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Friday, June 15, 2007
 For those who love cars, the Emmy Award-winning
BBC Television series Top Gear is definitely a good source of auto
information. The witty Jeremy Clarkson
always speaks his mind on whatever car the show may feature. The show is so popular that its credibility
cannot be questioned. And for that matter is its choice of a Fiat as the
sexiest car in the world.
According to the show, the sexiest car in the
worlds is not a Ferrari, a BMW or even Aston Martin even though the latter came
close to taking the top spot. The small Fiat 500 is judged as the sexiest car
in the world by the show. The little
Fiat looks like a cross between a MINI and a Volkswagen Beetle - two of the
most popular cars in auto history.
James May, the co-host of Top Gear, has this to
say about why they chose the Fiat 500: "The
Fiat 500 advertises nothing about its owner, except that it's someone who doesn't
need to try."
A notable selection in the top-ten list of Top
Gear's sexiest cars in the world is Sally Carrera. For those who had the chance to watch the
film Cars, Sally Carrera may be familiar but for those who did not watch the
movie let us Wikipedia
explain:
"Sally Carrera is a 2002 Porsche 911
Carrera voiced by Bonnie Hunt. Sally,
Lightning McQueen's love interest, is the town attorney of Radiator Springs.
She came to the town several years before when she found that the big city life
was not to her liking and she was never really happy there but one day she made
a run for it. She drove for quite some time until she finally broke down in front
of the Wheel Well Motel. She was fixed up by Doc Hudson and taken in by Flo.
Sally then fell in love with the town, and the land around it, and never left.
Sally ran the Cozy Cone Motel until close to the end of the movie, when she and
Lightning reopened the Wheel Well."
Sally ranked tenth on the list of the ten sexiest
cars in the world. Other cars included
on the list are the following according to this site:
Aston Martin DBS
Maserati Quattroporte
Chevrolet Camaro
Citroen C6
Lincoln Continental
Bentley Continental S1
Fastback
BMW M1
Rolls-Royce Phantom
I don't know about you but for myself, I agree
with Top Gear's choices.
Posted at 02:19 am by PattiKnight
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Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Brad Pitt Rolls Out BMW Hydrogen 7 At Ocean's 13 Premiere
 BMW released a report that they will be making a
real time fuel efficient car. Well, they were talking about a hydrogen car. It
is a car that is run by hydrogen fuel and electricity so there will be real
time fuel efficiency.
It was impressive that
even European cars nowadays are hooked in making eco-friendly cars. Months ago,
the net were circulated by a survey that tells European cars are the ones which
are hazardous to the environment. But maybe because of that really bad
publication, some European car makers are doing all their best to make good and
quality cars that has fewer emission rates.
Almost all car markets of
the world are doing hybrid cars these days. Name China,
India
and some other countries are doing it as well. Governments, especially that of
the US,
are strictly manipulating car makers to manufacture vehicles with fewer
emission rates. This prompted most of the car makers to do hybrid cars as well.
As of BMW, they have
revealed a plan to make the Hydrogen 7 - a car that uses both electricity and
hydrogen to propel. The company said that they will only make a few units of
the car and will have it tested first before they reproduce it and make it a
production car. Only a few chosen individuals will have a chance to drive the
first few hydrogen cars made by BMW.
Well, let's say
celebrities can be chosen to drive up the hydrogen cars. Politicians can also
be great candidates. Maybe you should have a million dollar account in the bank
to drive those hydrogen cars. It's possible, right?
The latest film of Brad
Pitt, Ocean's 13, premiered last week, and he was with his fellow stars on the
film when he attended the movie premiere. But people did not become curious
about what the movie has to offer but because of the much awaited arrival of
Mr. Pitt. Hmmm, it was actually more interesting than the movie itself as the
actor married to the ever famous Angelina Jolie was spotted driving a Hydrogen
7 on his way to the movie premiere. It was spotted at the Grauman's Chinese
Theatre were the Ocean's 13 premiere was held.
Angelina did not
accompany his super gorgeous husband to the premiere. But the actor was with
this very controversial car. It is really brad Pitt who is driving that car.
If it was true, then I
guess BMW made a great decision. A good publicity on before the release of the
production vehicle of its hybrid unit. Imagine a car driven by a world famous
actor. They don't even have to advertise to sell I guess.
Posted at 01:44 am by PattiKnight
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Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Paris Hilton: Living a Jail Life
 What happened to the glam diva Paris Hilton? We
all know about the 45-day sentence the court has given to the high school drop
out celebrity. And her jail life starts today. What do you think? Does Paris deserve it? Well,
in my opinion, yes. She violated the traffic laws and to have fair justice, she
should also suffer from the misdemeanor she made just like any citizen who violated
the same law. She’d been acting so bad over the screen but she should have
taken the law seriously.
Now, she is living a jail
life and to be fair, Sheriff Lee Baca said that she will not accept any
television interviews starting from the day she will serve on her jail
sentence. With this, video cameras and digital cameras are not allowed to enter
the facility. She will stay in the county jail in Lynwood, which is about 5 miles away from
L.A. Lee Baca also added that the 26 year old celebrity convicted should be
treated like any other inmate.
"Paying a debt to
society should not be an element of her celebrity. Her occupation is publicity,
but no one should profit in jail,” Baca said. The Hilton heiress was sentenced
45 days in prison for violating the probation given to her by the court with
connection to her Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and reckless driving case.
Her license was repeatedly suspended but she continuously used her car. She
said she needed to drive because of some employment reasons and she failed to
read what’s inside the probation letter the court handed over to her last
January.
Because she was seen in a
good behavior these past few days, the court reduced her 45 day sentence to
only 23 to abide by the law that allows shorter sentences for the convicted who
are found to be in good behavior.
There are almost 2,200
women on the jail but Paris
will not join the entire population. Baca did not mention whether the world’s
famous scandal princess will share a cell with anybody or not.
What is happening to some
of the young celebrities today? Say, Lindsay Lohan is on rehab while Paris is now behind bars.
While Paris is
busy showing off herself on television and feeding all the tabloids and blogs
with write ups about her, Lohan is also busy trying all the alcohol available
on bars.
But anyway, these girls
are all expected to have a new life after these trials. I hope they learn
something from these humiliating punishments.
Posted at 02:25 am by PattiKnight
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Friday, June 01, 2007
The Flying Spur: The Fastest Bentley
 The brand Bentley has been known as the car of
choice for the wealthy and the privileged.
Looking at a Bentley is enough to understand why the brand is held at
the highest regards of car enthusiasts.
The British car manufacturer has been coming up with great looking cars
that few of us would have a chance to drive.
One of the most notable models from the car manufacturer is the Bentley
Continental Flying Spur. The four-door
sedan is dubbed by its maker as the fastest four-door model that they have
produced ever. The exterior styling of
the Flying Spur though has its critics saying that it is bland and
unadventurous. But for those who own a
Flying Spur, the performance may outweigh the apparent lack of sleek styling.
For the 2007 model year, the Flying Spur is
offered with more standard equipments as well as optional features. In terms of
performance, the engineering capabilities of its manufacturer ensure that it
provides both luxury and performance at a high level. Here are the specs for this years Flying
Spur:
- Two turbo
compressor
- 5,998 cc 6 liters W 12
front engine with 84 mm bore, 90.2 mm stroke, 9 compression ratio, double
overhead cam, variable valve timing/camshaft and four valves per cylinder
- Premium unleaded fuel
91
- Fuel economy EPA
highway (mpg): 22 and EPA city (mpg): 10
- Multi-point injection
fuel system
- 23.8 gallon main
premium unleaded fuel tank
- Power: 411 kW , 552 HP
SAE @ 6,100 rpm; 479 ft lb , 650 Nm @ 1,600 rpm
- Four-wheel ABS
- Brake assist system
- Four disc brakes
including four ventilated discs
- Electronic brake
distribution
- Electronic hand brake
- Electronic traction
control via ABS & engine management
- Immobilizer
- Center limited slip
differential
- Driver selectable
responsive suspension
- Spacesaver steel rim
internal spare wheel
- Stability control
- Wishbone front
suspension independent with stabilizer bar and air springs , multi-link rear suspension
independent with stabilizer bar and air springs
- Interactive front and
rear suspension leveling
Aside from those features, the prestige that comes
with owning a Bentley makes the Flying Spur a strong marketing plus for the car
and the whole brand.
Posted at 02:39 am by PattiKnight
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Monday, May 28, 2007
2007 Audi S3 Transformation
 In the news: the Swiss tuner Sportec has taken the compact Audi S3 already an agile machine in its standard version and tweaked its engine, exhaust and chassis components to make the Audi a bit faster (165 mph top speed) and definitely meaner.
The 2.0 L TFSI engine - in its standard version, produces 265 bhp and a torque of 256 lb-ft. Thanks to its turbo technology, the powertrain offers the ideal possibilities to elicit a steady performance peak from the S3 by means of software modifications. After Sportec made the modifications the Audi S3 comes up with such remarkable values as 300 bhp and 303 lb-ft, catapulting the S3 to 165 mph. The Sportec-modified S3 needs only 4.9 seconds about a second faster than its series brother to go from 0-60 mph.
At a price of 1400 Euros, assembly included, this performance boost is still affordable while the optional all-inclusive warranty guarantees the necessary security for everyday use.
Concerned about the environment? No worries, as the Sportec Audi S3 consumes about the same amount of fuel as the standard version. The marvelous sound is provided by the Sportec stainless steel exhaust system extending from the catalyst. In order to assure that such powers find their way safely to the tarmac, Sportec offers the exclusive 8.5 x 18 and 8.5 x 19 inch aluminum wheels Mono 10 with 225/40 ZR18 or 235/35 ZR19 Pneus. Pay an extra 4900 Euros and you get Sportec's sport brake system's luxuriant discs that will rotate beneath.
The finishing touch is added by the aluminum pedals and footrest and the optional Alcantara interior equipment.
Posted at 10:51 pm by PattiKnight
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Saturday, May 26, 2007
 You sure want to own an exotic hot car - the most
unique and rarest of its kind. You are not alone… I also am dying to own one…
I am after comfort, performance, safety and
luxury. But I am obviously after a bit more. One of my fave exotic cars for
this year is the Jaguar XKR. Proving to be more than just a gorgeous, premium
performance car, Jaguar included a bunch of sophisticated amenities like the
Adaptive Cruise Control radar, Smart Key System, Reverse Park Control, and
those Rain-Sensing Wipers to offer you one helluva ride. Gear up and brace
yourself for a Jaguar
clutch could give you to blissful drive. As I see it, the
XKR will make the big cat roar.
The Audi cold air intake
could have puffed more power to its new supercar to create a wonderful fusion
of luxury motoring and cutting-edge technology. In less than 5 seconds, the
company has proved their worth in the manufacture of jaw-dropping supercars.
Can’t help but think of driving fast - pretty fast.
Another hotta supercar is the world-class
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, which boasts of its benchmark for extremes. The
ever-reliable Mercedes
radiator could’ve contributed to its magnetic appeal but
most of the credits should go to out-of-the-box features of the supercar.
Italian expertise is interesting. And my interest
to delve deeper made me adore the Maserati Quattroporte. The car combines
Maserati’s traditional luxury into the 21st century. Nice to look
at. Much better to experience it.
Ferrari will never fall out of my list. It
continues to satisfy the greatest performance desires of the elite. The Ferrari
612 Scaglietti is a near-perfect merger of sports car and luxury car. With a
finely tuned V12 engine inspired by the Formula One program and the ‘poshest’ performance
auto parts, you sure wouldn’t think of other cars.
Posted at 03:25 am by PattiKnight
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Patti Knight....A member of the product development team of an automotive company, Patti Knight shares her insights on the automotive issue.
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