When a Range Rover gets converted into a pickup

No. This isn't some kind of an editing trickery done by some sly mongrels. What you're looking here is one of STARTECH's creations and this is how an ultra luxurious Range Rover converted into a sport utility truck.

To be showcased at the 2015 Shanghai Motor Show, STARTECH, a division of Brabus, managed to chopped the roof down and convert this uber-luxury SUV into a sport-utility truck. It's not just limited to such a bizarre conversion because it also comes with a widebody kit, 23-inch wheels, new suspension, custom exhaust, new interior, and an upgraded 5.0L supercharge V8 creating 526HP of power output.

When completed, it will be classified as a commercial vehicle rather than a luxury SUV, so import prices come cheap but in the meantime, it remains a show car set for its Shanghai debut so dream on.

Report: http://www.autoblog.com/2015/04/15/brabus-startech-range-rover-pickup-shanghai-official/

Let's Do The News! (April 16, 2015)

- One year has passed since the deadly Sewol tragedy where 304 people, mostly school students taking on a field trip, were killed when the ferry submerged somewhere in Jindo island. South Korean president Park Geun-hye has promised to salvage the ship as possible.

- Joao Vaccari, the treasurer of Brazil's ruling Workers' Party, resigned from his position after being arrested over allegations with the troubled oil giant Petrobras. He was charged over an alleged scheme in which the party received corrupted funds from inflated deals between oil executives and construction firms.

- Japanese transport ministry officials say that the Asiana Airlines jet was flying at a normal altitude a minute before landing and skidded off the runway at Hiroshima Airport. It veered off the runway while it was landing yesterday, leaving the wing and the left-side engine heavily damaged and injuring 25 people onboard.

- According to known sources, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe plans to express remorse for the nation's past actions during World War Two in an address to the Asian-African Summit in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, next week.

- Moro Islamic Liberation Front chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal denies Senator Allan Cayetano's claims that his real name is "Datucan M. Abas".

- In the upcoming Pokemon XY movie titled "Hoopa and the Clash of Ages", Ash, Pikachu, and his friends will risk everything to protect the mythical Hoopa from an imminent threat that will spell doom for all mankind. And what was that imminent threat you may ask? If you say Hoopa, then you're right because Hoopa's true identity, known as its Unbound form, has been made public. In its Unbound form, Hoopa now becomes from Psychic-and-Ghost type to a Psychic-and-Dark type and based on its appearance, it's bigger and more intimidating than the normal form we first encountered.

- Charlotte Dunois from Infinite Stratos gets her very own Nendoroid courtesy of Good Smile Company. Your favorite French beauty from the anime will be arriving this September for 3,889 Yen plus tax.

Nendoroid Charlotte Dunois

- The Opel/Vauxhall Corsa gets its high-performance OPC/VXR model, packed with
even more performance than the previous model.

2016 Vauxhall Corsa VXR

- Comedienne Ai-Ai Delas Alas has signed a two-year exclusive contract with GMA, marking her return to the Kapuso network after 16 years.

- LITTLE DID YOU KNOW: There was a Filipina that wowed the crowd in a Taiwanese talent show. Her name is Birdy Cambonero and her performance of a popular song sung by a Chinese singer impressed not just the audience but the judges as well. Another one of the news where ordinary Pinoys became bigshots in foreign talent shows.

TTFN!!!

Forza Horizon 2: The Horizon Finale

To unlock the Horizon Finale, you need to win 15 championships regardless of any championship you're taking on. I know, this stuff mentioned you at the moment you start Forza Horizon 2, but as you progress through the ranks, you're starting to realize how much you've grown through the ordeal and your love for cars have pushed you forward to who you are now, even me.

Anyway, enough sentimental stuff, onto the finale because you're free to choose whatever car you want and whichever car you choose reflects the opponents' car of choice regardless of the cars' Performance Index. Best to inform you that the finale is the most extreme challenge yet because this will be a sprint race through the entire Southern European area from Italy to France and back and forth. It goes without saying that this will be the toughest challenge yet and you need to pick a very fast car for the endgame.

For me, what car did I pick for the finale?



Yes. I know. I know it sounds crazy but there's a main reason why I pick the Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 for the finale because it's the cover car of the game and most of all, it wants to finish where it all starts. Where it all began, where it all will end. That's why I'll make the Huracan the hero of the festival but first...



Some major improvements have been made for the Huracan to be fully competitive for the finale and for some added style, I've festooned it with some iM@S fromage. See that Miki in my Lambo? That's my good luck charm for the finale because she knows I will going to finish what I started.



With preparations complete, the stage is set for one last ride at the festival and I'm starting to feel the jitters right now but with the championship title on the line, I'm preparing myself for the most epic race ever witnessed in the game. Hope you got your popcorn ready for this.



SUCCESS! I finally did it! I finally managed to finish the finale and gained the champion title! Looks like me and the Huracan finally finished what we've started! That's it! It's all over! Our work here is done so let's go home and celebrate.



With the champion is crowned, my life in FH2 is complete but our work isn't done yet because there's still more roads to explore, more championships to complete, more bucket lists to fulfill, and more cars to drive. I won't force myself to do this but even our journey ends, our new journey begins and you'll never know what comes ahead.

What should I do now? The decisions are up to me but I hope I'll make the right decisions.

Until next time!

Let's Do The News! (April 14, 2015)

- One year has passed since the kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls by the armed terrorist group Boko Haram and to mark this terrible event, ceremonies are to staged around the world with a procession to be held in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, with 219 girls taking part to represent each missing girls with similar marches worldwide will follow.

- A year has passed since the Ukraine Crisis and the two nations, Russia and Ukraine, agreed to call for the withdrawal of arms in Ukraine's east, as the latest clashes will spell fears for a truce there.

- According to known sources, the leader of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, named Ameril Umbra Kato, has died after midnight Tuesday due to a stroke at around 0200 hours Philippine Time in his hideout in a mountainous area somewhere in Maguindanao.

- Despite the libel case filed by Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay against him, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV wants to send both the Binays to prison. He warned that the Binays messed with the wrong person and he wants to hunt them down if he had to.

- An Alaska Airlines flight number 448 made an emergency landing in Seattle after a gate worker fell asleep in the cargo hold before takeoff, and wound up trapped. According to the statement, the mentioned flight made an emergency landing after hearing knocking sounds coming from below.

- According to the International Committee to Protect Journalists or CPJ, the Philippines is named as the third most deadliest country for journalists after the war-torn Iraq and Syria. Since 1986, 173 journalists were killed here and during the administration of Noynoy Aquino, the death toll of journalists were 32.

- Cinderella actress Lily James is accused of racism over her instagram post of her during the Japan premiere of the said 2015 Disney live-action adaptation. On her post, the caption says "'Shinderera premiere in Tokyo. The final stop on our tour and it was a beautiful cold night, thank you!"". Yes, it's how you say Cinderella in Japanese but is it really a racist joke or something not intended to do?

- You may remember that some of the cast from The iDOLM@STER franchise got pregnant and some gave birth. Hiromi Hirata (who played Makoto) and Naomi Wakabayashi (as Ritsuko) already gave birth to their babies. Then, Mayako Nigo (who played Yayoi) did announced her pregnancy before. Now, another member of the cast fall victim to you-know-what as Akiko Hasegawa (who played Miki) announced her pregnancy and she will not take part in events, especially the series' 10th anniversary concert this summer.

- Did you know? According to a recent study, 84% of Americans still listen to AM/FM radios in their car and 67% listen to it as their main form of in-car entertainment. Amazingly, music CDs still fare very well to the surveys as drivers carrying an average of 10 and a half CDs in their car. With the rise of advanced in-car entertainment systems in the form of Bluetooth connectivity and music streaming, looks like old-school is still common for drivers who love listening to music.

- New Pokemon XY toys have been announced by Takara Tomy! In preparation for the upcoming "Hoopa and the Clash of Ages" movie coming this Summer 2015 in Japanese cinemas, the mythical Pokemon Hoopa is now part of the MonColle figure lineup and it's yours for 330 Yen plus tax. Also, keep an eye out for figures of Groudon, Kyogre, Palkia, and Dialga. Yes. They do appear in the upcoming movie and these figures are available this month for 950 Yen plus tax. If you like Ash's Pikachu, there's a plush toy of our beloved Pikachu wearing Ash's hat and you can clip it on your shoulders. Perfect for your Kalos Ash cosplay, eh? Anyway, this plush toy will cost you 2,000 Yen plus tax.

MonColle Hoopa figure

Shoulder-carry Ash's Pikachu plush

TTFN!!!

BMW X5 M F85 and X6 M F86

2016 BMW X6 M and 2016 BMW X5 M

Both the BMW X5 and the X6 are in their latest generations and now, they've been given their more potent M versions that will give these heavyweight Bimmers a chance to let loose on the wild, however there's something wrong about these two heavyweight behemoths dressed in gym shorts.

For starters, both the X5 M and X6 M have shared the same fate as the latest M3 and M4 have witnessed. For the X5 M, the codename is not classified as "F15" as with the normal X5 and for the X6 M, it's no longer classified as "F16" as with the normal X6. Instead the latest X5 M is classified as F85 and the new X6 M is classified as F86. That sounds like a big conspiracy for the Bimmer geeks but maybe because these new models come with a combination of high-strength steel and carbon composites. It's the same thing happened on the latest M3 and M4, but best to leave this ludicrous conspiracy for now.

Both the new X5 M and the X6 M still come with the same 4.4L twin turbo V8 engine from the previous model but now, it's been uprooted with 20HP more so that now, it produces 575HP of power output and 750Nm of torque. It would reach to 100kph in 4.2 seconds and they're electronically limited to 250kph. With that kind of engine output, both the X5 M and the X6 M will have its Porsche Cayenne Turbo S rival hanging in the balance, or that's the theory because when it comes to taking on the corners, looks like the more powerful Cayenne will outwit both these big, beefy M SUVs because even with the weight loss thanks to the combination of high-strength steel and carbon composites, their handling capabilities won't make a cut against that Porsche.

I know that sounds crazy but this is physics and both the X5 M and the X6 M feels like they're failing the physics class where the Cayenne Turbo S will excel. When the Cayenne handles like a horse at the Grand National, both the X5 M and the X6 M handle like if you were carrying a fully-loaded Balikbayan Box from the back of its boot. That electric power steering and four-wheel drive really made them feel like someone's trying to stretch your face or get stuck with Mighty Bond all over. If this is the first time driving either of these, it takes time to getting used to it because just because it's complicated to drive doesn't mean you don't want to drive one. If you're very careful, it will feel more accessible for you and you can find its hidden potential underneath their heavyweight bodywork.

Another thing you will notice in both of the new M SUVs is the implementation of the 8-speed double clutch gearbox and the idea of the double-clutch gearbox is to deliver quicker shiftings than the previous models. That sounds very great but very complicated to take care of it.  There's also the M Drive manager where you can select either COMFORT, SPORT, or SPORT+ but no matter the setting, these doesn't affect both the M SUVs' behaviors.

If you even thinking about using either of these as a family car, you'd better off with a cheap van rather than both of these because using either of these while going to the shops can be as embarrassing as you letting your parents taking a picture of you and themselves at a 3D art museum and since your parents have occupied most of the time taking pics of you and them, you don't have time to do your grand plan. Tough love, buddy. Tough love.

The new X5 M starts at 114,300 Euros while the X6 M starts at 117,700 Euros. That sounds a lot for a family car but they're not made to be either a family car nor a track-day car because their bulky, beefy, and too much for its own right. Even though they're more affordable to own than the powerful Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, I would better have one but if I don't like how the Cayenne looks, guess there's no other choice than choosing either of these heavyweight behemoths.

Photo: BMW AG

F1 2015 - Chinese GP

Image credit: Getty Images

It was a sunny day in Shanghai, China, the venue for the third round of the Formula One 2015 season and looks like the bitter rivalry between Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg has been revived since last season. Rosberg, who placed 2nd, accused Hamilton, who won this race, of backing up into Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton denies everything, of course.

Two of Ferrari's F1 drivers, Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen placed 3rd and 4th, consecutively.

On the driver's standings, Hamilton's in the lead with 68 points, Vettel is in 2nd place with 55 points, and Rosberg is 3rd place overall at 51 points.

The next race is set at Bahrain on the 19th of April.

Report: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/32274101

The Cute Wall (Volume Five)

Now, the moment of truth is time and it's been awhile since we got zapped by that pesky Excalibur but don't worry. Those flying aces have taken care of it because it's now time to do...THE CUTE WALL!



How great it is to have this segment back after a short break. Anyway, let's continue where we left off with...

Queen Delightful

...that's right! Queen Delightful from The 7D. Anyway, me and my pal trying to decide where should we put her on the Cute Wall until we got zapped by the Excalibur. Sheesh... I wonder what kind of d-day weapon's going to zap us next? Stonehenge? Chandelier? The Balaur? Anyway, never mind about that but what do you think about her?

(audience murmuring)

I tell you where to put it...

(audience laughing)

Well, well...Look who's decided to show up.

That's right. And before the risk of getting zapped by the Excalibur again, mind if you give me that?

(audience laughing)

Wait, why did you put it in CUTE. I was going to put it anyway before you showed up.

Time-efficient, eh?

(audience laughing)

So we don't wanna get zapped by Excalibur while arguing, right?

(Annoyed grunt) Okay, right. Next up...

Axew

Hold on. Is that Iris's Axew from the Pokemon Black and White anime?

Sure is.

Before you put it, let me just say something about this, right?

Oh my gas...

You know any idea why I don't see any girl in the convention dressed as BW's Iris?

Maybe that's because they didn't see the Pokemon Black and White anime a few years ago.

(audience laughing)

Precisely. I don't see any Iris cosplays today. When I see people dressed as their Pokemon BW characters, why there are some girls dressed as those female main characters that never appeared on the BW anime. Why do they dressed as those main girls not in the anime rather than Iris? Here's a top tip: DRESS AS CHARACTERS APPEARED ON THE ANIME, NOT ON THE GAMES!

(audience laughing)

Okay. That's good call but can you tell me the girls that didn't appeared on the BW anime and featured Iris instead of either of them?

Hilda and Rosa

Oh. So your point is that you should tell any girl who dressed as their favorite Black and White character not to dress as either Hilda or Rosa and instead dressed as Iris because both Hilda and Rosa never appeared on the BW anime series. Are you implying that anime is definitely better than video games?!

(audience laughing)

Yes. And for those who are going to dress as Serena from Pokemon XY, follow the anime guidelines and stick to her new outfit just like you saw from the anime. Besides. I'm sick of every girl dressed in her old clothes, you know.

(audience laughing)

Okay. Enough of the public service nonsense. Anyway, where should we put Axew?

I'll tell you where to put Iris' favorite Dragon-type Pokemon. It's on the CUTE section!

(audience laughing)

Wow. You're starting to get more serious right now.

(audience laughing)

Yes. Again, time-saving measures in the hopes that we don't get zapped by Excalibur again.

(audience laughing)

Jibanyan

Who's that? I've never seen this kind of cute character.

That's Jibanyan from Yokai Watch. There was a video game, then they have an anime show on TV Tokyo, just like Pokemon. The kids love this show and they have an array of merchandise from the anime series, just like Pokemon.

And you're saying that Jibanyan is what Pikachu is to Pokemon, am I right?

Frankly, yes. Kids love this kind of yokai and they surely want a stuff toy of Jibanyan to cuddle with as well as that ghost named...

Whisper?

Yes. Whisper.

Whisper

Ugh...Why did they have to name this ghost from a sanitary napkin?

(audience laughing)

Okay, Whisper. Since you had a very gross name for a ghost like you, time for you to be put at...SERIOUSLY NOT CUTE!

(audience laughing)

That's it? You're putting Whisper at SERIOUSLY NOT CUTE?

It's a gross name. He got that name from a woman's napkin and that's disgusting!

(audience laughing)

Okay. I see what you got there but you know what? I should put Jibanyan in the...hey! What are you doing?!

I could just put it on NOT CUTE because he's a character I'm not particularly familiar of.

(audience laughing)

Oh come on!!! Huh?

It's floating?! Where's it going?

(audience laughing)

Ha! I believe Jibanyan wants to be in the CUTE side!

How did he...?

Because he's a Yokai! And that's what Yokais do!

(audience laughing, then applause)

Ugh. You win this round, Jibanyan. Hey, what about Whisper?

He's crying and accepting his fate that he had a terrible name.

(audience laughing)

Cottonee

AAAHHH!!! What's that?

Cottonee!

Cottonee?!

Cottonee!

Are you trying to bring your Pokemon friends at the CUTE WALL? What's this?

Oi! Don't mess with Cottonee because if you do, Cottonee's going to shoot you down.

Shoot me down with what?!

ENERGY BALL!!!

(Pew! Pew! Ka-boom!)

(audience laughing, then applause)

Ugh...This is much...more...worse than Excalibur...ugh....

Well, Cottonee, is it okay if you can be in the NAKAKAGIGIL spot? You have potential you know. Anyway, see you next time!

Time for the recap!

SERIOUSLY NOT CUTE:

Raichu

*Whisper

NOT CUTE:

Dopey

Kwazii

CUTE:

Pichu

Plusle

Minun

Pachirisu

Emolga

Dedenne

Mokona

Mog

Catbug

Bashful

Froakie

Fennekin

Harukasan

Stuffy

Tunip the Vegimal

Minccino

Piplup

Sylveon

*Queen Delightful

*Axew

*Jibanyan

NAKAKAGIGIL!!!:

Pikachu

BMO

Bijou

Poof

George

Happy

Chespin

Doc McStuffins

Mabel Pines

Sofia

*Cottonee