Sunday, July 25, 2010


The Nissan S30  was the first generation of Z sporty 2 seater and 2+2( Cars with 2 doors and 4 seats) coupes produced by Nissan Motors, Ltd. of Japan from 1969 to 1978. It was designed by a team led by Mr. Yoshihiko Matsuo, the head of Nissan's Sports Car Styling Studio.  

The Fairlady Z was introduced in late 1969 as a 1970 model, with the  2.0 litre straight-6 SOHC engine, rear wheel drive, and a stylish coupe body. The engine, produced 150 hp  and came with a 5-speed manual transmission. A less common 3-speed automatic transmission was optional from 1971 on, and had a "Nissan Full Automatic" badge. A 4-wheel independent suspension consisted of MacPherson struts in front and Chapman struts in back. Front disc brakes and rear drums were standard.

The 1970 240Z was introduced to the American market by Yutaka Katayama, president of Nissan Motors USA operations, widely known as Mr. K. The early 1970 model 240Z had a chrome "240Z" badge on the B-pillar quarter panel. Two vents were included in the rear hatch below the glass molding. In mid-1971 the B-pillar side badges were restyled with the letter Z vent, and the vents were eliminated from the hatch. Design changes for the U.S. model occurred throughout production and are described Design and Manufacturing Changes to the U.S. Spec.

The 240Z and 260Z used twin, variable venturi Hitachi one-barrel side-draft SU-like carburetors. The carburetors were changed beginning with model year 1973 to comply with emissions regulations, but the earlier carburetors were far superior for performance. Fuel injection (L-Jetronic electronic fuel injection, designed by Bosch) was added for the 280Z in 1975 for the US. This was primarily in order to cope with the difficulty faced in getting enough power using carburetors while still meeting US emissions regulations.

Due to its relatively low price compared to other foreign sports cars of the time (Jaguar, BMW, Porsche, etc.), it became popular in the United States and was a major success for the Nissan Motor Corporation, which at the time sold cars in North America under the name Datsun. The 240Z also broadened the image of Japanese car-makers beyond their econobox success. The Z was very successful in racing in the 1970s: Connecticut's Bob Sharp as well as Bob Bondurant racing team with John Morton driving a Datsun 510 number 46 were particularly successful. Clearwater Florida (and later Maryland) racer Don Kearney had much success with the Z car between 1970 and 1978. The Z is also credited as a catalyst for the import performance parts industry. To keep Z-Car interest alive, Nissan had a 1998 program where they purchased original 240Zs, professionally restored them, and sold them at dealerships for $24,000.

 

Sunday, July 11, 2010


The Ferrari F40 is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-door coupé sports car produced by Ferrari from 1987 to 1992 as the successor to the Ferrari 288 GTO. From 1987 to 1989 it held the title as the world's fastest street-legal production car, and during its years of production, was Ferrari's fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car. The car was one of the few to utilize turbochargers.

The car debuted with a factory suggested retail price of approximately US$400,000, although some buyers were reported as paying as much as US$1.6 million. A total of 1,315 F40s were produced.

 the F40 was conceived as the successor to the 288 GTO and designed to compete with vehicles such as the Porsche 959 and Lamborghini Countach for Ferrari management, the vehicle was a major statement piece. Over a period of several years prior to the F40's conception, the company's dominance in racing had waned significantly, and even in Formula One, an arena they had once dominated, victories had become sparse. Enzo Ferrari had recently turned 90 years old, and was keenly aware that time was not on his side. He wanted his new sports car to serve as his final statement-maker, a vehicle encompassing the best in track-developed technology and capable of being a showcase for what the Ferrari engineers were capable of creating. The company's upcoming 40th anniversary provided just the right occasion for the car to debut. 
As he had predicted it would be, the F40 was the last car to be commissioned by Enzo before his death.

The F40 was designed with aerodynamics in mind, and is very much a creation of its time. For speed the car relied more on its shape than its power. Frontal area was reduced, and airflow greatly smoothed, but stability rather than terminal velocity was a primary concern. So too was cooling as the forced induction engine generated a great deal of heat. In consequence, the car was somewhat like an open-wheel racing car with a body. It had a partial undertray to smooth airflow beneath the radiator, front section, and the cabin, and a second one with diffusers behind the motor, but the engine bay was not sealed. Nonetheless, the F40 had an impressively low Cd of 0.34 with lift controlled by its spoilers and wing.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Today i will recommend you a great books. Dracula.

The stories starts out slow, Jonathan Harker journeying by train and horse carriage from England to Count Dracula's castle . He was going there to provide legal support to Dracula for a real estate transaction overseen by Peter Hawkins, of Exeter in England.

Dracula turns out to be very friendly at first, entertaining Mr. Harker, but soon discovers that he has become a prisoner in the castle. He also begins to finds about Dracula's nocturnal life. One night trying to escape from the castle, despite Dracula's order not to, Harker was captured by the brides of Dracula and put under a spell. He was saved at the last second by the Dracula, because he wants to keep Harker alive just long enough to obtain needed legal advice and teachings about England and London. Harker barely escapes from the castle with his life.

Not long after, a russian ship was found abandoned with the captain tied to the helm. On finding the ships log, they discover the mysterious events on the ship.

Now, Dracula is tracking Mina, Harker's wife, and Lucy, Mina's friend. Dracula then turns into a wolf and bit Lucy. Lucy was presumed dead but a few days later, the news papers report a beautiful women stalking some children. Van helsing, Lucy's doctor, has formed a part to hunt down vampires. On finding lucy, they staked her heart, beheaded her and filled her mouth with garlic, the way to kill vampires. Harker and his wife also joins the party to go against Dracula.

On learning about the plot to kill him, Dracula visits Mina and bites her 3 times and feed on her blood, turning her into a vampire in disguise.

When the party finally found Dracula, they staked his heart and he fell into ashes. Mina is freed and the story ends by Mina and Harker having a child.

 

My favourite character would probably be Dracula, he is very shrewd and his character is different from the rest as he is the villain. The stories about him running away from the gang and finding Mina really gives me the creeps.

This is the most notable work by Bram stoker, I think that he can convey his message extremely well as I have read many horror stories in my time and they do not make you have goose bumps and are probably boring.  Reading normal horror stories would probably make me fall asleep. Although Dracula is scary, I can’t stop reading it.