Passenger vehicles influenced by auto racing
I’ve had the privilege of attending many Honda Indy events in Toronto over the years, including the first one. These are highly-energized and exciting spectator events for all ages.
The race this year will mark he 30th anniversary of a professional IndyCar event at Exhibition Place.
With the approach of this year’s Honda Indy Toronto, which runs July 15-17, I want to explore the relationship between auto racing and passenger vehicles — a relationship that dates back more than 100 years.
The passion for speed and winning on race tracks has directly influenced automobile sales as well, prompting the popular slogan, “If you win on Sunday, you sell on Monday.”
The belief is that whichever vehicles roared to victory on Sunday would receive widespread media attention and a bump in sales the day after the race.
There was some truth to that slogan during the 1940s and 1950s, but by the mid-1960s, the connection between victory lane on Sunday and sales on Monday began to diminish.
However, a well-known Foresight Research study (2009) concluded that 25 per cent of all car buyers had watched at least one auto racing event on TV during the year before their purchase and 10 per cent had attended an auto race.
Since the early 20th century, many automobile innovations that proved successful on race cars have been adopted for passenger vehicles, including ABS brakes, fuel injection, keyless ignition, lightweight body materials, seatbelts, steering-wheel mounted controls and radial tires.
The first time that a race car technology was adopted for passenger cars is the standard rearview mirror.
During the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911, a driver decided to race solo (without a partner) and assembled a makeshift mirror onto the side of the car so that he could see cars approaching from behind.
To help engineers understand how new technologies perform, most race cars are equipped with a black box (data logger) to store information, which is then downloaded when the driver stops in the pits.
Data loggers (either real time or burst) allow engineers to see exactly what the car and driver are doing on the track.
Prior to data loggers, engineers had to analyze photographs, videos, tire skid marks and damaged race cars to interpret how parts and technologies performed during a race.
The intense strain of automobiles during a race is useful in understanding engine design, braking systems, air flow (aerodynamics) and tire construction.
Today, research and development of electrification and lightweight technologies are two areas of research that have produced groundbreaking results. Many automakers have demonstrated a strong interest in these areas and have invested in Formula E racing, a relatively new form of auto racing where only electricpowered cars are allowed to compete.
Formula E racing consists of eight manufacturers and races take place in 10 different cities around the world. In the years ahead, electricpowered engine technologies used in racing will influence the development of electric vehicles in the same way that gas-powered race cars have influenced today’s passenger vehicles.
Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula E, NASCAR, IndyCar, rally, stock, endurance, drift or any other type, automobile racing continues to play an important role in the esthetics and performance of automobiles.
The next time you watch an auto racing event, pay attention to the designs and technologies of the vehicles on the track. Some of the groundbreaking new technology in today’s race cars may wind up in the next car or light-duty truck that you purchase. This column represents the views of TADA. Write to president@tada.ca or go to tada.ca. Bob Redinger is president of the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association and is a new car dealer in the GTA.