The BritishV8 Pub

We ran up on Thursday and took in the show, nice chance to look at all the new cars. The new Corvette was unveiled and it's nice, but looks sort of Japanese. All slanty on the lights and front/rear angles. The frame was on display. All aluminum yes, but with a whole bunch of massive cast sections I really doubt it would be more than 50 lbs lighter than a steel frame. What it does do is give them threaded bosses to bolt everything into for faster, easier assembly. But that also makes the re-purposing of Corvette components more of a challenge. The transmission is very massive, sort of reminded me of a truck transmission. And overall, the car just seems to be so BIG for a two seater. I guess I'm spoiled. The engine I did like very much. The new LT1 was on display as a cutaway model and it is every bit as impressive in the flesh as it is on paper. The direct injection is run by a simple and compact piston pump in the old distributor location, riding on a triple lobe on the end of the camshaft, with a steel tube running directly to the injectors under the intake, and the obligatory electrical harness tucked in neatly. The injectors look a lot like a long nosed version of the conventional efi injector.

The new NSX was probably about the best looking thing there, but it's funny how the American cars are starting to look Japanese while the Japanese cars are trying to look American. There was some pretty heavy development going on with hybrid, electrical, and AWD cars. Toyota has a hydrogen fuel cell.

There were only a handful of cars that seemed to concentrate on weight reduction. Overall it seems like weight and complexity is continuing its upward spiral. We seem to be reliving the 70's in terms of vehicle size and weight. This can't go on indefinitely.

Downstairs, Aisin was taking folks for rides around an indoor course in a bunch of different electric cars from different manufacturers. It was a popular attraction, and I got to file an inquiry for the transmission connector I need. Could help. Overall it was a pleasant experience and I'll probably go again next year if the schedule allows.

Jim

Hey Jim . Just wondering how long it took you to get to Detroit from where you are in Kentucky? From where I live in South Western Ontario .we call it ,,, its only a couple of hours to Detroit. Tim

Seemed like 3 or 4 hours Tim, I really wasn't watching the clock.

Jim

Hi Jim. I just thought it must be 6hours or so from Ky but a wickipedia check showed me you were only 275 mi or 4 hours from Detroit. Only a hop skip and a jump.now I have a better idea where kentucky is.Tim

I-75 runs from the Canadian border to Tampa, FL & slices right thru KY. Can't miss it. ;)