Category: Cars

I am a “car guy”… I love old cars.

Redline Batmobile demonstration

Redline Batmobile demonstration

I’m completely hooked on this new racing game from Ambrosia Software called “Redline”… it is VERY well done from a physics perspective. Just like driving a real car it is a little weird at first, but once you get the hang of it, you can chuck the cars around the track pretty well. The cars all behave like you would expect them to, with FWD understeer and RWD oversteer, and AWD… well… gripping. The game has racetracks and streets and dirt and snow… all behaving like they should. The only intrusion into unreality is the lack of crash damage, and the physical limit of the track itself.

Then along came the .. “batmobile.” It isn’t what you think. 😉

But it does make for fun with Physics!

Luck, or lack thereof.


Above: Ouch!

Though I don’t put a lot of stock in superstition, I am usually a very lucky guy. Life has rarely dealt me any serious whacks. Today however, is Friday the 13th. Something I didn’t even think about really… except perhaps when I updated the voicemail message on my work phone.

So I’m working from home today and at lunchtime I head out to the barn and prep the 65E for a weekend Jaguar club event. The Seattle Jaguar Club is having their “Fall Colors Tour” tomorrow and I haven’t even looked at the E-type since the Going to the Sun Rally finished up last month. I took it out once for a brief drive since then… mostly because the weather has been crappy most weekends since I came back… or I’ve just been too busy.

So I push the Jaguar out of the barn and get ready to wash it. The car number stickers from the Montana Rally are still on the car so I decide to take them off. The first one comes off pretty easily… after I was able to pick enough off to grab a handfull. It shreds up as I remove it, and I toss it in the garbage. The second one comes off in one big sheet until I’m about halfway down when it goes *pop!* and to my astonishment it peels a chunk of clearcoat, along with a layer of paint right off the car!

My heat sunk.

I stared in disbelief at the sticker, now shredded and hanging halfway off the car and held up by my limp hands. I wanted to cry.

I gathered my wits and gingerly pulled it the rest of the way off without further injury. I wandered around in a daze for a while… trying to think of what to do. I went inside, tried to collect myself, and wrote a note to the E-type mailing list to see what the collective mind suggested. I got some good advice (as always) and even some leads on good paint guys nearby (Thanks Roger!)… we’ll see how it turns out.

You can see the full set of damage photos here.

As you can see, 13 is NOT my lucky number!

Last try at “stump Paul”…

Late last week, Paul Wigton (aka “Vroomie”) said he didn’t bother to participate in my little “name that car” games because they were “too easy”… so I’ve been trying to stump him all week. I’ve tried the vein of “oddball American iron” from the 30s, the 50s, and even the teens, but failed each time. Let’s fast-forward to the age of big hair and bell bottoms… what should be Paul’s sweet spot of teenage car recognition, and see if he can name this decidedly NOT oddball one.

Burger Run – Great Drives and Road Trips – Automobile Magazine

Burger Run – Great Drives and Road Trips – Automobile Magazine

My kind of trip. BUT… if Sam wrote it, and Jeff was the co-driver… how did Robert take the pictures? Seems a bit contrived, but hey… I’ve done similar trips. 😉

Thanks to Tom for the link.