With that said, just because some companies fall out of the race, it doesn’t mean they had bad products. In fact, sometimes they might have the best offer, but still, get hit by the worst of chances. This is the nature of the business game. However, we should still keep such iconic inventions in our memory. That is what we are going to do today. Let’s explore one of the greatest sports cars in history – Mercer Type 35R!

The rise of Mercer Motor Cars

Back in the day cars used to look a lot different. With long, narrow builds they remind me of bullets. Frankly, in terms of aerodynamics, that was a pretty good choice. But what does this have to do with Mercer? A lot!

Though the founders had some experience with engineering and business, cars were new to them. Yet, they did something right: they turned to people who knew what they wanted out of a sports car.

Right from the get-go, Mercer started as a company that cared about delivering a great product. It worked with both designers and racecar drivers to perfect the invention. Thus in 1910, the Type 35R was born. And it proved an instant success.

What made the Mercer Model 35 Raceabout so special?

At first glance, the Type 35R looks a bit barebones. That is by design! With less weight and a strong engine, it could accelerate quickly and deliver superb top speeds for its time. We are talking about consistent 70 mph, with the option to go over 90 mph when pushed.

Obviously, by today’s standards that hardly seems passable. However, back then the Model 35 Raceabout managed to swipe away the competition on a consistent basis. Its 55 hp 4-cylinder engine, paired with the lightweight design, scored 5 out of 6 race victories in 1911. With time, success continued to pile up.

It became a highly coveted model for racers, but also as a luxury choice. That being said, it had such a steep price that having it as a personal car was kind of impossible. Not to mention that comfort was not its strong suit either. That didn’t matter though, because races were lucrative enough, and the Raceabout won a lot of them!

Though it might not exactly be among the cars that changed the world, it deserves a spot in the sports vehicles hall of fame. Perhaps it could have had a more serious impact if it wasn’t for a series of mishaps the company went through. Speaking of which…

How misfortune ruins a company

Sadly, Lady Fortune likes to deal with mean hands from time to time. Even if you do everything right, chance may just not be on your side. And as a company, Mercer had to deal with quite a few blows in a short period of time.

In 1912, the manufacturer lost its general manager in the Titanic disaster. Just two years later another big tragedy occurred. Two Model 35 Raceabouts collided, resulting in two lives lost. The sad event caused the company to reconsider and ultimately end its racing program. The very thing the model was built for – racing – became an afterthought. In turn, this prompted the lead Raceabout designer to leave the company.

New designs followed, which focused on luxury and turned the model into a touring vehicle. Did they succeed though? Hardly. They failed to impress the public and Mercer’s reputation slowly started to crumble.

The company did not take all those blows lightly. Its entire drive for innovation fizzled out and Mercer became reliant on past glory. In 1919, the last remaining founder passed away. The company was then bought off and restructured, but then got hit by the economic recession. In 1925, the last Mercer vehicle was built, making the total number reach somewhere around 5,000.

What is Mercer Model 35 Raceabout will be remembered for?

The model’s legacy has plenty of things you can admire. One of the least explored is its aesthetics. Tell me it doesn’t look cool! And yet… what exactly looks cool about it? It is a stripped-down version of some similar vehicles around that time. Perhaps this goes to show us once again that less is more.

Though the model was later fitted to be a more comfortable car, it ultimately failed at that. See, once they turned it into a regular old vehicle, it lost its charm. Now its touring models belong to the scores of classic cars you didn’t know existed. The lesson here? Having a good core product does not mean you can spin it off in any direction.

Another interesting fact is that a world record was scored specifically in this model. For a period of time, it held the record for the highest average speed (86.5 mph) during a road race.

Sadly, that was among Mercer’s last great achievements. With all the mishaps around it, the car could not be developed into something greater, and soon innovation passed it by. Now we remember it for being a one-off masterpiece that will forever remain a piece of American car-building history!

The post 1911 Mercer Model 35 Raceabout: Success that couldn’t last appeared first on Altered Steel.

For example, since the dawn of time we have had racing in various forms. We have raced cars, horses, dogs, and I am sure somewhere in our history we have tried to race stones. Perhaps deep within our psyche a voice keeps shouting “if it can move, it can race”. Take that ingenuity, add a bored guy mowing his yard, and the birth of lawn mower racing becomes just a matter of time.

Indeed, this peculiar sport has been with us for a while now. Yet most of us do not know much about it. As it turns out, it involves a whole bunch of things that make it that more interesting. I think it is time to leave our chores for a second and hop on to read about lawn mowers. Will you join me?

The heart of lawn mower racing

This sport deserves a place among the most entertaining motor races you can watch. In essence, it involves a bunch of people on a variety of modded mowers racing across different tracks. Usually they are flat off-road surfaces, but things can get more extreme than that. How about a 12-hour lawn mower race through muddy terrain? That surely takes some grit!

To be honest, I knew nothing about the sport until recently. I had heard about it, of course, but for the longest time I thought it was not a serious thing. In my mind it was all about a bunch of dads racing their mowers out of boredom. How wrong was I!

While not the most competitive thing on Earth, lawn mower racing can get vicious. As with any other sport, some people are just eager to win at all costs. They may spend months (or even years) working on their machine to squeeze the last bit of performance out of it. Which is actually one of the sport’s main selling points!

By nature, lawn mower racing is very inclusive. The sport has a fairly low barrier to entry, not to mention that literally anyone can fix up a track in a day or two. All you need is some haystacks, an empty field, and people who would want to mod their mowers a bit (though not always necessary).

And if you want to really compete, you can register with the US Lawn Mower Racing Association and get started. You need to learn how to mod your mower properly, but there are plenty of guides online. This makes it relatively easy for anyone to feel the thrill of the race. That said, modding your mower for a race is not exactly the obvious thing to do. How did it all start then?

The origins of lawn mower racing

If you try to dig out the roots of this sport, you may have some trouble. Depending on who you ask, it originated… everywhere. People in the US have their own story, UK folks can also tell you one, and Australians will want to join the conversation too. But there can only be one beginning, right? Well, sort of.

The earliest records seem to indicate that Americans started it all. The Twelve Mile 500 is an annual lawn mower racing event that began all the way back in 1963. It looked a bit differently from today though.

In the beginning, people did not mod their mowers, they just removed the blades for safety reasons. That meant that the mowers moved with a speed of about 6 mph. Not exactly the most thrilling thing to watch, barely above a turtle race. Our competitive spirit did not disappoint though, and soon the mowers started to get faster.

From that very tradition stem all the US lawn mower races. Currently, there are two associations – for modded mowers and for regular ones. Yet that only tells us about the US side of things. What about other countries?

Lawn mower racing across the globe

The US may technically get the credit for being first with the whole idea, but the UK was not far behind. Folks there had their first officially organized event in 1968. Not much is known about it, aside from the fact that it was a fundraiser of sorts. Did you notice the key phrase though? It was the first “officially organized”. It is entirely possible that the idea originated way before that.

That being said, lawn mower racing became a serious thing there after 1978. Some friends were drinking at a local pub in West Sussex, discussing how the regular guy cannot join a motorsport event. You would need sponsors, training, and years of experience. Or you can just hop on your lawn mower and give it a go. This is when the British Lawn Mower Racing Association was founded.

It is worth noting that the British way of doing things is a bit different. They do not mod the engines, they go without sponsors and they make the entire thing super easy to join, even for casual runs.

Then we get to mower races in Australia. They also date back to 1978. It all started after an argument over alcohol. It seems like booze is the culprit for many of humankind’s competitions. Still, history does not tell us how the squabble snowballed ito a whole sport around the country, but we can imagine it.

Now that we have our history lesson, let us see what makes a race-worthy lawn mower!

All about the machines they race on

In the world of motorsports, there is the concept of “min-maxing”. This refers to optimizing everything to the last detail, so you can get every single bit of performance from your machine. Obviously, this is crucial for the naturally small motors of lawn mowers, yet with some caveats.

Currently, there is no unanimous opinion on which stock lawn mower is best for modifying. Because of that, min-maxing in the mowing world looks a bit different. You cannot simply optimize for speed without accounting for other details. Here are just a few things some people focus on:

• Mower stability – Having a fast lawn mower makes sense. But if it cannot hold its own in sharp turns, what good is it? This is why some folks prefer to make the mower as stable as possible, even if they lose a bit of speed in the process. Since this is not drag racing, they make up for it by not having to slow down as much while turning.
• Handling – The faster the mower goes the harder it is to handle. This relates a bit to stability, but some mowers are just difficult to keep under control when they reach higher speeds. It is recommended that beginners start with a mower with better handling, even if it is not as fast.
• Acceleration – If you want a powerful mower, you would likely go for a gas engine. However, some people are trying hard to mod electric engines, because they have much better acceleration.

With all this info, I bet you are wondering how fast a mower can truly go. Usually, they will not exceed 40 mph, though with some mods they can reach 85 mph. Obviously, this is not recommended, because even the most stable lawn mowers will have trouble at such speeds. This leads me to a very important point!

Some lawn mower modding concerns

While modifying your mower may seem like a fun hobby to try, it is actually not that easy. Even if you can manage the technical stuff, there are many safety concerns. We will go over them, so you can know what people are getting into!

One thing you can see everywhere is to not mod your lawn mower for regular use. If you want to race you need a dedicated machine. It does not make much sense to mow around with 35 mph, unless you are looking for trouble.

Additionally, you should not simply mod the engine on a stock mower. The entire frame has to be altered, and many safety details have to be included. Remember that I mentioned stability? Stock mower frames simply cannot handle the speed. Ultimately, you cannot simply buy it, you need to build a racing lawn mower. Skills like welding will come in handy!

It is also a good idea to familiarize yourself with the electrics. You would likely have to do some modding there, as it is necessary to have a kill-switch. This is a special switch that turns the vehicle off if you fall from it. Depending on the association there might be additional requirements as well.

Does lawn mower racing sound fun?

I am not the biggest fan of racing sports, unless they involve some interesting details. For example, I find Formula 1 quite boring to watch, unlike dirt racing. This means that lawn mower races are up there for me in terms of interest!

What about you though? Do you find them engaging, or do you think the whole thing is a bit silly? I think the ridiculousness is actually part of the fun. It is competitive enough to have stakes, but still maintain the friendly spirit around it!

The post Kicking grass: All you wanted to know about lawn mower racing appeared first on Altered Steel.

There is no doubt about it – races are dangerous. If you cannot control your car perfectly, bad things happen. This is why racecar drivers go through extensive training, both physically and mentally. They have to remain calm under harsh circumstances with an unwavering focus on controlling their car.

Then there is another kind of race. One, which seemingly glorifies operating your car on the very edge of your control. Meet Formula DRIFT – a dream come true for the fans of Fast and Furious. Or alternatively, a semi-popular spectacle which causes many people to wonder why it even exists. Let us check out what makes it so interesting, and what car control really means!

A course in drifting

If you are not familiar, drifting is a special driving technique. The main idea is to take a turn by sliding the car. That maneuver would generally lead to loss of control, but in the context of drifting that is not the case. Drivers learn how to operate the car in such conditions, allowing them to make turns at incredible speeds.

Drifting originated in Japan in the 1970s as a technique to help race drivers maintain speed while turning. Kunimitsu Takahashi, the guy who invented most drifting techniques, won several championships thanks to them. That drew the attention of other competitors, who quickly adopted a similar style of driving.

However, once drifting gained racing popularity, enthusiasts started exploring it on the streets as well. Cars like Mazda RX-7, Toyota Supra 4^th Gen and Nissan 350Z became the go-to vehicles for such experiments. Their specific drivetrain and handling made them fairly easy to drift.

Drifting hit the streets not only because it was another way to brag, but because it was also fun to watch. Even people who were not into races enjoyed the spectacle itself. Thus it did not take long for it to become a sport, at least in Japan. As it turns out, the States had some catching up to do in that regard!

Drifting in the US

More than 20 years had to pass for a drifting race to officially find its way on US soil. One of the earliest recorded races here was held in 1996. Funny enough, it was a Japanese drifting magazine that organized it. They even brought Japanese drifters to give lessons to US drivers.

That decision was a blast though! Quickly afterward, the driving technique exploded in popularity. It spread not only through the States but also Australia, Europe, and the rest of Asia. Again the major contributing factor was the fun of watching it taking place.

Still, for a while drifting races were not that structured. They were one-off events mainly focused on being entertaining. Eventually, some people joined forces and turned it into a US competitive sport with rules and regulations. They factored in style as the very thing drivers could go after, instead of crossing the finish line first. Thus Formula DRIFT was born!

The rise of Formula DRIFT

The drifting series was founded in 2003 with the help of the people who had already brought drifting from Japan to the States. This makes Formula D (its other name) the first official drifting series in the US.

Initially, the series did not gain a huge amount of traction, although it had plenty of fans. The reason for that being that it was a niche competition in an already saturated racing market. That meant it had to stand out even more and draw additional attention. Luckily, time was on its side.

Over the years Formula DRIFT grew larger and larger. As people started seeing its development, drivers from all over the world set their sights on it. Today the all-time Formula D winners come from several nationalities, the leader being a Norwegian. But what precisely made Formula D so appealing even for foreigners?

What makes Formula DRIFT special

As a whole drifting has always been a rather underground interest outside of Japan. Most countries do not look favorably at wannabe drifters who race on open streets (usually at night). Of course, that is not without reason, but it makes the scene difficult to get into for serious drivers.

Formula DRIFT, on the other hand, embraced the spectacle. They decided to regulate the type of cars and actually judge on a few concrete criteria. That way you could display your driving prowess without worries.

The sheer size of the US market also plays another huge role. Here even niche interests have a comparatively sizeable market. All these factors pushed drivers from other countries to consider a career in the States.

Continued improvements to competition-level judging also brought people in. The folks behind the series strive to make judging as objective as possible. Considering it has to do with style, that is surely a difficult task. Nevertheless, everyone can understand how drift judging is done as it is laid out on Formula D’s own site. Below is the gist of it.

Competition Judging Standards for Formula DRIFT

• Line – Each track has an ideal drift line. It is designed to make drivers use the entire track, not just the parts they feel comfortable with. So the more the drivers stick to the ideal drift line the more points they get.
• Angle – This has to do with actual technical ability. Drivers that make smooth transitions between turns with as little steering as possible receive better scores.
• Style – Style is perhaps the most difficult to judge and the most subjective. Nevertheless, it still involves guidelines for as much objectivity as possible. They are quite technical though, so we will not go into much detail here. Suffice to say that a lot goes into achieving the perfect drift.

These three aspects determine the judging criteria for the qualifications. What is that? Well, instead of being a full-blown race, competitors first have to qualify for the top 32 places in the bracket. Then they face each other in tandem (1 vs 1) races with a process of elimination. It is pretty much like duels, but with cars. Exciting!

Without a doubt, drifting makes for quite the display. In order to achieve it though, there are many details that have to be done right. From knowing your vehicle to choosing the right moment to initiate the drift, small changes can make a huge difference. What else plays such a pivotal role?

The science behind the vehicle

If you take a look at most drift enthusiasts you may come out with the wrong impression. Many of them think that all you need is a BMW M Series and you are pretty much set. But while BMWs are famous in drifting circles, that does not mean they have some special capabilities.

To be honest, Formula DRIFT has vehicle standards, so it is kind of futile to discuss the merits of different marques. Instead, we should focus our attention on the true game-changers – car mods.

In order to achieve an impressive drift, many modifications have to be done to the vehicle. Engineers do their best to alter the cars as much as possible while still falling within the standards. The weight is adjusted, seats are specially designed, the steering wheel is completely different. The cars use a special kind of tires too.

All in all, the end result is a vehicle, which operates in a vastly different manner to your regular car. Engine, suspension, breaks, and body continue to be altered in hopes of building the perfect drifting machine. You can easily say the entire thing has become a science of its own by now. And driving such a beast is no small feat either!

The importance of skill

If you have ever driven a car on a long road or even in congested traffic, you know how exhausting it is. Even when cruise control can let you relax a bit on the highway, you still do not arrive refreshed.

Now imagine what it feels like drifting. The driver must have their attention on several things at once. Breaking, clutching, steering, adjusting – all these things need to be tracked. While it becomes second nature after a while, it certainly takes a toll. Even if the driver is experienced, they cannot let their concentration slip or bad things will happen.

That brings us to the second set of skills that are required – mental presence. On top of concentration, peace of mind and mental clarity are also necessary. Snap decisions have to be taken regularly, especially in tandem drifts, which leave virtually no room for error.

It goes without saying that the driver needs knowledge of their car too. Now when you add to that technical ability and mental presence, you get the pinnacle of vehicle control. Without any of these three pillars, no one can even get a place on the track. This is what makes Formula DRIFT such an interesting thing – it is visually entertaining and subconsciously thrilling.

What do you think about drifting and Formula D?

I understand that many car enthusiasts are not specifically fans of racing. I would count myself among them. Yet I do enjoy a good display of skill every now and then. To me, Formula DRIFT seems like the perfect thing to watch, if other series seem boring.

What do you think though? Have you heard about Formula DRIFT before today? Do you find it exciting or boring? Maybe you think it is unacceptable for drivers to deliberately seek loss of control. Let me know!

The post Formula DRIFT: The science of supreme car control appeared first on Altered Steel.