One of the best known auto-tuners from Japan, Tommy Kaira, who has modified cars such as Nissans Skyline, has unveiled their newest package for the Nissan GT-R. Tommy Kaira cars have appeared in numerous racing video games including the Gran Turismo series. Their latest project for the Nissan GT-R is called the Silver Wolf. Now whats different about the Silver Wolf compared to almost every other Tommy Kaira tune kit is that the engine is not touched. It was released by officials at Nissan when the GT-R was first released that the engine performace could not be improved anymore, any modifications would only reduce its supercar ability. What the Silver Wolf does include is a new carbon fiber widebody kit, and a custom interior with Tommy Kaira logos, along with new wheels, exhaust, brakes and suspension. Although no changes to the engine are going to be made, it is expected that the new suspension and a new exhaust will add a few horsepower to the 480 horsepower engine, as almost every Tommy Kaira packages brings out that extra little performacne that any speed junky would be looking for. If you are interested in getting the full Tommy Kaira Silver Wolf edition, just remember the body kit alone will run you $18,000, plus the GT-R’s $80,000 price tag. However, if you want to see Godzilla breathe fire, the Silver Wolf is what you are looking for.
Le magazine britannique Autocar vient de sortir une liste des, selon lui, 16 pires voitures de la décennie. Entre enfoncement de portes ouvertes et grand n’importe quoi !…
–> En préalable, notons que le magazine a également élu « sa » voiture de la décennie: le Land Rover Range Rover. Sans commentaires…
–> Voici donc les pires voitures de 2000 à 2010, vous allez voir qu’on ne fait pas dans la facilité chez Autocar:
Renault Vel Satis
Fiat Croma
Peugeot 1007
Maybach 57/62
Alfa Romeo spider
Seat Toledo
Opel/Vauxhall Signum
Dodge Avenger
Jaguar X-Type
Fiat Stilo
Mercedes Classe R
Subaru Tribeca
Nissan Primera
Peugeot 407 Coupé
Renault Avantime
Smart Roadster/Coupé
-Un inventaire des voitures qui ont été des échecs commerciaux et/ou industriels. Il est clair que quand on fait ce genre de classement idiot, mieux vaut froisser le moins de monde possible et donc prendre les moins courantes. Mais est-ce que des voitures qui se vendent mal sont forcément de mauvaises voitures?…
-Voyons dans le détail:
–> Renault Vel Satis. Le verdict d’Autocar: Esthétique et conduite lourdingue.
-Juste une question: Quelqu’un de chez eux a-t’il au moins déjà conduit une Vel Satis correctement motorisée?… Difficile de dire si la Vel Satis mérite une palme des pires voitures de la décennie, car pour tout dire, son cas est peut-être bien plus complexe que ça, ce que nous verrons en détail dans le prochain dossier, consacré aux généralistes dans le haut de gamme. Les sempiternelles remarques sur son esthétique se justifient probablement, mais on notera qu’elles viennent le plus souvent d’amateurs de voitures. Conduire une Vel Satis, surtout dans une execution haut de gamme, c’est s’apercevoir rapidement et de manière très surprenante qu’elle suscite bien plus d’envie que de critiques dans les yeux et les mots du citoyen lambda peu porté sur l’automobile. D’ailleurs, la Vel Satis ne s’est pas plus mal vendue que la moyenne des autres haut de gamme de généralistes, donc expliquer son échec par son esthétique est sûrement très commode, mais pas forcément très juste.
Par contre, si cette voiture mérite bien une palme, c’est celle du plus grand flot d’âneries jamais déversé par la presse spécialisée! Et on en voit encore un exemple ici; que la Vel Satis ne soit pas une Série 5 à la conduite, soit, mais de là à dire qu’elle est lourdingue, c’est limite. Peut-être faudrait-il essayer avant de parler. Certains d’entre-vous se rappellent sûrement qu’à sa sortie, tout le monde journalistique auto se regardait dans le blanc des yeux sans trop savoir quoi dire. On avait même droit à quelques moments de bravoure, un hors série spécial par ci, une chaleureuse félicitation pour « l’audace » par là… Et puis quelques-uns ont lancé le mouvement, et la Vel Satis s’est transformée en exutoire. La voiture, qu’on peut bien entendu critiquer objectivement, est aussi devenue victime du conformisme de rigueur dans la profession. Lu dans un grand magazine français il y a deux ans: « En un mot comme en cent, la lourde et haute Vel Satis n’est pas belle, d’où son échec ». Ben voyons, comme les choses sont simples! Le même magazine n’écrivait pas du tout la même chose quelques années plus tôt. En outre, il faudrait qu’il nous explique pourquoi la Thesis, la 607, la S80, la C6, l’Omega, etc… ne se sont pas bien vendues. Pas belles, ou on a d’autres justifications tout aussi bidons pour faire son travail en deux lignes et 30 secondes?
Mais laissons là la pauvre Vel Satis, qui en a assez entendu, ce serait en soi un sujet de thèse…
–> Fiat Croma. Le verdict d’Autocar: Assez spacieuse pour comprendre la complainte de Fiat (à son sujet), mais…
-Mais quoi? Mystère! La Croma est une bonne voiture, Fiat l’a sorti avec un budget très limité, dans un période sombre et sur un segment D où la marque n’a aucune crédibilité ni assise de clientèle. La Croma n’a pas de problème particulier, c’est Fiat qui en a un. Que fait-elle dans les « pires voitures de la décennie »? N’importe quoi…
–> Peugeot 1007. Le verdict d’Autocar: Innovante, mais handicapée par son style et ses portes électriques.
-Pas évident de défendre la 1007, qui est un vrai échec, notamment en raison de ses tarifs et de sa sous-motorisation, deux points qu’évoquent à juste titre le magazine. Peut-être qu’un peu de soutien marketing et une politique tarifaire raisonnable de Peugeot…
Est-ce pour autant une des pires voitures de la décennie? Ca parait très exagéré. Un des pires loupés industriels peut-être, et encore y en a-t’il d’autres, mais là on parle uniquement de la voiture elle-même.
–> Maybach 57/62. Le verdict d’Autocar: Ce qui se passe quand battre votre rival vous fait perdre votre contrôle (En allusion à BMW et sa Rolls)
-Diificile de parler de la Maybach, peu de monde l’a vue ou essayé. Mais évidemment, au niveau ventes, c’est un gros échec. BM a été bien plus inspiré et réactif avec sa gamme Rolls, comme en atteste le très bon départ de la Ghost. Là, comme le dit le magazine, on a une espèce de grosse classe S sans grande élégance. Une voiture certainement excellente technologiquement, mais le verdict parait formulé assez justement.
–> Alfa Romeo Spider. Le verdict d’Autocar: Lourde, sous motorisée, avec un chassis limite.
-Alors là, les bras vous en tombent. Comment peut-on classer une voiture comme le Spider Alfa dans les 16 pires d’une décennie? Difficile de trouver une explication. Pour les quelques lignes d’Autocar, ils évoquent, outre ce qui est ci-dessus, la faiblesse des ventes. Nous avons déjà évoqué longuement le cas Brera/Spider dans le dossier consacré à Alfa Romeo, mais quelques mots tout de même. La Brera (ou le Spider, même combat) est une Alfa 159 Coupé, pas un roadster développé en tant que tel. La confronter à longueur de comparatifs à des concurrentes qui sont sur un autre créneau n’est pas très honnête de la part des journalistes automobiles. Certes, il s’agit d’alfa Romeo et pas d’Audi, alors au diable la rigueur, on peut se lâcher. Mais là, comme pour la Vel Satis, il y a eu beaucoup à redire. D’ailleurs, Alfa a fait aussi de son côté une grosse erreur de communication en laissant faire, voire en encourageant.
D’autre part, au lieu de répéter toujours ce que disent les confrères sans vérifier, il faudrait aussi parfois examiner les données techniques; la 159, pour être une voiture plutôt lourde, n’a rien d’un char d’assaut et est très comparable à ses principales concurrentes, type A4 ou 407, sur ce point. Enfin, toujours à l’attention de la profession, une voiture ne se juge pas que sur la seconde de plus qu’elle met pour abattre le kilomètre départ arrêté par rapport à une autre. Et même de moins en moins. L’agrément de conduite du duo Brera/Spider n’est pas mauvais, loin de là.
Et pour en terminer, à l’attention de nos confrères d’Auotcar, voici ce que donne le déplorable chassis de l’Alfa Spider:
–> Seat Toledo. Le verdict d’Autocar: Preuve laborieuse que plus gros n’est pas forcément mieux.
-Difficile là-aussi de défendre la cas, la Toledo est un échec total, d’un point de vue commercial. Pourtant, ce n’est pas non plus une mauvaise voiture. Mais la greffe de la malle a fait très mal esthétiquement, et ce qui avait pris sur la génération précédente n’a pas marché cette fois.
–>Vauxhall Signum. Le verdict d’Autocar: Les voitures aux raisons d’exister floues trouvent peu d’acheteurs.
-C’est peut-être plus compliqué que ça; la Signum arrive tard dans la gamme, dérivée trop proche de la Vectra, qui ne se vend pas très bien, tout en étant plus chère, elle a peu de chances de s’imposer. Bonne voiture, encore une fois, en dehors du confort, très raide.
–> Dodge Avenger. Le verdict d’Autocar: lancée en 2007, arrêtée en 2009, et déjà assez de cette abomination.
-Un verdict tranché…! Vraisemblablement, le rédacteur ou la rédaction n’aime pas du tout la voiture. Il faut dire qu’elle n’est pas très aboutie, et n’a en fait que son exotisme et ses tarifs pour séduire. La finition intérieure est par ailleurs assez indigne. Mais là encore, on tire sur une ambulance…
–> Jaguar X-Type. Le verdict d’Autocar: Une bonne idée malencontreusement réalisée sur une base inappropriée.
-Pas faux, le rhabillage de la Ford Mondeo n’a pas pris. Là encore, bonne voiture, franchement intéressante d’un point de vue qualité/standing/prix. C’est un râté industriel, mais la voiture en elle-même n’a strictement rien à faire dans une telle liste. Peu probable que Jaguar revienne de si tôt sur ce segment.
–> Fiat Stilo. Le verdict d’Autocar: Des ventes décentes au début, s’effondrant comme un château de sable à marée haute en 2004.
-Autre commentaire: « Fiat a tenté de construire une Golf latine avec la Stilo 5 portes, mais a fini avec une Austin Maestro remise à jour ». Intéressant, comparer la Maestro et la Stilo, surtout sur le plan de la fiabilité. Mais on ne va pas leur en dire plus à nos amis anglais, par charité chrétienne…
Bon, la Stilo est un vrai râté, on ne peut pas le nier. C’est une bonne voiture, qui procure maintenant d’excellentes occasions, mais finition intérieure un peu trop laxiste et esthétique lourdingue de la 5 portes ont eu raison de sa carrière. La 3 portes reste par contre bien plus réussie…
Dommage, il s’en est peut-être fallu de peu, car techniquement, l’ensemble se tient bien. Très mauvais coup pour Fiat, qui précipitera sa chute du milieu des années 2000 et qui n’aide pas la Bravo II a retrouver des clients, partis ailleurs après la première, sans passer par la case Stilo.
–> Mercedes Classe R. Le verdict d’autocar: Un gros croisement d’idées qui a échoué à germer.
-Comme pour la Maybach, Mercedes a vu trop gros, et là surtout en gabarit. Le « R » est beaucoup trop grand, quelles que soient ses qualités par ailleurs.
–> Subaru Tribeca. Le verdict d’Autocar: Cette calandre bizarre ne l’aura pas aidé.
-Le Tribeca peut séduire, mais niveau prestations, il est clairement en dessous de la concurrence. Par ailleurs, c’est vrai que cette calandre est étrange, mais il l’a depuis perdue…
–>Nissan Primera. Le verdict d’Autocar: Un impair de style qui a aidé à chasser Nissan du segment.
-On est ici en Angleterre et les berlines Nissan s’y vendaient jadis assez bien. Là, passée la surprise du début, le style a vite lassé. tout comme l’intérieur, peu travaillé en qualité. Une bonne voiture cependant d’un point de vue technique, mais qui semble déjà avoir bien plus que son âge réel.
–> Peugeot 407 Coupé. Le verdict d’Autocar: Trop gros, trop cher, et passez assez beau pour se vendre aussi bien que son prédécesseur.
-Tout bon! C’est exact. Le Coupé 407 souffre de la comparaison avec le 406, avec ses concurrentes, et se vend mal. Il est disons le plus ou moins râté. Mais alors, une des pires voitures de la décennie; c’est abuser, non?
–> Renault Avantime. Le verdict d’autocar: Super, mais pas les moyens de ses ambitions.
-Pas faux. L’avantime, qu’on attendait là, est un gros râté industriel et commercial. Par contre, les comparaisons avec la Vel Satis n’ont pas lieu d’être; même s’il ne fait pas l’unanimité, l’Avantime est réussi esthétiquement. Bien proportionné et d’un design abouti, il plait beaucoup. L’exemple même d’un programme mal géré, où rien n’a été comme il aurait fallu.
–> Smart Roadster/Coupé. Le verdict d’autocar: Handicapé par des prix élevés et une transmission râtée, pas si intelligent (smart, en anglais)…
-Le Smart Roadster ou Coupé est réussi esthétiquement. Point. Tout le reste… agrément terrifiant, trop cher, mal fini, il n’a pas grand chose pour lui, tout en restant en même temps très attirant… C’est un vrai râté, et pour une fois ce « classement » redresse la barre. En effet, là c’est vraiment la voiture qui est en cause. On aurait pu trouver ici la Forfour, râté plus grave de conséquences pour la marque que le Coupé, mais la voiture était moins en cause intrinsèquement. C’est bien vu, si ça n’est pas le hasard…
–> En conclusion, il faut avoir vraiment de drôles d’idées et du temps à perdre pour faire ce genre d’inventaires. Pour les commenter aussi me direz-vous, soit… Ce type d’article est forcément très subjectif et ce n’est pas une bonne chose. Comment expliquer par exemple qu’on trouve ici le Tribeca et pas le Pontiac Aztec, ou la Vel Satis et pas la C6, ou un autre râté monumental, la Phaeton. Et ce ne sont que des exemples.
Les britanniques ont ceci d’intéressant que leur presse dit et fait ce qu’elle veut, souvent avec humour, second degré et sans grand souci d’objectivité. Quand c’est drôle, comme on le voit toutes les semaines avec Top Gear, pas de problème. Mais là, c’est plus navrant que drôle, hélas…
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The term mild concussion doesn’t seem to bring on much concern from people. However, if you replace it with mild brain injury, chances are, people sit up and take a bit more notice. The thing is, they are both the same thing.
Mild concussions aren’t being taken seriously enough, despite deaths, over the past couple of years, due to head injuries on the ski slope or similar circumstances, says a researcher from McMaster University in Canada. In fact, if their head injury is labeled a concussion, they will spend less time in the hospital and return to school sooner (and likely the activity that may have caused the injury) than children who are diagnosed with a brain injury.
What is a concussion?
Your brain is a soft organ and it’s surrounded with cerebrospinal fluid around the brain that keeps it from hitting your hard skull. However, if you experience a blow to the head, it could be hard enough for your brain to shift and hit against the skull. This can cause bleeding and bruising in the brain.
Concussions are usually labeled as mild, moderate or severe, but the mild label can be quite deceiving. If the brain doesn’t have a chance to heal properly before activity is resumed, another concussion can occur. And, researchers are finding that having more than one concussion can increase the risk of certain disorders and maybe neurological (nerve) disorders.
If your child is diagnosed with a concussion, it’s important to take it seriously and be sure to follow all directions to allow for proper healing time.
Scuderia Toro Rosso announced, via Red Bull’s motor racing consultant Helmut Marko, that all the allegations regarding the signing of Brazilian driver Bruno Senna or German veteran Nick Heidfeld are false.
Recent reports have suggested that the Faenza based team are looking at alternatives for the second racing seat for 2010, as Jaime Alguersuari’s deal is yet to be signed. The first name linked to that role was Senna, despite his already-signed contract with Campos Grand Prix. However, due t… (read more)
If you’re worried that we’re on the same path as Japan, you might want to take a nice, close look at every mini-boom that occurred within the context of the country’s multi-year, secular bear market.
Financial planner Doug Short (dshort.com) has put together a useful Nikkei chart, nicely marked with the percentage move from each peak to each trough.
Actor John Travolta — a licensed pilot and aviation aficionado — has arranged for a plane to fly aid to victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
The star has become a bit of a recluse since the death of his beloved son Jett in January 2009, but Travolta has acted quickly to organize for the Caribbean island –which was devastated by the natural disaster last Tuesday.
“I have arranged for a plane to take down some volunteer ministers and some supplies and some medics,”
John said at during Australia Week’s L.A.. Black Tie Dinner on Friday. “I hope that inspires others as well,” he added. “It’s needed.”
At one point, months ago in history, I didn’t use folders on my BlackBerry. After downloading an application, the icon would sit at the bottom of my app menu — or, if it were important it would move to the home screen. This continued on, with me deleting unused application to keep the clutter to a minimum. Then I got my BlackBerry Tour in November. At first I didn’t like the folders. They were just one more layer between me and my applications. But, after getting used to them, I don’t know how I managed without them. No longer do folders represent a layer between me and my stuff. Now they represent storage bins, in which I carefully place my icons so I can easily find them next time. I feel as accomplished as a kid who puts away his toys when he’s done.
Today the Indian IT services giant Tata announced that it was to acquire BT Mosaic. It’s an acquisition worth examining in a little more detail, since we will likely see more of the same over the coming years.
BT Mosaic boasts extensive rich media services, in that their (SaaS-based) offering stretches beyond Digital Asset Management to production facilities, and most importantly digital distribution. BT Mosaic’s customers are able to make use of BT’s (British Telecom’s) network expertise to link and push content throughout global broadcast networks.
BT Mosaic was an interesting spin off from BT, one that had done fairly well commercially while building up it’s network reach and services. Most likely Tata will continue to support BT Mosaic’s focus on media companies, but I would expect Tata to absorb elements of the Mosaic services and start to offer this into broader enterprise IT offerings.
There will always be a market for standalone DAM software, meeting the needs of marketing departments for example. Rich digital media is making up an increasing percentage of enterprise content, and it’s only going to grow. Not only is it easier to create digital media these days, but the demand and expectation is growing exponentially. Digital media is becoming pervasive and needs to be managed alongside and in lock step with all our enterprise content, not as an exotic exception.
The next couple of years for DAM will be fascinating to watch, as one way or another Digital Media is going to continue to grow in importance far beyond its traditional uses and constituents, and become a key element of any Enterprise Information strategy.
All Things Digital is not planning on publishing today on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthdate holiday.
Until we return tomorrow, please listen to the famous “I Have a Dream” speech that King delivered at the Lincoln Memorial, which is in its entirety below.
As you will see, it is as resonant today as it was spoken on August 28, 1963, so thank goodness you can see it instantly on the Web.
While there are more famous lines, here’s BoomTown’s favorite:
“We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.”
I also included Stevie Wonder’s ebullient song in tribute to King’s birthday, which is simply wonderful.
Amidst all the rancor that we’ve seen during the last few weeks over the Federal Communications Commission’s proposed net neutrality rules comes a joint filing by Verizon and Google that asks a refreshing question. What do the antagonists have in common regarding this vexing problem?
“Because our businesses rely on each other, it is appropriate for us to jointly discuss a number of things,” wrote Alan Davidson of Google and Thomas Tauke of Verizon on Thursday, such as “how we ensure that consumers get the information, products and services they want online; encourage investment in advanced networks; and ensure the openness of the web around the world.” And so they’ve come up with a set of broad principles and the outline of a voluntary industry-wide system for handling network management disputes, with government intervention included only in the most dire cases—a set of “overarching values that create a framework to guide players throughout the Internet space.”
There is a great article posted at American Thinker about the vast crevasse that divides Michelle Obama’s “pronouncements, advise, injunctions and edicts” from her actions.
It starts with her quick dismissal of Harry’s Reid’s racial gaff and then deals heavily with the contradiction of partaking in the couture life while espousing socialist ideals.
“…The First Lady is well aware that the President stresses that Americans should surrender personal aspirations for the sake of the collective. “All Americans will have to sacrifice to put the economy back on track,” Obama said. “Everybody’s going to have to give…Everybody’s going to have to have some skin in the game.” To date, Michelle’s contribution to “skin in the game” is the acquisition of an off-the-shelf, $1,900.00 snakeskin clutch.
Excusing herself, Michelle is of the opinion that “in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system … someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more.” (Read the whole article)
This is something that interests me greatly –given that both of the Obamas are constantly being heralded as role models. I want to see some substance behind the claims…and I haven’t. I have already exhausted my posting about their lack of charitable giving, but it’s something I think about often. How can they believe that wealth should be redistributed for the common good, then promptly exempt themselves (AND THE UNIONS) from that redistribution…and manage to do it without a negative sound from the so-called fourth branch of government? When will the press’s obligation to the people and commitment to the truth overpower their love affair with the Obamas?
By the middle of this year I expect we’ll have a big selection of e-book readers to choose from. There were dozens of readers on display at the CES 2010 this month, and it seems that every gadget maker is working on one for the market. I am still a firm believer that in the e-book world content is king, and that just having a reader on the market is not that big a deal. A reader with little available content is just a hunk of plastic, consumers want the ability to get the books they crave. Giant e-book sellers like Barnes & Noble and Amazon have a big advantage in this area, with each offering hundreds of thousands of titles on their respective online stores. But the formats between the two stores are not compatible, and like any other retail segment competition could help keep prices competitive. Don’t believe that? I was in the market for some new e-book releases, and was surprised to find how widely the prices varied.
First up I was in the mood to pick up James Patterson’s latest — Witch and Wizard. I hit up Amazon, B&N, the eReader store (a subsidiary of B&N), Fictionwise (another subsidiary of B&N) and the Sony Reader Store. Here’s what I found:
While the three major e-book sellers have obviously gravitated towards the $9.99 price for new releases, in the future if a consumer owns a reader that is tied into one store then there is no guarantee the price will be competitive. A lot of reader makers are embracing ePUB format for books, and that’s a good thing, but that’s only half the battle for new releases. These books will almost certainly be infested with a DRM scheme, and just because a given reader can handle the ePUB format it will still stick the owner with whatever DRM system it supports. That will likely tie a given reader to a particular store. And as you can see, prices may vary.
It’s almost looking like the smart money is on putting multiple readers on a given device, like an iPhone, so that content can be read from more than one source. Of course this makes keeping an online library much harder for the consumer.
Time to get back to the tablet range of yesteryear: HP’s TouchSmart line-up. They’ve added three new models to the family—the 12-inch tm2, 15.6-inch dv6t and 17.3-inch dv7t.
At $950, the tm2 has a capacitive multitouch screen in the aforementioned 12 inches, a SU7300 1.3GHz ULV processor along with 3GB of DDR3 RAM and optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4550 card or SU9600 processor.
The larger 15.6-inch dv6t has a 2.4GHz Core i5-520M processor, 3GB RAM and 320GB HDD. It’ll cost $929 when it goes on sale.
Last, but no means least, the dv7t has a 17.3-inch display and will set you back $999. HP isn’t exactly breaking tablet PC boundaries with these three, but at least you know what you’re getting when you buy them. [LogicBuy via Engadget]
Audi A1 LED headlights – Click above to view the video after the jump
The hype continues… We’re still two months away from Audi’s official unveiling of the pre-production A1 premium compact at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, but the German automaker’s going to milk it for all it’s worth.
After unveiling not one, but two concepts to preview the A1, followed by some graffiti and spy shots, Audi has released the following video showing – big surprise – that the A1 will have LED headlights.
Although it’s doubtful that Audi’s rival for the Mini Cooper will make it across the Atlantic to American shores, Audi reportedly hopes to sell some 80,000 units per year. Ambitious? Maybe. But that’s the direction the premium market is heading these days. Follow the jump to watch the video and check out the press release.
Chevrolet Cruze Cup – Click above for high-res image
Spec racing series are growing into big business, with every automaker and their cousin getting in on the action. The latest to join the fold is the Chevy Cruze, which is being launched in the UK for Cruze Cup.
While the Cruze touring cars in the WTCC are heavily modified, the Cruze Cup machines are closer to showroom stock, with some requisite modifications for track use, including an FIA-certified roll cage, fire extinguisher and racing bucket with six-point harness, along with KW Racing suspension, Rimstock wheels and Dunlop slicks. The 1.8-liter 16-valve engine, however, remains stock with 141 horsepower channeled through a five-speed gearbox.
The UK series, which was unveiled at the Autosport International show in Birmingham, kicks off at Rockingham on April 10 as a support race for the Dunlop Sport Maxx cup.
Police are investigating the death of a 56-year-old man whose daughter came home Sunday night to find him covered in blood and apparently killed by the pit bulls she was raising, police sources said.
Johnny Wilson, of the 10200 block of South Aberdeen Street, was found in his living room with numerous bite marks on his body, according to a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Other sources said he suffered massive head, chest and upper body trauma.
Four pit bulls and two puppies in the home were turned over by police to Chicago Animal Care and Control.
In her blue, jail-issue uniform, Matisha Goens, 28, appeared in Domestic Violence Court last week, her head down and her voice barely audible.
Her alleged crime? Leaving her 8-month-old daughter at a South Side police station, wearing a pink jacket and wrapped in a Winnie the Pooh blanket. Officers found the baby New Year’s Day, taking in all the activity from her stroller.
Though the girl appeared well cared for, she is beyond the age in which parents can relinquish babies anonymously and without fear of prosecution, causing some to wish for more discretion and others saying that support, not legislation, is a better way to address abandoned children.
On Jan. 4, Goens was arrested at her Chicago home in the 7000 block of South Crandon Avenue and charged with misdemeanor child neglect. In September, Goens was picked up on a similar charge when police allegedly found the same girl — now with her father — alone in a car at a Department of Motor Vehicles facility.
“On one hand, this child is well past” the legal limit of one month, said police Lt. Laurel Bresnahan, part of a Special Victims Unit on the case. “On the other hand, we see kids who have been hideously abused … and this is exactly what you want a parent to do.”
But where to draw the line? Do you praise or punish a mother who shows that the all-consuming task of parenthood is beyond her capabilities? And does charging Goens with a crime undermine the goal of the Safe Haven Law, which is to prevent babies from being abandoned on a doorstep or a trash bin?
“She had doubts during her pregnancy,” said Goens’ mother, Delores Scott Goens. “She didn’t know if she could do this … and talked about adoption. But I thought things would get better once the baby was born.”
The joy that usually accompanies a new arrival didn’t happen for Matisha Goens, an unemployed pharmacy technician described by her mother as “loving, giving and respectful” until her mid-20s. That’s when the young woman started exhibiting signs of mental illness. She had mood swings and delusions, which became darker and more frequent during her pregnancy, her mom said.
After Ava Arie was born, Matisha Goens grew increasingly isolated from her family, refusing to answer the phone or the door at her South Shore apartment.
“I feared for both my daughter and my granddaughter,” her mom said.
All states have “safe haven” laws that allow a parent to leave a child at a designated place — such as a hospital, fire or police station — to keep babies from being abandoned in places such as parking lots and bathrooms. But the legislation also has generated controversy, with experts split over age limits or even whether such well-intended laws help desperate parents.
On Jan. 1, the age limit in Illinois rose from seven days to one month before penalties would be imposed.
Bresnahan, for one, wondered whether Goens was confused about the recent change in the statute, thinking that she was acting within the penalty-free period. At the very least, the lieutenant would like to see more flexibility on whether to proceed with a criminal charge, she said.
“Life is not black and white,” Bresnahan said. “An arrest doesn’t serve anyone in this case.”
Dawn Geras, who started the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation, a Chicago nonprofit, argued for leniency for Goens.
“What is the crime here?” she said. “The mom showed loving, responsible action (leaving her at a police station). If the child had been abused … then she should be prosecuted. But what has she done other than cry for help?”
Prosecutors, though, are “duty bound to enforce the laws as they are written,” said Andy Conklin, spokesman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
While the state did review the case for a felony, “given the circumstances, we felt that the misdemeanor charge was more appropriate,” Conklin said.
There are multiple reasons that someone would abandon a baby — from poverty to mental illness — and weighing help to distressed parents against legal consequences is one of the “greatest challenges” facing child welfare officials, said Kendall Marlowe, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Still, that doesn’t mean that safe haven laws should be broader, he said.
“Otherwise we’ll have a Nebraska on our hands. We want to strengthen and support families — not encourage parents to give up their children.”
In July 2008, Nebraska became the only state that included children older than 1 year under its safe haven law. Four months later, 31 children — 17 of them teenagers — were dropped off, showing that without a cut-off date, states will be swamped with kids. Legislators later set the age at one month.
In Illinois, 53 children have been dropped off legally since the safe haven law took effect in 2001. Of the 58 babies abandoned illegally since 2001, 28 died, according to the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation.
In 2003, the Donaldson Adoption Institute, a New York-based research group, released a report that found safe haven statutes — nonexistent until a decade ago — may cause more harm than good, encouraging women to conceal pregnancies and abandon infants who might have been placed with relatives or for adoption.
Delores Scott Goens doesn’t know if her daughter was aware of the recent change in the law, but she would like to see the age limit raised to one year, to help new mothers who are overwhelmed.
She’d also like to see Ava Arie remain with her father, but with some kind of joint custody arrangement for her daughter, who will remain in jail at least until her next court date Tuesday.
Whatever happens, she is certain that prosecution is not the answer.
“What she needs is treatment … and to accept that she has an illness.”
The SharpBrains Summit is ongoing, with 242 participants in 15 countries! thanks to the IT brains at the Institute for The Future and collaborators such as Anett Gyurak, Pascale Michelon and Camille Finley, event is going great.
If you Twitter, you can follow my updates here. The Summit hashtag/ feed is #sharp2010. Participants who were actively tweeting the first day:
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