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Chrysler may be feeling some pain in the USA, but overseas they are realizing some excellent results. According to a Chrysler spokesperson, international sales are up 14 percent through August of 2006 with 15 straight months of month-to-month increases. The news is even better in Western Europe. Chrysler reported an increase of 35.6% in August 2006 compared with the performance from a year ago, and a sales increase of 15.5% for the year-to-date through August 2006. According to JATO Dynamics, a market information company, Jeep sales were up 25% in Europe through August compared to 2005, much of the increase due to the excellent performances of the new Grand Cherokee and Commander. These impressive sales results have made Chrysler the second fastest growing automotive group in Europe, second only to Fiat, and Chrysler predicts that international sales will account for 9% of total sales by 2007.

Looking at the sales numbers it’s easy to see why the folks at Chrysler were excited about the unveiling of their production version of the two-door Jeep Wrangler and four-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited for the first time in Europe at the recently held Paris Motor Show. The Paris Motor Show is a major event that is held every two years. It is a trend-setting showcase for the automotive industry around the world and it attracts participants from all corners of the globe. The newly demo’ed Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited models are powered by a new 2.8 liter diesel engine and feature a broad array of new off-road features. They will hit European dealer showrooms around April of 2006, and Chrysler feels they’ll be a big hit. Why shouldn’t we believe them? They seem to have an excellent grasp on the European market at the moment.

It is good that Chrysler, an American car manufacturer, and Jeep are making themselves known around the world and realizing some excellent results. Now if only we could get our hands on those diesel powered Wranglers here in the good ole’ USA. Then we all might be happy!

Speaking of happy, we have everything you need for your Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee at http://XtremeTerrain.com. Quality aftermarket parts like Interior and exterior accessories, suspension and performance parts, restoration and body parts, travel accessories, and much more can be found at our online store. Just go to http://www.xtremeterrain.com Find automotive equipment and accessories for any Jeep make or model and get our always low prices on anything you need.

Since 1984 Formula One teams have been required to build the chassis in which they compete, and consequently the terms “team” and “constructor” are more or less interchangeable.

This requirement distinguishes the sport from series such as IRL, Champ Cars, and NASCAR, which allow teams to purchase chassis, and “spec series” such as GP2, which require all cars be kept to an identical specification.

In its early years, Formula One teams sometimes also built their engines, though this became less common with the increased involvement of major car manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Toyota, and Honda, whose large budgets rendered privately built engines less competitive (and redundant).

Early manufacturer involvement came in the form of a “factory team” (that is, one owned and staffed by a major car company), such as those of Alfa Romeo, Ferrari (FIAT) or Renault. Companies such as Climax, Repco, Cosworth, Hart, Judd and Supertec, which had no direct team affiliation, often sold engines to teams who could not afford to manufacture them. As the manufacturers’ deep pockets and engineering ability took over, almost all engines are now produced by major manufacturers.

After having virtually disappeared by the early 1980s, factory teams made a comeback in the 1990s and 2000s, and now form half the grid with Toyota, Ferrari (FIAT), Honda, Renault and BMW either setting up their own teams or buying out existing ones. Mercedes-Benz (DaimlerChrysler) owns 40% of the McLaren team and manufactures the team’s engines. Commercial engine supplier Cosworth exited the sport at the end of 2006. Thus all the teams will run on factory supplied engines from 2007.

The sport’s 1950 debut season saw eighteen teams compete, but due to high costs many dropped out quickly. In fact, such was the scarcity of competitive cars for much of the first decade of Formula One that Formula Two cars were admitted to fill the grids. Ferrari is the only still-active team which competed in 1950, and as of 2006 eleven teams remain on the grid, each fielding two cars. Although teams rarely disclose information about their budgets, it is estimated that they range from US$66 million to US$400 million each.

Entering a new team in the Formula One World Championship requires a £25 million (about US$47 million) up-front payment to the FIA, which is then repaid to the team over the course of the season. As a consequence, constructors desiring to enter Formula One often prefer to buy an existing team: B.A.R.’s purchase of Tyrrell and Midland’s purchase of Jordan allowed both of these teams to sidestep the large deposit.

Each car is assigned a number. The previous season’s World Drivers’ Champion is designated number 1, with his teammate given number 2. Numbers are then assigned according to each team’s position in the previous season’s World Constructors’ Championship. There have been exceptions to this rule, such as in 1993 and 1994, when the current World Drivers’ Champion (Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost, respectively) was no longer competing in Formula One. In this case the drivers for the team of the previous year’s champion are given numbers 0 (Damon Hill, on both occasions) and 2 (Prost himself and Ayrton Senna - replaced after his death by David Coulthard and occasionally Nigel Mansell - respectively). The number 13 has not been used since 1974, before which it was occasionally assigned at the discretion of individual race organizers.

Before 1996, only the world championship winning driver and his team generally swapped numbers with the previous champion – the remainder held their numbers from prior years, as they had been originally set at the start of the 1974 season. For many years, for example, Ferrari held numbers 27 & 28, regardless of their finishing position in the world championship. As privateer teams quickly folded in the early 1990s, numbers were frequently shuffled around, until the current system was adopted in 1996.

Michael Schumacher holds the record for having won the most Drivers’ Championships (seven) and Ferrari holds the record for having won the most Constructors’ Championships (fourteen). Jochen Rindt became the only posthumous World Champion after a fatal accident at the 1970 Italian Grand Prix.

Modern Formula One cars are mid-engined open cockpit, open wheel single-seaters. The chassis is made largely of carbon fibre composites, rendering it light but extremely stiff and strong. The whole car, including engine, fluids and driver weighs only 605 kg. In fact this is the minimum weight set by the regulations – the cars are so light that they often have to be ballasted up to this minimum weight.

The cornering speed of Formula One cars is largely determined by the aerodynamic downforce that they generate, which pushes the car down onto the track. This is provided by ‘wings’ mounted at the front and rear of the vehicle, and by ground effect created by the movement of air under the flat bottom of the car.

A significant difference in the design of the latest breeds of F1 cars is that they make far greater use of vortex “lift,” or in this case, downforce. Since a vortex is a rotating fluid that creates a low pressure zone at its center, creating vortices lowers the overall local pressure of the air.

Since low pressure is what is desired under the car, allowing normal atmospheric pressure to press the car down from the top, by creating vortices, downforce can be augmented while still staying within the rules.

The aerodynamic design of the cars is very heavily constrained to limit performance and the current generation of cars sport a large number of small winglets, “barge boards” and turning vanes designed to closely control the flow of the air over, under and around the car. The “barge boards” in particular are designed, shaped, configured, adjusted and positioned not to create downforce directly, as with a conventional wing or underbody venturi. They are designed so that air spillage from their edges will create these vortices.

The other major factor controlling the cornering speed of the cars is the design of the tyres. Tyres in Formula One are not ’slicks’ (tyres with no tread pattern) as in most other circuit racing series. Each tyre has four large circumferential grooves on its surface designed to further limit the cornering speed of the cars. Suspension is double wishbone or multilink all round with pushrod operated springs and dampers on the chassis. Carbon-Carbon disc brakes are used for reduced weight and increased frictional performance. These provide a very high level of braking performance and are usually the element which provokes the greatest reaction from drivers new to the formula.

Engines are mandated as 2.4 litre normally aspirated V8s, with many other constraints on their design and the materials that may be used. The 2006 generation of engines rev close to 20,000 rpm and produce up to 740 bhp (552 kW).[10] The previous generation of 3-litre V10 engines are also allowed, albeit with their revs limited and with an air restrictor to limit performance.

Engines run on unleaded fuel closely resembling publicly available petrol. The oil which lubricates and protects the engine from overheating is very similar in viscosity to water. For 2007 the V8 engines will be restricted to 19,000 rpm with limited development areas allowed, following the engine specification freeze from the end of 2006. As outright speed and power are effectively being capped it is widely believed that teams will work on improving reliability, and the torque range of the engine to improve driveability.

A wide variety of technologies – including active suspension, ground effect aerodynamics and turbochargers – are banned under the current regulations. Despite this the 2006 generation of cars can reach speeds of up to 350 km/h (around 220 mph) at some circuits (Monza).A Honda Formula One car, running with minimum downforce on a runway in the Mojave desert achieved a top speed of 415 km/h (258 mph) in 2006. According to Honda, the car fully met the FIA Formula One regulations.

Even with the limitations on aerodynamics, at 160 km/h, aerodynamically generated downforce is equal to the weight of the car and the often repeated claim that Formula One cars are capable of ‘driving on the ceiling’ remains true in principle, although it has never been put to the test. At full speed downforce of 2.5 times the car’s weight can be achieved.

The downforce means that the cars can achieve a lateral force of around four and a half times the force of gravity (4.5 g) in cornering - a high-performance road car might achieve around 1 g. Consequently in corners the driver’s head is pulled sideways with a force equivalent to 25 kilograms. Such high lateral forces are enough to make breathing difficult and the drivers need supreme concentration to maintain their focus for the 1 to 2 hours that it takes to cover 305 kilometres.

A Formula One Grand Prix event spans an entire weekend, beginning with two free practices on Friday, and one free practice on Saturday. Third drivers are allowed to run on Fridays, but only two cars may be used per team. After these practice sessions, a qualifying session is held.

The format of this qualifying session has been through several iterations since 2003. Attempts were made to reinvigorate interest in the qualifying session by using a "one-shot" system in which each driver would take turns on an empty track to set their one and only time.

For the 2006 season a knockout qualifying system was introduced. The FIA revised the 2006 procedures starting with Round 11, the 2006 French Grand Prix.[7] In the first phase, all 22 cars are permitted on the track for a 15-minute qualification session. Only their fastest time will count and drivers may complete as many laps as they wish. In the original format, the clocks were stopped immediately at the end of the session, which meant that drivers on a timed lap did not have their time registered once the 15 minutes were up. From Round 11, any car running a timed lap at the time of the chequered flag is entitled to complete the lap. The slowest six cars can take no further part in qualifying, these cars will make up the last six grid positions in the order of their times.

The times for the sixteen remaining cars are reset for the next 15-minute session. In the original format, the clocks were stopped immediately at the end of the session. From Round 11, cars running timed laps at the chequered flag are allowed to complete the lap. The slowest six cars will make up the grid in positions 11 to 16 in the order of their times.

The times for the ten remaining cars will be reset for the next session. The shootout session lasted 20 minutes under the original regulations, changed to 15 minutes from Round 11. For the final period, the cars will be arranged on the grid in positions one to ten in the order of their times. In the first two 15-minute sessions, cars may run any fuel load and drivers knocked out after those sessions may refuel ahead of the race. However, the top-ten drivers must begin the final 15-minute session with the fuel load on which they plan to start the race. They will be weighed before they leave the pits. Whatever fuel they use in the 15 minutes may be replaced at the end of the session provided that the laps they complete are all within 110% of their best session time; outlaps (a lap that started in the pitlane) and inlaps (a lap that ended in the pitlane) are permitted to be no more than 120% of the driver’s best session time. Any fuel for a lap outside of the 110% time will not be replaced. As with the first two 15 minute sessions, if a driver starts a timed lap before the chequered flag falls for the 15 minute session, their time will count even if they cross the finish line after the session has ended.

The race begins with a warm-up formation lap, after which the cars assemble on the starting grid in the order they qualified. If a driver stalls before the parade lap, and the rest of the field passes him, then he must start from the back of the grid. As long as he moves off and at least one car is behind him, he can retake his original position. A racer may also elect to start from pit-lane if he has any last minute problems with the car. If they choose to do this, they must wait for all cars to pass pit-lane before they may begin the race.

A light system above the track then signals the start of the race. Races are a little over 305 kilometres (190 miles) long and are limited to two hours, though in practice they usually last about ninety minutes. Throughout the race, drivers may make one or more pit stops in order to refuel and change tyres. Drivers have access to seven sets of dry-weather tyres, four sets of wet-weather tyres and three sets of extreme-weather tyres for the entire weekend. Drivers must choose the dry-weather compound they will use for the race ahead of qualifying.

The FIA awards points to the top eight drivers and their respective teams of a grand prix on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis (the race winner receives ten points, the first runner-up eight, and so on). The winner of the two annual championships are the driver and the team who have accumulated the most points at the end of the season. If any drivers and/or teams have the exact amount of points and are both competing for the driver and/or team championships, the driver and/or team who has won more Grand Prix races during the course of the season is declared the winner.

Visiting a Harley-Davidson store. Whether online or offline gives you choices of wide quantity. Ranging from motorcycles, motorcycles parts, clothes, accessories, jewelries, to merchandise with Harley-Davidson logo on it.

The company’s web site alone offers a wide array of products that will surely give every Harley-Davidson enthusiasts a collection of a lifetime. Sounds overrated? No, we are just telling the truth.

Take for instance the company’s official web site. The company’s web site has several pages to visit but let us focus on the products the offer. On the motorcycle, the site offers both the 2006 and 2007 Sportster, Dyna, Softail, VRSC and Touring. Genuine motor accessories are also offered. Other merchandises are sold. To be particular with these here are the following Harley-Davison items:

For men, there is the FXRG functional riding gear, leather collections, gloves, jackets, helmets, eyewear, boots, heated gear, rain gear, vests, shirts, chaps, pants, and other accessories for men. Large sizes are also catered.

For women, items available are FXRG functional riding gear, leather collections, gloves, jackets, eyewear, helmets, rain gear, heated gear, vests, shirts, chaps, pants, and other accessories.

There are also Harley-Davidson items for kids. These are rain suit, finger gloves, helmet, hog bank, and Harley-Davidson sticker book.

For collectors, items such as H-D rage, FXRG functional riding gear, denims, leathers, wet weather gear, cold weather gear, and warm weather gear are available.

Harley-Davidson can also be good as gift items. The site offers men’s perforated fingerless gloves, men’s FXRG midweight leather jacket, men’s stock leather jacket, men’s maverick leather jacket, men’s canal street rain suit, men’s fleece-lined denim jacket, men’s heritage jacket, men’s gear head cotton garage jacket, men’s torque leather jacket, men’s genesis leather jacket, men’s deluxe leather chaps, men’s defiance leather vest, different kinds of t-shirt designs and other item. There are also gift items for women and kids.

Other online stores also offer these products. More often than not, inventories are wider and choices are better. Prices may also be lower.

Auction sites also give better chances of getting Harley-Davidson items in low prices. Sites you are in control of the price at an auction site, it is sometimes better to shop here.

Speaking of savings, there are also Harley-Davidson stores that offer discounted Harley-Davidson product. All you have to do is to watch out for discounts so that you will get cheaper merchandise.

Harley-Davidson is not only limited to motorcycles so every time you visit Harley-Davidson store, you are given more items that you can take home.

Chrysler may be feeling some pain in the USA, but overseas they are realizing some excellent results. According to a Chrysler spokesperson, international sales are up 14 percent through August of 2006 with 15 straight months of month-to-month increases. The news is even better in Western Europe. Chrysler reported an increase of 35.6% in August 2006 compared with the performance from a year ago, and a sales increase of 15.5% for the year-to-date through August 2006. According to JATO Dynamics, a market information company, Jeep sales were up 25% in Europe through August compared to 2005, much of the increase due to the excellent performances of the new Grand Cherokee and Commander. These impressive sales results have made Chrysler the second fastest growing automotive group in Europe, second only to Fiat, and Chrysler predicts that international sales will account for 9% of total sales by 2007.

Looking at the sales numbers it’s easy to see why the folks at Chrysler were excited about the unveiling of their production version of the two-door Jeep Wrangler and four-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited for the first time in Europe at the recently held Paris Motor Show. The Paris Motor Show is a major event that is held every two years. It is a trend-setting showcase for the automotive industry around the world and it attracts participants from all corners of the globe. The newly demo’ed Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited models are powered by a new 2.8 liter diesel engine and feature a broad array of new off-road features. They will hit European dealer showrooms around April of 2006, and Chrysler feels they’ll be a big hit. Why shouldn’t we believe them? They seem to have an excellent grasp on the European market at the moment.

It is good that Chrysler, an American car manufacturer, and Jeep are making themselves known around the world and realizing some excellent results. Now if only we could get our hands on those diesel powered Wranglers here in the good ole’ USA. Then we all might be happy!

Speaking of happy, we have everything you need for your Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee at XtremeTerrain.com. Quality aftermarket parts like Interior and exterior accessories, suspension and performance parts, restoration and body parts, travel accessories, and much more can be found at our online store. Just go to http://www.xtremeterrain.com Find automotive equipment and accessories for any Jeep make or model and get our always low prices on anything you need.

If you need some organizational help, here are some tips on how to organize your garage so you can get your car back where it belongs, instead of those boxes and stuff you used 10 years before:

1)Make a specific space for every category. For example, make a special space for lawn tools, Christmas decorations, etc. If necessary, make yourself a sign or note to place in the area. This will prevent other items from being placed in that particular area, and you will know exactly where to go to get what you need.

2)Since garages usually have ceilings, place shelving all along the perimeter of the garage as space allows. Use every inch of shelf space available. Avoid leaving stuff on the floor. You can place note cards or signs on the shelving as well. Shelving is a great way to categorize.

3)Be sure that items you use regularly are in a safe place and easily accessible. For example, make sure young children can easily get their bikes or other toys from the garage without assistance. This will ensure their safety as well as help with independence. (Note: Make sure that small children can reach their toys without having to climb on anything.)

4)“Hazard High”. Make sure all hazardous material is kept well out of the reach of children and animals. The smallest amount of paint thinner or gasoline can be lethal.

5)Move it out. If it can go out, put it out. That extra space under your porch or deck is the perfect spot to hide ladders or lawn mowers. If you prefer, put up some lattice with a hinge on one side to prevent anyone from seeing the items.

6)Hang over. Bins are now available that you can hang from the ceiling! These would be perfect for those once-a-year items like Christmas or Halloween decorations.

7)Buy bins. Sporting equipment always comes with lots of extras. Extra balls. Extra bats. Extra putters. Extra gloves. Make sure to keep everything labeled and separated. (Otherwise, you will defeat the purpose). Organizers are specially made now for certain sports – baseball, golf, etc. for all of the equipment. If space allows, use some of these if necessary.

8)If you find some old cabinets in a yard sale or know someone that is remodeling their kitchen, old cabinets look great in a garage. They are great for storage and allow for a work area.

For smaller items, here are some other helpful hints:

• For really small items that get lost easily, glue any type of glass jar with a screw-on lid to a piece of plywood or shelving unit. Then hang the plywood or shelving, with the lids facing down, from a cabinet or shelf. You could also glue the lids directly to the bottoms of the cabinets or shelving already available. By using clear glass jars, you can easily see what’s in them, and simply unscrew the jar when you need a particular item. You can take a single item or take the whole jar. When you’re finished, simply screw the jar back onto the lid.

• Small plastic bins labeled and placed on shelves makes locating screwdrivers and wrenches a breeze.

• Pegboard placed vertically on the wall will allow you to hang any of your tools in an easily identifiable place. By outlining each item, you will be able to tell at first glance if an item is missing.

It is very important that you remember to reorganize every so often. Items tend to get misplaced relatively easily.

While thousands of sports car fans have put together notable collections there are three such collections that will inspire awe and demands the attention of any sports car enthusiast. These three are Toad Hall, LeMay’s collection and Ralph Lauren’s Collection.

Bill Putman’s collection, known as Toad Hall, will have sports car fans seeing red. All of the cars in this private collection are painted red. Putman’s collection features imported cars from Bentley to Datsun, with an emphasis on the British makes. There is a Lotus represented as well. Toad Hall’s name comes from the children’s book the Wind in the Willow.

The LeMay collection, over 3,000 strong, in Tacoma Washington is certified by the Guinness Book of World’s Records as the world’s largest collection of cars. The entire collections of sports cars cannot even be viewed in one visit. The LeMay collection was started in the 1940’s by a waste hauling tycoon who started searching the area for interesting vehicles. The exhibit also includes other American history items as well as ambulances and fire trucks.

American fashion mogul Ralph Lauren is also an avid car collector and has opened his stunning collection to the public. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts showed the Ralph Lauren’s exhibit and states that he started collecting in the 1960’s.

It can be said that Lauren’s is a connoisseur of fine cars and chose the automobiles in his collection, from Bugattis and a 1950 Jaguar XK 120 Alloy Roadster based on their fashion appeal as well as speed. His newest addition is a speed demon’s dream, a 1996 McLaren F1, which can easily pass speeds of 225 mph.

Ralph Lauren has also collected car with celebrity ties. Included in his collection is the car James Dean was driving when he was killed, a Porche 500 Spider. On a happier note, the 1950 Jag mentioned earlier was driven by the Hollywood’s leading man Humphrey Bogart and his love, Lauren Becall.

While there are countless car collections from small time lots to museums, these three collections all offer something unique to the sports car fan. Toad Hall which emphasizes imports and red. The LeMay collection which is certifiably the largest and Ralph Lauren’s private collection which emphasizes speed and celebrity connections.

Designed to win races, the Maserati MC12 is actually sold as a road car, albeit it a very impractical one. Still what do you expect with a 620 bhp exotic car? The car looks just like the sports racing car that it is. To be fair, it is a real two-seater while the cars that race at Le Mans are more like single-seaters.

Only 25 MC12s were built initially, and quite a few were used for racing. Actually, when they heard about Maserati building the MC12 for the GTA championship (ooops, sorry for sale as a road car, was the official line, I think) some of the other companies threatened to withdraw as they thought the presence of the MC12 on the starting grid would make a farce of the whole series.

Although the Maserati MC12, is a true exotic car, it is based on the Ferrari Enzo. The whole idea was to upgrade Maserati’s image following a checkered history. The glory of the 50s, when Maserati was a regular winner of Grand Prix, got lost in the mire of an economic downturn, when the company took the wrong turn more than once.

As Ferrari and Maserati are both part of the Fiat Group, and were in fact in the same sub-group, it made sense to modify the Enzo to get Maserati back as a winner. Now, Ferrari and Maserati have been put in different sub-groups, so this sort of collaboration is not expected in the future.

V-12 from Ferrari with 622 bhp

The Maserati MC12 looks completeley different from the Enzo, though,, with a long nose and very long tail. Where the Enzo is angular, the MC12 is curved. It has a carbon fiber body structure with steel sub-frames front and rear. Power comes from a 6.0 liter V-12 developing 622 bhp @ 7,500 rpm, and 480 lb ft (652 Nm) torque @ 5,500 rpm. A semi-racing engine to be sure. It is coupled to a semi-automatic six-speed sequential gearbox, developed by Ferrari in racing.

Suspension is by double wishbones, with inboard spring and damper units acting through pushrods. These are mounted horizontally as on the Enzo. The dampers have variable rates. Quite a car, but not as extreme as the Bugatti Veyron or the latest Saleen S7.

Following the racing success of the MC12, Maserati is now to build a more extreme version - the MC12 Corsa. The MC12 Corsa has a massively uprated Enzo V-12 engine giving about 750bhp. You can get this for about $1.3 million - or £700,000 or Euros 1 million depending where you live.

But this is not a road car, nor will you be able to race it in any official categories – so this is a trackday special at a huge price. Maserati plans to build about 12 MC12 Corsas a year.