fast five

Minggu, 02 Januari 2011

Spying on Polar Bears

Britney Spears New Song HOLD IT AGAINST ME

Britney Spears will be releasing a new song called Hold It Against Me. And the internet has been buzzing as the release could be as soon as Friday, January 7th, 2011 or so reports Entertainment Weekly.

We are hearing that the song was produced by Brit�s favorite never fail producers Dr. Luke and Max Martin. I have a big fat feeling that Britney is going to bring it in 2011. While I often times am afraid to admit it, Brit�s music is a guilty pleasure of mine. And Z100 program director Sharon Dastur has heard the track and dubs it as �infectious�. She said, �The beat that they give her is really unique compared to other artists � this infectious bass beat beneath the song. Plus, the hook is just amazing.�

Adam Leber, Britney�s manager took to Twitter to state that �Lot of misinformation out there
regarding the release of Brits 1st single. Don�t believe everything you read. That said, the single is DEFINITELY coming in January.�

In addition to the release of her new single, Britney announced herself via her Twitter page that fans can expect a new album come March of 2011. She tweets, �I�m almost done with my new album and it will be coming out this March. I AM IN L-O-V-E WITH IT!�(fastfivecars)

What do you think? Will Britney have another hit album on her hands, topping her Circus album that sold over 4 million copies? Will Hold It Against Me live up to the hype? Leave your comments in the space below! We�ll post the lyrics and the video here once we get our hands on them!

2012 Kia Picanto

Kia has released the details and images of the new generation, 2012 Kia Picanto which will have its world premiere at the 2011 Geneva International Motor Show.

Designed by the company's European design team in Germany, the 2012 Kia Picanto will be available with four engine choices, ranging from 1.0-litre to 1.2-litres in capacity, among which a new three-cylinder turbo diesel.�

Under the hood, power will be provided by "four all-new powertrains in 1.0- and 1.2-liter displacements." Details are limited, but Kia says they will all deliver "class leading CO2 emissions levels."

Peter Schreyer, Kia�s Chief Design Officer shared: �In profile, new Picanto features significant sculpting and a very prominent rising character line. The result is a layering of light and shadow and this breaks up the height, giving the car a more sure-footed stance.�

Source: Kia

Press Release

Next generation Kia Picanto - a design that's small but grown-up

Kia releases first official photos of 'mature' and 'sculpted' new model
Next generation offered in two body styles with four all-new powertrains
Production vehicle to be revealed at 2011 Geneva Motor Show

(SEOUL) January 4, 2011 - Kia Motors Corporation has released the first official photos of the next generation Picanto city car, which now offers a bolder, more mature and more self confident look.

Completely redesigned and re-engineered, the new car has grown in overall length and wheelbase and is set to redefine its position as one of the fastfivecars competitive vehicles in its segment.

Kia's Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer, said, "In profile, new Picanto features significant sculpting and a very prominent rising character line. The result is a layering of light and shadow and this breaks up the height, giving the car a more sure-footed stance."

Picanto has never been sold in Australia but Kia Motors Australia has not shut the door on the latest generation.

"While there are no immediate plans to bring Picanto to Australia we have been, and will continue, to look at opportunities in areas in which we do not currently compete," Kia Motors Australia Chief Operating Officer, Mr Tony Barlow, said. "The Picanto now has the advantage of being an all-new car and if it makes sense as a business case then it is certainly not off the agenda."

While the current Picanto is available only as a five-door hatchback, the new generation version will be offered as a five-door globally while a sportier three-door body style will also be marketed in Europe.

The new Picanto will feature four all-new powertrains in 1.0- and 1.2-litre displacements, all boasting class leading CO2 emissions levels. In addition to petrol engines, LPG bi-fuel and flex fuel variations will be available depending on market.

The next generation Picanto will be officially unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show in March when further technical specifications will be available.

2012 Kia Picanto

Press Release

Next generation Kia Picanto - a design that's small but grown-up

Kia releases first official photos of 'mature' and 'sculpted' new model
Next generation offered in two body styles with four all-new powertrains
Production vehicle to be revealed at 2011 Geneva Motor Show

(SEOUL) January 4, 2011 - Kia Motors Corporation has released the first official photos of the next generation Picanto city car, which now offers a bolder, more mature and more self confident look.

Completely redesigned and re-engineered, the new car has grown in overall length and wheelbase and is set to redefine its position as one of the fastfivecars competitive vehicles in its segment.

Picanto has never been sold in Australia but Kia Motors Australia has not shut the door on the latest generation.

The next generation Picanto will be officially unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show in March when further technical specifications will be available.

Sabtu, 01 Januari 2011

Bizarre and Icy Hill Car Crashes

Transportation Innovations

Invent the next great innovation in transportation technology, and you'll be living in a house made of platinum. The problem, of course, is that your innovation has to actually, you know, work. And not be utterly ridiculous.

The design of a tricycle seems to be pretty good at keeping toddlers from falling off, so one would assume that it's a fairly stable system. So why haven't we seen more three wheeled vehicles made for adults, who are capable of spending way more money on ridiculous things?

"The i-unit: Looking like the future has never been this not worth it."

The i-REAL was slated for sale this year. As these products demonstrate, Toyota is gallantly ignoring all of the handicap ramps, chair lifts, curb lips and parking spaces in the world to operate under the assumption that motorized chairs are both practical and ideal.

Unfortunately for Toyota, the i-REAL has virtually no selling points. It's, what, a more comfortable Segway? A slow motorcycle that won't impress women? One of the only vehicles ever made that offers zero frontal protection for the driver?

"The i-Swing: You could probably pick up a very specific type of chick in this."

We're not engineers over here, but we're going to go out on a limb and say that taking a corner with just one wheel to balance all the weight on the front of your car ups the likelihood of tipping over and rolling down the street from "possible" to "guaranteed." And we're thinking the odds get worse the faster you go. Basically you can only drive the Robin slowly and in a straight line, so it's best not to purchase one unless all of your errands are directly in front of you and are never an emergency.

Another noteworthy attempt is the Sinclair C5, which we have to give credit to for sticking more closely to the classic tricycle in design.The Sinclair is best described by the Sinclair C5: The Site for Sinclair C5 Enthusiasts Worldwide, which states, "The Sinclair C5 was a commercial disaster." This is the first line on the group's website after the name of the website itself. We can't imagine why.

Well, there's the fact that your body is exposed and that your head winds up right around the area where the grill of an SUV would be, so if you forget to check your blind spot and merge into a Chevy Suburban your skull might be torn from your shoulders. But other than that...

What isn't disappointing is the dynasphere, a giant hamster ball they tried to develop back in the 30s.
Understandably, this never took off -- the automobiles being manufactured at the same time were way more practical and functional and didn't require you to lean out the side like Ace Ventura to make a sharp turn, so the dynasphere lost out like Beta to VHS. Oh, what could have been.

Here's the Audi Snook, a state-of-the-art unicycle most likely invented by Dr. Wiley.

That is a legitimate concept from Audi that's actually won an award, although so far none are in production. We're sure it has some kind of complex balancing system on board and that a bunch of children can't just come up and tip you over at a stop light. But even then, a collision between two Snooks would be hilarious.

Way cooler looking is the Unocycle.

Sadly, it has only one button and no throttle or brakes. In fact, it works just like a Segway, so although it looks like it can go fast, it maxes out at about 15 mph. And yes, you do look more ridiculous going slow when you're on a vehicle that looks like it was designed for death racing in the year 2050.

The railplane was, in essence, a monorail powered by propellers. See, back in the 1930s, a plane was the fastest vehicle around, and all of them had propellers. By that token, someone figured that if you put a propeller on a train, it would go faster, bravely ignoring the whole weight distribution thing involved with aeronautical engineering. The idea was to build rails above regular train tracks so the railplane could travel over top of the standard steam-powered locomotives.

The other problem was that the railplane didn't actually go faster at all, and in fact was pretty goddamn slow. Also, the steam generated by the trains running underneath it would make it shake around like a Yahtzee cup. This isn't even mentioning the safety hazard of having a large four-bladed propeller come roaring through a crowded platform. The project went bankrupt in 1937.