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An iconic Nikon Camera, the FE brought electronic control to mechanical reliability. A bright, easy to read viewfinder and a sleek black package gave this camera a look that would continue to serve Nikon for several decades and return for the Nikon Df.
You can read the full review online: www.alexluyckx.com/blog/index.php/2017/11/14/ccr-review-7...
Nikon FE - AI-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 - Bergger BRF 400 Plus @ ASA-400
Kodak HC-110 Dil. E 10:30 @ 20C
Scanner: Epson V700
Editor: Adobe Photoshop CC (2017)
Premium means something “of superior value, out
of the ordinary”...like an Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce.
Alfa Giulia is The Big Test Winner MOTORtrend!
GIULIA VS. 330I VS. A4 VS. C300 VS. ATS VS. XE VS. IS VS. S60
Who Makes the Best Compact Luxury Sports Sedan?
MOTORtrend looked at the whole picture, including price, depreciation, reliability, dealer experience, safety, infotainment features, and cargo- and passenger-carrying capacity. But given the nature of this category, subjective criteria also come into play, so things such as styling, brand image, overall appeal, and driving enjoyment are major factors in this test.
Every year, a half-million Americans are willing to pay a substantial premium for the experience of owning, driving, and of course being seen in one of these premium cars.
Our entry criteria were simple: a modest-down-payment, $399/month lease for 36 months, four doors, and a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. The contenders: the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi A4 2.0TQuattro, BMW 330i, Cadillac ATS 2.0T, Jaguar XE 25t, Lexus IS 200t F Sport, Mercedes-Benz C300, and Volvo S60 T6 R-Design.
Ride & Handling
Alfa Romeo Giulia
Hit: Driving experience
The single most important attribute of a luxury sport sedan is the driving experience. It must handle like a four-door sports car, but it must also ride acceptably well for a luxury car. Nailing that balance is no easy task, and many came up short.
The biggest disappointment came from the BMW, which created the benchmark for this segment three decades ago. We’ve long criticized the latest 3 Series for being too soft, and this latest update hasn’t addressed that. The ride is comfortable, yes, but at the expense of handling, which no longer feels as sharp or focused. Rather than the class leader, it’s class generic.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Alfa. It was the nearly unanimous driver’s favorite, simultaneously a marvelous car to drive fast and still a comfortable commuter. The steering is quick, responsive, and talkative. The chassis responds perfectly to every input while muting every bump. More than any car here, it put the sport in sport sedan without suffering a jarring ride as a trade-off. A close second to the Alfa is the Cadillac, which got the vote from the lone dissenter. But its equally phenomenal chassis and steering were offset by a less luxurious ride quality.
Similar ride and handling trade-offs were the rule among the Lexus, Jaguar, Mercedes, and Audi. The Lexus handles nicely and rides well, but its portly curb weight made it feel heavy and dulled its responses. The Jaguar and Mercedes handled very well, but rubber-band tires and stiff shocks hurt their ride quality. The Audi both handled and rode very well, but the experience was very isolated and disconnected from the road. Many an editor likened it to a driving simulator.
The Volvo, which once overachieved in this category, felt a generation behind. The heaviest car here, its weight was a constant presence in corners despite the all-wheel drive’s best efforts to yank it out of the corner and down the straight. The steering was full of vibration from the all-wheel drive, and the ride wasn’t spectacular. In a hot segment, it’s just out-classed.
Audi A4 2.0T Quattro
Miss: Lack of passion
Performance
BMW 330i
Miss: Enjoyment—doesn’t do what the design suggests
Given the range of vehicles you could lease at this price, your decision to go with a sport sedan suggests you value performance. As such, this attribute likely weighs heavily on your purchase priorities. It’s the bedrock attribute of this segment.
The BMW 3 Series defined this segment and ruled it for decades, but in this test, it comes up average. It’s slightly above midpack in acceleration but among the worst in braking and just average in our instrumented handling tests. Still, judges praised its linear acceleration, minimal turbo lag, and excellent transmission programing.
If you want absolute performance at this price point and fuel economy, look no further than the Audi. A sleeper, the conservatively styled A4 is the quickest both in a straight line and around our figure-eight test. Its dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive give it a performance and traction edge off the line. But beyond 60 mph the Alfa’s best weight-to-power ratio and shortest gearing deliver the best performance, reaching 100 mph 1 second quicker and finishing the quarter-mile 3.3 mph faster than the Audi. Likewise, the Mercedes, with its Sport package, equals the Audi’s best-in-class figure-eight performance while stopping shorter. The Alfa’s figure-eight performance was severely handicapped by its overly aggressive stability control, which couldn’t be defeated.
The Cadillac comes up surprisingly short given its second-most powerful engine and second-lightest curb weight. We attribute this to its tallish first gear and somewhat lazy transmission. The Jaguar’s second-shortest gearing compensates for its second-worst weight-to-power ratio to produce solidly midpack performance.
The Lexus earned its slowest straight-line performance fair and square with the second-highest curb weight (despite being only rear-wheel drive) and the second-least powerful engine. It just felt overburdened. What the Lexus lacked in power, though, it made up for in handling.
Then there’s the odd case of the Volvo. A turbocharged and supercharged T6 variant rather than the directly comparable turbocharged T5 we requested, it was the most powerful in the test and blessed with all-wheel drive and the R-Design sport package, not to mention a Polestar engine software upgrade. It was also, however, the heaviest. As such, it was third-quickest to 60 mph and stopped second-shortest, but it was slowest on the figure eight by a good margin.
Efficiency
Jaguar XE 25t
Miss: Interior quality, design, and ergonomics
Gas is pretty dang cheap right now, but it won’t always be. Even when it’s cheap, it’s still an expense. There’s also an expectation of good fuel economy that comes with a downsized engine. After all, you want some payback when you give up horsepower and torque.
According to the EPA’s standardized lab test, these vehicles all return very similar fuel economy. Going by window stickers alone, we see most get around 23/32/26 mpg city/highway/combined. The Jaguar fares the worst, posting 21/30/24 mpg rating. The Mercedes just beats out the Alfa and the Audi by returning a best-in-test 24/34/28 mpg city/highway/combined. As you can see, it’s not a broad spread.
Here, our Real MPG partnership with Emissions Analytics is invaluable. In real-world testing, the Mercedes fell 2 mpg short across the board, abdicating its top spot. The Jaguar redeemed itself in city and combined ratings, and the Lexus dropped to a worst-observed 20.4/31.1/24.2 mpg city/highway/combined. Meanwhile, the Alfa soared with an observed 28.2/37.9/31.8 mpg city/highway/combined, well above its EPA estimates in all categories. We must caution, however, that our Alfa Romeo and Lexus were preproduction units, and both could show different results once their final software calibrations are made.
Cockpit/Cabin
Much of what makes a luxury sedan is its interior. After all, it’s the place where you spend time and the part of the car you spend the most time looking at, touching, listening to, and interacting with.
Regardless of the metrics used to score such subjective criteria, the Mercedes comes out on top. The elegant design and top-quality tactile materials made it a unanimous favorite among the judges. It also scored high marks in quietness, comfort, and rear-seat space. It was let down slightly by a cut-rate Garmin navigation system integrated into the otherwise all-Mercedes infotainment system.
The Audi also was well-received by the judges. The technical superiority was obvious; its virtual cockpit digital dash looked like something out of the future and offered features and functionality no competitor could match. We were also impressed with its impeccable build quality and excellent materials. It took demerits for a slightly tight rear seat, somewhat sterile design (apart from the dash), and slightly louder interior than we’d prefer.
Lexus came in a strong third, with high marks for build quality, materials, and interior quietness. Its design was controversial, and the rear seat was a bit cramped, but the seats were lauded for their comfort and support. The infotainment system and its finicky joystick interface earned unanimous scorn, even from the most generous judge. Even dismissing the controller, the system itself looks old and outdated, and it isn’t especially intuitive.
Other cars let down by their infotainment systems were the Cadillac and Jaguar. Although Cadillac’s CUE system is the best iteration to date, many of the judges still found the touch-sensitive controls difficult to use while driving and not always responsive. The Jaguar, also sporting its best infotainment system in years, drew complaints for being unintuitive and for crashing on several editors. Both cars were also hammered for their nearly unusable rear seats and rather dull interior designs.
The Volvo and BMW, meanwhile, were complimented for their comfort and decently sized rear seats but criticized for their dated interior designs and average materials quality. The BMW clawed some points back with its ergonomics, and the Volvo did, as well, because of its excellent seats. The BMW took hits for its incomprehensible Apple CarPlay integration, and the Volvo was dinged for its loud interior, especially for admitting rough engine noise into the cabin.
Lexus IS 200t F Sport
Miss: Front-end styling, acceleration
Then there’s the Alfa. Praised for its interesting and stylish interior design, it took knocks for its wonky ergonomics. We liked its decently large rear seat and comfortable front seats, but we took issue with the fit and finish and some cheaper materials.
Safety
Volvo S60 T6
Miss: Age. It just feels old.
As it was with fuel efficiency, our competitors are evenly matched in both government and insurance industry crash tests. No competitor scored lower than four stars out of five in the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s testing or Good in an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash test. (IIHS scores range from Poor to Good in crashworthiness testing and from Basic to Superior in crash-prevention systems.) Still, there are details to be examined here.
We should note before going forward that neither the Alfa Romeo nor Jaguar have yet been tested by either U.S. agency. The cars have been crash tested by their manufacturers and the results accepted by the NHTSA, so they can be sold in the U.S. Both cars also received five out of five stars in Europe’s Euro NCAP crash testing. We should also note that some data used here comes from the 2015 and 2016 model years, but the vehicles in question have not changed substantially between then and the current model year.
As you might expect, the Volvo came out on top of a very competitive field. The company, which stakes its reputation squarely on safety, had perfect scores in every crash test and top marks in the IIHS’ tests for seats and crash avoidance systems, as well as high marks in IIHS tests for headlights and LATCH child seat anchors. It is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+, along with the Audi and BMW.
Among the rest of the pack, only the Volvo and Cadillac achieved a five-star front crash rating from NHTSA. The rest received four stars. All but the Mercedes-Benz received a five-star rollover rating from the NHTSA—the C300 scored four stars. Every competitor received five stars overall from NHTSA.
The IIHS hasn’t completed all tests on every competitor. In crash-prevention testing, the BMW and Lexus were the only two tested cars to receive an Advanced rating on their crash-avoidance systems. The rest received Superior grades. The Cadillac and Mercedes received Poor ratings for their headlights, and the rest tested received an Acceptable rating.
Value
Mercedes-Benz C300
Miss: Stiff ride with sport package
Because you’ll be paying the same lease price on all these competitors, value requires a different measurement. After all, no one wants to pay the same for a lesser car. How you define value is up to you, but for the purpose of this comparison, we’ve framed it as the content and performance you get for your $399 monthly payment. (And because many people buy out their leases, sticker price and retained value matter even in a leasing context.)
On this metric, the Audi shines brightest. Although its purchase price is on the higher end of the group, the return on investment is high. The Audi boasts the highest performance in our instrumented testing while also offering far more features than the rest. With price equalized, there’s no questioning the Audi’s dominance in the amount of car you get for the money. The Alfa scores high on performance and boasts the cheapest purchase price as-tested but has fewer features.
In the middle of the pack, the Jaguar offers quite a few features but is let down by low performance scores and a high as-tested price. The Lexus lands in a similar boat, but boasts a better as-tested price. The BMW, Cadillac, and Mercedes all offered a similar balance of performance and content. Cadillac, Mercedes, Lexus, and Volvo all sent cars equipped with sport handling packages, potentially in lieu of other content for the same money. BMW and Cadillac also tend to charge extra for features others include standard.
The Volvo stands out as a difficult case. Because a T6 R-Design was supplied, it carries the highest starting price and second-highest as-tested price, but it also snuck in a supercharged and turbocharged engine with by far the highest horsepower and torque output. As such, it performed well in testing and had high feature content. But at a $399 lease price, you’d actually get a T5 Inscription Platinum and give up the performance advantage.
Cost of Ownership
Time is a luxury and therefore so is reliability; no one wants to spend extra time at the dealer.
Unfortunately, the information on the all-new Alfa Romeo Giulia is incomplete. Having returned to the U.S. market only recently, there simply is no empirical data regarding reliability, maintenance, repairs, and depreciation on an Alfa Romeo—although past models have taken slings and arrows in European quality ratings. We’ve calculated values for those categories based on information from multiple sources, and we took an average of costs for the rest of the competitors.
Per our partners at Intellichoice, the Cadillac is the car whose lease you might consider buying out. Although not the cheapest in any category, low costs across the board keep the Cadillac’s five-year cost of ownership to $45,592. Conversely, the Lexus suffers high insurance, fuel, and maintenance costs, giving it the highest five-year cost at $52,254.
There’s also the matter of complimentary scheduled maintenance. Sometimes it’s baked into the lease price, sometimes the manufacturer eats the cost as an incentive that changes from year to year based on the marketing department’s whim. At present, Jaguar offers five years/60,000 miles of free maintenance; BMW, Cadillac, and Volvo offer three/36,000 miles, and Lexus gives the first two services in the first year for free. Alfa Romeo, Audi, and Mercedes still charge for routine maintenance.
We would also point out that the difference between the most and least expensive car to own over five years is less than $7,000, illustrating again just how evenly matched the competitors are.
Conclusion
We considered every facet of these nine cars. We debated long and hard over how to weigh each category, given the values of buyers in this class. We wrestled with reputations and missing data, balanced the marketing and hype, and noted the differing expectations and priorities between leasing and buying.
However, in a class where passion, prestige, and performance often take precedence over cold hard facts and logic, we follow our hearts as much or more than our heads.
As a result, the back of the pack is populated exclusively by older models who have seen the segment pass them by.
The Volvo, which finished in second place the last time around, is showing its age. Far and away the oldest car in the test, it was outclassed at nearly every turn. Thoughtful updates have kept it on life support, but a new engine is no substitute for the comprehensive updates needed to make the S60 truly competitive, and the all-new car can’t come soon enough.
The BMW 3 Series easily won our last Big Test in this class, but even with a recent refresh we found it lacking. It led no categories and inspired little love from the judges, except for its zingy engine. The pressure is on Bavaria to up the next edition’s game if it wants to improve on its seventh-place finish here.
Cadillac ATS 2.0T
Miss: Rear seat
The Cadillac and Jaguar fought fiercely for position in the middle of the pack, with the American just edging out the Brit. Both cars drove wonderfully, but both were kneecapped by penned-in rear seats. The deciding factor ended up being the Jag’s glitchy infotainment system.
An excellent all-around performer, the Mercedes-Benz C300 is by far the most luxurious car here while still offering serious performance credentials. If its options packages were more value-oriented and the Sport edition carried a more luxurious ride, it might’ve managed the silver instead of bronze. It’s a similar story for the fourth-place Lexus, which punched above its weight class on many fronts but couldn’t overcome a weak engine and infuriating infotainment system.
Finishing in an honorable second place is the Audi A4. On paper the Audi wins in terms of features and space, while matching the Alfa’s objective performance, but a sterile personality and a sense of isolation from the driving experience kept it out of first place. If you aren’t willing to try the Alfa until all the data is in, the Audi is an excellent second option.
But because lease deals are a temporary fling, a shopper has the luxury of making make a decision with as much emotion as pragmatism. By that measure, the Alfa Romeo Giulia stacks up well in every category. Its incredible performance and driving experience make it the easy choice for us. We’re willing to look past the reliability question marks to experience the passion this Italian delight delivers. Without question, if it were our money, this would be the car we’d pick.
8TH PLACE: S60 T6
Stylish and safe, the Volvo can’t escape its long-past sell-by date. It’s an old car in a hyper-competitive class, and it just can’t keep up anymore.
7TH PLACE: BMW 330I
How the mighty have fallen. The reigning winner and standard-bearer of the class suffers from old age, dulled dynamics, and a lack of personality.
6TH PLACE: JAGUAR XE 25T
A new standard in the sporty-handling versus refined-ride equation, the Jaguar was undone by its tiny back seat, boring interior styling, and buggy infotainment system.
5TH PLACE: CADILLAC ATS 2.0T
The best sport sedan chassis in the class is let down by a useless back seat and barely acceptable infotainment system.
4TH PLACE: LEXUS IS 200T F SPORT
A good all-around performer, the weighty Lexus is underserved by its overstressed engine, unintuitive infotainment system, and polarizing styling.
3RD PLACE: MERCEDES-BENZ C300
The most luxurious of the field, the Mercedes needs to improve its ride quality and improve the value proposition of its pricing.
2ND PLACE: AUDI A4 2.0T QUATTRO
Smart, practical, sophisticated, and something of a Q-ship, the Audi quietly crawled its way up the podium but lacked the personality to take the top spot.
1ST PLACE: ALFA ROMEO GIULIA
Efficient, economical, quick, safe, and without question the most fun to drive, the Giulia is a car we’re willing to gamble on despite its reliability legacy and lack of cost-of -ownership data.
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2016 Aston Martin Lagonda Taraf reliability
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“Pipe: a primary masculine symbol with authoritarian overtones but also indicative of reliability and contentment.”
-The Dictionary of Visual Language, 1980
A helicopter pilot carefully guides a lead line onto a pulley as one of the first steps in the transmission cable pulling process.
A helicopter pilot threads a lead line to a monopole that will eventually carry new transmission lines.
Two very early 20th Century British bicycle manufacturers are showcased here through the Elswick Cycles and Hopper Cycles badges. Both date to the 1920s and are wonderful examples of the 'signature' brand genre that was commonplace during the late 19th Century and early 20th Century period (my photostream exemplifies this through, for example, the Velocette, National Teas, Ford, Riley, Coca Cola, Castrol, Marconi and Pepsi Cola badges).
Stylistically, the cursive hand-written names on both badges subliminally reflect traits such as reliability, honesty and service- qualities that customers valued highly. The visual balance between the Elswick 'E' and Cycles 'C' is harmoniously rendered and additional embelishments from the 'k' and the underscoring of 'Cycles' gives the design an excellent sense of cohesiveness and style. Similarly, the descender strokes within the double 'p' of Hopper and the intersecting underscoring stroke creates a very neat and subtle 'H' for Hopper.
Elswick debuted in the 1890s as a bicycle and motorcycle manufacturer and showcased their product offerings at the Antwerp Exhibition as Elswick Cycle Co. of Newcastle. Between 1903 and 1913, Elswick focused more on motorcycle manufacturing and their earliest endeavours featured a bespoke bicycle frame that could accommodate a small, attachable engine in either 2hp or or 4hp V-twin engine formats. However, just before the outbreak of WW1 Elswick encountered financial difficulties, resulting in Frank Hopper & Co taking over the bankrupt business.
This gave way to the formation of the Elswick Hopper Cycle & Motor Co (1914) with a key decision taken to manufacture and market Elswick and Hopper under separate brands, using different dealerships to maximise market breadth and penetration. The badges shown here exemplify this marketing strategy as it highlights the Elswick and Hopper brand of cycles within the Elswick Hopper Company. Elswick & Hopper bicycles flourished during the 1920s and 1930s , building up a loyal customer base. The 'Hopper Cycle' was promoted as 'The Reliability Cycle' and early advertising focused on quality of materials and manufacture e.g. bearings were made from best quality Sheffield steel and characterised by high class plating and non-rusting enamel. Hopper Cycles also came with Dunlop tyres, large saddles, Bluemels reflectors and inflators. Elswick Cycles were promoted with the copy line 'Famous for Finish' and both marques became well known within the British and Commwealth cycling fraternities.
The Hopper story, like Elswick's began in the 19th Century through its founder Frank Hopper with his bicycle repair business based in Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire (1880). It wasn't long before F. Hopper & Co Ltd started to make bicycles with a workforce of 400 employees and by 1910, bicycle exports, particularly to the former British Empire, as well as the home market, were buoyant.
In the 1970s, Elswick Hopper plc began a period of expansion by acquiring both Wearwell Cycles and Falcon Cycles. By the 1980s, the company reorganised under its new name Elswick plc and the bicycle division was renamed as Falcon Cycles after its best selling sports model.
During the 1980s/90s the few remaining, well known British bicycle brands suffered as a result of cheaper imports from the Far East. Elswick plc was no exception to this trend and was sold to Ferguson International in 2000.
Photography, layout and design: Argy58
(This image also exists as a high resolution jpeg and tiff - ideal for a
variety of print sizes e.g. A4, A3, A2 and A1. The current uploaded
format is for screen based viewing only: 72pi)
2016 Nissan Navara NP300 reliability
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sn 008
Specifications:
218 bhp 1,986 cc dual overhead camshaft V-6 engine, five-speed manual transaxle, four-wheel independent suspension with coil springs and four-wheel disc brakes. Wheelbase: 2,280mm (89.75")
Lightweight. Aerodynamic. Powerful. The Ferrari 206 SP is the lithe, sinuous, brilliant V-6 son of the V-12 father. It is similar in many respects, but accomplished with conscious differences.
The Origins of the Dino Legend
When Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien went to Le Mans in 1962 and were assigned the 330 TRI/LM, the last front-engined car to win at la Sarthe, they felt a little cheated. There were better Ferraris in Ferrari’s entry. There were V-8 and V-6 Dinos. Hill and Gendebien knew the mid-engined Dinos were Ferrari’s future. They drove a dinosaur, and their victory was a tribute to their skill and maturity as drivers as much as it was to the durability, stability, reliability and speed of the four-litre 330 TRI/LM, the ultimate Testa Rossa.
The V-6 Dinos were introduced in 1957 for the 1.5-litre Formula 2 series. Enzo Ferrari’s son Alfredo – known as “Dino” - had championed the engines’ layout, and Enzo gave the cars Dino’s name after his son’s untimely death in 1956. The detailed design was done by the old master, Vittorio Jano. With twin overhead camshafts, the inherently balanced conventional cylinder bank angle of 60° left no room for carburetors and inlet manifolding, so Jano increased the included angle to 65°, then compensated for the timing problem with crank throws placed 65° and 185° apart. It was ingenious, and it worked. The first Dino sports racing cars were front-engined; mid-engined cars appeared in 1962, the models Hill and Gendebien hoped to drive at Le Mans. Ferrari then dealt with the problems of slipping a V-12 between the driver and the rear wheels, and development of the compact V-6 powered Dinos languished.
The Sports Prototypes
Ferrari was challenged by Ford in the mid 60s and responded with a series of Sports Prototypes that have earned their position as the most seductively beautiful sports racing cars ever built. The first 330 P was introduced in 1964 and its design clearly showed its evolution from the 250 LM. The 1965 season’s 330 P2, however, was something completely different and it evolved into the Drogo-built 330 P3 the following year, surely the most voluptuous sports racing automobiles ever seen.
At the same time Ferrari introduced the 206 S, an even more tightly wrapped, reduced scale rendition of the 330 P3 with the same voluptuous, sensuous shape on a shorter wheelbase that took full advantage of its compact V-6 powerplant. Franco Rocchi designed this third generation twin-cam V-6, returning to Jano’s original 65° vee angle. It would power not only the 206 S but also the street cars needed to meet the FIA’s requirement that Formula 2 engines be based upon a production engine with at least 500 units built – which Ferrari met in cooperation with Fiat in the Dino sports cars. In addition to the Ferrari sports prototypes and Formula 2 cars, the engine would later power the Ferrari Dino road cars and even the Lancia Stratos rally car.
Like the 330 P3, the Dino 206 S was bodied by Drogo’s Carrozzeria Sports Cars. It used a multi-tube frame with alloy panels riveted to it for additional stiffness, in essence a semi-monocoque structure. Ferrari’s intention was that 50 of the cars would be built, qualifying it as an FIA Group 4 sports car, but the financial difficulties that would lead to Ferrari’s merger with Fiat three years later prevented that optimistic goal from being met and in the end only some 18 of these wonderful, quick, beautiful sports racers were built. What started out as a Dino 206 S (for Sport) became known as the Dino 206 SP (for Sports Prototype) when there were not enough built to qualify for Group 4.
Chassis No. 008
The meticulously and accurately restored example offered here, chassis 008, is the fourth of the series production 206 SPs built, (The first 206 S was built on Ferrari chassis 0842) and the third of the standard alloy spider bodied 206 SPs. It was delivered to the SEFAC Ferrari team and used for testing and evaluation. Some sources indicate it was entered by the factory to be run by Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team in the 1000 km race at Monza April 25, 1966 where it was driven by NART driver Bob Bondurant and SEFAC driver Nino Vaccarella, but was damaged in practice and withdrawn before starting the race.
Six weeks later on June 5, Dino 206 SP 008 was again entered for NART in the ADAC 1000 km of the Nürburgring, one of the season’s most demanding races. Driven by the brilliant pairing of Pedro Rogriguez and Richie Ginther, both SEFAC team drivers in 1966, the 206 SP started ninth on the grid and drove to an outstanding third overall and second in class behind another 206 SP, the fuel injected chassis 004 driven by Scarfiotti and Bandini, and the winning Chaparral 2D of Phil Hill and Jo Bonnier which thundered to the overall victory. Remarkably, all three podium finishers were on the same lap of the daunting 22.81 km Nürburgring Nordschleife.
On June 18, 1966, still fresh from its podium finish at the Nürburgring, chassis 008, using a SEFAC Ferrari entry, was on hand at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car, however, was now owned by Chinetti, having been sold by SEFAC Ferrari on June 10. Chinetti put Charlie Kolb and George Follmer in the 206 SP and they started in 32nd position. After an excellent start, oil seeped onto the clutch, rendering it useless, and on just the 9th lap the team withdrew, a fate eventually shared by 40 of the 55 entrants - 73 percent of the starting grid.
Kolb’s seat at Le Mans foreshadowed the next stage in 008’s career. After returning to Maranello for servicing and race prep, it was shipped to the U.S. and its next owner, M. Schroeder, who immediately entered it in the August 28 USRRC-Buckeye Cup race in Lexington, Ohio where it was driven by Charlie Kolb. Kolb brought the 206 SP home second in class and sixth overall.
Entries at The Road America 500 at Elkhart Lake and the USRRC race at Bridgehampton followed before 008 was purchased by Fred Baker, who arranged to use a Chinetti entry in the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours. A fresh engine rebuild and gearbox overhaul were not completed in time to qualify, and 008 started from the back of the grid as a result. The driving team was strong – Jo Schlesser, Masten Gregory and Peter Gregg. At just over half distance, after moving within sight of a top 10 placing, Gregory made a routine pit stop only to have the engine develop a misfire when it restarted, which turned out to be a stripped distributor drive.
Baker again used a Chinetti entry for his Dino 206 SP at the Sebring 12 Hours on April 1. Charlie Kolb and Ed Crawford started from 20th on the grid, where they remained when the green flag fell, sidelined by a broken half shaft. For the remainder of 1967, the 206 SP contested SCCA and USRRC races driven by Lee Cutler and occasionally Charlie Kolb.
It was back at Daytona for the 24 hours in 1968 after being rebuilt by Chinetti’s NART mechanics. Now consigned or loaned to Chinetti, he put Kolb and Pedro Rodriguez in Dino 206 SP 008 and Rodriguez qualified an excellent 10th among the three litre Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/2s. Kolb and Rodriguez kept the little Dino among the top 10 until another misfire brought them into the pits and early retirement. Baker decided to sell the car, although Lee Cutler apparently worked out a deal to drive it in later races. Before the end of the year he bought the Dino from Baker, marking the end of its front line racing career.
Harley Cluxton bought it from Cutler in 1971, selling it later that year to noted Ferrari collector and enthusiast, Walter Medlin in Kissimmee, Florida. Medlin did nothing with the beautiful little 206 SP except store it among his other cars where it stayed for more than 20 years. In 1995 it was acquired by Symbolic Motor Car Company and given a complete two-year restoration by Rob Shanahan. After completion, it became part of several important Ferrari collections and was proudly displayed at such diverse and important events as Rosso Ferrari at Rodeo Drive and the Goodwood Festival of Speed (both in 1997) and Cavallino Classic in 2004. It was featured in the Japanese magazine CAR in 1998. In 2003 it was returned to Symbolic’s restoration shop where it received a comprehensive refurbishment.
It was acquired by the present owner after completion of the work and was displayed at Cavallino Classic in 2004. The vendor reports the Dino is on the button and is in excellent overall mechanical condition. It is a personal favorite of his and while he has not competitively raced it regularly, he is drawn to its character and uniqueness just as Medlin was so many years ago. Most recently, the 206 SP has been returned to its glorious NART livery as it appeared at the 1000 kms of Nürburgring when, it finished 2nd in class behind another Dino and 3rd overall.
1966 Ferrari Dino 206 SP 008 retains its original engine, gearbox and bodywork. Its restoration is of the highest quality and is fresh and sharp. Its history includes ownership and entries by both SEFAC Ferrari and NART. It has been driven by some of the greats in the greatest age of sports car and sports prototype racing: Bondurant, Vaccarella, Pedro Rodriguez, Ginther, Kolb, Follmer, Schlesser, Gregory and even Peter Gregg. Its ownership history is clear. It is fast, responsive and, best of all, a beautiful gem of a car.
[Text from RM Auctions]
www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=162971
This Lego miniland-scale Ferrari Dino 206 SP (1966 - Carrozzeria Sports Cars), has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 89th Build Challenge, - "Over a Million, Under a Thousand", - a challenge to build vehicles valued over one million (US) dollars, or under one thousand (US) dollars.
This particular vehicle was auctioned by the RM Auction house on Sunday, May 20, 2007, where it sold for €2.420.000 (US$2,567,520)
To help enhance service reliability for customers, Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) is continuing construction work this summer and throughout the remainder of 2016 on distribution and transmission infrastructure projects totaling approximately $387 million in its northern and central New Jersey service areas.
A helicopter pilot carefully guides a lead line onto a pulley as one of the first steps in the transmission cable pulling process.
Having been the most reliable Class 92 in the fleet for several months with nigh-on 100% availability, GB Railfreight's Class 92, 92 033 had a bit of a wobble recently and had a three week spell on the sidelines at Wembley.
However, with everything seemingly back in order, 92033 has returned to Sleeper duties, seen here working the Caledonian Sleeper Highlander service (1S25) north through Hartford.
50038 Formidable waits time at Exeter St David's on the Sundays only 1M36 1320 Plymouth to Liverpool on 22nd November 1981.
1M36 was a very good bet for a 50, and it didn't disappoint on this day. I recall we were returning north after a Party Travel trip to Plymouth, having set off on the 0030 Liverpool - Euston early the previous day.
Exeter Middle Signal Box can just be seen on the right of the photo with the old NCL parcels depot behind the train.
Continuing reliability problems with the M47 Patton led the US Army to begin work on a replacement only a year after the M47 entered service. The new tank would be broadly similar to the M47, using the same 90mm gun, but would have an improved turret and suspension; the forward hull was also redesigned, eliminating the bow machine gun and moving the driver to the center. Besides being a replacement for the M47, it was hoped that the new M48 Patton would replace all other types of tank in Army service, including the remaining M4 Shermans, M26 Pershings, and M46 Pattons. The new Patton entered service in 1952--it was rushed into production, for fear that the United States was falling behind the Soviet Union in tank effectiveness.
The Army expected that the M48 would run into issues in the field, and they were not wrong. Most of the problems were easily rectified, but the biggest one was the engine: the M48 used a gasoline engine, and the tank proved to be a gas-guzzler. It lacked range, and since it was a gas engine, it was vulnerable to fire; there was a fear it would "brew up" if hit. The tank commander's .50 caliber machine gun was also completely exposed. The latter would be corrected in the M48A2, which would enclose the cupola, while the engine was addressed with the M48A3, which switched to diesel fuel, adding range and lessening the chance of catastrophic fires.
After the Army got the chance to look over a Soviet T-55 captured during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, it made the decision that the M48 could not survive a hit from the T-55's 100mm gun, while the T-55 could survive a hit from the 90mm. Production would then switch to the M60 Patton, with improved armor and a 105mm gun. Since 11,700 M48s had been built in the 1950s, this left the Army with a lot of redundant tanks. These were passed on to Reserve and National Guard units, or exported; modernization programs were gradually applied to US Army M48s, but most were retired by the early 1970s.
Though being replaced by the M60, the M48 was still the backbone of US Army and Marine tank units during the Vietnam War, and since the tank threat was minimal there, the M48 was deemed adequate for combat. It proved its worth, being effective against infantry, and much less vulnerable to RPG fire and mines. One tactic the Army developed was the "thunder run," when Pattons would be run at full speed up a road. If they hit a mine, the most that would usually happen was the loss of a road wheel or track. Convoys could then followed the tanks without worrying about mines. (The term "thunder run" would be applied to any high-speed tank attack, most famously in the assault on Baghdad in 2003.) In the few tank battles fought during the war, the 90mm was found to be effective against North Vietnamese PT-76s, T-34s, and even T-55s.
The M48 would also see extensive service in the Indo-Pakistani Wars and Arab-Israeli Wars, with mixed results. Pakistani M48s took heavy losses against Indian Centurions, mainly due to poor tactics and the Centurion's 105mm gun. Israeli and Jordanian M48s also suffered losses, for the same reason (the Israelis used upgunned Shermans and Centurions against Jordanian Pattons; Israeli Pattons fought Egyptian T-55s). The gasoline engine on unmodified M48A2s was indeed prone to explosion, and the Israelis had to modify their tactics to take into account the shorter range of the 90mm gun. Following the Six-Day War, the Israelis began upgunning their M48s with 105mm guns, a practice emulated by the West Germans (in the oddly designated M48A5GA2) and many others. Upgunned and uparmored M48s remain in service with eight nations, including Greece, Taiwan, and Turkey; these tanks have been so upgraded, they barely resemble their original forms.
"Mad Harlot," this M48 at the National Museum of Military Vehicles, is a Marine example, on display at the NMMV's Tet Offensive exhibit. The exhibit may not be complete yet, as the rubble is sort of random; a group of three mannequins is behind the Patton (unseen in this picture), using it as cover. The setup resembles a famous picture of Marines advancing under fire at Hue City in February 1968.
Several airlines in the world are particularly fond of the Rolls Royce engines. Air New Zealand is one such example. Seen here at London Heathrow LHR is one of the airline's Boeing 747-400 equipped with 4x Rolls-Royce power plants.
PostBus Switzerland
When you board a PostBus in Switzerland you can be sure that you are in the best of hands. In some thirty years of experience with companies I have found few whose employees so embody the values of reliability, security, safety, trust and professionalism.
PostBus is the leading bus company in Switzerland's public transport network. With over 3,560 employees (incl. the drivers of the PostBus companies) and more than 2,200 vehicles at its disposal, PostBus carries round 139 million passengers each year from the Swiss lowland to the very tops of the ice and snow covered Alpine peaks.
Its trademark – the three-tone horn and the yellow Postbuses, colours and symbols that are deeply embedded as part of Switzerland's cultural identity. The railways of Switzerland are a great way to see the country, modern, efficient, reliable but if you want to see the country in very great detail, up-close and personal and at reasonable cost use the PostBus. More than 350,000 commuters and leisure travellers reach their destinations safely and reliably each day by Postbus.
PostBus commenced in 1849 with the creation of a mail network using horses, the last representative of which is the legendary Gotthard horse-drawn mail coach and still operates on the Gotthard pass route!
www.postbus.ch/pag-startseite/pag-reisen-und-freizeit.htm
Chur Bus Station, right above the SBB and R rail stations is the starting point for the beautiful Chur to Bellenzona Route. As soon as I get a week off I am returning to Chur to take this trip.
Enjoy Buses ? Please visit
Michael's Bus Drawings ‘MBD’ on Flickr at
A helicopter pilot threads a lead line to a monopole that will eventually carry new transmission lines.
The mechanical reliability of MTA New York City Transit’s fleet of 6,200 subway cars has been a major source of pride for employees. That achievement stems from a simple idea; fix things before they break. That is the philosophy behind the Scheduled Maintenance System (SMS) program developed by the Division of Car Equipment as a way of maintaining the reliability of new subway cars and older subway cars that had gone through the General Overhaul (GOH) program.
Photo: Patrick Cashin / Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Materials scientist Paul Vianco peers through an experimental setup of printed wiring assemblies used to validate modeling in a Sandia National Laboratories project to study solder failure. Vianco said computational modeling of solder joint fatigue is critical to Sandia’s role in life extension programs for nuclear weapons.
Learn more at share-ng.sandia.gov/news/resources/news_releases/solder_r....
Photo by Randy Montoya.
A long drive to Indy means making the right choice for a car. It was a Nissan Versa or a Beetle. I went with comfort and reliability. I went VW.
It's a remarkable little car. Super torquey, comfortable for the 200+ mile drive, very decent sound system and a simple layout that makes you feel at home. Everything feels premium, right now to the turning indicator stalk.
I make some allowances for a 15k-mile car, but the rattling was unsettling from the drivers' side door. And the wind noise was more than I expected (granted, it was 6ºF out and 40mph gusts). The brakes were way touchier than I was used to. And the transmission was lazy, unless you go to S mode then it's more alive. Personally I'd rather row my own, and the + and - were no substitute. But it did help to start in 2 on the 7" of snow.
In all: a good car. And if given the opportunity, I wouldn't put up my nose at it.