24 Hours of Le Mans!

It's that time of year again, the oldest and greatest auto race in the world celebrates its 90th anniversary this weekend in Le Mans, France (June 23-24, 2013.) The race is fast and torturous. It is where the world's premier auto makers--Aston Martin, Audi, Chevrolet (Corvette), Chrysler (SRT Viper), Ferrari, Honda, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Toyota--come to show not only that they have the fastest, best handling, most advanced cars but in order to win, they must also be reliable and economical.

The race attracts top drivers including celebrity Patrick Dempsey who in past years has been a LeMans class leader. Audi once again captured the pole in 2013. Toyota was third fastest in qualifying with a hybrid prototype.

Unlike most races, these vehicles must run all-out for 24 hours straight without breaking down and with as few stops as possible. At 2013 speeds we can expect the leaders to travel more than 3000 miles (5000 km)

NASCAR, Formula 1 and Indycar feature straights that can be a thousand feet long. LeMans features a straightaway that is 4 miles (6 km) long followed by a series of curves, hairpin turns and shorter straights.

It is our favorite race at Almost Everything because the cars look like real cars and the technology is often a few years away from making the cars we drive everyday safer, more fun and better performing.