Two of the Top Gear favorites are thrashing the Nurburgring...

Ariel Atom V8

Noble M600

Let's admit it that both the Ariel Atom V8 and the Noble M600 are two of our favorite cars as seen on Top Gear. We seen the Ariel Atom V8 hailed as the fastest car to get round at the Top Gear Test Track. 

The Noble M600? Some say that on its maximum power mode, the power to weight ratio is stronger than the Bugatti Veyron. Question, is it better than the Lamborghini Aventador or the McLaren MP4-12C? Let's see, the MP4-12C has a top speed of 205mph while the Lamborghini Aventador beats that with 217mph of top speed. This Noble M600 can do 225mph, so on paper, this is the fastest of the three or is it?! Remember, the MP4-12C is the 2nd fastest on the Top Gear Test Track while the Aventador is the 3rd fastest. The Noble M600 is the 8th fastest on cold condition so, who cares?!

On the Season 18 opener of Top Gear, this was Richard Hammond's until he broke the gearbox and Noble sent him a replacement.

Anyway, forget chitter chatter because I watched a clip on Youtube that both the Ariel Atom V8 and the Noble M600 are trashing around the Nurburgring 24HR course. I said Nurburgring 24HR because it used both the Nordschleife and the GP Circuit as the basis. Both are driven by Chris Harris so here's the clip...

Doctor Who's Sonic Screwdriver gets real...kind of...

The Eleventh Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver

Every Doctor Who fan has a dream of having a "sonic screwdriver" because this device does almost everything such as opening locked doors or defend themselves from intergalactic enemies. Guess what? The boffins from University of Dundee created their own "sonic screwdriver" but it remains as a prototype and it hasn't been tested against incoming Dalek threats.

Cool, isn't it? But no, it takes time to create a real-life Sonic Screwdriver for those who want to save the galaxy. What's next? TARDIS?

Scoop: http://io9.com/5903513/the-doctors-sonic-screwdriver-is-now-a-real-thing

Let's Do The News (April 20, 2012)

So, does the new Porsche Boxster really be an alternative to the new 911 Carrera Cabriolet? I don't think so and now the news but before that, we were really quite bugged about the whole "Cinderella Girls" stuff ever since THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER series came out in the music stores. Seriously, what's CINDERELLA GIRLS?

Richard, like I told before that THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS is a social game that pits the players as the producer and he/she has over 100 idols to produce. The idea for this social mobile game is to make it to eventually produce a “top idol unit”. As of now, over one million users on Mobage has reached, making it a milestone for the first social game from the mega popular iM@S franchise.

Really, James? 

Exactly.

You know, when I was visiting to a CD store finding the whole CINDERELLA MASTER range, someone told me earlier that "Hey, are those girls haven't featured on the game or the anime?" He's right, those aren't came from both the iM@S game or the anime because they're originals made for this social mobile game made for Mobage.

Seriously, Hammond, what's Mobage?

If you never heard of Mobage, you're not alone. It's a social gaming platform that links up to over 25 million users worldwide. This is somewhat known as Android's biggest social gaming service.

That mobile game didn't go well as I expected Hammond!

Clarkson, what is it?

James, Richard, there was some explanation about this whole CINDERELLA GIRLS stuff, something that drove me up the wall here on this social game. To them, this is more addicting than...well, you know. Some say, it's more like a collectible card game. A player can pay 300 "Mobacoins" (At ¥1 (US$0.012) per Mobacoin) to draw a random idol that they train and compete with. This is the kind of game you would "cock about". I once saw a clip of someone playing CINDERELLA GIRLS and he told me that he's trying to get some super rare idols. Guess how much did he spent? ¥78,000 (US$949)! And did he get any? None!

(laughing)

Wait, 78,000 yen? That's the pricing of um...

James May, there's even more. Some players spent a massive ¥100,000 (US$1,217) for something else, proving that this whole CINDERELLA GIRLS game to be highly addictive.

Hang on a second, Clarkson. HIGHLY ADDICTIVE? How addictive could that be? Spending massive money for "imaginary idols?" You got to be kidding me...

Scoop: http://kotaku.com/5899328/heroines-are-a-dangerous-drug-japanese-users-spend-massive-money-on-imaginary-idols

Oh, someone told me a couple of weeks ago that a something something occurred right in the middle of THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS social game. It was something about the "rare" idol has the posing that looked exactly the same as the one from a Japanese retail site. Here's how it look like...

(audience laughing)

Scoop: http://kotaku.com/5897713/namco-bandai-is-ripping-off-a-japanese-clothing-store

You have got to be kidding me Jeremy...

No I'm not! Look look! It does look exactly the same! Remember the once defunct GREE mobile game called Hime Koi? Those girls look more like the exact ripoff of Loveplus! I'm not kidding. They did look more like Manaka, Rinko, and Nene!

Anyway, let's forget about that whole CINDERELLA GIRLS stuff. Wanna eat some fish custard?

Fish custard?

Fish custard! It's from DOCTOR WHO, ever since Matt Smith's maiden voyage as the 11th Doctor. I kinda love that whole Fish Custard stuff since the beginning of Season 5. Question is, which custard do you like most? The Tubby Custard from the Teletubbies or the Fish Custard from Doctor Who? We have to balance it because this is the BBC but anyway, we're grown men. Let's prefer the Fish Custard. I haven't tasted a Tubby Custard but how does it taste? It's pink! How can you eat a tubby custard? It's too complicated!

(laughing)

Clearly, more work for the upcoming Season 7 is underway, and currently, the cast and crew of Doctor Who are in New York for some more filming. More info at http://doctorwho.tumblr.com/tagged/new-york-city-2012

Oh, and about Karen Gillan, the woman who played as Amy Pond on the series, told fans that she has a twitter account to follow. Feel free to follow Karen Gillan at https://twitter.com/#!/KarenGillan2

Anyway, since when did you got addicted to this whole Doctor Who stuff?

Clearly, my addiction of Top Gear led me to this. Oh, and remember one episode of Top Gear Season 18 where Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor Who, stepped out from the TARDIS and into the Kia Cee'd and set a lap time of 1:43.7, making him the fastest Doctor Who round the Top Gear Test Track? You can't deny that HE IS THE FASTEST DOCTOR WHO IN THE TOP GEAR TEST TRACK.

Uh, Clarkson...Please, enough with the whole DOCTOR WHO stuff and let's move on...

I saw someone at AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT and this guy sure knows how to pull proper race car sounds all by himself! Here's the clip and judge...

Scoop: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/19/australias-got-talent-contestant-wows-judges-with-car/

That's unbelievable! That guy can do proper car sounds from his mouth! I mean...OH COME ON! WE ARE A BIT BETTER THAN THAT AUSSIE WHO CAN MAKE RACECAR SOUNDS FROM HIS MOUTH!

Really?

Nope, I'm moderate at this...Moving on...

About the Lada Riva, as seen on Top Gear's Communist Cars episode. Guess what? It's officially dead!

Scoop: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/19/lada-2107-reaches-the-end-of-its-road/

Yep, the Lada Riva is dead. No doubt. Communist cars are rubbish!

(laughing)

NEXT!

Remember the time that Audi finally acquired Ducati?

Scoop: http://www.topgear.com.ph/news/german-carmaker-audi-acquires-italian-motorcycle-brand-ducati

Guess what? Here's an unexpected twist. Mercedes-Benz's AMG division officially disavows partnership with Ducati.

Scoop: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/19/amg-officially-disavows-partnership-with-ducati/

(AWWWW)

Sorry, it's the rules! Audi's got Ducati and there's no turning back.

That's the news!

Porsche Boxster 981

If the new Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet (991) wasn't your type of Porsche, there is an alternative for you. Welcome everyone to all new Porsche Boxster 981, the 3rd incarnation of Porsche's mid-engined roadster that lives it up to its name because the naming is a portmanteau of the word "boxer", referring to the vehicle's horizontally opposed or "boxer" engine, and the word "roadster", referring to the vehicle's two-seat capacity and convertible top. For the pricing, that's a lot if you're on benefits but that's not a lot if you're a premiership footballer.

2013 Porsche Boxster

At first glance, the exterior of the new Boxster looks similar from the previous model but on the back, this isn't what you've expected, even when there is PORSCHE spelled it out. If you parked the new Boxster among the old 987 Boxster outside Monte Carlo's casino square and if someone is hideously drunk, you wouldn't guess that there's a lot of explanation to do. Clearly, there's more work to be done with the new Boxster.

2013 Porsche Boxster interior

The interior of the new 981 Boxster seems to be fine but it's almost the same as the old 987 Boxster. Think of it as an updated version but it was heavily influenced by the defunct supercar known as the Porsche Carrera GT. The new Boxster do come with a choice of two further sound systems as an alternative to the CDR audio system, featured as standard. First was the Sound Package Plus with seven speakers and the last was the one I'd quite like; BOSE® Surround Sound with 10 speakers. I would prefer the BOSE option because the sound quality is just astonishingly the best! Most cars like the Renault Scenic, Nissan Elgrand, Samsung SM7, or others do come with BOSE Sound System because it offers the best sound experience than any other but with the Boxster, this is much like the other BOSE-equipped cars.

2013 Porsche Boxster

In terms of performance, the new Boxster is like something else but unfortunately, no 7-speed MT found on the new 911. What you do get was either a 7-speed Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe or a 6-speed manual transmission. The base model comes with a 2.7-litre boxer engine with 265 hp of power and top speed of 262 km/h (PDK) to 264 km/h (6MT). The Boxster S comes equipped with the 3.4-litre boxer engine with 315 hp of power and top speed of 277 km/h (PDK) to 279 km/h (6MT). What's new is the Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) with mechanical rear axle differential lock. The new Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV), available in conjunction with PASM, goes one better: it improves cornering dynamics from the moment the vehicle enters the curve. It improves the steering behaviour and steering precision of the vehicle by selectively braking the inside rear wheel.

Available colors are schwarz, indischrot, carraraweiss, weiß, racinggelb, basaltschwarzmetallic, platinsilbermetallic, dunkelblaumetallic, aquablaumetallic, anthrazitbraunmetallic, mahagonimetallic, achatgraumetallic, GT-silbermetallic, cognacmetallic, limegoldmetallic, Verdeck schwarz, Verdeck blau, Verdeck rot, and Verdeck braun.

My Comment:

So, the new Boxster didn't come with the 7-speed manual from the new Porsche 911 but we did appreciate by the way it looks, it performs, and how comfortable it is but some sports settings will render the Boxster to be more uncomfortable. With the roof on, it doesn't look good and it will render the top speed lowered but with no roof, this is when it all starts to come good. The new Boxster is now evolved into something special not as a roadster but as an epic grand tourer for long distance cruising. I'd recommend you'll drive this to Transfăgărășan in Romania to see the Boxster's true self.

Photo: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG

Official: Audi's got Ducati

So, it's officially official! Audi AG confirmed that they finally got their hands on Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. from its previous owner, the Investindustrial Group. Now that Audi got its hands on some Italian names such as Lamborghini and Italdesign Giugiaro, the acquisition of Ducati gave Audi unfettered access to Ducati's expertise in lightweight construction, progressive control systems and combustion chamber process--assets that "offer great potential for Audi AG and the Volkswagen Group."

Scoop: http://www.topgear.com.ph/news/german-carmaker-audi-acquires-italian-motorcycle-brand-ducati

THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER 001-005

I doubt I'd asked you to move one of these though. If you never heard of THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS, you're not alone. It's a social idol-raising game that pits the players as the producer and he/she has over 100 idols to produce. The idea for this social mobile game is to make it to eventually produce a “top idol unit”. As of now, over one million users on Mobage has reached, making it a milestone for the first social game from the mega popular iM@S franchise.

For the first time ever, the best five out of the 100 girls to choose from the hit social game are chosen to sing for the new CINDERELLA MASTER series. Starting from...

001 Rin Shibuya (CV: Ayaka Fukuhara)

THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER 001 Rin Shibuya

002 Anzu Futaba (CV: Hiromi Igarashi)

THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER 002 Anzu Futaba

003 Kanako Mimura (CV: Yuka Ootsubo)

THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER 003 Kanako Mimura

004 Kaede Takagaki (CV: Saori Hayami)

THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER 004 Kaede Takagaki

005 Rika Jougasaki (CV: Nozomi Yamamoto)

THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER 005 Rika Jougasaki

Those five CD's would be far enough to enjoy the sensational sounds of the best idols chose from THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS social idol-raising game. Sounds brilliant and it will definitely be some kind of a skull-crushing experience but as a taste sensation, I'm not sure that really works. Those five CINDERELLA MASTER CDs have all the right ingredients but nothing to soften up, not so shocking or dangerous. The thing is though, this is staggeringly good.

Third-generation Hyundai Santa Fe DM

In June 2000, there was the Hyundai Santa Fe and we saw it and we saw it was good. Then on November 2005, the Hyundai Santa Fe reached its second incarnation and this was the first Santa Fe to arrived in the Philippines. And now, in April 2012, the third incarnation of Hyundai's Santa Fe (현대 싼타페) has arrived and some say this is going to be the best of the best...

2013 Hyundai Santa Fe

If you look closely to the exterior details of the new Hyundai Santa Fe, you'll notice that the front view is likely similar to the 4th generation Honda CR-V while the back looks more like the Hyundai Tucson iX. Despite that, the new look of the Santa Fe The Contrast (as the advertisers called it for the 3rd generation model) incorporates the STORM EDGE design concept, a step further to Hyundai's FLUIDIC SCULPTURE design DNA. With such design, that is really meant to be STRONG OUTSIDE.

2013 Hyundai Santa Fe interior

If the new Santa Fe DM is STRONG OUTSIDE, it is SOFT INSIDE because the interior is much more premium than what you might expect to be. The aesthetics can't even be measured because it was well trimmed and much more preferable than its direct rivals such as the Kia Sorento R and the Chevrolet Captiva. This can accommodate up to seven passengers but to have the kids gain access to the third row seats, the 2nd row seats can be adjusted horizontally or folded for access but suddenly, the legroom for the third row seats just wasn't enough. Sorry Hyundai but you have to think better than that....

Other interior features you might find on the new Santa Fe may include 4.2-inch TFT-LCD color Super Vision cluster, Wide Panorama roof, Hi-Pass room mirror if you want to get your Hi-Pass in a hurry when approaching on a toll gate, climate control, and the new ACTUNE Premium Sound for some very moderate sound quality. Depending on the variant you might get an HDD navigation system or an audio system for something something. However, for the first time ever, the new Santa Fe comes with Korea's first BLUELINK telematics system.

What is BlueLink?

With Hyundai's BlueLink telematics system, you can navigate, connect and discover with the push of a button. This innovative feature sends and receives messages to keep you well connected at all times. Access BlueLink through a smartphone to find your points of interests, learn more about mechanical issues on your Santa Fe, call for help, and many others. Visit the BlueLink site at http://bluelink.hyundai.com/

2013 Hyundai Santa Fe

The new 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe offers an all-diesel lineup, which the Philippines will have a hard time getting these because both are Euro V (or soon Euro VI) compliant. Sorry but we can't get those, yet. Anyway, the first was the e-VGT R 2.2 engine that produces 200PS of power and 44.5kg-m of torque. Then, the e-VGT R 2.0 engine produces about 184PS of power and 41kg-m of torque.

For fuel economy, a new Santa Fe equipped with the e-VGT R 2.0 engine will provide 14.4km/L of fuel economy while the 4WD option will provide 13.0km/L. On the one with the e-VGT R 2.2 engine, this looks tricky because this model has a choice of either a 6-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual transmission, whatever floats your boat. A Santa Fe with a e-VGT R 2.2 engine and 6AT will provide about 13.8km/L while the one with the 6AT and 4WD would lead this one with 12.4km/L of fuel economy. Now, for the one with R 2.2 diesel and 6MT, this will get up to 14.8km/L while the 4WD version will get up to 14.0km/L. Should be up to getting one of these...

This is getting interesting because the new Santa Fe has a feature derived from the latest Hyundai i30, which is called Flex Steer system that allows the driver to choose from three driving modes; Comfort, Normal, and Sport. The Comfort mode provides easy driving on normal roads, Normal mode for balance, and Sport mode to provide quicker handling on the corners of the earth. Notable features for the new Santa Fe includes Auto Cruise Control, SPAS (Smart Parking Assist System) that allows the car to park all by itself hands-free, Active ECO assist, Parking Guide System, Electronic Parking Brake, Lane Departure Warning System, Tire Pressure Monitoring System, and 7 airbags.

Available colors are: Creamy White, Sleek Silver, Titanium Silver, Mystic Beige, Beach sand, Arabian Mocha, Ocean View, Phantom Black.

My comment:




The contrast of the new, third-generation Santa Fe says it all; STRONG OUTSIDE, SOFT INSIDE. The STORM EDGE design concept really provides a stronger exterior design that gives the Fluidic design DNA one step ahead of the time while the interior is all about being premium for the average Korean driver. Because the new Santa Fe featured an all-diesel lineup, it's hard to say that the new Santa Fe DOESN'T WORK IN THE PHILIPPINES BECAUSE WE'RE A EURO 2 COMPLIANT COUNTRY. Sorry guys and don't you even think of smuggling this one because if cops caught you driving the 2013 Santa Fe in the Philippines, I;m afraid that they'll gonna ask you to step out and have it confiscated because you smuggled it without permission.

Those idiots...

Photo: Hyundai Motor Company