Why Sylvania Is in NASCAR; U2 the Toyota
NASCAR Sprint Cup cars take the green flag in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this afternoon (ESPN, 2 p.m.). The 300-lap race (317.4 miles) is significant as the second event in NASCAR’s season-ending 10-race Chase for the Cup.
It’s an equally important week for the presenting sponsor, Osram Sylvania, the world’s premiere manufacturer of automotive lighting. Osram Sylvania has affixed its name to the event for the 12th consecutive year.
Because Sprint Cup cars don’t have headlights, only headlight-shaped decals, we might wonder why Osram Sylvania is the sponsor. Obviously, there’s no way NASCAR is going to put DRLs (driving lights) on cars for this event. After all, this is a sport that throws out a caution flag for the smallest bit of debris on the track. NASCAR certainly doesn’t want glass shards scattered every time two cars bump fenders or one hits the wall.
For Osram Sylvania, that’s a minor detail. Every car in the parking lot has all sorts of lights. And the company’s major United States production facility for automotive lighting is 40 miles away in Hillsborough, NH.
The plant’s more than 600 employees produce millions of automotive lights each year in more than 400 different styles.
Hillsborough also is breaking ground by producing the LED headlight assemblies for the top trim levels of the coming Ford F-150 pickup truck.
“This race is a huge event in our area,’’ says David Hulick, Osram Sylvania’s marketing director for automotive lighting, “and it’s a time when the motorsport world is in our backyard. Let’s say that we want to be gracious hosts.’’
Osram Sylvania also wants to keep the company name out there as the industry continues migrating to the increased use of LED lighting.
“LEDs are a way to establish brand identity,’’ says Hulick. “The lighting now can be fancy. It’s the jewelry of the industry. For example, BMW has its ‘angel eyes’ and Audi was a pioneer with its distinctive driving lights. The LED as a styling component has become commonplace. It’s one way to differentiate among the jelly bean shape of today’s cars.’’
Osram Sylvania is using the NHMS race as the launch date for a video series called “The Light Shift.’’ It will chronicle the on-road experiences of real people who work (or play) while their neighbors are sleeping.
The first video offers an in-depth look at Michael Waltrip Racing hauler driver Glenn Shano and can be found at sylvania.com/thelightshift. The hauler drivers are something of highway heroes, drawing lots of thumbs-up and gawks on the road as they haul a pair of 3,400-pound NASCAR racers along with all the parts and equipment the team uses at each race site.
These guys average 70,000 or so miles a year, and they are natural spokesmen for Osram Sylvania because a significant portion of their driving is at dusk and after dark.
Thursday evening, the haulers put on a parade as they arrived at NHMS.
When they leave tonight, they’ll be heading south into the dark, most likely with a new set of Sylvania’s SilverStar Ultra headlights as part of a “Hauler Headlights for Safer Nights’’ program that’s now in its fifth year at the track. Sylvania says SilverStar ULTRA headlight bulbs have a whiter and brighter light for more clarity and down-road visibility than standard halogen headlights, making it easier to identify and react to road hazards, signs, and pedestrians.
That’s a lot more than “a word from our sponsor.’’
U2, The Car
Toyota is introducing a concept car this weekend at the do-it-yourself, make-it-yourself , invent-it-yourself maker fair in New York.
The vehicle is designed to reflect the lifestyle and needs of an urban entrepreneurial driver.
Called the U2, the concept is geared to true utility. Designers allowed for the freedom to roll back the roof, lift the tailgate or fold it down to serve as a ramp, and to customize the interior via a versatile rail system.
The U2 rail system is configurable to hold anything from baskets to bicycles. Side windows can flip up for access from outside. Both rear seats and the front passenger seat can fold up and be removed.
Designers were aiming for a vehicle the size of a compact car with the toughness of a compact truck and the cargo capacity of a compact van. Toss in urban requests such as good fuel economy, maneuverability, and easy loading, and it sounds like a winner.
All that’s left is to build it and sell it for a reasonable price.
Etc.
This is a big day for car shows. Boston Common is the site for the 3rd annual Boston Cup concours (9 a.m.-2 p.m.) … Newton-Wellesley Hospital is combining a car show and men’s health fair today from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Information is at nwh.org/events … Next weekend, the Falmouth Classic Car Club is host to a downtown classic car show on Saturday at the library and Mullen Hall School. On Sunday at noon, the cars parade down Main street, headed for Woods Hole, then follow the shoreline along Vineyard Sound to East Falmouth … Also next Sunday, the Minuteman Section of the Mercedes Club of America takes over the grounds of Larz Anderson Auto Museum for Germanfest XXVIII, a celebration of all things Mercedes.
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