All about cars, classic and modern

Mikka Hakinnen on his Successor

Mika Hakkinen, the last man to win a world championship at the wheel of a McLaren, said that he believed Lewis Hamilton was now ready to claim the title in only his second season of formula one competition.
The Finn, now 39, contested 161 grands prix in a career lasting from 1991 to 2001 and won consecutive world championships in 1998 and 99. He also closely identifies with the wild fluctuations in form displayed by Hamilton over the past few races and remembers how hard he himself had to work to temper his out-and-out speed with the restraint required to produce consistent results.

-I can relate what is happening now to Lewis to when I was racing, said Hakkinen, who was present at Hockenheim where Hamilton delivered another convincing victory in the German grand prix, the first McLaren win at the circuit near Heidelberg since Hakkinen's triumph in 1998.
When I was a young guy at McLaren I was flat out, always at the maximum, Hakkinen said. Sometimes the excitement took over my thinking and there were times when I went over the top, I made mistakes.
It took time for me to stabilise myself and calm down a little, and then I got the results. That is now the situation with Lewis. He has calmed down and is stable, more mature.
There is still a way to go this year and a lot of things can happen. It is a long time since I won McLaren's last title, but I am hopeful this year they can do it.

Foreign Marques say No to NASCAR

With NASCAR domestic mainstays looking to downsize support in light of financial woes, it might seem like a good time for other foreign manufacturers to follow Toyota into the fray and take advantage of a possible power vacuum. But representatives from several overseas automakers contacted by the Press say that you won't be seeing their cars at the Daytona 500 or any other NASCAR race in the foreseeable future. 'I don't see us investing money toward gasoline-powered racing right now,' said Clark Campbell, motorsports manager for Volkswagen of America. Unless they're going to start allowing turbos and diesels into NASCAR, we wouldn't even be thinking of it right now.

ActivEngage Releases Latest Version of Live Chat Business Intelligence for Automotive Dealers

ActivEngage, the automotive industry's premier provider of proactive live chat with business intelligence for dealer websites, today announced the latest release of their proprietary live chat software and services. The new enhancements were made based on direct feedback from dealers, consumer trends and the latest advancements in technology. The new version enables even more personalized communication with consumers, enhanced efficiency in lead management and advanced, consolidated reporting. Expanded capabilities let dealers collect more customer intelligence from site visitors to guide communication, both during and after chat sessions, and move even more shoppers through the sales cycle.
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New Hires and Personnel Changes Announced at Peterson Manufacturing

Peterson Manufacturing Company of Grandview, Mo has announced new hires and personnel changes within the company, including corporate vice presidents and executive positions within Peterson's OEM Sales and Maxi-Seal divisions.
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Aftercad Announces Signup for the 3D Workspace Beta

Aftercad Software is pleased to announce the Beta signup for its ground breaking 3D Workspace for collaboration in Digital Prototyping and Building Information Modeling (BIM) projects.
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GasPredictor.com Announces San Diego Edition of Gas Predictor Newsletter

Forecasts of the next day's gas prices in San Diego, California, will be available via e-mail commencing Monday, July 6, in addition to the National Gas Predictor newsletter already being published every day. Local editions are also published for eight other cities, and more are coming every month.
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We Think Manufacturing is Cool!

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation (http://www.smeef.org/) says Manufacturing is Cool! An awarding winning Web site proves it. The Foundation has accelerated postings of new content in this evolving and very entertaining Web site.
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Drivetime Auto Sales Selects Fort Worth For New Call Center, Bringing 100+ Jobs to Region

DriveTime Auto Sales, part of the DriveTime group of companies, the nation's largest integrated used car sales and finance company focused on customers with credit issues, has selected the CentrePort Business Park in Fort Worth as the site of its newest call center. Headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., the company will lease approximately 31,000 square feet at 15001 FAA Blvd. and anticipates bringing more than 100 jobs to the region.
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SME Education Foundation Partners with North Carolina Motorsports Association to Produce Motorsports Institute Summer Camp

Twenty-four high school juniors and seniors with backgrounds in high levels of science and math have been awarded a unique opportunity to participate in a week-long motorsports camp.
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California Auto Defects Lawyers File Wrongful Death Action Against General Motors, Seat-Belt Manufacturer and Car Dealer

The California personal injury attorneys of Bisnar | Chase have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against General Motors, GMC Truck Division; Takata Restraint Systems, a seat-belt manufacturer; and Dave Smith Motors, a Kellog, Wyoming car dealer. The suit alleges that General Motors and co-defendants acted in a callous and reckless disregard for the safety of Joanna Campbell who died in a rollover accident while riding in a GMC SUV. Filed on behalf of Paula Savino for the surviving adult children of the deceased, Nicole and Aaron Savino, the action seeks compensatory and punitive damages. The lawsuit is pending in the State of Wyoming District Court, Sixth Judicial District, case # 29962.
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Web2Carz.com, Ltd. Releases Advantage Post; an Affordable, Effective Online Listing Package for High Quality Car Shopper Leads

Web2Carz.com, Ltd., today announced the launch of AdVantage Post, a highly affordable and cost-effective premium 3rd party advertising opportunity for auto dealers. AdVantage Post provides a premium promotional package that goes far beyond a free vehicle listing. It is designed to bring the consumer further down the shopping funnel and into the showroom. With AdVantage Post Web2Carz.com actively promotes the listing and the dealership in a variety of ways, including the latest in social media. The listings are posted both on the Web2Carz.com websites and its recently released iPhone application, the first fully integrated auto dealer inventory listing application for the iPhone.
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Gain Understanding and Maximize Value from Measured Data

HBM announces the latest release of nCode Automation. The new 5.1 release of HBM's nCode Automation provides a higher level of flexibility for engineers needing to interrogate and learn from their test data. The release offers a complete environment for engineering data storage, analysis and reporting that features new extensible solutions to drive collaboration and inform decision making.
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