The Best Cheap Sports Car
The Honda brand is synonymous with a kind of inevitable popularity. Most car reviewers bemoan the fact that your average Honda car is populated by a toothless harridan who was probably learning to drive when the Model T Ford was first released. A reputation for being associated with the elderly have left Honda a bit baffled on how to successfully market their current vehicles to a younger audience. One way to bypass the drudgery of demographics is to release are car so blisteringly quick that anyone over the age of 30 is going to have trouble reacting fast enough to control it. I’m sure it was with great pride that Honda revealed the new Honda S2000.
I myself am quite Au fiat with the realms of the affordable sports car; having been a devout Mazda MX-5 fan for the best part of 5 years. I was sufficiently impressed with my first glimpse of the Honda S2000 to put my MX-5 keys in the drawer and leave them there for a while. In terms of looks; the S2000 is immense. The 6 speed transmission belonging to the Honda S2000 immediately makes a mockery of the Mazda MX-5′s shifting choice. So often with the Mazda, I have found myself struggling to put it into 3rd, thanks to the tiny controls. The Honda has no such problem and the smooth but assured gear changes are all easily transferred to.
But don’t take my plaudits at face value; the Honda S2000 [http://www.nortonway.com/new-honda-cars/new-honda-s2000] was voted Best Affordable Sports Car 2008 by US News & World Report, which is an excellent accolade to have earned. I can staunchly attest to this magnificence, as I found the driving experience of the S2000 to be smooth, quick and extremely exciting. If you are looking for an affordable sports car and fancy something a little more macho than the Mazda MX-5, then the Honda S2000 could be the car for you.
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Auto Race Tracks and Auto Racing
The beginning of auto racing started right after the successful introduction of cars powered by gas. The very first auto race was in 1887, in Paris, France. Actually, it seems weird calling it a race since only one person showed up, so naturally he was the winner. In 1894, another car race was organized, also in Paris, and many consider this one the world’s first race. 102 people paid the entrance fee, but in the end only 25 people participated in the main auto race.
Not everyone started at the same time & the same place and three winners were selected based on the handling, the speed, and the safety characteristics of their cars.
The first real auto race, where all the cars started at the same time, at the same place, took place in 1895 in France. The winner reached the finish line almost 6 hours before his competitor. That’s a big difference!
It looks like the foundation of auto racing lies in France. That’s why most races, even international ones, at that time, took place in France. Open road races in France ended in 1903, after a fatal accident involving Marcel Renault happened.
The oldest auto race track worldwide is called “The Milwaukee Mile”. It opened its doors in 1903. Interestingly, this auto race track was not originally built for cars, but rather for horses.
The first track that was specifically built for car racing is the Brooklands, located in England. It opened its doors in 1907. In 1939 the Brooklands racing track was closed, when wartime production of airplanes and other aircraft took over. It was extensively damaged during the Second World War, and never reopened its doors.
The Indianapolis Speedway race track opened in 1909. It looks like Brooklands inspired the Indianapolis Speedway.
From 1930 and later, cars made specifically for racing replaced the expensive road cars used earlier.
There are many different types of racing. Here are a few of them. There’s single seater racing, touring car racing, sports and production car racing, and single marque (also known as one-make racing). There’s also stock car racing, targa racing, rallying, drag racing, off road racing, and kart racing. There are so many different flavors of auto racing, that you can pick and choose which one suits you and your situation best.
There are many auto race tracks in the US. There are about nine dirt oval tracks, seventeen drag strips, over 50 paved oval tracks, 70 (yes, that’s 70) road courses, and eight super speedways. In addition, there are currently 23 temporary circuits. Whoa, that’s a lot to choose from!
Auto racing in the US has become a very popular sport, enjoyed by many people. If you want to take up the sport and drive a race car yourself, just get some more information and start doing it.
Classic Sports Cars
Why do so many people spend so much of their time and money buying old sports cars, and restoring and taking care of them? Because a classic sports car is like an old tune, a vintage wine or a black-and-white photograph–timeless, priceless and nostalgic. A classic sports car is a ‘classic’ because it traces its lineage to the first or second generation of sports cars and is at least 30 years old. Cars from the 60s are especially popular due to their flamboyant design and trademark engine roars that call attention to their power.
The Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette, Pontiac GTO, Porsche 911 Carrera, Mercedes-Benz 300SL and Alfa Romeo Monza Spider are a few famous classic sports cars that wowed generations of auto enthusiasts with their sleek tailfins, chrome plating and grilles, bright, happy two-tone colors, jet tube taillights, wraparound windshields and plush upholstery.
Classic sports car collectors either lovingly restore and drive their cars or simply keep them in prime condition in their garages. Many love to show off their cars in shows and win trophies. And why not? These handsome cars are the epitome of style.
If you plan on buying a classic sports car, it is advisable to go for a car that’s reasonably priced and is simple but nevertheless interesting. American cars offer great value for the money when compared to cars from Europe, in terms of availability of spare parts for restoration. Most American classics come equipped with power windows, air-conditioning and power steering. On reliability, too, American cars tend to score better, as they require lesser maintenance and do not need frequent servicing.
Yes, it’s possible to get yourself a piece of history and some of that romance, without having to rob a bank, win a lottery or inherit a fortune.
Getting Cheap Sports Car Insurance
People really enjoy their vehicle. People really like their sports cars too, however for whatever purpose these exact same people fail to seem for cheap sports car assurance. Obvious in the in style cars like the Porsche and Jaguar are a dream to personal for the avid sporty car individual. Then once again, maintenance expenses and insurance charges linked with owning such a vehicle, doesn’t generally play into consideration when decisions are built to purchase 1.
A first-rate way to obtain auto insurance that’s affordable is to appear for a firms who tend not to specialize in sporty cars. Most of these organizations still offer sports car insurance, but might have apparent restrictions for the policy depending for the type of auto you entail insured.
Apparent for the most well-known businesses will present you with competitive cheap sports car assurance. Insurance costs will differ from corporation to business and area to area so this really is crucial to know up front. Know your local, and check in with your neighboring auto assurance agents who can present you competitive quotes on sports car insurance.
Sports Car Insurance – Are There Affordable Policies?
Corporations who tend not to specialize in sporty kind cars are usually capable to give cheaper sporty car insurance. So being diligent in your search comparing prices from various businesses will likely be needed in getting the most effective deal on your own assurance.
One particular point that may decide what rate you wind up paying in your car’s insurance is your past driving history. Allstate insurance may be around for a lengthy time and provides high-quality prices for people who personal different kinds of sporty cars. Allstate however doesn’t really specialize in these cars so you may perhaps run into quite a few restrictions depending on the make and model of cars you are seeking to insure. If you’ve a great driving record and proven to drive safely Allstate will present you decent prices on your own car.
Nationwide continues to be within the scene because the 1920s, but is reasonably new to most people. And when it comes to getting car insurance Nationwide can give fantastic cheap policies for the vehicle lovers. The cause they’re capable to deliver cheap sporty car assurance, once again, is since they do not specialize in it.
Sports Car Insurance – Tips to Protect Your Car, Lower Your Insurance Rates, and Get the Best Deal
Sports car insurance rates can be higher than the monthly car payments. But if you drive a sports automobile or a vintage vehicle you really need to protect your car by getting good auto insurance.
Insurance does fall into the I know I need it, but I **** to deal with it category. Yet, you still need to get good insurance for your sports car because in many states it is the law, but you still need to find a way to save money on your insurance premiums. So here are some tips to helps you answer the question: how to get affordable coverage if you have a sports car.
These tips help you save money on your insurance for your car even if you are still only shopping for insurance because you are thinking of buying a fast car.
Tip number one to help you be sure your are getting a good rate on your car insurance: You must have good credit. Insurance premiums are made much higher with poor credit. If you have good credit it will lower your car insurance premiums.
Tip number two is a Warning. If you are shopping for insurance you need to ask if when they run your rate quote if it will affect your credit. This tip can not be over emphasized because if your credit gets too many inquiries it will negatively impact your credit score and cause your insurance premiums to be higher.
Tip number three. If you want to lower your vehicle insurance rates then lower the miles you drive. Insurance is based on exposure and the less you drive your car then many insurance companies will lower your automobile insurance because of lower exposure.
These 3 tips will help you get good insurance for your sports car. So when you find insurance companies who specialize in sports car polices be sure you are ready to save money on your sports car insurance premiums by applying what you now know.
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Automobile Racing is a Sport
Auto-racing has grown into one of the world’s most popular sports. Men have been competing ever since the dawn of mankind, the most magnificent manifestation of this desire to compete occurred in the Olympics. Ever since vehicles were built, they have been used for racing. Historically, people raced on horse-drawn buggies. After cars were built, they became the popular vehicles used for racing. On April 28 1887 the first ever race was organized in Paris but there was only one competitor, the first ever contest occurred on July 22 1894, organized by the Paris magazine Le Petit Journal. The next year a race from Paris to Bordeaux was organized. The Gordon Bennett Cup started the tradition of international racing competitions.
City to city racing gained popularity and many races were organized from Paris to other major cities connected to Paris in Europe. However, in 1903 Marcel Renault suffered from a fatal accident in the Paris-Madrid race, the accident caused nine fatalities forcing the French Government to abandon the race and ban open-road racing altogether. However, the interest in the sport did not end there. In fact, car manufacturers started producing pure racing cars.
Currently there are many major categories of auto-racing. Arguably the most popular in the world is the Formula One racing, which belongs to the category of single-seater racing. The cars are specifically designed to achieve high-speeds. The races follow a certain format with Formula One being the standard international format. There is an annual World Championship for which drivers compete by taking part in races on racing tracks all over the world. The likes of Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Honda, Renault and Red Bull Racing compete for the championship. The companies are constantly looking to improve their driver skills and technology to achieve the best results. Michael Schumacher, who drove for Ferrari, is a recent legend of the sport.
Touring car racing and Production car racing use production driven race cars, the former features large grids whereas the latter is a restricted form to reduce costs. Another variation of this category is called one-make racing or single marque, where only the cars produced by a single manufacturer or sometimes just a single model from a manufacturer are used.
Stock car racing is the most popular form of car racing in the United States, the largest body governing this category is called NASCAR. Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 are two of its most famous races. The cars are custom made according to specifications specifically for the purpose of racing. Cars race on oval tracks. Automobile Racing Club of America and United Speed Alliance Racing are two of the other stock car governing bodies.
Rallying, also called rally racing, has two broad categories. The first category of cars use cars which are legal to use on the road called the modified Group A whereas the Group N Production cars race on public roads closed for the public or off road areas. The format of the race is such that drivers earn points after completing intervals and there are several stages over which the rally is conducted. The World Rally Championship (WRD) is the top series in the world. Targa racing, drag racing and off-road racing are other forms of auto-racing popular in the world.
Exotic Sports Car Insurance
Although all sports cars are exotic, many consider cars such as Jaguars and Ferraris to be truly exotic. They are considerably expensive and the insurance too can be very high compared to other cars.
Exotic sports cars will have to be insured to a higher amount because of their higher value in the market and different usage options. A few factors such as make of the car and certain elemental natural forces that might prove to be a risk to the car are considered before an insurance agent provides a quote.
An exotic sports car naturally has a higher cost of insurance policy compared to a standard vehicle. Sports cars are usually for pleasure driving and are normally driven faster and are more prone to more dangerous and harmful accidents than others. Also, they are highly priced in the market than the other utility vehicles.
Some companies take insurance for a sports car as a specialized field in insurance. Such companies tend to deal with the insurance of sports cars and exotic cars and are liable to provide lesser insurance policies than the other insurance agents who deal with insurance policies for all vehicles. The companies that deal uniquely with exotic sports car insurance have brokers specialized in this field. They would are able to guide the customer in all the areas pertaining to the cars that needs to be considered for insurance.
These specialized companies take into account the age of the driver, the driver’s driving records, and accident history before offering a quotation. Some insurance agents also consider the annual mileage coverage during the negotiations.
Sports Car Hire – Drive Your Dream Car
It’s not all that difficult to get a sports car hire. Most of us have a dream car that we have always wanted to drive. Generally, the fantasy is to get behind the wheel of some exotic car like a Porsche, Ferrari, or even as Aston Martin. That does not have to be a dream any longer. The car rental industry has gone through changes through the years and one of these changes has been that the opportunity to rent performance cars has increased. Sure, you have always been able to rent flashy cars since the mid-sixties, but they were often hard to find and too pricey to be realistic.
Well, while they are still pretty pricey, the availability of a car hire has risen dramatically. If you have a dream car that you have always wanted to drive, chances are now good that you’ll be able to rent it, and, if you only want to play with it for a day or two, it probably won’t cost you an arm and a leg. The cost, however, will depend on the car.
You can rent a Porsche 911 Turbo for around $499 USD, a day. An Aston Martin Vantage will run you about $745 USD, daily, while a Lamborghini Murcielago might take that arm or leg off at $1450 USD per day.
There are many reasons an individual might choose one instead of a more conventional, boring sedan from a car rental counter. Perhaps the person is traveling to a particular city on business and just wants to liven up a day or two in that city. Maybe you are considering the exact same car and you want an extended test drive. Then, again, maybe you are a sports buff and you just want to rent the thing for fun.
The option of a sports car hire allows someone who might otherwise never get the chance, to experience their dream car first hand. In exchange for this opportunity, you will pay higher rates and have to qualify over some stringent restrictions. First, a sports car hire is going to cost much more than your average rent a car. Secondly, you will probably have to buy more insurance from the rental agent, as your auto insurance probably will not follow you into a Bentley. Then, you will probably have to meet more stringent age requirements. There will definitely be higher mileage charges, and these cars are not renowned for low MPG. You will want to check travel restrictions, as well. Sometimes, high-end automobile renters will restrict distances and destinations when they rent out a sports car.
Still, when it comes to driving your dream car, jumping through a few more hoops than usual isn’t really that much of an inconvenience.
Just imagine watching a television show or a movie with a group of friends and a fast moving, aerodynamic Lotus comes racing on the screen, and you can say, “I drove one of those.”
Oh yeah, when enjoying a sports car hire, get plenty of pictures, too.
Sports Car Insurance – Lower Your Auto Insurance
Sports car insurance premiums seem to continually get higher. There are a lot of factors to cause your car insurance rates to increase, but did you know there are things you need to do to be sure you are getting a good rate on sports car policies?
Many times people wonder why classic autos and vintage autos insurance premiums are high just like cars that have the big fast engines like what you see in corvettes or other fast sports cars. The bottom line is insurance actuaries calculate the insurance rates and if you want to get the best deal on your insurance you have to know how insurance companies think.
It is obvious that you get insurance to protect your car and you do not want just any insurance, you want good auto insurance because your car is special. But you also want to balance getting coverage you want at affordable prices.
So if you are a sports car driver and you want to get good insurance then here a few things you need to consider.
First, if you have multiple policies with the same company you can many times get a multi-policy discount. You probably have the coverage for your house or apartment already so it is simple to make sure you have it with the same company that is covering your sports vehicle and this can lower your auto insurance rates.
Another tip to lower your premiums is to ask to have your liability and collision coverage suspended in the winter time if you are not driving your sports car. Now this is said with a big caution. You can not drive your car while the coverage is suspended and if you do then your insurance will not pay for a claim. But this tip can reduce your out of pocket insurance premiums.
Still yet another tip to make your car insurance rates easier on your wallet is to use the excuse of your high insurance rates to negotiate a lower car price. In other words the money is coming out of your pocket to pay for your sports car as well as to pay for your sports car insurance premiums so the car sales person knows you will have to pay high premiums so use this fact to get the dealership to give you a better price. If the dealership wants to earn your business then they will move on their price.
A final tip to help you if you are thinking of buying a sports car and if you are shopping for insurance is to be sure you have a good driving record. If you have tickets your insurance premiums will be high. To be sure to get the best deal you really need to have a clean driving record. There are some companies that specialize in different types of auto insurance including, but not limited to getting classical car insurance, historical auto insurance, and of course sports car insurance.
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The History of America’s Sports Car
The Chevrolet Corvette is often known as “America’s Sports Car” due to the fact that it is the first all-American sports car built by the American manufacturing company General Motors. The Corvette has maintained its reputation as a very powerful yet affordable car for more than 50 years now. The car first came out in 1953 and was manufactured in a GM assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. What sets the Corvette apart from its European counterparts is its emphasis on simplicity. Most competing brands depend on smaller displacement and a complex engine. The Corvette on the contrary, uses a larger displacement and a simpler overhead valve that often resulted in a lighter, cheaper and physically smaller engine. This same philosophy is also reflected in the type of suspension used by the Corvette where GM opted to use the transverse leaf springs.
The name for Chevrolet’s entry-level sports car back in 1953 comes from a highly maneuverable frigate class warship of the same name. The person responsible for choosing the name of GM’s sports car was Myron E. Scott, who happens to be the creator of the Soap Box Derby. The early Corvettes have fiberglass for their outer body due to the steel quotas left over from the war. The engine used back then was the “Blue Flame” inline 6-cylinder truck engine with two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission and drum brakes that are similar to any Chevrolet car line of that time. Compared with its European counterparts, the Corvette was an underpowered vehicle. It was only in 1954 that a Paxton supercharger became available as a dealer-installed option. This significantly improved the performance of the Corvette but was still behind its counterparts.
The Corvette underwent major changes by 1963 and marked the start of the second generation of Corvettes that was also known by the acronym C2. There were several body designs made by Larry Shinoda, which were released from 1963 till 1968. The development of the Corvette Stingray sporting split-rear windows and fake hood vents also started in 1968. A 6.5 L big-block engine option also became available and an even larger 7L big-block engine came by 1966.The Third generation (C3) Corvette’s design made by Larry Shinoda was inspired by a Mako Shark. The C3 lasted until 1982 and in each passing year, various improvements were added to the Corvette especially on its engine. In 1973, Urethane-compound bumpers replaced the chrome bumpers of the Corvette.
There are several notable variants of the C4 model of the Corvette namely the B2K Callaway Twin Turbo (1987), ZR-1 also known as King of the Hill (1990) and the Grand Sport Corvette (1996). They paved the way for the development of the C5, C5 Z06, C5-R (1997 to 2004) Corvettes. The major changes to these models are the hydrofoamed box frame; transmission was placed at the rear of the car and the LS1 small-block engine with a rated horsepower of 345 hp. The Z06 model is the successor of the ZR-1 and inherited most of its good traits. The Z06 comes with the LS6 engine and a lighter frame that makes it quicker than the ZR-1 but has a lower power output than the double-overhead cam engine of the ZR-1, which makes it slower than its predecessor.