Let's Do The News! (July 5, 2013)

(cheers and applause)

2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive

JC: Science abuse. That's what that is... Science abuse!

JM: Hmmm...So you were saying that the electric-powered SLS is nowhere near as good as its petrol-powered model even though it's 4 times more expensive?

JC: Yeah but there's still more about this. You know the fact that how did it set the fastest Nurburgring lap time for such a category like this?

JM: Uh...yeah. And the thing is though that even it's faster than the Audi R8 e-tron, which is an electric car Audi will never make one, that's quite staggering.

JC: Also, because it has more torque on it, even when you put it gently, it's still has a fair hint of Science Abuse on it and...oh! Just let science do the work.

(audience laughing)

JM: Like what? Eating its shoes off?

(audience laughing)

JC: Anyway, could we do the news now?

RH: Right, the news. If you're in Paris, France, then you're enjoying 2013's Japan Expo right now while when you're in the USA, Los Angeles to be precise, then you're enjoying Anime Expo 2013. Either way, they both run until Sunday, July 7. If you're in Japan Expo, which is in Paris, France, then you're be meeting up with some of the big-time guests such as the blokes behind the Final Fantasy series, J-Pop girl group °C-ute, Shoji Kawamori...

(ooohhh)

JM: Wait...Shoji Kawamori? You mean the man responsible for mech designs and some of the finest works such as Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, and the Animatrix?

RH: Yes. Yes he is. Anyway, back on the guest list. There's Fist of the North Star creator Tetsuo Hara who will be celebrating the series' 30th anniversary on Japan Expo, which sounds wonderful.

JC: Okay. What about on the Los Angeles side that is Anime Expo 2013?

JM: Guest list on the AX 2013 in LA? Let's see...um...that's a lot. There's the famous otaku named Danny Choo, there's Noizi Ito who was responsible for the illustration of the Shakugan no Shana series, famed Filipina cosplayer Alodia...

(ooohhh)

JM:...there's the J-rock band Porno Graffitti...man, that's a whole lot of guests, including voice actors and dubbers! I can't believe this is getting even more star-studded than having a barbecue party with our new reasonably priced car, the Vauxhall Astra!

(audience laughing)

JC: Speaking of which, either which of the convention you were, there's always be geeks cosplaying as their favorites and you know what time it is?

(audience saying "Adventure Time!")

JC: Adventure Time? No. It's "Who's Cosplaying Time!"

(audience laughing)

RH: "Who's Cosplaying Time?"

JC: Yes. "Who's Cosplaying Time". And I had the list of what would geeks dress as in case of conventions so...

JM: Who's going to be...

JC: Hold on...I'm readying the list...

(audience laughing)

JC: Still readying...

FIVE MINUTES LATER

JC: Aha! There it is! Let' see...um...um...Oh! 

RH: What is it...

JC: I'm seeing someone who's visiting this year's convention...dressing as one of the Adventure Time characters...

(audience laughing)

JC: You know. In most conventions, you might encounter geeks dressing as one of their favorite Adventure Time characters such as Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum, Ice King, Marceline, BMO, and the rest. Can't believe that this super hilarious cartoon for all ages really attracted a mass audience.

JM: Yeah and oh! Did you see Monday's episode where Finn, Jake, and PB went to Wizard City? Aw man, I can't believe that PB's getting even more attractive than ever. In fact, look at her...

(ooohhh)

JC: That's one mean princess! Mama mia! Can't believe those who saw this episode got hooked over Princess Bubblegum's body-fit outfit she wore.

JM: Yeah. She looks more attractive on that outfit and...um...(whispers) Hey, did they get the memo to dress as PB in this kind of outfit?

JC: (whispers) I don't know, James...

(audience laughing)

JC: Anyway, more from the list. I am seeing...um...well, because Attack on Titan is pretty much with us right now, I'm seeing geeks dressed as members of the Scouting Legion as well as the Titans from the show.

JM: Well it's a good thing they're not as large as the ones as seen on the show or it's going to be quite a horrible feat. Maybe those who got hooked on AOT are doing some weird stuff.

RH: Stuff like...um...thinking that the Titans are going to devour hopeless people. Let's just say...those people pretending to be hopeless people are in the background while a Titan cosplayer standing in the foreground pretending to "eat" them while photographers going to snapshot them so by forced perspective, it looks like a 50-foot Titan going to eat people.

(audience laughing)

RH: It's like a picture thinking that you're lifting up the Hollywood sign. General camera tricks, man. Anyway, what's next on your "Who's Cosplaying Time" list, Jezza?

JC: Right...um...let's see...hmmm...hmmm...Vampire Knight...Persona...Bleach....Minecraft...Doctor Who...

JM: Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Pause here. To Doctor Who. Well, since everyone got the...

JC: Blah blah blah...Season 7...blah blah blah...souffle girl...Got it. Also, the new look for The Eleventh Doctor, that's covered. Okay, to continue...Hmmm...

RH: Oh! Oh! What about Wreck-it Ralph? I mean I seen people dressed either as Wreck It Ralph, Fix It Felix, Vanellope, and the other Sugar Rush racers from the movie. Although I'm kinda puzzled about that Vanellope character...Hmmm...Does she kinda look like Agnes from Despicable Me?

(audience laughing)

RH: I mean, look at their faces. They look exactly the same. Can't believe that last year's Wreck It Ralph took the idea of making the Vanellope character out of Despicable Me's Agnes, if you know what I mean...

(audience laughing)

JC: Thanks, Richard. I'll consider that on the list. Anyway...Let's see...hmmm...X-MEN...Power Rangers...Tales of...Resident Evil...Metal Gear...DEADPOOL? Who would rather want to go in the convention as the maniacal "Merc with a Mouth"?!

(audience laughing)

JM: Beats me...I don't know who's dressing as Deadpool...

RH: Me neither...

JC: Oh well...Let's move on...hmmm...hmmm...The Avengers...Spiderman...the agents of SHIELD...Madoka Magica...SAO...

RH: Wait! Wait! Disney's The Lone Ranger! The one with Johnny Depp and Arnie Hammer on it. What if...there could be nerds dressed as Lone Ranger and his Native American partner-in-crime Tonto from the latest Disney movie?

JC: Possibly...Let's see who's who...hmmm...

JM: What about the Jaegers? I'm sensing people who got stoked for Pacific Rim wanted to be as either the giant fighting robots known as the Jaegers or the monsters known as the...um...kaiju?

(audience laughing)

JC: Yes. James. There's going to be Jaegers, there's going to be nerds dressed as...

RH: Oh oh! Gravity Falls! You know it's your favorite. I'm sensing geeks who loved this show going to dress as either Dipper Pines, Mabel Pines, Grunkle Stan, Soos, Wendy Corduroy, and the others.

JC: Hammond! (annoyed grunt) Guess this list's too much for that but I hope everyone got that memo. (blows raspberry)

(audience laughing)

JC: Anyway, times up for us and that's the end of the news.

RH: Yeah and oh! I'm sensing....more boys, kids to teen, dressing as Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians!

JC: HAMMO!!!!

RH: Ooops....

(audience laughing)

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive

2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive

You know why did Mercedes-Benz's AMG division developed an electric-powered supercar in the form of the SLS AMG? Is it because they're wanted to be as "regular" as "Regular Show"? Or maybe because they are in tune with the times?

I'm afraid not because what lurks behind the electric-powered SLS AMG is enough power and torque from its four electric motors. When all four motors kicked in, 751HP of power and 738lb-ft of torque is more than enough to say, that electric car's got more than the limited edition SLS AMG Black and (!) the old SL65 Black Series, which is known to be AMG's finest. This cross-eyed curiosity is not the kind of supercar you can expect parking in a casino at Monte Carlo. No. What AMG done for the all new SLS AMG Electric Drive is Science Abuse because by abusing all of its eco-car peripherals, the power figures, the torque figures, and all of AMG know-hows, this electric powered sportscar, mated with only one gear (same as the Tesla), can do 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds, which is .4 seconds slower than the SLS AMG Black and annoyingly quicker than the Aston Martin Vanquish.

Of course, to keep it environmentally-friendly and for the concern of other road users, the top speed is limited to a federalized limit of 155mph because anything more than that and the battery and power inverters get all kibosh.

These four electric motors equipped in all four wheels are rather pretty clever because even though it weighs 45kg each, they achieve a maximum individual speed of 13,000 rpm and in each case drive the 4 wheels selectively via a axially-arranged transmission design. The suspension system is now multi-link rather than double-wishbones. The aluminum spaceframe chassis has been tweaked. Blah blah blah blah....

Also, the pricing starts at around 416,500 Euros, which is four times more than its petrol equivalent but it's less than the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe and overall, that's more fun to have than a big bulky Phantom Coupe.

That's all so fun but the fun doesn't last for long because first of all, there's the noise. Because this is an all-electric sportscar, it sounds like you're in an airline taking off and that's even more disturbing than listening to space-age music, which is creepy. The petrol-powered SLS sounds like an American car. Fast, simple, and quite cheap. It even sounds like one. Here, on the Electric Drive version, it isn't. Let's not forget that it's four times more than its petrol equivalent and it's still a lot more creepy to drive because of its electric motors that sounds like an Airbus taking off and an approaching Candace will positively spot you and then running to mom, saying that you had an over seven hundred horsepower supercar and then it disappears before mom's showed up.

The fun fact about the SLS Electric Drive that it lapped round the Nurburgring in 7 minutes and 56 seconds, that's the fastest production EV car ever to lap round the green hell, faster than the Audi electric sportscar that it won't be produced until further notice. That's quite shockingly indeed but even with the fun fact, it's still not worth it to have an electric supercar abused by science and I'm sorry, I'd be sticking back to the petrol equivalent.

Photo: Mercedes-Benz

Let's Do The News! (July 4, 2013)

River's Diary

Right, what's the news today you spoiler-laden TARDIS journal?

- You think that the Mastretta sports car is the only Mexican sports car around? Think again because there's another Mexican supercar coming and we're not pulling out the whole Top Gear "tortilla" jibe for this one because this is even more than that. Behold, the 2015 Vuhl 05.

2015 Vuhl 05

- Did you know that the 2014 Opel/Vauxhall Insignia is going to have a crossover model? Aside from the 4-door saloon, 5-door liftback, and the Sport Tourer, a new crossover model, called the Country Tourer, was known to be the answer to the Subaru Outback and the Peugeot 508 RXH. It will make a world premiere at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show this September.

2014 Opel Insignia Country Tourer

2014 Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer

- Yeahuh! Japan-based D3Publisher's US arm is going to have another Adventure Time video game and for the first time, a video game adaptation of Cartoon Network's bland but super-funny program, Regular Show. This fall, "Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW!" is the name of the second Adventure Time video game and for the first time, it will be available on the Wii U, XBOX 360, PS3, PC, and 3DS. Also, Mordecai and Rigby In 8-Bit Land is the name of the first ever Regular Show game for the Nintendo 3DS where our favorite goofballs, Mordecai and Rigby, as well as the others, are on the game. Best games in the world...at this moment in time? YEAHUH!

- Ryoko Shiraishi, the voice actress behind Hayate Ayasaki on the Hayate no Gotoku anime series, gets a divorce.

- Did you know that Bumblebee can also be the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro on next year's Transformers 4 film?

Bumblebee

- John Barrowman, better known to you as Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who and its Torchwood spinoff, got legally married to Scott Gill, his civil partner 7 years ago, in accordance with the US Supreme Court. Yep. It's same-sex marriage, folks. Your Captain Jack Harkness got married to a man...

- TODAY, we stand for the Fourth Amendment and against NSA Spying. SIGN THE PETITION

Hayate the combat butler Cuties ENDING & Heroine OST 1

Hayate the combat butler Cuties
ENDING & Heroine OST 1

Cuties, or to fully call it Hayate no Gotoku Cuties, is, like Can't Take My Eyes Off You earlier, a stand-alone story of the Hayate no Gotoku series but this series has a twist; Every episode, all of your favorite characters are introduced and in the final episode...well, we're not going to spoil what's what or we're ruining the surprise. Anyway, the first volume of the soundtrack has arrived and what you get here is the music from the first half of the Cuties show. The first half, I said it, features 13 tracks, Tracks 01~06 are Ending Themes of the show whole Tracks 07~13 were composed by Wataru Maeguchi. This covers Hayate Ayasaki (CV. Ryoko Shiraishi), Nagi Sanzenin (CV. Rie Kugimiya), Sakuya Aizawa (CV. Kana Ueda), Isumi Saginomiya  (CV. Miyu Matsuki), Hinagiku Katsura (CV. Shizuka Ito), and Izumi Segawa (CV. Sayuri Yahagi).

TRACK LISTINGS:


01 ヒロインはここにいる! (TV-EDIT)
02 アスタリスク (TV-EDIT)
03 急がばスマイル! (TV-EDIT)
04 まんまるかくれんぼ (TV-EDIT)
05 ダイキライは恋の始まり (TV-EDIT)
06 ナ・ノ・キ・ス (TV-EDIT)
07 特技は不幸～Cuties 綾崎ハヤテのテーマ～
08 有閑お嬢様～Cuties 三千院ナギのテーマ～
09 少女と犬による行進曲～Cuties 天王州アテネのテーマ～
10 和服のおっとりお嬢様～Cuties 鷺ノ宮伊澄のテーマ～
11 ナニワのちゃっかり娘～Cuties 愛沢咲夜のテーマ～
12 私の名前は桂ヒナギク～Cuties 桂ヒナギクのテーマ～
13 放課後の委員長さん～Cuties 瀬川泉のテーマ～

Madam Auring, IHAW NA!

Celebrity psychic, Madam Auring, was the guest of the July 2, 2013's Banana Nite's IHAW NA segment and oh...there's no need to explain what's what because she knows all about it. He he he...

Meanwhile, Alex gave us top three tips on what to do when you forgot to set the phone in Silent Mode in LAUGH THREE...

1) Let's pretend that it wasn't your phone and then hide yours...

2) Pretend that you're fighting with your BF

3) Dance 'till you got embarrassed!

Special edition Nissan Note Aero Style

Nissan Note Aero Style

A special edition Nissan Note "Aero Style" was offered for the Japanese market and this special edition Note will be available this July 19 for 1,445,850 to 1,704,150 Japanese Yen.

For this special model, it receives a piano-like front grille, special front bumper, special rear bumper, side sills, 15-inch aluminum wheels painted in dark metallic, and a 3-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel.

The special model is based on the X/X DIG-S/X FOUR models on the NIssan Note. X model comes with the HR12DE, X DIG-S comes with the supercharged HR12DDR engine, and the X FOUR comes with four-wheel drive.

Story: http://autoc-one.jp/news/1418154/

What's in our Car Town garage today? (July 3, 2013)

What's in our Car Town garage today?

2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8

Of course, the Chrysler 300 is known to be the ideal car for the bling-bling culture because of its gangster looks suitable for the swaggers of all kinds and for the high-performance version developed by SRT, the premium sedan with a touch of swag never made even more sinister, especially when its powered by a 6.4L HEMI V8 engine that produces 465HP of power.

2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8

2012 McLaren MP4-12C

The MP4-12C is McLaren's high-performance supercar that embodies every technological aspects learned from McLaren's Formula One experiences and it is known to be one of the most intelligent supercars ever made, capable of being a track weapon in its own right. Although, it carries one of the smallest V8s ever made, it's armed with turbochargers and it develops 592HP of power and 600Nm of torque. It went round the Top Gear Test Track in around 1:16.2.

2012 McLaren MP4-12C

2014 Lamborghini Veneno

2013 marks the 50th anniversary of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. and for its 50th anniversary offering, Lamborghini unveiled the horrifyingly insane Veneno hypercar at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show and if by the word horrifying, it's noted on the design as well as the biblically huge rear wing that makes the Veneno look like a devil car. The 50th anniversary special machine uses some of the components from the Aventador but its 6.5L V12 engine produces 750HP of power, making it one of the most powerful Lamborghinis ever made and with 355kph top speed, it's the fastest as well. Only three units of the Veneno will be made, each costing three million euros and shorty before its announcement, all three units had been sold out.

2014 Lamborghini Veneno