Archive for March, 2010

2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Teaser Image

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Hyundai is keen to extend its green bandwagon and it will be at the New York Auto Show revealing its 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. A teaser image of the Hybrid automobile has been revealed by Hyundai and it gives us a glimpse of the distinctive looking front fascia.

2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

The 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid will be a far cry from its non-hybrid version in terms of design. The front will feature a new-large mouthed grille, new headlamps and a sporty looking bumper with bigger air-intakes.

The Sonata Hybrid is supposed to feature the Blue Drive hybrid system and in its case, the combination will involve a 2.4 liter, 4-cylinder petrol engine, and a 30 kW electric motor with 205 Nm (151 lb-ft) of torque. The combo will be mated to a six-speed automatic transmission while the motor alone will be powered by lithium-polymer batteries.

Look for the 2011 Sonata Hybrid unveiling at New York on March 31.

Source: Alex Ion

Ford Focus RS500 Revealed Surprisingly Early

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

The Ford Focus RS500 limited edition which is being sold to wind up the production of the current generation Focus model has been detailed earlier than expected. Ford has stated ‘overwhelming interest’ in the hatchback as the reason for the early revelation of this commuter. The RS500 will be limited to 500 units and it will be sold in 20 European markets beginning in May.

2011 Ford Focus RS500 1

The exclusive model comes with a 2.5-liter five-cylinder motor that produces 345hp with 460Nm of torque. Compared to the basic current generation Ford Focus model, this edition dashes 0.3 seconds quicker to the 100km/h mark , clocking a hasty 5.6 seconds. The top speed is also an appreciable 265km/h thanks to an updated ECU, a bigger air filter, a larger air intercooler and a widened downpipe. Custom RS500 limited edition signs include a console-mounted metal plate engraved with the car ID number, Recaro seats, a six-disc Sony Audio System and dual-zone climate control.






Source: Alex Ion

Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon Detailed

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

2011 Cadillac CTS-V wagon 1

The Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon which is slated for a release at the upcoming New York Auto Show has been detailed prior to its debut. Scheduled for sales in late 2010 the Sport wagon offers a pleasing combination of performance and practicality. Where Volvo and BMW are dropping wagons in the US, Cadillac is ready to arrive with a variant that can please the best of speed freaks and the larger families. The wagon offers 720L of space behind the rear seats and this space more than doubles when the seats are folded. The engine choice includes a top bracket supercharged 6.2L V8 beast that renders 556hp with 551lb-ft of torque. This engine is mated to a 6-speed manual/automatic transmission and together the combination helps the car to dash from 0 to 60mph in 4.5 seconds.



Source: Alex Ion

How to Change Your Own Car Oil [Video Tutorial]

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

For those of you who’d like to save some money and change your car’s oil yourself, we have a video tutorial that explains what you should do. What do you guys think? Can you change your own oil (and filters) on your driveway?

Source: Alex Ion

Dark side of Japan’s pet boom

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Approximately one and a half million unwanted dogs have been put to death in public animal management centers across Japan in the last ten years.

It was a very surprising figure for me as I had only been covering Japan’s colorful and luxurious pet boom, so I decided to shed some light on the dark side of the industry.

(View the full text story here)

After more than a year of seeking permission, I was finally given the go-ahead to shoot an animal management center in Tokushima and I went on a 745 mile (1,200 km) long journey from Tokyo with my DSRL camera for shooting still and video.

After 8 hours of traveling by car and train, I arrived at the town where I would have two opportunities to witness the euthanasia treatment for unwanted dogs. It became one of the saddest assignments of my life.

There are seven cells in the center, one for each day of the week. When a dog enters the center, it is placed in the cell of the corresponding day, meaning that each dog has only seven days left to survive if it cannot find a new home.

The cells were clean and spacious although the dogs in the cells seemed very nervous. Some dogs kept barking and others were lying or sitting in a lethargic silence.

JAPAN-DOGS

But most of them didn’t forget to wag their tails at me even though they had already been betrayed by humans.

You might think only mixed dogs and stray dogs could have such a destiny but I saw several pedigreed dogs at the center. I was told by animal activists there has been an increase in the number of abandoned pedigreed dogs in urban areas.

During the recent pet boom, some people casually buy dogs which are displayed at a pet shop with little concern for their welfare and then, when they become troublesome, some owners discard them like unwanted fashion goods.

JAPAN-DOGS

According to activists in the area, a hunting dog might be abandoned after a hunting season because it is cheaper to get a new one each season than keep the dog until the following season.

Every morning at 8:30, the button is pressed at the center and the death process is underway.

The dogs marked to die are herded into a so-called dream box and suffocated to death in the box by carbon dioxide. What I saw through the small window on the box right before the death treatment was a pitiful creature, his body trembling with fear. The image still haunts my mind.

JAPAN-DOGS

The center’s workers suffer with the images.

Most of them chose this field because they like animals, but one of them has to press the button to inject the gas that suffocates the dogs which they have cared for up until that point.

They said they felt powerless, a mixture of regret and anger whenever they press the button.

What makes them sad and angry is that about one third of the dogs were brought to the center by their owners, who don’t change their minds even when they are told of the fate of their dogs in seven days.
A lot of people might blame the workers for killing the animals but they are not bad people.

They want to reduce the numbers of dogs that are destroyed. That’s why they made the decision to show their facility to my camera. While covering this story, I got a lot of help from animal activists and staff of the center. They agreed to help me because they wanted people to know the reality facing these abandoned dogs.

JAPAN-DOGS

In fiscal year 2008, 84,264 dogs were put to death in Japan. That translates to 230 dogs killed each day, or more than one dog killed every 6 minutes of the day, every day of the year.

Source: Kim Kyung-Hoon