Rainfall, Red Bull Fail, Fernando Triumphs!

Despite a lengthy pitstop during his change from Full Wets to Intermediates, Fernando Alonso won the inaugural Korean Grand Prix at Yeongam.

A start under safety car, a momentary red flag period, and more safety car laps had the race actually starting on the 18th lap, and the whole affair lasted more than 3 hours (despite a 2 hour time limit).

Shortly thereafter, Mark Webber dipped a wheel too far onto the kurbing and spun into a wall, collecting Nico Rosberg in the process, thus shattering his rear suspension, as well as his 14 point lead in the championship.

A later crash by Buemi brought out another safety car, bringing everyone to pit lane for intermediates.  This saw Fernando fall from Second behind Vettel to third behind Hamilton's McLaren.  Shortly after the restart, Hamilton had a slight off, allowing Alonso back into second.

Vettel nearly had the race and the championship lead in hand until his engine expired, showering the straight with molten piston particles.

Fernando inherited the lead, and it was to the finish from that point.  Hamilton recovered slightly, and did mount a charge, but was not able to take the lead from 'Nando's Prancing Horse, and came home in a healthy second position, scoring vital points to keeping himself in the fight for the title.

Fernando Alonso now leads the championship for the first time since the lead up to Malaysia (the third race of the season)

Forza Fred, and Forza Ferrari!

The Brazilian Grand Prix is only 13 days away!

Nixon Watches

It's hard to say I did a whole lot of copywriting on this campaign, as I basically just used quotes.  Quotes about time to sell watches...cliched?  Maybe, but it works.

This blurb will be on a board for my boss' 356SC at the Hilton Head Concourse D'elegance.  If anyone wants to see what Auto Atlanta is capable of, go check it out.

Commencing the Porsche production car line, the 356 was introduced in 1949 as an aluminum bodied sports coupe.  Over the course of its tenure, the 356 sold 76,303 units, and solidified Porsche’s place in history as a pure sporting car manufacture.  Though it has been out of production for over 45 years, the 356 is still recognized as the iconic Porsche automobile.

The 356 T-6 was introduced in 1963 as a 64 model, and a total of 16,668 Cs left the line at the Porsche factory.  While retaining the svelte and aerodynamic body, with a drag coefficient of .340, of the previous model, the 356C had significantly updated the braking systems, as well as engine choices.  The biggest outward change included updated badges and traditional disc wheels with smaller hub caps.  The SC is the ultimate iteration of the 356 with the highest output of any prior Porsche production model, superior handling, and premium braking package.

Developed on the prior Super 90 engine design, heads and intake were modified, and compression was bumped to 9.5:1.   Twin Solex 40PII-4s supplied the engine with sufficient fuel through redesigned intake manifolds.  The new 1582cc engine developed 95 horsepower at a relatively stratospheric 5500 rotations per minute.  Transferred through a four speed gearbox with a 4.03 final drive ratio, the SC would sprint to 60 miles per hour in a tick under 11 seconds and continue to the quarter mile in just 18.7 seconds and a top speed of 115.5 miles per hour.

The suspension refinements for the C model helped improve both ride quality and handling.  Various magazines of the day confirmed that the C was capable of at least .8 G in skid pad testing, with some stating sustained .83 G, making it one of the best handling sports cars ever.  The braking system developed for the 356 by Alfred Teves Engineering (ATE) provided vastly superior pedal feel and decreased emergency stopping distances.  For the first time, Porsche used a four wheel disc braking system, which necessitated the earlier mentioned disk wheels, and used a twin piston caliper design.  The system was also one of the first to use a hub integrated drum style parking brake that is seen on many modern cars.

This particular 1965 356 SC is swathed in Porsche’s beautiful Signal red with black leatherette interior. Its only option was the beautiful chrome horn ring.  It has been painstakingly restored by Automobile Atlanta, for George Hussey.  Starting with only an empty shell, Mr. Hussey and Automobile Atlanta spent the next five years searching for the parts to return the car to it’s former glory.  As George himself puts it, "Another Porsche saved from the scrapper".

Not the exact car, but it looks exactly like this one.

Rallycross

I wrote this for the Atlanta Region SCCA.  This will be in the newsletter promoting the advancements toward a Rallycross program for the region.  I am pretty excited.  I think I might build a Modified 2WD class Supra for competition.


   With the end of the solo season already past, some of us gearheads still have the itch for competition. The “need for speed”, the feeling of adrenaline and the never ending search for ever lower lap times pushes us across borders, venturing into other venues.  While some sit on the couch playing Forza or dreaming about the always pending release of the new Gran Turismo, and others try an indoor karting league, there is a certain faction of weekend warriors who find their fix in a playground of dirt.
     Still relatively new to SCCA competition, rallycross is quickly gaining a fan base. Complete with a national championship, simple class structure, and the support of many regions, rallycross is proving to be a force of great magnitude. Similar to autocross, rallycross is a time based competition played out on a course delineated by markers. It is there that the similarities end, however. Rallycross takes place on an open field, this one dirt as opposed to paved. Rallycross also does not require the use of special tires just to compete in the “stock” class. As a matter of fact, all you need to compete is a car that passes a simple technical inspection and a helmet (as always, loaners will be made available).  Rallycross also rewards consistency as opposed to outright speed by scoring based on combined lap times, and the classing structure can be understood without a master’s degree.
     The Atlanta Region is considering entry into the dirty fray. With a large constituency of competitive gearheads, we are hoping to have a rallycross contingency that will grow into something that cannot be overlooked. Do you have what it takes to “Scandinavian flick” your way to the victory? There is only one way to find out.
     We are currently in the planning stages, however if you would like to voice your opinion or volunteer to assist, please visit the forums at soloatlanta.com and make yourself heard. You may also contact Roberto Cornejo (AtlantaRegionRallyX@gmail.com) or Bradley Brownell (Bradley.C.Brownell@Gmail.com). Are you going to be a part of the movement, or are you going to stay in all winter wishing you had been?

Atlanta Region SCCA Rallycross...It's Good, Clean, Fun!

Glee

I hate this fact, but it seems that Amanda has warped my taste so much that I can actually enjoy Glee.

I won't be traveling to any premiers, or trying to get autographs, but on Tuesday nights, I can sit back and watch it.  It's kinda funny.

well...there is this.

I love my doggy!

This is my adorable little dog.  His name is Alois, he is named after Alois Ruf, the renowned Porsche tuner.

He definitely shows all of the attributes of an only child.  He gets everything he wants, and if he doesn't get his way, he will make it known.  He makes me smile when I come home from work, and I love spending time with him.

Autocross

Another SCCA solo tomorrow morning.

Also, announcing the beginning of the Atlanta Region rallycross program.  Can't wait.

Modest Mouse

I heard Dashboard by Modest Mouse on the radio today.  I may have to break out my copy of "We were dead before the ship even sank" when I get home tonight.  I love that album.

I am not a Human Being

So Wayne can release an album from prison, and still do a decent job.  "I'm Single" is an ironic song, because Lil' Wheeze will be celebrating solo for another couple weeks, as he is currently in solitary until his release.


I really appreciate "What's Wrong With Them" featuring Nicki Minaj.  I like play on words in my rap songs, and this one does not deny me of that.


Another standout is "Right Above It" with Drake.  


While it may not be "Tha Carter III", it is certainly better than "Rebirth".


I AM NOT HUMAN is worth about 7 out of 10.  I got my copy at Target last night for 9.99, the sale will probably last another week or so, so pick it up now.

Paul Frere

Today while at work, a customer asked how much a book was that he had pulled off the shelf.  I asked who the author was, and he said "Some French Guy".

The author was none other than Paul Frere.  The 1960 24 hours of Le Mans winner, and very successful automotive analyst, writer and historian.  He also won three Belgian national rowing championships.

We still remember you Paul.  Thanks for the memories.

I wrote this for work last summer.

This was an "Auto Atlanta" sponsored blog post on a Porsche blog.  It was short and sweet.  I like the cover of the operators manual.

I want you to think of the rarest Porsche you can.  Got it?  What did you pick?  The crazy excess of the 959?  Nope, there were 337 group B wonders crafted.  904 Carerra GTS?  120 of those bad boys were made.  The 924 Carrera GT?  Forget about it, 76 of them rolled off the line in Germany.  911 GT1 Strassenversion?  No way, due to homologation rules, 25 were hand assembled.  The rare 916?  Not even, Porsche made 11 of these killer 914 derivitives.  You were getting close with the 916, but this 914 special is twice again as rare with what is generally accepted as only five examples in existence.  Thanks to a letter written from the factory to a curious Sportomatic owner in 1979, we know that the Factory accepts that 5 cars were built as prototypes, and eventually were sold.  Luckily the letter was written in English!

With over eight thousand 911 Sportomatic cars built, it is significantly less rare.  Internally very similar to the 911 sportomatic, the 914/6 version had the distinction of being the only 914 with two pedals.  The Sportomatic is often considered the first “automanual” transmission in the same vein as the current PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplung) transmissions, only instead of paddle shifters mounted on the steering column, the Sportomatic had a more traditional shifter in the center of the car with only P for park, R for reverse, L for low, and D, D3, and D4 for drive.  Also, the Sportomatic uses a Torque Converter type transfer of power, as opposed to the dual clutch type in the modern PDK.

One of the original five sits quietly in the Automobile Atlanta showroom in Marietta, GA.  We acquired the car in 1996, and began an extensive restoration of the car.  The engine had been rebuilt once already, the car had been repainted, yet the transmission still soldiered on.  A full mechanical, and aesthetic restoration was done, and the car is now completely pristine.  Come by our showroom to see this, and all of our other brilliant showroom cars.

Waco Bi-planes

A friends family owns a classic bi-plane manufacture named Waco Classic based out of Battle Creek, MI.  They kinda freak me out, and seriously, planes should not be able to fly upside-down.  (Don't feed me that mumbo jumbo about the Bernouli Principle, I have heard it a million times.  You will not change my mind. An upside down plane is not creating lift, it is creating downforce.)


Anyway, I started looking into the advertising that the company has been doing, even going back to the end of WWI.  In those days, Waco used the tagline "ask a pilot".  That's all well and good, pilots are trusted men in the field of aviation, and who knows more about a bi-plane than someone who has spent countless hours getting used to flying one?


Now that bi-planes are the play things of millionaire playboys with more time and money on their hands than excess brains, "ask a pilot" doesn't do much, mainly because pilots don't fly them anymore.  Now the tagline is slightly more aimed at the ego; "Own the Dream".


It seems to me that Ownership is not what should be emphasized here.  Nobody cares about owning them, they care about the feeling of flying them.  The joy of flying a classic plane, I imagine is similar to classic car ownership.  They are finicky, and not as refined as what you can get brand new, but they are infinitely more cool.  Most flights are about the destination, about getting where you are going faster.  With a Waco, your destination is the sky.

"Most flights are about the destination, in a Waco Classic it is about the journey."
"In a Waco Classic, it isn't about getting where you are going, it is about going."
"In a Waco Classic, your destination is the sky."

Free Porsche

So BGB motorsports group in Florida apparently crashed their Porsche Cayman S at a recent round of the Grand Am Continental Tire Challenge series.  The remaining pieces are being given away with the following sentence being the only rules.


The contest winner will be selected based on a 50 word submission titled “What I Would Do If This Crashed Race Car Were Delivered To My Doorstep.”

My Response: 


1. Quell Excitement.
2. Troll e-bay for LS engine on the cheap.
3. Install turbocharged LS amidships.
4. 2011 GRM Challenge.
5. Redline Time Attack Series.
6. 25 hours of thunderhill.
7. Targa Newfoundland.
8. Land speed record at Bonneville.
9. Make "regular" Porsche owners weep.
10. Drive every day as a crazy commuter.
11. conjure immaculate Martini Livery.
12. Wake from dream.

My favorite

Of everything I have done, I love this one the most.  Shout out to Mr. Reid Bianchine for the design work.

Delta!

Carmichael Lynch

A few months back, I wrote this cover letter for a job opening at the Carmichael Lynch advertising agency.  The listing was for a Subaru product specialist.  Honestly, I probably know more about Subaru than 80% of the people that are working on the campaign.  The best cover letter you have ever read follows:

Carmichael Lynch
110 North Fifth St.
Minneapolis, Mn, 55401

I am Subaru.  From the diminutive 360 on the tenth floor of one hundred ten north fifth street, to the “four-wheeled defibrillator” GE chassis WRX, and the “305 horsepower pledge pin” GH chassis WRX STi.  I urge you to “buy stock in rubber”.  I am the racing strength and prowess of Subaru Tecnica International.  I am legendary rally champions Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, Richard Burns, and Petter Solberg.  I am three consecutive World Rally Constructors Championships.  I hold five consecutive Rally America Championships.  I am the fans of the rally blue mica, and the stars of the Pleiades.

I am safe.  I am the only automotive brand to receive a five-star safety rating from the IIHS on every automobile in my lineup.  I am fifteen percent sales increases in the United States, a sixteen percent increase in Canada, 3.9 percent increases in Australia, and an eighty-six percent increase in China.

During my time spent within the Rally America Championship as an intern, I learned the depth of Subaru owner and fan loyalty.  Knowing that Subaru inspires people to trek into the forests of Northern Michigan in January to see their heroes hustling Fuji Heavy product down tree lined roads, five to ten seconds at a time, has permanently vetted my interest in the company.  I have been a fanatic of Subaru from my earliest interests in cars, and I am proud to count myself among those at the side of these roads.

This passion has only been assisted by the excellent lineup of advertisements coming from the Atlanta based Carmichael Lynch Subaru group.  When Mr. William Stentz spoke at a Western Michigan Universities Ad Club meeting, I knew that Carmichael Lynch was a company that I would be honored to work for one day.  When a listing for the product information specialist on the Carmichael Lynch website arrived, I knew that this was my opportunity.

Enthusiasm.  It’s what makes me a Subaru.

Respectfully,

Bradley C. Brownell

Reverse type

I have just noticed something.  My blog is presented in a format that I, myself, hate!  While it looks cool, reverse type is an utter piece of crap to read.  I am sorry for your vision.

Yet, I don't think I will change it.  It just looks too damn cool.  Even though it never won anything, Ferrari never apologized for the 250 GTO.  Mainly because it looks so cool that it probably won everything.  Including a fist fight with Chuck Norris, a thumb war with Betty White, and an arm wrestling competition with God himself.

The Waiting Game.

I wrote this about 3 months ago.  I don't think Amanda has even seen this.  I hope she likes it.

                As wise man, Tom Petty, once said, “The waiting is the hardest part.” 

                The 3 seconds in question were possibly the longest of my life.  I was left feeling like I had lived an entire lifetime in those three seconds.  Feeling as though I were a recent graduate waiting on acceptance correspondence from post-secondary institutions, hopeful parents waiting on fertility results, or perhaps an idle professional waiting for a return phone call regarding prospective employment, I waited.

                She, on another, higher level than I, was everything that I had ever waited for.  Her reaction, her response, her answer, I waited.  Any answer was better than the waiting.  I knelt under the pressure, contemplating the outcome, the consequences of both the query and perceivable outcomes.

She was and is everything that I am, and continues to influence everything that I become.  She knows me better than I know myself, and I could find her in a crowded room blindfolded.  My past, present, and future personified.  Standing over me, she gazed downward, her sculpted hand covered thin lips, blocking the words that I desperately wish to hear. 

                Shouldering the burden of the weight, I shifted my gaze to the floor.  I could not bear to wait another tick of my wristwatch more when she did, finally, utter a response.  Awash with relief, a feeble, nearly inaudible affirmation was released from her lips.  A small whimper and a single tear told me everything I had ever needed or wished to know.  Every moment with her had simply been preparation for this one.  Life changing, yet somehow comforting, I knew from that moment that, come what may, everything would work out.

Imm'a let you finish, but this is the best blog that has ever been written.

Yeah, I know, "Kanye West at the VMAs" references are about a year out of date, but damn, they still make me laugh.

Welcome to my weblog.  Let me get something straight, I am not the best, nor probably will I ever be, but I enjoy writing.  Scratch that, I enjoy having written, writing sucks!  This blog will chronicle my entire life, and it is me.  I will be blunt at times, and I will probably do a lot of venting here.  Mostly I started this because I want to write, also, because I want other people to read what I have written.  Having words on a page is great, but if it never gets read, it was a fruitless venture.

As pathetic post-grad with a 4-year degree that is almost as worthless as the paper it is written on, I have managed to pick out a decent niche for myself.  In this downward economy, I have a job that does pay the bills, and I have a loving girlfriend that does her best as well.  We live comfortably, but not as comfortably as I had hoped by this juncture in my life.  Student loan debt and credit card debt is a bitch, a heavy bitch that you have to lug around on your back all day.

This blog will consist of daily musings (as the title states), but it will also include my work, maybe a rough draft, maybe a finished product, but usually something I would put in my portfolio.  An advertising grad and a car guy at heart, some entries will be purely advertising, some will be purely car related, some will be a combination of both, while further some will be whatever pops into my head at any given moment.

I don't expect anyone to read this, but I do expect to enjoy doing it, and that is most important.