Author: Serkadis

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Concept Cars, Minivan/Van, Tokyo Motor Show, Honda

With apologies to Get Shorty and the 1995 Oldsmobile Sillhouette, the Honda Odyssey may well be the Cadillac of minivans. Honda’s big, luxurious people hauler has been the hottest-selling minivan in the U.S. over the past two years, besting Chrysler and Toyota for the minivan sales title. With the success of the Odyssey over the past couple of years, it’s almost hard to believe that Honda is already looking forward to a redesign, but the present model has been on the market since 2005 with only nominal tweaking, and there’s a bold new Sienna to contend with from its crosstown rivals, too.

To that end, Honda has announced that they will unveil a new concept version of the Honda Odyssey at next month’s Chicago Auto Show, showing what the engineering-focused company’s fourth-generation minivan will look like. Honda promises that the next Odyssey “will further enhance its hallmark qualities of innovation, quality, safety and fun-to-drive character, while increasing its overall efficiency.”

We may have already seen the first indication of what the next Odyssey will look like in the SkyDeck concept (above) from the Tokyo Motor Show last October. The six-seat MPV was all pimped out with a pie-in-the-sky interior, Lamborghini-style front doors and what is fast becoming standard-issue for concept vehicles, a hybrid drivetrain. Strip down the concept-ness and we’re thinking the SkyDeck would make a very attractive Odyssey. However, we expect the Chicago showcar to significantly more toned-down than the JDM concept, and it will likely be a ‘concept’ in name only. Hit the jump to read Honda’s very brief press release.

[Source: Honda]

Continue reading Honda bringing Odyssey minivan concept to Chicago Auto Show

Honda bringing Odyssey minivan concept to Chicago Auto Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By strategically interspersing liver cells and other specialized cells on growth plates, researchers have figured out how to grow Hepatitis C outside of the body – a critical tool to develop and test new Hepatitis C treatments.

Engineering a new way to study hepatitis C

January 25, 2010

Advance that could allow scientists to develop and test new treatments for the disease

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Researchers at MIT and Rockefeller University have successfully grown hepatitis C virus in otherwise healthy liver cells in the laboratory, an advance that could allow scientists to develop and test new treatments for the disease.

Continue reading this entire article:
http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=73852007

Contact: Jennifer Hirsch
[email protected]
617-253-1682
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Or regresses, some might say…Regardless of your view on electric vehicles, we all are aware that electric is the shape of things to come. And that includes the demise of current loved models and their rebirth into a new breed.

According to a report by PistonHeads, the next generation Mitsubishi Evo (set for release sometimes in 2013 – EVO XI) will lose its turbocharger and get an electric drive. Fortunately for EVO fans, Motor Trend says the change will not be complete, as the 2013 generat… (read more)

Slowing down efforts to prevent or cure Hepatitis C, this virus has an uncanny ability to mutate and become resistant to new drugs. By identifying compounds that interfere with Hepatitis C’s replication process, scientists at Stanford University have uncovered a potentially new approach for suppressing Hepatitis C that does not appear to be vulnerable to drug resistance.

Potential New Class of Drugs to Combat Hepatitis C Identified

ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2010) — Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have discovered a novel class of compounds that, in experiments in vitro, inhibit replication of the virus responsible for hepatitis C. If these compounds prove effective in infected humans as well, they may dramatically accelerate efforts to confront this virus’s propensity to rapidly acquire drug resistance, while possibly skirting some of the troubling side effects common among therapies in current use and in late-stage development.

Continue reading this entire article:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100120143958.htm

Yesterday, Verizon Communications, Inc. reported a Q4 loss of $653 million, despite a strong showing from its wireless division. Verizon Wireless has the most retail customers of any U.S. carrier, and added 2.2 million new lines during Q4 — almost all of which were post-paid customers — bringing their total customer base to 91.4 million. Losses are being credited to a shrinking land-line customer base, as users move exclusively to cell phones, which was down 3.9% in Q4. VZ announced it will be laying off an additional 13,000 employees in 2010 in an attempt to tighten its belt and get back into the black. DROID.

[Via New York Times]

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Hmmm, unannounced digital cameras. Got to love the Internet. Anyway, LetsGoDigital dug up details about four tasty FujiFilm FinePix cameras. These aren’t just Wal-Mart specials, either. Oh no, take notice, these boys are nice, especially the S2500HD with an 18x optical zoom and 720p recording mode. Hit the jump for pics and details.

The S2500HD is equipped with a mechanically stabilized CCD sensor and that massive 28-504 mm lens. No word on MP count, pricing or target launch date, though.

The S1730 forgos the 18x zoom for a 15x kit. However, this model has dual image stabilization and a 12MP CCD sensor capable of capturing images up to ISO 6400 and recording video at 720p.

The S1600 is a bit more compact but still manages a 15x optical zoom and 12.2 MP sensor. This model can also shoot 720p video.

Then there’s the pocket JX530. 14MP, wide-angle 5x optical zoom, digital image stabilization, & 720p video. Pass.

[LetsGoDigital.org via Photo Rumors]

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It seems that the people at Vauxhall Motors were kind enough to offer a sneak preview of one of their marketing campaigns: the car manufacturer will display a bespoke snow globe, specially designed and built for the Vauxhall Ice Skate event.

Just to get an idea of the dimensions of this, Vauxhall said the one-of-a-kind snow shaker will be filled with over 50 bags of artificial snow, for the much anticipated ice skating disco, to take place in central London this Thursday. At five metres in di… (read more)

An Illinois Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA, Amber Berman of Lincoln Land Community College, planned a very successful volunteer fair that was covered by two local news stations. Students who attended the fair and completed pledge cards, and all together pledged to serve eight hundred hours this semester.

»Link to the wandtv.com news coverage.

Wait in line, buddy.

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Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, Apple

The hardware details are largely obscured, but what is obvious is that there is a definite home button — much like the one on the iPhone. Additionally, there seems to be a cut-out in the casing which could reveal a front-facing camera. Using some image editor trickery, Engadget has also determined the screen size to be as expected, roughly 10 inches.

These images seem plausible to me mainly for the fact that they reveal very little information. Also, the fact that the hardware details are hidden from the photographer seems very Apple-esque. If I remember correctly, Apple did something similar during the development of the iPod.

Over in the Twitterverse, notable Apple watcher (and TUAW founder) Jason Calacanis is claiming to have had in his possession a pre-release Apple Tablet; he had some back-and-forth with Matt Schlicht of Ustream, who also intimated that he got an early Apple present. Some of the hardware details that have been “leaked” are a front- and rear-facing camera, 10-inch OLED display, HDTV tuner, and a low-power mode specifically for reading ebooks. Jason

The information about the multiple cameras and low-power mode are definitely plausible; however, the use of an OLED display and inclusion of an HDTV tuner would indicate some sort of funny business. Given that Apple is in the business of selling HD television shows, it seems weird that they would make it easy to get that same content for free.

One thing we know for sure, though, is that with less than four hours until the start of Apple’s event showcasing its latest creation, things are really heating up.

TUAWEleventh hour rumors brew new details on Apple’s tablet originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Look who’s learned one of the most important lessons of the music industry’s love-hate relationship with iTunes: Apple.

The music labels love iTunes because it gave them a new revenue stream while CD sales withered away. And the music labels hate iTunes because it helped CD sales wither away, by giving consumers the chance to replace $15 discs with $1 songs.

But now, as Apple prepares to launch e-book sales along with its new tablet, it seems to be taking a different tack. It’s letting book publishers push their digital pricing up instead of down.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple (AAPL) was still haggling with publishers Tuesday night, but says that the gist of Apple’s offer is this: Publishers could set their e-book prices at $12.99 or $14.99, well above the $9.99 or less price point that Amazon is pushing.

Apple’s terms would actually generate less money per sale for the publishers than Amazon currently does, but publishers are so worried about digital cannibalization that they seem willing to take a hit in order to protect their paper-and-ink products. WSJ:

In adopting the Apple model, the balance of power would shift at least partly back to publishers, which regain control of pricing. In setting higher prices, they could provide a level playing field for all e-book retailers. The potential for publishers is that the device may generate greater volume for e-book sales.

But note that Apple isn’t offering publishers complete control of their pricing, as it does with developers on its app store. And while it is giving publishers more latitude, it is being more aggressive than ever with the TV business, by reportedly pushing the networks to cut the prices for their shows.

The other big caveat is that if Apple does want to sell e-books for 30 percent to 50 percent more than Amazon’s prices, than those e-books are going to have to be pretty special. Simply adding a dash of color and some graphics won’t cut it — these things will really need to be “enhanced” to justify the premium. Figuring out how to do that while keeping margins intact is a whole other story.

Plenty of time to hear about that later, though. For now, let’s see what Steve Jobs has to show us today.

Digital Daily’s John Paczkowski will be reporting live from the Yerba Buena Center starting at 1pm eastern; head over to his live blog to catch the action in real time.

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The broadcasting process has just gotten ridiculously simple on Justin.TV. The new method walks users through an easy and intuitive three-step interface, during which they register (login) on Justin.Tv, import friends (optional) and start broadcasting from their local video device.

During the last weeks, users and admin… (read more)

The Federal Communications Commission has expanded its investigation into wireless early-termination fees to include an industry newcomer: Google (GOOG). On Tuesday, the agency sent a letter to the search company inquiring about the $350 “Equipment Recovery Fee” it has attached to its new Nexus One phone. Levied in addition to a $200 termination fee from T-Mobile, Google’s charge means that Nexus One users who cancel service in under 120 days will face a total of $550 in penalties.

“The combination of ETFs from Google and T-Mobile for the Nexus One is unique among the four major national carriers,” the FCC said in its letter. “Consumers have been surprised by this policy and by its financial impact. Please let us know your rationale(s) for these combined fees, and whether you have coordinated or will coordinate on these fees and on the disclosure of their combined effect.”

Among the other questions put to Google:

• Does the ETF itself vary by device (e.g., higher ETFs for advanced devices)? If higher ETFs apply to a certain class of devices, exactly how is that class defined?
• Are ETFs prorated so that the customer’s liability decreases over time? If so, what is the exact schedule by which they are prorated?
• Press reports and public statements from wireless companies have attributed ETFs to several different factors. What is the rationale for your ETF(s), and how specifically do the structure and level of those ETF(s) relate to that rationale?

Google has previously dismissed questions likes these, claiming fees like those it has implemented are “standard practice” for third party resellers of mobile service who are only trying to recoup the subsidies they offer customers who sign up for multi-year service contracts. But that doesn’t quite explain why the fees charged by Google and T-Mobile together amount to far more than most ETFs. Now that the FCC is asking, it’s going to have to.

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Today’s Morning Links are brought to you by the Geriatric Stylings of The Green Brothers…

-Do you own a Toyota? Faulty gas pedals have prompted the automaker to suspend US sales of eight of its most popular models — including the Camry, the nation’s best-selling car…..

-Only days after former Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien and NBC severed ties in a bitter dispute, The Peacock has picked up an hour-long pilot from O’Brien’s production company….

-Snooki takes a tumble….

-Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to send California prisoners to Mexico…

-Gerard Butler was voted 2009 Scot of the Year in a poll this week….

-Soulja Boy has written a book….

-Rosie Perez is still around, but whatever happened to the rest cast of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing?

-”20 Moments That Defined The Simpsons….”

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Bentley, Reviews, Luxury

In the superluxe world, we’re used to this maneuver: add a few horsepower, shave a tenth or two, sew in a few extra threads, name your exclusive new interior color something like “Algerian Beet” and voilà, a 50-percent price premium for three-percent more car. On the surface, the Bentley Continental Supersports is a GTC Speed that has gone on The Biggest Loser, Extreme Makeover, and Alter Eco. But you know what they say about the proof and the pudding, so the question is whether the Supersports is a nameplate special or a genuinely higher evolution of the baller’s favorite steed. We spent a day in the wilds of New Jersey and upstate New York, along with a few hours at the Monticello Raceway, to find out. Ladies and gentlemen, allow us to introduce you to the first Bentley you can feel.

Photos by Jonathon Ramsey / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading First Drive: Bentley Continental Supersports is a whiter lighter shade of pale awesome

First Drive: Bentley Continental Supersports is a whiter lighter shade of pale awesome originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, Honda, Maybach, Mitsubishi, Ferrari, UK, Luxury

Car price guide Parker’s has produced its latest depreciation lists for cars in the UK. It’s probably of most use if you’re shopping at the lower-priced end of the car spectrum, since a straight-up comparison would be pointless. Seven of the 10 cars with the least depreciation are Japanese, headed by the Honda Jazz, and all of them are small. Five of the 10 cars with the greatest depreciation, headed by the Maybach 57S, are English, and none of them are cheap.

Parker’s doesn’t break the list down into model trims, but the least expensive Honda Jazz on Honda’s UK site goes for £11,058 on-the-road (OTR). With 10,000 miles on the odo it will lose £1,379 in value a year later, or 12.5 percent of its value. A Maybach 57S goes for £297,945 OTR, and Parker’s says it drops by £127,526 a year later after 10K miles, or 43 percent. If, however, you’ve spent £400,000 on a car after adding special features, you probably have better things to think about than your fleet’s depreciation.

At the other end of the least depreciating vehicles is the Mitsubishi i, which loses £2,271 after a year, a slightly whopping 25 percent. That is almost as bad as the Ferrari F430, which does the ‘best’ on the most depreciating list, losing ‘just’ £37,188, or 27 percent. Back to that Maybach 57S for a moment, though: a dealer in Surrey has a used one for sale, with 10,000 miles, for £249,990. Perhaps he doesn’t read Parker’s?

[Source: Parker’s via Gizmag]

Highest and lowest depreciating cars of 2009 in the UK originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorcycle

Victory couldn’t let that other fellow American motorcycle manufacturer have all the new-product fun now, could it? The new 2010 Vegas Limited Edition was recently unveiled at the New York Motorcycle Show, and it appears that there’s a new torque-rich power cruiser on the market vying for your hard-earned dollars and straight-line thrills.

Victory’s Freedom V-twin has long been a formidable and powerful mill, and the Minnesota-based manufacturer has reportedly managed to squeeze a few more ponies out of the 106-cubic inch twin. According to Victory, the new 106/6 engine is fitted with Stage 2 cams, bringing output to 97 horsepower and 113 pound-feet of torque.

Color options will include Fire Ball Red, Competition Yellow, Pearl White or Turbo Silver for the price of $15,999. Notable exterior bits include the side-mounted 106 race plate graphic, color-matched frame and swingarm and blacked-out forks and drivetrain.There will only be 100 Vegas LEs produced in 2010, and ordering will be available from January 22 until February 15.

[Source: motorcycles.about.com]

2010 Victory Vegas Limited Edition promises to be brand’s quickest bike ever originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From the Census Department:

Sales of new one-family houses in December 2009 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 342,000, according to
estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

This is 7.6 percent (±14.6%)* below the revised November rate of 370,000 and is 8.6 percent (±15.2%)* below the
December 2008 estimate of 374,000.

The median sales price of new houses sold in December 2009 was $221,300; the average sales price was $290,600.  The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of December was 231,000.  This represents a supply of 8.1 months at the current sales rate. An estimated 374,000 new homes were sold in 2009.  This is 22.9 percent (±2.9%) below the 2008 figure of 485,000.

Developing..

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See Also:

• Value Of The White House Has Fallen 5.1% Since Obama Took Office
• Housing Starts Tank In December, A Huge Reversal From November
• Condo Porn Of The Day: Awesome Digs For Bankers To Spend Their Bonus Bucks On