ALL AUTOCARS

After 113 Grand Prix starts Englishman Jenson Button with Honda finally wins a race.

Congratulations.... Well deserved.

Both Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher had to retire from todays race, along with Kimi who started from pole position in Hungary....

A magnificent race indeed.

It is rumored that BMW F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve could be heading for NASCAR next year. This was recently reported in the Journal de Montreal newspaper. The story suggested that Villeneuve has already signed a pre contract with a NASCAR team conditional on him not finding an F1 drive. He would spend one season racing in the Busch Series and then move into the Nextel Cup in 2008. The existence of a deal has been denied by Villeneuve, but it is clear that there is contact with NASCAR teams.

It has been said before, but with what is happening in Hungary at the moment with the 3rd driver replacing Jacques, there seems to be very little chance of Villeneuve returning to F1 again.

This would really boost the ratings of NASCAR with Juan Pablo Montoya already confirmed with Ganassi NASCAR next year. Nothing like seeing Jacques and JPM wheel to wheel.

Plus the money is very good in NASCAR and you can race well into your 40's.

Way to go I guess, although F1 wont be the same without Villeneuve and Montoya.

Dallas Texas USA... Panda Ethanol Inc. announced that its Hereford subsidiary has successfully completed the debt financing on its 100 million gallon ethanol plant in Hereford, Texas. The company will immediately begin facility construction on the 380-acre site and anticipates ethanol production to commence in the second half of 2007.

The first of its kind facility will generate the steam used to manufacture ethanol by gasifying more than 1 billion pounds of cow manure a year, making it one of the most fuel efficient ethanol refineries in the nation. Once completed, it will be the largest biomass fueled ethanol plant in the United States.

This is fantastic news. Not only is the manure plentiful in Hereford, but when the process is finished you have Ethanol, warm water and ash which can be used for making concrete. The plant is expected to be 90% self sufficient.

I have been posting on Ethanol before, and I must say that the Govt of NZ should be closely watching and learning about Panda Ethanol Inc. It would not hurt NZ to start up an self sufficient ethanol plant that will provide renewable fuel for locals without relying on foreign oil.

Hereford has been dubbed the Saudi Arabia of dung.... At least a company with some ingenuity has taken advantage of the situation.

Shouldn't NZ be working on something like this too?

This is an idea of what the supposed upcoming Bugatti Veyron beating Porsche GT1 might look like. If it gets the green light it expect to see it around 2009. The GT1 is expected to be a 950bhp street legal version of Porsche's future Le Mans racer. The beast is expected to use the Carrera GT's carbon fiber frame with a new nose and tail. The GT1's top speed should be about 254 mph, 2 mph more than the Veyron.

No one except people at Porsche knows whether the GT1's powerplant will be a turbocharged version of the Carrera GT's V10 or a bored out, twin turbo version of the Cayenne S's V8, or something else. It seems likely that Porsche wants to take the podium of fastest car from the Bugatti Veyron. I wait the outcome.

Holden has unveiled the all new VE Commodore range. The car is the first vehicle based on GM's Zeta global rear wheel drive platform designed by Holden for use in GM vehicles. There is a strong likelihood of it underpinning the new Chevrolet Camaro. Holden's sports performance hero SS model and prestige leader Calais were chosen to debut VE Commodore at an event in Melbourne. Holden also used the event to introduce its new V Series (reminiscent of Cadillac), enabling the company to offer extra variants under the SS and Calais nameplates as well as special edition models. Details and gallery after the jump.

The 2006 Holden Commodore range is as follows:

Omega (new) 3.6L V6, peak power 241 hp (180kW), peak torque 330Nm, four-speed automatic

Berlina 3.6L V6, peak power 241 hp (180kW), peak torque 330Nm, four-speed automatic; 6.0L V8, peak power 270kW, peak torque 530Nm, six-speed automatic

SV6 3.6L V6, peak power 262 hp (195kW), peak torque 340Nm, five-speed automatic or six-speed manual

SS 6.0L V8, peak power 362 hp (270kW), peak torque 530Nm, six-speed automatic, six-speed manual

SS V (new) - 6.0L V8, peak power 362 hp (270kW), peak torque 530Nm, six-speed automatic, six-speed manual

Calais 3.6L V6, peak power 262 hp (195kW), peak torque 340Nm, five-speed automatic; 6.0L V8, peak power 270kW, peak torque 530Nm, six-speed automatic

Calais V (new) 3.6L V6, peak power 262 hp (195kW), peak torque 340Nm, five-speed automatic; 6.0L V8, peak power 270kW, peak torque 530Nm, six-speed automatic

Now with 362 hp in the good old SS and Calais, I am very intersted to see if HSV will be able to use the 505HP engine used in the magnificent Chevrolet Corvette ZO6 for one of it's next releases?

I have always liked the Commodore, the VE looks particularly good, although the rear end might take a week or two to get used too....... Roll them out Holden.

The new 2008 Mercedes Benz CL is going to be technologically advanced, but that is not going to make it a great looking car. Mercedes has been doing well lately with the new models, but I am not quite convinced the this CL600 pictured. Expect 388hp out of the CL550 and 514hp out of the twin turbo CL600. What do you think?

I am disappointed to learn that one of my favourite Formula 1 drivers is heading to NASCAR next year. JPM has secured a deal to drive for his former boss Chip Ganassi in NASCAR for the 2007 season, and may even be in #42 car sometime this year after the F1 season is finished.

Montoya’s only stock-car experience came in June 2003 when he and four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon “exchanged” race cars for an exhibition at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Montoya drove Gordon’s Chevrolet while Gordon took a spin in Montoya’s F1 car.

Juan Pablo's switch to NASCAR comes on the heels of reports that former Formula 1 World Champion and another of my favourite F1 drivers Jacques Villeneuve, an Indianapolis 500-winner himself, has expressed interest in driving in the series. Both the newly-married Villeneuve and Montoya are at the end of their current F1 team contracts with the conclusion of the present year's campaign. Most veteran observors did not feel Montoya was being courted to continue at McLaren/Mercedes with reigning F1 champ Fernando Alonso coming to the team in 2007. imagine Jacques and JPM in the same NASCAR team.....


2007 is going to be an interesting year in motorsport that is for sure.


Good luck to him.