Main page | July 16, 2007 »

Backseat Driver: Lime Rock starts club to boost finances

In an effort to ensure the future of Lime Rock Park, President Skip Barber has created The Club at Lime Rock Park, which offers 60 guaranteed track dates a year for 50 years.

Membership in the club costs $100,000 and can be passed down in the family or resold through the club.

Barber said the club is designed to achieve two goals. One is to raise money to invest in the track, particularly in resurfacing the track as well as upgrading such facilities as the press area and the entrance as well as planting trees in the unusually bucolic setting.

The second goal is to create a 50-year obligation for the track to service accommodate the members of its club with time on the track.

Rising land values in the area combined with the modest profit the track makes each year are at the heart of the initiative.

“It’s a gorgeous piece of property that used to be a gravel pit,” Barber said in an interview from the track, adding, “The value of land in the area has gone nuts.”

He said the property includes the hills surrounding the track, which are ideal for condo development, adding that developers are constantly inquiring about a possible sale.

In a prepared news statement, Barber said: “My biggest fear is that, if the business and finances of Lime Rock Park are not sufficiently strong, the value of this beautiful piece of property could exceed its value as a racetrack and that when I am no longer around, a future owner will be tempted to convert it to a golf course … like what happened at Bridgehampton."

“The membership dollars will be used to improve the entire park,” he said in his statement. “This is a way to guarantee that all improvements on the ‘wish list’ will happen - — everything from repaving the track to new bathrooms, an updated Media Center/Clubhouse and a larger and more efficient entrance, to name a few.”

“The economics of a road racing track by itself won’t pay for this magnitude of improvements,” Barber said. He said the club, which already has 10 members, will create viability for the track by paying for its upgrade and an obligation to remain open as a track for at least 50 years.

The club’s first full season will be 2008. However, there are four dates reserved this fall for qualified applicants to sample the facilities.

Lime Rock Park, near Lakeville in the northwest corner of Connecticut, is an historic road race track. It is host to such draws as the American Le Mans series, Vintage Labor Day Weekend and the famed Skip Barber Racing School (which Barber no longer owns) as well as numerous sport-car and amateur races.

- Peter C. T. Elsworth

Posted by   at 3:34 PM to Racing | Permalink | Comments 0

Mileage Bill Draws Fire From Buyer of Chrysler

John W. Snow, the chairman of the private equity firm that is buying Chrysler, said Wednesday that a Senate bill to significantly raise fuel economy standards could devastate the American auto industry, according to the New York Times.

Mr. Snow said he was optimistic, though, that lawmakers would ultimately agree on a less stringent way to reduce dependence on imported oil. He said his company, Cerberus Capital Management, would fight the Senate measure because it intended to own Chrysler long term. Chrysler lost $1.5 billion last year and is cutting 13,000 jobs in efforts to reverse a long decline in its share of the United States vehicle market.

Posted by   at 11:56 AM to Chrysler , Environment | Permalink | Comments 0

Obama trades Hemi for hybrid

Sen. Barack Obama got new wheels since he last visited the Motor City, but still rides between a rock and a hard place, according to the Detroit Free Press.

He lectured Detroit automakers about their having failed to anticipate the effect rising oil prices would have on consumer buying habits in a May 7 speech to the Detroit Economic Club. Then, after he got an earful in return when it was revealed his car was a Hemi-powered Chrysler 300 that got 25 m.p.g. on a good day -- the senator from Illinois went green, switching to a hybrid.

In fact, he got a Ford Escape hybrid SUV, according to campaign officials. That was before Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. blasted Obama in early June on Mackinac Island. There have been no reports that Ford's criticism has prompted Obama to turn it in.

Posted by   at 11:54 AM to Alternative fuels , Environment , Ford , Fuel economy | Permalink | Comments 0

Talk on plug-in cars erupts in Congress

A debate over the survival of Detroit's automakers broke out during a congressional hearing Thursday on the future of plug-in hybrid vehicles, as advocates pressed for more action and a Detroit defender warned the industry was on the brink of collapse, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The hearing was a mix of sympathy, castigation and bluster that has become typical of any debate about the auto industry on Capitol Hill. While General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler are building prototype plug-in hybrid vehicles, none was invited to the hearing of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

Posted by   at 11:51 AM to Alternative fuels , Auto industry , Environment , Fuel economy | Permalink | Comments 0

Refinery woes push up Midwest gas prices

You think gas prices are high in New England?

The Midwest is getting pounded by big jumps in gasoline prices — so big that they have pulled the collective U.S. average back above $3 even though prices elsewhere are lower and often still falling, according to the Associated Press.

Statewide averages in the Midwest zipped 5 cents to 7 cents a gallon overnight, travel organization AAA reported Thursday. Prices usually move less than 1 cent.

Problems at refineries in and near the Midwest have tightened supplies enough to drive up wholesale prices, which kicks up prices at the pump.

Posted by   at 11:47 AM to Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Chrysler cuts minivan prices by thousands

Chrysler Group says its new Dodge and Chrysler minivans, which will begin hitting the showrooms this August and September, will have thousands of dollars in extra content and cost thousands less than current models, according to AP
The suggested retail prices on the base model Dodge Grand Caravan will be about $2,000 less than the current model, and the base Chrysler Town & Country will be $3,585 less.

Posted by   at 11:28 AM to Chrysler | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil Prices Inch Up After Energy Report

Oil prices rose slightly with prices gaining support from an International Energy Agency report saying global energy consumption would increase next year, according to the Associated Press.

The agency also predicted mixed global refinery performance for the rest of the summer.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery advanced 9 cents to $72.59 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. The contract settled Thursday at $72.50 a barrel, down 6 cents after dropping sharply from highs hit early in the session

Posted by   at 11:10 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0