plus 3, Dad's Truck & Auto Joins Speedrome as New Late Model Sponsor - Who Won

Dad's Truck & Auto Joins Speedrome as New Late Model Sponsor - Who Won
Copart to Acquire Five UK Facilities - Insurance Journal
The World's First V-Twin Hybrid Custom Motorcycle - Popular Mechanics
Copart to Acquire Five Additional Facilities in the UK - Yahoo Finance

Dad's Truck & Auto Joins Speedrome as New Late Model Sponsor - Who Won

Posted: 15 Jan 2010 06:38 PM PST

Indianapolis Speedrome
Friday, January 15, 2010
Dad's Truck & Auto Joins Speedrome as New Late Model Sponsor

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Home of the World Figure 8 is proud to welcome Dad's Truck & Auto as the new title sponsor of our premier class, the Late Models. The Speedrome Hall of Fame division is one of the most unique in the world with high-tech cars racing on the oval and dangerous Figure 8 each night. The 2010 season championship will also feature for the fourth straight year a $10,000 top prize in the Chase for the Cup thanks to Dave Duncan & Dad's Truck & Auto. Past recipients include Jack Dossey Jr in 2007 & 2008 as well as reigning Late Model king Mark Tunny. The champion's amount is nearly unprecedented in a short track point fund.

This two-year deal with the trusted automotive superstore brings a strong supporter of racing into the mix with Dad's Truck & Auto owner Dave Duncan. ?I look forward to returning to the Indianapolis Speedrome and having some fun?, exclaimed the new Late Model title sponsor. ?I can't wait to watch the greatest short track drivers in the nation. I look for this to be a long-term mutually beneficial relationship with the Speedrome?. Duncan continued, ?I have always loved Figure 8 racing especially the World Figure 8 Championship?.

Dad's Truck & Auto, located at 1611 East 226th Street in Cicero, is a family owned and operated business. They buy and sell all types of cars, motorcycles, and trucks as well as offering a spectacular full service body shop. The location also features a wide selection of parts in their massive automotive and motorcycle salvage yard. If they don't have what you need, it is probably not available. Stop by or give them a call at (317) 758-1130 or 800-299-6353.

Dave Duncan has filled most of his life with racing. His days as a driver saw him pilot the familiar #1 Modified to some of the biggest victories in the Midwest in the late 1980's and 1990's. Those trophies come from many tracks including five feature wins at the Speedrome (2 in 1994, 2 in 1999, and 1 in 2000). As a car owner, Dave guided veteran Joe Beaver to several championships with one coming in the inaugural 1992 North/South Figure 8 Challenge Series held in Florida. In most recent years, Duncan was the owner of the Kokomo Speedway.

Fans will see Dave apart of the action in this upcoming Speedrome season. On May 29, he will pace the field for the Night before the 500 Figure 8 with his amazingly cool Boss Hogg Harley Davidson. The bike features a big block Chevrolet engine that can reach nearly 190MPH. Dave will also be on the scene at the annual awards banquet held at Jonathan Byrd's on November 20. He will be presenting the Dad's Truck & Auto Cup to the 2010 Late Model champion.

Upcoming events at the Indianapolis Speedrome
March 7, 2010
Spring Fling Championship Series begins for Roadrunners, Hornets, and Hornet Figure 8
Pit Gates Open at 11am
Practice Begins at Noon
Spectator Gates Open at Noon
Racing Starts at 2pm

April 3, 2010
Opening Day!
Late Models, Stocks, Roadrunners, Hornets, Hornet Figure 8, Legends, and Bandoleros
Pit Gates Open at 10am
Practice Begins at Noon
Spectator Gates Open at Noon
Racing Starts at 7pm

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Copart to Acquire Five UK Facilities - Insurance Journal

Posted: 15 Jan 2010 04:05 AM PST

January 15, 2010

Copart UK Limited announced that it has agreed to acquire D Hales Limited, a UK-based vehicle salvage disposal company, headquartered in Bristol, with five auction and auto parts facilities located in Bristol (Avonmouth), Bedford, Colchester, Gainsborough and Luton.

Prior to this acquisition Copart owned 13 auction and auto parts facilities in the UK and 147 facilities world-wide. The acquisition is expected to be complete on Jan. 22, 2010.

Copart UK manages vehicle remarketing for businesses in the automotive and insurance sectors, handling everything from motorcycles and cars to trucks and RVs. Once a vehicle has been deemed a total loss, Copart UK collects it, transfers it to one of their facilities and takes digital images of it for its online auction. Copart UK may also take it to one of their self-service auto parts facilities or crushing locations.

"The purchase of D Hales Limited demonstrates Copart's continuing investment within the UK," noted Copart UK Managing Director Nigel Paget. "It enables us to expand our UK presence by building on our international footprint and adding much needed capacity in response to current and expected business growth in the UK. This acquisition also adds to Copart's efficiencies, reducing transportation costs and further reducing our carbon footprint. I look forward to welcoming our new colleagues to the Copart team on Jan. 22."

Source: Copart - www.copart.com

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The World's First V-Twin Hybrid Custom Motorcycle - Popular Mechanics

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 03:58 PM PST

We've tested a couple of electric motorcycles. And as fun as they were, they were lacking in a certain, umm, bravado. Ditto for most of the electric cars and hybrids, the boutique audience of the Tesla notwithstanding.

Until now. Schneider Electric is a global supplier of electrical components, and the brand you probably would recognize first is Square-D, a brand emblazoned on electrical circuit-breaker boxes in basements the world over. Schneider engineers, in concert with the talented staff at Orange County Choppers in Binghamton, N.Y., are debuting a custom motorcycle that's far from the conventional paradigm.

How It Works

The Schneider hybrid is configured primarily as a series PHEV. Sort of the same as a Chevy Volt. In pure electric mode, the A123 battery packs hold enough energy for 40 miles range. In this mode, the rear 48 electric motor drives the rear wheel.

In mode two, the IC engine runs, spinning the front motor to operate as a generator, providing power for the rear electric motor to drive the wheel. Like the Volt, the driver has no control over the engine RPM or throttle—the PLC handles it all. The throttle control on the handlebar is only a potentiometer that tells the potentiometer you want to go faster or slower. Unlike the Volt, the IC engine will charge the battery packs as you drive along. Yes, there's regenerative braking.

Mode 4 is what really sets the Schneider electric apart from those small, feel-good electric bikes: In this mode both electric motors can draw current from the battery packs. When the bike accelerates to a few miles per hour, the IC engine is clutched in to boot. Torque should be in the neighborhood of 300 lb-ft, more than a lot of V8 car and truck engines. You'll need to hang on when that much torque pushes along an 850- to 900-pound motorcycle.

Here's the amazing part of the hybrid-bike story: The entire design and construction phase was only 60 days, including sketching out the architecture, building a test mule with lead-acid batteries, programming the PLC, and trial assembling the prototype before the bodywork went off to the paint shop.

Look for a test drive of the bike from us within the next few days. The construction was all documented on TLC's American Chopper, and the show is scheduled to air on Jan. 14. We got first crack at the completed bike—so next week before the show airs we'll have photos of the completed bike, including some short video of the bike being tested, including dyno results.

Here's a list of the components they managed to shoehorn into a slightly modified OCC Bagger custom-bike frame:

• Main power comes from a 100-inch-displacement S&S Cycles 45-degree V-twin Harley clone, complete with a carburetor and open pipes. This is pure outlaw chopper stuff, right out of the S&S catalog.

• Standing in for the customary five- or six-speed sequentially shifted transmission is a pair of 48-hp/110-lb-ft 108 VAC 8000 RPM AC motors from Thunderstruck Motors.

• A matched pair (one in each saddlebag) of 130 VDC 800-amp lithium-phosphate battery packs from A123 Systems.

• A pair of Curtis 1238 550-amp full-regeneration flux-vector inverters.

• According to Schneider engineer Rich Weiner, over 5 miles of wire. (Turns out not everything intended to be controlled by the CAN (Controller Area Network) bus could, requiring some point-to-point wiring they hadn't counted on.)

• A Schneider Electric TWIDO Extreme Programmable Logic Controller that operates most everything in the drivetrain through a conventional automotive CAN bus.

• Separate electrical buses running at 12 VDC, 24 VDC, 48 VDC and 130 VAC

• Double-redundant fly-by-wire throttle potentiometers

• A custom-made housing that covers the clutches and intermediate chains that link the S&S motor and the pair of electric motors.

• Just for bling, a Schneider 5.7-inch hardened industrial-grade Windows touchscreen computer built into the top of the fuel tank.

• For more bling, Schneider PELCO security cameras replace the rearview mirrors, and head, tail and marker light housings out of Schneider's industrial lighting parts catalog. Add a thumbprint recognition pad to replace the key.

• The whole business is turned on and off by a panel of Square-D circuit breakers just like the ones in my garage fuse box.

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Copart to Acquire Five Additional Facilities in the UK - Yahoo Finance

Posted: 13 Jan 2010 02:59 PM PST

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FAIRFIELD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Copart UK Limited announced today that it has agreed to acquire D Hales Limited, a Bristol-based vehicle salvage disposal company with five auction and auto parts facilities located in Bristol (Avonmouth), Bedford ...