Professional race car drivers inspire awe in most people as they whip around the track at speeds that would make most people lose their minds. It is not a sport for the faint hearted. There are, however, several professional drivers who have inspired fans on a special level with their accomplishments over the years in unique ways. Here are five of the most inspirational race car drivers.

Alessandro “Alex” Zanardi
As an Italian race car driver, Zanardi had a respectable career with two CART championship titles in the late 1990s. He also participated as a Formula One driver. However in 2001 he suffered a horrific crash that resulted in the amputation of both of his legs. Less than two years after the accident, he returned to racing and competed in the FIA World Touring Car Championship. Even more famously, he switched sports and went into handbiking, which is a type of cycling for the Paralympics. In this sport he won gold and silver medals at the 2012 London Paralympics. He is a wonderful example of perseverance in spite of adversity.

Ayrton Senna da Silva
Sadly, Senna was the last driver fatality in Formula One when he was killed in an accident during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, but his legend lives on and continues to inspire many, especially in his native Brazil. Senna made his Formula One debut in 1984, and he won three Formula One world championships during his career. He is popularly considered one of the greatest Formula One drivers in the history of the sport. He also was victorious during the Monaco Grand Prix six time, which continues to be a record. The sheer number of his accomplishments is extraordinary and warrants him mention.

Michael Schumacher
This German race car driver is also popularly regarded as one of the best drivers in Formula One history and statistically is one of the best the entire sport has ever known. He holds numerous records including the most number of championships, points scored, victories within a single season, fastest laps, race victories, and more. In 2002 he gained notoriety for finishing in the top three in every race of the season (and thus gaining the most consecutive podium finishes), the only driver in Formula One history to have done so. He is also known for his involvement with various charities and donations millions of dollars. He is another example of what can be accomplished with the incredible intersection of talent and hard work.

Danica Patrick
One of the most famous names in racing, even among people who do not follow the sport, Patrick has carved a name for herself as the most successful woman in the sport. She is the only woman to have ever won a race in the IndyCar series, and placed third at the Indianapolis 500, which was the highest finish by a woman. She won a NASCAR Spring Cup Series pole as well, the first female NASCAR driver to have done so. She has also been the fastest pole qualifier to successfully qualify for the Daytona 500 since 1990. She is inspirational because of her ability to overcome stereotypes and compete on a level that previously no woman had successfully achieved.

Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton
This British Formula One driver was the youngest to ever sign a contract that resulted in a Formula One drive in 2007. He is also considered the first black driver in the Formula One series, and was the first black driver to win any major race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He is the holder of numerous records, and finished second in the 2007 Formula One Championship, but went on to win the World Championship the next year. He accomplishments at such a young age as well as being a trailblazer in the sport for people of different ethnic backgrounds are two great reasons to be inspired by this young Brit.

Each sport produces athletes and competitors which offer fans and the rest of the population someone to admire. They overcome adversity, achieve amazing goals, and persevere even when the cards seem stacked against them. Race car driving is no different. These five competitors have inspired many who follow the sport of racing around the world.

Article courtesy of www.design911.com.

Have you ever wanted to just let loose and drive the most powerful cars on the market in the open road? Well, now is your chance with the American Muscle Car Experience! World Class Driving launched the country’s first open-road muscle car driving adventure in Las Vegas on April 1. The American Muscle Car Driving Experience invites you to get behind the wheel of supercharged hotrods like the 662 horsepower 2014 Ford Shelby GT500 and the 2014 Dodge Challenger SRT8. Get ready to rev the fiercest engines on the winding streets of Red Rock Canyon in an All-American ride like nothing else.

World Class Driving maps out Red Rock Canyon’s most thrilling roads so drivers can unleash the jaw-dropping capabilities of its high-powered muscle cars. This driving experience is available in two packages:

Red Rock Muscle Experience – Drive three muscle cars through 30 miles of the Las Vegas desert in a hair-raising, adrenaline-pumping guided tour ($299 per person).

Red Rock Muscle XL Experience – Anyone needing an extra shot of awesome can take the wheel of four muscle cars in an intense 50-mile excursion ($399 per person).

Drivers rotate automobiles periodically at checkpoints throughout the experience, learning what makes each American muscle car so different.

The top-of-the-line automobiles in the Muscle Car Fleet include:

· 2013 Shelby GT500: 662 horsepower and a 0-to-60 sprint of 3.5 seconds will make your heart race as you attack the open road in one of the most powerful Ford Mustangs ever.

· 2013 Corvette Z06: With a sleek look and astonishing performance, the Z06 combines incredible acceleration and grip with the heart and soul of an American muscle car for a distinctively thrilling ride.

· 2014 Dodge Challenger SRT8: Dodge’s newest muscle car to hit the streets features a supercharged hemi motor in the classic Challenger body with a unique “Crazy Purple” color that will turn heads on the road.

· 2014 Camaro ZL1: Immense anticipation has been built for what will be one of the hottest muscle cars on the streets. You will have the thrill to be one of the first in the country to unleash this beast through the Las Vegas desert.

World Class Driving experiences are designed to provide access to some of the world’s most exciting muscle and exotic cars in unique, open-road driving environments. Bullz-Eye.com plans on making a trip out west to find out just how incredible this driving experience can be for car guys like us.

A moulin rouge mica 2013 Toyota Avalon XLE Touring is a great sight on a cool spring day in the Midwest. Toyota has dramatically altered the chemistry of Avalon’s DNA creating, a new potent and persuasive sedan that helps shift the product’s generational appeal while symbolizing Toyota’s exciting new design and product direction for future sedans. Our test model verified this just from first impressions.

As good as the previous Avalon was, the new 2013 model is a much more refined and expressive car, starting with the exterior. For the mission of re-positioning the Avalon brand and shifting consumer perception of the sedan, Toyota fashioned an exterior that offers a much more athletic expression in sheet metal. The new Avalon sedan clearly represents a dramatic styling departure from previous Avalon models. The 2013 Avalon’s elegant and athletic design offers a longer flowing roofline, creating a more appealing side silhouette with a lower vehicle beltline that suggests a sense of motion with a road holding stance. Its chiseled shoulder line sculpted into side sheet metal starts over the front wheels and creates a strong, fluid body side design cue, adding to its athletic stance. The new Avalon exterior is designed to communicate a greater sense of performance and agility to better match the car’s vastly enhanced dynamic capability.

Compared to the 2012 model, the new Avalon offers more compact and athletic exterior dimensions, and with a greater styling sophistication that does not sacrifice interior comfort. The vehicle’s stance has also been improved with more taut and compact exterior dimensions. Overall height has been reduced by 0.98 inch (25 mm), while the overhangs have been reduced by 0.59 inch (15 mm) at the front and 1.77 inches (45 mm) at the rear. Filling the wheel well, the gap between the body and the tires has been reduced by 0.27 inch (7 mm) compared to the previous Avalon model. The new Avalon’s visual stance has been further enhanced by 1.29-inch (33 mm) reduction in width of the rear side rails surrounding the rear glass to tighten the proportions of the greenhouse. Vehicle tread has been increased by 0.39 inch (10 mm) at the front and 0.59 inch (15 mm) at the rear, widening the wheel placement underneath the more athletic Avalon body. Our test model sported heated outside mirrors with turn signals, power tilt and slide moon roof, dual chrome tipped exhaust and quadrabeam headlights with auto on/off.

A stronger, more expressive front-fascia design with larger grille opening creates an aggressive appearance while enhancing cooling air flow and pedestrian impact protection. The new Avalon’s exterior turn signal indicators have been located at the lower section of the front bumper to contribute to the slim and sleek appearance. The 2013 Avalon’s sleek and sculpted rear tail lights utilize LED lamps to help ensure visibility and reduce the gap of unlit dark area between the trunk and rear quarter panel.

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As the renaissance is fully underway at Lexus, the LS 460 F SPORT appears to be beyond top of the line in both luxury and performance. The all-new LS 460 F SPORT combines a more aggressive exterior with a unique sport interior featuring F SPORT seats with larger bolsters, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with paddle shifters, and genuine aluminum trim. With a sport-tuned air suspension that has been lowered 0.4 inches, a Torsen limited slip rear differential (RWD model), Brembo six-piston caliper brakes, and 19-inch forged wheels with summer or all-season tires, the LS F SPORT is clearly the most engaging LS ever.

The first thing that you notice in the 2013 Lexus LS 460 F SPORT is an aggressive look not seen in past Lexus sedans. Our test model looked stunning in liquid platinum paint, high-intensity discharge Bi Xenon headlamps with adaptive front lighting system (AFS), dynamic auto leveling and integrated LED fog lamps and turn signals, LED daytime running lamps, headlamp washers and windshield wiper deicer. The look is large and luxurious, with a sports car heart ready to please.

The unique sport interior features F SPORT seats with larger bolsters, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with paddle shifters, and a genuine aluminum trim that lets you know immediately you’re entering a serious “luxury zone.” The redesigned interior integrates modern refinement with intuitive technology. The Advanced Illumination System (AIS), an all-LED interior lighting system, illuminates to greet the approaching occupants and then fades in sequence with the vehicle starting procedure.

The new Lexus Climate Concierge offers maximum comfort for every LS occupant. The customizable system uses multiple sensors to automatically regulate not only the temperature of the cabin, but also the climate control seats and the heated steering wheel, quickly bringing each occupant to their preferred temperature.

The standard navigation system is displayed on a huge and crystal clear 12.3-inch, split-screen, high-resolution multimedia display that is large enough to support simultaneous viewing of a large map display and other vehicle functions.

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We still don’t know just how good the B car segment can be, but we sure are getting close. This market is growing and automakers like Kia are serious about gaining market share with entries like the 2013 Kia Rio5 SX. We spent a week testing a signal red model and came away with plenty of impressions.

The Rio SX M/T is inspired by Kia’s championship-winning motorsports efforts and the recently-introduced Rio B-spec race car. Enthusiasts are snapping these up as a limited quantity of around 500 Rio SX M/Ts will be initially offered for sale during the 2013 model year. There is no shortage of style with the new Rio SX 5, which sports exterior colors Red and Electronic Blue and comes with LED taillights, front LED accent lights, and 17-inch alloy wheels. The LED accent lights look very upscale, and the sleek skin on this car with the 17-inch alloys really gives this modestly price car a very sporty look. The chilly weather in the Midwest this March made us appreciate the heated power folding mirrors morning, noon and night.

Inside, the Rio SX M/T adds a 7-inch navigation touch screen with a Sirius XM Traffic system and push-button start with Smart Key. Other standard SX features include sport-tuned suspension, rear camera display, steering-wheel mounted audio controls, Bluetooth wireless technology, and an AM/FM/CD/ MP3 Sirius XM Satellite audio system. Our test model had black cloth seating and was very comfortable and smooth to the touch. The cabin design is modern and well planned with a balanced dashboard. Added features included air conditioning, power windows and door locks, USB and auxiliary input jacks, 60/40 split rear folding seats, leather wrapped steering wheel and gear shift knob, steering wheel controls, tilt and telescopic steering column, supervision meter cluster and metal finish trim and metal pedals. I will say that the back seats don’t offer much legroom, so adults might be a tight fit.

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Here’s a cool Doritos video involving a joyride with a badass sports car.

The truck wars are heating up again as Chevrolet announced initial pricing, performance data, and EPA fuel efficiency estimates for the 2014 Silverado 1500, raising the bar in the fiercely competitive light-duty pickup segment.

Manufacturer’s suggested retail prices for the new 2014 Silverado regular cab will start at $24,585, including a $995 destination freight charge, the same base price as the 2013 model. For that price, the 2014 Silverado regular cab, which starts production this summer, will include a number of major improvements:

- A more powerful, more efficient EcoTec3 engine
- A six-speed automatic transmission
- A stronger, quieter cab with an all-new interior
- Four-wheel disc brakes with Duralife rotors
- A new bed with standard box rail protectors and CornerStep bumper

The base starting prices for the Silverado crew cab, the first model to launch later this spring, and for the new double cab Silverado, which replaces the extended cab, also will be the same as for the corresponding 2013 models.

Buyers of all 2014 Silverados also will receive a standard scheduled maintenance program for two years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first. Up to four maintenance visits are included in the price of the vehicle, each one of which includes a regularly scheduled oil change, oil filter replacement, tire rotation and multi-point vehicle inspection, based on the schedule in the vehicle owner’s manual.

Proven V-8 power with better efficiency than a turbo V-6

The 2014 Silverado launches later this spring with crew cab models equipped with the all-new 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V-8, which is expected to power three out of four Silverado 1500s.

Chevrolet today announced EPA estimates of 23 mpg highway for 2wd models, and 22 mpg highway for 4×4 models. That is better than any V-8 competitor and beats the EPA estimates for the 2013 Ford EcoBoost turbocharged V-6 for both 2wd and 4×4 models.

Silverado’s 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V-8 is SAE certified at 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque, with more than 300 lb-ft of torque available from 2,000 to 5,600 rpm for responsive performance under a broad range of real-world conditions.

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There are many unique cars out there, but the Smart Car has always gotten plenty of attention. These cool videos are worth checking out to learn more about this innovative vehicle, including some safety stories that may surprise you!

OOH man, that guy just dinged my door! It’s not a new car but it’s a pseudo classic or soon will be. There’s not too much rust and mostly the paint is in good condition, but now there a ding on the door and paint came off leaving a quarter sized nugget of primer gleaming like a black eye after a fight with a better boxer than you.

Since most of the other paint problems are unseen and the overall look of the car is good, this particular gouge needs to be repaired. You’re a handy kinda guy and so you think it’ll be child’s play to make the needed touch up’s, but don’t get too cocky. The process of applying car touch-up paint has its problems and if you want a good match there are a few steps you need to take to ensure that the paint you buy matches the paint on your soon to be classic ride.

The first step is to not only inspect the obvious damaged area but to take a close look at the overall paint on the car to see if any other spots need to be painted. You might as well fix them at the same time.

The next step is to do a thorough search for available paint suppliers with a specific emphasis on your make and model car. Finding the right paint is perhaps the most important factor in getting good results.

After you found the paint it’s very important to read the directions, let me repeat this …read the directions. Each paint manufacturer has differing techniques designed for their specific paint; failure to follow those directions will result in a substandard touch up.
Once you actually read the direction and committed them to memory, you will need to clean the effected spot and give plenty of time for that spot to completely dry. Remember, paint and water do not mix well, so let it dry completely.

Most products require you to do some light sanding and many will provide the proper sand paper. Sand slowly and lightly allowing the paper to do the work. This is not a time to show off your muscles, this is a finesse job, not a job for the hulk.

After the sanding apply a clear coat layer and again follow the direction, you may want to experiment on an unexposed area first to gauge the amount of clear coat to use. When applying the paint, use straight, even, spray patterns with a back and forth motion. Overlap the first spray and the edge of the second spray by about one-half of the original width. There are videos online to help you with this stage.

Again let the paint dry completely and then complete the project by applying wax and buffing the area. One reminder: your product of choice may have certain waxes they recommend, so use what they recommend.

This is a very satisfying project, but it’s important to take your time and follow the rules. When you’re done you’ll be able to stand back and wonder if that ding really happened or was it all a dream.

The all new 2013 Lexus ES 300h Sedan has the chance to lead Lexus into the future with amazing fuel efficiency and new styling. We had the opportunity drive this new offering from Lexus for a week and took away the following impressions.

The new ES features a lower, progressive profile and clean, continuous styling lines from front to rear. All four corners are pulled tightly inward to the wheel arches, creating distinctive proportions. The wheelbase of the new ES has been lengthened by 1.8 inches, while the overall length of the vehicle has grown by just one inch, resulting in a more spacious interior. The new ES unmistakably bears the new face of Lexus with its distinctive, spindle grille. The LED daytime running lights and combination rear lamps reflect the “L” design motif. The ES 300h hybrid features a distinctive rear design with hidden exhaust and an integrated spoiler. New exterior colors for the 2013 ES include Fire Agate Pearl and Silver Lining Metallic. Our test model was nebula gray pearl and the paint was as smooth as the sleek exterior. The auto on/off projector bulb headlamps with integrated LED fog lamps and daytime running lights stand out both during the day and in nighttime driving.

The modern interior of the 2013 ES has been designed to provide a sense of openness and security. Sightlines and visibility are improved, controls are logically placed, and new cabin materials express a high level of craftsmanship. A newly sculptured seat enhances driver comfort. The steering wheel angle has been reduced from 24 degrees to 22 degrees for a more natural control position. Fluid-filled engine mounts, new sound absorbing materials and a tuned engine intake minimize the intrusion of outside noise.

Greater rear seat legroom and knee room are the hallmark of the redesigned, more spacious cabin. Knee room is increased by 2.8 inches and legroom is increased by 4.1 inches. The new design also offers additional foot room below the front seats. I was very impressed with the amount of room for the rear passengers and that is a major improvement over many competitors.

Available comfort and convenience features include manual door window shades, a power rear shade, and a one-touch power trunk closer. Optional ambient lighting, discretely placed under the wood trim, softly illuminates the surfaces of the instrument panel and all four doors. The new ES features enhanced NuLuxe seating surfaces, developed to reduce environmental impact. Genuine leather is also available, as is semi-aniline leather for an even more refined look and feel. Our heated seats and heated steering wheel warmed up in what seemed to be record time in some pretty cold weather. Interiors are available in Black, Light Gray and Parchment. Trim colors and materials include Piano Black, Espresso Bird’s-eye Maple and Bamboo.

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