Second-Generation Jaguar XF

Once served as the replacement for the lackluster S-Type, the Jaguar XF was designed to take on the likes of BMW's 5-Series, Mercedes E-Class, and the Audi A6, and for this all-new second-generation model, the new Jaguar XF promises to be quite a seducing take on the premium midsize saloon craze while delivering its intimidating character that Jaguar promises to be "Good to be Bad".

2016 Jaguar XF

Looks more promising, isn't it? For this new model, it looks like an enlarged version of its baby brother, the recently-launched XE, but while the XE is made to intimidate the smaller luxury cars in its caliber, the new XF is made to bewilder its rivals in terms of style and performance. One look at the XF and you can't tell how seducing this new model is and then, the interior...

2016 Jaguar XF interior

Well, it somewhat resembles to the inside of the XE but the XF's well-lavished interior really brings the shame on uniformal interiors of today's German saloons, although the JLR-trademark rotating shift knob remains quite an annoyance for some car enthusiasts. Despite being shorter than the previous model, the wheelbase is surprisingly longer, meaning it's well spacious in the back as well. Although the interior of the new XF is well-tailored in its own right, perhaps there's one missing in terms of evaluating it and I have a clever way. First get a girl with red hair to be seating in the front passenger seat and then do a fake out make out on her. You know what I'm saying?

2016 Jaguar XF

Anyway, time for the performance side and thanks to extensive use of aluminum, the new XF is surprisingly 190kg lighter than the previous model, and because it is lighter, you will be surprise how the new XF performs. In terms of comfort, it's as warm as a music box playing a beautiful song, but when you let it all out, its dynamic character can intimidate its opposition like a wild jackal hunting down its prey. If this new XF sticks to its "Good to be Bad" motto, then this is worth the try to scare the Germans into fruition.

Engine choices include a healthy dose of a 2.0L GTDi, 3.0L Supercharged V6, 2.0 diesel, and a 3.0 diesel engine. Most of these engines are Euro 6 compliant. The most powerful in the lineup is the 3.0L Supercharged V6 on the XF-S. This engine produces 381PS of power and 450Nm of torque. In rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive alike, it will do 0-60mph in 5.3 seconds, which sounds reasonably quick for a sports saloon. Depending on the model, the transmission can either be a six-speed or an eight-speed automatic gearbox respectively.

2016 Jaguar XF

Even though the new XF is as intimidating as Jaguars can get, it's surprisingly technological as well. It comes with All Surface Progress Control, HUD Display with laser technology, virtual instrument display similar to Audis of today have, InControl services, Autonomous Emergency Braking, and of course, an available Meridian Sound System.

The new XF starts from 32,300 to 49,945 GBP and while this sounds like a lot for a luxury car of that size, the new XF promises to be quite a worthy contender in the premium midsize saloon stakes and with everything loaded in its latest regeneration, the new XF is a well-proven starting point for Jaguar and in the future, we can expect great things to come in the new XF, including a more high-performance model coming soon. In the meantime, let's see how far and how exciting the new XF goes and it takes some modern ways to convince anyone to get their hands on it.

Available Colors: Ebony Black, Polaris White, Ammonite Grey, Aurora Red, British Racing Green, Dark Sapphire, Glacier White, Italian Racing Red, Odyssey Red, Quartzite, Rhodium Silver, Ultimate Black.Black Berry, Storm Grey, Tempest Grey, Celestial Black, and Ingot.

Photo: Jaguar Land Rover

Jubilee of Mercy: More Holy Doors opened

Jubilee of Mercy logo

Continuing on the ongoing Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy which began on the 8th of December and onwards until the Feast of Christ the King in November 20th, 2016, the Holy Doors of the Basilicas of St. John Lateran, the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and of the Cathedrals of the World.

During the opening of the Holy Door of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, a mass occurred and Pope Francis stressed that despite concerns in light of recent violence that engulfed the world, we must not give into sadness. He spoke of the Holy Door not just here but for the Cathedrals of the World.

Following the opening of the Holy Door of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls was opened by Cardinal James Harvey, the Archpriest of the Basilica. It was a simultaneous opening of the Holy Doors as part of the Extraordinary Jubilee.

With the Holy Door of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls opened, Pope Francis is expected to enter during the ecumenical service on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul on the 25th of January next year.

The next Holy Door will be opened at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on New Year's Day.

Further Reading:

1) Pope opens Holy Door in John Lateran Basilica - Vatican Radio

2) Opening of Holy Door at St. Paul Outside the Walls

COP21 concludes with the Paris treaty

After weeks of negotiations from the world's top leaders at the COP21 Climate Conference in Paris, they have managed to conclude the climate conference by adopting a new global framework known as the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement is a global framework that will commit all nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, be it economic superpower or emerging country alike.

This agreement calls for the world to make efforts to keep the global temperature rising to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-Industrial Revolution levels. It also promises nations to bring global emissions to none within the year 2050.

For every five years, all nations must submit their reduction targets to the UN for a reevaluation.

The Paris Agreement marks the first time all nations are expected to reduce emissions since the 1997 Kyoto Protocol that required developed countries to do so, except for emerging ones.

Further reading:

1) COP21: Climate deal 'final draft' reached in Paris - BBC News
2) Final draft of climate deal unveiled in Paris - CNN.com
3) Global Climate Change Pact Approved at COP 21 Conference in Paris
4) COP21 ends with adoption of Paris Agreement - News - NHK WORLD - English

Forza Motorsport 6: Smells like Calais

Continuing on Forza Motorsport 6's tribute to Australian motoring, there is another classic Australian muscle car added to the roster courtesy of the Mobil 1 Car Pack. It's another Holden and this time, it's a VL Commodore Group A SV, the car that signalled the birth of Holden Special Vehicles division.



Ever since the collaboration between Holden and racing driver Peter Brock ended, Holden needed someone to create a new performance division and that's what Tom Walkinshaw Racing turned in and with that, Holden Special Vehicles was established, succeeding where the Holden Dealer Team left off.

Based on the VL Commodore saloon, the SV is a special model featuring a special bodykit courtesy of TWR, which reduces drag by over 25% over the previous HDT SS Group A. The 5.0L V8 engine, producing 241HP of power, has been improved to withstand racing conditions.

It was limited to 500 units, due to homologation regulations, and it's only available in Panorama Silver exterior color, but due to demand, an additional 250 units were made.

After many failed attempts in racing since its 1988 motorsport debut, a race-spec VL scored a win in the 1990 Tooheys 1000 by Win Percy and Allan Grice, as well as the 1990 Nissan Sydney 500 by Perkins and Tomas Mezera in a privately entered car.



Although I am not familiar with the VL Commodore, I had an unquestionable feeling that I'm starting to enjoy the VL Commodore when I spent so much time driving one. Although this is a road-going touring car heavily inspired from its motorsports involvement, driving one smells and feels like I'm in Calais. Yes, and some might say there was such thing as a VL Calais in the real world, this hardcore VL Commodore feels like I'm as close as I can get to Calais but this isn't Calais though because I'm in Bathurst and while in Bathurst, its dynamic character makes it very tricky to handle but at the hands of skilled drivers, driving one of these is as enjoyable as reminiscing its motorsports past and its remarkable feats that the legendary Tom Walkinshaw invested in spawning these machines and give birth to the HSV as we knew it.

Speaking of which, I need to compare it to a modern equivalent to the car I'm driving and find out just how close are these two Aussie saloons.



To some people who may have noticed that this is just an American saloon known as the Chevrolet SS, you haven't seen the rest of it because the fact is, the Chevrolet SS is basically a Holden VF Commodore rebadged and sold in the USA in the same way the deceased Pontiac G8 did to the Holden VE Commodore. Let's remember though, this is built in Australia so that matches the qualifications of a comparo I set up with. Without further ado, let's compare the classic Aussie muscle versus its modern-day equivalent.


Look at those Australian-born cars, feeling at home at their home ground and since they're having the best time of their lives, these Aussie cars think that the Land Down Under never felt so alive for them. Anyway, no time for being sentimental because it's onto the results. The SS did it in 02:46.983 while the VL Commodore Group A SV did it in 02:57.726. So there's an eleven second gap between them but never mind though because even though the VL Commodore did it eleven seconds slower than the modern-day VF Commodore....errr....Chevy SS, I am glad that I have driven another Aussie greats in FM6 and I'd expect more like these because with Australian car production is nearing its end, there's nothing like a better time than paying tribute to Australian motoring.

Mmmm....This VL Commodore smells like Calais...

Things we learned from the 2015 Tekken Finals

Photo: Official Bandai Namco US Instagram (@bandainamcous)

With the latest installment of the hard-hitting Tekken franchise, Tekken 7, is in full swing in the arcades and while we're still waiting for the PS4 version to arrive soon (yes, really), the best of Tekken gamers from around the globe sharpen their skills on playing Tekken 7 and then work their way up to this year's Tekken World Finals, where the grand winner will receive 3,000,000 Japanese Yen in cash and more.

We have learned that a gamer named Nobi from Japan has named as the grand champion of this year's Tekken finals after winning the final round against South Korean Tekken player knee, but that win is more than just experiencing the best of Tekken veterans blowing the competition on Tekken 7. There are some huge announcements happened in the World Finals and get this; Bandai Namco announced a major update on the Tekken 7 arcade game called FATED RETRIBUTION.

In the FATED RETRIBUTION update, not only new characters, outfits, and graphic updates are added to the mix but there is one special guest appearing on the latest update on Tekken 7. Yep, it's Akuma (Gouki) from the Street Fighter games and this ultimate baddie is raising hell on Tekken 7. You have been warned.

It's coming soon at your local arcades near you. Most Tekken fans can't contain their excitement over the major update on Bandai Namco's hard-hitting fighting franchise ever made and so are we.

So, GET READY FOR THE NEXT BATTLE, ladies and gentlemen.

Kalyeserye's aftermath of losing the mansion

Photo: Official Eat Bulaga
Facebook page

It was a sad day for Lola Nidora and her sisters as well as Yaya Dub because on the recent Kalyeserye segment on Eat Bulaga, the girls got evicted from their beloved mansion because of the dreadful court order. They packed themselves up alongside the Rogelios and they have left the mansion for good. With the mansion no longer part of Lola Nidora's life for now, the Kalye's Angels have ventured out to find a new home. Of course, even though Alden Richards' very busy in the Broadway Centrum, he remains faithful and trustworthy to Lola Nidora, her sisters, and Yaya Dub.

So, what will the lolas and Yaya Dub do now? Will they be able to find a new place called home? Will they be able to recover themselves after series of setbacks that dragged them down to their knees? Keep watching Eat Bulaga every weekdays for more Kalyeserye antics.

#BubbleGang - December 11, 2015

On the December 11, 2015 episode of Bubble Gang...

- Frankenstein gags

- Doing double.

- More Patok Taktiks are examined.

- Juancho Trivino takes on TSUGI O CHORVA!

- Staying outside? He will see about that...

- Every good star has a great stage-cousin.

- The not-so-ideal couple arrived at the reunion.

- Battle of the NGOs.