In the ninth episode of Amazon's Original TV Series, The Grand Tour, the boys are stepping through the future by giving the motoring world a glimpse of tomorrow.
First up, James May is test driving the all-new Honda NSX supercar to see just how it lives up as the successor to Japan's legendary sportscar.
Then, with SUVs are becoming the new normal in the automotive landscape, Jeremy Clarkson devises a plan to create his own kind of "sports utility vehicle" using the underpinnings of the Land Rover Discovery as the basis. He once used the MGB's exterior for this experiment but moments later, it broke. Later, he used the old Mercedes SL roadster and christen it as "The Excellent".
After that, with an ongoing energy crisis going on in the world, the boys are trying to find any means to generate as much electricity as they can to solve the problem. Trouble is, they didn't.
And finally, when the world faces an imminent fallout, Richard Hammond creates his own take of a bugged-out car. In his first attempt, he created a VW-based survival vehicle, only to be then blown by Clarkson and May using conventional weaponry. In the second attempt, it got blown away by a tank. And in the third attempt, Hammond created a military vehicle, only to be then destroyed by a battleship's long-range weaponry.
Back to some more James Bond references to do on Forza Horizon 3's Blizzard Mountain, let's move on to the Bond car used during the Timothy Dalton years, known as the Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
In the James Bond movie, The Living Daylights, when Bond's about to get pull over by a police car, he fired up the wheel's laser to split the police car into half, thus initiating a cat-and-mouse chase between the car and the Soviet army pursuing them. Then, when one of the tires got shot down, Bond initiated the car's winter feature until the car met its fiery death via the self-destruct button while he and Kara shake off pursuers until they reached Austria using Kara's cello.
Again, this is not in a snowy part of Europe where Bond got pursued by the Soviets after splitting a police car into half with a laser, because I'm still in the Blizzard Mountain, and while the V8 Vantage I'm driving right now doesn't have the weapons like you get in the Bond car, fitting it with snow tires is as close as you can get to the Bond car's winter equipment, minus the sleds. Although Bond fans like are excited to take this Bond car for a spin round Blizzard Mountain to reminisce its Living Daylights moment, this isn't the time to feel jumpy because this is rear-wheel drive and even when you fit it with snow tires, you might be having some hard time survive the slippery conditions this extreme icy weather can throw at you. However, those who are looking a little challenge seems like they're getting their "challenge accepted" face on. So, dare to race it on extreme icy conditions? Challenge accepted.
While the Bond people remain very quiet right now, fans are starting to honor 55 years of Bond by reliving every James Bond movie in history, from Dr. No to SPECTRE, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, so much more to understand fifty-five years of James Bond films and here in Forza Horizon 3, those Bond cars featured in the game are so many reasons to honor the famed British spy that woos the ladies, foils the villains' plots, toying the gadgets Q Branch ever offered, and driving the fastest cars during his missions. Need I say more?
The launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit is one of America's most significant turning point in history that restored the great nation's confidence, made the turning point in the Space Race of the Cold War era, and forever changed the world. But behind the turning point of history are the unsung women who made this happened and in this inspirational tale, Hidden Figures will give viewers the unsung tale of the three women who forever changed the world during the Cold War era following the Cuban Missile Crisis and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Hidden Figures
Hidden Figures stars Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson, Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan, and Janelle Monae as Mary Jackson, three unsung African-American women working at NASA and responsible for the greatest turning points in the history of the great nation of United States of America. Behind their unsung success comes with their rough beginnings, about how they got to their posts to the first place and how did they work their way to the top of their own game.
Given to the caliber to this unsung tale of the Afro-American women, Hidden Figures is one way to start the year 2017 with a blast, no matter the political climate today's America is facing, and while it reflects historical events in a different point of view, it serves as an inspirational tale for those, regardless of any gender or race, to dream big and never giving up, no matter the odds of today's world.
As world affairs keeps on changing, this film will serve as one of the most remarkable points in cinematic history and Hidden Figures is just one of the main reasons to understand the life and times of American affairs in a different point of view and it doesn't really matter if you're into world history because this movie is a fit for everyone who has big aspirations for tomorrow's world.
The Blizzard Mountain has full of references festival-runners can come up with their near-endless imagination, and with the year 2017 signals the 55th anniversary of the James Bond films, it will take a lot of time before the franchise returns with new and exciting ways to keep the tales of the legendary British spy alive and well. In the meantime, festival-runners who are fans of the Bond films can picture so many Bond references to come up with and nothing is more so that revisiting the snowy ghost of SPECTRE's past, the Range Rover Sport SVR.
In the movie, a group of SPECTRE goons captured Dr. Madeleine Swann and then pursued by Bond in a snow plane at a snowy Austrian landscape. Sadly, there's no snow plane chasing you down and this isn't Austria, which is easily confused for Australia. This is Blizzard Mountain but driving the SVR as seen in the film is as close as you can get from the SPECTRE goons.
It has the same supercharged 5.0L V8 engine as seen from the Jaguar F-Type R and it produces 550HP of power and 502ft-lb of torque. Now a V8 engine like this sounds unfriendly to heretic environmentalists and polar bears alike but when you listen to it, it roars like a beast on the cold winter night and those who experienced it after the snow plane sequence on SPECTRE can have a clear expression of what's like to drive one of the cars reserved for SPECTRE. Now we're like living in a life of international crime with this one unless Bond can gut us out in the open.
Speaking of which, while the Range Rover Sport balances legendary Range Rover offroad capability with track-honed performance that upsets the little hatches, the SVR pushes the envelope on the other side. I presumed that the SVR is a track-focused Land Rover that trades its offroad capability to track-minded characteristics but seeing one in SPECTRE in action, it defies the point I made, knowing that despite its track-honed capabilities that lapped the Nurburgring in a blistering fast lap time for SUVs, it's still a Range Rover and I shall demonstrate it, knowing that I'm on a double dare that I can win this race with no studless tires equipped. I know it's hard to drive through Blizzard Mountain without it but by relying on the Range Rover's Terrain Response, I am trying to see if this Range Rover Sport lives up to its name or die trying.
Heh. It's worth the slippery risk but it feels like finding the lost remote nearby in the first try but I've been warned that if I keep this up, I'm in for some serious trouble until I find the answer to the hardest question. It's like setting the remote-finding challenge to the hardest level, if you know what I mean.
Still, with the Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport, the Brits know how to make a legendary offroader that conquers almost all odds on and off the road with its ever-evolving capabilities that shaped these SUVs into the ones we're familiar with since the first Range Rover was born.
In a place like Blizzard Mountain, a winter wonderland full of so many Bond references you can imagine all in the name of 007's 55th anniversary, reminiscing the snowy scene from SPECTRE in the Range Rover Sport SVR is the best thing to do for Bond fans elsewhere.
Senior diplomats from South Korea, the US, and Japan held a talk in Washington on Thursday local time. The three assessed the results of UN Security Council resolutions 2270 and 2321, and vowed to continue working together on the implementation of independent sanctions as well. Meanwhile, speaking ahead of his departure from office, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned the new administration of North Korea. He said it should keep increasing the pressure on North Korea in order to get the regime to comply with its international obligations.
South Korea's National Security Council chief Kim Kwan-jin will visit the US for security talks with the incoming Donald Trump administration. In a press release, the presidential office said Kim's four-day visit starts Sunday. Talks will center around security policies ranging from North Korea to bilateral relations. The meeting is held with hopes of reaffirming the importance of further developing the alliance and continuing to coordinate, based on the common understanding of the severity and urgency of the North Korea nuclear issue.
- President Rodrigo Duterte visited and toured the Russian warship docked in Port Area, Manila, on Friday after almost a week of vacation. The two ships from Russia's Pacific Fleet docked at Manila South Harbor on Tuesday. The president has expressed stronger ties with the Russian Federation and the warships' visit will bolster their cooperation.
- The Commission of Elections should release a report of its investigation into the breach of voters' data, according to a Palace official. The poll body should release the report, if any, to maintain its credibility and uphold the integrity of the electoral process, according to Presidential Communications Office Secretary.
- A high-ranking Bureau of Corrections official has resigned, claiming he was about to take a leave due to a pending investigation into his alleged involvement in the New Bilibid Prison illegal drug trade. In a text message to reporters, BuCor Deputy Director Rolando Asuncion said that Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II had asked him to take a leave. He said the message was relayed through BuCor Director Benjamin Delos Santos, due to a pending investigation.
- Top intelligence officials got a chance to hit back against the broad attacks Donald Trump has lobbied against them, a day ahead of their briefing with the president-elect on Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Trump, earlier, supported claims by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange that the Russians didn't interfere with the elections.
- The gunman behind the New Year's Day attack at a bar in Istanbul, according to the Turkish government, may be an ethnic Uyghur. The Uyghurs most live in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Central Asian nations and Turkey. Many of them are Muslims. But Deputy Veysi Kaynak did not comment on the suspect's nationality.
- Toyota will launch the all-new Prius PHV in Japan this February.
- A facelifted Subaru WRX will be featured at this year's North American International Auto Show, featuring a new exterior design, new interior design, and other updates.
2018 Subaru WRX STi
- The Shutokou Battle roars back to smartphones with Genki's brand new smartphone app game, Shutokou Battle Extreme, due to launch this year. Pre-registration is now opened with in-game rewards in store for the players, including bonus cars such as the Suzuki Alto Works, Honda S660, Toyota 86, and the Nissan GT-R R35.
Shutokou Battle Extreme
- Disney's Tangled the Series will air on Disney Channel this March.
