Raceaddict

Just saw these images on DA today so I thought I'd share the images. (The full size pics are available on the DA site.) Pretty cool idea for a wrap... I remember seeing a Porsche done up similarly a few years ago in the World Challenge series.

I got my first info about the 2009 Rallye REAL last night.There's no website up yet that I know of, but here's what I do know:New Name: Rallye de l’énergie alternative du Canada (REAC) - Alternative Energy Rally of CanadaNew Route: Gatineau to Mont Tremblant (Day 1) - Mont-Temblant to Montreal (Day 2)Dates: September 27-29, 2009 (Tech & registration on Sunday, event on Monday & Tuesday)Assuming the rules haven't changed since 2008, the smart cdi will be elligible, as will the higher efficiency hybrids (Prius, Insight, Civic) and any EVs. I've got my fingers crossed for a Tesla, but I'm not optimistic.

In light of the article (talking about inefficiency) I was referring to environmental economy and fuel economy (and yes the gasoline powered smart isn't nearly as frugal as the cdi). The fact that I can't go out and buy a new smart cdi is sad. But like you said... it's been dumbed down to appease the American market. It stands a pretty good chance of being my next commuter car, but only if the diesel is brought back to showrooms.

It's hard to blame the consumers where the automakers were offering no other choices. The fact that the smart sells is proof that there are people willing to make concessions for the sake of economy. Unfortunately, those economical options are too few and far between.

Link In and around town it actually makes sense, considering the vast majority of situations in a small town do not require a Crown Vic (or whatever the regional 5-oh flavor of the month is).

Anyone hear who won yet? I haven't gotten a call yet...

Well, I have to say... working that event was an odd experience. It was by far the slowest rally I've ever done timing for. The officially entered cars were the Insight, Civic, & Accord hybrids from Honda, and the Toyota Prius. However, I did find out that a smart fortwo cdi would have been eligible. Also, when the route was officially announced (it isn't made public until the morning of the first day) the total distance was actually just 640.97kms, not 800. They probably published the 800km distance to foil competitors who might have tried to guess the exact route. It was 324.55 the first day (in 276 minutes), and 316.42 the second day (in 355 minutes), making the entire events average speed just over 60kph. Incidentally, since the longest distance traveled without a charge was only 324.55 kms, the Tesla (mmmm!!) could have entered as well. Maybe in '09. (And maybe some fortwo cdi's as well?)

It's 800km over two days.The route is divided into four parts:Alma – Baie St-Paul (Friday am)Baie St-Paul – Québec (Friday pm)Québec – Trois-Rivières (Saturday am)Trois-Rivières – St-Jérôme (Saturday pm)Besides that, I'd still be more interested if they had a few alternative fuel vehicles show up... CNG, LPG, bio-diesel... anything but more hybrids.

I got the entry list this morning... nothing but hybrids. Civics, Accords, Insights and Prius'.

No idea.I'm hoping someone shows up with a Tesla. (yeah right... )

Well I guessed "european" correct. I guess it was the Nova name that made me think Vauxhall.

I'd actually be surprised if any ZENNs showed up. Like you said... distance would be an issue. Also, since a ZENN isn't legal on any roads with a speed limit above 50kph, I'd imagine they'd have a very hard time following the route. I mean, is there even any way to get from Alma to St-Jerome (515 km by the shortest route) without using a single road with a limit over 50? And since the ZENN can only go 40kph, it would fail miserably in the "regularity" sections of the event. Last year the two EVs were a home-brew 1997 Cavalier, and a 2007 Clean Nova (apparently a production vehicle, but I can't find any info about it anywhere). The Clean Nova looked like this: Looks to me like a european Vauxhall product of some kind.

Hey all, I just thought I'd pop in here and let you all know about the R.E.A.L. Rallye next month. (Just so you know, I'm not affiliated with the event or what have you... it's just something I'd heard about last weekend while working at a real (not REAL) rally and thought some smarties might be interested.) http://www.rallyereal.com/ It's basically a regularity rally (precision navigation and timing, not outright speed) which is held on open roads. It's about 800 kms from Alma, QC to St-Jerome, QC. While it's primarily aimed at hybrids and electrics (as evidenced by the 2007 entry list) biodiesel powered vehicles with CO2 emissions of less than 100 g/km are also elligible, which I believe fits the cdi. Cheers!

Hey all, While surfing a wallpaper site this aft I came across a really nice high resolution cutaway image of a smart roadster, so I thought I'd share. I did a search before posting but didn't see any prior threads mentioning this: Cheers!

Amen to that!