C-MAX on the track at Indy

[kostby]

It was Community Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today.

No racers on the track today, so they open it up to the "amateurs".

Anyone can drive their vehicle for 1 lap around the track... 

at about 20mph.

There are police and safety trucks stationed strategically around the track, so no one can try out their latest racing moves, but it's still a lot of fun, if you have the opportunity.

Admission to the track today was $10 per person, and includes admission to the Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. The pit area was also open the public to browse many historic Indy race cars. I got a few snapshots of some being towed back to the museum.

 

Just out of the fourth turn approaching the pit entrance and much start-finish line. The Pagoda is just left of center, and the scoring pylon much further down the track.

 

 

Selfies!

Edited May 21, 2014 by kostby

[SnowStorm]

So, 2.5 miles at 20 mph - I suppose you made it all the way around in EV?

[kostby]

Probably could have, but it was 82 and quite steamy, so we were running the air conditioner and the ICE came on more than once.

[mtb9153]

I can't imagine driving on the indy circuit in any car. But in a cutting edge technology car like the CMax it must have been awesome even at 20mph.  If I had been there, I would have done it in my Platinum White SEL right along side you.

[hybridbear]

I love the Around the Horn t-shirt on the back seat passenger. That show is awesome. I watch it every afternoon on my phone with my headphones sitting at my desk while I'm at work lol I hate it if anyone wants to come and talk to me between 4:00 & 4:30 lol

[DaveofDurham]

I love the Around the Horn t-shirt on the back seat passenger. That show is awesome. I watch it every afternoon on my phone with my headphones sitting at my desk while I'm at work lol I hate it if anyone wants to come and talk to me between 4:00 & 4:30 lol

Tony? Wilbon!

Wilbon? Tony!

[C-MaxSea]

and all we get in Seattle is a parking lot  :shift:     or do we get to slip on to the pony track for some dirt flinging  :drool:  :secret:.  (Emerald Downs)

 

http://ecoboostdrive.com/

Edited May 23, 2014 by C-MaxSea

[kostby]

If you'd like a LOT more speed, IndyCar also has IndyRacingExperience, up to a 180mph ride in a Honda-powered IndyCar 2-seater you can book at many if not all the IndyCar tracks.

https://www.indyracingexperience.com I believe it's about $500.

 

Recently Mario Andretti drove a 102-year-old lady around the Indy track in the 2-seater: 

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/motor/indy-500/2014/05/14/102-year-old-takes-ride-at-indianapolis-speedway/9073843/

 

The EcoBoost Tour is coming to Indianapolis on July 19 2014, but it's at Lucas Oil Stadium downtown.

I wonder if they'll actually have the C-MAXes shown in the link C-MaxSea provided.

[C-MaxSea]

Well, I think my racing days are behind me Kostby, (as if they ever even arrived).  Both options (Indy or the EcoBoost thing) sound like a blast - or is that a Boost?  (Love the commercial with Mario giving that dude a ride in the Indy car while he is listening to the smooth music.)  I've seen a couple ads/promos for the EcoBoost Tour with C-Maxes mentioned - fun/good idea ???

 

Nick 

 

Hybrid driving tip for the day:  Don't drive like Richard - Petty, Rawlings or otherwise !

Edited May 24, 2014 by C-MaxSea

[salsaguy]

for you 2 guys with the platinum white CMaxes, was it worth the extra cost now that youve had your cars for a while now?

we are stil deciding on my wifes final ext color either Sterling Grey or Platinum White I think

I can't imagine driving on the indy circuit in any car. But in a cutting edge technology car like the CMax it must have been awesome even at 20mph.  If I had been there, I would have done it in my Platinum White SEL right along side you.

[salsaguy]

I did the ecoboost challenge last year 2013 and they had the CMaxes but I think this year they wont as I saw another video where they were focusing on the trucks

could be wrong though

it was a lot of fun but long lines

didnt do the faster ST racing challenge as I havent driven stick in awhile : o)

If you'd like a LOT more speed, IndyCar also has IndyRacingExperience, up to a 180mph ride in a Honda-powered IndyCar 2-seater you can book at many if not all the IndyCar tracks.

https://www.indyracingexperience.com I believe it's about $500.

 

Recently Mario Andretti drove a 102-year-old lady around the Indy track in the 2-seater: 

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/motor/indy-500/2014/05/14/102-year-old-takes-ride-at-indianapolis-speedway/9073843/

 

 

The EcoBoost Tour is coming to Indianapolis on July 19 2014, but it's at Lucas Oil Stadium downtown.

I wonder if they'll actually have the C-MAXes shown in the link C-MaxSea provided.

[kostby]

for you 2 guys with the platinum white CMaxes, was it worth the extra cost now that youve had your cars for a while now?

we are stil deciding on my wifes final ext color either Sterling Grey or Platinum White I think

 

Any clean Ford or Lincoln with White Platinum paint is just stunning in the bright sun! In my opinion, it's even prettier than the extra-cost 'pearl white' available on other brands, because this has the embedded "metal-flake" when you see it up close.

 

Like any pure white or pure black car, it shows every speck of dust and dirt, but that's OK. We're retired so I can spend time washing and polishing our new 'baby' as often as necessary.

We purchased our new 2013 SE built in April 2013 at the end of March 2014, so we've only had it for two months tomorrow, May 26th.

 

We were looking for a C-MAX SE equipped with at least the minimum equipment we wanted (Equipment Group 201A for the power tailgate (but not the 'kick-to-open' feature), and Panoramic roof) from existing dealer inventory.

My wife and I were pretty sure that we didn't want Tuxedo Black, but other than black, we were looking for certain minimum equipment, and a great deal, and the color truly wasn't important.

 

After a long midwest winter of poor car sales, at the end of the month and the end of the quarter, with quarterly incentives expiring, the dealer was highly motivated to move 'old stock'.

So we got the car at such a steeply discounted price that the extra cost of the white platinum color simply didn't matter. 

 

We negotiated a cash price, but to use "salesperson talk", if you're financing the car for 2 years or longer, the extra cost works out to "less than $1 a day".

Or maybe 2 fancy S******** coffees a week for one year...

[salsaguy]

Only issue with the platinum white color is when you will eventually need to touch up the paint for pits/scratches and it will be very expensive or difficult for a shop to find and match the paint so it looks good and not like splotches.

[kostby]

Only issue with the platinum white color is when you will eventually need to touch up the paint for pits/scratches and it will be very expensive or difficult for a shop to find and match the paint so it looks good and not like splotches.

 

Yes, off-color dabs look far worse than a stone chip or minor scratch. And that's pretty much true of any modern metallic car color, not just Platinum White, though the Ford tri-coat process certainly makes 'do-it-yourself' spot touch-up difficult or impossible.

 

At the end of the day, it's just transportation, not an historic low-production-number collectible museum piece with a dash-plaque signed by Carroll Shelby or a hand-built V-12 from some Italian carrozzeria, so repaint the car, trade it in, sell it, or drive it and don't worry about it.

 

I don't ever lease cars. I purchase for cash and keep the cars 'forever' and then donate them to charity. 10, 15, 20 years and 150,000 or more miles after purchase I've gotten full value from my purchase. The tiny difference in auction value between 'pristine' and 'below average' isn't my concern, either.

[kostby]

http://photosportsusa.com/Photos.aspx?moid=197307

 

Link to online photo of our C-MAX crossing the start/finish line from PhotoSportsUSA.com

[salsaguy]

How cool is that

[SnowStorm]

for you 2 guys with the platinum white CMaxes, was it worth the extra cost now that youve had your cars for a while now?

we are stil deciding on my wifes final ext color either Sterling Grey or Platinum White I think

There might be more than two of us with White Platinum but, anyway, we did factory order and eventually settled on that color.  It seemed dumb at the time to pay extra for paint (still does) but once settled on white - and comparing the two - the salesman up and refers to the other one as "truck white"!  That did it for my wife - no "truck white" for her!  We really like the color - and now as much as ever.  I think we would still say it was worth it.  We needed body work done (at the dealer) which included a new front fender, small repair on front "bumper" and blending in the paint on the front door.  It all looks just fine to me.  It did cost a bit more but was covered by insurance.  BTW, the repair shop said "normal" paint is a total of 5 coats and "tri-coat" is 7.  Its not like the total paint job is triple.  A relative now has a gray C-Max and we think it is quite handsome too.

[hybridbear]

for you 2 guys with the platinum white CMaxes, was it worth the extra cost now that youve had your cars for a while now?

we are stil deciding on my wifes final ext color either Sterling Grey or Platinum White I think

There have been a couple discussions about Platinum White amongst Fusion owners that you might find interesting.

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/8075-oxford-white-vs-white-platinum/

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/6104-white-platinum-paint/

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/8633-platinum-white-tri-coat-color-inconsistency/