Author: Serkadis

A whole bunch of people have sent in variations on this story, which involves scientist Michael Mann, one of the main figures involved in the recent (misleading and totally blown out of proportion) controversy over climate change research, threatening legal action against people who made a satire video, which includes his image. Honestly, it’s hard to think of a move more likely to backfire than this. His lawyers should have done everything in their power to talk him out of making such a threat. Think about it:

• You have groups who want publicity making fun of him
• These groups also want a legal battle with him where they might be able to gather additional info from him
• They made a clearly legally protected video

Sending a legal threat here not only doesn’t work, because the legal basis is suspect, but it plays perfectly into the hands of those who made the video in the first place. No matter what you think of Mann’s work, it’s hard not to think that it’s an incredibly dumb thing to threaten legal action in this situation. The actual cease & desist letter also raises some legal threats that have little basis in the law. It threatens the group that posted the video for using Dr. Mann’s likeness, claiming that it was pulled off the Penn State website, and “is not authorized, and infringes on various copyrights.” First of all, merely making use of a publicity photo in the video is unlikely to actually infringe on anyone’s copyrights, but more to the point, it almost certainly does not infringe on Mann’s copyrights. If anyone holds a copyright on that image, it would be the photographer who took the image or (more likely) Penn State. The lawyers do cc a photographer — so perhaps they’re suggesting he holds the copyrights, but they make no claim that they represent him.

Either way, it’s hard not to see the video as protected free speech. The use of his likeness is not (as the letter claims) for commercial purposes, but to mock him. It clearly hurts his feelings, but that’s not illegal. The claims of defamation are also ridiculous. Even if you believe that Mann’s infamous comments were taken out of context, there’s a widespread discussion over what happened with the data in question, and arguing that it’s defamatory to make such a claim is a stretch.

Yet again, we see a legal cease & desist threat being used not for an actual legal reason, but because someone doesn’t like something on the internet… and the result, in true “Streisand Effect” fashion, is to call significantly more attention to the content they hoped would disappear. This video wasn’t going to convince people one way or the other in this debate. People who want to believe that climate change data was falsified were going to believe it no matter what. Those who feel otherwise aren’t going to have their mind changed by a silly video. Threatening legal action does nothing but draw more attention to the the issue.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Performance, Europe, Bugatti, Design/Style

Bugatti buffs know that only one Type 64 was ever built way back in 1939. What they may not know is that an extra two Type 64 chassis were stamped at the factory in Molsheim but sadly never finished. That is, never finished until now. One of the two Type 64 chassis wound up in the hands of car collector extraordinaire Peter Mullin and is currently on naked display at his new Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, CA. Thanks to a design contest at Pasadena’s Art Center, Stewart Reed Design will be building a brand new body for chassis #64002. A new gullwing body, we should add. Continue reading, after the jump.

Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Never-built Bugatti Type 64 Coupe to be resurrected on Chassis #002

Never-built Bugatti Type 64 Coupe to be resurrected on Chassis #002 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Square Enix has already announced and detailed (qjnet/news/square-enix-announces-dlc-packs-for-just-cause-2.html) upcoming DLC for Just Cause 2. But in case you need more convincing than text descriptions of the new goods, here’s a taste of what’s to come.

Ah, memories. 

Eight days before the NASDAQ peaked in March, 2000, Palm (PALM) was spun off from 3com.  That day, on a split-adjusted basis, the stock (briefly) hit $803.

(No, I didn’t cover the stock in my former life as a Dotcom Bubble Analyst, so don’t blame this one on me.  Yes, if I had covered it, I probably would have rated it Outperform or something.)

Floyd Norris has the call (March 3, 2000)…

Continuing a wave of enthusiasm for companies involved in the Internet and wireless communications, investors snapped up shares yesterday of Palm Inc., the maker of the popular Palm Pilot hand-held devices.

The shares traded as high as $165, more than four times the offering price of $38, before retreating to slightly more than $95.

At that price, the market is valuing Palm at $53.3 billion, far more than the value of its parent, the 3Com Corporation, which still owns most of Palm. Palm’s market value is higher than that of many far larger companies, including General Motors, Chevron and McDonald’s.

Keep reading at the NYT >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• 10 Reasons Palm Failed And Had To Sell To HP
• Why HP Is Buying Palm And Why It Will Fail
• Palm Is On The Block And Getting Desperate

The oil spill surged back in the news today after reports that BP’s deepwater rig is spewing out far more oil than expected.

Jumping from 1,000 barrels-per-day to 5,000 barrels-per-day has a big multiplier effect on the political and environmental consequences of the wreck.

If the leak continues for 53 days, the spill volume will exceed Exxon Valdez.

2001: Transocean builds the Deepwater Horizon, hailed as a “marvel of modern technology.” It is leased by BP through 2013

September 2009: Deepwater drills the deepest oil well in history

April 20, 2010: An underwater explosion… the rig catches fire…

April 20: Nearly 100 workers escape by life boat… another 17 are rescued by helicopter

April 20: 11 workers are presumed dead

The explosion is caused when a blowout preventer fails to close as pressure increased

April 21: BP estimates oil leakage at 1,000 barrels per day

April 28: Louisiana shrimp farmers file suit against BP

April 29: After discovering a third leak, government experts increase their estimate to 5,000 barrels per day. BP accepts the new estimate

Three stocks take a big hit: BP, Transocean (RIG), and blowout-prevention-part-marker Cameron (CAM)

Wind and ocean currents push the oil spill towards the continental US.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declares a state of national emergency. Barack Obama confirms.

At 5,000 bbl per day, it will take only 53 days for the spill to exceed Exxon-Valdez.

Thousands of fish and birds are at risk (note the flock of gulls). Environmentalists are furious

BP is spending $6 million-a-day on cleanup, and they’re just getting started

The most environmental option could be setting the oil on fire!

BP has been unable to close the leak using rovs. The next option involves putting a dome over the well head — which could take weeks — or introducing a second rig to siphon flow — which could take months

Wikipedia has the latest >

The oil is 20 miles from Louisiana and will make landfall late Friday (even if containment efforts go well)

How does this effect the future of off-shore drilling?

Here’s why we need deep-ocean drilling…

15 Drill Crazy Countries That Are Rapidly Running Out Of Oil >>

Join the conversation about this story »

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Up around Cape Cod, they were so worried about how the Cape Wind project might affect their views, or more precisely, their property values, that the opposition to this groundbreaking project dragged on and on. It took nine years to get final approval, which came yesterday from the Department of the Interior.

Two years ago we ran a story about another wind project, in nearby Hull, Mass., where the vast majority of residents are quite pleased with their money-saving wind turbines, which are a lot more up close and view-affecting than the Cape Wind project will ever be. Richard Miller, operations manager of the Hull Municipal Light Plant (HMLP), said then: “There has been no resistance on the part of the residents.”

Perhaps wind is a little less intimidating once it’s saving your school district $20K a year.

Around that time, we also ran a conceptual photograph of what Cape Wind is projected to look like from the Cape. Here’s one example of the developer’s vision of how the view won’t (or will, depending on your perspective) be affected:

You can see that the horizon is dotted with something on the right. Those are the planned wind turbines at five miles out.

I can understand that this is a change. The view is altered — a bit. Ted Kennedy, ardent proponent of many progressive causes, didn’t like it at all. But it seems pretty benign looking at it here.

Contrast that picture with those showing the current oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico:

Some will say, these are apples and oranges. Wind will power homes, replacing coal, natural gas and maybe nuclear power generation. Crude oil mainly serves the transportation sector. You need both. They’re not a replacement for each other. Check that.

But this does illustrate the power spectrum — from the vastly dirty example of this large oil slick creeping toward the still-recovering estuaries in Louisiana to the cleanest, greenest power source.

This view-altering oil spill is not just a bummer for coastal real estate, it’s life-threatening for nesting birds, marine life and the entire coastal ecology, which has been in recovery since Hurricane Katrina blasted through, also carrying spilled oil. As an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day continue to spew into the Gulf from the collapsed BP operation, it will certainly affect shrimp and other fishing enterprises, hurting Gulf region employment and your dining options.

Like the Massey coal mine collapse earlier this spring, this is just one more example of how the true cost of our energy infrastructure cannot be tallied by adding up the price of the produced commodity. Starting with the loss of 11 lives in the initial explosion, the costs are steep. There’s the cost of the clean-up — in the billions, though President Obama says BP must pay the total tab. But BP will never be able to reimburse the region for the likely millions that will be lost in tourism dollars and shrimping revenue. This damage, like the harm to dolphins and threatened sea turtles, can never be fully recaptured. (Bloomberg News sources estimate that the disaster will cost the insurance industry $1.5 billion.)

This oil mess serves as a potent reminder that we need to change our transportation priorities. This year, a handful of Americans will begin running their vehicles on wind and solar power. How? Take an EV coming onto the market, plug it in to a home running on clean energy. That’s a wind-powered or solar-powered car. When you consider all that wind can do — or for that matter, solar, the ultimate on-site power solution — it’s hard not to conclude that we need to make a hard turn in that direction.

Climate change or no climate change, we’ve got to get our head on straight about our energy priorities.

This latest political mantra of trying to please everyone, and appease oil interests, this plan that brought us to Obama’s decision to open more U.S. coastline to oil drilling, has some merit. We do not want to fight wars to find oil. But it risks tethering us to dirty energy sources for too long.

This psuedo-patriotric “it’s all good” strategy in which Barack Obama’s rhetoric and BP’s commercials seemed to eerily echo each other, may not find the right balance. And we need to re-balance our plan, in favor of the future.

I will refrain from quoting Marx here (such a turnoff when Americans quote communists!) but let’s just say that those in power tend to remain in power because they control things. I’m speaking here of big oil or Big Oil. The status quo exerts major inertia, and can justify its continued maintenance, given all those jobs (and Congressmen and women) it supports.

At the end of the day, though, we wouldn’t want to find ourselves lost in a petrified forest of fossil fuels, still searching for a greener path. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar saw that when he approved the Cape Wind project this week.

So if the sight of that oil spill terrifies you, (see ABC’s Good Morning America coverage for video), then consider making changes to reduce your oil consumption.

We ran a piece on that topic called Travel Lighter for Earth Week — when this oil spill occurred on April 20, just in time for Earth Day, April 22.

And if you live on the Eastern Seaboard, which Obama just opened up for oil exploration, you can tell your governor’s office that you’re OK with what wind does to the horizon, but not so fond of the idea of drilling for oil off your beautiful coast. Just explain that you’d prefer a tiny intrusion on the horizon to the potential beach-annihilating, wildlife killing, Maryland-sized occasional uncontrollable oil spill.

Copyright © 2010 Green Right Now | Distributed by GRN Network

After a bit of a technical problem, Burnett, Liesman, and Allen Sinai from Decision Economics discuss the problems of Greece and where they’ll spread next. Sinai sees it going from bad to worse as Portugal and Spain join the ranks of Greece.

And if you thought the United States was safe, think again.

Join the conversation about this story »

Particularly valuable to those with Hepatitis C, a new investigation sheds light on the common misconception that veggie burgers are a liver-friendly food.

by Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.

For the estimated four to five million Americans living with chronic Hepatitis C, protecting their livers from damage is paramount to staying healthy. Assuming veggie burgers to be health food fare, many with Hepatitis C make this popular vegetarian item a dietary staple. However, a non-profit organization that performs research and investigations on agricultural issues has found that some veggie burgers may not be all that. In fact, the Cornucopia Institute recently revealed that many veggie burgers are made with a toxin that is known to put an additional burden on the liver.

Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a virus that lurks in the bodies of a staggering number of people, slowly damaging the liver. While about half of those infected are lucky enough to successfully eliminate the virus from their body with the current standard treatment, a significant portion of those with Hepatitis C must wait for better, emerging treatments.

The liver is an amazing organ, responsible for countless functions that keep us alive. One of the liver’s primary responsibilities is to remove waste and toxins from the blood supply. Unfortunate for those with chronic Hepatitis C, a liver that has already sustained damage from the virus has a much harder time cleansing the blood. Thus, more toxins circulate throughout the body, a situation that puts many structures in jeopardy – including the liver.

Having a higher concentration of toxins in the blood is akin to a double whammy for the liver:

· With more toxins to process, there is a greater workload on the liver.

· The increased toxin exposure causes more liver cells to die – rendering them unable to function.

Thus, individuals managing chronic Hepatitis C must make every effort to limit the amount of toxins their liver contends with.

Hexane
A toxic chemical made from crude oil, hexane is used in the manufacture of some soy-based foods. In conventional food processing, soybeans are immersed in what the industry calls a “hexane bath” before they are further processed into ingredients such as oil, soy protein isolate or texturized soy protein – common ingredients in traditional veggie burgers. Unfortunately, the liver bears the brunt of hexane’s burden, and can easily be damaged by high levels of hexane exposure.

Veggie Burgers
People managing Hepatitis C typically strive to avoid easily recognizable liver toxins like cigarette smoke, processed junk food and alcohol. However, most are totally unaware that some vegetarian food contains hazardous chemicals. A recent investigation by the Cornucopia Institute found that many non-organic veggie burgers are made with hexane.

In order to meet the demands of health-conscious consumers, manufacturers of soy-based fake meat like to make their products have as little fat as possible. The cheapest way to do this is by submerging soybeans in a bath of hexane to separate the oil from the protein. According to Cornucopia Institute senior researcher Charlotte Vallaeys, “If a non-organic product contains a soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, or texturized vegetable protein, you can be pretty sure it was made using soy beans that were made with hexane.”

According to the Cornucopia Institute, popular veggie burgers made with hexane, include:

· Amy’s Kitchen
· Boca Burger, conventional
· Franklin Farms
· Garden Burger
· It’s All Good Lightlife
· Morningstar Farms
· President’s Choice
· Taste Above
· Trader Joe’s
· Yves Veggie Cuisine

Veggie burgers that are hexane-free, include:

· Boca Burgers “Made with organic soy”
· Helen’s Kitchen
· Morningstar “Made with organic”
· Superburgers by Turtle Island
· Tofurky
· Wildwood

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic standards strictly prohibit the use of hexane. While products labeled “organic” aren’t allowed to contain any hexane-derived ingredients, that rule doesn’t apply to foods that are labeled “made with organic ingredients.”

There is no realistic way to avoid contact from all of the toxins lurking in today’s society. However, until everyone infected can be cured from Hepatitis C, those with the virus have extra motivation to minimize their toxin exposure. Thanks to the Cornucopia Institute’s research, we know which veggie burgers contain hexane and which are hexane-free – knowledge that gives those with Hepatitis C greater control over the toxins gaining entrance into their bodies.

References:

http://peer.tamu.edu/curriculum_modules/cell_Biology/module_5/hazards2.htm, A Toxic Substance – Hexane, Retrieved April 14, 2010, Texas A & M University, 2010.
http://www.alternet.org/food/146439/which_veggie_burgers_were_made_with_a_neurotoxin, Which Veggie Burgers Were Made With a Neurotoxin?, Kiera Butler, Retrieved April 14, 2010, Mother Jones Online, April 2010.

http://www.cornucopia.org/soysurvey/OrganicSoyReport/behindthebean_color_final.pdf, Behind the Bean: The Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry, Retrieved April 14, 2010, Retrieved April 14, 2010, Cornucopia Institute, 2010.

http://www.eco-usa.net/toxics/chemicals/hexane.shtml, Hexane, Michael Habeck, Retrieved April 14, 2010, Toxicological Profile for Hexane, July 1999, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Eco-USA, 2010.

The Telegragh (UK) created a slideshow of topiary around the world, showing examples of  literary, religious, geometric, spiral, animal, and other fantastic designs from France, UK, Germany, Italy, and (as seen above), Thailand.

Topiary relates to the art of clipping trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs to create sculptures. According to Wikipedia, the word derives from the Latin word for an “ornamental landscape gardener, topiarius, creator of topia or ‘places’.” In many cases, trees are sculpted with shears, taking shape over time. In others, wire cages are used to guide plants into sculpture. A range of plants and vines can be incorporated.

Wikipedia says the first topiaries were Roman. “Pliny’s Natural History and the epigram-writer Martial both credit Cneius Matius Calvena, in the circle of Julius Caesar, with introducing the first topiary to Roman gardens, and Pliny the Younger describes in a letter the elaborate figures of animals, inscriptions and cyphers and obelisks in clipped greens at his Tuscan villa. Within the atrium of a Roman house or villa, a place that had formerly been quite plain, the art of the topiarius produced a miniature landscape (topos) which might use the comparable art of stunting trees, also mentioned, disapprovingly, by Pliny.”

See the slideshow and more topiaries.

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Audi

This Audi commercial for the R8 Spyder has a tagline that sounds more like two spies verifying each others’ identities – “Mirror. Signal. Outmaneuver.” – and it has a supporting cast stranger than a man in a nuclear-powered suit. Not that it needs to be comprehensible since it’s got that topless white beast in it, and we’ll be fine with that, thank you.

Follow the jump for a little Fellini-esque trip through Audi’s mind.

[Source: Audi via YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Confusing, but awesome Audi R8 Spyder commercial

Video: Confusing, but awesome Audi R8 Spyder commercial originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

From Green Right Now Reports

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced a new “LEED for Neighborhood Development” rating system today that aims to reward communities that try to reduce urban sprawl, increase walkability and transportation options, and decrease automobile dependence.

The new certification, developed with the Congress for the New Urbanism and the Natural Resources Defense Council, hopes to encourage development within or near existing communities and public infrastructure to reduce the impact of sprawl. It is the seventh rating system for the USGBC, which certifies residential, commercial and other properties based on their environmental footprint.

In an announcement of the new program, the USGBC noted that many studies have found that connecting communities— keeping them closer to amenities and retail services – provides economic and health benefits.

The health benefits come from reduced traffic and air pollution and increased walkability. The shortened travel times also save money, USGBC officials said, citing a 2008 study that showed “automobile dependent” communities devote 50 percent more money to transportation.

“Sustainable communities are prosperous communities for the occupants and businesses which inhabit them,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council in a statement. “LEED for Neighborhood Development projects are strategically located in or surrounding metropolitan areas – often times revitalizing brownfields, infills or other underutilized spaces, opening new revenue streams, creating jobs opportunities and helping to drive the local, state and national economies.”

The LEED for Neighborhood Development program will promote “safe and inclusive communities” with good access to jobs, businesses, schools and parks, as well as ways to get around for pedestrians, bicyclists and those wanting public transit, officials said.

“Half of the buildings we will have in 25 years are not yet on the ground,” said Kaid Benfield, Director of the Smart Growth Program, Natural Resources Defense Council, “Where we put them is even more important to the environment than how we build them, and NRDC is proud to stand alongside our partners with a system that helps guide them to the right places while avoiding the wrong ones.”

The NRDC helped develop the USGBC plans by working with Smart Growth America, a national coalition of organizations working for better communities.

The Congress for the New Urbanism brought leading city planners and architects from the New Urbanist movement to help develop the new rating system.

“LEED for Neighborhood Development contains the components for compact and complete neighborhoods. With walkable streets, appropriately-scaled schools, and a mix of amenities close by, residents can lower their environmental impact while improving their quality of life,” said John Norquist, President and CEO, Congress for the New Urbanism.

Published April 28, 2010
By the Tri-City Herald staff

A solar-powered concert and tree planting are Thursday at Columbia Basin College in Pasco in honor of Earth Day and Arbor Day.

The solar-powered concert featuring Jonathan Kingham is from 11 a.m. to noon in the HUB, 2600 N. 20th Ave., Pasco. The tree planting follows at 1 p.m. east of the “W” building along 20th Avenue.

Franklin PUD is providing the solar power for the concert. People at the tree planting will be given seedlings.

CBC has been named a Tree Campus USA school by the Arbor Day Foundation, the only community college in the state with that designation.

Additional news stories can be accessed online at the Tri-City Herald.

Filed under: Crossover, Tesla, Electric

The Tesla EYE design concept we saw in at the Geneva Motor Show was just an experiment some students at the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin did with the Tesla brand. But the idea that we will see more and new vehicle models from Tesla Motors is a fact, as CEO Elon Musk reaffirmed this week during his acceptance speech for the Automotive Executive of the Year Innovator Award. AutoWeek was on hand and reports that Musk said that, after the Model S arrives in 2012, Tesla will introduce a crossover utility vehicle and other models starting in 2013. There’s been talk about a Tesla SUV since at least 2008.

On the smaller side of things, Tesla’s alliance with Daimler is moving forward with supplying electric vehicle technology for a Mercedes A-Class and the next Smart. For those of you who think Musk has a big ego, he said something in his speech that minimizes the impact of cars like the Tesla Roadster: “The smallest effect Tesla will make will be the cars we make ourselves. The biggest effect will be the cars they [other companies] make.”

Photos by Damon Lavrinc / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: AutoWeek]

Report: Tesla’s Elon Musk says new CUV model due in 2013 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Even though Mega Man Zero Collection has been delayed in Japan, the same doesn’t hold true for North America. Capcom has announced that the game is on course for a June 8 North American release.

Chrysler Group LLC, which has been criticized on keeping its new product plans under the wraps, has repeatedly said that the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee flagship SUV will set the bar for other new products that will come out later this year. In the mean time Chrysler is concentrating on generating revenue to fund the new vehicles to come.

As for the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chrysler and Fiat CEO says that the model “must be flawless. It needs to be perfect and it will be.”

“It is important for us because it is a large volume vehicle and the first one for the new Chrysler,” said Jeep chief Mike Manley.

The new Grand Cherokee will also be the first vehicle with Fiat input. The model will be produced at Detroit’s Jefferson North plant using Fiat’s manufacturing system and will offer the first evidence of quality improvement for Chrysler.

“It is a signature car for Chrysler,” Marchionne said. “It will have quality that is unprecedented in the history of the place.”

Click here for more news on the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Refresher: The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee will be offered with two new powertrains including Chrysler’s new flexible fuel 280-hp Phoenix 3.6L V6 which increases fuel-economy by up to 11 percent. The range will be topped off with a 5.7L HEMI V8 making 360-hp and a maximum torque of 390 lb-ft.

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee:

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Detroit News

While we’re not sure (and we don’t think Daimler is either) whether or not Maybach will stick around, Mercedes-Benz’s luxury brand did unveil a new facelift at the 2010 Beijing Motor Show last week.

The much needed facelift comes as Maybach desperately needs to boost sales. According to Autodata, Maybach sold only seven cars in the U.S. last month, down from 15 units the same month a year ago.

But what is Maybach doing to attract new customers? Offering things like 19-inch video screen, an overview camera for rear passengers and on board WI-FI.

However, one feature that really sticks out is a built-in perfume spritzer. So if you want your car to smell like roses every time you step in – you can get it. Maybach says that the perfume smell is of “an extremely high-quality flacon perfume atomizer available on request.”

2011 Maybach 57/62:

– By: Kap Shah

Source: DriveOn

If there is one automaker that has been keeping busy in order to revamp its whole lineup, it has to be Hyundai. After the Genesis, Genesis Coupe, Sonata and the new Accent – Hyundai today unveiled the new Elantra at the 2010 Busan Motor Show in Korea.

“The new Avante encompasses Hyundai’s latest ambitions, featuring the best styling and performance in its class,” Steve S. Yang, President & CEO of Hyundai’s Global Business Division, said at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) today. “We’re confident that it will once again redefine the compact segment worldwide.”

Besides a sleek new look (courtesy of Audi’s ex head of design), the new 2011 Elantra will get Hyundai’s new 1.6L Gamma GDI engine that makes 160-hp and features fuel-saving technologies like Dual Continuously Variable Valve Timing and Variable Induction System. The engine will be mated to a new 6-speed automatic.

Our opinion? It seems Hyundai may finally have a winner to compete strong against the Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, Ford Focus, Chevrolet Cruze and Toyota Corolla.

Click through for the press release and high-res image gallery.

2011 Hyundai Elantra (Avante):

Press Release:

HYUNDAI UNVEILS ALL-NEW AVANTE AT BUSAN MOTOR SHOW 2010-04-29 24

* World-premier of new Avante compact, Hyundai’s global best-seller

* Featuring 1.6L Gamma GDI engine, 6-speed automatic

Hyundai Motor Co. had its world-premier of the all-new Avante compact sedan, the company’s best-selling model worldwide, at the Busan International Motor Show 2010 today.

“The new Avante encompasses Hyundai’s latest ambitions, featuring the best styling and performance in its class,” Steve S. Yang, President & CEO of Hyundai’s Global Business Division, said at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) today. “We’re confident that it will once again redefine the compact segment worldwide.”

With sportier and even more elegant lines than its predecessor, the new Avante ? badged as Elantra in markets outside Korea – continues Hyundai’s ‘fluidic sculpture’ design philosophy.

Hyundai has applied its latest 1.6L Gamma Gasoline Direct Injection engine and a 6-speed automatic transmission to the front-wheel drive compact, the first time GDI and six-speed automatic have been featured on a compact sedan in Korea. The new Avante delivers a peak output of 140ps and maximum torque of 17.0kg·m. It is also about 10 percent more fuel efficient than its closest competitors, thanks to GDI, the six speed automatic and other fuel economy enhancements.

The new Avante will delight and surprise with a raft of other advanced features not found on other compacts, including HID (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps, LED combination lamps in the rear, heated rear seats, puddle lamps and a color TFT LCD information display nestled in the gauge cluster.

Under the Avante/Elantra badge, Hyundai has sold over 6 million units worldwide since the car’s launch in 1990. Hyundai will begin sales of the all-new Avante in the second half of 2010 in Korea.

At a separate commercial vehicle booth, Hyundai displayed a hydrogen fuel-cell electric bus and a Universe Limousine luxury coach, among other displays.

– By: Kap Shah

This new Naughty Bear video lets us in on one of the weapons in the titular ursine maniac’s arsenal: a frickin’ bear trap. Get a bear caught in one of these and you’re free to deliver whatever

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong had almost a year to understand AOL’s business and outlook prior to taking the company public. 

But he still made the worst mistake a newly-public CEO can make.

In the first quarter out of the box, Tim delivered a nasty surprise: He announced that AOL’s future performance would be worse than expected, screwing his first investors and hobbling hope that a new era had finally come to AOL.

AOL’s revenues are collapsing, and a turnaround will take years.  Tim did a good job of preparing Wall Street for that reality prior to the IPO.  What Tim did not do well was convey just how long and sustained the collapse of AOL’s core business was going to be.

This may have been because Tim and the rest of AOL’s managers were not prepared well by their underwriters and communications teams (who should have told them to set expectations so low that the company could fall over them).  Or it may be that Tim & Co. had no idea how bad this year was going to be.  Neither instills confidence. 

Wall Street likes to get the bad news now and the good news later.  What Wall Street hates, meanwhile, is to get bad news as a surprise.

One hopes that Tim and his team have now learned their lesson the hard way and that the lousy outlook the company provided is, finally, a worst-case scenario that sets the bar just above the floor.  If not–if the next quarter brings yet another nasty surprise–the remaining believers Tim won over on the IPO roadshow will dump the stock in the trash and head for the hills.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• AOL Says Ad Revenues Won’t Grow Till 2011
• Here’s The Most Distressing Part Of AOL’s Horrible Results: Cash Flow Collapsed
• AOL Misses On Earnings, Ad Revenues Tank Another 19%

Tesla Motors plans to announce in the next several weeks that it has chosen a new plant to produce its new Tesla Model S sedan, CEO Elon Musk said in an interview with Automotive News.

Musk said that Tesla is hitting 50 to 60 individuals a month with a focus on vehicle engineering and production specialists. It said that it has two finalists to supply 80 percent of the parts that will be used on the Model S, due out in 2012.

The new plant will be on the West Coast and will build the Model S sedan and the replacement for the Tesla Roadster.

Musk said that Tesla will convert an existing factory but declined to say whether the plant had been previously used by other automakers (we’re guessing he’s talking about NUMMI here).

“It hasn’t yet been finalized,” he said. “We’ve almost fully negotiated the deal, but it has not been signed yet.

Tesla Model S:

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

– By: Omar Rana