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The Ford Focus Has Become Redesigned For 2012 :- 2012 Ford Focus.

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2012 Ford Focus

Based on the assessment of 24 published reviews and test drives, the 2012 Ford Focus has the number 4 ranking out of 33 affordable small cars. The Focus is completely re-designed for 2012, and up to now the reviews are upbeat and positive. This is due not only to the wonderful echange to both the exterior and interior, but it is simply more fun to drive.

2012 Ford Focus

The Ford Focus was obviously a preferred car when it very first came out in 2000, but it lost its appeal with the improvements of its competition. At this point, some 11 years later, Ford is convinced its Focus will again become one of the top choices among smaller cars. They realize the competition is serious, what with the Chevy Cruze, the Honda Fit and the Mazda 3, but they’re more than ready to take them on. Ford’s hopes can be mostly based on all the high tech improvements to the interior of the Focus. Among the latest features are a rear view camera, a semi-automatic parallel parking system together with their keyless ignition and entry systems.

2012 Ford Focus

There’s also a new configuration of 5-way touch pads on the steering wheel, resulting in a whole new driver connect technology. On higher-end versions you’ll additionally find an 8″ touch screen. 2012 Ford Focus

You will find two more features previously commonly found exclusively on higher-end models like the Ford Edge that are now included, MyFord and MyKey. Course-plotting, entertainment, and communication are built-in by MyFord into a touch screen console. When your teenager is driving the car, MyKey definitely will restrict the speed of the vehicle and the volume of the stereo as a safety feature. Another exciting function for a car of this category is its torque vectoring control. This feature is great for driving enthusiasts because it boosts vehicle stability by adding brake force to the wheels during turns. 2012 Ford Focus

The completely new appearance of the Focus’ exterior has received kudos from the industry. It is sportier than the earlier models and also more intense, to be more like the Honda Fit and Ford Fiesta. Nevertheless, the question is if the Focus will survive once the great reviews and all the excitement have faded. You’ll notice quite a few alternatives in the small car market, so no one will be able to be sure what will happen with this car. They have three principal competitors in terms of features and utility, as well as affordability – The Honda Fit, the Hyundai Elantra and the Chevy Cruze. 2012 Ford Focus

When the Ford Focus may be a car you are looking at, you should check out all of the competition first. Even so, the focus is the best car for many of us, what with its 2012 redesign and new features. It might not be as large as you need, but it’s certainly cost effective.

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Posted on October 27, 2011 by , 3 comments

Level 5 Motorsports’ Scott Tucker Is One With His Fans

By Brent Arends

Level 5 Motorsports

Level 5 Motorsports – Competitive sports car racing isn’t quite the great spectator sport that, say, football is: Flying past a checkered flag at 200 miles per hour doesn’t leave much room for a victory dance. But motorsports fans are just as important to drivers as football fans are to wide receivers.

Level 5 Motorsports

 

Level 5 Motorsports owner and driver Scott Tucker starts and ends races with his fans. After drivers’ meetings at races, before he hits the track, he heads over to sign autographs for fans. “This is where it really starts,” he has said. “Having a big fan base coming to watch you gets everybody excited and pumped up.”

Level 5 Motorsports

The truth is, Tucker would still race even if not a single person came out to watch him—which makes him the best kind of professional athlete: a man who genuinely loves the sport. His complete disregard for any of the perks that could come with being as successful as he has been, with a unique story to boot, have a way of drawing people to the sport: What would make an investor from Leawood, Kansas enter the world of professional sports car racing as a 44-year-old rookie? Tucker’s story, an anomaly in an industry in which drivers have often been training for decades by the time they hit 44, has caught the attention of the Discovery Channel, which aired the feature film “Daytona Dream,” about Tucker and Level 5’s 2010 quest and ultimate accomplishment of a podium finish after 24 hours of grueling, continuous competition.

Fans especially in the United States have looked to Tucker also because his is the first Le Mans Prototype entry from the country in 25 years. What made him enter the ALMS? Not a sponsorship or a pay raise or anything other than the fact that he simply wanted to, a move that then begs the question, what’s so cool about Le Mans Prototype cars? The answer is, a lot—something Tucker has helped promote to a fan base that is inundated with Nascar, Grand-Am and Ferrari more so than LMP.

In fact, Tucker withdrew from a handful of important races in the 2011 season while he awaited the finishing touches on a brand new, cost-capped Honda vehicle for the team. For Level 5, which was on a breakaway winning season, the car had to be worth surrendering points and podium appearances. For Tucker, it absolutely was. He’d been monitoring updates on the car and decided it was the best model available in the LMP2 class.

“The fans are important to me because ultimately, we feel the same way about competitive sports car racing,” Tucker said. “Only, I get to be the one behind the wheel, and if I can share that with them, and they’re excited about it too, then that’s the best thing.”

Not that Tucker is a particularly difficult figure to rally behind. Not only is his story captivating and his passion for the sport undeniable—his record is pretty darn good. He won his second consecutive T1 division national championship at the SCCA runoffs at Road America, and in 2010, he served Ferrari as a test driver as it developed the next generation of supercar, the 599XX. In 2009, Tucker scored a single-season record of 10 victories in the Ferrari Challenge series and won the Ferrari Challenge Dealership Championship for Boardwalk Ferrari. He also won the Sports Car Club of America National Championship in a Ferrari 430.

After working his way through the Ferrari Challenge series and the Grand-Am series, Tucker, along with mentor and co-driver Bouchut, took an opportunity for Le Mans Prototype class competition and in 2010 won the LMP class championship, which bumped them up to the LMP2 class for 2011.

With drivers’ championships all but official this year for Tucker and Bouchut, the Level 5 Motorsports team continues to deliver action-packed, podium-worthy performances for its fans. Having stayed mostly out of the limelight, Tucker isn’t your typical sports hero, but that’s because he’s as much a fan of the sport as he is a driver in it.

Brent Arends has been keeping a close eye on Scott Tucker, owner and driver, of Level 5 Motorsports throughout the past year. To get more information about Tucker, check out http://www.motorsport.com/#/all/search/?q=scott%252520tucker

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Posted on October 25, 2011 by , Reply

Scott Tucker, A Year In Review: Northeast Grand Prix Level 5 Motorsports

By Brent Arends

Level 5 Motorsports

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Level 5 Motorsports’ Scott Tucker and his Level 5 Motorsports teammates recently began the final quarter of a racing year that has included numerous podium appearances, multiple car changes, incredible accomplishments and yet still room for improvement. Tucker, owner and driver for Level 5, has been a leader for the team despite the rookie status he maintained merely months ago. His tight, balanced driving has earned him top honors in the American Le Mans Series as Rookie of the Year and Champion Driver in 2010. His races often end with stints on the podium, and his career has only just begun.

Level 5 Motorsports

As Tucker, his co-drivers Christophe Bouchut and Luis Diaz and team manager David Stone prepare to close the calendar year with the all-important Petit Le Mans and the Ferrari International Finals, the stakes are high—the team has woven itself a reputation of excellence that is best understood by looking back at what has made 2011 a stunning year for Level 5 Motorsports.

The third round of the American Le Mans Series had Level 5 Motorsports slated to appear at Lime Rock Park for the Northeast Grand Prix, but the team withdrew its two-car entry a month before the race took place. With owner-driver Scott Tucker’s hectic schedule—racing in three series and what’s more, dominating them—it wouldn’t be out of the question to assume the withdraw was due to driver burnout; halfway through the year, couldn’t the team use a break? Not quite; put simply, the Level 5 Motorsports team all but compulsively seeks opportunities to get on the podium. Less than a month earlier, Tucker and his teammates took the win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans after its debut in the race and first year in the LMP2 class. With a record that better fits the question, “What races haven’t you won?” at that point in the year, Tucker and his team were making podium finishes a habit.

Level 5 Motorsports

The decision to pull out of the Northeast Grand Prix was, like Level 5’s driving, calculated and strategic. In fact, it was not a total shock, considering the circumstances. The Level 5 entries, two Lola-Hondas, would have been the only LMP2 cars in its class. At the time the decision was made, the team was more focused on preparing for the Six Hours of Imola, a race in Italy that would end just six days before the Lime Rock Park contest.

On top of the especially demanding back-to-back races, the team had lost one of its Lola B 11/80 Hondas the month before, in the Spa-Francorchamps race in Belgium. A high-speed crash forced the team to use its second Lola Honda coupe for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which had been intended for use in the entire American Le Mans series. After all the switch-ups, the team was left with only one Lola Honda for use in the U.S. circuit.

Additionally, recent rules changes allowed an expansion of the fuel restrictor in LMP2 cars, which allowed the cars increased speed, a tweak that made Tucker decide to drive the Lola Honda Spyder for Le Mans, as its coupes were built to 2010 standards. At this point, Tucker was short on cars and essentially had to be three places at once; logistically, there just wasn’t enough time to ship the Spyder back to the U.S. and prepare it to race in time for Lime Rock. “We want to get as many points as we possibly can,” Tucker said. The ILMC competition is stiffer, and placing at that race could mean better placement overall in the series based on points. Level 5 would also find more LMP2 competitors overseas. With Level 5’s withdrawal, the Lime Rock race had no LMP2 entries, though more were expected in time for the Petit Le Mans.

The Level 5 team would remain out of the country after eliminating Lime Rock from its schedule, with the next showing at Bowmanville, Ontario’s Mosports International Raceway.

Brent Arends has been keeping a close eye on Scott Tucker, owner and driver, of Level 5 Motorsports throughout the past year. To get more information about Tucker, check out http://www.motorsport.com/#/all/search/?q=scott%252520tucker

 

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Posted on October 22, 2011 by , Reply

Scott Tucker, A Year In Review: The Road Before The 24

By Brent Arends

Scott Tucker and his Level 5 Motorsports teammates recently began the final quarter of a racing year that has included numerous podium appearances, multiple car changes, incredible accomplishments and yet still room for improvement. Tucker, owner and driver for Level 5, has been a leader for the team despite the rookie status he maintained just months ago. His tight, balanced driving has earned him top honors in the American Le Mans Series as Rookie of the Year and Champion Driver in 2010. His races often end with stints on the podium, and his career has only just begun.

As Tucker, his co-drivers Christophe Bouchut and Luis Diaz and team manager David Stone prepare to close the calendar year with the all-important Petit Le Mans and the Ferrari International Finals, the stakes are high—the team has woven itself a reputation of excellence that is best understood by looking back at what has made 2011 a stunning year for Level 5 Motorsports.

In January, the Level 5 team began its 2011 race schedule with the GRAND-AM The Roar before the 24 test sessions, in Daytona, Florida. Its two Microsoft Office-sponsored entries proved themselves powerful vehicles for their drivers’ talents. During the final test session the No. 055 Microsoft Office BMW Riley and the No. 95 Microsoft Office BMW Riley finished 2-3. Tucker, Bouchut, Diaz and Mark Wilkins drove the No. 55 and sped through a 127.533 mph lap, just a half-second behind Starworks Motorsports Ford Riley, No. 8. Tucker also drove the No. 95, along with Ryan Hunter-Reay, Raphael Matos and Richard Westbrook. The drivers completed a lap of 127.465 mph, a time less than one-tenth of a second off of the No. 55 BMW Riley.

The Level 5 team proved its versatility as the season opened up with rule changes and a freshly paved racetrack at Daytona International Speedway. The three-day test session for the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series was an indicator of things to come for the team. During the practiced sessions, the team gradually built momentum by making small changes with every run, eventually building up to the point that the drivers were barely off the top speed by weekend’s end.

In the fourth test session, the No. 95 rose to 5th on the speed chart with a lap of 125.898 mph. Its counterpart, the No. 55, earned its way to a second-place position by the sixth session with a lap of 126.9189 mph.

Not only did Tucker drive both cars for the Roar before the 24, he was also a participant in the Sports Car Club of America’s Double National event at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida. He finished second both days of the race. “I want as much time on the track as possible,” he said at the time. “Getting in tune with the car is paramount to setting up for a successful season.”

The Roar before the 24 is much like preseason games in other sports; it gives drivers a chance to shake off any lingering problems from the previous year and preview the type of year that is to come. Many big motorsports names are on hand at the Roar before the 24, and many of the stars who test at the Roar are enrolled in the Rolex 24 at Daytona during subsequent weekends.

The results of the Roar before the 24 set Level 5 Motorsports in a perfect position for season’s start: beating the competition, but with some room for improvement. By exhibiting talent, control and skill on the raceway, Tucker and his teammates immediately established Level 5 Motorsports as a frontrunner for the coming races. Next up: the Rolex 24.

Brent Arends has been keeping a close eye on Scott Tucker, owner and driver, of Level 5 Motorsports throughout the past year. To get more information about Tucker, check out http://www.motorsport.com/#/all/search/?q=scott%252520tucker

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Posted on October 18, 2011 by , Reply

Petit Le Mans Will Be The Anniversary Of Scott Tucker’s Professional Debut

By Kaitlyn Tillman

The pinnacle of the 2011 American Le Mans series takes place on Oct. 1 with the 14th annual Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. For Scott Tucker, driver and owner for Level 5 Motorsports, the race marks the beginning of his sixth year of professional racing. In 2006, he made his professional debut at Petit Le Mans, and from there, his career took off.

“There are not many Americans that get to race there, first and foremost, so I feel very privileged to be among that group,” he said. “This year, we’re the only American prototype team there. We feel very fortunate we were selected to race there.”

The Petit Le Mans race is an endurance race modeled after the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is its equivalent for the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series. Road Atlanta owner Don Panoz founded it, and the first iteration ran on Oct. 10, 1998—and Panoz must have had a thing for tens, because the race covers a maximum of 1,000 miles or a minimum of 10 hours, whichever comes first. Class winners of Petit Le Mans automatically qualify for the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Tucker has increasingly focused on the American Le Mans Series as his career has continued. After he founded Level 5 Motorsports in 2008, his main actions have included drafting talented veterans known for incredible precision even at maximum speeds. This year’s Petit Le Mans has unofficially been the holy grail in Tucker’s eyes: Mid-season, he announced the switch from the team’s Nos. 55 and 95 Microsoft Office-sponsored LMP2 cars to a brand new, right-off-the-line HPD ARX-01g chassis, the result of a partnership between Honda Performance Development and Wirth Research. Tucker pushed hard to get the car finished as quickly as possible, of course without sacrificing quality. While making the transition between cars, Tucker even withdrew from ALMS races in Lime Rock Park and a huge one at Silverstone in Great Britain, choosing instead to focus on the all-important Petit ahead.

Now, Tucker has added a fourth elite driver to his already well-stacked team. Marino Franchitti will join the team and its new car—which Tucker marks as best in its class—for the 2011 race at Road Atlanta. Franchitti has extensive experience with the HPD prototype family, having participated in the first year of development of the ARX-01a with Andretti Green Racing before spending some LMP2 time with Dyson Racing. The addition of Franchitti to the lineup is an obvious sign that Tucker is going for the win at Petit Le Mans, though that’s never not the case when Tucker enters a race track. He is a three-time national driving champion. Level 5 Motorsports’ performance in 2010 during its debut year in the American Le Mans Series sent them to the top of the podium and bumped them into the LMP2 category.

Tucker has made giant strides since his Petit Le Mans professional debut in 2006, and this year he’s possibly the most prepared he’s ever been. A victory would mean another addition to Tucker’s unbelievable record in the past five years, and moving to the LMP1 category would mean that Tucker has made it to the top class in the sport he seemingly was born to compete in. Whatever the results end up meaning for Level 5 Motorsports, the work they’ve already put in this year make it clear that the team is one of the most prolific, aggressive racing organizations in the world.

Kaitlyn Tillman has been keeping a close eye on Scott Tucker, owner and driver, of Level 5 Motorsports throughout the past year to keep you posted about the success of the dream team. To get more information about Tucker, check out http://www.planetlemans.com/?s=scott+tucker

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Posted on October 17, 2011 by , Reply
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