When Enzo Ferrari created his company Scuderia Ferrari in Italy in 1929 his intentions was to sponsor amateur race car drivers and invent racing cars, and it would take more than 15 years before Ferrari began to create their own road cars in 1946. Ferrari is still devoted to the creation of racing cars and high performance sports cars and do not create other types of cars. Scuderia Ferrari is still the widespread name for Gestione Sportiva, the part of the Ferrari company that works with racing. Scuderia is an Italian word and means “stable”, but Scuderia Ferrari is sometime also translated as Team Ferrari.



During the early years, Scuderia Ferrari sponsored race car drivers that were driving Alfa Romeo cars. Scuderia Ferrari would prepare Alfa Romeo cars before the race, and in 1938 Enzo Ferrari became officially employed by Alfa Romeo’s racing department. Two years later Enzo Ferrari found out that Alfa Romeo was planning to absorb Scuderia Ferrari, a plan which Enzo Ferrari strongly opposed. He instantly left his job at Alfa Romeo, but his contract restricted him from being involved with racing for several years. He changed Scuderia Ferrari into “Auto Avio Costruzioni Ferrari” and officially manufactured aircraft accessories for a few years. Enzo Ferrari did however create a race car during this restricted period. The Tipo 815 debuted at the Mille Miglia race in 1940, but the race was hampered due to World War II and Tipo 815 encountered no real competition. In 1943 Enzo Ferrari moved his factory to Maranello in Italy and one year later the factory was bombed. After the end of World War II, Enzo Ferrari rebuilt his factory and now the Ferrari factory was capable of construction road cars as well.



Ferrari constructed its first road car in 1947. The 1947 125 S Ferrari had a 1.5 L V12 engine and the whole car was considered very beautiful and well designed. Enzo Ferrari was still more interested in race cars and the Ferrari road cars was merely a way for him to fund his work with the Scuderia Ferrari. His distaste for the road car customers became famous and he even accused them of buying Ferrari cars only as status symbols. It is true that the Ferrari road cars grow to fame not only due to excellent performance but also thanks to their stylish elegance. Pininfarina, Bertone, Ghia, Scagliette, Touring and Vignale are all examples of design houses that have worked with Ferrari.



In November 1961 a dispute between Enzo Ferrari and his sales manager, Girolamo Gardini, turned into a crisis. Girolamo Gardini threatened to leave the company. Enzo Ferrari responded to the threat by throwing out Girolamo Gardini, and several employees who agreed with Girolamo Gardini were also ousted. Among them were Romolo Tavoni, manager for Scuderia Ferrari, Giotto Bizzarrini, the chief of the experimental sports car development, and Carlo Chiti, the chief engineer. This was naturally a huge loss for the Ferrari company and the crisis deepened when those who had been thrown out formed their own company - Automobili Turismo e Sport (ATS). ATS even managed to take over Scuderia Serenissima, a very successful racing team, from Ferrari.



A younger engineer, Mauro Forghieri, and an experienced racing bodyman, Sergio Scaglietti, assumed responsibility and tried to finish the projects that the leaving employees had left behind. One of the most important tasks was to finish the development of 250 GTO; a new 250-based model that could compete with the Jaguar E-type. The 250 GTO was finished in time to participate in the Sebring race and place itself first in class, driven by Phil Hill. Throughout 1962, the 250 GTO continued to win the races and it is still one of the most well known race cars in history. The crisis turned out to be something good for Ferrari and the 1960s became a very good decade for the company.



Until the 1980s when Ferrari began to use fuel injection in the road cars, the Ferraris were known as rather temperamental cars. They could be very unreliable, but would still attract a large group of dedicated fans that viewed this unpredictability as “character” rather than a problem. Today, FIAT controls 56 percent of the Ferrari stocks. The rest of stocks owned by Enzo’s con Piero Ferrari and by Commerzbank, Mediobanca and the Lehman Brothers. Maranello is still the home town for Ferrari.



About the author:

Another dream car for many is the Hummer. The History of the Hummer is much shorter than the history of Ferrari and GM is just releasing their third Hummer model, the Hummer 3. A new more family friendly Hummer that will be very customizable just like the other hummer models with the help of a Hummer accessory or two.

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Words: 370 Copyright: 2005 Marilyn Pokorney

Please leave the resource box intact with an active link, and send a courtesy copy of the publication in which the article appears to: marilynp@nctc.net ———————————————————— One of the most important parts of your car is the battery. If it doesn’t work, your car doesn’t start. And, in the winter that is even more true than in the summer.

The electrical power produced by the battery is used by the cars ignition system for cranking the engine. The car’s battery also may power the lights and other accessories.

Have the battery tested on a regular basis, including when the car is serviced, before long trips and after it’s been recharged.

Here are some things you can do yourself to prevent being stranded on a cold winter day.

Know how old your battery is. To see how old your battery is look for a small decal on the battery. A letter with a number should be there. The letter indicates the month, starting with “A” for January, “B” for February, and so on. I is skipped so December is “M”. The number represents the year with “9″ standing for 1999, “0″ for 2000, etc. so D2, would be April, 2002. F5 would be June, 2005. Experts usually advise getting a new battery when a battery is four years old.

Watch for corroded terminals or battery posts, loose clamps, loose cables, or a leaking or damaged battery case. Look for dirty, wet, corroded or swollen cables and battery top.

Look for a loose or broken alternator belt. If the alternator fails the battery might also need to power the vehicle’s entire electrical system until repairs can be made.

Keep jumper cables in the trunk of your car for emergency start up. Make sure the cables are free of rust and corrosion and that there are no exposed wires before using them.

Park your car in a garage whenever possible.

If you must leave your car outside all day, go out and start the car two or three times a day and let the car run for a few minutes to warm up. This will help the car to start more easily when you are ready to go.

When temperatures are below zero Fahrenheit avoid leaving the car out for extended periods of time.

For more tips on keeping your battery in excellent working condition visit:

http://www.apluswriting.net/gasmiles/batterycare.htm

About the author:

Marilyn Pokorney Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment. Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading. Website: http://www.apluswriting.net

Technorati Tags: automotive, autocare, auto care, car care, auto repair

So you now have the car of your dreams. You ve sunk a huge amount of time and money into restoring it and keeping it in pristine showroom condition and running smoothly.
But wait a minute- winter is coming. You want to drive your car in the snow, through road salt, sand and corrosive chemicals? I thought not. You want to store it for the winter s inexpensively as possible? You also want to be able to put it back on the road with little or no hassle and have it ready for spring in the same condition it went into storage in? Read on.
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Indoor storage is, of course, the best way to go. And it s really your only option if you are going to be away for a couple of years or longer.

You don t need a garage, as indoor storage facilities are plentiful. Most “mini-storage” type places will gladly rent storage spaces big enough for vehicles. Additionally, try to find someone who can “exercise” the vehicle every month or two. Although it s an additional expense in your vehicle budget, proper long term storage will save you money on restoration when you’re ready to drive your dream car again.

You can never be too clean for storage, so the first thing you want to do is clean the vehicle. Wait for a dry warm day and give your car a complete wash and wax. Be sure to get the underbody as clean as possible too- particularly wheel well areas. Any dirt will hold moisture and combine with air, causing rust propagation.

A thorough cleaning is in order for the interior, also. Use a shop vacuum or household vacuum cleaner, getting into all the little nooks and crannies. All crumbs, pizza crusts, French fries etc. must go. Otherwise small creatures will be drawn to it and make their home inside your vehicle.
To go the extra mile, a good carpet will help discourage them. Do all this early in the day to allow time to dry before putting the car in storage.

Take the spark plugs out and put some oil into the cylinders. This prevents cylinder walls, pistons and valves from rusting. Regular motor oil is fine or get a spray can of fogging oil from a marine supply store. Turn over the engine by hand half a dozen times to ensure the oil coats everything.
Next apply a little anti-seize compound on the spark plugs and reinstall them. Make sure the gas tank is full. This will decrease the amount of water available to be absorbed by the gasoline.

For the electrical system, remove the battery cables (negative cable first) and lift out the battery.
Wipe the battery with battery cleaner to take away any moisture-holding dirt or grease. Place the battery on a clean, dry surface, like a block of wood or a stack of bricks.
Now hook up a trickle charger. These are designed to preserve the battery s charge over a long period of time. While the battery is out, inspect the battery rack for rust or corrosion. Clean and repair any damage as necessary.

Lubricate hood latches, hinges and door hinges white lithium grease to keep air and moisture out.
Have a look at the brake fluid. Brake fluid will soak up moisture from the air, causing your brake system to rust and corrode. Get it flushed and filled with clean, fresh fluid if it hasn t been done in two years or more.
Check the coolant level- ensure it is topped off to the proper level. Also check the coolant s protection level. It should be low enough to protect the cooling system from winter temperatures.

Because rodents and other small animals like to chew ignition wires and wiring harnesses, stuff clean rags into the engine air intake, fresh air intake under the windshield and tail pipe. A neat trick a mechanic told me about is to get a big box of mothballs and spread them out around and under the car- for some reason the smell works wonders at keeping undesirable creatures away.

Tires are prone to developing flat spots if the vehicle will be sitting for longer than five or six months. To prevent this you should get a set of four jack stands. Jack up the vehicle and place the jack stands under the lift points of the vehicle (usually the lower control arms or under the frame) If you have a dirt floor, place pieces of 1″ plywood under the jack stands to prevent them sinking into the dirt.

Remove the wiper blades from the wiper arms to prevent them from becoming glued to the windshield and leaving marks.
The last thing you need to do is- nothing!
That s it. Lock up and enjoy knowing your precious car is sleeping in suspended animation, awaiting your return.

About the Author

D.Demetre is an author and webmaster at http://www.caroom.us, where you can read about car restoration .

Technorati Tags: automotive, autocare, auto care, car care, auto repair