Why is Renault in F1?

[Tom]

renaults are basic, very uninteresting cars which have nothing whatsoever to do with a drivers car, theyre purpose is to provide transportation from a to b. you dont buy a ferrari, bmw or a mercedes solely for transportation, they are also indicators of charachter, status and personality to some degree, and provide fun to o certain degree when driven

HAHA, fantastic, LMAO, you just fell straight into the trap!!!

See I've worked on all these cars, well not Ferraris, but I can assure you that they are all the same! They all have the same basic sub-frame, engine, drive train, drakes steering etc, from Renault to Ferrari, the only difference is the body work and badge. Heritage is no longer important, all secrets are out, it doesn't matter who invented the system 30 years before the rest, even Kia's have disk brakes and power assisted steering now, so frankly get over yourself, if you want to spend much more money on an equaly unreliable (because they all break) so similar it doesn't matter BMW over a Renault then go ahead.

As for fun, have you ever raced a Clio? I can assure you that the plucky front wheel drive can be as much fun as a merc on the track if you do it right, learn to left-foot brake, you'll soon see you can get as much 'ass-out' and if you buy a car for your personnal status, you need to be slapped across the forehead with a kipper considering the money you waste.

Well thats my rant, enjoy.

[sebbe]

Manchild, you are SO WISE! Great, great post man!
Let me add that SAABs are considerated to be "boring cars, for old people", as I've been told everytime I say I love SAABs. They have a great history both as an innovative company and as a sport cars manufacturer (yes, believe it or not).

Why do I speak about SAAB?, well, sometime ago, that idiot of Kirk Kerkorian tried to force GM to sell out SAAB, and Renault was the only possible buyer (according to the Swedish specialized press), because they share the same heritage of innovation.
Curious that both manufacturers are considered to build "boring" cars. Stupid people can't get it!

By the way, I'm thinking about buying a SAAB 900(GM) , a bit of advice needed here... anyone?

[Saribro]

Formula One is watched by billions of peoples around the world every year (55 billion or something like that).

The earth population suddenly increased 9 fold while I was asleep ?

[saam]

History books seem to be for many people who cannot get on with the present, take for example religion and how many people keep referring to books that was supposed to be written over 2000 years ago...

I love history, but talk about today and whats going on in your life NOW and who is winning now in F1. people in the know dont need a history lesson

if your a fan of a religion or a certain car other than what i am, big deal

get over it

[DaveKillens]

One of the most famiar sayings in motorsport is "win on Sunday, sell on Monday". It's very simple, even though the road cars and race cars have very little in common but the badging. It adds prestige, from the boardroom to the sales floor in every dealership. Most ordinary people have to buy cars based on logical practicality, such factors as gas mileage, carrying capacity for the family, reliability, and much more. There are many competing brands out there fighting for the same piece of the pie, trying to increase or just hold their market share. And sometimes the deciding factor in a purchase, when almost all things are equal, is the history and prestige, and the fact that the brand name lingers in people's minds because they saw a brand name win a race just a few days previously.
One reasons why Formula One is successful and brings in the big name auto manufacturers is that eighteen times a year, billions of people from all corners of the globe, of varied cultures and interests tune in to the Grand Prix, and watch the best of the best compete. In sheer advertising clout, it's very impressive. There are teams of analysts that scan the tape after each race, and count how many seconds each advertiser has their logo displayed on TV. Intel, Toyota, Budweiser, just for example, know exactly how many seconds their logos were displayed to the world wide audience for each event. And if you win, your car is usually shown in a photograph in almost every newspaper around the glode. The bean counters for each corporation take all this into account when they have to decide where the advertising revenue goes. And trust me, you can't buy as much advertising space and exposure as you can in racing.
So when an ordinary bloke like me wanders into an auto showroom, and is looking for a four door famly sedan, when I have to pick one brand out of ten other equal but worthy car manufacturers, sometimes the memory of watching Fernando Alonso win a GP just a few days before in a Renault may be the deciding factor in my purchase.

[manchild]

Thank you wazo, thank you sebbe

I agree about SAAB. Somehow they don't get enough attention but when it matters quality and technolgy applied in their cars I rank them in top 3. I'm not sure how being under GM affected SAAB quality (engines) but regardless on that I consider them as "Scandinavian BMW".

[engin007]

Formula One is watched by billions of peoples around the world every year (55 billion or something like that).

The earth population suddenly increased 9 fold while I was asleep ?

I think there are 19 races in the season and there is a good chance of the same person watching more than one race.

[Saribro]

Formula One is watched by billions of peoples around the world every year (55 billion or something like that).

The earth population suddenly increased 9 fold while I was asleep ?

I think there are 19 races in the season and there is a good chance of the same person watching more than one race.

1 person doesn't change into 2 people when they watch 2 races, period. Those kind of silly metrics may work in a marketing department, but here we like to stick to reality.

[RH1300S]

The earth population suddenly increased 9 fold while I was asleep ?

I think there are 19 races in the season and there is a good chance of the same person watching more than one race.

1 person doesn't change into 2 people when they watch 2 races, period. Those kind of silly metrics may work in a marketing department, but here we like to stick to reality.

No, he's right - Bernie definitely said that 55 billion people watch F1 (he didn't say they were all on this planet ) - which is why his charges are out of this world...........

[Saribro]

No, he's right - Bernie definitely said that 55 billion people watch F1 (he didn't say they were all on this planet ;)) - which is why his charges are out of this world........... :twisted:

No, he's not. The fact that Bernie said it doesn't change reality. The fact remains, there are not enough people to match that marketingstatement.

[mini696]

I see Renault in F1 to sell their F1 brand, ie merchandise.

[mini696]

1 person doesn't change into 2 people when they watch 2 races, period. Those kind of silly metrics may work in a marketing department, but here we like to stick to reality.

Bernies reasoning makes perfect sense to me. Would you count only one spectator for the whole season even if he went to 5 races? I dont think so.

[Ciro Pabón]

Actually, it is a good question.

Nonwithstanding Manchild impressive list, (eat that, those that believe that cars didn't move technology in XX century), he has to reckon that Mercedes Benz has an equally distinguished history. I quote myself, as usual :

"... at the same 1893 World Fair, Karl Benz, from Manheim, Germany, presented a novel four-wheeled vehicle, with electric ignition, internal combustion engine, differential rear axle and "surface" carburator: the first practical car..."

Some accomplishments of Mr. Benz factory here. They could weigh as much as Renault's invention of the hatchback...

Back to thread: why Renault (or Ford), that build cars for the small people, do race?

Well, because we, small people, have dreams of racing.

[kimi_khodr_raikkonen]

to win a lot of money

[mcdenife]

Bernies reasoning makes perfect sense to me. Would you count only one spectator for the whole season even if he went to 5 races? I dont think so.

I totally disagree. To say 55 billion People watch f1 is absolutely wrong and misleading. If one person goes to 11 races. Then one person has watched 11 races. However I do understand his meaning in terms of viewing figures or ticket sales. eg he can claim ticket sales of 11.