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Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Performance, Geneva Motor Show

Hennessey Performance is on a roll. First we got a Cadillac CTS-V that accelerates so violently it sets off its OnStar system. Then we get a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1-powered pony car that handily won our Best Camaro of SEMA. Now this: The first shots of the Hennessey Venom GT, a lightweight, LS9-powered ICBM aimed directly at the world’s hypercar elite.

Originally teased way back in November of 2007, the House That Hennessey Built has been working overtime to create this Lotus Elise-based, mid-engine masterpiece for the Geneva Motor Show this March, and judging by these first shots from the shop, things are looking downright diabolical.

According to Hennessey, the final weight – with fuel, but no driver – should come in under 2,400 pounds, and with the “mildly tweaked” LS9 putting out between 650 and 700 horsepower, that puts the Venom in contention with the Bugatti Veyron for power-to-weight bragging rights. But naturally, Hennessey isn’t stopping there. After the bugs are worked out, the supercharger will be dispatched in favor of a duo of turbos, netting output somewhere north of 1,000 hp. 0-60 times? Less than 2.5 seconds. Top speed? An estimated 262 mph.

Putting that grunt to the ground is a Ricardo six-speed manual gearbox – the same transmission the tuning firm used on its 1,000+ hp twin-turbocharged Ford GTs – with carbon fiber Dymag wheels fitted at all four corners, each shod in Michelin PS2 tires. Fifteen-inch carbon ceramic discs with eight piston Brembo calipers are mounted up front, while 14-inch rotors with six piston calipers reside in the rear, and although we haven’t gotten confirmation, the shot above suggests the driver sits front and center. Nope, the Venom will be available in traditional left- or right-hand drive, according to Hennessey.

That’s all for now, but look for more details to be released in the coming weeks and get an exclusive eyeful in the gallery below.

EXCLUSIVE: First shots of the Hennessey Performance Venom GT originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As one of the most contentious issues in the international climate negotiations, climate finance is expected to be a major focus in Copenhagen.  During today’s OnPoint, Jon Sohn explains the climate finance issue and discusses US and European pledges for international aid to developing nations. 

To watch the interview, please visit: http://www.eenews.net/tv/2009/12/09/.

Southwestern College has announced that students in the Green Team program will be coordinating service activities as part of Kansas Day 2010. These activities are part of the inaugural Kansas Campus Compact’s Commemorate Kansas/Serve Kansas program.

…“These creative projects are an indication that students and faculty at Kansas colleges and universities are aware of the importance of connecting their education with a civic purpose that serves all of Kansas’ citizens,” said Matthew Lindsey, executive director for Kansas Campus Compact.

»Read the entire article at The Winfield Daily Courier.

We’ve already been covering Redbox’s legal fight with a few movie studios who so hate the idea that Redbox is actually giving people something they want (legally) at a reasonable price (legally), that they want to kill it. The whole thing is so ridiculous that it’s difficult to believe there’s anyone out there defending the anti-Redbox studios’ position (and, in fact, a couple of the other studios, with Paramount in the lead, have realized that it’s smarter to partner with Redbox than to try to kill it). Yet, the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (a non-profit with LA government connections) has put out a report claiming that Redbox kills jobs and harms the economy throughout Los Angeles (thanks to reader Valkor for sending this in). If you want, you can read the full report (pdf) — but prepare to be amazed as what the report actually says is quite different than the press release headline.

Hidden within the report are claims that the industry will continue to grow nicely for the next decade and that alternative business models will develop that more than compensate for any loss of revenue from reduced rental prices. But that’s not what the headline of the press release says. No, it reads:

Study says low-cost DVD rentals could lead to $1 billion, 9,280 jobs lost

But, deep in the actual report? Why, it says the following:

The shift to digital delivery will provide new revenue streams for the industry and new opportunities… Increased availability of all types of digital content and media have changed lifestyles and will continue to contribute to demand for video products. Indeed, SNL Kagan forecasts continuing growth in overall industry revenues as alternative streams compensate for this loss of revenue. In total, SNL Kagan projects an increase in distributor revenues from all sources worldwide from $51.3 billion in 2008 to $67.6 billion in 2017. While the composition of these revenues will clearly change, distributors will continue to experience revenue growth into the next decade.

So how does it get from that to the headline? Well, it assumes that Redbox is decreasing revenue from traditional rental, and seems to assume that these other alternative revenue streams are not influenced by Redbox or other forms of distribution that are more convenient and cheaper and attract a new or different audience — which seems like a dubious assumption. Another way of looking at this: it’s as if the horse and buggy industry put out a report just as automobiles were coming to market that said, yes, the auto industry will be huge and will create millions of new jobs, but because a much smaller number of jobs are lost due to downsizing the carriage market, we can release a report saying that the auto industry is “killing jobs.” Logically, that’s ridiculous.

On top of that, it makes some odd assumptions throughout the report, continually throwing out the idea that Redbox itself might increase the revenue for the industry, repeatedly suggesting that the industry is mature and if there were a way to get more revenue out of it, it would have already been discovered. Of course, considering that the market has long been dominated by a single player, not prone to innovating, and with close ties to studios that have limited some of how it could act — that assumption is highly suspect. In fact, the very reason that Redbox has been so popular (and which also explains the rise of Netflix) has been consumer dissatisfaction with the old Blockbuster model, which was designed to squeeze consumers.

To the authors’ credit, they do try to be fair on other numbers and assumptions, recognizing that effects go in multiple directions and that there are other issues at play, but the press release headline claiming that Redbox costs the industry a billion dollars and nearly 10,000 jobs, when the actual report claims that revenue is increasing and will continue to do so, just seems hard to swallow. Unfortunately, every single press report covering this study seems to only take the PR headline from the report and repeat it, without anyone appearing to have read the part of the report that says the exact opposite of what the headline claims.

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Celebrated action film director John Woo has expressed his desire to make another video game following 2007’s Stranglehold, the video game sequel to one of Woo’s most famous films, Hard Boiled. Fans might not have to wait

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" house under construction.

KNOXVILLE — Watch ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” on Sunday, Dec. 13, and you’ll see how a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, alumna and her family’s construction company led more than 3,200 volunteers in building a house for a needy family.

What you won’t see is everything that’s happened since.

Anne Maleno (’91, sociology) and her family were so moved by their involvement in the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” project that they’ve found a way to keep on giving even though the TV cameras are long gone.

Maleno is the property manager for Maleno Development, a company founded in 1976 by her father. The company has built more than 1,000 homes and apartments in the Erie, Pa., area.

“There are seven kids in our family, five of whom are involved in the company,” Maleno said.

“My father wanted us to come together as a family and company to have one charity that we donate to. When we decided to take on the ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ project, we knew we wanted to keep giving.

“We’ve created the Maleno Family to Family Fund to continue to help families with housing problems,” she said.

The story began back in the spring of 2009, when Maleno Development first got involved with “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

“My younger sister, who also works with Maleno Development, heard that the TV show wanted to come to Erie to do a project and e-mailed them, saying our company might be interested in helping,” Maleno said.

The TV show contacted the family, asked some questions and the adventure began.

As the lead builders for the TV show’s project in their town, Maleno Development coordinated more than $1 million in donations. They lined up subcontractors willing to donate time and materials. They organized an army of volunteers.

In seven days, the team built a new handicapped-accessible home for a family whose two-story house had a cracked foundation, a leaky roof, peeling walls and a faulty sewage line. The matriarch of the recipient family suffers from myasthenia gravis, a degenerative muscular disease, but still runs a nonprofit youth development and family center from her home.

While the construction was under way, Maleno Development also held a book drive, a food drive and a blood drive.

People involved in the Maleno Family to Family Fund project. They are, in front, Julie Maleno, Pat Fronzaglia, and, in back, John Maleno, Dominic Maleno, Anne Maleno, Jarrod Maleno, and Natalie Washburn.

Collected items were donated to a variety of organizations in the Erie area.

Maleno said her family was overwhelmed by the way their community came together and wanted to keep the spirit of giving alive.

The Malenos launched the Family to Family Fund with the goal of organizing charitable construction projects each year for needy families in the Erie area.

In September, Family to Family did its first project: renovating the home of a 57-year-old widow confined to a wheelchair because of an auto accident. Workers lowered her kitchen sink and rearranged cabinets, provided her with a new front-loading washer and dryer and made her bedroom wheelchair-accessible.

The Malenos already have started taking applications from families who would like to be helped next.

The Maleno family’s charitable work has been featured on numerous TV broadcasts in the Erie area and in a feature story in the Manufacturer and Business Association’s Business Magazine.

For more information about the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” episode, as well as the company and its charitable projects, see http://www.malenoextremehome.com/.

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C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, [email protected])

Against the backdrop of the leaked Danish proposal, the morning turned the attention of participants toward the details of implementation.  For developing countries, the question has been "who gets the money?"  Among the delegates from developing countries, there appear to be two components to this question.  First, which countries get how much of the pool of funds for transition and adaptation?  Not surprisingly, there is much discussion on this point.  Second, who within the most undeveloped countries get to control the funds received.  There is genuine concern among environmentalists that some governments may not use the funds for real climate change initiatives.

For developed countries, there is the difficult question of enforcement.  While the early commitments have been significant, there is much discussion on exactly how such commitments can be enforced, and equally importantly, who will enforce them.  Recognizing that any accord will likely be the framework for a treaty to be fully crafted over the next six months, there is increased focus on the structures and metrics for enforcement.  EU countries are pressing hard for definiteness in commitments together with accountability. 

While expectations at COP-15 are higher, the response to the draft Danish proposal has highlighted the real challenges ahead for a meaningful document to which all attending countries can agree.  The question for later today will be whether the leaked draft proposal is a document on which signficant edits are made, or whether it is the first iteration of more framework drafts to come.  So far, it appears to be the latter. 

Filed under: Wagon, Etc., Videos, Honda, Off-Road

More than a few Autobloggers regularly pine for the days when Honda (among other automakers) built simpler, smaller, lighter cars that were still packed with functionality. A sterling example of this philosophy is Honda’s mid-Eighties Civic Wagon, the pioneering pent-roof with the brand’s then-new RealTime 4WD system. Arguably one of the earliest crossovers, the Civic Wagon was incredibly robust, and more than a few enterprising shadetree mechanics have subsequently realized that they have similar tuning potential to their far more popular sedan and hatchback cousins. Enter the Attack Wagon.

Not only is the subject of Wagon Attack II a thoroughly bitchin’ example of what can be done with forced induction and a few bulletproofing sessions, the folks that made the above video clearly went beyond the call of duty to chronicle its awesomeness in high-definition. Click through to the jump to watch the most entertaining – and arguably best quality – car video you’ll see today. When you’re done watching the 1989 Honda earn its Civic Shuttle namesake (as it was known in other markets) vaulting off Michigan’s Silver Lake Sand Dunes and tearing around broken-down airport runways, be sure to check out the making-of video as well.

And yes, we want one now too. Thanks for the tip, Luke!

[Source: WagonAttack.com]

Continue reading VIDEO: Presenting the coolest Honda Civic Wagon film ever

VIDEO: Presenting the coolest Honda Civic Wagon film ever originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook is now rolling out the revamped privacy controls and options it’s been telling us about for a few months. Last week, Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg announced that the site was close to launching the new features in an open letter spread to all of its 350 million users. In short, the new options will allow users to customize the visibility of every status update or item they post and upload but the overall emphasis will be on more public content.

“Facebook is transforming the world’s ability to control its information online by empowering more than 350 million people to personalize the audience for each piece of content they share,” Elliot Schrage, VP of Communications, Public Policy and Marketing at Facebook, said.

“We’ve always designed Facebook to enable people to control what information they share with whom – it’s the reason our service continues to attract such a broad and diverse group of users from around the world. We’re proud of the latest evolution we’re announcing today and we will continue to innovate to serve users’ changing needs,” he added.

The biggest and most visible changes are the new privacy options now available to all users every time they update their status or upload a photo. The options allow users to sel… (read more)

Welcome to Naissance Capital, a socially-responsible Swiss hedge fund that invests in companies which have a high representation of women in the boardroom.

Why?

Well sure it helps promote women as business leaders, but it’s also because having more women in a company leads to better investment performance!

For example, women help prevent the ‘The Julius Caesar Problem’ whereby an ‘Alpha Male CEO’ ‘bends the rules, cheats if necessary’ and ‘eventually causes the company’s destruction.’ They even claim that gender diversity ‘can guard against six sigma events, ie. AIG, Lehman.’

Despite the noble cause, this fund seems to be leaning a bit on women as a marketing gimmick. Sure it can help to promote women as executives, but at the same time they’re using our good-intentions towards gender rights as a marketing tactic to stand out from the competition. They also charge a 1.5% management fee, and 10-20% performance fee, so it’s not like they are doing this work out of the good of their hearts.

Now see why women generate better investment returns than men >>>

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Hedge Funds May Get $11 Billion Out Of Lehman Brothers As Early As March
• Lehman Bros Asked To Re-Pay Signing Bonuses
• Post-Lehman Deja Vu As T-Bill Yields Turn Negative

It’s a message fitting for the season and one that gives a whole new meaning to the adage, to give is to receive. Acts of generosity, research shows, don’t just lead to emotional satisfaction; they actually promote physical health and healing. It’s more than good karma of course.

There’s evolutionary rationale to the warm fuzzies we get when we exercise our altruistic muscle. It behooved our ancestors to get along well and exhibit cooperation within their tribal groups. Even as the scale of social community expanded over time, a confluence of cultural motivation and genetic incentive appear to have still favored “pro-social” behaviors. We’re designed to be socially conscious and collaborative creatures. Not surprisingly, physiological incentives to support this orientation have been selected for over time.

As a recent New York Times article highlighted, volunteering and other generous acts won’t cure a disease, but they can help people with serious conditions cope with physical pain and ease their symptoms. Other research associates volunteering with “noteworthy decreases in levels of blood pressure, stomach acid and cholesterol counts” as well as higher levels  of immunity-boosting immunoglobin A. Studies have even linked volunteerism with a lower risk of mortality in the elderly – even after adjusting for “health habits, physical functioning, religious attendance, and social support.” Researchers have long observed the emotional advantages conferred by a generous disposition. The so-called “helper’s high” is rooted in the release of endorphins. In keeping with this effect, those who volunteer report fewer stress symptoms and lower rates of insomnia.

Amazingly, even witnessing acts of charity have been shown to influence immune response – a phenomenon labeled the “Mother Teresa effect.” Study participants who watched scenes of Mother Teresa helping others showed an increase in salivary immunoglobulin A, the front line of immune defense. (Gives a whole new meaning to the concept of “feel-good” programming.) The practice of generosity appears to benefit the giver, recipient and the surrounding social community. Not a bad thought for the holiday season – that we’re drawn to peace, love and cooperation? The idea maybe explains why they broadcast A Christmas Carol no less than three hundred and twelve times between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Of course, we don’t recommend simply living vicariously through the exhibitions of T.V or the transformations of crusty Victorian misers. Nonetheless, perhaps those reruns of holiday classics aren’t such a guilty pleasure after all.

Finally, it should be said during this season of commercial overload that giving shouldn’t be about obligation or necessarily about material exchange. Sulky obligation doesn’t exactly inspire health and happiness in the giver – or gratitude and well-being of the recipient. It’s the grating irony of the holidays these days that the hoopla too often drains the spirit instead of feeds it. We certainly don’t want to give the impression that anyone should drop what they’re doing and run to the next advertised 24-hour super sale or community soup kitchen to don an apron, but if it’s what you feel personally and joyfully called to do, then a big thumbs up! Although studies in altruism have focused on volunteerism, generous acts can also be as small and personal as making your partner’s favorite meal, holding the door for a stranger or offering encouraging words to someone going through difficult times.

The idea here, we sense, is less about any particular action than it is about mindset. When it comes to benevolence benefit, it’s truly the thought that counts. Adopting a magnanimous attitude can lift us out of the limited and ultimately lonely individualism that can feel like and truly be a burden. As one study cited by the NYT explains, common “themes” in volunteers’ feedback include the satisfaction of “’making a connection’” and living with “’a sense of purpose.’” Fostering genuine health involves more than pampering ourselves or marking off suggested acts for personal well-being. Giving of ourselves places our potential for happiness outside of the restricted confines of our own lives. It extends our potential for fulfillment and joy beyond the daily details of our lives to the good we can see and do in all that’s around us.

Have you felt the “helper’s high”? What role do you think generosity plays in personal wellness? Let us know your thoughts.

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Related posts:

1. Going Grubby: The Primal Benefits of Dirt, Dust and Dishevelment
2. Compassion Meditation
3. Yoga Therapy?

Ready your axes, folks, there’s more content to shred through this month on Brütal Legend. EA and Double FIne have announced Hammer of Infinite Fate, the second DLC pack for the heavy metal action game.

Apple has been getting a lot of publicity of the back of Microsoft events, with the recent Mobius event above being a good example.

This is set to stop however, with Microsoft banning any mention of Apple products at their events.  And they mean it.  At a recent Windows Mobile 6.5 launch event this exchange occurred:

The blow below the belt came without warning. “This is a Microsoft event” a Microsoft manager barked at a IT journalist “Apple products have no place here”. When a tentative laughter began to rise in the upscale restaurant “Maria und Josef” in Munich he pushed on: “I mean it”

The offense: At a dinner talk the journalist dared mention that he never owned a phone that was easier to use than the iPhone. This was at the introduction event of Windows Mobile 6.5. “His emotionality surprised me”, said a PR consultant attending the event. “It shows that the nerves are on edge [at MS]“.

All I can say is about time.  Microsoft need to stop supporting a blogosphere actively hostile to their products and remind these journalists that their Mac habit is very much in the minority and not worth ranting on about every 3 minutes.

Handelsblatt via 9to5mac.com

98% of Americans say, “OH **** before going in the ditch on a slippery road. The other 2% are from Wisconsin and Minnesota, and they say, “Hold my beer and watch this!”

That quip has nothing to do with mortgage banking or renting, but seemed right given the weather in many areas. Every renter has enough worries without concerns about their landlord bailing on the mortgage. This may help: http://www.rentalforeclosure.com/ (Thanks to First Priority Financial for sending it along.)

Was your Lock Desk busier last week? Borrowers are taking advantage of the lower rates, as the MBAA reported that applications hit their highest level in two months (up 8.5%). Purchases were up 4% and refinancing was up over 11%, with refinancing accounting for almost 75% of apps.

Is it my imagination, or is everyone tightening up their guidelines, changing processes and procedures, and making it tough for compliance staffs to do their jobs? And it isn’t only the Fannie 8.0 release; there are many other changes also. Of note, some firms, like GMAC, are giving deadlines to buy Fannie 7.1 loans (Bank of America is February 26^th), whereas others, like Wells, are not. This is often a result of loan programs that were acceptable under 7.1 being eliminated, and some large investors were never purchasing those programs.

more news on Flagstar, AgFirst and Fannie Minimum MI, Wells correspondent, Citimortgtage US Bank Home Mortgage wholesale, TARP, used gold balls, rates, and joke o the day … <<< CLICK HERE