JPM Breaks the Dirty Dozen

[Ted68]

With a second place finish in today's NASCAR race in Talladega, Alabama, Juan Pablo climbed from 17th in points to 12th. This places him in the top 12 from which the series champion will be decided in the last 10 races. As he said post-race, there is a long way to go but I think we can expect to see him continue the climb this year.

[roost89]

It's excellent to hear that JPM is doing well in NASCAR! what are his chances of getting the title? (i'm not a follower of NASCAR)

[Ciro Pabón]

The chances are the same as for Webber winning the WDC, let's say: if you bet one dollar and he wins, you can retire to a new house on the beach.

What I think it's important here is the new team chief that Montoya used for the first time last race. I thought Montoya Roldán (his new name in US) was going to win, but then there was a yellow flag until the end. Holy multiple crash, Batman! This seems more and more like "Days of Thunder"...

People down here rushed to confirm him as "the world champion of second places"...

People "up there" are outraged because a Toyota won. Here you have an example, taken verbatim, of a NASCAR forum (next time you think tifosi are one-sided, re-read this) :

Toyota in NASCAR is a friggen DISGRACE to American Citizens, any american driver in NASCAR that drives a non-American car should be ASHAMED of themselves and when they win they shouldn't feel proud but ASHAMED that they have betrayed America, their NASCAR fans and themselves!

NASCAR was an American sport for Americans so why let a company that is helping to ruin American enter into the competition?

I have retired as a fan of NASCAR and will NEVER watch another race!

So, I'd say that JPM chances are greater than the chances Kyle Busch has (who's the guy that drives for Toyota and managed to make happy the fan I quote).

BTW, People magazine (en "espanol", without the "ñ") named Juan among the 50 most beautiful latinos, which proves how ugly we are... The guy is on a roll. Here you have him in his best dress:



Ain't he cute? Way to go, Juan.

[DaveKillens]

I watched most of that Talladega race, and JPM did a great job. In this type of racing, keeping out of trouble is the most important thing. With in the last lap, JPM was sitting 2nd behind Kyle Bush. The caution flew, and all racing for position was frozen. Usually on the last lap there's a huge scramble for position and most likely, many places get changed before they cross the finish line. So although this last lap positioning was cancelled by the caution, JPM wound up sitting 2nd. Fantastic job, in a difficult track.

[WhiteBlue]

Ain't he cute? Way to go, Juan.

the photographer should be hired by Playboy and Miss World

[donskar]

With reference to the antiToyota tirade mentioned earlier . . .
Toyota has dominated NASCAR pickup truck racing for some years now.
And the Toyota Tundra is the only pickup sold in the US that is built in the US.

[mx_tifoso]

Even though I will most likely not purchase a Japanese truck in a later time, I seriously hope that trucks such as the Toyota Tundra will lead to improvements in 'our' domestic trucks. For example, the majority of the top-of-the-line Chevrolet Silverados come equipped with drum brakes on the rear axle (I would personally never accept drum brakes on a vehicle that costs around $40,000 dollars). While all current generation Tundras come standardly equipped with enormous disc brakes all around, even the entry level trims.

Yes, domestic vehicles are designed to provide nearly the same amount of performance with less technology, but imagine the possibilities with an increase in technological applications, such as VVT and improved exhaust design.

So for the most part, foreign competition can only improve the domestic manufacturers products. In a similar fashion to what the Honda NSX did to high end sports car makers when it was introduced mora than a decade ago.

And Ciro, I'm not sure if your 'how ugly we are' statement was meant in a sarcastic way, but you should be more proud of our people than that.

Oh yeah, and good luck to JPM in his NASCAR effort.

[Ted68]

Next time someone here goes to a NASCAR race, take a pic of the parking lot and post it on one of those threads, lots of Camrys, Accords, 4Runners and Titans to be seen. Along with my daily driver, a 2001 Toyota Tacoma Pre-Runner.

The biggest impact foreign competition has had on American automobile production was when Honda opened the Marysville, Ohio plant to produce Accords in 1982 to avoid duties and tariffs. In very short order the plant was producing world-class quality cars. This put a laser-like focus on American management--or mis-management--for the crap coming from Detroit, and removed it from the workers who had been saddled with the blame. And when the Yen to Dollar value fluctuated in '86, Honda began exporting American-made Accords back to Japan to save money.

What I need explained to me is the argument that the Busch-series road race in Mexico City takes jobs from Americans. Hell, I thought it was just a good race.

[Belatti]

Jaja! that "Uncle Sam & ex NASCAR" fan makes me laught. If you spit against the wind.. guess what: it will return to you.

mx_tifo: of course Ciro was being sarcastic, surely he will confirm to you that the beauty of Colombian women is not only a myth...

[Ray]

Even though I will most likely not purchase a Japanese truck in a later time, I seriously hope that trucks such as the Toyota Tundra will lead to improvements in 'our' domestic trucks. For example, the majority of the top-of-the-line Chevrolet Silverados come equipped with drum brakes on the rear axle (I would personally never accept drum brakes on a vehicle that costs around $40,000 dollars). While all current generation Tundras come standardly equipped with enormous disc brakes all around, even the entry level trims.

Yes, domestic vehicles are designed to provide nearly the same amount of performance with less technology, but imagine the possibilities with an increase in technological applications, such as VVT and improved exhaust design.

So for the most part, foreign competition can only improve the domestic manufacturers products.

I don't know where you are looking, but I've never seen a $40k light duty Silverado with drum brakes. If you are talking about the heavy duty Silverados, most people prefer drums to discs because they work better with heavy loads that most truck like that tow. Just because it's a disc brake doesn't mean it's better in every situation. Neither is VVT for that matter. Why do you think tractor trailers use drums? And Chevrolet trucks do come with VVT as an option. Maybe not standard, but not unavailable.You should read up on the product line better. An old coworker of mine had a Tacoma that he paid 5k more than me and it was a peice of junk. It ran like crap, it was way smaller than mine, got worse milage, couldn't tow as much, couldn't carry as amny people or as much in the bed. And it cost more! Is that a full representation of the brand? No. It's only one example. Just because it's from Europe or Asia doesn't mean ---.

And the Tundra is not the be all end all truck. The commercials are lies. They claim to tow 10k pounds, but they fail to tell you it's combined vehicle and trialer weight. Not to mention the bullshit stunt with the cargo container over the side of the cliff. If you dropped that much weight tied to any truck that size over a cliff, it would drag it right over the side with it. And anyone that says it won't is lying to themselves.

If some of you didn't know, the new "Nissan Titan" will be a Dodge Ram rebadged. Great job on import competition huh? I hate how much bullshit floats around about 'foreign' being better than domestic. Tundras can be cheap, and so can any domestic truck. SO can any truck in the world.

And Toyota hasn't dominated anything in NASCAR. Every top series they have is a spec series. They nor Chevrolet, Ford, nor Dodge are winning anything. It's a spec car with different color scheme and different drivers. To say any car make is dominating NASCAR is absolutely ludicrous and hilarious.

Whew. Now onto JPM.

He's a great driver and I'm so glad he did well at Talladega. He has almost no chance of winning the championship though. Which really sucks cause then I could rub it in everybodys face at work.

[WhiteBlue]

compare Knorr-Bremse's opinion, a global market leader of truck, trailor and train braking systems
http://www.knorr-bremse.com/download/co ... 01_low.pdf page 16

In 1987 Knorr-Bremse introduced pneumatically activated disk brakes for commercial vehicles. As a result, in the space of just a few years, drum brakes were almost entirely replaced by disk brakes across Europe - a development curently under way in America and Asia as well

[Ted68]

[quote="Ray"]An old coworker of mine had a Tacoma that he paid 5k more than me and it was a peice of junk. It ran like crap, it was way smaller than mine, got worse milage, couldn't tow as much, couldn't carry as amny people or as much in the bed. And it cost more! Is that a full representation of the brand? No. It's only one example. Just because it's from Europe or Asia doesn't mean ---.[quote]

My next truck wears a bow tie!

Five years ago, in an economic mood as I use my truck for work, I replaced my 175,000 mile '97 GMC 1/2-ton with an '01 Toyota Tacoma with 28,000 miles on it. The Jimmy was getting on in years but it was extremely comfortable, had power everything and was a great highway cruiser as well as a hauler. On a road trip with my Dad, we ran overnight from my house in Corona, California to his sister's house in Onalaska, Texas for Thanksgiving dinner. We sat and slept comfortably for 19 straight hours as the 350-inch V8 averaged 80+ mph and 23 mpg.

Now last summer when I relocated from California to Florida, that economy truck was uncomfortable, protested at anything above 80-mph and averaged 21-mpg. I expected better from a 2.7-liter DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder. I certainly didn't expect that an old cast iron lump in a truck that weighs 1200-lbs more would best it by 2 mpg.

Yep, back to a full-size GM for me.

[roost89]

I don't know where you are looking, but I've never seen a $40k light duty Silverado with drum brakes. If you are talking about the heavy duty Silverados, most people prefer drums to discs because they work better with heavy loads that most truck like that tow.

How can drum-brakes work better with heavier loads? I thought they were obsolete nowadays.

[flynfrog]

I don't know where you are looking, but I've never seen a $40k light duty Silverado with drum brakes. If you are talking about the heavy duty Silverados, most people prefer drums to discs because they work better with heavy loads that most truck like that tow.

How can drum-brakes work better with heavier loads? I thought they were obsolete nowadays.

surface area ahve you seen the size of a drum on a big truck

[Ciro Pabón]

... not mentioning that the geometry of a drum brake can be designed for a mechanical self-boosting action. The rotation of the brake drum will push a leading shoe brake pad into pressing harder against the drum.

Early disk brakes required a booster. When they were introduced by Chrysler in the 50's, nobody wanted disk brakes: you had to push too hard. Only when Studebaker developed the power braking system in 1964, disk brakes became a success.

Disk brakes allows you to get rid of the self-energizing effect of drums.

Drum brakes are cheaper. Weight shift means the rear brakes are not as stressed, reason why many cars have rear drum brakes.

Drum brakes can incorporate easily a hand brake mechanism.

Contrary to popular belief, disk brakes have more problems with heating because they have a smaller surface: railways have to use several disks, because of that (and because skidding is hard to control with drum brakes).

Disk brakes on trucks present problems because they need to use several disks to cope with heat. They are not price-competitive.

A disadvantage is that the drum of drum brakes distorts with the pressure of the pads.

Another disadvantage is that when heated, the drum expands and the brake losses some force (besides the materials developing less friction).

I've driven a couple of times a Ford Model T (it belongs to a friend of a friend...) and the thing has the funnier brake I've seen: a band goes around the transmission. The brake is on the right pedal, the middle pedal is the reverse, and the left pedal is the gear shift (it has two gears, low and high). The throttle is on the steering wheel, the spark plug advance is manual and is also a lever on the wheel. There is a lever on the floor that you have to move towards you to engage the parking brake, you move it to the center to put the car in neutral and move forward to engage the gearbox. It's really difficult to move the car. To put it in neutral while moving, you have to push the left pedal to a middle position, and that's a pain in the butt.

About JPM, he went down: he's now 16 or something after getting the 32th position in the last race.