Trucks-SUVS / Formula One - Drivers And Constructors

Since 1984 Formula One teams have been required to build the chassis in which they compete, and consequently the terms "team" and "constructor" are more or less interchangeable. This requirement distinguishes the sport from series such as IRL, Champ Cars, and NASCAR, which allow teams to purchase chassis, and "spec series" such as GP2, which require all cars be kept to an identical specification. In its early years, Formula One teams sometimes also built their engines, though this became less common with the increased involvement of major car manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Toyota, and Honda, whose large budgets rendered privately built engines less competitive (and redundant). Early manufacturer involvement came in the form of a "factory team" (that is, one owned and staffed by a major car company), such as those of Alfa Romeo, Ferrari (FIAT) or Renault. Companies such as Climax, Repco, Cosworth, Hart, Judd and Supertec, which had no direct team affiliation, often sold engines to teams who could not afford to manufacture them. As the manufacturers' deep pockets and engineering ability took over, almost all engines are now produced by major manufacturers. After having virtually disappeared by the early 1980s, factory teams made a comeback in the 1990s and 2000s, and now form half the grid with Toyota, Ferrari (FIAT), Honda, Renault and BMW either setting up their own teams or buying out existing ones. Mercedes-Benz (DaimlerChrysler) owns 40% of the McLaren team and manufactures the team's engines. Commercial engine supplier Cosworth exited the sport at the end of 2006. Thus all the teams will run on factory supplied engines from 2007. The sport's 1950 debut season saw eighteen teams compete, but due to high costs many dropped out quickly. In fact, such was the scarcity of competitive cars for much of the first decade of Formula One that Formula Two cars were admitted to fill the grids. Ferrari is the only still-active team which competed in 1950, and as of 2006 eleven teams remain on the grid, each fielding two cars. Although teams rarely disclose information about their budgets, it is estimated that they range from US$66 million to US$400 million each. Entering a new team in the Formula One World Championship requires a £25 million (about US$47 million) up-front payment to the FIA, which is then repaid to the team over the course of the season. As a consequence, constructors desiring to enter Formula One often prefer to buy an existing team: B.A.R.'s purchase of Tyrrell and Midland's purchase of Jordan allowed both of these teams to sidestep the large deposit. Each car is assigned a number. The previous season's World Drivers' Champion is designated number 1, with his teammate given number 2. Numbers are then assigned according to each team's position in the previous season's World Constructors' Championship. There have been exceptions to this rule, such as in 1993 and 1994, when the current World Drivers' Champion (Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost, respectively) was no longer competing in Formula One. In this case the drivers for the team of the previous year's champion are given numbers 0 (Damon Hill, on both occasions) and 2 (Prost himself and Ayrton Senna - replaced after his death by David Coulthard and occasionally Nigel Mansell - respectively). The number 13 has not been used since 1974, before which it was occasionally assigned at the discretion of individual race organizers. Before 1996, only the world championship winning driver and his team generally swapped numbers with the previous champion – the remainder held their numbers from prior years, as they had been originally set at the start of the 1974 season. For many years, for example, Ferrari held numbers 27 & 28, regardless of their finishing position in the world championship. As privateer teams quickly folded in the early 1990s, numbers were frequently shuffled around, until the current system was adopted in 1996. Michael Schumacher holds the record for having won the most Drivers' Championships (seven) and Ferrari holds the record for having won the most Constructors' Championships (fourteen). Jochen Rindt became the only posthumous World Champion after a fatal accident at the 1970 Italian Grand Prix.

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Car review and newsReview of news on the market of cars becomes more incredible every month.
Here is a short description of greatest series production cars of last time.
The first member of rate is Astrum Meera is a new concept proposal conceived.
Design of car possesses several features that tap into the role of safety, sustainability and practicality. The exhaust of the car has built-in sensors whose purpose is to track the level of CO2 emissions, alerting the driver when they exceed the normal limit. The wheel rims work through magnetic levitation, like train wheels, making the car lighter and faster. The car's side mirrors retract within its body when parked, and they roll out as soon as the engine starts. They each have a build-in camera system, allowing driver to clearly see outside from inside the vehicle with ease.
New concept sport car from German car producer E-Wolf. E-Wolf unveils an EV supercar that’s so sporty. With a top speed of 155 miles per hour and a 0-60 acceleration that clocks in under four seconds, it has the performance to match its Italian playboy good looks, and its all-wheel drive, where each wheel is powered by an independent electric motor, should be able to keep all 2,000 pounds of it on the road. The Ford F650 is a super truck, appeared in 2000. The F650 is designed as a heavy hauler and is often used for towing or as a small dump truck. It is humongous! Its weight is about 160 tons, height is 3.5 meters – like a one-floor house! But then again, with a price tag of $60,000 up to infinity, it’s not like the standard home owner will possess one anyway.
Spyker Cars adopts new 'Swedish' name
Dutch automaker will rename itself Swedish Automobile NV as part of its deal with a Chinese investor
Car Reviews Automotive & Motoring News
Car News Test DrivesBefore you and me see new models of cars or modifications of old one, they pass through the stricked control in laboratories, garages, on streets and platforms. Everything thing is called test drives. There cars are tested on a great number of points – power, safety, control, easiness of driving, protect from damages and other features. Tests can be made not only for the whole car, but for its separate parts also – wheels, air bags, hardness of base, suitiness of wheels to the type of road, protect from temperature and many others. For each, even smallest detail, scientists have couple of test.
In special laboratories techniques create situations and observe how car will show itself. How will these situations will influence passengers and driver.
It helps producers to identify all problems and disadvantages due to correct them before mass production. In case of low quality test drives, innocent people can be harmed.
While cars are tested instead of passengers, soft manikins are used. Numerous appliances are based on them, and at the moment of artificial crash it will memorize the force of hit, speed, possible damage on other characteristics, needed to be clarified.
When parts are tested they may be separated from the car structure or be on their place. These test also show what material is better to be used on this or those detail, how long will it serve and how it should be treated.
Kia Rio B-Spec First Drive
As I came up fast over the crest just before the sharp right-hander, I felt the race car begin to understeer away from me. "No worries," I thought, forgetting what exactly I was driving, "I'll just get on the power and get it straightened out." A tank-slapper later I was facing the other direction on the edge of the grass. I had just spun out on my first lap ever in a race car. A front-drive Kia Rio B-Spec race car, at that.