Honda pulls plug on Frankfurt Motor Show

Faced with shrinking sales and an uncertain economic climate, Honda has announced plans to withdraw from the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Citing the 'unprecedented market downturn' and their recent withdrawal from Formula One, the company said the move is part of a coordinated effort to reduce costs in order to strengthen their business position in light of the current economic crisis. Honda who had hoped to debuted their Accord Tourer concept at the show will instead focus on several green initiatives such as expanding fuel cell research, creating more hybrid vehicles, and launching the 'Honda Academy' which is aimed at improving quality and customer service.
While many auto shows have seen serious cuts in manufacturer attendance, Honda's absence may cause other automakers to reconsider their presence at one of the premier industry events of 2009."

Audi to unveil RS3 in Frankfurt

The article quoted here is from the Swedish edition of Auto, Motor & Sport, and they claim to have a source inside the Ingolstadt-based Audi who says the RS3 is coming soon.
Audi has not yet officially unveiled an RS3 but we can let loose our imaginations, can't we?
An RS3 will most likely come with Audi's 2.5 liter, 5-cylinder turbocharged engine first seen in the TT RS. That engine produces 340 hp and 450 Nm of torque. It will also be a strict quattro (all-wheel drive). The Swedish mag is also speculating that an RS3 variant of that engine may be dialed up a little and feature anywhere from between 350 to 400 hp, making the model faster than an R8 with the 4.2 liter FSI engine.
If there is going to be an RS3, the Frankfurt motor show next month would be the ideal place to premiere it and that's what the Swedes at Auto, Motor & Sport are saying.
Looks like we will just have to wait until then !"

guy in gt3 gets flashed by van man towing a lotus - when ridiculous is in a rush

Had a pretty unique experience on Saturday morning last... in preparation for the phoenix park races, I was asked to tow a lotus race car with a Nissan Interstar up to the park. So off I took nice and easy until the rope was taught and proceeded out of the estate and onto the road.first, second and third. right that will do, that's fast enough for this journey. Following the Lotus' owner in his GT3 my mobile began to ring with a flurry of calls...

The nub of the calls were all the same - I wasn't driving fast enough. Can you believe what I write ? It's true, I promise. I was driving at about 40 km/h which in antibody's book is plenty fast enough when towing another vehicle. The calls kept coming until the final call came to pull over. So I did, and I got to drive the GT3 which was a pleasant surprise for a Saturday morning.

After wedging myself into the bucket seats I and finding my way around the cock pit I pulled off like a granny in a Micra. No need to be the big boy this day. Unbelievably stiff clutch and no travel between gears, I thing this is called close ratio gear box ? This is the closest thing to a Massey Ferguson 35 that I have driven. So, everything is going grand until i look in my rear view mirror to see the new driver of the van flashing and waving me on all while sitting on the rear bumper of the GT3. And I did think to myself at that time last Saturday morning, this is ridiculous in a rush.

Phoenix park motor races

Off to the Phoenix park in Dublin today for bi-annual motor races with team oph.ie

Report later....................