Car FYI

Photo Credit: Chevrolet When the green flag flies for the 2018 Daytona 500, Chevrolet's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams will officially unleash their newest weapon of choice against the returning Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion. Replacing the oddball yet successful Chevrolet SS sedan (an Australian import that was only sold in the United States), the Camaro ZL1 marks the first time since 2007 that the 'Bowtie Brigade' will be represented by a two-door production vehicle in the Cup Series. The Camaro co-ordinates with Chevrolet's existing model used in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2013. Besides conforming to different series rules, the bodies stand apart as the Xfinity Series uses the Camaro SS while the Camaro ZL1 is being used in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. While the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 enters as a completely-new race vehicle in NASCAR's top division in 2018, it may surprise even keen observers and fans of the sport that the Camaro...

Photo Credit: Chevrolet  When 2018 arrives, the Corvette will enter its 65th year as Chevrolet’s sweetheart sports car. Living a lifetime marked by both prosperity and adversity, the Chevrolet Corvette underwent adjustments through seven generations as culture assesses the modern automobile. The increase reliance on electrification, fuel management and customers favouring other vehicle types has resulted in a global auto market that may not be kind to a rear-wheel drive, V-8 engined sports car. When the 638-horsepower Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 was released between 2009 to 2013 there were even thoughts that classic American sports car philosophies would not translate into succeeding examples of the vehicle. Some of this concern was alleviated by the roll-out of the seventh generation Chevrolet Corvette and the Z06 featuring 650 horsepower of old-fashioned performance greatness. Proceeding into the 2019 model year, the future of the automobile will involve Corvette’s most treas...

Photo Credit: Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 aficionados in recent seasons have been witnessing a renaissance of the Silver Arrows in a manner not seen since the 1950s. Returning to the series as a constructor in 2010, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula 1 team hit a masterful stride in the prestigious open wheel racing tour in 2014 when a new series mandate for a hybrid gasoline/electric powerplant came to fruition. As of September 12th of 2017, the Mercedes-AMG team has taken victory in 60 of the 72 events since the current hybrid power unit specifications came into effect. As is the case with any automaker who uses motorsports to define their brand, Mercedes-Benz’s performance division naturally wants to directly transfer success on the track to the street. A single-passenger, open-wheel race car designed to run a main feature race no longer than two hours is starkly different from a production vehicle seemingly limits the amount of technology that could be shared. Unveil...

Photo Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field was set on Saturday night at Richmond Raceway. In a reformed ‘playoff’ format, 16 drivers qualified to compete for an all-new trophy through the final 10 races of the season. Announcing that the 2017 season will be his last full-time effort in the Cup series, Dale Earnhardt Jr would have been a fan favourite part of the playoff. While the #88 Chevrolet owned by Hendrick Motorsports has struggled through a large portion of the 2017 tour, there was still a longshot hope the driver could transfer with a win at the 400-mile Richmond race. Making a bold gamble in waiting for a caution to gain track position, the Hail Mary shot did not work. Out of the playoff fight in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Earnhardt Jr career will apparently not include an overall championship. Dale Earnhardt Sr’s record-tying seven Winston Cup titles remained a weight that many fans and critics used to assess his...

Photo Credit: Porsche AG Typically when production for an automobile concludes, we can practically etch the number of vehicles assembled in stone. Especially with limited production vehicles, the final total is entrusted to be a key ingredient towards establishing the linage of a specific car. While it is possible to copy or imitate a popular vehicle (with varying levels of success), circumstances have also seen honest additions to the existing real-world count of the authentic automobile model comes years after a production wrap. Think if you have assembled a puzzle your grandparents bought in the 1960s (assuming you'll have all the pieces available by some miracle). Would you classify the finished puzzle as an all-new product? Expressing the age of its pieces as the age of the final product, individuals reconstructing a unique unbuilt vehicle as well as even automakers themselves have expanded their original production canon. Often using original production parts or other ...

Photo Credit: Volkswagen AG During the late 1960s, the classic Volkswagen Microbus was recognized as a staple with the Flower Power culture and the early figures leading to the current environmental-minded motions. Driven or ridden in by individuals of vision almost fifty years ago, Volkswagen Group has heeded calls towards greener motoring. Intent to have one million of their vehicles per year sold powered by an electric powertrain by 2025, Volkswagen had already pledged to construct a production version of last year’s I.D. Electric concept car for 2020. Coming shortly after the unveiling of the compact all-electric vehicle, the German auto giant wildly imagined one of their most celebrated shapes adhering to their vision for the fast-approaching future. Premiering at the 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Volkswagen I.D. BUZZ concept car explored the versatility afforded through an electrified powertrain. Styling of the electric concept car  wise...

Photo Credit: Infiniti Motor Company Ltd. How many of us have envisioned ourselves in a different time or place. To see or relive a moment in history in a manner you would not think possible or perhaps to be present with those we admire or love is to many the ultimate form of exploration. While time travelling is yet to be realized, many of us find ways to capture the essence of the past. This can be quite a difficult feat for those birth came after a time period. Automotive design has been no stranger to recompile their past for a future creation. At the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, one corporate attendee chose to show up in a mid-20th century costume. A youngish brand born in 1989, Infiniti introduced a 1940s-1950s inspired concept car melding the past, present and future. Photo Credit: Infiniti Motor Company Ltd. Classical in appearance, the Infiniti Prototype 9 is a vehicle that adapts its own image to a historical era of motor racing. The Prototype 9...