Google tests cars that drive themselves

News

Boy, this will really help with laziness.

Bentley Mulsanne

Pictures are courtesy of my good friend, Manuel.

Fazioli piano owners were invited to join Bentley Vancouver to enjoy a preview of the new Bentley Mulsanne on Thursday the 11th of March.

It looked..... fairly similar to older recent models, which is somewhat disappointing. The interior is almost a straight copy. But, customers will have a choice of 114 paint colours, 21 carpet colours, nine wood veneers and 24 interior leather hides, and be able to specify a custom colour scheme. Additionally, the car will have far more advanced technology compared to the Arnage, and can be specified to feature a NAIM premium audio system complete with iPod/MP3 compatibility, with Bluetooth and an advanced MMI capability. Overall, it is quite a view, giving a grandeur feeling that is unique to Bentley. Price? Somewhere over the $500,000 rainbow.

I didn't make it to the Jaguar's reception the day before for its 2010 XF but I heard it is the bomb(good food kept coming) and there is a huge factory discount (Imagine $50/mth, zero down).

Anyways, as long as they are free, its always fun to go.

Toyota Customer Confidence Crisis

Any crisis starts with containment, and that is what Toyota is working on now with its crisis in customer trust. After death and injuries spurred three global recalls that covered over 8 million vehicles, what was once a exemplary engineering and manufacturing mega-corporation has its integrity being questioned.

The problems as follows: an aftermarket floor mat that, if not clipped down properly, can interfere with the gas pedal; a pedal from one supplier that can get "sticky " because a composite material interacts with moisture over time as it wears; and a software glitch on the 2010 Prius that can cause less-than-a-second's hesitation in braking when the antilock braking system is applied.

For each of these problems a specific cause has to be determined—when it occurred, where, and how. There is no evidence that floor mats were assembled incorrectly because they are put on by dealers. There is no evidence that the sticky pedals were assembled wrongly; that issue rather concerns the specific composite material selected for one part. And in the Prius case, the issue lies in the software code, not in how the module was assembled at the plant. So revamping production does not appear to be in order. It seems remarkable that all the recalls occurred within a six-month period. But in fact the cause was at least six months old in each case—five or more years in the case of the pedal design.

Thus, the real principle violated here is that the quality control process did not uncover the problems before distribution, and resolve them completely before launching upon the public. And from here forth, merely repairing the defected units upon recall and issuing new warranties will not help repair its damaged public image. To do so, you would need to show a renewed commitment to quality, safety and customers.

Bugatti Veyron Sport 16.4 Launching in Canada

Honestly, Buggati should always come in 2 color tone for contrast. They should have shown the hard top first before the soft top as it looks better and those who left early would have missed out. The interior design and material are very much like Bentley, but that should come as no surprise as Volkswagen owns both of them (and Lambourghini, Posche, Audi etc.).

Tonight's launching at Round House was elegantly presented and easily a success. The distinguished crowd gathered to witness the awesomeness of the fastest and most expensive car in the world. Then my good friend, Manuel, also provided the musical company of the most expensive piano Fazioli M. Liminal played by Lester Soo (who graciously lent me his treasured music folder after his performance).

Well, I will reserve the rest of my excitement for when I get to test drive it tomorrow.

Buggati Galibier Concept

What's with all the Supercars being turned into 4 door coupes? First Lambour now Buggati? This world makes less sense by the second.

News Link

Pasche Panamera Vancouver Launch

There we were at Brock House yesterday (all 600-700 of us) to celebrate MCL's lauching of Posche's Panamera (All 3 models).

I am not really a fan but heck, I was there for the free food (which weren't a lot).

Luxury SuperCar Show

The 2-day Luxury Super-Car Show at Plaza of Nations featured easily 70+ cars. More importantly, it featured for the first time in Canada the world’s fastest car with two v8 engines, four turbos and over 1,000 horsepower, the Buggatti Veryon.

Next in line were the makes of Lambourghinis, Mercedes and Ferraris. The McClaren clearly seems overpriced at over $600,000 with its open winged doors (not up but out). There were the discontinued Enzo, with its eye-catching bright yellow. Lambourghinis, probably about 15, had too many on display easily looking better than most of the other cars but seemingly more common. Some models that I were happy to see were the Saleen (Nice body kit), Super 7 (small and classic) and Dutch’s Spyker (old-school interior and gearshift).

On one side of the show, you have the likes of Vipers, Corvettes and other collectables that were restored with new engines or modified. There was also a little demonstration of the cellular anti-theft tracker system. And who can forget the beautiful car models which I was lucky enough to take photos with. It is hard to miss the VIP stage, which I honestly question why anyone would pay $55 more for the lounge-like setting for some refreshments and some comfortable seats.

It was a beautiful day, the sun spoiled some of the photos but overall, I was pretty satisfied and impressed with this luxury car show. One final note, the Buggatti will be available for test drive to a few privileged in a week or two. The only question is where do you find a long enough runway.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Throw in big explosions, cool cars transforming and combining into bigger and meaner villains and super hot Megan Fox in action, who cares if the story line and character development continue to be weak and disappointing? There were moments when you could almost feel moved and touched. There were moments when you break a laugh even when things are getting rough.

Was it worth spending the money CAD $17 to watch it in IMAX? I don’t know, but if I am going to catch it in the theatre anyways, I might as well spend a couple more bucks for a fuller experience.

Overall, nothing was over-the-top, just plain old action while lame and cheesy lines spoil the movie somewhat, plus a horrid ending. You wanted robots, they gave you robots. If I can’t tell who is who, how do the robots know who is friend or foe? Weird. Anyways, for me, it was about a 6.8 out of 10. Stupid excuse for a sequel and I suspect they left room for another one.

Lambourghini Vancouver

Lambourghini Vancouver group drive for 2009!! You can tell it was going to be a beautiful day. I was quite refreshed in anticipation and they did not disappoint.

I counted as many as 15 Lambourghinis, 1 control and 2 guest cars when we first dispatched. As expected for such an event, there was a delay from the get-go and immediately there were some Lambourghinis that got lost from the group.

However, things started picking up and we got on our way to Cypress. I never really quite knew where were the best places to run while with these babies but Exit 8 up towards Cypress Mountain has to be among the list. The road was fairly long and straight thus allowing the power race-cars to do their magic. It is really quite the scene to hear the engines roar and the cars zipping by. First stop. There we had our first group photos.

About 20 minutes later, we were off to Squamish. It seemed like there were 3 cars that did not continue the drive. No matter, this group was enough to make some noise and grab attention. In fact, at one point, 2 of the guys were racing so fast (has to be faster than 160km/h) that the police got on our tails. They got away even though the rest of us were stopped for questioning. At first, I really thought we were stopped for group racing but I was well within the speed limit. Nothing will dampen our day, we got away with a little license check and some lost time.

So an hour or so behind schedule, we made it to the Squamish Starbucks. It is almost 1 in the afternoon and everyone was tired, thirsty and famished. We quickly grabbed A&W for some replenishments and continued to Nicklaus North.

After lunch, it was free for all and we were ready to depart sometime around 4. Anyways, we finally made it home at a quarter to 7 and a little less than a quarter tank of gas left in the Lambourghini. (Below: My parents, me and my GF, Sharon.)

And how was my first real driving experience of the Lambourghini LP 640? Well, let's just say I can get used to the driving but it will take a lot more for me to get used to the attention it brings. Oh, and during traffic jams, it is really quite irritating to rev up every few seconds, not to mention how much gas it eats up.

Man, it has been fun. What a day!!