Anoop Menon With His Jaguar XF At The Showroom

 Anoop Menon finally took delivery of his Jaguar. There were rumours that Anoop acquired a Merc GL Class as well as a used Jaguar XF. Here is the confirmation!
The Jaguar XF (codename: X250) is an executive car produced by British car manufacturer Jaguar which was first revealed in autumn 2007 as a replacement for the Jaguar S-Type. The XF is the English rival to the German trio, the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes Benz E-Class.
Jaguar XF was launched in 2008 and received a positive response from the richies in India.Jaguar XF was in true sense, a head-turner for the Tata-owned British luxury car maker, Jaguar. After a steep decline in sales during recent years, the company went back to pencil and paper and redesigned its XF saloon. With the face-lifted XF, Jaguar has the potential to really take the fight to the German trio of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. The XF, which takes-on other premium luxury sedans such as the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6, offers a great substitute in a section which is otherwise only occupied firmly by the German auto giants. But as these three big German luxury car makers launched updated versions of their offerings in this segment recently, the task Jaguar is rather tough.

Source- Anoop Menon(Facebook Page)

Smith claims "done deal" report on track move is wrong

   The following is a statement from Speedway Motorsports Inc. Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, O. Bruton Smith:

“The ‘done deal’ report by WBTV regarding moving a race is false. No final decision has been made regarding any race date move, and I have not discussed this with NASCAR. 

   “Instead of what ‘could’ happen, let’s set the facts straight about what has happened. We’ve invested $100 million in the Charlotte Motor Speedway complex in the past six years to make it even better for the fans. We’ve expanded our fan zone, added pit road suites and built the world’s largest HDTV for every fan to enjoy. We’ve put more people to work with these projects and we’ve added more events to the calendar to bring in more tourists and fans. And we’ve done this during the worst economy since the Great Depression. 

   “We’ve done this without asking for a handout from the government, like we’ve seen from so many other sports facilities, teams or franchises, and yet at the same time property values are falling during the recession, our Cabarrus County taxes have doubled since 2005. We absolutely love the fans that come to Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s frustrating to think about the future and consider that the local government doesn’t share the same excitement about Charlotte Motor Speedway that our fans do. The Cabarrus County politicians may say nice things to the media, but raising taxes does not support the tourism business, the area economy or companies trying to grow.”

Michael Annett finally cleared to race

 

   After being sidelined for eight races, Michael Annett will return to the driver's seat of the No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford this weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway for Saturday's History 300 Nationwide Series event.

   Annett was medically cleared Tuesday after suffering a broken and dislocated sternum after an accident in the season-opening Nationwide Series event at Daytona International Speedway in February.

   The Nationwide series regular underwent surgery for his injuries after the accident and has been sidelined for three months to allow his injuries to heal. Annett has been preparing for his return by participating in physical therapy over the last three weeks. Doctors, along with NASCAR officials, determined he was cleared to drive following an MRI on Monday afternoon.

Greg Biffle: "I highly doubt" Charlotte will lose a NASCAR race

   NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Greg Biffle took part in a teleconference on Tuesday and was asked about track owner Bruton Smith's claim there was a 70 percent chance he would move Charlotte Motor Speedway's fall Cup series date to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the near future.

   Here was Biffle's response:

    "I highly doubt whether we see that race move to a different location. There's a lot of people that come to that race. Let's face it, it's a business decision a lot of times. You make business decisions on the amount of people or fans or people you can attract to a particular race," Biffle said. "If your race is well‑attended, I don't see any reason for moving it.  Obviously, if we're running all the races, we're not going to be going out and doing all the stuff to try to change our cars.

   "That's the way I perceive it. I'm an entrepreneur, business type of guy. I see the grandstands fairly full when it comes to our two Charlotte races, a lot of attendance. I don't know all the behind‑the‑scenes stuff.

   "Frankly, we'll race wherever the race is at. I like both of the race tracks. I would like to see it stay in Charlotte. If it goes to Vegas, then I suppose we have to race there."

Bruton Smith considers moving a Charlotte NASCAR race to Las Vegas

   By Jim Utter
   jutter@charlotteobserver.com

   Charlotte Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith says Charlotte might may be on its way to losing one of its two prized spots on the schedule for NASCAR’s premier Sprint Cup Series schedule.

   During  In an interview Monday with WBTV on Monday, Smith said there was a 70 percent chance he would move the October NASCAR race weekend at CMS to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

   Smith’s Speedway Motorsports Inc. owns both facilities. Las Vegas currently hosts one Cup series race each March.

   “When the game is over, it’ll be money, money, money. Money will move it,” Smith told WBTV. “I’d say (the chances) are about 70/30.”

   CMS spokesman Scott Cooper said he could not comment on race dates and locations.

   “What I can say is that our team at the speedway is laser-focused on making this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 the very best in our long history. The speedway generates a $420 million dollar economic impact annually to the region, and most of it occurs right now,” he said.

   “We’re looking forward to putting thousands of people to work this week and entertaining 100,000 plus race fans on Sunday with our Southern hospitality.”

   Asked to comment on Smith’s interview, Jeff Motley, the Las Vegas track’s vice president of public relations, said he would defer to Smith.

   NASCAR said it has received no formal request from SMI to move one of its races to another one of its tracks.

   “Tracks have the ability to request re-alignment,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing operations. “We review and always decide based on the best interest of the entire sport of NASCAR.

   “We’re beginning the 2014 process now, and have not had any formal requests to re-align.”

   Former SMI president H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler said the moving of a CMS race date would not only be a great loss to Charlotte but also to the South.

   “I don’t know what else could occur to disappoint the Southern race fan that has brought us to where we are,” he said. “They lost North Wilkesboro, Rockingham and half of Darlington.

   “It would also be a great loss for Charlotte Motor Speedway and this area.”

   Las Vegas Motor Speedway also hosted an IndyCar Series race during in 2011, but the race was pulled from the 2012 schedule after a 15-car wreck resulted in the death of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon.

Has Dodge Said "Yes" to a New Dodge Magnum? Will They? Should they?

Why was the Dodge Magnum ever discontinued? Or why has it taken such a long time to introduce a new model? Huh Dodge? The Dodge Magnum is the best station wagon ever designed in the history of station wagons! It was one heck of a beautiful car with its low-slung sporty roofline, large wheels, bold wheel fenders, big smiling grille, and the high gangsta beltline. It was sexy, masculine, bad-ass-lookin', and full of braggadocio! It was brash, and urban, and hip. It looked like metal sculpted out of loud music! It was just soo good-looking!. I still turn my head when I see one on the road, or stop to snap a picture (for the SeraniTafari Street Team ofcourse) when I'm walking pass one on the streets.

Hopefully, though, by the publishing of this render, by Allpar, that this means there's something in the works for a brand new Dodge Magnum. In the rendering, I love the styling that I'm witnessing. The body panels have cleverly placed protruding sculpted forms that embolden the look of the car. I also love the rear spoiler; it has a unique non-categorical look. It's a very ergonomic look that's suitable for ones hand to hold it and lift the car (at least from the rear). I'm also in love with the styling of the taillights. It has a luxurious style that reminds me of a Bentley  Infact, this is the first part of the car that caught my eyes: the taillights. They sort of standout! And upon doing some research, it looks like the Bentley Mulsanne might have had an influence on this new Dodge Magnum design.

Observe the design/analysis below.

Now in regards to the styling glory of the Dodge Magnum - both old and new - only the Mercedes Shooting Brake comes close. Close but not close. Take a look below and compare the swag levels. 

Nice bodywork, but the rear profile comes to much towards a point. That little thing alone makes me think of a geriatric frown! (lol)

This view is super hott!!

In this view, again, the rear profile comes too much towards a point.

Nice view! But the c-pillar reminds me of the ugly Mercedes R-Class crossover-wagon-sedan And the tail looks too long!

 This is another nice view

Now, do you observe how for each view of the Mercedes Shooting Brake, I gave a different critique? The Mercedes Shooting Brake isn't hot from every angle. With different angles of photography, there's something nice, more nice, or less nice about it. Compare that type of analysis to the Dodge Magnum wagon. That station wagon (and I thoroughly regret using that term) is hot from every single angle. There's nothing better than a car that's perfecto in design when looked at from every possible angle. Kudos to Dodge!

Perfect body height or "thickness" all throughout the length of the car. Contrast that with the side view of the Mercedes Shooting Brake above. Can you see the differences?

Massive, bold bully-ish grille with sympathetically large headlamps

Now some may say how can I compare a Mercedes to a Dodge. My answer is, "I just did"! Styling is always up for commentary. Brand is the awareness of an association of something great about something. For example, Mercedes is known for great car design (and maybe engineering), but if Mercedes messes up and designs an ugly car compared to what fans or customers of Mercedes are aware of then so be it! A design is a design. It can be ugly or it can be nice. And there in lies the possibility to exist for an automobile of a high caliber of design and engineering to look worse than an automobile in lower brand category - just because of a design execution. Understood?

Also, refer to our previous blog here, to see a previous design analysis on the amazing styling of the Dodge Magnum

- Gebre Mesquitta

NASCAR: Enough with the gimmicks

   Enough with the gimmicks already. The latest gimmick employed in the NASCAR All-Star Race this year was to use the average finish of drivers’ first four segments to determine how they would enter pit road for their mandatory pit stop before the final 10-lap segment.

   The goal was laudable – provide incentive for drivers to race hard every segment. The problem was no one in the stands – and then apparently on the Speed broadcast – had access to the information necessary to tell the outcome of that tabulation. Incorrect information on the TV broadcast left many thinking eventual Jimmie Johnson somehow “cheated” in winning the final segment and $1 million.

   One of the reasons NASCAR has said it doesn’t take away wins as penalties is that fans should know the winner of the race when they leave the track. Well, they should also know the rules – and have access to the correct results. If you run a race with rules than leaves fans screaming of conspiracy, then the rules are too complicated.

   Here’s an idea: Perhaps the all-star race can return to it was intended and that would a showcase of the best drivers in NASCAR doing what they do best – race.