Author: Serkadis

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Ford, Racing

Formula Drift kicked off the 2010 season last weekend with its 5th annual Streets of Long Beach event on turns 9, 10, and 11 of the Grand Prix course that’ll see ALMS and IndyCar action this weekend. Our man Michael Harley’s GSR Autosport team faced plenty of adversity in its inaugural event, and it was the more seasoned (and well funded) teams that fared better.

At the end of the knockout stages, Vaughn Gittin Jr., in his new 2011 Mustang sponsored by Falken Tire and Monster Energy Drink, stood atop the podium. This is Gittin’s best ever start to a season, with his last win coming at Irwindale in 2008. Rounding out the top three were Rhys Millen in his Hyundai Genesis Coupe in second and Tanner Foust in his NASCAR V8-powered Scion tC in third.

Vaughn was nice enough to send over video of his victorious drifting runs that includes some fantastic in-car footage. Hit the jump to watch, and be sure to turn up the volume!

[Source: Vimeo]

Continue reading Video: Vaughn Gittin takes first win of 2010 Formula Drift season

Video: Vaughn Gittin takes first win of 2010 Formula Drift season originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 17 Apr 2010 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Credit specialist and Asia Times contributor David Goldman is on record believing that SEC vs. Goldman Sachs (GS) is going to be huge.

First, he argues, logically, that if anything, it’s Fabrice Tourre who has the leverage over his employer:

[The SEC has] nailed a 32-year-old Goldman vice president who cobbled together the tainted structure, and he appears to be singing. Investment banks aren’t like the mafia. No-one takes twenty-year sentences and keeps their mouth shut. This case very well might open up others.

And then here’s why this goes way beyond Goldman.

Investors who lost a trillion dollars in subprime CDO’s now will descend like Harpies upon the banks that packaged them, with subpoenas for every email and internal memorandum involved. The civil suits that could arise from this are potentially innumerable.

It’s a good time to get into the bunker where financial stocks are concerned.

Indeed, that seemed to be the calculs on Friday, when financials were sold off dramatically. It’s also why, in the end, the frailties of the SEC’s case, may not matter very much. At issue is not whether Goldman would lose a civil case — at issue is reputational damage, and the opportunity for others who lost money to reason: well, if the SEC has grounds to sue, then so do we.

Read the whole Abacus CDO Pitchbook here >

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Don’t get too comfy with the releases already on the market. Capcom has one more bomb around the corner to try and make you shell out what’s left of your gaming cash. Lost Planet 2 is hitting

Nintendo’s new DSi is large, but is it in charge? According to the latest NPD figures, the new supersized DSi XL sold 141,000 in its first month in the US.

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Recalls, Safety, Toyota

It appears Toyota just can’t shake the recall bug. Since last fall, Toyota has issued massive recalls for floor mats, stuck pedals, Prius brakes, Tundra frame rust and now the Japanese automaker’s minivan is getting in on the act. Toyota has announced that it will voluntarily recall 600,000 of its 1998-2010 Sienna minivans for corrosion on the spare tire cable. A Toyota press release on the subject tells us that the cable may rust to the point where “the spare tire could become separated from the vehicle, a road hazard for following vehicles that increases the likelihood of a crash.”

The primary cause of the corrosion stems from road salt used to combat ice. The recall covers vehicles in the northern states listed in the post-jump press release, though Toyota says it will inspect the spare tire cable on vehicles from states not affected by the recall as well.

At this point, Toyota admits it is still working on a solution to the rusted cable problem. If your Sienna is affected by the recall, you will receive a notice from the automaker to head to a dealer for inspection. Once Toyota comes up with a proper fix, customers will receive a second notice advising Sienna owners of the remedy. We’re thinking two trips to the dealer is less than ideal, but then again we’re sure most customers aren’t interested in having their spare tire fall out during rush hour traffic. Hit the jump to read over the Toyota press release. Thanks to everyone for the tips!

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading Toyota recalling 600,000 Sienna minivans over corrosion on spare tire cable

Toyota recalling 600,000 Sienna minivans over corrosion on spare tire cable originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 17 Apr 2010 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earlier this week we saw spy shots of what was said to be an M version of the BMW 1-Series circling the Nurburgring. As we’ve reported many times before, BMW has repeatedly denied any plans of doing an M1 so take all these shots with a grain of salt.

Even if BMW doesn’t do an M version of the 1-Series, you can definitely expect something like the 135is like the 335is we saw at the 2010 New York Auto Show.

BMW M1 spotted again:

Spy Shots: BMW M1 (M version of 1-Series):

– By: Kap Shah

Source: PistonSpy (via BMWBlog)

For the small population that runs on Sense 2.1, an XDA member has made it possible to give your slider a truly personalized look. The member goes by the name brent372, and he has put together an application that allows you to choose a personal icon for each Sense 2.1 section.

The application comes with 180 Icon a little similar to the one seen to the right. The icons are specific to each category and you select the one you like the best and from there when your done, you just compile it, install and presto. You have your own custom Sense look, Exclusive.

Instructions:

• Review the sections below and mentally chose the icon you want for each section. There are a total of 12 sections.
• Download the icons you want. You should end up with a total of 12 CAB files.
• Install all the cabs you just downloaded (the order you install them does not matter)
• After all CAB files are installed, Soft Reset (reboot) your phone and enjoy !!!

Notes:

If you already have a slider you like and want to change only certain icons on it, just download and install those icons!

If you have an icon or icons you would like to be made into slider icons, just send me a PM on the forum you came here from (my name is Brent372)and I will do the leg work and add them to the matrix below.

If you have a transparent slider tab, please install THIS CAB file. You must install this file LAST!!! If you make any changes to your slider you will have to re-install this.

If you have already installed some of these custom icons, and wish to change, you can just install the new one on top of the existing one. Your device should notify you that the old version will be removed.

Want to give your Sense 2.1 device a new look? Headover to XDA for the files

Daimler AG and Renault-Nissan last week announced a strategic alliance where both will cooperate on building electric-vehicles. The two groups also announced an equity exchange that will give the Renault-Nissan Alliance a 3.1% stake in Daimler and Daimler a 3.1% stake in Renault and a 3.1% stake in Nissan.

Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche says that the Stuttgart automaker will become the leading manufacturer for electric-car batteries – the only problem is, the company’s new business partner CEO Carlos Ghosn has the same idea.

Both have promised to produce the best battery power pack as they kick of plans to jointly produce electric-cars.

“Daimler has been a company that has traditionally been reluctant to give up its own technology path,” said Anil Valsan, the London-based director of automotive research at Frost & Sullivan. “While Daimler’s battery may have a technical edge, Renault-Nissan’s solution may end up being more cost competitive.”

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Bloomberg

Article Tags: Christopher Booker, ClimateGate

Rajendra Pachauri, right, with Al Gore, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the IPCC in 2007

From Macbeth to Watergate, it’s not the act that leads to nemesis, but the attempts to ‘trammel up the consequence’.

If you were faced with by far the biggest bill of your life, would you not want to be confident that there was a very good reason why you should pay it? That is why we need to know just how far we can trust the science behind the official view that the world is threatened with catastrophe by global warming – because the measures proposed by our politicians to avert this supposed disaster threaten to transform our way of life out of recognition and to land us with easily the biggest bill in history. (The Climate Change Act alone, says the Government, will cost us all £18 billion every year until 2050.)

Yet in recent months, as we know, the official science on which all this rests has taken quite a hammering. Confronted with all those scandals surrounding the “Climategate” emails and the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the political and academic establishments have responded with a series of inquiries and statements designed to show that the methods used to construct the official scientific case are wholly sound. But as was illustrated last week by two very different reports, these efforts to hold the line are themselves so demonstrably flawed that they are in danger of backfiring, leaving the science more questionable than ever.

Source: telegraph.co.uk

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I agree with Aristotle!

The goal: Don’t suffer greatly – but with GREATNESS!

Know: We never fail in life. We just produce results. It’s up to us how we interpret our results. We can choose to be miserable – or to stretch our minds by seeking out the best interpretations and most valuable lessons!

For more bounce back tips, check out my Anthony Robbins’ praised book – THE BOUNCE BACK BOOK – by clicking this line, right here, right NOW!

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Article Tags: Headline Story, Web Article

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday the country will pull out of the Kyoto environmental agreement if a compromise cannot be found concerning the reduction of carbon emissions.

“All countries, including developed and developing economies, should reach an agreement, or, if we do not agree on this [the common terms of carbon emissions reduction], Russia will not prolong its participation in the Kyoto agreement – you cannot have it both ways,” the president said.

The statement came after the BRIC summit in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia. The top-level talks, bringing together the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, were aimed at improving the current global economic situation and strengthen cooperation between the four countries.

The Kyoto Protocol is a legally binding agreement restricting carbon emissions, some points of which expire in 2012. A new global climate deal is needed to continue efforts beyond 2012.

The controversial UN climate summit, which took place in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, in December 2009, was originally expected to see the signing of a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, but countries only agreed to try to keep average increases in global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius.

Source: en.rian.ru

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Filed under: Spy Photos, Europe, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat

One good way to hide the next Dodge Charger from spy photographers is to keep it out of the usual venues. Perhaps that’s why it’s been spotted again testing in Europe wearing heavy camouflage. We’ve seen this car (and its interior) in roughly the same state of dress before, but not in Europe.

With Fiat’s heavy stake in Chrysler, it’s even a bit more logical to find a Dodge under development on The Continent. Head-scratching aside, what’s in store? Nothing radical, it would appear. The biggest changes are likely to be to the grille and lamp clusters, with the former growing in size, and the latter getting an infusion of LEDs. The basic shape under all that black cloth is the familiar LX-car form. Bodyside surface detailing is hidden, though there are rumors of some cues being exhumed from the 1960s Chargers. We’ll have to wait until the wraps come off before we confirm or deny the new retro themes.

[Source: CarPix]

Spy Shots: 2011 Dodge Charger caught testing… in Europe? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 17 Apr 2010 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lauren Seaver had us with the first three ingredients in her salad: bacon, chicken and avocado. What is there not to love? This combination is not new to most of you, in fact, you might even throw it into salads all the time. But if it’s been awhile, let us remind you how insanely delicious this simple combination is.

Crispy, salty bacon is a perfect topping for cool, creamy avocado and the chicken thighs seared in bacon fat take on a deep, rich flavor that chicken doesn’t always have. It’s a comforting and satisfying combination, familiar ingredients that each take on a new dimension of flavor when paired with the others. You can toss this salad with any green you like, but there is something especially tasty about the combination of crisp romaine lettuce with bacon. While not a “dark, leafy” green, romaine still packs a nice nutritional punch and pretty much everyone loves the mild flavor, which makes it a good choice if you’re serving this salad to others (like picky family members).

Lauren turns the flavor dial up a notch by garnishing with chopped walnuts, red onion and apple. Like any good garnish, this heightens the flavor in the salad and adds texture. You get a little sweetness, a little crunchiness and a nice bite from the red onion. All in all, this is exactly the type of salad that satisfies our hunger and provides the type of protein and good fat we all need to get through the day.

For dressing, you can use any vinaigrette you like, or even just a drizzle of olive oil. If you want to try something new, however, Lauren has included her favorite Balsamic Apple Vinaigrette.

Servings: Approx. 4

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound bacon, or 4-5 slices, cut into 1/2 inch bits
• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped into 2 inch pieces, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1 avocado – peeled, pitted and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped walnut
• 1 apple – cut into 1 inch chunks (optional)

Instructions:

In a pan over medium heat, cook the bacon “bits” until crisp.

Remove and set aside, but save the bacon grease in the pan. Next, add the chopped and seasoned chicken thighs to the pan and sauté in the bacon grease. Cook the chicken and turn so that every side is browned.

Allow it to simmer over low heat while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Toss the chopped romaine, avocado, chicken and bacon together. Top with red onion, walnuts and apple. Dress with your favorite vinaigrette, or use Lauren’s:

Balsamic Apple Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoon apple cider
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• pinch salt
• pinch black pepper
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Mix all ingredients except olive oil (using a whisk, food processor, or blender). Slowly add in olive oil drop by drop to make an emulsion (like you would when making mayo) until it is all incorporated.

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Related posts:

1. Chicken and Avocado Sandwich with Spinach Bread
2. Curried Chicken Salad
3. Coconut Encrusted Chicken Salad

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Jaguar, UK, Celebrities

If you’re into classic cars and vintage rallies, you know the Mille Miglia, but you likely haven’t heard of the Lormarins 1200. Not yet, at least, because it was just announced and has yet to take place. Unlike the Mille Miglia, upon which it’s modeled, the Lormarins 1200 is a new event and not a revival. The inaugural running is scheduled for October in South Africa’s Western Cape wine region, and to announce it, organizers brought out the big guns.

Former F1 world champion Jody Scheckter took the wheel of a 1952 Jaguar C-Type and lead a £10 million convoy of classics through London’s Mayfair district. South Africa’s ambassador in London, Dr. Zola Skweiyiya, rode shotgun. They were joined by a 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C Monza and a 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France – one of only seven ever made. But that’s nothing compared to the 40 to 50 cars expected to take part in the full rally. In the meantime, you can check out the details in the press release after the jump and the photos in the gallery below.

[Source: Lormarins 1200]

Continue reading Jody Scheckter launches Lormarins 1200 with £10m in classics

Jody Scheckter launches Lormarins 1200 with £10m in classics originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yesterday there was chatter that if the Goldman Sachs (GS) charges had legs and somehow damaged John Paulson, then it could prompt him to sell his gold holdings.

It seems a bit unlikely, but possible.

Anyway, take a look at how these two gold ETFs performed yesterday: The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the Sprott’s Physical Gold Trust (PHYS). One was down nearly 2%, while the other down less than 1%. Guess which one John Paulson holds.

See out full coverage of the SEC vs. Goldman Sachs here >

Join the conversation about this story »

(This guest post previously appeared at the author’s blog)

It’s looking like the banks “perp walks” couldn’t have started at a much worse time for Wall Street.  In mid-January financial reform discussions sparked a swift 10% bank decline, but as reform looked increasingly less likely the banks rallied and they rallied big. 

Since the February bottom the banks surged 26%.  It was the largest rally without a 10% decline since last Summer.  How much of that rally was due to lax bank reform could play into the next move for bank stocks and with the way things are looking it wouldn’t be shocking if much of that rally was erased in the coming months.  Banks and the general market have been strenuously overbought for several weeks now, sentiment is wildly bullish and many of the positive catalysts (primarily earnings, an improving economy and lax financial regulation) have been priced into shares.

It was little reported on Friday, but stocks had already turned negative before the Goldman news hit the tape.  Google, Bank of America and GE all reported excellent quarters and all three sold-off on the news.  We saw the same thing occur last quarter when investors were eager to front-run the earnings news, but were disappointed to find out that the news was already priced in by the time the reports were released.  That resulted in the brief 9% decline that laid the foundation for the current move higher.  At this point, a very good earnings season is more than common knowledge and the surge in equities is evidence of that.  Investors are already selling the earnings news so any positive catalyst for equities will likely come from other sources.

Perhaps most alarming with regards to the Goldman news is the level of uncertainty it will create.   At first glance the reaction to the Goldman news looks excessive, but this could have widespread ramifications.  First, this lawsuit looks like a carefully crafted political move that will make financial reform far more stringent than bank investors had been expecting.  President Obama was out Friday saying that he will veto any bill that does not contain derivatives reform.  JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon has previously mentioned that this portion of the bill would cost the bank between $500MM – $700MM.  The Goldman lawsuit appears to make derivatives reform a slam dunk.  This would likely shave billions in easy profits from total S&P 500 earnings.  The President has also expressed a willingness to drop the $50B bailout fund.  Mr.  Obama is flexing his muscles now and looking to slam thru his second big bill in a matter of months.  That’s good news for Main Street.  Harsh reform is necessary to protect us all from ever allowing these firms to put us in this position again.  Unfortunately, what’s good for Main Street is not always good for Wall Street.  I wouldn’t be surprised if bank stock puke all over themselves for several weeks until the dust settles.

In addition, there is severe risk of more perp walks.  This is eerily reminiscent of the Wall Street research perp walks following the many business scandals of the dotcom bubble.  In April of 2002 the market appeared to be stabilizing and had rallied 20%+ off its 2001 lows.  But then came the Sheriff of Wall Street.  Eliot Spitzer unleashed hell on the Wall Street banks when he sued several of the largest firms for conspiring to drive up prices.  Over the ensuing 5 months equities lost 25%.  The Goldman news is the first of what will likely be several perp walks.

Speaking of Eliot Spitzer, he has been very vocal in recent days about breaking up the big banks.  The Republicans certainly hate the too big to fail rule so it wouldn’t be shocking to see a resurgence in the Volcker Rule.  Goldman is so massively hated right now that any politician who stands in the way of strict bank regulation will likely face the consequences in November.  There is an almost frightening public outcry for harsh regulatory reform.  The Goldman news reverses what appeared like lax regulatory changes.

Making matters worse, this isn’t the last lawsuit.  The private lawsuits are likely to begin pouring in as small investors sue over potential negligence.  But it won’t stop there.  Several leaders including Connecticut Attorney General Blumenthal have said they are looking into any malicious actions.  The SEC also said that this is not the last of their investigations:

“We’re looking at a wide range of products.  If we see securities with similar profiles, we’ll look at them closely.”

Lastly, is the potential impact of Paulson & Co. redemptions.  The SEC was very clear that Paulson was not being charged, however, investors are fearful that Paulson’s $30B+ hedge funds could suffer redemptions that pressure markets.  The Paulson news alone drove gold prices down by 2% in Friday trade as investors feared the ramifications of any redemptions.

The reaction at Goldman certainly appears as though it is an overreaction considering the low penalty Goldman is likely to face, however, the contagion is likely the more important uncertainty at this point.  There is simply no telling how badly this could impact the banks and the broader market, but with stocks strenuously overbought and struggling to find a new bullish catalyst this couldn’t be happening at a worse time for the market.   I would urge investors to remember that the recovery is very much alive for now and a brief downturn in the market might actually be a good thing.  On the other hand, the urge to buy the dip in banks appears fraught with massive risks in my opinion and with this kind of uncertainty there is simply no reason to buy a sector that is just 3% off a new 52 week high and on the back of a smoking 26% rally….They say the trend is your friend until it bends.  Well, this bend looks like it could be particularly unfriendly.

Read more market commentary at The Pragmatic Capitalist >

Join the conversation about this story »

Here we tell you all car buying secrets and top 5 secrets of buying a car that only insider, car dealer, and car salesman know. These secrets are hiding among insiders to generate maximum profit from car sales. You can actually save up a lot of money and earn some intangible takings if you know these secrets and learn some tips on purchasing a car.

Car buying secrets

Here we shared the Top 5 secrets of buying a car.

What to do before go to car showroom

You will need to do some studies like what kind of cars is suitable for you. Which brand do you prefer, model range, performance, car design that you like, market values, trade-in values, rebates, and financing options. You can also choose the car base on the budget and also calculate a monthly car payment properly. When a car salesman see you come with all the information, he knew he would not make much money from the deal. All these have to be done before walk in to any car showroom. Therefore, be prepared!

What secrets car salesman will not tell you

Most of the car salesman and dealers are honest, but they work on commission so there is something they will not tell. Take a trade-in case, a customer wanted to trade in a car worth $10,000, and buy a new car at $25,000. Car salesman can give a very good discount to the new car that everywhere else can’t give, but he only offer $5,000 for the trade-in. Thus, learn more about car buying secrets and do not fall in all these tricks.

What to avoid when buying cars

There are things to avoid when buying cars especially new car. You have to be very sure of what you want. This is to prevent buying a car under salesman’s persuade but the car is not what you really want. Things to avoid are such as extended warranty, extra car accessories, car dealer’s scam, and car maintenance plans. All these will cost more to your monthly car payment and it may not useful to you.

Car buying secrets available online

There is tons of information available online. You can get any new car price or used car price range from the internet easily and it will help you to save up a lot of time.

Related information: car buying strategies, negotiating tips for used car buying, What is a good first car for a teenager.

Secret about car prices

Do not ever believe about the published price of a car, it is not the actual price. The published price had already markup a lot and there’s always room to negotiate with the dealer. There are many ways car dealer can make good money from you and let you feel happy to buy the car. They can give you a good discount to let you feel better; on the other hand persuade you to sign up a high APR car loan rate. The best way is to tell any salesman “I am paying cash” even though you are planning to get a car loan. This is to avoid car dealer to play with the monthly payments.

In conclusion, you can always save up a lot of money on buy a new or used car, getting a car loan with low APR rate, getting a cheap and suitable car insurance, and get a car that makes you happy to drive and all you need is to spend 5 minutes to learn all car buying secrets.

Source: Cars, Fast Cars, Cool Cars, Sports Cars

Google Chrome is becoming more and more popular spurred by Google using more of its marketing muscle to promote it and the relatively recent release of stable beta builds for Mac OS and Linux. Chrome has only been around for a year and a half or so, but it has managed to gain a following, especially with the tech-sa… (read more)

Final Fantasy IX is already on its way to the Japanese PSN, but just because it completes the PSOne FFs over there, that doesn’t mean that Square Enix will stop with that. They had a lot of

Google isn’t wasting too much time putting one of its latest acquisitions to work. The search giant bought Aardvark, an interesting Q&A service, a couple of months ago for a reported $50 million. It made it available shortly after in Google Labs, but no one expected to see too much happening around the startup for a while. Wh… (read more)