Volkswagen acaba de dar a conocer nueva información sobre una de las versiones de bajo consumo más esperadas, el Golf BlueMotion. Además, desde hoy mismo se pueden realizar pedidos para asegurarte que el día de su lanzamiento tendrás tu unidad reservada.
Como bien decimos, el Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion es una versión de bajo consumo y prueba de ello son sus cifras, 3,8 litros por cada 100 km recorridos. Por otra parte, sus emisiones de CO2 son de 99 g/km.
Gracias a su motor su velocidad máxima está situada en los 195 km/h y puede acelerar de 0 a 100 km/h en 11,3 segundos. Para conseguir esas cifras de consumo, cuenta con el sistema de parada y arranque de motor para cuando el vehículo se detiene por ejemplo en un semáforo o en un atasco.
En el interior, son pocos los cambios con respecto al resto de la gama, lo más destacable es el tapizado de los asientos de tela y el borde cromado de los mandos de ajuste de los retrovisores. Su precio estará situado sobre los 21.000€.
Price competition will drive Electric Cars mass market. Chinese companies will have yet to prove that they can claim auto brand properties, but costwise they are out of competition. Once thousands of engineers working in China on lithium batteries, safety and design of Electric Cars convert quantity into quality this market will take off in Ipod fasion.
“CNBC: There is an amazing race going on right now around the world to find the fuel of the future. More than three decades after the oil shocks shook America, the United States and the rest of the industrialized world is still addicted to oil. Now, for the first time in a generation, plans to break the black gold stranglehold are closer than ever to becoming a reality. “Beyond the Barrel: The Race to Fuel the Future,” anchored by CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla, showcases the bottled promises ready to be unleashed from the Middle East, South America, Asia and here at home.”
Fresh from the arrival of two new Chinese brands, vehicle importer Ateco says it still plans to have an electric car on sale here next year. China is gearing up to produce the most affordable electric car to go on sale in Australia – and it could be in dealerships as early as next year. The governing director of Ateco Automotive, Australia’s largest independent vehicle importer, says he plans to have an electric car on sale by 2011. “We want to have an electric car in 2011,” said Ateco’s Neville Crichton. “We’re very confident we will. We see there’s a niche in the market.” Already Ateco is selling Great Wall vehicles in Australia and is just months away from beginning distribution of Chery cars, the fourth biggest automotive brand on sale in China. Crichton won’t say whether the electric car will come from one of the company’s existing Chinese brands or whether he will begin importing a third brand from the country that is now buying more cars than any other. “I’m not commenting,” he said, when quizzed on what brand would supply the electric car. “There are several suppliers of electric cars.” He said it “maybe” could come from Chery or Great Wall, although the former seems the most likely. Fast growing brand Chery – which only produced its first car in 1999 – is already well advanced in the development of an electric car and plans to have a hybrid on sale overseas by the end of this year. However, Crichton did not rule out importing another brand, and that no matter which brand the electric car comes from it will be competitively priced among regular, petrol-engined cars. “I think they’ve got to be … probably in the mid-20s to do volume,” he said. “Why would you pay 50 or 60 [thousand dollars]?” He said if the EV could be sold for around $25,000 it could be a serious competitor against other electric vehicles. Mitsubishi recently began selling its i-MiEV, the first mass produced electric car to go on sale in Australia. But with a price tag of $70,000 for what is similar to a $20,000 petrol-powered car the four-door Mitsubishi will only sell in very small numbers and predominantly to fleets and governments looking to sprout a green image. Nissan has also committed to bringing an electric car to Australia by 2012, although the Leaf is tipped to cost upwards of $30,000. Other brands such as Toyota and Holden are planning to sell plug-in hybrid vehicles, which run on electricity most of the time but have a regular engine as a back-up to extend the driving range.”
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Although 11 workers are still missing from the oil rig explosion off the coast of Louisiana, 115 others were saved because they were able to make it safely to special lifeboats. We’re live today at Anderson/Ryan, a company in Houston that makes lifeboats. Anderson/Ryan is not the company who supplied the lifeboats that were on the rig that had the explosion, but they have similar models. We were able to look inside several lifeboats, including one that can carry up to 65 people. The boats all have the same specs mandated by the government- they’re made of fire retardant material, have diesel engines that can go about 6 knots (about 7 miles an hour) and contain special sprinkler systems. They’re also self-righting. That means if a huge wave flips the craft over, it will come right back to where it needs to be.
You can see how all these things would be critically important by imagining how harrowing it would be moments after an explosion. Survivors of this week’s explosion said they had just 5-10 minutes to evacuate the rig. Rigs come equipped with enough lifeboats to evacuate the entire crew on both sides of the vessel. That’s so if the giant rig lists to one side or the other, everyone will still find a spot in a lifeboat. The lifeboats look like small orange submarines. Once everyone’s inside safely, the hatches are closed and a helmsman will lower the craft on two cables all the way down to the sea. That trip can be about 120 feet down. Imagine that with flames coming off the rig.
Once safely in the water, the lifeboats all meet at a predetermined spot. They have food for more than a week, plus diesel fuel to run for about 24 hours. They also have radio equipment and emergency beacons. Survivors of this week’s explosion say practice is what helped them get off the boat alive. Generally crews do a full run through of their evacuation, including lowering the lifeboats into the water (if conditions are right), about once a week.
Americans are still feeling pretty down about their financial situation, but their sentiment is improving, according to a new Gallup poll. The survey found that 41% describe their personal financial situation as excellent or good — the lowest Gallup has measured in the past decade. But separately, the pollster also found increasing optimism.
Here’s a chart Gallup provides to show that latter trend:
As you can see, optimism and pessimism have met for the first time since late 2007 — just before the start of the recession. This is an indication that the recovery has likely begun in the minds of consumers. Yet, the previous statistic — that showing Americans’ comfort with their financial situation at a decade low — indicates a strong recovery might be unlikely. Optimism is helpful, but can be choked by troubled personal finances. If consumers don’t have money to spend, then all the positive sentiment in the world won’t do much to revitalize the economy.
Gallup also grouped the results by income level:
Those top two rows are completely unsurprising. If you make more money, you feel better about your finances.
But the bottom two rows are interesting. They show more middle- and upper-class Americans feel their situations are getting better than those who believe things are getting worse. Respondents with lower incomes, however, have a much different view. There, only a tiny 30% see reason for optimism, while nearly 50% are pessimistic. These statistics lead to the troubling conclusion that the recession has been much harder on poorer Americans, and they anticipate that their suffering will be prolonged.
Fascinatingly enough, perception must affect sentiment nearly as much as reality. Another grouping shows the poll results by political party:
While Democrats and Republicans have pretty similar feelings of how their finances are doing, they vary greatly their views of where the economy is headed. Democrats — who have their President in office and strong majorities in both houses of Congress — overwhelmingly think things are getting better versus getting worse. For Republicans, the result is flipped. But Independents appear to agree with Republicans, which probably isn’t good news for Democrats in midterm elections this November. If they believe Washington isn’t improving their financial situations, they’ll be less likely to vote for the majority’s candidates.
A separate poll from Rasmussen, also released yesterday, implies that Americans are pretty cynical when it comes to how much positive change politicians can bring to the economy anyway, however. Just 32% of respondents were at least somewhat confident that policymakers know what they’re doing when addressing the current economic problems on Wall Street. That’s down from 36% a year ago.
Britney Spears’ overbearing father has banned the pop star from leaving her Los Angeles home without a bra, The Sun claimed in a report on Friday.
Former chef Jamie Spears – who has legal control over all Spears’ affairs – fears his troubled daughter is getting close to the brink again and has imposed a host of new rules on the “Womanizer” singer to help keep her in line. First order of business: “Put a bra on.”
Papa Spears is none to pleased about recent photographs of Britney — which almost always seem to feature guest appearances by her nipples — that have popped up on the blogosphere as of late. Jamie, 57, has allegedly threatened to fire one of the 28-year-old’s security guards who has let her be photographed bra-less several times in recent weeks.
“Jamie’s control over Britney’s life is incredible,” a chatty pal blabbed to the English rag. “He hates the pictures of her with her nipples all over the place so he has banned her from leaving the house without a bra. He wants her to put across the right impression.”
More stuff about Dell they are rolling high and mighty and finally seem to take the mobile smartphone and tablet market really seriously. Do you remember the Dell Streak 5 That is a fine ass Dell 5 touch display tablet hitting shelves this November but it is not the only tablet they are working on. Theres a new kid on the block and Dell calls it the Looking Glass pretty handicap name if you ask me.The Looking Glass will have a bigger display than the Streak 5 but oddly enough the
Barnes & Noble recently rolled out a firmware update to their nook e-book reader and it features some nice changes. This latest version (v1.3) now features a pair of Android games – Chess and Sudoku, as well as a beta web browser. The browser comes as a result of may users asking to log into public WiFi spots that require authentication via a webpage. One of the biggest changes to the nook is the new “Read in Store” feature which will let users read complete eBooks in Barnes & Noble stores. Other improvements include faster book loading, page turning, and an updated home screen. Of course there are also the requisite bug fixes and tweaks that come with nearly every firmware release.
Please note that the update must be done over WiFi as it’s not being supported via a 3G connection. If you are a nook owner, it’s suggested you head here to grab the firmware update with your device.
Might We Suggest…
Pandora Hacked to Run on Rooted Nook The team over at nookDevs is wasting no time in bending the Barnes & Noble nook to their will. After successfully rooting the device in 120 hours, the next step was to try to get Android apps in…
“Recent events have illuminated the crucial nature of the business-government relationship. From macroeconomic policy to health care, from the regulation of financial instruments to energy policy, from technological innovation to protecting private pensions, business and government influence one another around the world,” said Roger Porter, the IBM Professor of Business and Government at HKS. “The John T. Dunlop Thesis Prize, named in honor of a giant in this field, allows us to encourage and recognize a new generation of young thinkers as they explore ways of understanding and improving this vital relationship.”
The prize will be awarded to the paper that best examines the business-government interface with respect to regulation, corporate responsibility, energy, the environment, health care, education, technology, and human rights, among others. A $500 award will be provided to the author of the winning entry.
The prize is named after John T. Dunlop, the Lamont University Professor Emeritus, a widely respected labor economist who served as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1969 to 1973. An adviser to many U.S. presidents, beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dunlop was secretary of labor under Gerald Ford, serving from March 1975 to January 1976.
In addition to serving as secretary of labor, Dunlop held many other government posts including director of the Cost of Living Council from 1973 to 1974, chairman of the Construction Industry Stabilization Committee from 1993 to 1995, chair of the Massachusetts Joint Labor-Management Committee for Municipal Police and Firefighters from 1977 to 2003, and chair of the Commission on Migratory Farm Labor from 1984 to 2003.
Dunlop served as the second director of the Center for Business and Government from 1987 to 1991. The center, renamed in 2005 as the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, focuses on policy issues at the intersection of business and government.
The deadline for this year’s Dunlop Prize is May 7. For more information, visit the M-RCGB Web site.
Right now, talk of a European debt crisis is centering on the potential of Greek default. Investors are also worried about whether IMF-EU assistance will be enough to save the struggling nation, and whether the crisis will spread to the rest of the PIIGS.
But debt isn’t just a problem for European governments. The private sector is suffering through a large amount of off-balance sheet debts due to pension problems, and it’s causing growth and market-value problems for some of Europe’s biggest industries.
(Need we mention that we have the same problem here?).
Here are the highlights of an excellent presentation on the European debt problem from Goldman Sachs.
Pension solvency is a serious issue for even the best companies in Europe
Source: Goldman Sachs
Returns have gone up, and pension contributions have declined as a result.
Source: Goldman Sachs
But firms still have a tremendous amount of liabilities (pension and other).
Source: Goldman Sachs
In bad times for the market, pensions have far higher expenses, because companies have to cover the gap created by the falling assets.
Source: Goldman Sachs
Greece is unsurprisingly in a bad place. But so are Austria, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and others
Source: Goldman Sachs
Auto companies are in difficult shape, but real estate remains strong.
Source: Goldman Sachs
The larger a company’s pension obligations are, the lower its PE is
Source: Goldman Sachs
Low solvency is seen as the worst pension attribute, with equity allocation not far behind.
Source: Goldman Sachs
Companies with large pension obligations get hit more in a bear market because asset prices typically decline.
Source: Goldman Sachs
Pensions are still choosing to stay away from equities…which means they’ve missed a lot of the recent rally
Source: Goldman Sachs
Having more equities does not make your pension fund under perform.
Source: Goldman Sachs
But private companies in Europe are still doing better than governments. Check out the awful state of European public debt.
If you’re a current user of CyberLink PowerDirector v6 or v7, you’ll appreciate that this is a fine video editor. The latest CyberLink PowerDirector v8 adds a host of new features such as upscaling video quality. The TrueTheater technology will take your amateur video and drastically improve the quality. You’ll be amazed with the results. Fix colour, lighting and even add surround sound to your video. Create customisable slideshows, add professional effects to your video and do all of this with optimise CPU and GPU rendering – faster workspace and results. It’s no wonder CyberLink PowerDirector 8 is our best-selling CyberLink product.
If you’re seeking more than just a video editor, take a look at CyberLink Media Suite 8 Ultra. This package combines 10 of the very best CyberLink tools, including PowerDirector 8. We’ve got the upgrade option in the V3.co.uk Software Store, so you can now upgrade from CyberLink DVD Suite v6 or v7 to MediaSuite 8 Ultra. Again, you get a free Romance Pack worth $19.95 through April.
In less than 10 months since its launch, the Pre has generated a number of books (we’ve previously reviewed Palm webOS by Paul Allen and Edward C. Baig’s Palm Pre: The Missing Manual), and as with so many other things, it has also yielded a Wiley Publishing Dummies title: Palm Pre for Dummies, by Engadget’s Mobile Editor Chris Ziegler. Although the rapid pace of webOS development may have eclipsed some of the content (it came out in late 2009), it still serves as a useful introduction to the Pre and webOS.
Despite the increase in sustainable energy initiatives by Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), a limited number of loans financed by the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) consistently support sustainable energy investments in developing countries.
“Over the last five years, MDBs have engaged countries on critical elements of sustainable energy and have launched several specialized initiatives to promote clean energy and low carbon technologies,” said Athena Ballesteros, manager of WRI’s International Financial Flows and the Environment Project. “However, if the development banks are going to finance climate change solutions in the future, they need to help developing countries put in place new, and more effective forms of oversight, pricing, and investment incentives that promote long-term investments in sustainable energy.”
Ballesteros added, “In most countries, policies and regulations currently tend to emphasize short-term costs and supply rather than the long-term benefits of clean technologies.”
The report finds that despite increased support for low carbon energy technologies, many loan programs do not address aspects of electricity policy, regulation, institutional capacity and governance that would enable investments in sustainable energy over the long-term. The findings are based on a framework developed by WRI that builds on the Electricity Governance Indicator Toolkit—a set of indicators benchmarking best practice and promoting accountability in the electricity sector.
The report makes the case for systematic attention to the following issues:
Long-term Integrated Electricity Planning
Policies and Regulations Encouraging Energy Efficiency
Policies and Regulations Promoting Renewable Energy
Pricing Structures Encouraging Efficiency and Reducing consumption
Subsidy Reform to Reveal the True Costs of Fossil Fuesls and Promote the Viability of Sustainable Energy Options
Executive Agencies’ Capacity for Sustainable Electricity
Regulators’ Capacity to Oversee Implementation of Sustainable Electricity Policy
Utilities’ Capacity to Promote Energy Efficiency and Renewables
Transparency of Policy, Planning, and Regulatory Processes for Electricity
Stakeholders’ Engagement in Policy, Planning, and Regulatory Processes
A relatively small number of MDB projects address the elements of sustainable energy listed above. Of the 31 World Bank loans reviewed, only 10 consider 5 of the 11 elements. The IDB considers at least 5 of the elements in 10 of 19 loans and the ADB considers more than 5 elements in 10 of 29 projects.
The report also reviews the investments made by the MDB administered Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), particularly the $4.73 billion Clean Technology Fund. While the Funds address some of these elements, the research concludes attention to them has been uneven. The CIFs represent more public finance than has ever before been dedicated to climate change.
Smita Nakhooda, a senior associate at WRI, said “A greater focus on institutional capacity and governance will be key to supporting developing countries to pursue low carbon energy options that effectively meet development needs without compromising the poor.”
This Chinese page purportedly features a couple of leaked screenshots of IE9’s new GUI. I don’t know if it’s the real thing, but if it is, Microsoft are doing something very bold here. The general design is reminiscent of the new Windows Phone 7, with a clean, angular look and graphics that are “cut” on the edge of the window (like that back button in the top-left corner). Even if it’s just a mock-up, it’s still quite impressive, and an interesting break from what we’ve come to know from Firefox, Chrome and Opera, not to mention previous versions of IE.
I’ll let Google Translate do the talking here: “New version of IE 9 preview version of the title bar of the platform, integrating the address bar, tool bar, search box, the status bar. Click the page title to display the address bar (and the search box, favorites management, access history viewer), the website finish loading cases, the address bar to display only part of the title page.” (Any native Chinese speakers here are welcome to submit a better translation via the comments.)
What do you think, people? April Fool’s or the real deal?
The world is an interesting place when viewed through the mouth of a giant polar bear. But even the restricted sound and vision of an increasingly warm and furry suit couldn’t mask the buzz of political excitement that surrounded the Arnolfini in Bristol on Thursday evening. And while a sensible bear may have remained still, I felt it was far more important to growl loudly about climate change, and Ask the Climate Question.
Along with my fellow Oxfam activists from Bristol, we gathered outside the Sky News Leader’s Debate venue, in an attempt to make our voices heard amid the mêlée of activists and police officers; all of us marking the historic election event with a determined presence and a mission to get our own issue on the agenda.
As I clutched my ‘Save Humans Too’ placard and attempted to keep at least two paws on the ground I hoped that even if I was struggling to make out the figures that bustled past me, everyone could clearly see me and my Ask The Climate Question sign. After all, although a polar bear always enjoys an outing by the river, our presence was not only to remind the leaders that climate change needs to be put firmly on the election agenda, but also to urge the public to ask that question. Research shows that one in five voters in marginal seats now place climate change in their top three or four priorities. Therefore I remain hopeful that all those who left the harbourside yesterday with a small pink Ask the Climate Question sticker on their t shirts will attend their local hustings and convince their prospective MPs that climate change is an issue that must be addressed. Many hustings allow you to submit a question, or vote for questions to be asked, giving local residents the ideal opportunity to get thier voice heard. Why not submit a climate question to the Bristol West candidates for the Bristol Students Union Debate?
Ask the Climate Question is a coalition of the UK’s leading environment and development groups who recognise that climate change can and needs to be tackled. Any new government has a crucial role to play – developing clean energy, a low carbon economy fit for the future, and committing funding for climate adaptation and mitigation in poorer countries. Roger James, Oxfam South West regional campaigner, was quoted in Bristol’s Evening Post saying “We are here because we think climate is a major international issue that will affect everyone across the world. We are calling for the world leaders – and whoever gets elected here – to negotiate a new global climate deal.”
Despite our presence, when the leaders answered a climate related question during the leader’s debate, they all failed to make any major commitments to a future global deal. Perhaps then, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg may not have spotted a large white polar bear asking the climate question as they entered the Arnolfini yesterday. But there is no way the leaders can ignore the human and economic costs of climate change in the immediate future. Now is the time for them to show their potential in leading the UK towards a safer, low carbon future.
Google Reader has added preliminary support for HTML5 media features, specifically, the <video> and <audio> tags. In theory, it means that you’ll be able to watch HTML5 clips embedded in feeds inside the reader, just like you can with directly linked media files like MP3s. Of course, playing any video or audio file depe… (read more)
Si recurrimos a la lógica, finalmente era inevitable que BMW quisiera también internarse en el ajetreado terreno de los coupes de cuatro puertas de lujo, en respuesta a los Porsche Panamera y Aston Martin Rapide. BMW ya presentó en el salón de Pekín su propio prototipo de esta clase de vehículos y hay que decir que no desentona en absoluto con la tradición de BMW y es lo esperable de la marca en estos casos.
Si os acordáis del BMW Concept CS, que fue cancelado finalmente, veréis que toma muchas ideas de aquel, con la diferencia de que el Gran Coupe tiene maletero, por lo cual no sería estrictamente un coupe al menos en el estricto sentido. En cuanto al resto de las líneas de este concepto, es un diseño muy estilizado y muy bajo, ya que la altura del techo es aún más baja que la de los Serie 7 (unos 10 centímetros).
Probablemente BMW nos está mostrando lo que será la futura Serie 8, o lisa y llanamente un Serie 7 de más lujo. Teniendo en cuenta los antecedentes de la marca, este modelo quizás sí tenga probabilidades altas de ir a producción ya que casi siempre, BMW lleva a sus conceptos a producción. Además, no parece que estemos viendo un prototipo, sino un modelo listo para vender.
Heard of Blippy? It’s a “fun and easy way to see and discuss what everyone is buying.” It’s also a service that’s putting scads of credit card numbers online. Whoops! Also: very bad. UPDATED:More »
About a month ago, a bunch of BMW trademark filings hit the web and something called “Gran Coupe” was one of them – well, here it is. Think of this as a closer to production version of the 2007 Concept CS ready to take on the Mercedes-Benz CLS and A7.
BMW calls this a BMW Concept Gran Coupe, ”a 4-door vehicle which combines the exclusivity of a Gran Turismo with the fascination of a high-performance sports car.”
“The body design of the BMW Concept Gran Coupe expresses sporty flair in its ultimate form,” BMW said. “The 4-door vehicle clearly signals the very highest level of dynamic performance with its extremely elegant, flat and coupe-like proportions. Stretching the entire length of the vehicle and therefore measuring almost 5 metres, flowing lines dominate the design, giving rise to outstanding aerodynamic levels, just as the low centre of gravity reflects an agile driving response.”
No word on what powers the Concept Gran Coupe, but we expect EfficientDynamics to play huge role if it ever makes it into production.
Check out the press release and high-res image gallery after the jump.
BMW Concept Gran Coupe:
Press Release:
Elegance and dynamic performance at the first BMW Design Night in Beijing
Munich. With an exclusive Design Night on the evening of the first press day at Auto China in Beijing (April 23rd to May 2nd 2010), BMW provides an in-depth insight into its design philosophy and development strategy. The program of the BMW Design Night is modular in structure and presents extensive background information on the premium automobile manufacturer’s innovative design culture. In addition to highlighting the long versions of the BMW 5 Series developed specially for the Chinese market, the main focus is on an elegant 4-door vehicle with striking dynamic proportions: the BMW Concept Gran Coupé.
The concept study on display symbolises the outstanding design expertise of BMW. The BMW Concept Gran Coupé concentrates the fundamental values of the brand. Its body design authentically captures a sense of superior dynamic performance and high-quality elegance. The shaping style, which follows a coherent pattern down to the last detail, convincingly visualises BMW’s philosophy as an automobile manufacturer. As with the Concept CS 2007, BMW once again sets new benchmarks in the design of 4-door coupes with a distinctive sporty character.
Based on a powerful tradition in this segment, the BMW Concept Gran Coupé carries the essence of brand values and the genes of BMW design into the future. The concept shows the classic features of all BMW coupes: the long wheelbase, the vaulted bonnet with forward-pointing lines, the set-back greenhouse, the flat silhouette, the coupe-style roof line and the short front overhang reflect the dynamic potential of the vehicle. The surface structures and the fact that the design quality is geared towards perfection illustrate the aspiration of the brand BMW to build 4-door high-performance coupes with the sportiest proportions and the most elegant design.
In the BMW Concept Gran Coupé, BMW presents the vision of a 4-door vehicle which combines the exclusivity of a Gran Turismo with the fascination of a high-performance sports car. The design of the concept study underscores the expertise of the brand BMW in the development of vehicles with a distinctive sporty character which offer space for more than two occupants. This reflects the particular quality of the BMW Group design philosophy, which consists in precisely and authentically translating the specific values of product substance into an aesthetically convincing shaping style. The design process is set through with a passion for aesthetic appeal and dynamic performance, precision and perfection. This is how the uncompromising premium aspiration of a BMW Group product, the unmistakable style of the brand BMW and the precisely defined character of each model are given concrete form.
The front section is defined by the BMW kidney grille characteristic of the brand – an icon of body design which is not just central but also a dominating element of front design. The kidney grille of the BMW Concept Gran Coupé has a flat appearance, with an asymmetrical side view which emphasises the close attention to detail. The central section with the kidney grille is formally separated from other BMW icons such as the headlights and air inlets. The clarity of the LED front lights highlights the vehicle’s precision and premium aspirations. The air inlet runs back an extremely long way into the side section, making the front section appear particularly wide. All elements of the front section appear to merge to form a single, elegantly curved movement.
The sporty, flat silhouette provides an impressive body height of just under 1.40 metres. This makes the BMW Concept Gran Coupé up to 100 millimetres flatter than the BMW 5 Series or the BMW 7 Series Sedan. The roof line tapers off gently into the rear, thereby elongating the vehicle’s proportions. The forward-tilted shark nose visually extends the bonnet and creates characteristic BMW proportions with its forward-pointing dynamism. This stretched character is also highlighted by the side lines, where there is a deliberate avoidance of the typical sill line. The flat proportions make the window graphics appear extremely narrow and dynamic at the same time. Another BMW design icon, the Hofmeister kink, is especially strikingly formed – additionally emphasising the exclusive character of the vehicle. The frameless doors give the BMW Concept Gran Coupé a modern character since the glass surfaces appear to merge seamlessly without being interrupted by columns.
At the rear, only design elements such as the lights and tailpipe trim appear to be visible at first sight. The entire rear section appears slimmer and lighter at the centre, though still exuding power and dynamic performance since the volume is reinforced towards the sides. The L-shaped light banks feature a slight, almost subtle curve and the entire design of the lines and surfaces highlights the vehicle’s elegant overall appearance. The third brake light, positioned in the rear window, is also fitted with LED technology. It takes up the kink in the roof and illuminates the entire width of the rear window. The powerfully flared wheel arches above the rear axle highlight the particularly sporty character of the BMW Concept Gran Coupé.
Another highly sporty and also elegant feature is the rim concept in which the individual spokes extend deep into the centre of the rim towards the hub, giving the rim a striking three-dimensional quality. The spokes themselves are not solid but relief-milled, giving them a visual lightness.
The sculptural shaping style characteristic of the entire body design of the BMW Concept Gran Coupé permits a unique interaction between concave and convex surfaces. It also enables the light to be selectively reflected and channelled. Thus the exterior mirrors integrated in the window shaft appear very light, blending harmoniously into the side view since their shape assimilates the entire line styling. The BMW Concept Gran Coupé is a further development of the classic design of a notchback sedan in which the individual body sections merge harmoniously into a flat, elongated and at the same time dynamic overall image. The effect of this 4-door vehicle derives not just from specific highlights but from its overall appearance, which authentically reflects its character. The car’s dynamic potential is embodied in its proportions and lines, signalling power but also elegance and forward thrust.
If you’re a current user of CyberLink PowerDirector v6 or v7, you’ll appreciate that this is a fine video editor. The latest 
Google Reader has added preliminary support for HTML5 media features, specifically, the <video> and <audio> tags. In theory, it means that you’ll be able to watch HTML5 clips embedded in feeds inside the reader, just like you can with directly linked media files like MP3s. Of course, playing any video or audio file depe… (
