Saturday, June 29, 2013

Threats from North Korea - A Week in Review (June 29, 2013)


And now, the week in review of what's what at the Korean peninsula...

June 24, 2013

- According to a transcript released today, the late South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun called for changing the disputed Yellow Sea border with North Korea into a "peace-economy zone" during a 2007 summit then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

June 25, 2013

- South Korea's National Intelligence Service released the transcript of the 2007 inter-Korean summit talks, amid controversy over remarks made by the late President Roh Moo-hyun regarding the Northern Limit Line, a disputed maritime boundary in the West Sea.

- President Park Geun-hye has vowed to further strengthen South Korea-China ties during her state visit to Beijing this week.

- Websites of South Korea's presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae and the Office for Government Policy Coordination were hacked and set its cyber crisis alert level to "caution". Some experts believed that North Korea's behind this and they believed that they have launched a cyber attack in response to Anonymous' plans to infiltrate North Korean websites.

- North Korean analysts say that the released transcript might further worsen the inter-Korean relations. Some say, the North Koreans might take actions about the released transcript or for worse, Pyongyang might reject holding future talks with Seoul.

June 26, 2013

- In preparation for her first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, South Korean President Park Geun-hye scheduled no public events for the day.

- On her first trip to China, president Park Geun-hye will meet with China's top three political leaders: President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and Chariman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee Zhang Dejiang.

June 27, 2013

- President Park's first scheduled event upon her arrival in China will be summit talks with her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

June 28, 2013

- U.S. House of Representatives has proposed a bill to extend the South Korea-U.S. Civilian Nuclear Energy Agreement for two more years.

- Presidents Park and Xi spent 7 hours and 30 minutes together over the past two days, giving them ample time to talk about almost all of the pending issues between Seoul and Beijing.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Patrick Garcia, IHAW NA!

Our long-forgotten actor, Patrick Garcia, is the guest of the day on the June 27, 2013's Banana Nite's IHAW NA segment and as the interview progresses, we're dissecting more and more about Patrick's career up to his recent role in Annaliza.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bang became a janitor and while he's cleaning up the mess, the mess keeps on coming back!

Ambitious / The Children

Ambitious

There's still more to come for The Children, a trio of crime-fighting girls as seen on the Zettai Karen Children anime series because they're back with their second mini-album titled Ambitious. The mini-album brings Aya Hirano, Haruka Tomatsu, and Ryoko Shiraishi back together as The Children, performing three new songs, then the character song Triple Message last heard in THE UNLIMITED character CDs, and of course, a brand new version of the song as heard from the Zettai Karen Children OVA titled ☆Seventh★Heaven☆.

Oh yeah, for limited quantities, there's a special DVD which contains the music video of the EDIT version of Triple Message.

TRACK LISTINGS:

1. Triple Message/ザ・チルドレン  
2. CRESCENT MOON/野上葵 starring 白石涼子  
3. 星のPULSE/三宮紫穂 starring 戸松遥  
4. RAY OF THE SUN/明石薫 starring 平野綾  
5. ☆Seventh★Heaven☆ (ver.2)/ザ・チルドレン

Ford Fiesta minor change

Ford's entry level compact car, the Fiesta, has been given a minor change after having this car around since it's American debut in 2010 and it's been three years since the Fiesta is now considered part of the One Ford approach. Not only Americans got the Ford Fiesta but also ASEAN markets as well, including Thailand. So, what's up for this minor change?

2014 Ford Fiesta Sedan

2014 Ford Fiesta

For its minor change, what you'll not going to like about it is the front view because while Ford is super busy stealing the Aston Martin face to plaster it on future models, especially the current-generation Ford Fusion, customers are getting mixed reactions about Ford's move to incorporate the signature look that looks like it came from Aston Martin. Of course, Aston Martin used to be part of the Ford until the British sportscar maker got owned by the Kuwaiti so if designers from Ford said that if they want to steal something, steal from the best and the best that Ford consider was Aston Martin.

I'm not sure about what would they think about the new Fiesta's look but I believe that most people are going to alienate away from its new look and go back to its pre-facelifted look instead or for worse, meet up with its rivals such as the Chevrolet Sonic because well, Sonics are better than Fiestas and I'm sorry, that's not worth it.

2014 Ford Fiesta interior

Okay, if the new exterior's not worth it, how about the interior? You might think it would be more user friendly than the Sonic but...it isn't. It isn't even that close because even though it has a plush interior that feels like you're sipping a warm sherry on a monsoon, there's this utterly complicated SYNC with MyFord Touch which Consumer Reports said it still...wait for it...wait for it...wait for it...STINKS!

Why? Consumer Reports believed that most interiors of Fords of today are in question of a full touch screen system that replaces conventional knobs and buttons. Are touch screens better than those with those conventional knobs and buttons? Well, the jury's still out there and even when the new 2014 Ford Fiesta comes with voice controls, it's still what Consumer Reports said as “maddeningly fussy and can be hard to distinguish.” Oh my glob...

Consumer Reports' frustration with MyFord touch is beginning to worry Ford themselves and pretty soon, they are going to resolve it by replacing touch screens with conventional knobs or buttons in future models. It's for the good but annoyingly, tad old-fashioned.

Anyway, while the MyFord touch fiasco now applies on the Fiesta, how about how it drives? Well, you'll still have the 1.6L Ti-CVT 4-cylinder engine which develops a measly 120HP of power and 112lb-ft of torque and it can be mated with either a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed Powershift. Because the front has some MacPherson struts, it feels a bit more European but it's about more of an...well, macadamia nut that you can't crack it alone. 

But don't be fooled about the cheap ergonomics and the cheap pricing of under 14 grand and the sizing because even though it doesn't look quite as good as the pre-facelift, there's more misadventures waiting for the new Fiesta and since it's summer, consider this car to be on the list. If you had friends, then it's more fun to enjoy your summer days going out to the mall or to the arcade or to the laser tag or anything that's on your list. Well, since there's a whole lot to do because school starts this fall, consider it a must have if you just ignored the pathetic MyFord touch and the pathetic Aston Martin copycat front.

Available Colors: Blue Candy, Tuxedo Black, Race Red, Performance Blue, Green Envy, Ruby Red, Ingot Silver, Oxford White, and Storm Gray.

Photo: Ford Motor Company

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Let's Do The News! (June 27, 2013)

River's Diary

Well, if someone's playing the song "My Nemesis" coming straight from the Phineas and Ferb album, then this is fun because I already now had someone who opposed me a lot and that was the 2014 Corvette Stingray, coming at the end of summer this year, because the fight between man vs machine is on but not quite literally because it's still to far from schedule. Still, I was very saddened from the announcement from NBGi that DLC Catalog 18 for the PS3 version of THE iDOLM@STER 2 will be the last one and sadly, the Punkish Gothic outfit, as seen on the XBOX 360 version, is out of favor, which means, it's not coming...forever. That saddens most PS3 fans and that's how my rage against the C7 Corvette kicks in, yo.

Anyway, what's up now?

- The CBCP or Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines ordered the MTRCB to stop airing "My Husband's Lover" from GMA. Why the sudden cancellation of the show? Well, because My Husband's Lover has a theme of homosexuality, the CBCP isn't very pleased because according to CBCP-ECY executive secretary Fr. Kunegundo Garganta, "TV producers and writers must study themes presented in their shows and make sure they are based on moral standards." So now, because of the order of CBCP, GMA will replace it with "My Father's Lover", which is known to be "the first church-themed series in Philippine television,” said Katherine Galvez, the show’s executive producer, during its announcement.

Of course, you'll still expect Carla Abellana (as Lally), Tom Rodriguez (as Vincent) and Dennis Trillo as the main characters but the biggest change is that Trillo will be playing the role of Father Eric Del Gundo who was Vincent’s first romance when the latter was an altar boy during his elementary years. For this new program, MTRCB gave it rated PG, which stands for “Parochial Guidance”. That sounds new but still worth it than the once-cancelled show for gays that has an SPG rating.

- Mazda Motor Corporation teamed up with XBOX and Metric for a reveal unlike any other and the result, the unveiling of the all new 2014 Mazda Axela or Mazda 3 for the world market.

Now a full-fledged SKYACTIV Mazda complete with the signature Kodo -Soul in Motion- design philosophy, it's now sleeker, sportier, and surprisingly economical because of its host of SKYACTIV-G and SKYACTIV-D engines. For the first time, there's going to be a hybrid model too but we're not going to spill the beans just yet. We'll have to wait until its Japanese on-sale schedule for more...perhaps the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show would tell...

2014 Mazda Axela

- Citroen revealed the 7-seater version of the second-generation Citroen C4 Picasso, called the Grand C4 Picasso, and while it has the same awkward exterior design, premium interior, and the host of technologies, except now it has room for seven people and it's longer than the normal C4 Picasso.

2014 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

- Jenna Coleman (minus the Louise moniker because from now on, she will be credited as Jenna Coleman. Just Jenna Coleman) got even more opportunity for her as a celeb because she will be playing the role of Lydia Wickham in Death Comes To Pemberley, a major new 3x60-minute serial that will be made for BBC One and directed by the BAFTA award-winning Daniel Percival.

- Brian's Evo VII from 2 Fast 2 Furious is up for grabs for $39,995 since it's listed at the ebay site. Now, what's next? Roman's Eclipse? Hmmm....

- Indonesian Otakus, take note! AFA Indonesia is coming this September 6 to 8 at the Jakarta Convention Center (Indonesia Mantap)!

- Sad news to bear that former comedian Sammy Lagmay passed away at the age of 55 on Wednesday after his three year fight against his illness. He died at his home in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan at around 3PM. Sammy Lagmay was well known to be a comedian in sitcoms like "Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata", "Da Pilya En Da Pilot", "Oki Doki Dok", and "Aalog-alog".

You may recalled that he was interviewed on Showbiz Inside Report a year ago that all of his funds were drained by his treatments, prompting him to call for financial aid in July last year through appearances on different forms of media.

Leopaul's Heaven and Hell: WHY I HATE THE 2014 CORVETTE STINGRAY...

This is exactly why I hate the C7 Corvette

Sure, in the world of American sports cars, both the Corvette and the Viper are fierce rivals and the majority of car enthusiasts believed that Corvettes are better than Vipers. Since the Corvette's regeneration into its seventh incarnation, with everything back to basics as well as the newly developed V8 engine and the first ever 7-speed manual gearbox, it attracted a massive attention from the motoring public worldwide and yes, it's a Gran Turismo-exclusive machine since it became a free DLC on Gran Turismo 5 days after its NAIAS reveal and now the C7 Corvette's reprising on the upcoming Gran Turismo 6, coming at the end of the year exclusively on the PS3 console.

Of course, even though this is a Gran Turismo car, there are so many morons out there begging to see the 2014 Corvette Stingray on other games outside Gran Turismo. Well, Forza Motorsport 5 is a common candidate but since it's available exclusive on the all-new XBOX ONE, everyone's going to dislike it probably because of the whole privacy issues despite Microsoft backed down its X1 policies such as playing offline for 24 hours and trade-in games. Oh geez, even with the reversed policy, there has been some mixed reactions, some would really buy it while some disagree and buy a PS4 instead because it's cheaper than the X1 but what do you get? Multiplayer requires a PS Plus subscription which is costly and the upcoming PS4 games can bore you easily, especially DriveClub. Well, with the exception of the upcoming MGSV because I love it and I really going to have one someday.

Anyway, ever since I tried it on Gran Turismo 5, I was going to say yes, I love this car. It may not have more oomph than its rivals from Europe as well as the outgoing Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 but it's more track-focused, more dynamic, more bewildering, and more fun to drive. It sure loves to leave the whole world in a cloud of tire smoke and overall, the best handling Corvette in ages. Yes, it may seem like a love affair but like couples divorcing each other because of their issues, it seems that I'm starting to hate the 2014 Corvette Stingray so much. No no...it's not the rear lamps that breaks away from its tradition but perhaps...it took away my dignity.

Sorry but it seems that THE DOOF IS ON so please bear with me, okay? Ahem...The backstory, every bad guys' move before explaining their evil plot to heroes they've caught. I just once read numerous comments about the upcoming FM5 on the X1 console and what I'm always noticing that most of the car nuts condemn against both the game and the console due to numerous issues. Some say, "I would rather go for GT6 on the PS3 rather than buying X1 and the FM5" and that's just...too much! As I know, Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond will be making their in-game narrations on the upcoming Forza Motorsport 5 as well as numerous Top Gear content on this game and because of such Top Gear goodness and since I'm a huge fan of Top Gear, I'd say I'm in but because of the morons condemn and go "meh meh meh meh meh", I'm starting to irritate myself. Why would you go for a game that has a 1200 car lineup of utter nonsense instead of a game that has everything Top Gear and lots of the hot cars you've ever dream of. I mean imagine what would the Gran Turismo 6 lineup will be...you won't be expecting cool cars that FM5's going to feature such as the Cadillac CTS-V, the latest SRT models, the Vanquish (the one James May drove in America since Series 19), the F12berlinetta (Clarkson's going to drive it on Series 20), the Range Rover, the Koenigsegg, GENESIS COUPE, Forte Koup, the reasonably priced cars from Top Gear, the Supersport Veyron, Continental GT, anything. That's right. The whole GT6 1200-car-lineup will be a total boredom and ahem...no feature to upload replays, no livery creating, no engine swapping, just plain boredom and oh...endurance races can be a total waste of time unless you're on the B-Spec racing with a 1000HP racecar and let it do the rest. He he he...

Well, in the essence of Gran Turismo, there were night racing and change of weather, making it a little more complicated and who would rather want to race in either evenings or in wet laps? Grrr.... It's a good thing Forza Motorsport series don't do that kind of stuff...Well, save the night racing and the offroad stuff from the Horizon spinoff of last year. It was so amazing that no weather change and night racing going to be involved in the upcoming FM5 and that makes me happy. Ahhh.... But wait! What was that? No night racing? No weather change? They're booing? Grrrr....

Why can't Gran Turismo feature the good cars that Forza had? Well, you don't need some reasons but because the lineup's going to be boring as well as the mechanics. No way and no deal. I would reserve the Xbox One and Forza 5 no matter the negative comments are throwing and in a terribly irrelevant way, I don't want any mistakes happened when Bandai Namco refused to put the Punkish Gothic outfit on the PS3 version of THE iDOLM@STER 2.

Wait...what? What did I say? Oh yeah! The part about not putting Punkish Gothic on PS3 iM@S 2 was a big mistake? Oh! That just rings a bell! This whole thing fueled my hatred against the 2014 Corvette Stingray, the same thing I showed my hatred against the MINI Countryman crossover! Oh! So angry, I would rather break Eleventh Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver toy into pieces!!! Seems that I have developed my absolute rage against the new Corvette because what that car took away from me? The hopes and dreams to make the unexpected expected and one day...well, you know the rest. The R-word. Blah blah blah...Meh meh meh meh meh...

Anyway, if I had an encounter against the new Corvette one-on-one, what should I do? Either the Clarkson way or the Brainiac way? No matter which way I'm approaching, my hatred against the new generation keeps on boiling and hey, note to self, don't buy the 2014 Corvette unless it denounces its Gran Turismo exclusivity. That's all...

Top stories from the June 26, 2013's Banana Nite's Kandila!

Top stories from the June 26, 2013's Banana Nite's Kandila!

- One drunk driver was reported to the cops as part of this mewly established law...but we're forgetting the memo about a drunk policeman.

- School bullying is strictly prohibited in all schools and those who didn't follow were suspended...unless when a certain school principal is a bully.

- Aiza Seguerra and Charice join together for a concert...and what just happened to the two of them?

Meanwhile in Laugh Three, here are some three tips on what to do when your boss caught you nappin on the job, as told by Alex Gonzaga...

1) Pretend you're praying!

2) Be alert and prepare to make-up a dream!

3) If you're sleeping, be sure that you have cash on your desk!

What's in our Car Town garage today? (June 27, 2013)

What's in our Car Town garage today?

1936 Alfa Romeo 12C

In the past decade, Alfa Romeo is one of the greatest racing team ever existed. Right before Ferrari was founded, Enzo Ferrari started his racing career back there. Anyway no time for history lesson but moving on to the legendary racecar that scored eight different wins during its tenure. Designed by Vittorio Jano before he left the company because of its flaws, the 12C or Tipo C is a Grand Prix car that uses either a Roots supercharged 4.1L V12 on the 12C-36 or a Roots supercharged 4.5L V12 engine in the updated 12C-37. The 12C-36 version racked eight victories from the 1936 Penya Rhin Grand Prix up to the 1937 Genova Grand Prix.

1936 Alfa Romeo 12C

2013 Navistar Hobbs' MXT

Federal agent Luke Hobbs is always preferring to some tough and rugged offroaders. In Fast Five, he drove a Gurkha while on the pursuit against Brian and Dom in Brazil. Now, in Fast and Furious 6, this agile, rugged, and tough military vehicle based on the MXT truck was Hobb's choice while assisting Brian, Dom, and the crew in pursuing against Shaw. Navistar Defense's MXT was made with a rugged, light frame rail system for off-road capability on rough terrain and its 4WD performance and MRAP-like protection from explosions really give Hobbs a very tough offroader that suits him very well.

2013 Navistar Hobbs' MXT

1990 RWB Pandora One 964

Akira Nakai was heavily involved in the Japanese tuning scene when his wide-body-conversion Porsches were spreading like wildfire and that's how RWB (RAUH-Welt Begriff, which can be translated into "Rough World Perception") was born. RWB is a Japan-based Porsche tuner that provides wicked wide body kits only for classic incarnations of the 911. One of them is the RWB-tuned Porsche 964 and for over 20,000 US Dollars, the wide body kit conversion for the 964 involves on the bumpers, side rockers, wide fenders, GT2 or 3.8-type rear spoiler, and other small parts included. For 5,500 US dollars, customers are offered with RWB Suspension Packages courtesy of Aragosta.

1990 RWB Pandora One 964

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Kris Aquino, IHAW NA!

Kris Aquino returns in a very special IHAW NA segment in the June 25, 2013's Banana Nite! For the second part, we hear about her commercial endorsements, which TV role suits her best, life for Bimby and something else just for her.

Meanwhile, a sketch that goes "if he's still in his pants, he will never ever do any favors". Yeah right. See if she'll take off his pants just so he can do the favors she asked...

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Kris Aquino, IHAW NA!

On the June 24, 2013's Banana Nite's IHAW NA segment, the queen of all media Ms. Kris Aquino was the guest of the day in a totally unexpected kind of way. She's busy talking about her hiatus in her showbiz career so she can focus on her family time with her Bimby... Of course, this was part one, there's more from Kris Aquino on Part Two the next day...

Meanwhile, we examined what would a Sosyal and Di Sosyal do such as buying a cellphone, drinking water, sipping soup, and putting a deodorant.

2014 Nissan Fairlady Z NISMO

Yes, the March NISMO was made to be a beginner's car suitable for track day weekends but for the upperclassmen of the track day scene, there's also another NISMO out there and it seems that the newly reborn NISMO brand is becoming what AMG does to Mercedes-Benz, M Power does to BMW, and SRT does to Chrysler brands.

2014 Nissan Fairlady Z NISMO

Part of the ever-expanding NISMO brand is the 2014 Nissan Fairlady Z NISMO, which is now more of an ultimate version of the speedo boy favorite Nissan FR sportscar with some added genes of Nissan's involvement in the world of motorsports. For the 2014 model, the Z NISMO now sticks with the new Nismo design theme with distinctive new exterior and interior accents which was applied in the Juke and March models.

First of all, it looks like the Version NISMO model that was launched in 2009 and based on the Z34 model but because of the rename from "Version NISMO" to just "NISMO", the main difference for the new Z NISMO is the upgraded aerodynamics, sharper handling, sports tires, rigid body, increased stopping power, and the upgraded version of the VQ37VHR engine.

Wait a minute, the Version NISMO didn't notice it but for the Fairlady Z NISMO (remove the "Version" stuff), NISMO provided a special dual exhaust system with equal-length exhaust manifolds and a new ECM (tuning computer) so the VQ37VHR's power output is now up from 336PS to 355PS of power while being mated with either a 7-speed auto or a 6-speed manual gearbox with SynchroRev match system in which the revs match the gearbox.

2014 Nissan Fairlady Z NISMO interior
There's more to this because while most NISMO models are driver-focused cars complete with driver-focused interiors, the Z NISMO is no exception on the inside, the Z NISMO receives a similar NISMO treatment to make it more driver-focused while keeping it luxurious for the fancy businessmen who wanted to be more flashy. There are the special combinations of seats made with genuine leather and suede-like fabric, the steering wheels wrapped in Alcantara, a special genuine leather shift knob, some red stitching, a special number plate, and a special NISMO instrument cluster in which we can find a speedo that reads up to 280kph! Smart move but this was all in the name of being a high-performance version of a high-performance sports car.

2014 Nissan Fairlady Z NISMO

With all of this special equipment, the pricing is now up to 5,218,500 Japanese Yen, which is kinda expensive for a hot version of the Z but judging from its combat gear that makes it a proper track weapon, it's like munching every menu from the 5-star restaurant while adding the most daring flavoring that no normal person can survive against. It takes a Merc with the Mouth to describe this in an insane kind of way that you'll never ever understand but still it's worth the fun. I know, it's worth the fun during track days but as an everyday car, it's kinda harsh and if you were taking a date with someone to a 5-star restaurant, pretty soon, your date might just steal it. Oh well...

Available colors: Brilliant White Pearl, Brilliant Silver, Diamond Black, and Vibrant Red

Photo: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Nissan March NISMO (K13)

The major problem about having a Nissan March K13 is that it's a bit tad boring, it's too vanilla-ish, and it's only for someone who lives by eating a galunggong. There's also one big problem about the Nissan March K13 and that is...why this car hadn't been featured in the world of Gran Turismo? Sure, ranging from GT4 to GT5, only the K11 March and the K12 March were featured, and sadly, no K13 March on sight. Seems that the Gran Turismo staff kinda forgot the memo that there was a K13 March out there but its too late. The Nissan March K13 showed up in Forza Motorsport 4 as one of the starter cars so what went wrong for a Japanese eco car not featured in the world of Gran Turismo? Now though, there is a hot version that will tempt the Gran Turismo committee to feature it just for you to drive it.

2014 Nissan March NISMO

Yep, it's the Nissan March NISMO and this is just another one of the everyday Nissan cars getting the NISMO treatment since the Juke Nismo a few months ago I had my fingers crossed that this could be the one thing the upcoming Gran Turismo 6 would going to feature it if they had the manpower to feature it. So, what do you think about this potential GT6 candidate?

For starters, it was based on the recently facelifted Nissan March K13 which was built by the Thais but now, it's added some NISMO genes on it, employing every single bit of motorsports DNA in this nippy little car, serving as the target to the Toyota Vitz RS and the Suzuki Swift Sport.

Starting on the outside view, the once bland Nissan March K13 look is starting to look even meaner and sportier thanks to some NISMO-prepped modifications including a special body kit, special front grille, daytime running lamps, and the red side mirrors which seem to be idiotic like a clown at a birthday party, except he was not here to give a birthday boy some laughs but instead traumatizing the birthday boy. Ouch...

2014 Nissan March NISMO interior

Also new for the NISMO-fied version of the Nissan March K13 was the interior and because NISMO has the genes of motorsports, the interior needs to be more of a track day-ish and built for the clubmen who are starting their track days in let's just say Tsukuba, Fuji Speedway, Twin Ring Motegi, or in Suzuka. So, the NISMO March's interior is themed with the name of track days in mind and you can expect some sports seats, a leather/Alcantara wrapped steering wheel that looks like it came from the Juke but with a red center mark on it, and joy of joys...the speedo now reads up to 220kph, although it is not necessary to take a video of your speedo while driving the Nismo March because five seconds later, you'll end up crashing and when cops trying to find the source of the crash, the main evidence is your smartphone set in Camera mode, serving this a lesson.

For the first time, there are two kinds of NISMO March models to choose from ranging from different tastes and demographics suitable for each model. First is the entry-level model which comes with the HR12DE engine mated with the XTRONIC CVT, which is a bit of nonsense for performance-oriented enthusiasts but good enough to be flashy in the streets of Shibuya and get this, the driver-focused March NISMO S model which comes with a HR15DE engine specially tuned for this model, producing 116PS of power and 156Nm of torque, while mated with a (!) 5-speed manual gearbox.

So what we have here are two different March NISMO models that suit your desires. The base March NISMO model is made to be a flashy fashion item to the crowd while the March NISMO S model which comes with unique stuff, the 1.5L engine, and the manual gearbox, is suitable for the clubmen who are trying to enjoy their track day duties for the first time. Although it may not quite be called a hot hatch, this March NISMO is definitely a beginner car for the track-day boys who want to start honing their skills on the track.

Well, when I said honing their skills, perhaps some of the beginner cars can do better than that because even though the NISMO tuned suspension for the March NISMO was made to be somewhat smooth enough to eat a corner or two, on normal roads, it feels a bit too fidgety, which goes the same for those common hot hatchbacks tuned enough to be track-focused instead for everyday uses. Maybe.

For pricing, the CVT-rigged March NISMO costs 1,540,350 Yen while the March NISMO S with the 5-speed gearbox and the 1.5L engine costs 1,770,300 Yen. Whoa hang on...a March NISMO with the 5-speed gearbox costs more than the Toyota Vitz RS and the Suzuki Swift Sport? Oh well, if this is a price worth paying, it's the price worth paying for the hot March model but still, I really want the committee to consider the new March NISMO to be part of the GT6 lineup. I had my fingers crossed!

Oh yeah, this hot model will be available in Japan this December 2013, in time for the holidays.

Available colors: Pure Black, Brilliant Silver, and Brilliant White Pearl

Photo: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd