Ferrari Mailing List: Re: F1

(continued)

I remember when Lotus appeared with their John Player Special liveried 

car in the late 60s/early 70s.  There was controversy then - mostly 

people worried it would ruin the sport.   It's amazing what people with 

a little common sense are able to predict accurately. But I don't think 

any saw the cost cutting crap rules we keep seeing.

 Rick mentioned " V6 turbo hybrid on the heels of small V8 on the heels 

of KERS on the heels of...."   why can't anyone understand what all 

these changes cost?  Do they think Santa will pay for all those tooling 

changes?  Must not be any economists among them...

LarryT

On 11/2/2014 11:18 AM, Erik Nielsen wrote:

I knew the NASCrap comment would get a rise.

There is nothing wrong with motorsports from a competition standpoint, but when 
the big money gets involved, jeez what a mess.  Pure test of skill occurs in a 
spec Miata or a shifter kart, higher budgets than that are just dick swinging 
contests.  I don't buy into the whole brand lifestyle approach being pushed by 
Ferrari and the others (to some extent), it's just a form of a drug deal, got 
to get you hooked.  Look at it from the outside and it's just sheep being shorn 
on a regular basis.

As for cars, we're still early in this journey, the question is do we put the 
object on the pedestal or accept that its functionality is more important?  I 
enjoy the technical elegance of a well executed design, but can really do 
without all of the cultural emotional baggage that comes with it.

I leave you with just one more psychoanalysis tidbit for Sunday.

Do you know what Sigmund Freud said comes between fear and sex?

Funf.

Cheers,
Erik

Sent from my iPad

On Nov 2, 2014, at 8:20 AM, Rick Lindsay <richardolindsay [at] gmail.com> wrote:

Easy Rick, you're starting to sound like you're promoting NASCAR...

Now you're just getting nasty!

The sport is no longer relevant

The sport is no longer a 'sport'...as if it ever was.

I spend enough time on the continent to tell you that there is a limited
audience there, too.  Let it die a natural death and let's see what
grows up to replace it.

Probably good advice. Perhaps I'm just too old and want back 'the old ways', as 
Miss Marple says.

I wonder if our parents felt this same way, or is this unique? If so, is it a 
game-changing mega-trend, as the cultural geographers say? In the '30s a 
motorcar was a luxury and one needed to be a mechanic, or rich enough to employ 
one, to operate the machine. By the '60, at least in the U.S., every family 
owned a car and corner garages kept them running. By the '80s the beasts were 
considered dirty and dangerous so multiple defenses were added. In the 21st 
century, motorcars are questionably necessary major appliances but owning one 
is an entitlement - like free government money, housing, food stamp cards and 
healthcare. Oh, and high speed internet, smart phones and tablets. Can't buy 
food or pay child support but they have a Facebook page! Now THAT is a 
mega-trend. Our parents' generation may have been poor but they prioritized 
food and child care first.

Motorsport is dangerous so lots of protection has to be added. We seem to have 
realized that civilization must be safe and our inate desire for carnage and 
competition has to be satesfied elsewhere. How about a team (tribe) of football 
players (warriers) egged on by fight songs and blood thirsty cheers, competing 
on the field of battle for breeding rights over the cheerleaders?! Yes! Natural 
Selection wins another one! Now if fantasy football could just replace the 
actual games, perhaps with computer generated decisions, everyone would be 
safer. Racers could compete on their smart phones - or if adequately wealthy, 
have someone wiggle their thumbs for them. And in the end, award double points 
for their entitled entertainment!

YMMV,
Erik

Indeed it does, Dr. Erik

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Re: F1	<– Date –> <– Thread –>
From: LarryT (L02turnercomcast.net)
Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2014 12:37:39 -0800 (PST)