2007: This ain't your daddy's NASCAR

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(HBO6 @ Feb 7 2007, 08:18 PM) [snapback]386696[/snapback]</div>

Here's a GREAT article from NewsWeek ... telling how Toyota is really angering all the red necked gas guzzlin' road hog lovers:


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16951193/site/newsweek/

Seems like this is the last bastion of the macho. Wouldn't it be great if Toyota won? I think there about 14 spots off the pole position ... but that ait bad for their 1st year. The hicks hate Toyota getting in Nascar, but what with GM making so many cars in Canada, and Chrysler now owned by the German parent company ... who in their right mind can say that Toyota isn't just as much an American / U.S. car?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Feb 13 2007, 11:31 AM) [snapback]389529[/snapback]</div>

Great logic. NASCAR loving Americans = only rednecks who love GM and Ford. GM = foreign company. Toyota = American company. What is the zipcode in your world. :lol:

Toyota is trying to walk quite the tightrope on this one. Appeal to the NASCAR loving, NFL loving full-size truck crowd and continue to be the darling of the environmentalist, New York times far-left, intellectual elitist crowd, consumer reports. Could it be the beginnning of the end of Toyota's run?

 

Actually it is great marketing by NASCAR. Any story needs a good villian, just like wrestling. This will expand the fanbase.

http://priuschat.com/Crashin-Camrys-t29482.html

 

I want to see THIS in NASCAR. Might have to convert battery to LiOn or larger battery pack.



wonder how many people would be pissed off by having a hybrid in there.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Clar @ Feb 13 2007, 12:21 PM) [snapback]389572[/snapback]</div>

Maybe if the NASCAR vehicles were even remotely close to a stock unit. Think Indy car with a Fusion, Monte Carlo or now Camry shell over the top.

 

I think Toyota should deliberately cheat by using a hybrid electricity boost for either passing power or to skip a fuel stop. Everyone would be like, "Hey that hybrid power is too good, you can't use it, unfair!"

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(etyler88 @ Feb 13 2007, 12:37 PM) [snapback]389587[/snapback]</div>

Looks like they read your mind:

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...130329/1035/SPT

Although I don't think it had much to do with hybrid.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(etyler88 @ Feb 13 2007, 01:37 PM) [snapback]389587[/snapback]</div>

Any resemblance between the Camry on the street and the NASCAR "stock car" is strictly cosmetic. Even though it sort of looks like a Camry, it's got a RWD V8 chassis. I guess they are using the V8 from the Tundra's and SUV's?

 

Yeah I know it is not even close to a real Camry.

Best NASCAR cheating story I know is by the famous mechanic Smokey Yunnick. They gave his winning car after the race a real close inspection, even drained the gas tank; after passing the inspection he drove the car away with the "empty" tank.

 

great marketing by nascar and by toyota.

nascar gets the villian everyone wants to root against added to thicken the plot, and toyota gets all kinds of exposure.

 

Make no mistake, every component of a NASCAR car is hand built. My guess is that even the engine block is machined in a lab.

The word "stock" is a misnomer.

Also, most leagues (I believe NASCAR as well) mandate fuel stops to avoid teams trying to make it to the finish on fumes. Kinda dumb if you asked me, you can make up a lot of time if you can skip a pit stop.

Nate

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Feb 13 2007, 01:27 PM) [snapback]389629[/snapback]</div>

Toyota does NOT want to be portrayed as the villain. It will defeat their whole reason for being involved in the first place. As i said earlier they may have miscalculated the whole NASCAR thing. They are walking a tightrope.

 

they might not necessarily want it but given that they're well aware of the sentiment of many fans... i think they knew what they were getting into.

plus, what happens when that villian rises to the competition and gains a following? surely bad for publicity, eh?

 

Great line from the MSNBC article: "He’s received hate mail and has been branded a sellout on the new Web site Fans Against Racing Toyotas (yes, their acronym is FART). But rather than blow back at his detractors..."

:lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Feb 13 2007, 01:37 PM) [snapback]389636[/snapback]</div>

Too much success will be bad, toyota the rich bully from Japan, too little success=can't compete in American sport. They may luck out and gradually gain some fans and success. It will be interesting. I don't think when toyota made the decision to enter NASCAR they envisioned the sales success they have enjoyed over the last couple of years or the trouble that GM and Ford would be in or been in. Toyota's worst nightmare would be if the whole thing turns into American vs Japanese. Under the present economic and political circumstances it could turn out that way. Remember they are in NASCAR to sell trucks. It is the only reason.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Feb 13 2007, 10:31 AM) [snapback]389529[/snapback]</div>

Yes .. You're right. No doubt Toyota will soon become the one to beat now that they've broken their way into that last bastion of Americana.

Furthermore, Toyota's new large pickup truck will take on the American pickups head on and will probably win there too.

Gee .. Isn't that wonderful. Before we know it the American automobile industry will go belly-up. Gosh .. That's terrific .. Right?

Okay, so much for the sarcasm. No I don't think it would be great if Toyota won. Just because I bought a Prius is no reason for wishing a win for the Japanese Toyota brand over the brands of the American car manufacturers.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ken Cooper @ Feb 13 2007, 05:15 PM) [snapback]389769[/snapback]</div>

Toyota's new pickup is only equivilant to a Ford F150. They still don't have anything bigger than that, and a lot of people who need large pickups will still go for the F250 or F350. I have a friend who tows a fifth wheel with a Toyota truck, and he says it's dicey at times because the truck isn't large enough.

My dad has a little 1986 Toyota SR5 Extended cab with 68,000 miles on it and has had a canopy on it since new, and has been garaged since new. It looks great and runs great but is pretty horrible to drive, no air conditioning either. But when I need a truck it's there and it works.

Dave

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Feb 13 2007, 01:58 PM) [snapback]389609[/snapback]</div>

Heh heh no, as others said the actual mechanics of the car have nothing to do with anything you can buy and drive on the street. They are all hand built to exacting specifications withing guidelines for uniformity set by NASCAR. The carmaker who'se shell is on the car is simply a sponsor just like the ad on the hood. Whether a Ford, GM, or Toyota wins has nothing to do with the relative prowess of the brand. NASCAR fans just like to pretend it does

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(malorn @ Feb 13 2007, 10:36 AM) [snapback]389584[/snapback]</div>

Not hardly - that's a completely inaccurate description of a NASCAR stocker. NASCAR Nextel Cup cars are very low tech compared to an IRL or Champ Car. You think either of those series features cars with:

Pushrod valvetrain
Carburetor
Max RPM less than 8,000
Front engine
Solid rear axle
A weight of nearly two tons
Tubular steel frame construction

Compare that to:

Overhead cam valvetrain
Fuel Injected
Max RPM around 13,000
Mid-engine
Independent rear suspension, inboard coil springs and shocks with pushrod actuation
Weighs around 1600lbs
Carbon fiber monocoque construction

Yeah, those look real similar.