Super GT 2016 FINALE

Under certain circumstances, the season finale of Autobacs Super GT is a two-parter held at the Twin Ring Motegi. The main reason why it's a two-part finale is because that third round, which is supposed to be held at the Autopolis (which is near the quake-struck Kumamoto Prefecture) was suspended and therefore, making the final round a two-parter to ensure that this season remains an eight-round event as planned.

Check out the highlights of this epic two-part finale of the 2016 Super GT season.

In part one, the winner in the GT500 class goes to the #24 Forum Engineering ADVAN GT-R, driven by Daiki Sasaki and Masataka Yanagida, while the winner in the GT300 class goes to the #21 Hitotsuyama Audi R8 LMS, driven by Richard Lyons and Tomonobu Fujii. In part two, the #39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD RC F, driven by Heikki Kovalainen and Kohei Hirate, won the GT500 class while the #25 VivaC 86 MC, driven by Takeshi Tsuchiya and Takamitsu Matsui, won the GT300 class.

Still, the champions of the Autobacs Super GT 2016 Series go to the #39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD RC F, driven by Heikki Kovalainen and Kohei Hirate, for the GT500 class and the #25 VivaC 86 MC, driven by Takeshi Tsuchiya and Takamitsu Matsui, for the GT300 class. It really was a winner take all finale, after all, huh?

Anyway, this concludes the AUTOBACS Super GT 2016 Series. See you next season.

Let's Do The News! (November 14, 2016)

- According to a UP professor, US President-Elect Donald Trump may adapt "peace through strength" policy in the Asia-Pacific region. Jay Batongbacal, director of the UP Institute of Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea said than an imminent Trump administration indicates such policy and added that the United States would focus less on the economic aspect and would be open to a so-called "grand bargain" with China.

- President Rodrigo Duterte may hold two to four bilateral meets on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Peru. According to a foreign affairs official, nothing is final yet regarding the meetings, which are dependent on the availability of Duterte and other world leaders.

- PNP Police Director General Bato Dela Rosa is willing to be imprisoned if it turns out he broke the law by going on a trip to Las Vegas to see the Pacquiao-Vargas fight. Dela Rosa admitted that Senator Manny Pacquiao paid for everything when he and his family flew to Las Vegas to watch his recent fight against Jessie Vargas.

- The University of the Philippines will vote tomorrow for its next president, who will succeed Alfredo Pascual whose six-year term ends in February 2017. The 11-member UP Board of Regents, will select the next UP president during a special meeting at the Diliman campus. They will choose among six nominees, who are expected to face the regents prior to the election.

- A strong quake rattled the South Island of New Zealand early Monday, shaking residents awake, causing damage to buildings and triggered small tsunami waves. The M7.8 quake struck just after midnight in a mostly rural area close to the city of Christchurch. So far, no reports of injuries but it reminded them of a M6.3 quake that hit Christchurch five years ago and killed 185 people, making it the worst disasters in New Zealand.

- Check out what's in store with the brand new Love Live School Idol Festival ~afterschool Activity~ arcade game, set to arrive this December, including smartphone app connectivity as well as printing real cards for your collection! Now, where did they get that idea from?

- The first teaser trailer for the live-action Ghost in the Shell film starring actress Scarlett Johansson as the Major is now up and running.



- In case you missed the recent Eat Bulaga Kalyeserye, that "positive" the lolas are talking about regarding Maine Mendoza could only mean one thing...



TTFN!!!

Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet

Back in 2014, Mercedes-Benz made their first-ever S-Class Coupe to serve as the replacement to the CL-Class, which was based from the previous S-Class of yesteryears. Although being a two-door flagship grand tourer derivative of Mercedes' flagship saloon, the S-Class Coupe has been the potent pugilist against Bentley's Continental GT in terms of pricing but only those Marquises and Marchionesses who owned it will live up to their tales. Now, there's an open-top version that is all about business and leisure all day long.

2017 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet

Say hello to the first-ever S-Class Cabriolet from Mercedes-Benz and by the looks of it, this open-top grand tourer is about Great Ocean Road meets Wall Street from one place to another, but this grand tourer can rest its case, even though its super-expensive 139,885 Euro pricing stuns the Bentley Continental GT Convertible.

Of course, being convertibles, they can weigh more than its hardtop equivalents but in a normal S500 Cabriolet, with the 4.7L V8 engine connected with the 9G-TRONIC gearbox, developing 455PS of power and 700Nm of torque, it can get out from 0 to 100kph in 4.6 seconds, which is .4 seconds quicker than the Continental GT V8 Convertible, but sadly, the Benz is electronically limited to 250kph.

2017 Mercedes-AMG S63 Cabriolet

2017 Mercedes-AMG S65 Cabriolet

Although, if any high rollers want to up the ante, they can go with two powerful AMG versions; the S63 Cabriolet or the S65 Cabriolet. This should give them plenty of oomph to give the opposition a run on their briefcases load of cash from Fifth Avenue to Verrazano Bridge. While the S63 Cabriolet uses the soon-to-be-rot 5.5L V8 BiTurbo engine producing 585PS of power output, its 0-100kph time of 3.9 seconds will drown the CGT V8 S Convertible at the start line, although the option to limit its top speed of 300kph is a tad 8kph less than the CGT V8 S Convertible.

The S65 Cabriolet, with the turbocharged 6.0L V12 engine and with the SPEEDSHIFT PLUS gearbox, sees the CGT Speed Convertible as the target, and with its 630PS of power output, getting away from the Bentley .2 seconds quicker is an easy task but be warned because even with the optional package to increase its top speed limit, that will be 28kph less than what the CGT Speed Convertible can pull off. So, even with these open-top versions weighing more than their hardtop equivalents, the story remains the same although the price difference sets these rivals apart.

Hmmm, if you can recall how the S-Class Coupe handles, they can be very hard to handle due to its weight and in terms of dynamics, it's very challenging indeed if you're not careful with it. The same story goes to the open-top versions. Even though you can feel a slight difference due to its added weight from these open-top equivalents, it takes guts to get these cars from one point to another very carefully because they can tend to oversteer or understeer and looks like you're going to need a new artificial hip after that long struggle with these open-top grand tourers. Of course, if you're not in a mood to be as loud as a house with lots of kids inside, they can be very subtle and enjoyable to drive on the open road like smelling the fresh air from the Great Ocean Road.

With the first-ever cabriolet variant, there are different kinds of S-Class to choose from and whichever S-Class you choose is proof that you have the highest standards, a cut above the rest if you really understand what it means, but with stiffer competitions aside, looks like the S-Class range will going to be on a tough slob but if anyone's greedy enough to spend their briefcases load of money, look no further.

Photo: Daimler AG

Mercedes-Benz E-Class W213 Estate

With the latest-generation Mercedes E-Class, the German carmaker is taking a path ahead to the autonomous driving trend by delivering its highly-advanced driver tech that is smart enough to track down roads with precise movements. A quantum leap through the better future of driving thanks to its clever intelligence planted in this sports saloon, if I recalled. So, what if you can get the same driving tech from the saloon while getting some more space in the trunk?

2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate

An estate version, to be exact. The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate delivers the same highly-advanced driver tech that is smart enough to track down roads with precise movements, only this time, with the added boot space big enough to load their lifestyles.

It's the same E-Class story inside out but because this is the new estate version, there are new stuff offered on this model such as the new EASY-PACK tailgate that can be opened and closed at the push of a button for better loading and unloading as well as the available KEYLESS-GO with HANDS-FREE ACCESS, which fits very well in various situations like your kid's afterschool football practice, your next grocery shopping, your next trip to the province, or whatever you see fit to this tech-savvy station wagon. Another features you can expect later on is the third, folding bench seat at the back as well as the rear-seat entertainment system that will keep kids staying on that "sweet spot" they've been saving for weeks. Although it's not just made to be a family car, its luxury car status will keep rich men leaving with their "out on a limo" feeling.

Because this is a station wagon version, it has a capacity of 670 to 1820 litres, making it the biggest in its class, courtesy of its 40:20:40 split foldable rear seats with various seating arrangements suitable for various situations.

Like the saloon, the new E-Class Estate features the DRIVE PILOT feature with Distance Pilot DISTRONIC allows the car to handle road types to keep it in the correct distance behind vehicles in front automatically as well as following them at speeds up to 210kph. It even comes with the Remote Parking Pilot feature, Car-to-X  communication, and PRE-SAFE as well, making it technologically ready for tomorrow's world.

Performance-wise, the estate version inherits the same engine choices from the saloon as well as the brand new 3.5L V6 turbo engine for the E400 4MATIC model that produces 333PS of power and 480Nm of torque, while mated to a 9G-TRONIC gearbox and 4MATIC permanent all-wheel drive. PHEV and an AMG models will follow shortly post-launch. As for dynamics, the new E-Class Estate, inherited the same lighter and stiffer bodywork from the saloon as well as its Direct-Steer system, can track down corners with precise movements and it's a great wagon to take it on the highs and lows of the road, from workdays to day offs.

Should you buy one? The new E-Class Estate starts at 48,665 Euros, which is a pricing that slot between its rivals for its expense, but rest assured that with all that tech-savvy features inherited from the saloon, this station wagon version of the E-Class is here today, ready for tomorrow's roads.

Photo: Daimler AG

Monstrous fire hits rural Mandaluyong

A massive fire broke out in a rural part of Mandaluyong City on Sunday, as if the blaze looked like a scene from a Hollywood movie or something.

The blaze reached the highest level at 9:45 pm on Sunday, and was declared under control at 12:31 am on Monday, November 14. In response, all of the available firefighters have been dispatched to that matter.

Report: http://www.rappler.com/nation/152264-mandaluyong-addition-hills-fire-november-13-2016

Paris attacks - one year later...

Map Imagery from Google

November 13, 2015 - It was nighttime in Paris, France, when armed terrorists unleashed a barrage of attacks through numerous sites in the French capital such as nearby Stade de France, where the soccer match between France and Germany occurred, Avenue de la République, Rue de Charonne, Rue Bichat, and the hardest hit on the deadly Paris attacks is the Bataclan concert hall where a rock concert occurred and then terrorists taken dozens of people hostage.

According to reports, over 130 people were killed, making it the deadliest attack in France since World War II, and the Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for the attacks. In response, French president Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency to the capital and staged retaliatory strikes against the Islamic State militants who are held responsible for the attacks.

Right now, France has became one of the hotbeds of terrorist attacks led by the Islamic State militants followed by Belgium and Germany. It seems that the European Union failed to contain such deadly attacks led by these terrorists. With the rise of Donald Trump being elected as the 45th president of the United States, the world superpower, and with a French politician belonging to an anti-immigration party, named Marine Le Pen, is gunning for the presidential seat in France, it seems that things are taking in from bad to worse. With all that Islamic extremism taking the world affairs by storm, it's a loud, loud, loud, loud world after all and for us, the war on terror isn't just your everyday warfare. This is advanced warfare and we could be in for a long slob.

2016-2017 Seattle International Auto Show at CenturyLink Field Event Center

Despite all of what happened throughout the week, I still had my mood happy enough to go to the annual Seattle International Auto Show, held at the CenturyLink Field Event Center. This year's event runs until the 13th of November, 2016, and there are so many cool cars in store in this show. With so many cool cars in store, I got a chance to take pics of these cars to show all of you.

Check it out!



Full gallery:
https://flic.kr/s/aHskNpqeYC

My video footage: