Author: Serkadis

Note: this is a rerun of a review of Prey that originally ran on Ars Technica in August 2006. With the uptick in interest after Steam recently put the title on sale for $2.50, we though we would revisit this old title.

Imagine this: you’ve just gotten out of the military, and you head back to the Cherokee reservation you grew up on. Your best girl is there, as is your grandfather, but you’re just sick of the whole thing. It’s the same people, the same land, and it feels like a dead end. You’ve tried to get your girlfriend to leave with you, but she feels like this is home. Your grandfather won’t shut up about your destiny; the old man has his head in the clouds. There’s nothing to do but play some casino games, get into a bar fight, and get abducted by aliens while Blue Oyster Cult plays on the jukebox.

As opening scenes go, this is a pretty strong one. Welcome to Prey.

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Fix America FirstGlobal SecurityAnother result may be a major increase in crops for biofuel production. Overall, it is clear that there will be significant shifts in the agricultural …

Plug In America, an advocacy group for electric-vehicles, has turned 12 Days of Christmas into 12 reasons why an electric-car society can work. The group lists answers to questions most of us have about electric-vehicles and how it will affect the world we live in.

Click through for the list.

Press Release:

JUST IN TIME FOR THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, PLUG IN AMERICA PRESENTS:
The Top 12 Plug-in Electric Vehicle Myths

Acronyms and definitions:
EV: Electric Vehicle, meaning all-electric (no gas)
BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle or all-electric vehicle
PHEV: Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle
Plug-in or Plug-in electric vehicle: Either a BEV or a PHEV

Number of EVs Driven Today:
Plug In America estimates that there are 3,000 highway-capable EVs from major automakers on U.S. roads today:
800 Toyota RAV4-EVs
1,000 Teslas
150 Ford Ranger trucks
50 Chevy S-10 trucks
500 test-only BMW Mini Es
500 others including Solectrias and EPIC Mini-Vans

1. MYTH: EVs don’t have enough range. You’ll be stranded when you run out of electricity
FACT: Americans drive an average of 40 miles per day, according to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. Most new BEVs have a range of at least double that and can be charged at any ordinary electrical outlet (120V) or publicly accessible station with a faster charge. The latter, already in use, will proliferate as the plug-in infrastructure is built out. At present, all it takes is planning for EV owners, who can travel up to 120 miles on a single charge, to use their cars on heavy travel days. Alternatively, a PHEV goes at least 300 miles on a combination of electricity and gasoline.

2. Myth: EVs are good for short city trips only
FACT: Consumers have owned and driven EVs for seven years or more and regularly use them for trips of up to 120 miles.

3. MYTH: EVs just replace the tailpipe with a smokestack
FACT: Even today, with 52% of U.S. electricity generated by coal-fired power plants, plug-in cars reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and most other pollutants compared with conventional gas or hybrid vehicles. Plug-ins can run on renewable electricity from sources such as the sun or wind. PHEVs will reduce greenhouse gases and other emissions, even if the source of electricity is mostly coal, a 2007 study by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and NRDC showed. Read the summary of some 30 studies, analyses and presentations on this topic.

4. MYTH: The charging infrastructure must be built before people will adopt EVs
FACT: Most charging will be done at home, so a public charging infrastructure isn’t a prerequisite. Still, a robust infrastructure will help, especially for apartment dwellers and those regularly driving long distances. But at least seven companies are competing to dominate the public-charging- station market and a trade group representing the nation’s electric utilities has pledged to “aggressively” create the infrastructure to support “full-scale commercialization and deployment” of plug-ins.

5. MYTH: The grid will crash if millions of plug-ins charge at once
FACT: Off-peak electricity production and transmission capacity could fuel the daily commutes of 73% percent of all cars, light trucks, SUVs and vans on the road today if they were PHEVs, a 2007 study by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found. Also, utilities are upgrading some local distribution systems to accommodate plug-ins, just as they do when residents add more air conditioners and TVs. Plug-ins, which can be seen as energy storage devices on wheels, can actually benefit the grid, making green energies like solar and wind power even more viable.

6. MYTH: Battery chemicals are bad for the environment and can’t be recycled
FACT: Ninety-nine percent of batteries in conventional cars are recycled, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The metals in newer batteries are more valuable and recycling programs are already being developed for them. Utilities plan to use batteries for energy storage once they are no longer viable in a vehicle.

7. MYTH: EVs take too long to charge
FACT: The most convenient place and time to charge is at home while you sleep. Even using the slowest 120-volt outlet, the car can be left to charge overnight, producing about 40 miles of range. Most new BEVs and PHEVs will charge from 240-volt outlets providing double or triple the charge in the same amount of time. Charging stations that reduce charging time even more are beginning to appear.

8. MYTH: Plug-ins are too expensive for market penetration
FACT: New technologies are typically costly. Remember when cell phones and DVDs were introduced? Also, the government stimulus package includes a $2,500 to $7,500 tax credit for EVs and PHEVs. Some states are considering additional incentives ($5,000 in California and Texas). And, the purchase and lifetime operating cost of an EV is on par with or less than its gas- powered equivalent because EVs require almost no maintenance or repair: no oil or filter changes, no tune ups, no smog checks.

9. MYTH: Batteries will cost $15,000 to replace after only a few years
FACT: The battery is the priciest part of a plug-in, but costs will drop as production increases and the auto industry is expected to be purchasing up to $25 billion in advanced batteries annually by 2015. Some car makers plan to lease their batteries, so replacement won’t be an issue. The Chevy Volt PHEV will have a 10-year battery warranty that would cover battery replacement.

10. MYTH: There isn’t enough lithium in the world to make all the new batteries
FACT: Even in a worst-case scenario of zero battery recycling, aggressive EV sales, no new mining methods or sites, existing lithium stores will be sufficient for projected EV production for the next 75 years. See an analysis at PlugInAmerica.org. Also, lithium comes from many countries (24% is found in the United States), so we won’t be dependent on any one global region.

11. MYTH: Lithium batteries are dangerous and can explode
FACT: Among the many kinds of lithium-ion batteries, lithium-cobalt batteries found in consumer electronics can pose a fire risk in certain circumstances. These risks can be mitigated by the use of advanced-battery management systems and careful design that prevents “thermal runaway.” Most plug-in vehicle makers are working with other battery types (such as lithium-iron-phosphate
and lithium-manganese) which have inherent safety advantages and provide more years of service.

12. MYTH: Most of us will still be driving gas cars through 2050
FACT: Several irrefutable factors are driving the shift from gasoline to plug-in vehicles: ever- toughening federal fuel economy standards and state caps on greenhouse gas emissions; projected price hikes for petroleum products as demand increases and supply flattens or drops; broad agreement over the need for America to reduce its reliance on petroleum for economic and national security reasons; and climate change, which is occurring faster than previously thought, according to the journal Science and others.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Plug in America (via DriveOn)

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, Mercedes-Benz, Celebrities

“Every major city must have a great race track hidden in it somewhere.” So starts Jay Leno’s first car mini-film, The Fast and the Famous. The conceit is this: like all car guys (and gals), Leno acknowledges that the greatest car movie ever made is Claude Lelouch’s C’etait un Rendez-Vous. With that in mind, Jay gets half-a-dozen cameras mounted up to the same red SLS AMG he had in his garage and goes semi-hooning through the streets of Los Angeles in a fun homage to Lelouch’s Seventies masterpiece.

Of course, not just any streets. Leno comes up with the hypothesis that LA’s hidden circuit is Mulholland east to Laurel Canyon south to Sunset Boulevard west to Coldwater Canyon north back to Mulholland. Interestingly, not only is this route about 13 miles long – similar in length to Germany’s famed Nürburgring Nordschleife – but it’s also somewhat shaped like the Nordschleife. A very cool coincidence if you ask us.

Is he right? As a near-lifelong Angleno this particular writer agrees, sorta. If there was a way to magically ban all traffic from Laurel and Coldwater Canyons then yeah, totally. Especially as Sunset and Mulholland are usually alright if you pick the right time of day. But as you’ll see in the making of, this ten minute clip took three days to shoot. However, we think we know of a hidden race track laying just outside the city of angels, but we’ll save that for another day. Until then, jump to watch both videos.

Continue reading VIDEO: Jay Leno recreates C’etait un Rendez-Vous on LA’s “Nürburgring”

VIDEO: Jay Leno recreates C’etait un Rendez-Vous on LA’s “Nürburgring” originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been pointed out before how much Microsoft has benefited from having its operating system and office suites “pirated,” in that it helped make Microsoft a de facto standard, that created lock-in and network effects, that helped make Microsoft into the massively successful company it is today. Even Bill Gates has famously said:

“And as long as they’re going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.”

Except… of course, Microsoft has been pushing hard to “stop” that kind of “piracy” in China, and it may be having an unintended effect. Slashdot points us to the news that a group that had been offering pirated copies of Windows is now offering a copy of Ubuntu Linux, designed to look just like Windows XP. So, congrats, Microsoft, in “stopping” some piracy in China, you may just be driving users to Linux instead.

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The generl consensus is that november retail sales, including Black Friady and subsequent days, were something of a flop.

But maybe consumers were just sitting on their hands. Maybe.

Goldman Sachs retail analyst Michelle Tan thinks there’s reason to believe that December may have salvaged the season, as shoppers returned to malls.

—-

GS/ICSC Weekly Sales Index: Pickup last week from last minute
Holiday shopping
The ICSC Weekly Index is a long-standing, proprietary statistical measure compiled by the
International Council of Shopping Centers, now in collaboration with Goldman Sachs. The
index:
• Incorporates data from broadlines and mall-based retailers, past weekly spending
patterns and a weekly shopper survey. 
The raw yoy change in the index closely correlates with monthly same-store sales results
(Exhibit 4), while the seasonally adjusted data smoothes out fluctuations due to calendar
shifts, weather, and other extraneous factors to offer a better picture of the underlying
health of retail sales.

Month to date, the raw GS/ICSC index is +2.5%, above November which averaged
+1.0%. After seasonal adjustment, the GS/ICSC adjusted index was +2.3% last week,
well above the prior week but below November (which averaged +2.9%). 

Mall traffic, in particular, is clearly picking up.

December-to-date mall traffic still above November 
Weekly mall traffic is tracked by ShopperTrak using a proprietary traffic projection
methodology. The SRTI Enclosed Mall Index captures traffic from a sample of enclosed
malls and projects it to the total base of enclosed malls. The correlation between year-on-
year changes in the SRTI Mall Traffic Index and our comp sales indices is low, partly
because mall traffic does not reflect changes in conversion trends. Notwithstanding this,
over time there is some relationship between directional changes in year-on-year mall
traffic and comp sales of mall-based apparel retailers and department stores. Month to
date, mall traffic is +1.2% compared to the November average of -1.6%. 

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• The Christmas Retail Rally Could Be Toast
• Why The Tough November For Retail Doesn’t Mean A Bad December
• Holiday Sales Figures Aren’t Completely Horrible

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, China, Chevrolet

The Chinese-market Chevrolet Sail has had quite a life, at one time being a rebadged Opel, at another time being built in China, at another time being called the Buick Sail. The 2010 model has been spotted – which was at one time thought to be the new Chevy Lova – and it’s plastic fantastic. Honestly, when we look at it we don’t even think Aveo, we think Cavalier, and then feel bad for anyone who might have to live through that experience.

But that’s our own flashbacks; the car has sold well and appears to have a solid reputation in China, and the 2010 version should continue the trend. Engine options are said to number two: a 1.2-liter with 78 horsepower, and a 1.4-liter with 96 hp. They will work through a five-speed manual or perhaps a four-speed auto in an upper trim. The price in China is expected to be less than $9,390.

[Source: Autohome (translated) via Autoblog Spanish (translated)]

New Chevrolet sets Sail for China originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When a startup files an S-1 form with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an initial public offering, it opens up info galore about the private company’s history, finances and strategy. We dug through the more than 230-page document filed yesterday by biocatalyst developer Codexis, and found tidbits on just how much the startup […]

Black Grape Resveratrol is a diet pill that claims it will help you lose weight and improve your life (website). However, this Black Grape Resveratrol review will expose the truth behind Black Grape Resveratrol so you know what to expect.

Black Grape Resveratrol Ingredients

The only ingredient listed on the Black Grape Resveratrol website is black grape. I contacted Black Grape Resveratrol customer service (via email since they do not have a customer service phone number). I specifically asked what ingredients are contained in Black Grape Resveratrol. Unfortunately, after 3 days I still have not heard back from them. Therefore, there is no way of knowing what other ingredients (if any) are contained in Black Grape Resveratrol.

There have been very bold claims made about black grape. The truth is it is a fad just like acai. It is an excellent antioxidant, but there is no scientific evidence to prove black grape will actually cause weight loss.

Black Grape Resveratrol Customer Service

In an attempt to find the complete list of ingredients in Black Grape Resveratrol, I contacted their customer service. Unfortunately, they do not have a customer service phone number. The only way to contact them is through email. I specifically asked for a list of ingredients, but they still have not responded after 3 days.

Black Grape Resveratrol Return Policy

Black Grape Resveratrol has one of the worst return policies I have ever seen. You have 7 days from receipt of the product to return it. In addition, the package must be unopened. This means you can’t even try it before you return it.

Therefore, if you try it and it doesn’t work you are just out of luck. Seven days is not nearly long enough to return a product. Companies should give 90 days and allow you to return opened packages.

Black Grape Resveratrol also has a 15% restocking fee, something you will only find in the fine print.

Black Grape Resveratrol Cost

Black Grape Resveratrol costs $34.95 per bottle (a one month supply). They claim this is much less expensive than the price of most products that include black grape. While this may be true, there is no reason to believe Black Grape Resveratrol diet pills will actually cause weight loss. Therefore, this Black Grape Resveratrol review finds $34.95 is too much to pay for Black Grape Resveratrol.

Black Grape Resveratrol Claims

The Black Grape Resveratrol website makes some interesting and misleading claims. They claim Black Grape Resveratrol is “pharmaceutical grade.” However, they do not explain what that really means. Products containing black grape are sold over the counter, so why do they advertise it as being pharmaceutical grade?

They also claim that Black Grape Resveratrol exceeds the standards set by the FDA. The way it is worded as well as the way it is presented on the website makes it seem that Black Grape Resveratrol diet pills have been approved by the FDA. However, the FDA does NOT approve any diet pills.

Black Grape Resveratrol Conclusion

This Black Grape Resveratrol review finds Black Grape Resveratrol is overpriced. There is no reason to believe it will cause weight loss. Do yourself a favor and go with a diet pill that includes proven ingredients in the appropriate amounts.

There is one area where multi-touch is definitely useful, and that is emulating the multiple buttons needed in game emulation, especially on today’s hardware button deficient devices.

Blutz on XDA-Developers have been working on getting the Morphgear game emulator to work better on the HTC HD2, and has recently added real multi-touch to the mix, and it certainly looks like its working pretty well.

Read more about this feat at XDA-Developers here.

We didn’t do it then

We need to do it now

But then was now

And now becomes then

And the question remains

When?

Article Tags: Kenneth P. Green

In the aftermath of the Copenhagen Climate conference, it is clear that the United Nations-driven process is a bust, and that any similar process requiring economic suicide and massive wealth transfers will go nowhere. It is long since time to drop this charade, take the question of climate change out of the hands of the U.N., and implement more reasonable policies.

Fostering the resilience of societies around the world in case climate disaster strikes would be a start. Central to this process is for governments to stop making things worse, as they do when they subsidize risk-taking.

One reason that predicted damages from rising sea-levels and more powerful storms are so high is because of the popularity of coastal locales for high-density business and upscale residential development. As a result, damages from extreme coastal weather events have been fantastically expensive. The damages from Hurricane Katrina for example, reached over $150 billion. The question, however, is why there was so much value that was so badly protected against completely predictable events? Why were levees and sea-walls so under-designed? Why were so many houses and businesses uninsured? As Charles Perrow observes in “The Next Catastrophe,” “Even in areas known to be hazardous, only about 20% of homeowners purchase flood insurance, and less than 50% of businesses purchase flood and earthquake insurance in risky areas.”

Source: online.wsj.com

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When China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group takes over FoMoCo’s Volvo next year, it will leave the Swedish luxury brand untouched. According to Li Shufu, the founder and chairman of Geely, Volvo’s production, research and development facilities, union agreements and dealer networks will be left intact.

“If the deal succeeds, nothing will change for Volvo, except the boss turns to Li Shufu,” Li said. “Volvo and Geely will be two independently-managed brands.”

Li said that Geely’s purchase of Volvo will help his company develop new energy vehicles, and that Geely would help Volvo reduce production costs and expand in the Chinese market.

“But based on current investment in research and development, China will be left far behind the pace of developed countries,” he said.

Ford announced last week that it has settled all substantive commercial terms to lead to the sale of Volvo to Geely. The sale is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2010.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Reuters

Filed under: Government/Legal, Toyota

Remember the case of Dimitrios Biller versus Toyota? The lawyer and former Toyota employee accused the Japanese automaker of withholding evidence in rollover crashes and claimed to have boxes full of evidence that would make his case.

Well, Toyota is still dealing with Biller, but one of the side cases that sprung up as a result of Biller’s allegations appears to be going away. The New York Times reports that Todd Tracey, a lawyer with a history of suing Toyota, is dropping his plan to reopen 17 cases against the automaker. Tracy reportedly went through Biller’s stash of evidence and found that “I did not see any type of concealment, destruction or pattern of discovery abuse that affected my cases that I had sought to reopen.”

That’s a far cry from the “rise up to get Toyota to tell the truth about its hidden crash safety data” rhetoric Tracy unleashed a couple months earlier and one less headache for Toyota to deal with in what appears to be a very busy 2010. True, it’s likely Toyota will still have to deal with Biller, but Tracy’s public statement that the evidence wasn’t enough to justify opening old suits shows is less than a vote of confidence for the former Toyota employee’s chances in the court of law.

[Source: New York Times | Image: Joe Raedle/Getty]

REPORT: Lawyer Tracy withdraws lawsuits against Toyota originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Etc., Videos

Only ten days ago Jonny Greaves jumped his closed-course race truck from one dirt ramp to another — those ramps being separated by close to 300 feet. Greaves ended up going 301 feet, and set the record for the longest ever jump in a 2WD truck. It’s even more fun to watch than to read about, if only because his engine makes his Toyota sound like it’s powered by demons and banshees. Follow the jump for the vid. The only thing it’s missing is Waylon Jennings…

[Source: Monster Energy]

Continue reading VIDEO: Johnny Greaves jumps stadium truck over 300′ to set world record

VIDEO: Johnny Greaves jumps stadium truck over 300′ to set world record originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Car Buying, Concept Cars, Marketing/Advertising, Aston Martin, Toyota, Design/Style

There are few automakers on earth as exclusive as Aston Martin, so we were more than a little surprised when the English exoticmaker announced it was going to build the Cygnet, a city car based on the prosaic Toyota iQ. After all, we chastise automakers for rebadging all the time, but Ford, Honda and General Motors products don’t have anywhere near the exclusivity of Aston Martin. Then there is the Cygnet’s reported $35,000 price tag. Some Aston purists were a little taken back by the “modest” $120,000 price tag of the V8 Vantage, so a $35,000 Toyota with a Rapide grille probably won’t go over well with more than a few loyalists.

The New York Times has shed a little light on the subject, reporting that only owners of full-sized Astons will be eligible to purchase the Cygnet. Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez said in the winter issue of Aston Martin magazine that “this concept is akin to an exclusive tender for a luxury yacht.” If that doesn’t make sense to you non-yacht owners, think of it as a 105 mph golf cart for Aston owners.

To further help the Cygnet stay exclusive, Aston only plans to build 2,000 copies of the iQ-based city car and there are no current plans to sell the mini car in the U.S. market, so it might be fair to say this is a bit of a commuter special for Londonites. Even still, while this novel sales plan may help to mitigate potential brand degredation that Cygnet skeptics suggest it may bring about, we can’t help but wonder how the thousands of non-Cygnet toting Aston owners will feel about their favored brand dipping a foot into the House of Toyota.

[Source: The New York Times]

REPORT: Want an Aston Martin Cygnet? You’ll need to have a big boy Aston first originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The founder of Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet has slapped Kim Kardashian and her famous caboose with a hefty lawsuit after the buxom reality star slammed the lifestyle fad as “unhealthy” in a post on her Twitter account this month.

Siegal is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.