer said.

The partners recruited Cuban immigrants to pose as the owners of their clinics, ``with the understanding that the `straw' owners would flee to Cuba to avoid law enforcement detection or capture,'' according to the indictment filed against Huarte.

Among those said to have posed as a straw owner: Madelin Barbara Machado, 36, who ran Zigma Medical in Miami-Dade. In a separate 2008 indictment, she was charged with fraudulently billing Medicare more than $9 million for unnecessary HIV therapy and collecting $4.5 million. But Machado fled and is believed to be in Cuba, according to the FBI.

Among other straw-owner recruits: Juan Carralero, 56, and Orlin Tamayo Quinonez, 35. Carralero is suspected of having fled to Cuba and Tamayo to Ecuador.

Lord of the 'Ring: Return of the King

Pardon me for waxing Tolkienesque here, but I’m just beside myself counting the seconds before the five red lights go out in Melbourne this March to signal the start of the 2010 Formula 1 season.

To say that this year will be a humdinger of an F1 season is a gross understatement.

The off season, in fact, proved to be almost as dramatic as the whole 2009 racing season itself. We lost major players like BMW and Toyota as well as 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen (who defected to the World Rally Championship for 2010) and Renault F1 big boss Flavio Briatore (in a lifetime ban handed to him by the FIA for race-fixing at the 2008 Singapore GP).

We were already looking forward to the four new teams, the influx of which will create a mammoth 28-car grid (up from 20). But the big news isn’t from the new teams (Virgin Racing, Campos, US F1, and the Malaysia-owned Lotus).

The big news might have been the mesmerizing prospect of the hard-charging Fernando Alonso behind the wheel of a red Ferrari; the Spanish two-time champion having made the jump from Renault after last season.

The big news might also have been the prospect of seeing the two most recent world champions (both of which come from the same country, Britain) going head to head under the same team – McLaren-Mercedes.

Speaking of Mercedes, this brings me to the real big news: Michael Schumacher will come out of retirement to make a sensational Formula 1 return with Mercedes GP this year.

The deal reunites the legendary German with Ross Brawn, the man who masterminded all seven of his world titles with Benetton and Ferrari and who now runs Mercedes GP – after selling a majority of his Brawn F1 team to the German luxury carmaker late last year.

It is a spectacular coup for Mercedes-Benz, for which Schumacher drove sports and endurance racing cars just before entering F1 in 1991. It’s now an all-German team, with Schumacher, who turns 41 this month, partnering 24-year-old Nico Rosberg.

German newspaper Bild reports that Schumacher stands to earn approximately US$9.6 million in 2010. The deal is believed to be for just one year but is likely to include options to extend it if the comeback goes well.

Although he has always denied regretting the decision to hang up his helmet at the end of the 2006 season, it wasn’t long before he was testing Ferrari’s F1 cars again and dabbling in motorcycle racing, as well as remaining closely involved in the Scuderia as an F1 consultant.

When Felipe Massa was sidelined from the second half of the 2009 season after his qualifying accident at the Hungarian GP, Schumacher enthusiastically accepted Ferrari’s request that he substitute for his former team mate.

Unfortunately he had to abandon that comeback due to a lingering neck injury sustained in a motorcycle accident in February, leaving him “disappointed to the core.”

It was plain to see that Schumacher’s hunger for Formula 1 had been rekindled by the episode, and he was soon linked with Mercedes after the latter bought Brawn GP and new world champion Jenson Button created a vacancy by moving to McLaren.

What makes all these ominous to his F1 rivals – old and new – is that this father of two is not just “testing the waters;” the man is absolutely convinced that he is in contention for the world title this year. (He’s driving last year’s championship-winning car, remember?)

And despite having been on the sidelines for three years, Schumacher has already set his sights on an eighth title. “Mercedes GP represents a new challenge for me both in a sporting and a personal context,” he said.

“I am convinced that together we will be involved in the fight for the Formula 1 world championship next year and I am already looking forward to getting back onto the race track,” he said on his website in December.

“It is a new chapter in my racing career and I am really looking forward to working with my old friend Ross Brawn and my companions from my days with the Mercedes Junior Program,” he added.

Schumacher will be aiming to repeat what multiple world champions Niki Lauda and Alain Prost accomplished. Both retired from F1 only to return and win a further title apiece (in 1984 and 1993, respectively).

Mercedes played a key role in the formative stages of Schumacher’s career – signing him up to its young driver program in 1990, entering him in the world sports car championship and financing his F1 debut with Jordan in 1991.

But Schumacher’s meteoric rise once he made it into F1 meant he slipped out of Mercedes’s grasp and instead achieved most of his record-breaking feats with Ferrari.

Norbert Haug, who was the manager of Mercedes-Benz’s competition department when the company talent-spotted Schumacher, understandably took deep satisfaction from the announcement that the seven-time champion will leave retirement to race for his former patrons in F1.

“I am very much looking forward to working with Michael and everybody at Mercedes-Benz and Daimler extends a very warm welcome to our ‘apprentice’ of 19 years ago,” Haug said.

“That apprentice is now the most successful racing driver of all time,” he added.

Recalling Schumacher’s F1 debut in 1991, Haug said: “Mercedes-Benz helped him to this point and the rest is history: seven world championship titles, more than any racing driver; 91 grand prix wins, more than any racing driver. Michael has more of everything than every other driver.”

As part of the Mercedes Junior Program, Michael had raced in Group C sports cars and competed in a few DTM races.

Haug admitted Schumacher had proved elusive for Mercedes, alluding to three specific occasions when efforts to lure him back into the fold had failed. “We often joked about it after the races and discussed the prospect seriously several times during the last 14 years in Formula 1,” Haug said.

“It didn’t happen in 1995, it didn’t happen in 1998 and it didn’t happen in 2005.

“I am delighted that it will now happen in 2010.”

For me and perhaps a billion other F1 and Schumacher fans, “delighted” is an understatement.

Bring on Melbourne!

Here are a couple of your Backseat Driver reactions to last week’s “Of tricycles and highways”…

It’s good that you wrote an article about tricycles on the highways and traffic enforcers hiding and prowling instead of guiding unfamiliar motorists on avenues. These are also my concern when I go out on streets and highways. How long would our LGUs enforce the law and keep these tricycles out of the highways? I understand they are afraid to make the drivers angry and lose their votes. Could you raise our concerns to our friends in Congress? As to the greedy traffic enforces, I hope I could bring hitmen to exterminate these pests! – political will

This is a very old problem. There are tricycles on Laguna National Highway. There are tricycles from NLEX Sta. Rita exit up to the Cabanatuan stretch. Aside from their slow pace (around 20 to 30 kph), most of them are not well lit. Worst, some of them have defective headlights and tail lights. You’d consider yourself lucky to avoid them during night time. – dyekiboie

View previous articles of this column.

Honda Fit to Lexus GS450h, The Weekly Driver's Cars of the Year, 2009

Honda Fit to Lexus GS450h, The Weekly Driver’s Cars of the Year, 2009

Friends sometimes ask why The Weekly Driver (that’s me) doesn’t just review Ferrari or Lamborghini or Maserati. The answer: They’re all fine automobiles, but not too many people buy them. The Weekly Driver is all about “The Every Driver.”

Lots of car buyers purchase $15,000 cars or prefer SUVs and midsize sedans. Hybrids and sports cars are fun drives, but they still comprise niche market choices compared more popular choices — Honda Accord to Ford F-150 pick-ups to Toyota Camry. It’s these cars I’ve most often reviewed since 2003. In 2007, I began a Best-of-the-Year list.

Like during the list’s previous two editions,  I waited until the end of the year — the opposite approach of the major car publications.

The industry’s renowned magazines and web sites often select their lists to outdo each other. Sometimes, some of the cars chosen have just debuted or in some instances they’re not yet available to the public. How does that work?

Also, like the previous two editions of my Best-of-the-Year list, I only select from cars I’ve driven. I reviewed about 40 cars in 2007 and 32 new cars in 2008 — Audi to Volkswagen, BMW to Suzuki. In 2009, I reviewed 36 cars, all for one week each.

Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati are all wondrous works of art and all cost well into six figures. But I didn’t drive any of the high-end machines in 2009, so they can’t compare with cars on the 2009 Best of the Year list. They ranged in price from $12,090.00 to $60,705.00.

There’s no set formula or calculations for selecting the Best of the Year list. But value, innovation, reliability and workmanship are all factors. And sometimes, cars just feel right or just feel wrong.

Therefore, here in alphabetical order are The Weekly Driver’s top-10 cars of the year for 2009 with the price as driven and a brief comment from my original review.  I’ve also listed the 2008 and 2007 choices. Only the Honda Fit is on all three Best of the Year lists.

The Weekly Driver’s 2009 Cars of the Year

Acura TSX ($30,060) . . . “Six years after it was introduced, the Acura TSX remains an unheralded sedan that teeters the fine line between premium compact car and premium sports/performance vehicle.”

Audi A3 ($41,700.00) . . .  “It’s still a hatchback, but it’s versatile, it offers the signature Quattro (all-wheel-drive) system and it’s built with handsome, well-constructed material. How close can an entry level car also be considered a luxury automobile? The new A3 gets very close.”

BMW 335d ($43,900) . . .  “Can’t help but defer to the MotorTrend.com reviewer who wrote an epic line: ‘The 335d’s twin-turbo diesel growls like Tom Waits gargling Irish Cream.’ Perfect.”

Honda Civic Hybrid ($27,560) . . . “The Toyota Prius is the industry standard and it has its upside. But the Civic hybrid is more attractive and just as many standard features and functionality. It’s not going to win any drag races, but that’s not its purpose. It’s a well-designed hybrid that’s also classy with its leather trim and style upgrades for 2009. Is there a better eco-friendly car for the price?”

Honda Fit ($17,580) . . . “The best part of the Fit is its surprisingly nice drive. With its 117-horsepower engine, the car isn’t about to establish any speed records. And there’s a noticeable decrease in acceleration when the air conditioning is engaged. Yet, since it’s lightweight and efficiently constructed, the 2009 Fit moves around pretty swiftly, with 0-60 mph in about nine seconds.”

Infiniti G37 ($47,245) . . . “First Impression: How classy! Great exterior color (Amethyst Graphite) interior color (Graphite), beautiful body design, great dark wood interior trim. It looked proud and elegant in the driveway and everywhere else for that matter.”

Lexus GS450h ($60,705) . . . “It’s a heavy heavyweight in the premium sedan market. It features extraordinary technology, including some features other hybrids don’t offer. The GS 450h operates in gas-only or electric-only mode or a combination, for example, with little difference in performance but plenty of eco-friendly ambition.”

Lexus IS350 ($42,311) . . . “It’s a four-door sedan with a six-speed automatic transmission that advances with sports car speed. There’s a 306 horsepower V6 and the standard 0-60 mph test is performed in 5.6 seconds. How many sedans can match that?”

Nissan Versa ($12,090) . . . “No radio, no power windows, no power doors. Get over it. Air-conditioning and six airbags are standard, and that’s more important for a base vehicle. This is one hard car to beat for basic transportation. It’s surprisingly fun to drive and arguably the best vehicle available in the United States for the price.”

Toyota Corolla ($17,909) . . . “The 2009 Toyota Corolla isn’t a hybrid, nor does it boast any other high-tech refinement or embellished marketing campaigns. The Corolla remains what it’s always been — among the finest basic transportation cars ever made.”

The Weekly Driver’s 2009 Cars of the Year

Acura, TSX, Audi A3, BMW 335d, Honda Civic Hybrid, Honda Fit, Infiniti G37, Lexus GS450h, Lexus, IS350, Nissan Versa, Toyota Corolla.

The Weekly Driver’s 2008 Cars of the Year

Audi A4, Audi A8 W12, BMW 128i, Cadillac CTS, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Hybrid, Honda Fit, Kia Amanti, Mini-Cooper Clubman, Nissan Altima.

The Weekly Driver’s 2007 Cars of the Year

Cadillac CTS, Honda CR-V, Honda Fit, Honda Ridgeline, Hyundai Elantra, Lincoln MKZ, Mini-Cooper, Saab 9-3, Saturn Aura, Volkswagen EOS.

Related Car News and Reviews

Posted by James Raia on January 4, 2010.

Tags: Acura, BMW, Honda, Lexus, Nissan, Toyota

Categories: The Weekly Driver (News Service)