Sunday, February 25, 2018

IndyCar Fan Honors Will Power With Championship Pinewood Derby Car





Officially Licensed BSA Product
Grand Prix

Revell Grand Prix Racer Pinewood Derby Kit

From the start of the first lap until the winner crosses the finish line, Grand Prix racing provides fans with a pure adrenaline rush that has no equal.

Now you can experience the rush for yourself with this Grand Prix Racer kit. It comes with virtually everything you need to win, including a preshaped body and race-legal wheels and axles. A tapered chassis weight allows additional fine-tuning, while the Raceday Log/Tips and Tricks Book is loaded with helpful hints on how to cross the finish line first.

Why our Pinewood Derby® racers stand out:
• Official BSA Pinewood Derby wheels and axles included! Unlike some other kits, Racer Kits include official BSA Pinewood Derby® wheels and axles. That makes them a convenience for you, instead of something extra to buy.

Box

• A better body. Racer bodies give you a head start on good looks. They’re CAD-drawn and preshaped to eliminate unnecessary shaping work. Sand it smooth…and you’re ready to paint.

• Sandpaper and decals included. The sandpaper you need? It’s included, along with onepeel & stick decal sheet. Let the good looks roll!

• Weight for performance tuning. Make sure your car’s weight is race legal on race day. You can remove excess weight by breaking sections at the scores — and secure the weight to the chassis just by sticking it on.

• Pinewood Derby® Raceday Log/Tips and Tricks Book. A must-have for the serious competitor. There are 16 pages of performance secrets and how-to’s for pre-race tuning, and space for recording setups, times, races and results!


• Injection-molded detail parts. Your Dragster racer can be made more realistic with the included engine, driver helmet and roll cage. All arrive painted and ready to install!

This Racer Car Kit Includes:

• Shaped wood block
• Four each of official BSA wheels and axles
• One sheet each of 120- and 220-grit sandpaper
• Molded & painted plastic wing and driver helmet
• One peel & stick decal sheet
• A 2.1-ounce, tapered chassis weight
• Official Pinewood Derby® Raceday Log/Tips & Tricks book
• Photo-illustrated instructions 

Racer Car Kit (includeds everything listed above) $10.99

Look for the Dragster, Grand Prix Racer, Funny Car, Luge, Military Vehicle and Skateboard Racer Kits at Derby Monkey Garage. If it doesn’t have the Revell® name and Boy Scouts of America seal, it’s not an officially licensed Pinewood Derby® Product! 

... notes from The EDJE

Friday, February 23, 2018

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Jack Harvey Shares IndyCar & Honda Secrets



... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Jack Harvey, Will, Honda, Set-Up, Secrets, New Media, The EDJE 

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Autonomous Vehicles Get Specific Attention In Paints & Coatings From PPG

Autonomous vehicle sensor coatings – PPG is pioneering the development of paints and related coatings that will improve vehicle and infrastructure visibility to radar and light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensors used in autonomous driving systems. Autonomous system signals bounce off this under layer coatings and return to the sensor instead of getting absorbed. This coating leverages commercially proven technology from PPG’s aerospace business that functions in the same light and heat-reflective way. Image Credit: PPG

Autonomous Vehicles Get Specific Attention In Paints & Coatings From PPG

PPG (NYSE: PPG) today announced that Ranju Arya will become senior business director, mobility, effective immediately.

PPG has formed a new team to look exclusively at how innovations in paint and coatings can help autonomous and electric vehicles.

As cars change, so will the expectations and demands put on their coatings, said Ranju Arya, who will lead the new team as senior business director of mobility. Image Credit: PPG via BusinessWire

“The options and opportunities are limitless,” Arya told the Tribune-Review on Monday. “We just have to understand more about this space.”

Arya is based in Troy, Michigan, but his team will consist of employees from all over the world, including Pittsburgh. PPG announced the new team Monday.

PPG unveiled its work with self-driving and electric vehicles in January during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The company partnered with University of Michigan's Mcity, a proving ground for self-driving cars, and is testing paints that are more visible to LiDAR scanner and that are easy to clean to keep sensor and camera lenses free of debris. Arya said PPG is working on coatings that will help cars communicate and see one another and stay clean, both inside and out. For autonomous vehicles used in ride-sharing, that coatings could make sure screens and there interfaces inside the car stay smudge free from one user to the next.

“These are all things that coatings can play a part in,” Arya said.

LiDAR scanners, which reflect lasers off of surfaces to tell where objects are, have a hard time seeing some dark-painted objects, Arya said. PPG developed a dark paint that the LiDAR can see through so it reflects off of the coating below it. The easy-clean coatings change the way water and other substances stick and cling to surfaces.

For electric cars, PPG designed coatings that can store and transfer energy.

Arya said the new coatings are still being tested in-house and haven't made their ways onto public streets.
[ht: BusinessWire | Triblive-Aaron Aupperlee]

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: PPG, Ranju Arya, Mobility, Autonomous, Paints, Coatings, Store and Transfer, Energy, LiDAR, light detection and ranging, Mcity, University of Michigan, The EDJE

Friday, February 16, 2018

The Captain's House - ISM Raceway Prix View 2018 Offers Chance To Tour The Penske Racing Museum

The Penske Racing Museum reception area (top center-left) where one is greeted by a receptionist that most positively fits an assumed Penske organization mold - articulate, informed, bright and enjoyable. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2018)

The Captain's House - ISM Raceway Prix View 2018 Offers Chance To Tour The Penske Racing Museum

ISM Raceway's Prix View, Verizon IndyCar Series first full field teams oval track test in 2018 of the new Universal Aero Kit body work that covers the DW-12 Dallara racing chassis, offers up an opportunity to visit the "Captain's House Of Racing & Championship Performance" - the Penske Racing Museum in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The drive from Goodyear to Scottsdale is only about forty minutes and is well worth the "freeway close" commute to catch one of the most unique motor culture displays of racing success that exists almost anywhere one can look in these United States.


The Penske Racing Museum showcases an amazing collection of cars trophies and racing memorabilia chronicling the career of one of the most successful dynasties in all of sports.

The Penske Racing Museum has over 50 years of racing experience and over 400 major race wins highlighted by a record-setting number of Indianapolis 500 mile race victories.


In the two-story structure are cars that detail the diversity of Penske Racing, including the replica of the 1963 Pontiac Catalina which Roger Penske drove to victory in the 1963 Riverside 250. Additionally, a number of Indianapolis 500 race winners are on display including the 2009 Dallara which Helio Castroneves drove to win in 2009 Indy 500.


Upstairs at the Penske Racing Museum, the Turn 4 Cafe is located next to displays of all Team Penske trophies over the years and models covering some of the special cars and engines that won most of the major races. There is also a boutique where one can buy memorabilia from the Penske Racing Museum.
[ht: Penske Racing Museum]

After a morning of taking in the self-guided and immersive tour of The Captain's House, one can catch lunch at a local Scottsdale IN-N-OUT located just a few blocks South and one block East to complete an excellent Southwest motor culture experience.

Image, Video & Audio Credit: Edmund Jenks (2018)

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Penske Racing Museum, working order, Turn 4 Cafe, Team Penske Trophies, Memorabilia, Boutique, models, Indianapolis 500 mile race victories, collection cars, Captain's House, ISM Raceway, The EDJE

Friday, February 2, 2018

Celebrate 70 Years Of Porsche History With "The Porsche Effect" At Petersen Automotive Museum

1939 Type 64 - 1939 Porsche Type 64 60K10 - The Porsche Type 64 60K10 is the progenitor of all Porsches and the foundation of the Porsche aesthetic. It was built to compete in the 1939 Berlin-Rome endurance race, which was canceled due to the outbreak of war. A mere three identical cars were built, each of which used a Volkswagen platform and a streamlined aluminum body designed by Erwin Komenda and crafted by Reutter. This car was reconstructed of major components from the second Type 64, which had been dismantled after World War II. Collection of Automuseum Prototype, Hamburg - Engine: 1.1-Liter Flat-4 - Horsepower: 40  - Top Speed: 90 Mph - Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2018)

Celebrate 70 Years Of Porsche History With "The Porsche Effect" At Petersen Automotive Museum

Opening Saturday, February 3rd, 2018, “The Porsche Effect” in the Mullin Grand Salon will feature the German brand’s most historically significant street and racecars along with artifacts and historical documents, accompanied by an all-new Porsche Vault Tour showcasing some of the marque’s rarest vehicles.

Celebrating the worldwide impact of Porsche’s legendary machines, the Petersen Automotive Museum will present “The Porsche Effect” to the public on February 3rd. The new exhibit—organized in partnership with Porsche Cars North America and staged in the Mullin Grand Salon—will represent the most comprehensive Porsche display outside of Stuttgart. Museum guests will have a chance to see 50 of the brand’s most iconic cars both in the exhibition and in an all-new Porsche-dedicated vault tour in the museum’s underground treasury.

As one enters the main foyer of the Petersen Automotive Museum to attend "The Porsche Effect", one is greeted with side-by-side Porsche GT1-98s with the street version (here) on the left and race version on the right. The first ever presentation where both of these cars appear at the same venue let alone are this close together. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2018)

In the Vault, the bright orange Jägermeister Porsche 962C -117. The car left the Porsche Wessach factory in 1985. Brun Motorsport—a Swiss racing team that competed as a Porsche privateer team—purchased it as a chassis to replace another Porsche 962 that had been damaged. Once chassis number 962C-117 was assembled and put into service, Brun Motorsports raced the car in the World Sports Prototype Championship from 1986 to 1989. The car finished second in its class at Le Mans, and later was victorious at Spain’s Circuito Permanente de Jerez. It was also famous for an overall win as number 17 at Belgium’s 1000-km Spa-Francorchamps in 1986. After the 1989 racing season—and a very respectable career of 36 races that earned 23 top-ten finishes—the car was retired.Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2018)

For seven decades, the Stuttgart based automaker has been overwhelmingly successful on racetracks and in dealership showrooms around the world, thanks to a combination of innovative engineering, an evolutionary design and the resulting dynamic brand that has inspired diehard fans for generations. “The Porsche Effect” features a collection of cars, historical documents and artifacts that will showcase the vehicles as kinetic art and illustrate the evolution of the brand itself—from early in the company’s engineering house beginnings through its modern-day road and race cars.

“Over a year in the making, ‘The Porsche Effect’ will capture the innovative and iconic spirit of Porsche, showcasing the marque’s many contributions to automotive engineering and the motorsports world,” said Peter Mullin, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Petersen. “We are thrilled to share this incredible history with the public in an experience that both passionate enthusiasts and casual fans will surely appreciate and enjoy.”

Porsche Design Lounge and Stereo Display entertainment during the CRT television era. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2018)

Penthouse for your Porsche: This luxe Miami high-rise comes with a car elevator so you can drive right into your living room. A new skyscraper in the Miami skyline is a Porsche lover's nirvana. It's called the Porsche Design Tower and every inch of this Sunny Isles Beach high-rise is inspired by the sleek German sports car. It's even been described as a Porsche piston rising from the shoreline [ht: CNBC - video vignette HERE]. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2018)

From ‘The Porsche Effect’ poster display. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2018)

The showcase also features explorations into Porsche Design, Identification, and Culture ... complete with audio/visual presentations for one to immerse themselves in.  Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2018)

"Within my responsibility I have at Porsche, none is greater than the commitment of looking after our great brand,” said Klaus Zellmer, President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. “With that, of course, comes the compulsion to support and honor our rich heritage. When the Petersen Museum first suggested we work together on what has become “The Porsche Effect,” I immediately saw the mutual benefits to both.  We are looking forward to sharing the story of Porsche through rare and seldom seen artifacts and display elements, in addition to some of the most iconic cars or all time.”

Some of the vehicles on display include the 1939 Berlin-Rome Type 64 race car, a 906 race car, the 919 endurance racer, the Petersen Collection’s 901 and Continental, a rare model “X83” Turbo S Flachbau 964, a rally-spec Type 953 911, the world-beating Gulf 917K, the Jägermeister 962, the legendary Porsche 935 K3 Le Mans winner belonging to Petersen vice-chairman Bruce Meyer and more. On exclusive loan from The Porsche Museum will be the 928 H50 study, a rare four-door prototype of the 928.

The back sweep wall showcase that features some of the most winning and iconic racecars produced by Porsche combined with music and moving graphic display that highlights the accomplishments of each of the platforms displayed. Breaking up the string of cars are engines as they evolve through the ages. Image Credit Edmund Jenks (2018)

VIP ticket holders may receive access to the museum’s exclusive Penthouse Lounge. VIPs may also be offered a limited-run poster, copies of limited-edition Porsche literature, and a tour of the Porsche vault.

The exhibit will run through January 27, 2019. Those interested in attending - purchase tax-deductible general admission and VIP tickets on www.petersentickets.org. For more information on “The Porsche Effect” or about the Petersen Automotive Museum, please visit www.Petersen.org.

###

The Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity. The Museum is located at 6060 Wilshire Boulevard (at Fairfax) in Los Angeles, California, 90036. Admission prices are $16 for general admission adults, $13 for seniors and students with ID, $8 for children ages 3 to 12. Active military with ID, personal care attendants and children under three are admitted free. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For general information, call 323-930-CARS or visit www.petersen.org.

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Petersen Automobile Museum, The Porsche Effect, Dave Engelman, Bruce Meyer, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, Porsche Cars North America, Inc., The Vault, Porsche Design, culture, The EDJE