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Alonso interview, part 2: He says F1-Indy crossovers boost racing

Fernando Alonso said his racing in this Sunday's Indy 500 spurred great interest in Spain and that other Formula One drivers crossing over would benefit both U.S. racing and Formula One. "I think Formula One needs North America and maybe North America needs more of Formula One than what we currently have," Alonso told Reuters on Tuesday. "I think its a win-win situation," the Spaniard said about the potential impact of more F1 drivers following his example and crossing over between the circuits. Alonso said he understood that interest back home in the Indy 500 had spiked by 800 percent. "For the fans, from what I see now in Spain and Europe, it is amazing the interest in the Indy 500 this year compared to any other year," he said. "Everyone in Spain, they are waiting for May 28 to watch the race. I received many messages from fans in social media saying, 'thanks for showing us this race because I never watched it before and I absolutely love it.'" Alonso also believes U.S. fans will become more intrigued by Formula One as they get to know those drivers. "Hopefully from now on the interest in Formula One in the US will be growing," he said. "We have new owners of Formula One, (U.S.-based) Liberty Media, and I think they have some good plans to build interest here." Alonso decided to skip this week's Monaco Grand Prix, which he has won twice, to try and add the Indy 500 as his second leg to a rare Triple Crown of Motorsport. The Spaniard hopes to emulate Graham Hill, who in 1972 became the first to complete the Formula One championship, Indy and Le Mans 24 Hours collection of titles. "The Triple Crown, I think that's the ultimate goal of any racing driver," said Alonso. "Only one man has achieved that in motor sports and that shows how difficult it is to do that." Alonso said he expects no problem adjusting back to Formula One after his Indy sojourn. "My skills, and my driving techniques are developed in Formula One cars. I think when I get back there it will be an immediate adaptation." With his contract up after this season with the poorly performing McLaren-Honda team, Alonso remained tight-lipped about his future. "After the summer I will consider what are the options out there," he said.Part 1 of this interview: F1 veteran gears up for his rookie run at Indy Reporting by Larry FineRelated Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Drive A McLaren | The List #650

As US exports top 2 million, is America becoming the world's source of cheap cars?

North American auto production is booming with 2014 figures just shy of the of the 17.3-million vehicle record set in 2000. With more models being built on the continent, even more are being shipped overseas. Factories in the US exported 2.1 million cars last year – the highest number ever. About half of those went to Canada and Mexico, but more than ever have been heading to places like the Middle East and China. The upswing comes in part from from after-effects from the Great Recession, according to The Wall Street Journal. With a weak dollar and lower production costs after the financial crisis, building vehicles in the US was relatively cheaper and more competitive in the world. At the same time buyers around the world are going crazy for crossovers. According to the WSJ, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are already exporting the majority of their US production of these models overseas. Both automakers have also announced investments to expand production further here to send more vehicles abroad. Even Honda has been shipping more models out of the country than it imported here. There is a concern this international strength could start slowing because the dollar is strengthening against other currencies, though it's too early to know what the actual effect of this could be, according to the WSJ. "Of course, we closely watch currency exchange, but we don't make changes in production or allocation based on temporary fluctuations in the exchange rate," Ford North American boss Joe Hinrichs told the newspaper. Related Video: News Source: The Wall Street Journal - sub. req.Image Credit: BMW Plants/Manufacturing BMW Ford Honda Mercedes-Benz exports us auto production

Honda, Top Gear working on 130-mph lawn mower

We're not even sure they've got a blade of Kentucky Bluegrass to cut, but the folks at Top Gear have gone ahead and started building what will become, if they're successful, the world's fastest lawn mower. Actually, it appears Top Gear is not doing much of the design and assembly work at all, instead having solicited help from experts at Honda and Team Dynamics, which oversees the automaker's touring car efforts.
What the three are working on is a riding lawnmower with a 110-hp engine that can reach 60 miles per hour in four seconds and trim turf at speeds up to 130 mph. If they succeed, such a maximum velocity would put them well ahead of the current record for the world's fastest lawnmower, which is 96.529 mph set by Bobby Cleveland and his Snapper race mower at the Bonneville Salt Flats in September of 2010. Top Gear hasn't said whether or not it will officially go after Cleveland's record, but the build will be featured in an upcoming issue of the Top Gear magazine and is scheduled to be completed by June 17, so we may learn what this maniacal mower's true purpose is then.
According to TG's report on how the build is going, as well as the video of it being fired up (literally) for the first time below, there aren't many actual mower parts left on this machine. What started out as a Honda HF2620 mower now sports wheels and tires from a racing quad, a back axle from a go-kart, a steering rack from a Morris Minor and a 1000cc engine from a Honda VTR1000F sport bike. All that remains from the original mower are the pedals and body panels; even the steel cutting deck has been replaced with a lighter fiberglass version. And blades? This mower will be bladeless, instead using two electric motors to spin lengths of brake cable like a weed whacker.