Auto's & Moto's

Plymouth cars started life in the United States in 1928. Founded by the Chrysler Corporation and aimed at the lower end of the fledging US car market as a direct competitor to Ford and Chevrolet who at the time shared the lions share of the cheap car market. Plymouth cars although priced in a similar price bracket to the cheaper Chevy’s and Fords were deliberately priced just a little more expensive and for this offered more luxurious and advanced features as with external hydraulic breaks fitted as standard. Plymouth cars were first marketed solely through Chrysler outlets the Plymouth motive (logo) was designed to picture a rear view of the Mayflower sailing ship and the Plymouth name was associated with the Mayflowers original landing at Plymouth Rock although the Plymouth cars name was actually derived from farming implements popular at the time.

The original Plymouth car model was taken from one of Chryslers subsidiaries Maxwell Chalmers the more expensive Maxwell car model being reworked for its cheaper and brand new Chrysler 52 eventually after some redesign the car was named the Chrysler-Plymouth Model Q and by 1929 Chrysler had been dropped from the name completely with the start of the new Plymouth U model.

Plymouth insurance remained steady throughout the Great depression as those that could still afford as car in those troubled times saw the Plymouth as value for money and as such was riding high in terms of sales throughout the great depression. Plymouth cars can in large part be attributed with Chryslers continued survival throughout the great depression. By the start of the 1940s Plymouth cars was nearing 500,000 manufactured and sold each year and by the mid forties for a brief time became number in US car sales even outstripping ford. With the start of the 1950s Chrysler had built Plymouth into a solid well thought of brand desired by the car buying public for its robustness and durability. By the late 1950s production was up around 750,000 Plymouth cars a year. The 1950s however were to be Plymouths greatest years as with the 1960s and 1970s Plymouth cars rapidly lost popularity with some success such as the 1970s Plymouth Valiant and Plymouth Duster compact car models. Plymouth cars even scored some success in the early 1980s with models such as the Plymouth Reliant 1981 and Plymouth Voyager 1984 but in general Plymouths sales and output continued to fall. Plymouth by the early 1990s had become more of a badge than a carmaker in its own right with models being renamed and packaged from Dodge and Chrysler. The last new model to be introduced by Chrysler Daimler under the Plymouth bade was the Plymouth Neon after which Chrysler Daimler dropped the Plymouth Badge and production was wound down.

There are many Plymouth cars still on the road today with many happy owners who will no doubt be keen to find the best Plymouth insurance

By: Brigo

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Honda Australia announced today that they are withdrawing from direct involvement in the Australian Superbike Championships in the premier classes.

Although the manufacturer stated last year that they would continue to participate in road racing, the unpredictable economic climate has forced a review of the extent of their involvement.

We have a long history of supporting racing at the elite level, so making a decision to reduce our involvement was far from easy, said Honda’s General Manager, Motorcycles, Tony Hinton.

“The key elements of our business are the sales of our motorcycles through servicing our dealer network and providing product at the most competitive price for consumers.”

“We will therefore be focusing 100% on these areas in the coming months.”

Motologic’s Paul Free announced that he will continue the championship winning team aboard Honda’s through new and existing sponsorship arrangements.

The Motologic team were hugely successful in winning the 2008 Australian Superbike Championship with Glenn Allerton on board the all new CBR1000RR.

“Motologic are extremely focused on back to back wins. We can deliver more to our new and existing sponsors given the reduction in Honda’s involvement and it provides us a great opportunity to continue to build our reputation as the pre-eminent specialist in race bike preparation and custom modifications to street bikes.”

“Our experience and success in preparing Honda motorcycles over the past seasons has made Honda a logical choice for 2009.” said Paul Free, Director of Motologic.

Hinton said, “We are thrilled that Motologic have chosen to compete on our bikes once again, and to defend the Superbike title they won on Honda’s in 2008.”

Honda will make a further announcement regarding their continued support of junior road racing for 2009 within the next few days.
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Three vintage cars with a combined value of more than $106,000 were stolen early Thursday morning from a classic car lot in Loudon County, authorities said.

The break-in at Smoky Mountain Traders, 11840 U.S. Highway 321, took place about 5 a.m. when a group of thieves disabled the gate and drove the vehicles off the lot, according to Loudon County Sheriff’s Office Detective Charlie Cosner.

“It took about a minute or less,” Cosner said.

The cars were described as an orange and white 1972 Pontiac GTO Judge convertible, a red and black 1971 Chevelle Super Sport convertible, and a red and white 1972 Super Sport Chevelle, said business owner Keith Bledsoe.

“I’m sure they loaded them into an enclosed car trailer after they drove them off,” Bledsoe said. “I’m hoping that someone was on U.S. 321 (Thursday) morning and saw something.”

Bledsoe said he used to build houses for a living but decided to open the car lot in May when the construction industry slowed. “I put my life savings into these old cars,” he said.

Bledsoe said he was able to determine the time of the break-in using a security camera but it was too early to say whether the camera’s images will be useful in identifying the three suspects.

He is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the cars and the convictions of those responsible for the thefts.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to the Sheriff’s Office at 865-986-4823 or the business at 865-988-8088.

J.J. Stambaugh may be reached at 865-342-6307.
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The parking lot encircling the hotel was packed, despite it being a weekday. Among a sea of rental fleet specials, a leviathan tractor trailer was parked, taking up four parking slots and the adjacent lane. The Ducati Corse livery, bright rosso paint and the anticipation of what lay within, triggered salivation like a Kobe steakhouse. The Ducati reps greeted us and promptly started offloading the bikes – the new Monster 696, a Hypermotard S and a beautiful, red 848. Wait…no, it’s a 1098, followed by an 848, in yellow. No, that one’s a 1098 also. Which one is the 848? More importantly, which one is mine? My uncertainty is easily apparent, as the Ducati rep catches me peering around the bikes for the side decals; the only way I can discern my ‘middleweight superbike’ from the 1098.

Confusion picking the 848 apart from its larger sibling is understandable and represents both the main point of criticism and praise of it; the 848 is identical to the 1098 in its outer beauty. The 1098/848 are perhaps the most gushed-over bikes to come out of Bologna since the 916. Since the controversy over the love-it-or-hate-it, ‘design exercise’ styling of the 999/749, the somewhat more conventional clothing of the current siblings have that mass appeal that even a non-motorcycle aficionado can appreciate. Whether in red or unconventional white, the 848 is not for introverts: heads will turn and eyes will cast jealous stares in the direction of this Italian stunner.

Criticism of the 848 tends to focus on the fact that it’s essentially a 1098 with a few cheaper components and a smaller engine. Those critics clearly side with the ‘tank is half empty’ argument. Sure, the 848 lacks the traditional dry clutch of its predecessors and its bigger brother, but the wet clutch setup makes for easy modulation and greater durability, as well as a decent weight savings. The ‘lesser’ Brembo calipers may not be as beefy as those on the 1098, but the initial bite is far tamer. To state that the 848 is simply a smaller displacement 1098 is like saying Prada is simply a lesser brand compared to Vuitton. Despite the fewer cc’s. the 848 features an all-new Testastretta Evoluzione powerplant churning out more power than the 749 while shedding weight faster than a supermodel prior to a Vogue photoshoot. In spite of the displacement reduction, the engine is incredibly smooth in its linear power delivery and certainly doesn’t leave its rider in want of more power; if anything, the 1098 chassis feels better suited with the smaller twin for street riding.

The ergonomics of the bike are somewhat misleading. The steeply raked nose and long, narrow tank make the handlebars appear far out of reach of the seating position; combined with the wafer-thin seat and ultra-narrow profile, the 848 looks about as comfortable to mount as a Philippe Starck recliner. But it’s really not that bad.

Upon straddling the bike, I wasn’t as stretched out as the long profile suggested, and the seat had substantially more give than it appeared. My only complaints stem from certain design elements; the fairing along the trellis frame ahead of one’s knees has a tendency to rub the fairing screws into the tender part of a rider’s shins, and the raked angle of the fairing stay becomes an issue with low speed maneuverings, whereupon fingers are easily pinched between the clip-ons and cowl. The lack of an indicated redline on the otherwise fantastic MotoGP-derived instrument pack induces hooliganism simply to see how high the Testastretta twin will sing.

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IMAGINE owning a superbike that punts out a massive 168bhp of raw V-Twin power with 97lb/ft of torque.

Now imagine hitting a corner apex and whacking that throttle open as hard as you can. Now imagine that instead of history’s biggest highside, you’re greeted by a gripping tyre that propels you out of the corner and into the distance, in a way that no other production superbike could ever manage, just like you were some kind of Casey Stoner riding clone.

You’ve just imagined riding the brand new toy from the land of Spaghetti and red dream machines – Ducati’s 1198 S.

It was only two years ago that Ducati brought out three versions of its stunning new superbike, the 1098. The £12,000 base model, the £14,000 higher-spec S, and the £24,000 World Superbike-derived, all-singing all-dancing R version. Of course, there’s also the £40,000 MotoGP-derived Desmosedici RR but that’s an altogether different kettle of fish.

Now Ducati has updated its flagship by giving the 90° V-twin Testastretta Evoluzione engine 100cc more and fitting it into two versions of 1198, the base-model Biposto (that’s two-seater in Italian), and higher-spec S.

The engine’s increased bore and stroke brings capacity up to the 1,200cc limit for V-twins in the World Superbike championship, which Troy Bayliss won in 2008 racing the 1098. The 1198’s improved engine also gets new crankcases and bigger valves, all of which increases maximum power by 10bhp all the way across the rev range, and boosts torque.

But the high-tech gadget that lets you use every last drop of that performance is the Ducati Traction Control (DTC) fitted to the 1198 S.

Much has been written about the way 2007 MotoGP champion Casey Stoner rides his Ducati – how he whacks the throttle open from the apex, letting the bike’s electronics control the power and torque output to secure grip. This is exactly what the 1198 S’s DTC does, but on a production machine. This MotoGP-derived technology has the ability to turn a ham fisted throttle jockey into a riding sensation.

DTC was initially fitted to the 1098 R, but ironically this first production version of the technology could only be used on race bikes (which the R is). That older system destroys catalytic converters by dumping fuel into the exhausts when a reduction in torque is required. But the new system cuts off the fuel supply rather than the spark that ignites the fuel, so the catalytic converters aren’t affected. And that’s got to be more environmentally friendly too.

But the 1198 S is not just about corner exits. It’s also about the way it flies down the straights at warp speed with a delicious Ducati drone emanating from the exhausts, the way it turns fluidly into corners, the way it handles like a dream.

Not only has Ducati shed weight from the updated model but it’s removed it from strategic places such as the front of the bike to improve agility. The 1198 flicks from side to side with incredible ease and holds a tight line.

Uncharacteristically for a Ducati however, it can feel flighty when you’re properly on it. You can stop this though through careful suspension set-up to suit you and your riding style – and you might as well make the most of the state-of-the-art components as they’re adjustable every which way and really do make a difference to the bike’s behaviour.

Visually, there’s not much that distinguishes the new 1198s from the 1098s. The standard 1198 Biposto gets new 10-spoke alloy wheels, while the higher spec S is fitted with MotoGP-derived forged and machined seven-spoke wheels. There’s also the new 1198 designation on the side of the fairing and a new dash, and a gold-coloured frame for the S. But that’s about it.

However, Ducati has made another useful improvement to its flagship’s road-worthiness and this time it’s to something somewhat more conventional than DTC – the mirrors, whose longer stems let you see a little more than just your elbows in the reflection.

The Biposto will set you back £11,950, but there’s no DTC to brag about to your mates. The S version however costs three grand more at £14,950. But if the bank manager’s given you the nod to spend that kind of money in the first place, you might as well go that extra mile and turn yourself into a riding god with the 1198 S.

FAST FACTS

Ducati 1198 S

Price : £14,950

Mechanical : 1,198cc, 90° V-twin, 8 valves, dohc desmodromic, liquid cooled

Performance : 168bhp @ 9,750rpm, 97lb/ft @ 8,000rpm

Fuelling : Marelli electronic fuel injection, oval section throttle bodies

Transmission : Six gears multiplate, chain final drive

Chassis : Tubular steel trellis

Suspension : (F) Öhlins 43mm inverted forks (R) Öhlins monoshock, fully adjustable. Aluminium single-sided swingarm

Brakes : (F) 2 x radially-mounted Brembo Monobloc four-piston fixed callipers, 330mm discs (R) Brembo 2-piston caliper, 245mm disc

Weight : 169kg dry

Wheelbase : 1,430mm

Fuel tank : 15.5 litres

Seat height : 820mm
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