Performance car

Classifications

A performance car is an automobile that is designed and constructed specifically for speed. The design and construction of a performance car involves not only providing a capable power train but also providing the handling and braking systems to support it.

Performance cars are road vehicles, capable of providing transport. Specially designed racing cars are not normally regarded as performance cars, but performance cars are often raced.

There is a great deal of overlap between performance cars and sports cars, but not all performance cars are sports cars, and not all sports cars are performance cars. The MG TC, for example, is a prototypical sports car, but even by the standards of its day was unexceptional in its performance.

Similarly, some hot rods are performance cars, but many hot rods are either built for show rather than for performance, or are not intended to be roadworthy, or both. Those hot rods that are built for on-road performance tend to emphasise straight line speed and acceleration, and in this they represent one extreme of a continuum of performance cars, the opposite extreme of which is represented by cars that emphasise handling rather than straight line speed, such as the Lotus Elise.

Vehicle

A vehicle (from Latin: vehiculum) is a mobile machine that transports people or cargo. Most often, vehicles are manufactured, such as wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses), railed vehicles (trains, trams), watercraft (ships, boats), aircraft and spacecraft.

Land vehicles are classified broadly by what is used to apply steering and drive forces against the ground: wheeled, tracked, railed or skied. ISO 3833-1977 is the standard, also internationally used in legislation, for road vehicles types, terms and definitions.

History of vehicles

Vehicle (song)

"Vehicle" is the one-hit wonder success for the Chicago-based band The Ides of March. It rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week of May 23, 1970. It is purported to be the fastest selling single in Warner Bros. Records history.

Written and sung by Jim Peterik, the song features a distinctive horn section riff that is still popular today. The song is often mistaken for the horn driven sound of Blood, Sweat and Tears which was popular in the same time range. Peterik wrote "Vehicle" as a joke.

Fourteen seconds of the completed "Vehicle" master tape (primarily the guitar solo) was accidentally erased in the recording studio. The missing section was spliced in from a previously discarded take.

The song was used in a 2014 commercial for Hardee's restaurants.

Covers

Star vehicle

In the film industry, a star vehicle is a movie, play, TV series, or other production that enhances an actor's career. 'Vehicles' are most commonly produced when a young or inexperienced actor has signed a long-term contract with a major studio. By showcasing the actor's talents, the vehicle is an attempt at creating a bankable star. In some cases, an actor may produce their own 'star vehicle' as self-promotion.

One of the earliest and best-documented examples is The Wizard of Oz (1939), which MGM centered on then-teenaged Judy Garland. The DVD notes give extensive film and radio examples of the publicity campaign undertaken to promote the movie and hype Garland's singing and acting talents.

With the demise of the studio system, star vehicles are less common in the movie business, although they continue to appear occasionally (e.g. Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, The Rock's The Scorpion King, or more recently Miley Cyrus' The Last Song). At times, one film can serve as the star vehicle for several actors. They remain common in television, where sitcoms routinely function as vehicles for stand-up comedians. Welcome Back, Kotter, The Cosby Show, Roseanne, Seinfeld, Home Improvement, George Lopez, Everybody Loves Raymond, Everybody Hates Chris, and The Bernie Mac Show are some notable examples from the United States of America.

Performance

A performance, in the performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers present one or more works of art to an audience. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience members often applaud. After a performance, performance measurement sometimes occurs. Performance measurement is the process of collecting, analyzing and reporting information regarding the performance of an individual, group, organization, system or component.

The means of expressing appreciation can vary by culture. Chinese performers will clap with the audience at the end of a performance; the return applause signals "thank you" to the audience. In Japan, folk performing-arts performances commonly attract individuals who take photographs, sometimes getting up to the stage and within inches of performer's faces.

Sometimes the dividing line between performer and the audience may become blurred, as in the example of "participatory theatre" where audience members get involved in the production.

Computer performance

Computer performance is characterized by the amount of useful work accomplished by a computer system or computer network compared to the time and resources used. Depending on the context, high computer performance may involve one or more of the following:

Technical and non-technical definitions

The performance of any computer system can be evaluated in measurable, technical terms, using one or more of the metrics listed above. This way the performance can be

Whilst the above definition relates to a scientific, technical approach, the following definition given by Arnold Allen would be useful for a non-technical audience:

Performance (Eloy album)

Performance is the twelfth album by German progressive rock band Eloy, which was released in 1983.

Track listing

All songs composed and arranged by Eloy. Lyrics by Sigi Hausen.

Tracks 8, 9 and 10 are bonus tracks from the 2005 remastered edition.

Personnel

References

External links