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The Top Choices For The Formula Championship This Year

That time of year when we make our way to the starting line for the Formula 1 Championship races is upon us once again. Though we’re not even a month into the F1 season, we can already start making some predictions about which Formula 1 teams and which drivers look like they could race their way onto the winners’ podium.

The obvious pick for winning driver is Sebastian Vettel since he won last year’s Formula 1 championship. Vettel definitely has the fastest car and could easily win just based on that fact alone. And although Vettel fell victim to some mechanical failures, driver’s errors, and wrecks during last year’s F1 season, he came out a champion and brings with him this year the confidence he needs to bring home the title once again.

Vettel’s cars are being designed by Adrian Newey, arguably the best Formula 1 engineer around and he has Red Bull footing the bill for him. Put all of these things together and you have a recipe for a winning F1 driver.

If for some reason, Sebastian Vettel isn’t crowned this year’s F1 champion, the driver we see winning the trophy is Fernando Alonso. We admit Vettel might have the fastest car, but Alonso is the best driver by far. When you consider that Alonso has won championships for three F1 teams and was definitely the most successful of the Renault drivers, you can’t argue that he’s not the best driver.

Think about it, even though Ferrari didn’t have the best car last year, Alonso was still very close to becoming last year’s Formula 1 champion. Alonso is definitely the best driver Ferrari has and even though that may not be enough to help Ferrari when it comes to the Constructor’s Championship, it will go a long way to helping Alonso in his continuous battle against team Red Bull. If Ferrari continues to make its cars faster and/or Red Bull has some of the same stumbles it had last year, Alonso could easily slide in and take the F1 championship title.

It’s nothing new when it comes to Formula 1 news, but the dark horse to bring home the trophy at this year’s F1 Championship is Mark Webber. Webber almost pulled an upset to win last year’s championship and it wasn’t until the end of the season that we realized he wouldn’t be the F1 champion And, although there is known tension between Webber and Vettel – both on one of the best Formula 1 teams, that being Red Bull – and it’s rumored that Webber may either leave the team or be asked to leave after this season, he’s still driving a Red Bull car this year.

Clearly, the biggest challenge for Webber will be to overcome his teammate, Sebastian Vettel. But, even if he can do it, Alonso and team Ferrari could still take the championship from both of them.

But, when the season is over, it could very well be someone like Lewis Hamilton who sneaks in and takes the F1 championship title for team McLaren. That probably won’t happen seeing as how McLaren is still struggling with its own demons this year, but when it comes to car racing, anything is possible.

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For F1 browse to F1.co.uk at http://www.f1.co.uk . F1.co.uk bring you all the breaking F1 news – http://f1.co.uk/read-news

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(NAPSI)-Just as people can change their clothes to match weather conditions, car owners now have the option of matching different materials and designs for car covers to the environment when protecting a car against the weather.

Here are some options:

Let the Sun Shine

Some areas of the country see 200 or more days of sunshine each year. Unfortunately, exposure to ultraviolet rays and radiant energy from that much sun can cause a car’s paint colors to fade, and the clear coat to cloud, crack, dry out and deteriorate.

Also, heat trapped inside a car can dry out and deteriorate vinyl, leather, plastic and rubber. It can also break down foam padding and adhesives and can “cook” audio components, tapes and disks.

Vehicle owners in areas where these conditions occur may want to look for a car cover that offers a high UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) rating. Covers with the Evolution® Fabric label are said to offer the highest UPF rating possible. The fabric is the first to offer a UPF rating.

Rainy Days and Mondays

While an occasional rainstorm won’t destroy a car’s paint job, corrosion begins any time a car is subjected to extreme moisture, as it can be in some of the rainier areas of the country. Moisture can seep into tiny cracks and dings and work against the paint from the inside out, separating the paint from the metal and causing the metal to oxidize.

Experts say the best car covers for wet and rainy conditions are made of fabric with a microporous film middle layer that provides a water-stopping barrier but allows evaporation of trapped condensation, such as Noah® Fabric made by Kimberly-Clark.

Snow, Beautiful Snow

If you live where there’s a lot of snow, you know what a hassle it can be to clear away frost, ice and snow from a car before driving away.

Using a car cover when your vehicle is parked outside lets you avoid that time-consuming de-icing routine-not to mention the danger of driving with a frost-covered windshield.

In less than a minute-the average time it takes to put on or take off a car cover-you can be ready to drive away. In snowy climates, many look for covers with the Block-It® Fabric label to make sure the cover is designed to protect a car from the wet winter elements. For more information, visit www.block-it.com.

Some car covers now offer protection against the sun’s ultraviolet rays. This can protect both the car’s interior and its paint job.

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But I was using it yesterday to choose my new car….I cannot believe this. Can you please think about creating a modified version, you were the best source of useful information on car purchase. This is a sad day.

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Another great savings option for car rental consumers involves little more than membership in a group such as the alumnae chapter of your alma mater, AAA or even AARP. Membership in a specific group or company often allows for additional benefits such as a set amount of money or percentage off of your total rental car price.

Organizations and companies such as insurance companies, for example, are big on offering rental car discounts to their members. This is a great incentive to take advantage of and can help you obtain a good discount on a rental car. If you are not sure which groups you are affiliated with that might offer such a benefit just pull out your membership packet, visit their website or contact customer service to learn if you can take advantage of this cost saving measure.

Saving money on a car rental provides welcome relief for an already stretched or tight vacation budget. If you are planning to rent a car take the time to do a little research early in the game to be sure you get the best deal and keep more of your vacation dollars in your pocket.

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The roadster version of Audi’s new TT comes as no surprise, considering that the old TT also came in hard- and soft-top variants. But the TT roadster still has a few good tricks rolled up its sleeve that are worth mentioning. The first is something you can’t see, but you can feel it. On the roadster, the structure that runs underneath the door is made of thicker aluminum, with more internal reinforcement than the coupe, but the outside shape is identical to that of the coupe. Reinforcing the side-sill structure in this way to compensate for the loss of the roof – instead of using heavy cross-bracing – makes the new TT roadster lighter than the outgoing 2006 model (there will be no 2007 in the U.S.) but Audi claims a 120-percent increase in structural stiffness. We won’t know exactly how many pounds the open TT saves until the car arrives here in late 2007, but extensive use of aluminum throughout the front structure could shave as much as 300 pounds. Pricing is unknown at this point as well, but it should be close to the outgoing model – base price should start around $36,000 and fully-loaded model will get close to 50 grand.

Common ground Conceptually, the TT roadster shares a lot with the previous version, even though the structure and styling are all-new. As before, Audi fit the TT with a soft top with a glass rear window, and the top stows where the tiny rear seats are located in the coupe. Base models on the European-spec cars come with a manually-operated top but the power-operated top, which automatically unlatches and folds the roof in 12 seconds, should be standard on all U.S. models.

Powertrain choices are the same as for the TT coupe: a 200-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo four or a 250-horsepower 3.2-liter V-6. The four cylinder comes with a either a six-speed manual transmission or a six-speed known as S-tronic (it was called DSG on the outgoing TT). The S-tronic automatic is actually a dual-clutch sequential manual that can be paddle shifted or left to its own devices in automatic or sport-program automatic mode. The V-6 can only be had with S-tronic. At first, the 2.0-liter will be front-wheel-drive only; customers looking for Quattro all-wheel drive will have to step up to the V-6. Of the three configurations, we prefer the 2.0T with the S-tronic automatic. The front wheels occasionally struggle with grip when the turbo hits full boost, but the lighter weight, louder burbling exhaust, and lower price more than compensate for the lack of all-wheel-drive. The V-6 is about a half a second quicker in the run from 0 to 60 mph, and with 236 pound-feet of torque available from 2,500 rpm, midrange response is instantaneous. It’s also smoother and quieter than the four-cylinder, but really it’s almost too quiet. If the rest of the TT convertible wasn’t so hushed, the V-6 would be barely audible.

With the top up, barely any wind noise intrudes on the cabin. Some road noise comes through behind the driver’s head, where the soft top offers less noise protection than the glass window, but overall the TT is very quiet. A power-operated mesh wind blocker cuts down on noise when the top is down.

Wobbly no more On our preview drive outside of Nice, France, the TT roadster seems wider than it actually is due to the narrow, cramped roads that run along the Mediterranean Sea, but the TT will fit fine on American roads, and American drivers will appreciate the roomy cabin. The steering is light but precise, as is the case with the Audi A3, which shares a lot of its underpinnings with the TT. We drove cars fitted with Audi’s magnetic ride dampers (also known in GM vehicles as MagnaRide). It’s an option that should be included on any purchase order, as it keeps chassis motions well controlled. The Volkswagen GTI and Audi A3, which share a similar platform and the same powertrain options, still manage a good ride without the advanced shock absorbers, but that’s probably due to a stiffer chassis since both cars have a full roof. On the TT, setting the dampers in "sport" mode tightens us the ride and sharpens turn-in so much that the "normal" mode makes the car feel sloppy, but the ride was still smooth over slightly rough roads. The electronically power-assisted steering is light but precise, and the flat-bottomed steering wheel (similar to the one found on the R8) has bumps and indentations in all the right places. From an overall driving standpoint, the old TT convertible doesn’t compare: the new model feels like a complete car, while the old one made you constantly question whether the convertible top was worth the excessive understeer and wobbly chassis.

When the TT roadster arrives next year, comparisons to the BMW Z4, Porsche Boxster, and Mercedes-Benz SLK are inevitable. Although the new Audi is clearly sportier than the car it replaces, it’s still not as focused on performance as some of its rivals. We’ll withhold overall judgment until we can conduct a comparison test, but to design mavens the TT wins on style regardless of how it drives. For those who like to make a fashion statement as much as they enjoy open-air driving, the TT is the perfect car.

Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/06q4/2008_audi_tt_roadster-first_drive_review