Audi vs Porsche and BMW

[David Eaton]

you can't have it both ways carter.  if you say ferrari/audi are only
winning "because they spend the money", then that cannot excuse
bmw/mercerdes/ford/honda et al who, despite "spending the money", are not
close to winning in f1 in 2002.  although budgets are not disclosed, there
is reputably little if any difference in the budgets of the
manufacturer-funded teams such as mclaren/mercedes, jaguar/ford, ferrari,
toyota and williams/bmw.

mercedes is currently in a dreadful state in f1, and bmw are not much
better.  people forget the good years, and focus on the here and now.  for
instance, how many remember the huge honda successes of the late 80's when
compared to the ignoble efforts of the last few years with overweight, under
power units trailing at the back of the pack.

ferrari (and audi for that matter) win because they spend the money, and
they're smart.  f1 is not for the faint hearted, or the foolish.

it is debatable whether the "halo effect" anticipated by the car
manufacturers when they enter f1 is enhanced when cars get lapped by the
winners (ferrari), or whether (as is the case with mercedes, bmw and honda),
the machines come to a fault with another engine failure. i also personally
find it debatable whether the effect of ferrari winning f1 adds anything
particular to the marque, as it already an aspirtational marque, and
therefore winning is expected.  losing is another matter entirely of course.
ferrari is of course very much required for the other teams because another
team beating ferrari is exactly the sort of pr effect the manufacturers are
looking for.

so once again, money is not enough, you need an excellent team, deficient in
nothing.  then people will accuse you of being "boring" and beat up the
sport for being "dull".  the complaint is really that the others are not
excellent enough.  the only answer to that is nascar.

dave
'95 rs2
'90 ur-q

		-----Original Message-----
		From:	Kwattro at aol.com [mailto:Kwattro at aol.com]
		Sent:	Tuesday, 9 July 2002 2:49 p.m.
		To:	deaton at tranzrail.co.nz
		Subject:	Re: Audi vs Porsche and BMW, or why to buy
an M3 over an S4?

		In a message dated 02-07-08 19:02:32 EDT, you write:

		<< err no.  look at jaguar.  look at toyota.  look at honda.
look at bmw.
		 look at mercedes...

		 money is not enough.

		 dave
		 '95 rs2
		 '90 ur-q >>


		Where hasn't BMW won?  When they spent the money, they've
won.  They aren't
		spending close to what Ferrari spends.  Toyota was mostly
sucessful with its
		GT1 project, but fell short due to...well, repeated bad
luck.  Jaguar suffers
		from mismanagement, but the stewart-fords showed promise
until the whole
		switcherooo, and McLaren-Mercedes is one of the most
sucessful marques in
		formula one history.  When they spent the money (rumored at
300 million for
		the winning 98-99 seasons..)...

		That's the way it goes..
		Later!
		Carter