Overview:
Each year in November since 1987 Willow Springs International Raceway has hosted TRACK DAY for the Motor Press Guild (MPG). The track is a stones throw West of Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, known for NASA and the Space Shuttle.

The driving event is not as high tech as NASA but it is exciting to people of the press who write about cars. It is a chance to be a “test pilot” for a day. Test-driving cars under the same skies and the same racetrack or the tight turns of the streets of Willow or the off road course is a thrill and one of the perks of being an automotive journalist. It is an exhausting day for the event organizers and taxes the endurance of the drivers as well. You eat fast in the morning so you can get out there and drive fast. You push the limits and then you watch the pros show you how it’s really done. Lunch is a time to eat slowly and talk about the experience. Then it’s back to driving.

And if driving is a love affair, Track Day is an orgy. You’ll seldom see such broad smiles on the faces of so many journalists all at the same time.  Participants included folks from KABC-TV, Newsweek, Road & Track, AAA, KFWB Radio, Motor Trend and Car and Driver among many more working in the industry that tells people about the cars they love to love or hate. All participants relish the ability to put these cars through their paces around a real racetrack where you can legally put the pedal to the metal. 

And of course this is where the rubber meets the road and car lovers talk about what’s new, what’s news and what’s not. And most of the time the rubber stays on the track but on occasion car and driver go unexpectedly off the track.

I am especially impressed with what guys like David Murray and David Donahue (son of legendary race driver Mark Donahue) can do behind the wheel. But it takes much more courage for them to sit in the passenger seat while guys like me try to mimic their skill. Impossible but it does serve to understand the athletic ability of these pros who drive fast for a living.

The venue also allows for vendors to display their new technology, such as Bosch’s Diesel Vehicles and Electronic Stability Controlled cars. This is perhaps the most dramatic addition to useful automotive technology in half a century. 

Handling & Performance:   
I suspect the fastest time I’ve achieved is 120 mph on the front straight away for a brief second before braking hard for turn number one. But more important is the fact that almost all cars will achieve very similar top speeds, including “Clean Diesel” powered cars. Of course we all know these cars will not be legally driven at the speeds they are capable of because normal highway speed laws don’t permit it.  

As to real performance breakthroughs, it is the Electronic Stability Control, (ESC or ESP) technology that is most interesting to me. Bosch has been promoting this technology for years now, but sadly only 25% of cars in America can be equipped with the technology and only 10% of the cars are actually purchased with this option.

I asked my design engineer friend Merkel Weiss to explain this technology. “Well Joe, what is known in aviation as fly-by-wire is now known as drive-by-wire in the auto industry. The process began with ABS (anti-lock brake system) or optimized electric brakes allowing for safer and shorter panic stops while retaining steering control. Then with the development of Automatic Stability Control (ASC or ESC and other designations) that is then overlaid over ABS technology more control is provided through yaw and roll control based on principals used in aircraft control.” (A further detailed explanation of this technology is discussed in an article by Mr. Weiss on the subject at www.autolove.com). You can also find more information by contacting Continental Automotive Systems at 248-393-5210 or visit their website at www.contitevesna.com.   

Merkel and I don’t always agree but we do on this technology. We attended a press conference to promote this rollover prevention technology and got behind the wheel of vehicles with and without ESC on a slip and slide course set up on the parking lot of Hollywood Park in Los Angeles this November. Our conclusion is that ESC should be required as standard equipment on all trucks and SUV’s because they represent a disproportionate number of the 253,000 rollover crashes in the US each year. Those crashes also claim over 6,000 lives. 

Take my word for it; you need to demand this feature on the next SUV or Truck you buy. It is truly amazing.

Events like Track Day make my job fun and Press Conferences like the Rollover prevention demonstration are educational and informative too. Sharing them is especially rewarding for me. Getting involved and keeping abreast of new automotive technology will help you make the second most expensive buying decision a better-informed one. 

Your comments are welcomed. My e-mail is joe@autolove.com
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