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posted by martyb on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:01PM   Printer-friendly
from the Whrrrr!-Whrrrr! dept.

Ars Technica:

Racing cars came to Red Hook this past weekend as Formula E held its season four finale, the NYC ePrix. Although the event is only in its second year, the Big Apple is fast feeling like home for these all-electric race cars, and once again we saw championship-deciding races play out against the Manhattan skyline.

But this event also marked a different sort of finale—the end of Formula E's first chapter as the series prepares to retire the cars its been using for these last four seasons. When season five gets underway in Saudi Arabia this December, Formula E will have a new vehicle in the spotlight: one with more power, wild looks, and enough battery to make mid-race vehicle swaps a thing of the past.

The roar of the engines was heard all the way in Park Slope, Brooklyn (the next neighborhood over)...er, no, it wasn't. Does that take all the fun out of it?


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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by bob_super on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:13PM (16 children)

    by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:13PM (#709036)

    Get rid of Fucking FanBoost
    Get rid of wings
    Get rid of pole position: start in reverse championship order (fastest at the back)

    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by insanumingenium on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:42PM (9 children)

      by insanumingenium (4824) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:42PM (#709058) Journal

      Never watched Formula E. But without knowing any details, I was intrigued.

      Looked up FanBoost due to your comment thinking it can't possibly be what it sounds like.

      It is, who thought that was even a little bit of a good idea??? PASS.

      • (Score: 5, Informative) by takyon on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:56PM (7 children)

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:56PM (#709069) Journal

        It sounds like something out of The Onion. WTF.

        http://formula-e.wikia.com/wiki/FanBoost [wikia.com]

        --
        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
        • (Score: 5, Funny) by bob_super on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:06PM (2 children)

          by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:06PM (#709074)

          "That is so stupid! Why would you spend all your savings on a giant boob job! I didn't raise you to look like a cheap stripper!"
          "No, mom. I'm gonna be a Formula-E world champion!"

          • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:29AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:29AM (#709155)

            Or a twitch streamer...

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:40PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:40PM (#709347)

              Can we copystrike SN?

        • (Score: 2, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday July 19 2018, @01:14AM (2 children)

          by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Thursday July 19 2018, @01:14AM (#709125) Homepage Journal

          It sounds like drugs. Like the folks that take drugs, they speed up for a little while, then they're back to normal -- it's not normal, it's much worse. And possibly the folks that thought it up took some very special drugs. But it's a tremendous idea. Very smart. Because the fans don't just watch. They decide who wins. They feel VERY POWERFUL. It's a great feeling, believe me. And the FIA gets a lot of followers on Social Media. That's so important these days. We live in the Age of Social Media. And you do whatever you have to to get followers!!!

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @03:28AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @03:28AM (#709193)

            Hey Man! I want some of what you're smoking. Don't Bogart, pass it over.

            • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:05PM

              by LoRdTAW (3755) on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:05PM (#709329) Journal

              President Trump Does only the best drugs. Designer drugs. And snorted from between the tits of only the finest women.

        • (Score: 5, Informative) by FatPhil on Thursday July 19 2018, @08:19AM

          by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday July 19 2018, @08:19AM (#709275) Homepage
          I initially promised that I, as a F1 fan, would never watch F-E, or give it any credibility, until it could prove that electric vehicles were practical by making the cars capable of completing a race without changing cars mid-way through the race. And then I read deeper, and discovered FanBoost, which made me facepalm. The FIA is an ass. In the very early days several of the drivers objected to FanBoost, and refused to use it when they were awarded it - and the FIA then made that a punishable offence.

          If enough people say FanBoost is retarded, hopefully they'll finally back down on that, and now they have competent car tech, I might even be willing to give it the time of day. Electric is the future, at some point, so i kinda feel bad not following the cutting edge. But the people in control need to stop shitting on the tech with nonsense populist wank.
          --
          Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
      • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:07PM

        by LoRdTAW (3755) on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:07PM (#709332) Journal

        FanBoost is the MOST FUCKING STUPID thing I have ever heard of in any "sport". Welcome to 2018, everything is an app, even physical racing.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by MostCynical on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:52PM (1 child)

      by MostCynical (2589) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:52PM (#709067) Journal

      Involve the audience ... so now thw race can be determined by the sort of people who pay attention to social media.

      I can see the cogs whirring: "get more people involved and interested.. There are lots of people on social media, lets tap them. "
      From the formula e wikipedia page: "Agag told Todt that he would take on the task because of his prior experience in negotiating contracts with television stations, sponsorship and marketing."

      The CEO is a former politician who negotiated marketing contracts.

      Amazing the cars aren't towing those advertising trailers/signs they ususally put behind scooters.

      --
      "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:00PM

        by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:00PM (#709071)

        I'm surprised the sides of the cars are not displays scrolling the real-time tweets of the fans during the race (between ads, of course).

    • (Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:24AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:24AM (#709098)

      Those are good ideas, especially the reverse starting order. But with that whine/noise Formula E is never going to be exciting to watch.

      Car racing is partly about IC noise, special noises. I'll never forget the scream of the Matra V-12 when it came to Watkins Glen F1 for the first time, completely different than the Cosworth V-8s of that era. Here -- but not running to the original redline, so somewhat subdued https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klEjfdqYrE4 [youtube.com] At the beginning you can see the unique 12-into-6 exhaust (iirc, made from cast Titanium--so it rings) and lapping starts around 1:30. The French do things their own way! Another go here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybolc7vcV38 [youtube.com] , still not at full revs.

      AutoExtremist has similar comments in this recent editorial,
          http://www.autoextremist.com/fumes1/2018/7/16/racings-cold-electric-future.html [autoextremist.com]

      Formula E, for example, does nothing for me. I was optimistic about the formula at first, but the reality of the slot car sounds and the uninvolving nature of those machines leaves me cold. Formula E is missing one crucial component that is an absolutely essential part of racing, and that is passion. The Formula E cars are soulless conveyances completely devoid of passion. Once you get past the novelty of the whole thing, the reality of what it actually is sets in almost immediately, and it's not compelling in the least. And that isn't going to change next year, even when the cars will be able to complete the race distance on a single charge.

      • (Score: 5, Interesting) by LVDOVICVS on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:44AM (1 child)

        by LVDOVICVS (6131) on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:44AM (#709108)

        Here's a hybrid switching from electric to gas. Kinda cool.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqlDPAoY8PM [youtube.com]

        I'm an F1 fan. Unfortunately, I have the snobbish opinion that until an all-electric is competitive to a current F1 car on an F1 circuit, they're only second best. It's not at all about noise for me, but performance.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:00AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:00AM (#709140)

          Cool link of the hybrid switching on the gas.

          I think this is the same Toyota V8-hybrid lapping, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCgVUGUONf0 [youtube.com] and it sounds spectacular, now I wish I'd been to Le Mans to hear it!

    • (Score: 2) by Webweasel on Thursday July 19 2018, @08:51AM

      by Webweasel (567) on Thursday July 19 2018, @08:51AM (#709282) Homepage Journal

      Race on actual race tracks.
      Let the teams make their own car.
      Stop trying to go for the millennials, they don't give a shit.

      --
      Priyom.org Number stations, Russian Military radio. "You are a bad, bad man. Do you have any other virtues?"-Runaway1956
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:21PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:21PM (#709079)

    What, is this the millennial version of NASCAR? Instead of Bud Lite and rednecks, you've got avocado toast and fedoras?

    • (Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:58AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:58AM (#709115)

      No, in the millennial version everyone wins and the track has safe spaces for the cars to park in.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:42AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:42AM (#709165)

        ...and Kyle Busch never pulled a bump and run either.

      • (Score: 3, Touché) by DeathMonkey on Thursday July 19 2018, @05:27PM

        by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday July 19 2018, @05:27PM (#709525) Journal

        I love how it's the kids who received those trophies, and not the people who were handing them out, that take all the crap.

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