12th May 2008

Québec & Nova Scotia Drivers: BEWARE

On April 1st, 2008 significant modifications to road safety regulations in the Canadian provinces of Québec and Nova Scotia went into effect. CTV.ca reports that handheld cellular phones are now verboten while at the wheel, though hands free devices are still tolerated. Nova Scotia will begin ticketing the offense immediately, while Québec has allowed for a three-month grace periods in which offenders will only receive stern warnings and moralizing sermons. The first offense in Nova Scotia will cost $165, while costing $80-$110 and three demerit points in Québec. Still not satisfied, road safety advocate Jean-Marie de Koeninck argues that “[h]ands-free is just as dangerous. (But) by forbidding the hand-held it does send a signal that there is a problem with the cellphone, there’s a problem with concentration”. Meanwhile, the same traffic safety bill in Québec also doubled all speeding fines , with new suspension of license provisions for those caught traveling at 40 km/h over the limit in under-60 zones, 50 km/h in 60-90 over zones, and 60 km/h over in 100+ zones. All in the name of safety, presumably.

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12th May 2008

Bio-Ethanol Voted “Stupidest Policy Ever”

A while ago, James Fallows at the Atlantic Monthly asked readers to submit suggestions for “the stupidest policy ever.” He rigged the deck by taking The Gulf of Tonkin resolution off the table, but the winner, by a landslide, is the blind support our “independent” politicians gave to the bio-ethanol scam. (And you’re the victim.) The mag gave two of the winner’s proponents, Justin Cohen and his father Reuben, special mention for their comprehensive summation of all that’s wrong with bio-ethanol. “I think bi-partisan support for ethanol is more stupid [than the McCain-Clinton ‘gas tax holiday’ plan], because it’s actually harmful and because it not only panders to the public… worse it panders to a special interest group (Midwest farmers and their regional politicians). It’s harmful because: 1) it helped to catalyze higher levels of food inflation, 2) it consumes as much energy to make and distribute as it provides, 3) it deflects attention from developing/trying sound policies to enhance our energy security, 4) it didn’t allow for removal of taxes on the import of truly energy efficient ethanol produced in Brazil from sugar, and 5) it’s a such an extreme example of government dysfunctionality it causes people like me to become truly disillusioned with the political process.”

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12th May 2008

A Europeanised Caddy

This week I have been driving around in a press fleet Cadillac BLS 1.9 CDTI Wagon. I wanted it to coincide with the interview I did with Jonathan Nash (below link). It’s a pretty good piece of kit - the 1.9 litre diesel engine is turbocharged, there’s plenty of load space, nice interior finish, subtle but definitely not bland styling (the Cadillac ‘origami edges’ figure). And the handling is sharp on what is a fairly sizeable car. No complaints and an easy car to live with. Comments in the office on the styling were pretty favourable, too - plenty thought it resembled a Saab (BLS is also made in Trollhattan).

In short, it deserves a fair hearing amongst its mainly German peers here in Europe. But will it get one or more accurately, will there be enough customers who are attracted to the idea of a Cadillac badge on their status symbol? ‘Do different’ might make an appropriate brand tagline. One thing though - I certainly don’t think Cadillac will be emphasing Teutonic-like peer values, as per Citroen C5. This is an American brand and there’s a project ahead on communicating or maybe even reinterpreting Cadillac values for Europeans. But hang on, it’s built in Sweden…but there again Saabs will be built in Germany with the next 9-5, BMWs are built in the US etc. Place of final assembly is perhaps less important if other associated brand values are very strong. It’s a question of balance.

Just realised re Jonathan Nash. We are a similar age, but he’s ginger and has a good hair spread that has a lot less charcoal grey than me. Fair play: ginger upside. And, also, he sounds a wee bit like Chris Evans, too (listen to the embedded audio file on the below link…). Wait a minute, he actually looks like Chris Evans! Someone needs to ask him what he’s doing in the Radio 2 drivetime slot.  

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12th May 2008

Basketball Tournament & Productivity


Via
Forbes.com

Commentary
The True Cost Of March Madness
By Chris Schonberger

In 2006, one critic took on a report by Challenger, Gray &Christmas–a report claiming that March Madness costs employers $3.8 billion or more in lost productivity from workers.

The critic, Slate’s Jack Schafer, wrote that Challenger–a consulting company headquartered in Chicago–reached this catastrophic figure “based on an average wage of $18 an hour and 58 million college basketball fans spending 13.5 minutes online each of the 16 business days” between the start of the tournament and the championship game.

Schafer poked a few obvious holes in the assumptions behind this calculation–most notably that the base of rabid college basketball fans is probably not that large and that there are a lot of other ways employees procrastinate during a normal workday (such as online shopping and congregating by the proverbial water cooler).

Indeed, an AOL and Salary.com survey from 2005 revealed that the average American worker wastes 2.09 hours per eight-hour workday, mostly by hanging 10 on the Net. By 2007, that number was down to 1.7 hours, so maybe Challenger needs to crunch some numbers on the waning loyalties of NHL fans.

As a writer, I am inherently unproductive. But these calculations–and Schafer’s misgivings–spurred me to ponder the true nature of workplace efficiency. For one thing, are those 13.5 minutes of college hoops really in addition to the preexisting 2.09 hours of inefficiency? Even if they are, it’s clear that obsessive bracketology is just one prevalent example of a wider phenomenon.

So why did college basketball bear the brunt of this exposé? Perhaps the college basketball lobby isn’t strong enough. What about the presidential race? A year of obsessive clicking on URLs containing polls and punditry must take a heavy toll on the nation’s productivity, no?

  • Complete Article


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    11th May 2008

    Car Lust–Porsche 928

    It is inconceivable to me that the Porsche 928 doesn’t have a more glorious reputation than it does. What was one of the all-time great cars of the 1980s (with some spillover from the 1970s and into the 1990s) is remarkably often regarded as a bloated, fat, ugly failure of a car, somehow barely worthy of the Porsche name.

    Bah! The 928 was a fantastic car that helped define the sports GT category, marrying supercar performance with comfort and everyday practicality. The 928 had such an embarrassment of ability that it captured the imagination. Considering the standard of its time, it had incredible top speed and high-speed cruising ability; married to its relaxed nature and natural comfort, that made the 928 the perfect choice for bombing along the Autostrada at triple-digit speeds while listening to Chopin, or for compressing a trans-Montana drive from five hours into three. Think of it as an executive Lear Jet for the road.

    Porsche purists, conditioned to rear air-cooled engines, never seemed to warm up to the 928; its water-cooled V-8, front-engined configuration, and relaxed athleticism made it an anethema. What they never seem to remember is that while the 911 was unique for its ability to make an outdated formula work, the 928 was unique for being dramatically ahead of its time. In many ways, the 928 provided similar performance without the 911’s hard-edged compromises. The 928 offered one of the first truly modern high-performance V-8s in the late 1970s and, by the end of its run in the early 1990s, the 928 S4 was one of the fastest cars on the road. All this and a hatchback to boot!

    The 928 doesn’t have a great reliability record, and parts are expensive. Plus, its bloated styling came in for some abuse; some uncharitable folks compared the 928 to a bar of soap left in the shower too long. It should come as no surprise that I find the 928 unique and beautiful–its zaftig lines are aggressive without looking like every other car on the road, and the laid-down headlights give the car a unique personality it would not otherwise have had.

    The 928 continued to get faster and more refined through its life, but from a stricly aesthetic perspective, I think the early 928s are the prettiest. Later in the car’s life, Porsche seemed to try to flatten and sculpt the 928’s characteristic soft curves, and for me that goes counter to the car’s basic appeal.

    But early or late, I’d proudly drive a 928, and to heck with the people who just don’t get it. The amazing thing is that older 928s are remarkably affordable for what they are–thanks no doubt to the lack of public respect for the car and their evil reliability reputation.

    All of these fantastic photos came from Flickr. The first two came from user Gwagenrally, the third from aMT, and the gorgeous moon shot from joscii.

    The video is an original Porsche marketing video for the 928 S4, with typical 1980s marketing flair. A few of my favorite moments:

    - I love the unsubtle elitism at play in this video. “Since good taste and exlusiveness have always had a cosmopolitan flair, Porsche’s sucess is international. … the car is an expression of exclusiveness and individuality.” The car is later pictured driving at about 20 mph into a mansion’s driveway. Way to play up the car’s capabilities, guys.

    - The Amiga-era computer graphics–especially the slow-motion animation of the combustion cycle that kicks off around the 3:30 mark–is just fantastic. You know that cost Porsche a pretty penny.

    - There’s a truly puzzling sequence that begins at 4:21; a guitarist and flamenco dancers take center stage and begin a musical number, with only an occasional shot of the car behind the dancers. There’s no narration, no context, and no focus on the car. It lasts 30 increasingly confusing seconds and is completely inexplicable.

    - That’s immediately followed by an equally long dissertation on the history of Spain–the country where “all roads lead to the sun. … The hardships of travel even in recent times, and the comforts one enjoys in a Porsche 928 S4 are worlds apart. A simple comparison of costs and time spent on the road would probably help even a time traveler to choose the century in which to visit Spain.”

    Um, yeah. Not enough car companies use that kind of language today to sell their cars.

    - At the very end, after waxing eloquent about Spain and the safety and comfort of the 928 S4 (no comment on its performance), the narrator concludes, with a significant tone of voice, the non sequitor “Driving in its purest form knows no bounds.”

    Not only is that maddeningly vague, but it’s also completely out of character with everything else in the video. I imagine some enterprising copy writer came up with the line, and the marketing team liked it so much that they threw it in as the final line even though it didn’t really fit.

    –Chris H.

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    11th May 2008

    Independent Subaru Repair & Service Specialist In Seattle.





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    Why choose a Specialist over a Generalist? Independent over Dealer?

    As a specialist we know your car better, especially when it comes to the right way to make economical repairs that a general repair shop wouldn’t know about or a Subaru dealer would never consider. Sometimes a vehicle will develop a pattern failure and a real solution needs to be found or a more economical repair procedure can be had.

    Through the years we have found solutions to replacing expensive parts by making repairs to existing components rather than just blindly install new ones. We have been able to become very good at repairs and service work by specializing in Subaru and we try to share this experience with our customer with lower labor prices.

    We know what parts we can use on your Subaru without sacrificing longevity. Most automakers have become pure design and assemble companies leaving the parts manufacture to other companies. These auto parts companies are free to sell the same parts in aftermarket channels with out the Subaru logo. While in some cases in only makes sense to stick with Subaru parts especially when it comes to slower moving items that may have not been introduced in the aftermarket by the companies that originally made the parts for Subaru. There is also a good chance that the exact replacement part can be found at a 20% savings if you know how to look (we do).

    From top to bottom we really know your Subaru well and want to help you get as many trouble free miles out of it as possible. We have seen these cars go well over 300k and I am the owner of a 1992 Legacy with 292k and counting. We take pride in servicing cars with higher miles and often have suggestions to help keep them going. Even though your Subaru may be getting up there in miles don’t discount just how long they will run.


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    11th May 2008

    Hyundai Unveils i800 Full-Size Van in Europe

    OFFENBACH, Germany — Hyundai has had a full-size van, the Startex, in the home market of South Korea for years. Now Europe will get its own version: the i800, an eight-passenger vehicle. The big Hyundai will even leave plenty of room for luggage with its enormous trunk and 30 cubic feet of space.

    It features two captain’s chairs in front of two benches that each seat three passengers. The rear seats are accessed by a pair of sliding doors intended to facilitate entering and exiting for people of all sizes.

    Power comes from a new 2.5-liter four-cylinder CRDi diesel engine that is intercooled and equipped with a variable-geometry turbo and mated to a five-speed manual transmission. The engine makes 170 horsepower and 215 pound-feet of torque.

    Hyundai says the i800’s capacious fuel tank lets its driver go 560 miles between fill-ups.

    “Anyone wanting to carry eight people in carlike comfort currently has to take two cars — or spend a lot more than £20,000 [currently equivalent to about U.S. $39,000]. We think the i800 will prove massively popular with families and businesses who need to move people in style,” says Tony Whitehorn, managing director of Hyundai U.K.

    This road-trip monster will go on sale in the U.K. at the end of June. Reportedly a lower-priced, more basic and less powerful version will come out a few months later.

    What this means to you: Take a good look at the Hyundai i800, a classy and comfortable way of carrying eight people and luggage. — Mike Lysaght, Correspondent

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    11th May 2008

    2008 Honda S2000 CR

    As a quintessential roadster-style sports car, the S2000 is a performance icon for the Honda brand that combines racetrack-inspired performance with everyday usability. The front engine, rear-wheel-drive S2000 rewards driving enthusiasts with a potent 2.2-liter, 16-valve DOHC VTEC® 4-cylinder engine and a precise, short-throw 6-speed manual transmission, along with tenacious handling and an ideal 50/50 weight balance.

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    11th May 2008

    Baby Cayenne

    Porsche’s new baby SUV, little brother for the Cayenne, has been spied testing at the Nurburgring in Germany.

    Based on Audi’s Q5 platform, the Cayenne mini SUV is a new model in Porsche’s range. The new smaller Cayenne’s version will be rival of BMW’s X3 and Land Rover’s Freelander.

    As you can see a Cayenne baby as a disguise, the new model is shorter and narrower. It will feature four-wheel drive and will share engines with the Q5, including a 3.2-litre V6 petrol and even the possibilty of diesel power for the first time too.

    The new model is expected to go on sale next year with a price tag of around $80,000.

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    11th May 2008

    Question of the Day: What’s a Double-Clutch Gearbox?

    Gearboxes/transmissions are some of the most complicated mechanical components in a car. Today’s Ask.cars.com questioner isn’t too concerned with the exact inner workings, but simply wants to know what it means for the driver to have a car equipped with a double-clutch gearbox. That’s not too much to ask, right?

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