Thursday, February 13, 2014

Let's Do The News! (February 13, 2014)

The big scoop today...

- First turbocharged Ferrari since the F40, the new California T, set for next month's Geneva premiere, not only comes with a new front face but with a smaller, turbocharged V8 engine developing 552HP of power.

Ferrari reveals California T
2015 Ferrari California T

- McLaren teases a new supercar called the 650S and this new supercar will slot between the MP4-12C and the P1 but what could it be? Find out in Geneva next month but my bet would be...a possible Ferrari F12 beater.

McLaren announces new model
2015 McLaren 650S teaser

- A terrifying sinkhole occurred inside the famed Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA, swallowing eight Corvettes including those loaned from General Motors. No one is hurt from that car-tastrophe.

- IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Has anyone played that stupid Flappy Bird game? Yes, I know, it maybe 2014's IT game but it's by far out the most stupid game ever played on a mobile phone. So stupid, you won't want to play this game forever. It's a good thing the creator of Flappy Bird decided to pull this game out from the App Store and Google Play because why? It's life-ruining!

- Nissan is back in the Philippines under a new and unified distributor called Nissan Philippines Inc. This new distributor promises to bring back Nissan's presence to the Philippine market and to kick-off the new distributor, Nissan PH will launch the Sylphy B17 and the Altima (ahem, they're talking about Teana) L33 next month. Specs for them remain secret but what could it be?

For a quick background: the Sylphy B17 was launched in Japan last December 2012 and it's powered by a 1.8L engine mated to a CVT gearbox. The Teana L33, inspired from America's Altima, was launched in Japan earlier this month and the only engine offered is a QR25DE engine mated to a new generation XTRONIC CVT gearbox.

- Actor Vhong Navarro, while sorting out the mess against Deniece Cornejo and Cedric Lee from last month's beating, denies rumors about a viral photo of a burnt p***s that some people say it's his. He's planning to return to his presenter duties on IT'S SHOWTIME but no exact timeframe is told.

FOLLOWUP: People who are close to Deniece Cornejo's, including her family and friends, challenges Vhong to man up and face the consequences of his actions.

TTFN!!!

Mitsubishi eK Space and Nissan Dayz Roox

Last year, the NMKV joint venture between Nissan and Mitsubishi spawned off the first of their offerings as part of the partnership between these two Japanese carmakers. For Mitsubishi, they unveiled their 3rd-generation eK Wagon, along with its sporty eK Custom model, which has graduated from semi-tall kei wagon into a full-fledged tall wagon that competes against Suzuki's Wagon R and Daihatsu's Move. Coinciding with the Mitsubishi eK Wagon, Nissan unveiled its equivalent, the Dayz, which shares the same components as the new eK Wagon.

So, continuing on their NMKV progress, they've launched new models designed and engineered by Nissan and Mitsubishi, competing on the likes of Honda's N BOX, Daihatsu's Tanto (which the third-generation was recently launched last year), and Suzuki's Spacia.

2014 Mitsubishi eK Space Custom

2014 Mitsubishi eK Space

2014 Nissan Dayz Roox

They've launched two brand new kei minivans which again done under the NMKV joint venture. For Mitsubishi, it's the all new eK Space while for Nissan, it's the all new Dayz Roox. So, what is it?

Yeah, so what is it?

Both the eK Space from Mitsubishi and Dayz Roox from Nissan are super height wagon-type kei cars that provides spaciousness and conveniences that you expect from its rivals. They do come with numerous features such as the Around View Monitor operated on its rear-view mirror, super TV-cut heat-insulated glass that reflects against 99% of the sun's harmful UV rays, and the trademark touch-screen automatic air-conditioning. The same things you found from last year's eK Wagon and Roox can now be seen on these taller spin-offs. Quite a math they done here.

Like most kei-cars, they have two styles, right?

Yes, they do. Like most kei cars, the eK Space and the Dayz Roox come with two different styles that suits their individuality. There is a standard model which looks a bit as simple as shopping at the 100 Yen Store and then there's a sportier version (for Mitsubishi, the eK Space Custom while for Nissan, the Dayz Roox Highway Star) if you're feeling a bit of a high-roller without the high and the roller.

So, what's it like to be on the inside?

2014 Mitsubishi eK Space interior

2014 Mitsubishi eK Space Custom interior

2014 Nissan Dayz Roox interior

On the inside, both the Dayz Roox and the eK Space aren't really bad at all for a small height car in its size. Of course, you still see numerous stuff derived from the Dayz or the eK Wagon but what truly made these two set the benchmarks in its class was its sliding rear seats and its height. The rear seats can be slided horizontally by about 260mm, the longest in its class. Then, there's the room height that sets the benchmark of having the longest room in its class by about 1400mm. That's tall enough for Little John to stretch his arms as high as he like. It's still a spacious tall wagon and you can fit in as much as what remains from your office cubicle.

What about performance?

2014 Mitsubishi eK Space

2014 Mitsubishi eK Space Custom

2014 Nissan Dayz Roox

Even though, they're so small, they do come up being a nippy car to play with. For all models, it comes with the 660cc engine producing 49PS of power and 59Nm of torque. Because they weigh about 920kg for base models, the power-to-weight ratio would be about 18.78kg/PS. With the CVT gearbox mated along with the host of fuel-efficient features like the new battery-assist system, fuel economy is about 26kmpl, as calculated via JC08 Mode standards.

No wait...that's not right...

You sure is, with the fuel economy of 26kmpl, both the eK Space and the Dayz Roox can't match the likes of the Tanto and the Spacia but on the plus side, that's about .8kmpl more than the Honda N BOX. Pricing aside, the base eK Space costs about 1,224,300 Yen while the base Dayz Roox costs around 1,240,050 Yen so you maybe wandering why is there a 16,000 Yen price gap on these two, well at least for now because they've been launched two months before Japan implementing its 8% vehicle acquisition tax and that's going to be more costly for customers looking for kei cars.

You know what, after a whole day checking out these two new models, I couldn't work it out at all...

Available colors (eK Space): White Pearl, Cool Silver Metallic, Black, Mica, Sakura Pink Metallic, Antique Gold Metallic, Chocolat Brown Pearl, and Purplish Navy Pearl.

Available colors (Dayz Roox): White Pearl, Cool Silver Metallic, Black Pearl, Silky Rose Metallic, Azalea Pink Metallic, Pink Gold Metallic, Mocha Brown Pearl, and Premium Purple Pearl.

Photo: Mitsubishi Motors Corporation/Nissan Motor Corporation

Sochi 2014 Highlights - Day Six


12th of February, 2014 - DAY 6

At the Women's Downhill, Tina Maze of Slovenia and Dominique Gisin of Switzerland are tied and both won gold medals after sharing the same winning 1:41.57 time.

At the Pairs Free Skating, two Russian pairs got themselves a one-two combo as 1st place Russian pairs Maxim Trankov and Tatiana Volosozhar scored 236.86 points overall from the judges while 2nd place Russian pairs Fedor Klimov and Ksenia Stolbova scored an overall 218.68 points from the judges.

Team Germany is the winning country of the Doubles Run Luge, ousting the likes of Austria and Latvia with the time of 1:38.933. Also, Eric Frenzel won the Individual Gundersen NH 10km Cross Country, scoring another gold medal for the Germans.

USA's Kaitlyn Farrington won the Ladies' Halfpipe Finals and Dutch's Speed Skater, Stefan Groothuis, won the Men's 1000m.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Let's Do The News! (February 12, 2014)

Things we learned today...

- Billy Ray Cyrus, the dad of Miley, releases what is thought to be the hip-hop sequel to "Achy Breaky Heart"

- Screen legend Shirley Temple Black died at the age of 85.

- Idina Menzel, the voice of Elsa from Disney's Frozen, will perform the movie's song LET IT GO at next month's Academy Awards.

- Willie Revillame called people who helped Tado...LIARS?!

- Honda will showcase the CIVIC TYPE R CONCEPT at next month's Geneva Motor Show, previewing Honda's signature hot hatch built for the European market. Don't expect the Type R name to come back to Japan, though. As stated, the final Type R model sold in Japan was the Civic Type R Euro FN2 and after all the stocks are gone, Type R is gone for good and not coming back to Japan ever again.

Honda Civic R Concept revealed
2014 Honda Civic Type R Concept teaser sketch

- The S-Class Coupe from Mercedes-Benz is the replacement to the CL-Class just as what the E-Class Coupe did to the CLK five years ago.

2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe

- Audi revealed the hot version of the A1 supermini, the S1, in three-door and five-door Sportback guise. This new micro hot hatch from Audi is kinda more like a tamer version of the limited-run Audi A1 clubsport quattro but for this, it's powered by a 2.0L turbo engine generating 228HP of power and 272lb-ft of torque, mated to a six-speed gearbox.

2015 Audi S1 Sportback

- The dark days of Australian motor industry continues as Toyota Australia announced that they will stop making cars in 2017.

- THAT'S NOT GONE WELL. Honda Motor Co., Ltd announced a third recall for their hybrid models mated with the 7-speed DCT gearbox because of some...computer glitches. This affects to hybrid models of the new Honda Fit and its crossover equivalent, the Vezel.

- Character actor Roy Alvarez dies at the age of 63 due to cardiac arrest. Aside from being an actor, Alvarez is a director and scriptwriter on films, TV shows, and theater plays.

Sochi 2014 Highlights - Day Five


11th of February, 2014 - DAY 5

Five days have passed since the Sochi 2014 games began and things are heating up in the frozen battleground of Sochi, Russia. 

Belarusian athlete Darya Domracheva cleared the Women's 10km Pursuit with a winning 29:30.7 time and a gold medal for the first time for Belarus in this year's Olympics.

The Cross Country games sees a huge margin set by the Norwegians as Maiken Caspersen Falla won the Ladies' Sprint Free Finals while in the Men's Sprint Free Finals, Ola Vigen Hattestad is declared the victor. 

The Canadians did very well on the final round of the Ladies' Ski Slopestyle Final courtesy of winning Canadian Dara Howell and 3rd placer Kim LaMarre.

In the Women's Singles Luge, the Germans scored a one-two punch as Natalie Geisenberger placed 1st and Tatiana Huefner placed 2nd. Not only that, another German scored gold but this time at the Ladies' Normal Hill Individual Finals. Carina Vogt is the winner.

In the Men's Halfpipe Finals, Swiss athlete Iouri Podladtchikov is the winner while in the Ladies' 500m Race, South Korean athlete Sang Hwa Lee is the victor.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Top Gear S21E02

Top Gear S21E02


Two of the much awaited sportscars, the Alfa Romeo 4C and the McLaren P1, were the highlights of the second episode of Top Gear Season 21.

First up, Richard Hammond returns to Italy to take a spin on the Alfa Romeo 4C lightweight sportscars until Jeremy Clarkson issues him a challenge in an amphibious quadbike on a cross-country race in Lago Como, Italy. At the end, it's a proof that the Alfa 4C is better than an amphibous quadbike...just. After the battle, The Stig set off and the 4C posted a 1:24.8 lap time round the TG track.

Then, James May returns to the Middle East to investigate military vehicles.

Tom Hiddleston, the actor feared and respected for being Thor's evil brother, Loki, is the STAR IN A REASONABLY PRICED CAR and he posted a 1:49.9 lap time round the Top Gear Track in a wet condition.

After that, the episode concludes with Jeremy Clarkson arriving on Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, to take on the ultimate hybrid-engine wielding hypercar, the McLaren P1.

Next week on Top Gear; the Ukraine Small Car Road Trip, the Zenvo, and James Blunt.

Sochi 2014 Highlights - Day Four


10th of February, 2014 - DAY 4

German skier Maria Hoefl-Riesch is declared the victor of the Women's Super Combined Slalom after posted a 2:34.62 time and winning the gold medal for her fellow German athletes while two of the French athletes for the Men's 12.5km Pursuit did a good show on the spectators. Martin Fourcade placed 1st place with a 33:48.6 time while his fellow French Jean Guillaume Beatrix placed 3rd with a time of 34:12.8.

On this day, Canada scores big time as Alex Bilodeau won the Men's Moguls after three consecutive rounds and Charles Hamelin cleared the Men's 1500m Finals after posting his 2:14.985 time and won the gold medal.

At the second round of the Men's 500m Speed Skating, the Dutch done a 1-2-3 punch combo at the finish line as Michel Mulder placed 1st, Jan Smeekens placed 2nd, and Ronald Mulder placed 3rd.


Sochi 2014 Olympics runs until February 23, 2014 and as the slogan suggest: HOT. COOL. YOURS.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Six Nations 2014 - Round 2


The second round of the RBS Six Nations 2014 is a disaster for our hero rugby team, the Wales' WRU, as they got overwhelmed by Ireland at the score of 26 to 3, in favor of the Irish, and if that wasn't enough, the try from Ireland's Chris Henry and Paddy Jackson is worth more than enough to topple our Welsh heroes at the Aviva Stadium.

Highlights:

 

Full report here.

Well, that was a disappointing loss for our Welsh rugby heroes but when they face FFR in Round 3, things are going to be different from now on.

Also in Round 2 of the RBS Six Nations 2014, the England Rugby never let Scotland to score not even one point and because of such overwhelming progress, England wins at the score of 20-0. Tough luck for Scotland.

Highlights:



Full report here.

And lastly, France's FFR won the round against Italy's FIR at the score of 30-10.

Highlights:



Full report here.

So, Ireland and France are in the lead at the standings with two wins each while England and Wales had one win each and the teams with no wins each were Italy and Scotland. Tune in for Round 3 of the RBS Six Nations 2014 soon!

And one more thing before I go: GO WALES!!!

Sochi 2014 Highlights - Day Three


9th of February, 2014 - DAY 3

Matthias Mayer from Austria won the Men's Downhill while Slovakia's Anastasiya Kuzmina posted a 21:06.8 time and won the gold medal at the Women's 7.5km Sprint Biathlon. In the Men's Skiathlon 15km Classic + 15km Free, Switzerland's Dario Cologna posted a 1:08:15.4 time and took home the gold medal.

At the Team Ice Dance Free Dance, the Russians did a very good job on that portion of the Winter Olympics and they took home the Gold Medal. That's a score for Team Russia. 

On the Men's Singles Run 4 (the Luge portion of the games), a German named Felix Loch ousted the competition with an amazing 3:27.526 time, winning a gold medal for his German winter athletes while the final round of the Men's Normal Hill Ski Jumping for Individuals, Poland's Kamil Stoch scored an impressive 278 points from the judges and scored him a gold medal.

Jamie Anderson from Team USA won the gold medal for her win at the Ladies' Slopestyle Finals while at the Ladies' 3000m Speed Skating, a Dutch named Irene Wust blown the competition away with her 4:00.34 time.



Sunday, February 9, 2014

Stars of Chicago Auto Show 2014


Until February 17, 2014 in the McCormick Place at Chicago, Illinois, this year's Chicago Auto Show featured some of the brightest stars in the world of cars.

Premiered for the first time at this year's show was Volkswagen's GRC Beetle, which is a rally-spec version of the 21st Century Beetle, then tuner Lingenfelter modified the new Chevy Silverado truck to become the Reaper, the Chevrolet Corvette C7 will be Black Widow's car of choice in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2015 Chrysler 200 by Mopar, 2015 Lincoln Navigator which is a bit of a minor change with new tech, sixth-generation Subaru Legacy premiered to celebrate 25 years of Subaru Legacy, an electric version of the All New Soul, and so much more.


GT6: Cars that are Gran Turismo exclusive - Cizeta V16T



The Goodwood Hill Climb, famous for its annual Goodwood Festival of Speed, is considered a Gran Turismo-exclusive racetrack because the folks from Gran Turismo granted exclusive rights from the Goodwood FoS committee to feature this track in Gran Turismo 6.

At a moment notice, we will try out a car that is branded a "Gran Turismo exclusive", a real-life car you can only play on the Gran Turismo franchise and nowhere else. Think of it like Brainiac's Things You Can Run Through except this isn't the part where an idiot may or may not run through a certain object.



Today, it's the Gran Turismo-only Cizeta V16T. Since its first appearance in GT4, this rare V16-powered, long-forgotten, Italian supercar designed by Marcelo Gandini is considered a Gran Turismo exclusive and even in its latest appearance via Gran Turismo 6, you know that no other game would feature it...because the Cizeta V16T is a Gran Turismo exclusive and it's a general fact.

The supercar that should have been will run through the Goodwood Hill Climb but at what time will the V16T post?









It's a 0:52.971 lap time! As the name implies, this V16-powered engine mounted in the middle produced 568PS of power and mated with a 5-speed manual, its 0-60mph time is on the 4-second mark with the 204mph top speed. People say it's a fake Diablo but in general fact, both the Lamborghini Diablo and the Cizeta were designed by the same man. Thank goodness.

It maybe similar to the Diablo but it sure is quick for a very rare and legendary Italian supercar few enthusiasts knew about.

The Cizeta V16T - A GRAN TURISMO EXCLUSIVE CAR.

What's in our Car Town garage today? (February 9, 2014)

What's in our Car Town garage today?

1999 Nissan Silvia

The S13 Silvia had the slogan of "ART FORCE SILVIA". The Zenki S14 Silvia beared the "EYE HUNT SILVIA" slogan. The Kouki S14 Silvia's was "READY GO, FR", but for the final, 7th-generation, Silvia, it bears the "SPORTS SILVIA" slogan.

1999 Nissan Silvia

1970 AMC Javelin SST Trans Am

The Javelin is American Motors' entry to the muscle car segment dominated by Chargers, Camaros, and Mustangs. While the Javelin hadn't found any mass audience for this muscle car, American Motors entered the Javelin to the Trans-Am with surprise results. With 10 top-five finishes on the podium and winning the manufacturer's championship against General Motors in 1968 and 1969, Roger Penske and Mark Donohue took over the company's Trans Am program for 1970 and the result was the limited-to-100 special edition models.

1970 AMC Javelin SST Trans Am

1980 Renault 5 Turbo Rally Edition

Known as the 5 Maxi Turbo, this French entry to WRC since its 1980 debut found its advantage on the tarmac events because the added bulk in the back sees a huge problem at the unpaved sections of the race. When the WRC's Group B began in 1985, they made the Group B-spec 5 Maxi Turbo and the engine that powers it develops 350HP.

1980 Renault 5 Turbo Rally Edition