Automotive Culture - By Mike Cotsworth
Getting your teenage driver off to a good start
– tips for parental survival…by Mike Cotsworth
Coming of age in America since the mid twentieth century most often has meant getting a driver’s license. Learning to drive and passing the dreaded driver’s exam at the local DMV has replaced meditating in the wilderness and ritual tattoos as our childrens’ Rite of Passage into adulthood (although tattoos do seem to be making a comeback…).
As their “little darlings” near that magical age at which they can start to drive, most parents regard the approaching inevitability with a combination of relief and terror. Relief that the time will soon come when they won’t have to transport their kids and their horde of friends all over town, and horror that their beloved offspring will be exposed to all the risks and dangers of the open road ( not to mention the threat their new drivers will pose to others, and the pound of flesh the insurance company will exact to insure the “youthful driver”…). Accordingly, finding a way to teach their teenager to be a safe and competent driver is a major priority for most families.
As the father of two daughters, I faced this challenge on more than one occasion. Based upon my experience (both good and bad), here are some words of advice:
Teach them to use a manual transmission. Operating a clutch and shifting gears teaches coordination, concentration, and awareness of what the vehicle is doing. If they learn a stick-shift, an automatic will be a breeze - the opposite is not true. It also provides a wonderful opportunity for bonding with your kid – or not, depending on your patience and tolerance for stalling in the face of oncoming traffic…
Send them to a Driving School. When it comes to learning the rules of the road and putting in the mandatory hours behind the wheel to qualify for the Learners Permit, leave it to the professionals. Parent-child relationships have too much emotional baggage to survive that ordeal; pay someone else who can be truly objective, and who has a brake in their side of the car…
Go a step further. Consider a High Performance/Racing driving school. Driving schools teach the basics and prepare students to pass the written exam, they aren’t designed to teach skills. Many car clubs, and most race tracks, offer courses designed to teach drivers the nuances of weight transfer, optimal braking, precise handling, hand/eye/foot coordination, and proper steering technique – in other words, those skills that a truly knowledgeable and capable (and therefore safer) driver uses every day on the road. These types of programs will go a long way to enhance their safety, and your sanity…
A word of warning however, after this kind of training, your kid may bug you constantly for a race car of her own…
Copyright 2001 –Castleworth, Ltd. & C.M. Cotsworth . All rights reserved.
Bridgestone Winter Driving School – Confidence builder…
by Mike Cotsworth
Confidence can make all the difference. Whatever we try to do, or find ourselves having to do, if we have confidence in ourselves, in our skills and abilities, our approach to challenging situations is apt to be one of relaxed anticipation rather than fearful trepidation.
Winter driving is certainly one of those situations that can bring sweat to the brow and knots to the stomach. Wouldn’t it be nice to confront slippery snow and icy roadways with confidence rather than sheer terror?
The Bridgestone Winter Driving School is all about giving drivers the experience based skills to confidently face winter driving conditions. Located in the Old West ski town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the Bridgestone Winter Driving School has been training drivers since 1983, and is the only school of its kind in the country. The good folks at Toyota, one of the major sponsors of the School, kindly provided the opportunity for me to attend the one-day course.
The School has a custom built driving facility consisting of three diabolically designed courses, each with a variety of terrain changes, off-camber corners, and steep hills. The tracks are laid out in open ranch land with plenty of wind driven snow, but just to keep things interesting, the School lays down over 200 gallons of water to be sure there is a nice layer of ice to contend with as well.
Following a brief video and instructional ground school in the heated yurt, it’s into the front-wheel-drive Camrys and all-wheel-drive 4-Runners to dynamically experience the sensations of oversteer and understeer that were illustrated on the chalk board. Via two way radios in the vehicles, our soft spoken instructor, Morgan, reminds us of the techniques to control slides and skids so that we stay mostly on course and out of the snow banks. We do braking exercises, both with and without Anti-Locking Brake assistance (ABS) to learn the limits of traction and how to minimize stopping distance.
Circling around portions of the track that include abrupt elevation changes and a variety of curves sensitize us to the subtleties of weight transfer and how that affects the handling dynamics of the vehicle in low grip conditions. We learn how to induce a little oversteer to improve control, how to convert dreaded understeer to controllable oversteer, and the importance of doing what at first seems against all reason, like accelerating when skidding, and not using the brakes when sliding. Finally, heaven forbid, they turn us lose to lap the entire course at ever greater speeds. Amazingly enough, we show remarkable car control, and all drivers and vehicles survive intact.
The important point, and the accomplished goal of the School, is that we experienced these winter driving situations in safe, relatively controlled conditions and gained confidence in our ability to cope with them in everyday driving. We also gained respect for the importance of a good winter tire. The Bridgestone Blizzak tires on the School’s cars performed amazing well in snow and ice. Learned skills and good equipment translates to greater confidence and safer driving.
Contact the Bridgestone Winter Driving School at www.winterdrive.com or 1-800-WHY-SKID . It is most certainly an investment and time well spent. Be warned, a lap or two around the course with Morgan will really open your eyes to incredible car control, and temp you to come back for the advanced school and learn how to master the Scandinavian Flick…
Buy a vehicle on eBay ? Not as crazy as you may think…
by Mike Cotsworth
It’s hard to ignore the Internet as a recourse to get stuff these days. E-commerce, buying things on-line, is big business. Billions of dollars are spent by people shopping and buying on the Internet.
We all know that next to a home, an automobile rates as our biggest purchase. Unlike homes, however, people often own multiple vehicles, and buy and sell them more frequently. Every year upwards on 60 million vehicles are sold in the United States alone! Given that volume, and the growth of the Internet as a medium to sell things, it’s not surprising that automobiles of all kinds can be purchased on-line.
To really experience the exhilaration of an on-line purchase, where you commit your thousands of dollars to buy a vehicle in cyber-space, go to eBay. Yea, eBay, that global auction and marketplace for everything from vintage Barbie-dolls to out of print comic books, also sells cars. In fact there is an entire division, eBay Motors, that is dedicated to vehicle sales. Many thousands of vehicles are listed and sold on eBay. In fact, it has been said that eBay Motors is the largest seller of used cars in the country ! At this moment, there are 25,885 passenger vehicles for sale on eBay. Not only passenger vehicles, but 3,357 motorcycles, 769 commercial trucks, 664 RV’s, and 579,372 parts and accessories are currently being sold at eBay Motors.
Most sales are via auction. New auctions begin every hour, and sales are completed by auction continuously, virtually 24 hours per day. It’s amazing ! If only to see what’s for sale, and to get a sense of what the marketplace is doing, a visit to eBay Motors is fun and informative.
Sellers are both individuals and dealers. Some dealers only list certain vehicles on eBay, and there are dealers around the country who sell their inventory exclusively on Ebay. So prolific are sales that there are individuals who make a living buying and selling cars on Ebay. All kinds of vehicles are for sale. You can find your every day business commuter or soccer-Mom minivan, hotrods and classics, luxury cars, pickup trucks, $100.000+ exotics and $500 restoration projects.
The site itself easy to navigate. Start at www.ebay.com . Click on eBay Motors, then select the make of vehicle. Up will pop all current listings for that manufacturer. You can further refine your search by model, year, and even color. All listings include mileage, current bid price, and when the auction ends. Select a specific vehicle and up will come pictures, complete description, information about the seller, and terms of sale. All you have to do to bid is enter a price and click your mouse – but be careful, a bid is a binding contract !
EBay has developed good systems to safeguard both buyer and seller. Services such as pre-purchase inspections (always a good idea!), extended warranties, and vehicle shipping are readily available. An easily accessible database of comments and feedback about individual buyers and sellers helps to keep people honest. There are bargains to be found on eBay, but Caveat Emptor ! Do your homework, carefully research any vehicle, communicate with the Seller to verify description and representations – then check with your spouse before you bid on that vehicle of your dreams, you may actually get it…
Chicks and trucks – a complex love affair…
by Mike Cotsworth
What’s with women and pick up trucks ? Members of the fairer sex seem unnaturally drawn to big brawny trucks. This phenomenon may not apply to all women, but it’s certainly true for a great many gals, of all ages.
With a wife who has been my companion for 35 years, two daughters, and two granddaughters, I am one of those men fortunate to have been surrounded by estrogen laden creatures much of my life. I know better than to even suggest that this considerable exposure allows me to understand women – far from it, but it has allowed me to make some empirical observations. One such observation, that I can voice without fear of severe repercussions, is that chicks dig trucks!
The women in my life know and love automobiles. They have experienced a wide range of vehicles, from cute little sports cars, to high-end luxury sedans, to exotic race cars. They are interested in all the vehicles I test drive, but it is the pick up trucks that really draw their attention. This “girls and trucks” thing must be inborn, as my 2 year old granddaughter gets particularly excited when I bring home a truck, pointing and shouting her version of “give me a ride, now!”.
What’s the appeal ? Why do women like to drive trucks ? The results of a very unscientific survey I conducted say as much about the female mind (scary !) as it does about the question at hand, but nonetheless some conclusions can be drawn. The most frequent response was: “Trucks are cool”. Delving deeper yields “They’re powerful”. Pushing the question further brings out, “It’s sexy”. Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. A comment heard more than once was, “A little girl in a big truck is hot!’ Remember, this survey was directed to gals, not guys !
So, admittedly there is some sexual dimension to this attraction to pick up trucks (no pun intended…). Upon further discussion a more subtle dynamic comes to light. Part of what makes driving a big truck fun, powerful, and sexy is the fact that trucks are perceived as a guy thing. So, a gal driving a truck is saying that “Hey, we girls can do anything you men can do !”. Maybe it’s like a woman wearing a man’s shirt to bed – it’s his, but it sure looks a whole lot better on her…
Even women who try to rationalize (now, there’s an oxymoron) their pick up truck as practical and utilitarian eventually acknowledge the fun and sexy component of driving a truck. This attempt to first characterize a truck as merely a tool came most often from women who have horses, and claim to need a truck to tow their horse trailer. Interesting to note that these same women are just as apt to choose their truck over their car to drive even when not towing. Come to think of it, that whole girls and horses thing needs exploring too. Maybe women just like big things…
Now maybe it’s clear why when I brought home the shinny red Audi TT Roadster, my wife still opted for the keys to the black Nissan Titan V8 pick up truck.
For the lives of our Children, we built it, now you all come…
by Mike Cotsworth
Automobile accidents are the cause of more teenagers deaths than any other single cause. Nationally, between 5000 and 6000 teens die on the roads each year, with another 300,000 seriously injured. Sadly, Parker and Douglas county have experienced their share of tragic automotive related fatalities.
Driving an automobile safely on a public roadway is a complex mix of skill, knowledge, experience, reaction, anticipation, and judgment. Driving a vehicle is a big part of most of our lives; and getting that driver’s license is a really big deal for most teenagers. Having that license is a privilege (not a right !), and with it comes tremendous responsibility. Responsibility to be a safe and sane driver certainly, but beyond that, a responsibility to be a skillful driver. Skillful not only in parking between cones and using the blinker before turning, but skillful in car control, accident avoidance, and pro-active defensive driving. Fine, you say, but just where can the new driver acquire these skills?
Parker is perhaps the only community in the nation to have a program, and a dedicated facility , designed expressly to help teens acquire those essential skills. The Parker Fire Safety Foundation, with tremendous support and generous financial contributions from The Town of Parker, The Parker Fire District, and many concerned citizens and businesses, has built a driving range and developed a program to teach young drivers the skills they need to survive on the road.
Light years beyond the typical driver education program, the Crash Avoidance Teen Driving Skills Program is comprehensive behind-the-wheel training that gives the young teen driver the psychomotor skills and mental programming to become a more competent, skillful, responsible driver. An understanding of vehicle dynamics and experiential learning (in a controlled environment) is essential to developing real driving skills. The Parker Fire Safety Foundation Teen Safety program gives teens that experience, and helps them to develop those skills.
During the Skills Clinic, the participants perform real-life type exercises which translate immediately to situations they may well encounter on the street. This includes an accident avoidance simulator, steering and braking techniques, and time on a skid pad. An integral component of the Teen Driving Skills Program philosophy is that skills are learned through repeated experience. Therefore, the driver who has “practiced” skid control on the skid pad is equipped to respond quickly, knowledgeably, and skillfully when they hit that patch of ice on
I-25 !!
Most importantly, this training really works ! Studies have shown up to a 77% reduction in accidents for graduates of skill-based teen driving programs. Having your child say that “the training saved my life” is a very powerful endorsement indeed !
The Teen Driving Skills Program in Parker is a one day course, taught by specially trained off-duty Parker Police, Douglas and Elbert County Sheriff Officers, Parker Firefighters, and instructors from other agencies and local car clubs. The tuition cost is a modest $150, and scholarships are available. It’s a fun and fast-paced day for the student, and most importantly, they leave with skills that can save their lives ! As parents and concerned citizens, please take advantage of this valuable community resource.
Go to www.saveteenlives.org, or call 303-805-0228 for more information.
Girls just want to have fun – Automotively too…
by Mike Cotsworth
Automobiles have been fundamental to Male Culture ever since Karl Benz put an engine on a bicycle frame. Cars and the male ego seem inseparable, Henry Ford and Enzo Ferrari didn’t name their companies after their wives. The image of the automobile is inevitably linked to male icons – Clark Gable’s Duisenberg, James Dean’s Porsche Spyder, Steve McQueen’s Mustang. The list goes on: The Batmobile, General Lee and the Dukes of Hazard, Columbo’s beat up old Peugeot; heck, even “Car 54 Where are you” was about male cops. Now, who can tell me what kind of car The Bionic Woman, Lavern & Shirley, or Cagney & Lacy drove…?
The predominance of male automotive associations notwithstanding, women do drive cars. In fact, the Fairer Sex makes up the majority of the population, and statistics tell us that women purchase more than half of the new vehicles sold in this country. No one would argue that women influence something like 90% of all vehicle purchases ! Automakers have realized this; note how many commercials and advertisements now feature women driving and participating in the car shopping experience. After all, who is it that pilots most of those minivans to soccer practice, and who is the main chauffer in the family…? The reality is that many women are just as knowledgeable about the family car as are their husbands, many women are avid motorsports fans, and many women are independent enough to choose and purchase their own vehicles.
However, men and women are different (thankfully !), and women do seem to approach car buying differently than men. Women are supposedly more influenced by emotional factors than men, but not when it comes to buying a vehicle. Oh sure, men do their homework about fuel economy, safety ratings, and cargo space; and yes, women are drawn to a certain color, and think the car may be “cute”. However, women don’t seem to have the “automotive identity” issue common to most men. We may pretend to be practical when planning an automotive purchase, but in truth we are seeking that sex appeal, machismo, or sophistication that we feel the right car will bestow upon us. Women don’t have this confused agenda, perhaps being more sure of their identities, and can concentrate on getting the vehicle that actually meets their particular transportation needs.
While automobile manufactures and marketing types have recognized the significant impact of female buyers, too many Dealers have not. It is still common for salesmen to ignore women in the showroom; or worse, ask female customers when their husbands or boyfriends will be coming in to “make the deal”. Watch the average salesman talking to a couple, notice how he looks most often at the man, and how he directs most conversation to the man, even if the women asked the question. Women are typically quoted higher prices, and offered lower trade-in values than their male counterparts. It’s true that women are less likely to be confrontational and tough negotiators than men, accordingly the dealership system takes advantage of them.
Such practices are way outdated, insensitive, and just plain stupid ! The better dealerships are catching on, training their salesmen to respect women customers, and are hiring more female salespersons. These dealerships will attract more business, while the marketplace will punish those chauvinist, less enlightened operations. Women are a major force in the automotive world, and only a fool would cross ‘em…
Join a Car Club – Go back to School…
by Mike Cotsworth
To many people, “Car Club” conjures up images of blue-jean and black-leather-jacket clad hooligans staging illegal drag races and risky games of “chicken” on dark back country roads. While you could probably find that kind of a crowd if you really tried, most car clubs today are a far cry from the image of James Dean and Marlon Brando (when he was young and skinny…).
Whether you own a Mercedes-Benz or a Neon, drive a BMW or a Saturn, there is a club centered around that car. There are clubs for off-roading jeepsters, and cruising classics from the 50’s and 60’s - you name it, and chances are there’s a group dedicated to that particular automotive niche. These organizations are usually a fun social connection for people with a common bond, as well as providing an excellent source of information and contacts relating to the vehicle of choice.
Most car clubs periodically put on Driving Clinics, often in conjunction with other compatible clubs. These offer members the opportunity to experience more about the performance and capabilities of their vehicles, in a safe and controlled environment. These clinics, or “driving schools” allow drivers to learn, enhance, and practice skills to make them better, and safer, drivers on the road. We all have a responsibility to do our part to keep the roadways safe, and being a competent, skilled, and aware driver is a big part of that responsibility.
Recently, I had the privilege to be an instructor for a two day Driving Clinic sponsored by the local chapter of the BMW Car Club. The first day was held on the wide open parking lot of a local Community College. Emphasizing car control, this session included a slalom course, a braking exercise, and a wet skid-pad. Drivers experienced the dynamics of weight transfer and practiced proper steering technique to maintain control in the slalom; they were able to feel first-hand how Anti-lock brakes work, and learned to steer under heavy braking; on the skid pad they felt understeer (the rear end of the car “getting loose”), and oversteer (the front end loosing traction and not going where steered). The participants learned not only to recognize these situations, but also how to swiftly and smoothly control their car. Imagine how much better equipped those drivers now are to deal with emergency situations in everyday driving !
The second part of the Clinic was held at The Second Creek racetrack. A challenging, 1.7 mile road-course, this venue gave the drivers the chance to combine the skills they learned on the first day, and develop smoothness and consistency while practicing turning, braking, and general car control, lap after lap. Not designed to be a “racing school”, this clinic gave the participants the chance to practice important safe-driving skills in an unique environment where they could really hone those skills. These drivers now know and understand their vehicles better, and can operate at a higher level of competency (and thus, safety) – plus, they had a heck of a lot of fun!
So, find a car club that fits your automotive personality, and give their next driving clinic a try – you’ll enjoy the experience, and along the way, help make the roads safer for all of us…
Vote to save Teen Lives…!
by Mike Cotsworth
As a carguy, and a parent, I appreciate how critical is the issue of teenage driving safety. We all hear the statistics of how many young people are killed and injured in automobile accidents. Any effort that can help protect our kids from becoming part of those statistics is worth our attention.
On September 2nd, the Town of Parker is a having a special election. The first of the two item on the ballot asks for citizen approval to allow the Parker Fire Protection District and the Miller Lifesafety Education Center to construct, operate and maintain a defensive driving training facility on approximately 2.87 acres of Town-owned land just west of Dransfelt Road. This is a no-brainer, folks. The Miller Teen safety program that will utilize that proposed facility will train and equip our kids to be safer drivers.
Driving a vehicle is a big part of most of our lives; and getting that driver’s license is a really big deal for most teenagers. Having that license is a privilege (not a right !), and with it comes tremendous responsibility. Responsibility to be a safe and sane driver certainly, but beyond that, a responsibility to be a skillful driver. Skillful not only in parking between cones and using the blinker before turning, but skillful in car control, accident avoidance, and pro-active defensive driving. Fine, you say, but just where can the new driver acquire these skills?
This is where Miller Teen Safety Program comes in. Light years beyond the typical driver education program, Miller Teen Safety Program is a comprehensive teen driver training program that gives the young teen driver the psychomotor skills and mental programming to become a more competent, skillful, responsible driver. An understanding of vehicle dynamics and experiential learning (in a controlled environment) is essential to developing real driving skills. Existing “drivers ed” programs simply don’t provide what’s needed. The Miller Teen Safety program gives teens that experience, and helps them to develop those skills.
During the “Skills Clinic” portion of the Miller Teen Safety Program, the kids perform real-life type exercises which translate immediately to situations they may well encounter on the street. This includes an accident avoidance simulator, and time on a skid pad. An integral component of the Miller Teen Safety Program philosophy is that skills are learned through repeated experience. Therefore, the driver who has “practiced” skid control on the skid pad is equipped to respond quickly, knowledgeably, and skillfully when they hit that patch of ice on I-25 !!
Most importantly, this training really works ! Both my daughters went through the training that has been integrated into the Miller Teen Safety program , and they have told me on several occasions that the skills they learned there have saved their butts out on the road. Having your child say that “the training saved my life” is a very powerful endorsement indeed !
So, return your ballot for the Parker Special Election on September 2nd, and Vote YES on Measure #1 that gives the Miller Teen Safety Program a dedicated, permanent facility, and help save teen lives
Roadtrip with your kid - scary but wonderful…
by Mike Cotsworth
The automobile plays a prominent part in many parent-child interactions: “Are we there yet ?”; “Can I borrow the car, please?”; “Until your grades improve, no car!” (the ultimate parental extortion…); “Really, I have no idea where that dent came from…”; etc., etc.
While many of these parent-child automotive scenarios may conjure up less than happy memories, let me add to the list one that can, in fact, be a uniquely wonderful experience. Roadtrip with your kid.
But wait – before all the parents reading this run shrieking from the room, let me add some important conditions. First, the child in the equation must be old enough. A father recently recounted to me the horrors of spending two hours in the car with his two sons, ages 14 and 16 (indeed a terrifying prospect…). No, late teens or early twenties are best – old enough for the kid to be a civilized and rational being, and old enough for you to remember the sort of things they are dealing with in life.
Second rule – just the two of you. No spouse, other siblings, or friends. The two of you must be trapped together in the limiting confines of the vehicle, and be forced to talk to one another.
Third rule, the trip must be long - too long for one to drive while the other sleeps – no, you gotta be conscious to have “quality time” together. Also, the drive should take you far away from familiar surroundings, cross-country to somewhere new. It’s best if at least part of the trip includes somewhere neither one of you have been before. Adventures (like getting lost...) are great bonding experiences.
It helps if the destination is somewhere significant (like college, a new job, or a new home) – something that creates a life change for one or both of you. Nothing stimulates serious talk like anticipation, or fear of the unknown.
Finally, there must be true equality – you share the driving, listen to each others music (gasp!), and talk about things “that really matter” to each of you. This is the real key to the magic of a parent-child road trip – the generational, age, and family-role differences become less pronounced as you share the intimate cocoon inside the automobile. You can become as close to equals as is ever likely to occur while your child is still young.
The talk isn’t always “heavy” – hey, you’re having fun here. Yet, out of discussions of favorite musical groups, boyfriend/girlfriend troubles, what it’s like at work or school, your wild youth (if you dare…), and secret ambitions or hidden fears comes a special closeness. You create a shared bond derived from your time together in that little world inside your automobile that you both will carry with you as your lives take their separate paths.
How do I know ? My 20 year old daughter and I shared a 33 hour, 1900 mile trip – and yea, it was special.
Copyright 2001 –Castleworth, Ltd. & C.M. Cotsworth . All rights reserved.
The Denver Auto Show – an Automotive Fashion Show…
by Mike Cotsworth
Let’s pretend it’s Spring. Despite the grey skies and fresh snow on the ground, Spring really is just around the corner. We’ve already been tempted by several of those 60 degree sunny days, those days that induce a serious case of Spring Fever. In fact, by the time you read this, Spring will have officially sprung.
To borrow from an old adage, in Spring a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of… a new car ! So does the fancy of young women, and even those of us who aren’t so young anymore. Given these Spring-induced fancies turning to thoughts on new things automotive, what better place to see all the new offerings than at the Denver Auto Show !
Next week, starting Wednesday the 26th and running through Sunday the 30th, the Colorado Convention Center will be brimming with shinny new cars, trucks, SUVs, and vans. In addition to brand new models, like the long-awaited Dodge Challenger , Nissan GTR, and Corvette ZR-1, there will be pre-production models and factory concept cars giving us a glimpse into our automotive future. Chevrolet will tease us with the Camero Bumble Bee and the plug-in electric Volt. Ford and Dodge will roll out their 2009 pick-up trucks, and VW will wow us with their Jetta Turbo Diesel Sport Wagon.
The Denver Auto Show is a showcase for the members of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association to strut their stuff and tempt us with all those beautiful new vehicles. The hope, of course, is to lure us into their showrooms after seeing that stunning new X-mobile that we just have to add to our personal fleet.
For the automotive consumer, whether they actually are in the market for a new vehicle, or just fantasizing, the Auto Show is an opportunity to see a myriad of vehicles all in one place. The Horsewoman who needs a new tow vehicle can wander from the Ford display to the Chevy area, and then over to Dodge to compare the newest pick-ups. Mom can check out the Import minivans versus Domestic models, while Dad lusts after Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Lamborghini. Then again, maybe it will be the other way around…
Awards are always a part of Auto Shows, and this year will be no exception. The Rocky Mountain Automotive Press, an association of working media in the Denver region, has selected their winners for Most Outstanding Vehicles for 2008 in several categories. The Award Trophies and a list of the recipients will be on display at the entrance to the Show. Check it out, and see if you agree with the winners the media-types selected.
For those of us who can't forget the Vintage cars from the last Golden Era , there will be a Classic Car exhibition featuring examples of Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Corvette, and Shelby Mustang from yesteryear.
With 38 Auto Manufactures represented, and more than 500 vehicles on the floor, there will be automotive eye candy for everyone. Think of the Denver Auto Show as a Spring Fashion Show for automobiles. Bright colors, bright lights, the newest fashions, and plenty of gorgeous models…
Motor Racing – Good Business or Expensive Advertising…
by Mike Cotsworth
Automobile Manufactures are in business to make money. No great surprise there, right? The way they make money is to sell more vehicles than their costs to design, manufacture, distribute, service, and advertise those vehicles. Why then do so many car companies spend millions of dollars– tens and hundreds of millions – on Motor Racing ..?
While corporate image, personal ego, and genuine enthusiasm for the sport often play a part in Boardroom decisions to commit huge sums of money to participation in racing , its Profit Motive – a way to sell more vehicles – that ultimately drives the Factory Racing Effort. The theme “Win on Sunday – Sell on Monday” has long been touted as justification for pouring immense amounts of cash into professional Motor Sports. The theory is that the success of their race cars (and trucks, and SUV’s) will build a following of loyal fans who identify that race car with a car they can own, and this will in turn translate into increased sales.
The close association between the Big Names in the automotive world and racing goes back to the very earliest days of the automobile. Legend has it that Henry Ford had to win a race in one of his first cars in order to secure funding to start his company. Enzo Ferrari was himself a race driver for Alfa Romeo in the 30’s, and Ferdinand Porsche was involved with the Audi Union Grand Prix team before the Second World War. Since the 60’s, infusion of money and technology from the major automakers has transformed motor racing – in the States from Moonshine-running, backwoods hot-roders into NASCAR, and dirt-track, open-wheelers into Indy Cars; in Europe, nationalist teams with wealthy playboy drivers have become multinational corporate partnerships with sponsorship money influencing who sits in the cockpit.
On any given weekend you can watch Ford, Chevy, Dodge and GM duke it out in NASCAR stock cars or trucks; in the Indycar leagues Honda, Toyota, Mercedes, Ford, Buick and Oldsmobile supply engines; in Formula One the top teams are Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes, Honda, and Ford powered Jaguar, with Toyota, Peugeot, and Renault planning to soon join the fray. LeMans type endurance racing is dominated these days by Audi, with competition from BMW, Mercedes, and even Cadillac; next year Bentley will field a team. GT races feature Vipers, Corvettes, and Mustangs; and International Rallies pit Subaru against Audi and Ford.
The exposure automakers get from these racing events is phenomenal. NASCAR is one of the largest spectator sports in this country, the Indy 500 has audiences rivaling the Super Bowl, and Formula One television broadcasts are routinely watched by 50 million people around the world. Does all this promotion really result in more sales of passenger vehicles – well, the bean-counters in Detroit, Munich, and Tokyo think so, and that’s good news for race fans everywhere.
Copyright 2001 –Castleworth, Ltd. & C.M. Cotsworth . All rights reserved.
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