Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Official: Caterham is NOT FOR SALE

r500_3

With reports circulating that Caterham Cars as well as the Caterham F1 Team are for sale, it's time for the British carmaker to debunk the rumors as Caterham denies being on sale saying that these reports are "factually incorrect" and "wholly committed to the Caterham brand". The Caterham Group is not for sale but they're happy to seek investors, not buyers, for the British car company.

Report: http://www.worldcarfans.com/114052775897/caterham-dismisses-rumors-of-a-sale

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Hindustan Ambassador production ends

Hindustan Ambassador

Remember one episode of Top Gear when Richard Hammond is in search for the world's best taxi in a form of a race? The winner emerged as the Indian Taxi in the form of the Hindustan Ambassador.

Started out in life as a Morris Oxford, the Ambassador was once the only passenger car made in India but it became the symbol of social status and has been used to chauffeur high-ranking officials for many decades.

Sadly, there was a report stating that production of the Hindustan Ambassador has come to a bitter climax because of poor sales. Last year, the Ambassador sold about 2,200 units.

It's difficult to see the end of the world's best taxi according to Top Gear after over 60 years of production.

Caterham reveals Japan-exclusive Special Edition Seven

Caterham Special Edition Seven

Despite the news that Caterham is going to be up for sale, there's still more life out of the maker of lightweight track toys as they've launched a Japan-exclusive special edition made in tribute of their Formula One driver, Kamui Kobayashi. Called the Special Edition Seven, this Japan-only Caterham has bits of inspiration from Mr. Kamui Kobayashi himself and uses the Seven 250 (in Race Pack configuration) as its foundation.

It's a single-seater Caterham that has Kamui's name written in the seat and it has a dark green color reminiscent of the Caterham F1 team. 

The Special Edition Seven is powered by a 1.6L Ford Sigma Engine developing 125PS of power. 0-100kph in 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 196kph. It comes with a limited slip differential and a 6-speed manual gearbox.

It's limited to 10 units, each costing over 6 million Japanese Yen.

Porsche 911 Targa (991)

2015 Porsche 911 Targa

We may already have an open-top 911 but why would Porsche make another one? Oh yeah, this 911 in question is the 911 Targa and even though it's based on the current 991-spec 911, the new model is all about being a throwback machine rather than being a sportscar destined to be parked somewhere in the South of France.

For a quick history lesson, Porsche made a 911 Targa in 1967 for the US market because of the threat that America would ban cabrios due to health and safety concerns but as of now, the USA never actually banned cabrios because they're everywhere but in my mind, they're a rare sight to see someone driving with their roof down.

The last 911 Targa, which is based on the previous-generation 997, used the sliding roof mechanism which is more of a dismay for Targa purists what do you get as a result? Just a normal 997 hardtop coupe with the big sunroof opened. Doesn't say anything but it doesn't resemble the classic Targa masterpiece. For the new 991 Targa, the true meaning of a Targa-top car is back and sticking true to its roots, it uses electric motors to lift the whole rear window and automatically fold the solid roof panels to the boot. Quite a modern twist they've done but being a throwback car with a modern twist, the new 991 Targa is quite a suitor indeed but for a word of advice; that rear screen serves as an airbrake and you can't close or open the complexing roof while on the go. Need to keep a note while you're in there.

Like the normal 991, the 991 Targa comes with two engine types such as the 3.4L boxer-6 engine for the base model which develops 345HP, and the 3.8L flat-six engine for the 4S model which develops over 395HP of power output. They can be mated with either a 7-speed manual gearbox or a 7-speed doppelkupplungsgetriebe operated via paddle shifters. Be warned though because, like the normal 991, it comes with electric power steering, it doesn't respond more than what previous 911s do, like what Richard Hammond demonstrated last year just before he and Jeremy Clarkson got banned from entering French roads ever again.

Even though it weighs 40kg more than the 991 Cabriolet, the extra bulk on the 991 Targa doesn't put you off to enjoy its grand touring fulfillment if you're into some sightseeing from one open road to another. That doesn't stop you from taking it on a nice relaxing trip to Saint-Tropez. It's all in the quiet curves with this one but the pricing is not as quiet as it seems because while the 991 Cabriolet 4 costs 110,290 Euros, the Targa 4 model costs 109,338 Euros so it's less than a grand cheaper than the Cabriolet equivalent. So, that one or the 991 Cabriolet? Make your choice...

Available colors; schwarz, weiβ, indischrot, racinggelb, tiefschwarzmetallic, carraraweiβmetallic, rhodiumsilbermetallic, dunkelblaumetallic, achatgraumetallic, mahagonimetallic, saphirblaumetallic, anthrazitbraunmetallic, GT-silbermetallic (limited-time color), and limegoldmetallic (limited-time color).

Photo: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG

X-MEN: Days of Future Past


The X-MEN movies gave us a modernized take on our favorite mutants straight from the pages of the Marvel comic books where it was based. From the first one, X2, The Last Stand, Origins: Wolverine, the First Class film where we discover the secret origins of Magneto and Professor X, and last year's The Wolverine where, of course, Wolverine travels to Japan in his mission to become mortal. Now, the ultimate X-MEN movie, titled X-MEN: Days of Future Past, has arrived and it was aimed to be the X-MEN movie to end all X-MEN movies because why? All of our favorite characters come full force to take on a robot uprising.

In a dystopian future, the Sentinel robots enslaved the United States and they're set to unleash armageddon. The X-MEN have failed to stop the uprising while the few surviving mutants were imprisoned at the Mutant Internment camps. However for the mutants, all hope is not lost because to stop this Sentinel uprising, they must travel back to the past and put a stop to it to save their future.

This movie truly re-writes history with its hard-hitting storyline, which is truly based on the pages of the original Days of Future Past issues by John Byrne and Chris Claremont, and when you look at it, you can really salivate it on how awesome the battle scenes are, how powerful the storyline is, and how star-studded the appearance of their favorite X-MEN heroes and villains. From heroes such as Wolverine, Mystique, Colossus, and Cyclops to villains such as Magneto, Nimrod, and Master Mold, the huge roster of X-MEN mutants from past to present are all here to give it all they've got in this ultimate X-MEN storyline to date.

Thrilling, it can be, and spectacular, it can be, Days of Future Past will surely promise to deliver moviegoers the biggest thrill ride they've ever promised and I swear that if you watched it all the way to the end of the film, there's no guarantee that you will never forget this moment forever and ever.

My rating will be a good 4 out of 5 so go see one now and experience the ultimate superhero flick of the year.

Let's Do The News (May 27, 2014)

Ten things we learned so far...

1) IN CASE YOU REALLY REALLY MISSED IT: Axel Torres is the second housemate to be evicted from the Pinoy Big Brother House in PBB All In. Despite his good looks, looks like Axel's not good enough to last in the PBB House for long. Oh well...

2) Volkswagen announced that they'll be revealing the eighth-generation Passat (B8) this July. The latest regeneration of VW's midsize saloon will be pinning on the MQB platform and the biggest news is that it will be 85kg lighter than its predecessor.

Teaser sketch for the eighth-generation VW Passat

3) WATCH OUT:  PNP warns that there are shabu dealers offering "free samples" to students. Remember parents, keep your kids away from those and just say NO to drugs. Thank you.

4) A new controversial photo of Justin Bieber is causing a stir on the internet conversations. Here's the scoop...

5) In Bataan, a 6-year-old girl got drowned at the swimming pool and if things get worse, the lifeguard-on-duty doesn't know first-aid. What the lifeguard did is rush the little girl to the hospital but it was too late. The young girl died. The little girl's parents blamed the resort's management for lack of safety measures.

6) IN THE NAME OF ALL THINGS AWESOME: The world's tallest LEGO tower made by LEGO enthusiasts from Hungary took four days to complete and measures 34.76-meter high, making this the tallest LEGO tower ever made!

7) SOME PEPPA PIG NEWS! In Brazil, Peppa Pig will be coming at the Teatro Gustavo Leite on Saturday, May 31, 2014, at 17:00. That's 5:00PM Brazil Standard Time. Meanwhile in Australia, Peppa Pig will be coming at Westfield Penrith Centre Stage (Level 1) on the 7th of June, 2014, Saturday, at 10:00am to 1:00PM Australian Standard Time. There will be a 5x20-minute intervals to meet Peppa! OINK OINK!

8) The death kneel of Lancia comes into fruition as the Delta will be removed from the lineup this year while the Lancia Voyager (a rebadged Chrysler Town and Country for Europe) will also be removed from the lineup next year as Chrysler stop rebadging their cars as Lancias. Only the Ypsilon compact will remain and it will be an Italy-only brand.

Goodbye to the Lancia Delta

9) Tuner JE Design tweaks the almighty Seat Leon Mk3 Cupra to have 350PS of power output, giving it a 0-100kph time of 5.1 seconds.

JE DESIGN Seat Leon Cupra
10) Moments after singer ASKA from the Chage and Aska singer duo was arrested for drug possession, he was hospitalized on a Sunday night. Prosecutors told that he began complaining of a headache.

TTFN!!!

Monday, May 26, 2014

Let's Do The News! (May 26, 2014)

Ten things we learned so far...

- Thailand's military officers will detain ousted government leaders, including former PM Yingluck Shinawatra, for up to a week as the Martial Law in Thailand lingers and protests get even more violent.

- Vivillon is mostly traded by players of Pokemon X and Pokemon Y because of different patterns most Pokemaniacs dying to collect them all. The Pokemon Company has announced a special Fancy Pattern Vivillon to distributed to players of Pokemon X and Pokemon Y if the Global Trade Station accumulated 100 million trades overall. Of course, while the counter is still over 90 million, get the worldwide Pokemon trading rolling in, especially those Vivillon collectors!

The Fancy Pattern Vivillon is attainable if the Global Trade Station
accumulates the 100,000,000 trade target

- A political ally of President Aquino blamed the Arroyo administration for the energy crisis that hit the Philippines and warned an even worse of the energy crisis in next year if the power sector don't improve as planned.

- The Italian Polizia gets an upgrade courtesy of the Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4.

Lamborghini turns over Huracan supercar to Italian police
Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 Polizia

- Lamborghini collaborated with Zagato to create a Gallardo Superleggera-based 5-95 Zagato concept car for the Villa d'Este concours.

Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato

- Today's episode of the Jay Leno's Garage webcast highlights on Steve McQueen's vintage 1956 Jaguar XKSS.



- The 5th Philippine International Motor Show begins this September 18 to 21 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City. Under the slogan of "Progress in motion", this year's show will focus more on the latest technologies in the world of motoring.

- PhilAuto 2014 starts on May 29 to 30, 2014 at the SMX Convention Center. It will feature the best of  auto parts, accessories, and service/repair equipment.

- In case you missed it; a young adult named Elliot Rodger killed six people and injuring over a dozen of people in an area near the University of California. He crashed his BMW into a parked car and shot himself in the head after a crossfire with the cops. Here's the story why...

- Fan of Peppa Pig? Good news because everyone's favorite cute pig is making a big splash to the muddy puddles on the live audience as she, her friends, and family, will be having a live show. Following with the success of Peppa Pig's Part and Peppa Pig's Treasure Hunt, Peppa Pig's Big Splash will have fans singing and dancing along with Peppa and pals.

For details: http://www.peppapiglive.com/



TTFN!!!

Wow Mali Pa Rin! - May 25, 2014

On the May 25, 2014 episode of Wow Mali Pa Rin...

- PROFESSOR EK - It's a mutant mania as the mutants are mistaking someone for...you know who!




- PAAMPON NG GOLDFISH - Will you adopt my goldfish son, please?

- BASAGAN NG TRIP - Hey mam! You just broke my expensive phone!



- MACHO MATCH, O! - Two macho men are arguing for a bra?!



- ANAK NG FU! - In Anak Ng Fu segment, Mr. Fu asks two ladies pretending to be injured as they'll ask someone to hold her phone while she's calling!

- LIFEGUARD - Tiny (and heavy) lifeguard needs a lift!



- FROZEN - The clock pauses and the world is on a complete standstill!


F1 2014: Monaco GP


So, Nico Rosberg from Mercedes wins this round at Monaco, right? Well, with him stealing Hamilton's spotlight, it looks like the two teammates are now slugging against each other ever since the Senna vs Prost of yesteryears, do they? He he he...the Lewis Hamilton vs Nico Rosberg rivalry in the 2014 Formula One season really is an interesting one. As for Red Bull Racing rookie Daniel Ricciardo...good show though. Good show...this rookie managed to get 3rd place, proving that this newbie's trying hard for this season.

Now, Rosberg's in the lead at the standings with 122 points while Lewis Hamilton lags 4 points behind and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso still in 3rd place with 61 points.

Rosberg's win at Monaco really is a show stealer but next time, can Lewis Hamilton make it back to the top in Canada this June 8th?


Photo: Top Gear

Skyline 200GT-t - A Nissan Skyline with a Mercedes-Benz engine

2015 Nissan Skyline 200GT-t

Previewed from Geneva, now available to order in Japan, and coming soon worldwide as the Infiniti Q50, the Nissan Skyline (V37) now comes with the much-awaited 2.0L turbo engine sourced from Mercedes-Benz. This isn't a joke. This is the real deal, it's a Nissan Skyline with a Mercedes-Benz engine in it! Honest!

The Mercedes-Benz derived M274 engine that powers
this Nissan Skyline

Called the 200GT-t, this new Skyline variant is set to replace the old 2.5L V6 model of the outgoing V36 Skyline. The old V36 Skyline's 2.5L V6 engine produces 225PS of power output but for the M274 2.0L turbo 4-cylinder engine, it produces a lesser 211PS of power output. A Skyline with a Mercedes-Benz sourced turbo engine maybe have less power than the outgoing 2.5L V6 engine but because this is turbo, I believe that it can make up for its personal shortcomings. Remember what I told you about this?

The Skyline 200GT-t is equipped with a 7-speed automatic gearbox with manual mode operated via paddle shifters and as for fuel economy, the 200GT-t has 13.6km/L as calculated by Japan's JC08 mode standards. That's 2.2km/L more than the 2.5L V6 engine it replaces. When compared to its rival, the Lexus IS250, that's about 2km/L more! How did they do that?

Sales of the 200GT-t variant starts at the 5th of June, 2014, and it's priced at 3,834,000 Japanese Yen (around $39,000) up to 4,568,400 Japanese Yen (around $46,000) for the Type SP model.


Sunday, May 25, 2014

Let's Do The News! (May 25, 2014)

The big scoop today...

- IT'S THE NEW CITROEN DS3!* Sort of. Facelifted version of the first of the Citroen DS range features new LED headlamps, all-new Active City Brake technology, new Euro6-compliant engines and new personalisation options.

2015 Citroen DS3

2015 Citroen DS3 Cabrio

- IT'S THE NEW AUDI A7!* Again, sort of. Audi's four-door coupe features a brave new face, updated software, and new engine powerplants including a new 3.0 TDi ultra.

2015 Audi S7
2015 Audi A7

- The Nissan GT-R returns to Le Mans next year as the Japanese car company confirms GT-R LM Nismo for next year's endurance race.

- For this year's Villa d'Este concourse, Mini has collaborated with Touring, the coachbuilder behind the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante that Jeremy Clarkson drove on TG Season 21, to create a Mini Superleggera one-off EV speedster.

Good God. It’s the Mini Superleggera concept
Mini Superleggera Vision Concept

- The Uta no Prince-sama series has a large fanbase as well as an ever-expanding doujin community but game publisher Broccoli issued a warning against doujin groups, saying that they will terminate the distribution of doujin (fan-made) Uta-Pri items, stating that it's copyright infringement. The fans showed violent reactions regarding Broccoli's announcement.

- After a long wait, Frederator Studios' Cartoon Hangover finally streamed the 10th episode of Bravest Warriors season 2. This episode is titled "The Parasox Pub" and the Emotion Lord seeks revenge on Chris. Check it out!



- The YouTube gaming channel, Machinima, streamed all 12 episodes, plus a prologue, on the live-action Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist web series. This web series discovers the secret origin of our favorite Street Fighter characters; Ryu and Ken. Even though this is a web-series, it is also plan to air on TV, on-demand, or on DVD and Blu-Ray in the near future.

- Back to the Senkaku Islands stand-off, the People's Republic of China says that their fighter jets were scrambled in response of the intrusion of Japanese planes.

- A US admiral warns that the worsening maritime territorial rows in Asia may trigger a winner-take-all scenario that the PRC has the upper hand.

- A Filipino was executed in Qatar last month by the Doha Criminal Court for espionage and economic sabotage.

- Doctor Who returns this August 2014! Check out the teaser!

- The Forza Motorsport 5 Season Pass is now extended for two monthly car packs and get this! In advance, the DLC Pack for June is scheduled for May 30, Friday! They moved up the release schedule as part of their gratitude.

- Deep Silver Games, a division of Koch Media, announced Metro Redux; two Metro games (from Metro 2033 to last year's Metro Last Light) fully remastered for the Xbox One, PlayStation4, and Windows PC. Return to post-nuclear Moscow as Artyom in the revised versions of two Metro games based on the best selling novel written by Dmitry Glukhovsky.

- The name of the Superman Vs. Batman movie was finally announced. It will be titled Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and shooting for the epic showdown between The Dark Knight and The Man of Steel is underway.

- Here comes another Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks short! It's titled A Case for the Bass and...how hard could it be for AppleJack to become a bass?



- Universal announced a movie version of Mattel's Monster High dolls franchise for Autumn 2016 release? AWESOME!

- Check out the official teaser trailer for Disney's new 3D movie, Big Hero 6.



- The Chevrolet Malibu scored the most number of recalls, not the Cobalt and the ignition switch problems that triggered an outrage for General Motors.

- The Infiniti QX70 removed the V8 engine for the 2015 model year, leaving the 325HP 3.7L V6 engine as the only engine available for this model. To compensate, the QX70 now comes with 21-inch dark-finish alloys with matching exterior highlights, paddle shifters, heated and cooled front sport seats and adaptive lighting. The stuff that was originally exclusive for the V8 model (now removed) can now be seen on the V6 model for the first time.

2015 Infiniti QX70 - front three-quarter view, blue
Infiniti QX70

- Factor Aurelio Automobile burst into scene at the 2014 Trans Sport Show at SMX Convention Center. Situated in Laguna, the company takes it name after Kevin Factor, an engineering student at Adamson, and Brendan Aurelio, the owner of Pacita Fibertech. They've showcased two prototype machines; one is powered by a Honda B16A engine and the other is powered by a turbocharged Mitsubishi 4G63T engine. In a report from Top Gear Philippines, Kevin Factor told that these locally-made sportscars are almost done and the reason of why they chose a 4-cylinder engine is because it's easier to service and thanks to the abundance of spare parts.

If completed, it will be cost at a cheap 1.5 to 1.6 million Pesos and for exclusivity; production is limited to 10 units.

This is what a couple of Philippine-made concept supercars look like

TTFN!!!

Forza Motorsport 5: The ultimate BMW touring car

m3 (4)

This is the 2013 BMW M Performance M3 Racing, a M3-based touring car that shows how capable BMW is after their two-decade absence in the DTM and their comeback is proven to be a successful one. This M3 touring car is one of the cars you can find on Forza Motorsport 5's Meguiar's Car Pack, now on sale.

m3 (3)

When in 2012, BMW returned to the world of DTM with their BMW M3 Touring Car and its comeback is successful thanks to Bruno Spengler winning the 2012 championship as well as naming Augusto Farfus as the "Rookie of the Year".

  m3 (2)

In 2013, BMW Motorsport successfully dominated the DTM season with that year's BMW M3 Touring Car and proved their effort having accumulated five wins, twelve podiums, four pole positions, and four fastest laps in 2013 as well as accumulating their Manufacturer's title win. No other DTM-participated car company comes close.

Overall, BMW drivers in the 2013 DTM scored 369 points, while in the Team competition, BMW Team RBM placed 2nd with 148 points. Augusto Farfus was one of the best-known BMW drivers at the 2013 DTM after finishing as a runner-up at the Driver's championship with 116 points while BMW Team MTEK's Marco Wittmann is recognized as one of the most successful rookies of the 2013 DTM season.

m3

Unlike any other racing machines destined for GT Racing, this M3 Touring Car is unlike any other touring machines I have tasted in Forza 5 because the way it handles is incredibly epic indeed. It feels so easy and it doesn't matter if you're not paying attention because while being focused for GT Racing in mind, those aerodynamics planted on this car really made it as precise as a surgeon's blade as well as its perfect weight distribution that balances the yin and yang from within. Having driven this ultimate touring machine in FM5, it left me a big impression in my face, stating that BMW's return to its touring car racing roots has proven their rivals wrong.

It kinda reminded me of a British sci-fi show that was once axed in the late 1980's but returned in the mid-2000's with incredible results in so many ways. I can hardly imagine why...