Skoda Yeti facelift 2014 announcement

2014 Skoda Yeti

The Skoda Yeti. In the world of Top Gear, it's been proven it's faster round Donington than a Ferrari, more room than a Maybach, does off-road better than a Range Rover, won't melt an ice cream when driven through a burning building, and best of all, makes it a perfect helicopter landing pad.

Now, Skoda announced a minor change for the Yeti and for the first time ever; there are two kinds of Yeti to choose from; the city-focused Yeti and the offroad-focused Yeti Outdoor. Both gained a new Skoda logo, new grille, and new headlamps to keep the Top Gear favorite updated for some new challenges.

Skoda says that the 2014 Yeti facelift comes with seven engines - four diesels and three petrol units - ranging from a 1.2-litre TSI with 105bhp, to the 2.0-litre diesel producing 170bhp. A manual tranny is standard while a DSG tranny is an option. Also an option is an Haldex-coupling all-wheel-drive.

The 2014 Yeti facelift is set for Frankfurt Auto Show debut this fall.

Source: http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/new-skoda-yeti-facelift-2013-08-14

Let's Do The News! (August 15, 2013)

Stuck your head on the window? Here are some moments that you may have missed...

- Last week, there was a 15 ton (about 15,000 lbs) blob of fat that was removed from the London sewer. Some say it's gross, but others saying that there's a real life Adipose alien lurking around in the London sewer. Coincidence?

- The facelifted 2014 Audi A8 with matrix headlight technology will be revealed to the world this August 21. Here's the teaser of what would the new A8's matrix headlight look like.

2014 Audi A8 teaser

- To celebrate over 500,000 Audi TTs sold, Audi launched a special edition Competition model to both the TTS Coupe and TTS Roadster which are limited to 500 units worldwide.

Audi TTS Roadster Competition

- The next-generation Cadillac Escalade will be revealed to the world on October 7 at the Allman Building, New York City.

- After the CLA-Class, Mercedes-Benz unveiled an A-Class based crossover model that is set for Frankfurt debut. Yes, it's the 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class and would you look at that, another tall hatchback classified as a crossover.

2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class

- Asphalt 8: AIRBORNE, the eighth installment of the Asphalt mobile racing game is coming at the App Store and Google Play store this August 22! Confirmed from the official Facebook page. In the latest installment, you can expect some fresh new cars coming A8A such as the Spanish-built GTA Spano, Pagani Zonda R, the Corvette C7 Stingray, the Lamborghini Veneno, and more as well as some familiar ones such as the SL65 Black Series, Marussia B2, Lotus Exige S, Ferrari F12berlinetta, and more returning cars. There is now some reloaded gameplay mechanics, new Infected mode, insane stunts, and a new physics engine pushing the limits of this game.

- American Honda launched Project Drive-In campaign to help spread awareness to save one of America's icons, the DRIVE-IN THEATER. Sources say that with the end of the 35mm film, this will put the remaining drive-in theaters out of business. The goal of PROJECT DRIVE-IN asks people to donate money or pledge to go to a drive-in, Honda also donates projectors to five of the surviving drive-ins based on votes.

- Torchwood Miracle Day, the Americanized continuing arc of the Torchwood saga aired on Starz in 2011, is set to air on BBC America this September 14. In Miracle Day; one day, nobody dies. People kept aging, hurt, sick, but their death is impossible. With zero death rate, pollution has grown worse and natural resources are drying up but it can't be a natural event. Someone's behind this and for CIA agent Rex Matheson (Mekhi Phifer), the only answer to mankind's salvation lies to Torchwood but there's little left for Torchwood as Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) is at a remote Welsh countryside with her husband Rhys and her child and the whereabouts of Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) remain unknown. Pulling them out of their retirement, they are now drawn in a battle where the greatest threat to humanity is...humanity itself.

Torchwood: Miracle Day

TTFN!

CHALLENGE: One Siling Labuyo in Cabanatuan

Now, while in the Philippines, me and my family are going on a trip to one of the houses our grandparents reside for temporary reasons and it's somewhere in Cabanatuan. Yeah, we were going there but unfortunately, weather reports indicating that there was a more powerful storm approaching under the name of "Labuyo". It sounds spicy for a storm like this but like the bravest of men, we decided to go on anyway, despite the weather warnings.

This is the car in question, it's a made-in-Indonesia Suzuki APV, a multipurpose utility vehicle made for those who can't afford a used Starex. This isn't used. This is a "rental car". Our friend Senior rented it for over four thousand pesos and the APV we rented for our trip was the entry level model. When I said entry level model, it's noted by less features, black bumper, odd-looking wheels, and a relatively cheap pricing what customers bought these days. Under the bonnet? A 1590cc petrol engine. That's it.

Anyway, enough chit chat about the car. What we're gonna do now is we're going on a trip to Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija despite the weather warnings due to Labuyo so um...we got the stuff we need so we'd better get going!

But first...

We had to stop by at our nearest Mightee Mart to buy some stuff for our trip. What Mommy bought here were two bottles of C2 Green Tea and this...

You'd never know when dengue strikes, even inside the car. He he he... Anyway, back to Destination: Cabanatuan.

As I can see, I was sitting at the third row so my experience with the Suzuki APV were terrible. It feels uncomfortable, I can hear some squeaking noise at the back, and it's a total nightmare for those riding in the APV. My gosh...

An abandoned factory...

Starmall Alabang (formerly Metropolis)

On the motorways, I am already experiencing a total nightmare about how uncomfortable the APV was and if reliability was an issue, you'd be right because if it breaks down, you would be scared to death. Ha ha ha...

As we travel though the motorways, I can observe some wondrous sights and sounds around the Metro Manila, including that Edsa Shrine over there.

Meanwhile in Quezon...

And then...

We stop by to say hi to Lola Neddie...

Look at our Baby Irvine, enjoying with the kids...

Whoa! Look at them! Playing with toy cars!

Yummy! Some meals!

As we leave Lola Neddie's house, the rain starts...

And then...this.

Yes, we're approaching the danger zone. Typhoon Labuyo's attacking us with heavy rainfall but that doesn't stop us from travelling.

As we're braving through the rough rains,  we went to Bulacan to say hi to Tata Epoy.

After that friendly chit chat and some nice meal with Tata Epoy and family, we continue heading to our destination and while we're still at it, it seems that Labuyo's wrath hampering our progress and when it's nighttime, things are getting scary. Really scary.

I know that it's much scary to drive at night with an oncoming typhoon approaching but can we survive through the storm and make it our way to Cabanatuan?

To be continued...

Top Gear USA Season 4 announcement

Love it or hate it, the US version of Top Gear are returning for the fourth season this fall and this time, it promises to be more offbeat and a bit more "regular" than ever. Well, when I said "regular", it's just same old...same old for Adam Ferrera, Tanner Foust, and Rutledge Wood.

There will be a race from New York to Los Angeles with supercars, make their own amphibious cars, travel through the Mississippi in America's biggest cars, going to Alaska with their DIY convertibles, and just same old same old for the boys.

TGUSA returns this September 3 at 9PM ET/PT on History, in time for the Fall TV season.

Scoop: http://transmission.blogs.topgear.com/2013/08/12/americans-top-gear-usa-is-back-2/

How Cute Is Your Character? - BMO

10 cute characters brought in by me will face my CUTENESS TESTS; getting kissed, getting hugged, and against Isabella's cuteness in a bid to top my CUTENESS RANKER leaderboard.

Today's cute character is...

BMO

Is it BMO from Adventure Time, which is more than just Finn and Jake's roommate but also their friend, a camera, a TV, an electrical outlet, and most of all, a video game system?

Well, that is pretty cute...but HOW CUTE IS BMO?

The first test is...getting kissed. What would BMO react when being kissed by fans? The answer...BMO LIKES! BMO likes getting kissed in the face. No wait, LOVES getting kissed in the face because BMO's oh so cuddly. Just look at BMO's reaction...

This gives BMO a kissable rating of: 10 out of 10!

The second test is...getting hugged. This would be very easy for BMO because...who cares about it? BMO's cute enough to be hugged. There aren't any official BMO plushies of today, even the San Diego Comic Con 2013 exclusive merchandise doesn't count so...any particular reason why there's no such thing? I mean come on out here, BMO's super cute! BMO wants to be cuddled and...sheesh. I can't believe there are fans making their own BMO plushies for the benefit of themselves. Whatever, with BMO's cute enough to be hugged by millions, this gives BMO a huggable rating of: 10 out of 10.

The final test is...against Isabella. Isabella says "Whatcha Doin?"...like this. What would BMO do? After 10 seconds, it seems that BMO's disintegrating by Isabella's cuteness! The internal hard drive's getting blown away like fireworks, the motherboard's getting roasted, the batteries are getting weaker, the screen's getting all static until..."BATTERY LOW! SHUTDOWN..." After moments of getting disintegrated by Isabella's cuteness, BMO won't turned on...for good! This gives BMO a pathetic Isabella-resistance rating of: 2 out of 10.

BMO from Adventure Time scored a grand total of 22 out of 30, giving BMO a first place lead.

CUTENESS RANKER:

1) BMO - 22/30

2) Mog - 19/30

3) Adipose - 16/30

How cute do I rank it? VERY VERY CUTE! HOW CUTE IS YOUR CHARACTER?

Ssangyong New Korando C

With the arrival of the Chevrolet Trax crossover, and with the facelifts of the Kia Sportage R and Hyundai Tucson ix, it seems that the Ssangyong Korando C's getting through the times as the Mahindra-owned Korean car company introduces its minor change version of the crossover that pushed Ssangyong back again and keep on fighting.

2014 Ssangyong Korando C

So, ready for some 47 second science? Let's begin. New for the 2014 model year, the Korando C gained a brand new front view in which the head lamps look somewhat identical to the Korando Turismo (Rodius/Stavic) MPV. Well, nearly similar. Also, Ssangyong managed to revise the rear view and then, 18-inch alloy wheels are revamped to give the new facelift some taste in today's crossover trends. That sounds fine but I'm not quite happy about it, yet.

2014 Ssangyong Korando C interior

2014 Ssangyong Korando C interior

Also, the interior's now revised and what you can expect here is a new wooden trim, soft material at the top of the dashboard and depending on the grade, red leather seats. What's more is that the 2014 Korando C is overloaded with tech features made for the tech geeks such as a new multimedia system with a 7-inch touch screen, navigation system, Infinity audio system, keyless entry, and tire pressure monitoring system. Quite a crafty here for the new model though...

2014 Ssangyong Korando C

Of course, you can still expect a diesel-powered e-XDi200 LET engine on it, which develops about 155PS of power and 36.7kg-m of torque but what Ssangyong said that the new model is now more fuel-efficient than ever when set to its ECO MODE function, making it 12.8km/L of fuel economy for the FF model with the 6-speed automatic. With 6-speed MT standard, that makes it 17.2km/L of fuel economy.

For its pricing, the 2014 Korando C starts at 20,710,000 Korean Won for the CVS model with a manual gearbox up to 28,720,000 Korean Won for the top of the line CVX model with a 6-speed auto gearbox.

Scientific ideal is that while the 2014 Korando C adopts the slogan "Urban Adventure", it's made even more economical and more techie than ever but still, this is a crossover and it only behaves as a soft-roader like the others.

Available colors: Grand White, Pearl White Lily, Silent Silver, Sunrise Red, Cosmic Blue, Carbonic Grey, and Space Black.

Photo: Ssangyong Motor Company

What's in our Car Town garage today? (August 11, 2013)

What's in our Car Town garage today?

2009 Fiat 500 Abarth

The Fiat 500 is a cute little city car that stays true to its "cheap and cheerful" personality and for the high-performance Abarth model, all's that change when this Italian little pocket rocket wants to play cat and mouse with the competition. With the turbocharged 1.4L engine, 5-speed manual, and the Abarth heritage flowing down its veins, the 500 Abarth tries to be a wild compact at any places!

2009 Fiat 500 Abarth

2009 Jaguar XF

The replacement of the Jaguar S-Type executive midsize sedan is the XF, and for this model, the British carmaker tries to settle the scores against the Germans, especially the likes of the 5-Series and E-Class. Designed in Whitley, made in Birmingham, and with the range of V6 and V8 engines, the XF from Jaguar tries to be a well-mannered executive sport saloon while staying true to being a British-built car.

2009 Jaguar XF

2004 Ford Bronco Concept

At the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, Ford presented what is supposed to be a future revival of the Bronco SUV. Although boxy in design, the Bronco Concept tries to stay true to its roots from its predecessor as a basic utility vehicle, featuring a three-door layout and manual windows.

2004 Ford Bronco Concept