Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Jaguar XE

In the dawn of the new millennium, Jaguar wanted to create a saloon to rival against the C-Class, the A4, and the 3-Series, with the X-Type, but sadly the X-Type never made the cut because of its Ford-derived chassis, front-wheel drive, and its lackluster character, making it the reason why they would never compete in a class like this but now, Jaguar decided to have another go in this segment with their latest vehicle, the XE.

2016 Jaguar XE

Here it is and by the looks of it, it looks more stylish and tasteful as its big brothers, the XF and the XJ, but you might imagine that the XE is going to have the similar recipe for disaster as the X-Type but no. That's because the new XE comes with a lightweight aluminum monocoque that makes it lighter and more stiffer than any other saloons from Germany. It is the first to use JLR's brand new platform which we are looking forward to their future lineup of cars, all in the name of cost-effective measures. Combine with a new platform, space-age aluminum bodywork, and its rear-wheel drive and what you get is a saloon that likes to lay a finger against Germany's finest.

The XE is the most important car in the Jaguar range because it is the first to introduce the new "Ingenium" engine range suitable for the XE to deliver a healthy balance of performance and efficiency. There's a 2.0L 4-cylinder diesel engine with two different configurations; the first that can achieve 75MPG on the combined cycle and the latter is the more powerful one with 180PS of power. Apart from the Ingenium range, you can get a 2.0L turbo petrol engine or the more powerful 3.0L Supercharged V6 engine derived from the F-Type.

2016 Jaguar XE

The 3.0L V6 supercharged engine, available on the S variant produces 340PS of power and 450Nm of torque. 0-60mph takes about 4.9 seconds and top speed electronically limited to 155mph. This version is mated with an improved 8-speed automatic gearbox which sounds like a much but if you want to have a more enjoyable drive should go for the lesser models, basically the one with the Ingenium engines in it because of its newly-developed 6-speed manual gearbox which shifts greatly and accurately without the drama.

Now, let's talk about handling and this is where the XE starts to come unraveled because for the first time in the Jaguar, an electric power steering is implemented and when you engage to its sportiest setting, you'll be having a hard time giving this car a good thrashing but when you get things right, the XE feels more accessible and planted to the road like sliding through jellied eels. Think about this, when you try to draw a string on your bow, you are trying to break the silence and things get a little more surprising as you come across the right path.

2016 Jaguar XE interior

The XE really gets on the right path unlike the X-Type from the last decade and while this is still essentially a good car to drive, despite the implementation of its electric power steering, which became a thrill-killing curse to all cars of today, and it feels more civilized on the road. On the inside, it has everything what a good saloon car should do when he's done with his office affairs and it's nicer to live with.

2016 Jaguar XE

The new XE starts at around 29,775 Pounds and that costs a lot than its German competitors but if there's one thing to like about the XE that is on par against its German rivals, it's not about the style and the performance. It's about the importance of being an all-important Jag on the lineup and by proving that this is the future for Jaguar, it's been sealed and we can expect great things to come from the XE and the rest of the Jaguar lineup.

Available colors: Ebony Black Solid, Polaris White Solid, Ammonite Grey Metallic, Bluefire Metallic, British Racing Green Metallic, Dark Sapphire Metallic, Glacier White Metallic, Italian Racing Red Metallic, Odyssey Red Metallic, Osmium Blue Metallic, Quartzite Metallic, Rhodium Silver Metallic, Ultimate Black Metallic, Black Cherry Premium, Celestial Black Premium, Ingot Premium, Storm Grey Metallic, and Tempest Grey Premium.

Photo: Jaguar Land Rover Limited

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Let's Do The News! (May 26, 2015)



- 13 people are reportedly killed by a tornado that swept through the northern Mexico border city of Ciudad Acuna. Hundreds of homes have been damaged or destroyed in the border town just across the border from Del Rio, Texas, where it has suffered massive floods that killed three people and left 12 missing.

- Russia commenced their large-scale military exercise involving around 250 aircraft and 12,00 service personnel, which served as a "massive surprise inspection" to check combat readiness. The drills began on the same day as NATO and some of its affiliates started Arctic military drills.

- Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte should be held liable for admitting his links to the vigilante group responsible for the executions of suspected criminals in the city known as the Davao Death Squad, according to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. The vigilante group, according to human rights watchdogs, were responsible for killing of over a thousand people, mostly criminals.

- The Chinese government lambasted the US over their reconnaissance activities near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

- Over 200 Japanese manufacturing companies in China will be relocated in the Philippines within the next five years because of the country's economic competitiveness. There are over 1650 Japanese companies located in the Philippines and some say, they have received inquiries from Japanese firms, which can increase by 200 up to 300 easily.

- The new Skoda Superb Combi has been unveiled and it features the same features as the saloon equivalent, only this time with added boot space.

2016 Skoda Superb Combi

- To celebrate the launch of Fujitsu's brand new ARROWS NX F-04G smartphone with the world's first iris authentication technology, they need help from the girls of THE iDOLM@STER to help promote their newest smartphone to the Japanese public! Takane Shijou, Rin Shibuya from Cinderella Girls, and Tsubasa Ibuki from Million Live are here to promote the latest smartphone from Fujitsu with a campaign starting from the 28 of May (the phone's on-sale date) to the 31st of July, 2015.

- The 13th DLC Catalog of THE iDOLM@STER ONE FOR ALL is now available and on this DLC catalog; Cinderella Girls' Uzuki Shimamura, Rin Shibuya, and Mio Honda are making special appearances and will be performing the theme song from the CG anime titled Star!! Also, four new songs are added such as "shiny smile", "愛 LIKE ハンバーガー", "SMOKY THRILL", and "Honey Heartbeat".

- On the Loveliver's side, Japanese internet domain registration site "onamae.com" join forces with the upcoming Love Live! The School Idol Movie where those who register for internet domains or servers will receive limited-time items courtesy of, theirs truly, μ's themselves!

- Eli Ayase from Love Live gets her own figma courtesy of Good Smile Company! She's priced at 5,370 Yen plus tax when she arrives this November. Get your checkbooks ready, Lovelivers. Your Elichika awaits you. Harasho!

figma Eli Ayase

TTFN!!!

FIA Formula E - Berlin


In the course of the Berlin ePrix of the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship began, there has been a gathering of electric vehicles roaming around the city stage for the world record and with 577 electric vehicles gathered round on Berlin, they've succeeded in smashing the previous world record set in Silicon Valley, USA in September 2014.

Onto the Berlin ePrix of the Formula E, Dragon Racing's Jerome d'Ambrosio is named the winner while e.dams-Renault's Sebastien Buemi placed 2nd and Dragon Racing's Loic Duval placed 3rd. Karun Chandhok of Mahindra has been given a 28 second time penalty for exceeding maximum power usage while Audi Sport ABT's Lucas di Grassi was excluded on this race for non-standardised components.

On the driver's standings, NEXTEV TCR's Nelson Piquet remains 1st in 103 points while Sebastien Buemi's two points behind and di Grassi's in 3rd place with 93 points.

Highlights:



The next race is at Moscow, Russia, on the 6th of June.

F1 2015 - Monaco GP

Image: Getty Images

Mercedes-AMG's Nico Rosberg has scored his third win for this F1 2015 season in the Monaco Grand Prix having managed to outgun his teammate Lewis Hamilton, because of communication error, and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton placed 3rd while Vettel placed 2nd.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen from Toro Rosso has been given a five-place grid penalty on the next race for crashing with Romain Grosjean on the 64th lap.

So far on the driver's standings; Hamilton and Rosberg now had a 10-point gap between them while Vettel remains 3rd for 98 points.

The next race is at Canada on the 7th of June, 2015.

Monday, May 25, 2015

#GoinBulilit - May 24, 2015

On the May 24, 2015 episode of Goin Bulilit...

- GB Music video of SHINE PILIPINAS

- Home Depot gags.

- In "MGA KWENG KWENG MOMENTS", Kweng Kweng thought there's some ice cream in here!

- Pictorial



- Leftovers from their South Korean adventures!

- "Heart in Seoul"

- In "MGA KWENG KWENG MOMENTS", Kweng Kweng failed to realize that there's no cookies!

- In "MGA KWENG KWENG MOMENTS", Kweng Kweng got fooled by the juice pack!

- Colorful Date at the Garden of Morning Calm.

Let's Do The News! (May 25, 2015)


- Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi said that they are going to take back the city of Ramadi from the Islamic State militants in days but he states that more support from the international coalition was needed. Iraqi forces are suffering major damage from the IS over the past year.

- According to the No 10, citizens from other European countries residing in the United Kingdom are not eligible  to vote in the referendum on Europe. Those eligible will be the same as those who can vote in a general election, rather than local or European Parliament elections.

- Andrzej Duda won the Polish elections by about 53%, trumping against the current president Bronislaw Komorowski following the release of exit polls. Although he now has limited powers, Komorowski still is head of the armed forces and can veto new laws.

- Hundreds of Rohingya bodies near camps suspected of belonging to human smugglers have been found by Malaysian authorities and they believed that the Rohingya Muslims are trying to escape from Burma.

- The Metro Manila Development Authority is going to commence a metrowide earthquake drill on 72 barangays straddling the West Valley Fault to discuss steps to be taken on how to survive a more powerful earthquake when it hits the capital.

- Gay marriage is now legal in Ireland after the world's first national vote on this common issue.

- Mans Zelmerlow from Sweden became the winner of the annual Eurovision singing competition while 1st runner-up, Polina Gagarina, was booed by the crowd over her nation's strong opposition against Ukraine as well as its anti-gay laws.

- Actress Angelica Panganiban, who is going to play as villain Claudia Buenavista on the 2015 remake of Pangako Sa'yo, is going to get her "lifetime achievement" award.

- On this week's Jay Leno's Garage, Jay Leno drives a modified 1964 Honda S600.



TTFN!!!

Sunday, May 24, 2015

FH2 Storm Island: Lancer Pizza

evo (2)

This is the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI and this is much more of an ultimate version of the Lancer we called it "Lancer Pizza" because of its pizza-shaped taillamps. If my memory serves me correctly, most of the youth who were in their senior years or in college were driving one of these apart from its "Lancer itlog" predecessor. Sadly, we don't have a Lancer itlog here but this "Lancer pizza" really reminds us of our younger selves, younger selves that we used it for transportation or for fun while causing much of a trouble. Apart from driving it, we used it to hide from grownups chasing us, making out with our girlfriends, listening to some radio music while stuck in traffic, whatever we're facing with. This Lancer Pizza has lots of youthful memories.

But this is the Evo, or to be more precise, the Evo VI, the one were the Lancer pizza has been pushed to its greater heights as well as its racing pedigree thanks to its involvement in the World Rally Championship with Tommi Makinen behind the wheel.

evo

Continuing on my Storm Island journey, the next championship I'm taking on involves 90s rally machines and this one really makes the cuts and I signed up for one. Before that, some improvements have been made on my Lancer Pizza Evo VI to make it capable of surviving Storm Island's extreme terrains. As for looks, I made it look like it was taking on amateur rallycross. Yes. It wants to show its racing pedigree like most Evos do in their lifespan.

And now, the big moment...



Four races down! Looks like the highly memorable Lancer pizza, even in its hypo-Evo form, really survived Storm Island. With four championships cleared, my journey towards the finale in Storm Island continues but before taking on the next tier, I need to complete...The Gauntlet. What is the gauntlet? Stay tuned...

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Driving Music (What is the name of the song on car commercial?) Vol. 69



Hi, person who's busy searching for commercial songs,

Due to a copyright claim, your search query has been blocked in some countries. This means it's time now for another round of DRIVING MUSIC, but it will be limited to my choosing.

Search query: 2015 acura TLX "More" by the bandits bros. song on commercial.
Includes: Audio content
Claimed by: the commercial itself

Why this can happen:
 - Your search query might contain copyrighted content.
 - Copyright owners can choose to block your query that contain their content.

10) Don't Slow Down by Matt and Kim - from the 2015 Acura ILX commercial

9) Get Low by Dillon Francis - from the Dodge "Dodge Brothers: Push the Limits" commercial

8) Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys by Waylon Jennings - from the VW USA Passat TDI "Mom" commercial

7) Maybe by Patti Austin - from the 1997 Honda Domani commercial

6) You can't hurry love by NOKKO - from the 1997 Nissan Cefiro commercial

5) It Never Rains In Southern California by 広瀬香美 - from the 1997 Nissan Cefiro Wagon commercial

4) Novabossa by CLAZZIQUAI - from the 2003 Nexen Tire commercial

3) 夏のCOLLAGE by 山下達郎 - from the 1998 Toyota Carina commercial

2) Paint a Smile On Me by Black Yaya - from the 2015 Peugeot 2008 "Ice City" commercial

1) Eins Zwei Polizei by Mo-Do from the 2015 Acura TLX "More" commercial

Driving Music from Leopaul's Blog is the segment where solves every car enthusiasts' questions about the title of the song of car commercials...with the risk of MATCHED THIRD PARTY CONTENT on their status. Acknowledge or dispute, it's your choice.

#BubbleGang - May 22, 2015

On the May 22, 2015 episode of Bubble Gang...

- Anything you're looking for can be found in the LOST and FOUND!



- "Pinalayas ako" gags

- Jealousy at the class reunion...



- Antonietta was abducted by Mylene Dizon and faces a much familiar foe!

- IKAW AT ANG INA takes on "Can't Sleep" posts!

- More helpful advice from Tata Lino!

  • Ang mata ay sa harap para makita ang daan at hindi sa likod para tanawin ang nagdaan.
  • Kung hindi totoo ang forever na yan, ba't ang lolo't lola mo, nagbabahay-bahayan?
  • Ang buhok ko'y puti na at ang balat ko'y kulubot pero ang tungkod ko'y matigas at hindi bumabaluktot.
- Soaperman and Batnaman are stopping the bank robbers!





- Istambay, Istambay sa Looban, 'Tigil na muna ang Pagte-textan, Eto ang kwentong kapitbahayan, Away sa maliit na...DAHILAN!

- More lait-lait from the one-and-only Lala Ytera!

The Forevermore ending

The show Forevermore has became a phenomenal hit with fans not just in the Philippines but also the rest of the world via TFC and they just can't get enough seeing how the Xagnes love story, which in the case of Xander (played by Enrique Gil) and Agnes (Liza Soberano), starting to unfold from the start to the finish.

Now, here comes the ending of Forevermore everyone's been talking about. In the finale, we saw Xander and Agnes stranded in the middle of nowhere during a sudden downpour. While stranded in the middle of nowhere, Agnes began telling the truth to Xander, about how she felt when he left him, about how she met Jake, and how she overcome during Xander's departure. Meanwhile, everyone at La Presa's worrying about these two.

When the rain stopped and the sun shines, the people of La Presa finally found Xander and Agnes safe and sound. Meanwhile, upon arriving at the hotel, Xander tells the truth to everyone at the board, including his mother and his grandmother. Upon telling the truth, he exposed that the San Juans are held responsible for sabotaging La Presa's water supply and therefore arrested for their charges.

Meanwhile, Papang (Joey Marquez) gave Agnes some allowance for her trip to Japan and knowing how much she's grown. Agnes felt the same too, knowing that she's free to do whatever she wants. As for the people of La Presa, they're feasting about Jake and Agnes' departure. Agnes shares some of her memorable moments while living in La Presa.

As for Xander, he explains about his love for Agnes to his friend Alex (Erich Gonzales) and Alex felt even more emotional upon knowing about Xander's feelings towards Agnes. After his chat with Alex, Xander rushed to La Presa to find Agnes but Papang told that Agnes left.

Agnes left wondering at the countryside during a rainfall and when Xander encountered her, he has sworn that he will never make the same mistake to Agnes and he will always be there to her forever. When Agnes showed Xander the ring, he threw it away, knowing that love isn't about twin strawberries, Xander showed the ring to Agnes and then goes his four little words "will you marry me?". Agnes happily says yes!

Forevermore ending

This concludes the story of Forevermore.

Friday, May 22, 2015

Let's Do The News! (May 22, 2015)


- The Islamic State has taken over the last Syrian government-controlled border crossing between Syria and Iraq as government troops retreated from the border. With the border takeover, the IS are beginning to take control of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. What's worse, they'll be using the ancient ruins as their main line of defense against airstrikes.

- A report from an ASEAN correspondent from BBC delves deeper on the human trafficking trade in Thailand. He spent six months analyzing the gruesome human trade occurred in this ASEAN nation.

- British PM David Cameron plans to negotiate the EU on restricting migrants' access to the UK welfare system. He wants to ensure that the nation's benefits are not a drive of the EU's freedom of movement rules.

- Cho Hyun-ah, the former Korean Air executive infamous for her "nut rage" last year, was released when the appeals court overturned her conviction for violating aviation safety laws.

- It is said that the National Security Agency plans to hack Google and Samsung's app stores to plant spyware on smartphones. It was all part from the leaked info by fugitive Edward Snowden regarding the NSA targeting innocent people by spying on their data.

- The Philippine National Railways is unlikely to continue their operations before the start of the school year next month because rail experts from the US were recently arrived this week and they will resume their operations likely before the June 12 Independence Day.

- The next generation of Need For Speed is coming on the PC, PS4, and XBOX One this fall. Here's your first look at the upcoming racing game.



- A new Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game has announced! It will be titled Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon and it's coming on the 3DS late 2015.

- Rin Hoshizora from Love Live! anime series loves ramen and because she loves ramen so much, she even got a role for an upcoming commercial for Acecook, promoting their limited-edition noodles as well as The School Idol Movie, coming next month.

TTFN!!!

Red Nose Day USA

Red Nose Day

For the first time ever, BBC's Comic Relief-style charity telethon, Red Nose Day, has landed in the USA with a special three-hour telethon aired on NBC and keeping it true to Red Nose tradition, it features a plethora of comedy sketches, musical performances, and watching our favorite celebs giving back to the communities, even for the children from Africa and elsewhere.

Over the course of the telethon, we see Seth Meyers' celebrity phone tree, what happens when ladies do male roles from movies, Ed Sheeran performs with Kermit the Frog, Hollywood Secrets, Nick Offerman vs. Will Ferrell in The Voice, British celebs helping people, and so much more. It's not just about hilarity, it's about helping others like in the case of comedian Jack Black visiting Africa to help the children, Blake Shelton on the Health Fund, and Fast and Furious' Michelle Rodriguez visiting Peru to rebuild people's' lives.

It all ends with boyband Coldplay doing a musical version of Game of Thrones that didn't go exactly as planned.

Over $14 million have been donated by the viewers and the sponsors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the numbers continue to grow even after Red Nose Day USA ends.

For ongoing donations (US residents): http://rednosedayusa.org/