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Vasek Polak
Vasek Polak (September 11, 1914 – April 17, 1997) was a prominent car dealer, race car driver, car collector, and racing team owner. Life Polak was born in Prague, Austria-Hungary on September 11, 1914. He fought in WWII and was wounded in the Prague Uprising on May 5, 1945. Polak then left Prague and walked to then West Germany and found a job as a U.S. Army motor pool mechanic. Eventually moving to New York City, Polak opened a repair shop in 1951. In 1958 Polak moved to Hermosa Beach, California and through contact with Dr. Ferry Porsche, whom he had known in Europe through motorsport contacts, opened the first exclusive Porsche dealership in the United States in 1959. Polak would later on also become a franchised dealer for Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Saab, and Subaru in Hermosa Beach. Polak married Anna Maria Littlejohn in 1983. She died from breast cancer in 1993. Polak in response donated $2 million to fund a treatment center for breast cancer at Torrance Memorial Medical Ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prague, Czech Republic
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oceanic climate, with relatively warm summers and chilly winters. Prague is a political, cultural, and economic hub of central Europe, with a rich history and Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectures. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably Charles IV (r. 1346–1378). It was an important city to the Habsburg monarchy and Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city played major roles in the Bohemian and the Protestant Reformations, the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia between the World Wars and the post-war Communist era. Prague is home to a number of well-known cultural attractions, many of which survived the violen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saab Automobile
Saab Automobile AB () is a defunct automotive industry, car manufacturer that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, Saab AB, began a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in 1949. In 1968 the parent company merged with Scania-Vabis, and ten years later the Saab 900 was launched, in time becoming Saab's best-selling model. In the mid-1980s the new Saab 9000 model also appeared. In 1989, the automobile division of Saab-Scania was restructured into an independent company, Saab Automobile AB. The American manufacturer General Motors (GM) took 50 percent ownership. Two well-known models to come out of this period were the Saab 9-3 and the Saab 9-5. Then in 2000, GM exercised its option to acquire the remaining 50 percent. In 2010 GM sold Saab Automobile AB to the Dutch automobile manufacturer Spyker Cars N.V. After many years establishing a sound engineering reputation and ultimately a luxury car, luxury price t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Behra
Jean Marie Behra (16 February 1921 – 1 August 1959) was a Formula One driver who raced for the Gordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari and Porsche teams. Appearance and personality Behra was small in stature, stocky, and weighed 178 pounds.''Behra Arrives To Drive In $14,500 U.S. Grand Prix'', Los Angeles Times, October 10, 1958, Page C1. Behra had big shoulders and was scarred from 12 crashes. In 1955 he had an ear torn off from a collision. He sometimes drove magnificently, while at other times he drove with a lack of enthusiasm. Behra was known for being hard-charging and temperamental, which led to confrontations with Ferrari team managers after being accused of overstressing engines at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Reims Grand Prix race in 1959. He was dismissed from the Ferrari team after assaulting a team manager, shortly before his death. Career synopsis He raced motorcycles for Moto Guzzi prior to changing to sports cars and Grand Prix racing. In January 1950 he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Penske
Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, the Penske Corporation, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and other automotive-related businesses. ''Sports Illustrated'' named him Sports Car Club of America Driver of the Year in 1961. After retiring from driving a few years later, he created one of the most successful teams in IndyCar Series and NASCAR racing. He is the most successful owner in the Indianapolis 500 with 18 victories. He is known by his nickname of "The Captain". In addition, Penske also served as a race strategist for his IndyCar team, most recently for driver Will Power. In 2019, Penske purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NTT IndyCar Series from Hulman & Company for an undisclosed sum. Penske is a corporate director at General Electric and was chair ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Titus
Jerry Titus (October 24, 1928 – August 5, 1970) was an American race car driver, mechanic, and journalist. Life Jerry Titus was born in Johnson City, New York on October 24, 1928. Born exactly one year before the stock market crash leading to the great depression, Titus grew up in hard times. His parents moved through many jobs, including running a dairy farm in Florida. The family eventually moved back to New York, his mother taking a job at Grumman Aircraft and his father operating a Sinclair gas station, and installing heating and cooling units. Titus originally became a trumpeter, at which he had a great talent for. This led him to studying at the renown Juilliard School of Music in New York City and performing in the band of jazz trombonist Jack Teagarden. Titus eventually changed careers and became an auto mechanic, working for car customizer Bill Frick, at his performance auto shop. Titus discovered his talent for driving sports cars from testing vehicles and repai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Miles
Kenneth Henry Jarvis Miles (1 November 1918 – 17 August 1966) was a British-American sports car racing engineer and driver best known for his motorsport career in the US and with American teams on the international scene. He is an inductee to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Early life Miles was born on 1 November 1918 in Sutton Coldfield, then in Warwickshire, now in the city of Birmingham. He was the son of Eric Miles and Clarice Jarvis. After a failed attempt to run away to the United States, Miles left school at the age of 15 to work as an apprentice at Wolseley Motors, who sent him to a technical school to broaden his knowledge of vehicle construction. He raced motorcycles before joining the British Army, during World War II Miles' first role in the military was driving instructor in Territorial Army. On 1 October 1942, as an armament artificer, he was among the founding members of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), and transferred to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiat Automobiles
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division Stellantis Italy. Fiat Automobiles was formed in January 2007 when Fiat S.p.A. reorganized its automobile business, and traces its history back to 1899 when the first Fiat automobile, the Fiat 4 HP, was produced. Fiat Automobiles is the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy. During its more than century-long history, it remained the largest automobile manufacturer in Europe and the third in the world after General Motors and Ford for over 20 years, until the car industry crisis in the late 1980s. In 2013, Fiat S.p.A. was the second largest European automaker by volumes produced and the seventh in the world, while FCA was the world's eighth-largest automaker. In 1970, Fiat Automobiles employ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enduro
Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is a time-card enduro, whereby a number of stages are raced in a time trial against the clock. Time-keeping enduros In a traditional time-keeping enduro, riders leave together in groups or rows, and each row starts at a certain minute. The object of the event is to arrive at pre-defined checkpoints according to a strict schedule. Early or late arrivals result in the riders' scores being penalized. Throughout a day there will also be allocated periods for refuelling and servicing the machine. Penalties apply for not meeting defined times or for outside-assistance when not permitted.Brief History of Enduro', Enduro 411, AMA Western Checkpoint Enduro Championship, retrieved 20 February 2012 Enduros and rallies There are two different types of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porsche 934 1976 Racer Vasek Polak Racing LSideFront Night Mode PorscheM 9June2013 (15009532861)
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company is owned by Volkswagen AG, a controlling stake of which is owned by Porsche Automobil Holding SE. Porsche's current lineup includes the 718 Boxster/Cayman, 911 (992), Panamera, Macan, Cayenne and Taycan. History Origin Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951) founded the company called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH" with Adolf Rosenberger and Anton Piëch in 1931. The main offices was at Kronenstraße 24 in the centre of Stuttgart. Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting, but did not build any cars under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people; that is, a ''Volkswagen''. This resulted in the Volkswagen Beetle, one of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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