Worth Watching: The Town

Watched "The Town" on the plane recently. Starring and directed by Ben Afleck with "Hurt Locker's" star, Jeremy Renner, in a supporting role. Blake Lively of "Gossip Girl" fame is here as well and she definitely is trying to not get typecasted by playing a gritty role - good effort.

The movie is about a rough Irish-American neighourbood in Boston called Charlestowne, which is infamous for producing the most number of bank and armored car robbers the country. Sort of like a father and son tradition. Typical Ben Affleck stuff, being that he is from this fair city. Gotta love the thick Boston accent.

Great acting with romance and fast paced action, sort of like a newer version of "Heat" (Val Kilmer, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino). Very American gangland genre. Worth watching.

**** ½ (I'll give it four stars and a half)

R33 GTR Progress Update - Apexi Power FC & Hand Controller Time!

Back in KL after a long hiatus.

The car has reached a stage where nearly all outside-the-engine upgrades have been carried out. The last work that was done to the car was to replace the oil and water pumps, followed by all the timing belts. The Greddy Oil Cooler (with relocation kit) was also installed during this time. Further soundproofing and sealant work was done throughout the car to remove some annoying rattles. Lastly, the gearshift and handbrake leather trims (gaiter / boots) were also changed as they were getting pretty worn out:

So whats next? Well, its time to install the Apexi Power FC and Hand Controller unit. That means the E-Manage that came with the car will have to go. 

 Apexi Power FC (ECU)

 Hand Controller 

Now the question is, should I mount it on the dashboard with velcro or keep it hidden in the glove compartment? Decisions, decisions!

Save The Ring!

Save the ring! Its one of those online petitions thing but it only takes 30 seconds and its to rescue one of the world's most well known race circuit! 

From 2007 - 2009 the German government built a huge Leisure Park at the Nürburgring. It is based on fake visitor numbers, over sized and badly executed. Most of the time it is an empty ghost town. Once promised as private investment, it is now based on a debt of 350+ million EUR public money.

Instead of pulling the plug they rented the park, including both race tracks to exactly the same privateers who were driving forces behind the Leisure Park's initial private setup.

Without Racing experience they are since experimenting with events completely unrelated to Motor-sport all under the iconic "Nürburgring" brand name.

They now want Nordschleife to pay for the huge losses. Tourist drives are at a record high, plus a 5 times increase in rent for the automotive industry for their prototype testing sessions.

What Needs To Be Done?

• Separate Nordschleife from ring°park.
• Let Nürburgring be Motor-sport.
• Value the great heritage and tradition, rather than Roller Coasters.
• Let the Ring be run by Motor-sport experts.

Sign the petition here: http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41698.html

To learn more, refer to this Jalopnik entry:

Save The Nürburgring!

 

Germany's Nürburgring is the world's automotive playground. A public park for gearheads. Sadly, it's been handed over to privateers who've put the entire 'Ring at risk. Michael Frison of 20832.com explains why we need to save the Nürburgring! — Ed.

You might be surprised by reading this headline and I'm aware the subject has not gained much awareness abroad, but there's currently a serious threat to the Nürburgring.
 
Since it's opening in 1927, the Nurburgring has been under complete public ownership and administration, but in May of this year the complete Nurburgring race track and park was rented out to two privateers (Kai Richter, Jörg Lindner). They have no motorsports background whatsoever, but are the driving forces behind the makeover, which includes the addition of a theme park with a new roller coaster that doesn't work, more hotel capacity than the area needs, a 3,000-seat event arena, and a shopping mall. Everything appears to be far too big and remains empty most of the time.

 

They promised private financing, but this soon turned out to be a fake. The Minister of Finance had to resign as a consequence. Despite lack of funding completion of the project continued.
The heavy burden now sitting on Nordschleife's shoulder is the debt of approximately 400 Million Euros, which seems completely unnecessary considering complete race tracks have been constructed for a fraction of this amount.

The issue is complex and has kept fans of the 'Ring busy, but I want to share with you what just happend last week: Nürburgring officials always claim a total of two million visitors per year, but in true Wikileaks style we got ahold of an older internal document (PDF) telling a different story. Promoters always engage in number polishing, but this is of different quality. It appears there's double bookkeeping for real vs. published visitors for all events held at the Ring. Have a look at the graph summarizing the figures:

Who would dare to claim two million spectators while only 370,000 actually turned up? The Nürburgring did and they based the business plan of the new leisure park on these numbers.

You don't believe me? Ask Sabine next time you meet her. Several investigations have already been triggered by the Department of Public Prosecution, a governmental board of inquiry and the competition department of the European Commission.

And anyone who criticizes the current direction of the 'Ring is answered with force. Wilhelm Hahne — the oldest of the racing Hahne brothers (his brother Armin finished 6th last weekend at the track) — had his house searched in June of last year and as recent as last week received again a warning letter from the Nürburgring lawyers for speaking the truth.

 

It really hurts to get sucked into politics and to witness how they treat the heritage we all love. The worst that could happen is enthusiasts be forced to pay the price of a privateer's blunder in the form of higher prices or worse. Threats to the track include reduced maintenance of the track to reduce costs, less motorsports, and restrictions on small clubs running events in the area. Enthusiasts could also be required to book at the new hotels to race at the track.

Please spread the word if you care about Nordschleife and its heritage. Follow ringumbau.de (the documentary community site accompanying the development) and question the information shared by officials.

Michael Frison founded the 20832.com Nurburgring site 10 years ago (ever seen the red-and-white-N logo when at the 'Ring?). He's also the person behind the renn.tv movies (you have probably seen Hans Stuck / BMW M3 GTR / Nordschleife Onboard), and donated the engine/idea of the Gixxerkart. He wears a Che Geuvara T-Shirt when he drives the 'Ring.

The author of this post can be contacted at tips@jalopnik.com

Skyline GT-R Documentaries

For those of you who are not familiar with the Skyline story or would like to know more about the legend behind Nissan's halo cars, watch the following videos.

1. Nissan Skyline GT-R (Duke Videos)

Official Description: The original ‘beast from the east’, the Nissan Skyline GT-R is an icon for power, speed and advanced Japanese automotive technology. With straight-6 engines capable of being tuned to over 1000bhp, 4WD, intelligent torque-splitting differentials, rear-wheel steering and enough electronics to keep a space station going, the R-32, R-33 and most recent R-34 models are mechanical ‘tour de forces’. 

But what do they go like and what speeds are they really capable of? Our new Duke DVD traces the GT-R’s technical development and tuning options, and then puts you in the hot seat for several memorable rides. How about a lap of the old Nurburging with ‘ringmeister’ Dirk Schoysman at up to 190 mph with drifting at 160mph? Or a ride on a GP track in the ultimate racing Skyline – the Falken Tyres R34? If that’s not scared you, an Autobahn blast at well over 200 mph in a 600 bhp Prospec-NISMO R34 should do the trick! If you thought only ground-hugging 2-seater sportscars with names like Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche could be called 'supercars', think again!

2. National Geographic: Inside Supercar - Nissan R35 GTR

Official Description: Nissan’s iconic GT-R, Japan’s hit car from the 60s to the 80s, is re-launched at the Tokyo Motor Show for international sales. This cult car has a PlayStation video game of its own (Gran Turismo IV), is a character in an anime series, has starred in a Hollywood movie and is about to be the basis of a Manga comic. Gain exclusive access to the story behind the car during its final 12 months of production. In a first for the company, Nissan’s top executives – including CEO Carlos Ghosn and Senior VP of Design Shiro Nakamura – reveal the creative, manufacturing, engineering and marketing challenges of updating the GT-R and rolling it out worldwide as they prepare for the Tokyo Motor Show.

Enjoy the videos folks!