Jessi Combs, race car driver and TV personality, died while trying to break a land speed record August 27, 2019 in the Alvord Desert in Oregon.Frederick Brown / Getty Jessi Combs was nicknamed the fastest woman on four wheels. She died August 27 in Oregon in a jet-powered car trying to become faster.The 36-year-old earned her nickname by breaking records. In 2013, she broke a 48-year-old mark when she reached 393 mph (632 km/h) in her North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger. She set another record in 2016 when she drove nearly 478 mph (769 km/h), her fastest speed, in the same desert where her life ended.Combs had attempted to beat her own speed before. In a September Instagram post, Combs said she reached a new top speed of 483 mph (777 km/h). Unfortunately a piece of debris was sucked into the turbine intake. There is minimal damage, though game over for now, she captioned a picture of herself smiling in aviator glasses. Looking forward to the next attempt of ludicrous speed.Tuesdays attempt resulted in a 911 call to the Harney County Sheriffs Office around 4 p.m., according to KTVZ in Oregon. The sheriffs office and the Bureau of Land Management are investigating the crash.Terry Madden, a member of Combs crew, confirmed her death in an Instagram post late August, stating he was the first one there. He urged people to not give to any false donation pages that might pop up.She was the most amazing spirit that that I have ever or will ever know, he wrote in the post. Madden said he and Combs family are working on a documentary that Combs wanted to complete and that a foundation in her honor will help her legacy live on.Combs, who self-described as a stereotype breaker and a real deal across her social platforms, was also an established metal fabricator and welder. She received a degree in custom automotive fabrication from WyoTech and established a line of welding gear for women.She displayed her various sets of expertise on TV, appearing on shows such as Jay Leno’s Garage and hosting The List: 1001 Car Things to Do Before You Die and MythBusters. Combs was also known for her time on television, as a guest fabricator on Overhaulin’, as a co-host of Xtreme 4×4 and All Girls Garage, among other things.As news of her death broke Wednesday, Combs fans and former colleagues eulogized her on Twitter. Kari Byron, who previously starred with Combs on MythBusters, tagged their old show and remembered Combs for always pushing limits.Former MythBusters co-host Adam Savage agreed. He lauded Combs for her presence on the show and passion for encouraging others.Im so so sad, Jessi Combs has been killed in a crash, Savage wrote on Twitter. She was a brilliant to(p)-notch builder, engineer, driver, fabricator, and science communicator, strove everyday to encourage others by her prodigious example. She was also a colleague, and we are lesser for her absence.In one of her last social media posts, Combs is staring at the back of a jet car, overlooking the desert as her team attends to the machine.It may seem a little crazy to walk directly into the line of fire, she wrote. Those who are willing, are those who achieve great
Origin: The ‘Fastest Woman on Four Wheels’ dies in crash while attempting to break record
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Ferdinand Piech, who brought Porsche to Volkswagen, dies at 82
This September 2013 file photo shows Volkswagen group supervisory board chairman Ferdinand Piech, right, as he listens to Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn during the media day of the IAA (Internationale Automobil Ausstellung) international motor show in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. Ferdinand Piech, the former chairman and chief executive officer who transformed Volkswagen into one of the worlds biggest carmakers and added Porsche to its holdings, has died. He was 82. He died Sunday at a hospital in Bavaria, Germany, according to Bild newspaper.The Vienna-born grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who founded the manufacturer of the 911 sports car, became Volkswagens CEO in 1993, when the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company was mired in losses.Plagued with quality problems and high costs, Volkswagen became profitable, producing better vehicles without large-scale job cuts, while Piech won the allegiance of unions and shareholders alike. He continued to guide strategy after becoming supervisory board chairman in 2002, but his crowning achievement at VW was the acquisition of the Porsche auto brand in 2012.Under Piech, Volkswagen pushed into high-end autos with the purchase of the Bentley and Bugatti nameplates. At the same time, he tightened VWs integration of the mass-market Seat and Skoda brands. By the end of 2012, Volkswagen either owned outright or held controlling stakes in 12 vehicle brands, including supercar producer Lamborghini, heavy-truck makers MAN and Scania and motorcycle maker Ducati.His obsession with cars and the desire to make the best possible ones, regardless of price also cost VW a lot of money. With the flopped Phaeton sedan, the Bugatti Veyron supercar and Audis A2 hatchback, the Volkswagen group accounts for three out of the 10 biggest money-losers in modern automotive history, according to estimates from Max Warburton, an analyst for Sanford C. Bernstein Co. Thats the worst track record in the industry.Enjoying a cult-like following within the company, Piech often got his way when he lost confidence in managers, forcing out a series of executives, including his hand-picked successor as CEO, Bernd Pischetsrieder, in 2006. The supervisory boards leadership committee surprisingly defied him in April 2015 by saying it would vote to extend Martin Winterkorns contract as CEO, against Piechs wishes. Piech resigned as chairman later that month.If I want to achieve something, I approach the problem and push it through without realizing whats happening around me, he wrote in his 2002 autobiography. My desire for harmony is limited. Piech came from a technical background, having studied engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. In 1963, Piech went to work for his uncle Ferry at Porsche in Stuttgart, where he later became a technical manager.Piech joined Volkswagen in 1972, when he moved to Audi from Porsche after the family decided to end its active role in the sports-car makers operations. At Audi, he pushed the development of the Quattro all-wheel-drive system, helping establish the brand as an innovator and enabling it to overtake Daimlers Mercedes-Benz in global luxury-car sales in 2011.He had five children with his first wife, the former Corina von Planta; two from his relationship with Marlene Porsche, the former wife of his cousin Gerhard Porsche; three with Ursula Piech; and two other
Origin: Ferdinand Piech, who brought Porsche to Volkswagen, dies at 82
Ford Mustang creator Lee Iacocca dies at 94
Lee Iacocca, best known for his work in developing the original Ford Mustang, has died at the age of 94. Born in Pennsylvania in 1924, Iacocca studied politics and plastics at the prestigious Princeton University, before joining Ford’s engineering department shortly after the Second World War. Early success at the company was followed by successive promotions to vice-president and general manager of the Ford Division; Ford’s vice-president, car and truck group; executive vice-president; and finally president in 1970. Iacocca was instrumental in the conception of many of Ford’s most successful vehicles, but it was the first-generation Mustang, launched in 1964, that cemented his reputation as one of the most influential engineers of the 20th century. Renowned for his innovative management style, with a heightened focus on collaboration, Iacocca is quoted as once saying: “I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way”. With this ethos, Iacocca contributed to a $2 billion profit for Ford in 1978, but constant disagreements with chairman Henry Ford II led to his dismissal that year, and he joined an ailing Chrysler just as the brand had sold its European division to Peugeot in an effort to reduce losses. At Chrysler, Iacocca is credited, essentially, with the birth of the minivan. Inspired by the huge demand for upright, spacious, family-haulers in Japan, the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager were overwhelming sales hits for parent company Chrysler, and are widely associated with its return from the brink of bankruptcy. Iacocca was also responsible for the company’s line of ‘K-cars’ – efficient and compact saloons based on design plans that had been earlier rejected by Ford. These sold in big numbers, allowing Chrysler to later purchase AMC and its Jeep subsidiary – a brand it still owns today. His influential role as president, CEO and chairman of Chrysler rendered him a public figurehead for the brand, and his oft-cited catchphrase – “if you can find a better car, buy it” – helped the company to promote its cars as good-value, reliable and efficient options. Although he officially retired in 1992, from 2005 onwards Iacocca participated in several publicity campaigns for Chrysler, appearing alongside well-known figures like Snoop Dogg and The Muppets. Outside of motoring, Iacocca was a flagbearer for the 1982 restoration of New York’s Statue of Liberty and a campaigner for diabetes awareness following the death of his wife Mary, a sufferer of the disease, in 1983. Iacocca died in his Los Angeles home as a result of complications related to Parkinson’s disease. He is survived by two
Origin: Ford Mustang creator Lee Iacocca dies at 94
Formula 1 legend Niki Lauda dies at 70
In this July 7, 2018, file photo, former Formula One World Champion Niki Lauda of Austria walks in the paddock before the third free practice at the Silverstone racetrack, Silverstone, England.Luca Bruno / AP Formula One great Niki Lauda, who won two of his world titles after a horrific crash that left him with serious burns and went on to become a prominent figure in the aviation industry, has died. He was 70. Lauda’s family issued a statement saying the three-time world champion “passed away peacefully” on Monday, the Austria Press Agency reported. Walter Klepetko, a doctor who performed a lung transplant on Lauda last year, said Tuesday: “Niki Lauda has died. I have to confirm that.” “His unique successes as a sportsman and entrepreneur are and remain unforgettable,” the family statement said. “His tireless drive, his straightforwardness and his courage remain an example and standard for us all. Away from the public gaze he was a loving and caring husband, father and grandfather. We will miss him very much.” Lauda won the F1 drivers’ championship in 1975 and 1977 with Ferrari and again in 1984 with McLaren. In 1976, he was badly burned when he crashed during the German Grand Prix, but he made an astonishingly fast return to racing just six weeks later. Lauda remained closely involved with the F1 circuit after retiring as a driver in 1985, and in recent years served as the non-executive chairman of the Mercedes team. Rest in peace Niki Lauda. Forever carried in our hearts, forever immortalised in our history. The motorsport community today mourns the devastating loss of a true legend.The thoughts of everyone at F1 are with his friends and family. pic.twitter.com/olmnjDaefo Formula 1 (@F1) May 21, 2019 Born on Feb. 22, 1949 into a wealthy Vienna family, Nikolaus Andreas Lauda was expected to follow his father into the paper-manufacturing industry, but instead concentrated his business talents and determination on his dreams of becoming a racing driver. Lauda financed his early career with the help of a string of loans, working his way through the ranks of Formula 3 and Formula 2. He made his Formula 1 debut for the March team at the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix and picked up his first points in 1973 with a fifth-place finish for BRM in Belgium. Lauda joined Ferrari in ’74, winning a Grand Prix for the first time that year in Spain. He won his first drivers’ title with five victories the following season. Facing tough competition from McLaren’s James Hunt — their rivalry featured in the Ron Howard-directed movie Rush — Lauda appeared on course to defend his title in 1976 when he crashed at the Nurburgring during the German Grand Prix. Several drivers stopped to help pull him from the burning car, but the accident would scar him for life. The baseball cap Lauda almost always wore in public became a personal trademark. “The main damage, I think to myself, was lung damage from inhaling all the flames and fumes while I was sitting in the car for about 50 seconds,” he recalled nearly a decade later. “It was something like 800 degrees.” In this Oct. 24, 1976, file photo, Austrian auto racer Niki Lauda, right, defending champion in world driving, and James Hunt, of Britain, look at the rain before the start of the Japan Grand Prix Formula One auto race at Fuji International Speedway, Gotemba, Japan. Nick Ut / AP Lauda fell into a coma for a time. He said that “for three or four days it was touch and go.” “Then my lungs recovered and I got my skin grafts done, then basically there was nothing left,” he added. “I was really lucky in a way that I didn’t do any (other) damage to myself. So the real question was then will I be able to drive again, because certainly it was not easy to come back after a race like that.” Lauda made his comeback just six weeks after the crash, finishing fourth at Monza after overcoming his initial fears. He recalled “shaking with fear” as he changed into second gear on the first day of practice and thinking, “I can’t drive.” The next day, Lauda said he “started very slowly trying to get all the feelings back, especially the confidence that I’m capable of driving these cars again.” The result, he said, boosted his confidence and after four or five races “I had basically overcome the problem of having an accident and everything went back to normal.” He won his second championship in 1977 before switching to Brabham and then retiring in 1979 to concentrate on setting up his airline, Lauda Air, declaring that he “didn’t want to drive around in circles anymore.” Everyone at Ferrari is deeply saddened at the news of the death of our dear friend Niki Lauda. He won two of his three world championships with us and will always be in our hearts and in those of all Ferrari fans. Our sincere condolences go to all his family and friends.#CiaoNiki pic.twitter.com/mbzZBNZiRZ Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) May 21, 2019 Lauda came out of retirement in 1982 after a big-money offer from
Origin: Formula 1 legend Niki Lauda dies at 70
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