Max Caves, Formula One Teams Win

Well, sort of. In fact FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) and FIA, the sport’s governing body, do need each other, and the tradeoff the teams got was having Max Mosley, FIA president, agree not to run for reelection in October as Supreme Leader. That will be a result very much to the good of the sport and its fans.

Edward Gorman of the Times Online put it well:

The reign of Max Mosley as ruler—for that is what he was—of world motorsport and Formula One has come to an end. Like all men who enjoy almost unfettered power, there was always a danger he would over-reach himself and that, in the end, has been the case with Mosley.

After constant battles with the teams and the recent imposition of a “voluntary” budget cap, the teams had had enough. Thus the split we reported. Nobody trusted the guy. Still, the sport needs a governing body, and it became apparent that the teams recognized this. If they split off from FIA, how would they organize themselves and pursue a viable 2010 season?

So, as one wag put it in the comments section of the Jalopnik story, “It means only that he’ll have a lot more time for Nazi orgies.” In the end, money talks, and the FIA controls a great wad of it.

Now, when and how are they going to get rid of Bernie Ecclestone, the other half of this dynamic duo?

—jgoods

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Electricity and Incest at the Detroit Show

The first news out of the Detroit Auto Show was to downplay expectations: Major firms weren’t coming; the new cars weren’t exceptional; it was a very tough year. And then things got quite green all of a sudden with the media crowing over electric cars (really hybrids with gas engines doing the battery recharging).

Lotus Evora

The idea of high-end electric cars (and most of them will be quite expensive) seems to have charmed the pants off everyone. And the sports cars generated the most comment.

The notion of driving a sophisticated batt-mobile with real performance has turned on a lot of people. Perhaps they want a quick escape from the bad financial news at the office.

Tesla, of course, has gotten terrific reviews and presold about 1,200 roadsters at $109,000 per. But it’s got money troubles and is reported to be suing competitor Fisker, whose new 4-door Karma was one of the hits of the show (a roadster is coming). The smart money seems to be on Fisker, which is getting some funding from Qatar and making an international push with their cars. Tesla developed its car jointly with Lotus of England, which is in bed with more than one carmaker.

Cadillac Converj

To me, however, the really interesting electrics are still concept cars, some of which, like Cadillac’s Converj, I hope will get built. It is designed around the same power package that the Chevrolet Volt will be using: The first 40 miles are on the batteries, then the gas engine recharges them to permit “several hundred” more driving miles in hybrid mode.

Chevrolet Volt

Like the Volt, it has a plug-in, overnight recharger. Unlike the Volt, it’s a beautiful exercise in design, executed by Simon Cox in England. As they used to tell us in the car biz, styling sells cars. If they can do this one for less than $100K, they’ll have a winner.

Maybe Chrysler will too, but who knows when? Its Dodge Circuit EV, a true electric, promises 150-200 miles between charges, zero emissions, and 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds. Though the name Charger was apparently taken, the Circuit’s origins are in the earlier Dodge EV roadster and the Lotus Europa, to which it owes big styling and engineering debts. Chrysler is being very coy about price and production. I think they may be using the Circuit to “get someone to dance” with them, as Sen. Corker put it in the bailout hearings.

Dodge Circuit EV

To reinforce the incestuous nature of this business, Lotus is working, possibly with Toyota, on its own EV car, as yet unnamed but perhaps to be styled like the Evora on display in Detroit. Likely competition will be the Tesla roadster and . . . the Dodge EV.

I do hope these folks don’t trip themselves up over all their “alliances.”

OK, let’s vote: Which of these cars would you like to have?

—jgoods

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