Prius 10th Anniversary

Toyota is celebrating ten years of smug Prius owners in the UK by launching a 10th Anniversary special edition.

Based on the range-topping T Spirit version, the 10th Anniversary gets 17” smoked-finish alloy wheels, dark-tinted privacy glass and front, rear and side skirts. A sporty look, but still definitely not a sporty car.



Paint choice is White Pearl or Astral Black, while the interior is finished in black leather upholstery embossed with the 10th Anniversary logo.



The Prius 10th Anniversary will be limited to 1,000 examples, and is available to order from UK Toyota dealers now. Its on the road price has been confirmed at £26,150, including VAT at 20% (which seems to imply that deliveries won’t start until January 2011 at the earliest, as that’s when VAT increases from 17.5%).



Based on today’s prices adjusted for 20% VAT, a Prius T Spirit specified with leather seats, privacy glass and metallic paint from the options list would cost around £26,230. So, by comparison, the special edition isn’t bad value, especially if body kits and fancy alloys are your thing.

SMMT Electric Car Guide

The UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has published an Electric Car Guide.



Aimed at anyone thinking of going electric, it sets out to answer all the questions that potential customers are bound to have.



One sure uncertainty will be the financial aspects of electric car ownership, and so the guide includes some theoretical running cost estimations. These compare a non-specific, typical, mid-size diesel car against a purely electric model.



Although the electric car comes out with marginally better cost per mile figures after three years of ownership, the calculations suppose that a car powered by electricity will have a similar residual value to one run on diesel. The SMMT freely admits that that is a big assumption though, simply because nobody yet knows what the depreciation characteristics will be.



Nevertheless, with the OLEV Plug-in Car Grant (which will cover up to 25% of a qualifying vehicle’s price, to a maximum of £5,000) due to be offered from January 2011, the SMMT’s timing couldn’t be better.



The Electric Car Guide is now available free via the SMMT website, which can be accessed by clicking here.



Related posts:

Electric bikes ignored?

Electric car grants saved

The future's electric

Is Demi Lovato Dating Justin Bieber? What Happened To Demi’s Twitter Page?

Demi Lovato has been romantically linked with a number of people including Trace Cyrus and Joe Jonas, but now Demi is taking a chance with a younger man, 16 year old Justin Bieber.


Could this be a match made in heaven? A source told Life & Style, “She’s not shy about talking about their relationship. Demi said Justin was very mature for his age.”

The source continued, “She was shocked at what a good kisser he was.”

Despite rumors of a relationship with Justin Bieber, Lovato, 18, recently twitted that she was engaged and quickly retracted the rumor, saying it was just a ‘joke.’ Now her Twitter page – @ddlovato – has went blank and gives off the error message Sorry! That Page Doesn’t Exist.. Some people think that her Twitter page was hacked, while others believe it was her choice to quit the social networking website.

What are your thoughts on Demi Lovatos’s love connection with Justin Bieber and her missing Twitter page? Do you think she’s abandoned the internet to pursue a secret love with Justin Bieber?

Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never" Teaser Trailer on FOX

In order to draw a younger crowd to Game 3 of the World Series this Saturday, a sneak peak of Justin Bieber's video “Never Say Never” will air on Fox.

Just before the San Francisco Giants take on the Texas Rangers, a video that the “Baby” singer filmed while wearing both teams’ gear will make its debut.

Aside from the Biebs’ video, Kelly Clarkson will sing the national anthem while Ryan Seacrest and Randy Jackson will announce the winners of the World Series of Costumes photo contest.

In other news, it is being reported that Justin Bieber is one of the hottest Halloween costumes this year.

Justin Bieber hints at Chris Brown collaboration…

Last night, Twitter was buzzing after teen heart throb Justin Bieber hinted that he is set to release a new single which will feature R&B star Chris Brown…

“Kinda hyped right now” he writes “For a new single, teamed up with one of my friends and an artist I used to sing covers of on Youtube. BIG RECORD. SMASH!!” (Source). Shortly after tweeting that message he posted a clip of himself before hitting the big time singing Chris’s hit song ‘With You’. I think my 17-year-old sister is going to have a heart attack. She loves them both.

Toya's World

Justin and Jaden is all Fancy~

Justin Bieber at Moorpark High School football game with the Smiths and Selena Gomez

I am wondering... What were they doing there? For who's game?

Or was it just for fun that they go to a high school football game?

Credit to @BieberSoCal

Caitlin Beadles Driving Justin Bieber's Range Rover

I think this was taken the same day as this..

NEVER. SAY. NEVER.

Justin Bieber romantically linked to Demi Lovato

Rumors are hot that pop singer Justin Bieber and Disney star Demi Lavato have hooked up. While it's unlikely that this rumor is true it would make sense that the two would be interested in each other since they have a lot in common with their careers.

Life and Style magazine is reporting that Justin Bieber recently and secretly hooked up with Lovato and that they shared a few kisses. For all the girls out there wondering what it would be like to kiss Bieber. Lovato is reported as saying that Bieber is an “excellent” kisser.

The source that is close to both Bieber and Lovato said that Demi thought Justin was “mature for his age” and they said she was “shocked” to learn that he was an excellent kisser.

While Justin hasn’t responded to the rumors, Demi’s Twitter account has been taken down. Wonder if the rumored hook up is related to the missing Twitter account?

examiner

Justin Bieber at MEGAMIND Movie Premiere

Photos: JustJaredJr

'EMPIRE' ! 'EMPIRE' ! .... MARIO PRAZ "House of Life "

In 1934 he went to live at the Ricci Palace, in the via Giulia. Then, that particular meander of baroque Rome lived tranquilly in a city of provinces. And the book, with a title as suggestive as The House of Life, tells the story of how that gloomy Roman palace, aged but noble, became filled with beautiful things, objects of the past found in European antiques markets. Empire-style furniture and small artefacts that the history of art with a capital 'A' considered simply to be 'art mineur' or at the very most decorative art. And there he spent his days in that over-refined setting, surrounded by trinkets, a little bit beyond life itself, like the reflected images of the Empire-style mirrors which decorated his house, and which the writer loved so much. They are, said Praz talking of the mirrors, like the glass of an aquarium which separates our own state from another, populated by silent creatures. Happy in his shipwreck - melancholy is the joy of being sad, said Victor Hugo - his life was blighted by the thought that true happiness was to be found elsewhere, in places never visited or seen, and for which he felt a profound nostalgia. The House of Life was a finalist for the 1958 Strega Prize, awarded to the prince of Lampedusa for The Leopard - a novel which was also made into a film by Luchino Visconti, with Burt Lancaster playing the part of a ruined aristocrat who the old professor in Gruppo di famigita in un inferno would later remind us of. This coincidence in the same literary event signified the meeting of two voices which belonged to the time of reflection during the postwar period, the moral landscape of Europe having changed, where writing seemed to be the only way to immortalize the old ways. The Majorcan writer Llorenç Villalonga, soul brother to the Sicilian Prince, was also have been tuned in to that time. Remember that what The Leopard and Beam, two books published simultaneously, have in common is the aristocratic decadence of two Mediterranean islands. To read any of these three authors is to return to a serene, balanced style of writing, that is to say neoclassical, which exudes clear nostalgia for the past, a lack of faith in the present, and curiosity for the future. It could be said that they lived convinced that the only paradise was paradise lost.

DANIEL CID MORAGAS



Mario Praz Memorial House
Museo Mario Praz
Palazzo Primoli
Via Zanardelli, 1

This museum stores over 1,200 objects dating from the late 18th and mid 19th centuries that were owned by the collector Mario Praz, as described in his book La Casa della Vita ("The House of Life").
Open Tuesday through Sunday 9am-1pm and 2:30-6:30pm
Guided tours every hour
Closed on Mondays

On the top floor of the Palazzo Primoli—the same building (separate entrance) that houses the Museo Napoleonico—is one of Rome's most unusual museums. As if in amber, the apartment in which the famous Italian essayist Mario Praz lived is preserved intact, decorated with a lifetime's accumulation of delightful baroque and Neoclassical art and antiques arranged and rearranged to create symmetries that take the visitor by surprise like the best trompe d'oeil. As author of The Romantic Sensibility and A History of Interior Decoration, Praz was fabled for his taste for the arcane and the bizarre; here his reputation for the same lives on. The apartment, prettily done up in Empire style, can only be seen on group tours. (fodor's)

Challenger’s new engines

Going against the grain of downsizing, Dodge has revealed that the Challenger SRT8 will be getting a bigger Hemi V8 for 2011.



And, just so everyone knows, it’ll be known as the SRT8 392 - a reference to the engine’s capacity in cubic inches, which equates to 6.4 litres.

The new engine boasts 470 bhp (350 kW / 476 PS) and 637 Nm (470 lb/ft) of torque which, compared to the 6.1 litre Hemi that it replaces, is a useful increase of 45 bhp (33 kW / 45 PS) and 67 Nm (50 lb/ft). The newer model will be identifiable by its modified front spoiler and larger splitter, while underneath the suspension has been tweaked to cope with the extra grunt.



To celebrate the new arrival, the first 1,492 SRT8 392s off the line will be Inaugural Edition models which have 20” SRT wheels and ‘392 Hemi’ badges. Colour choice is Bright White Clear Coat with Viper Blue stripes or Deep Water Blue with Stone White stripes, both of which come with a Pearl White leather interior that features blue stitching.



The 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 is scheduled to arrive in dealers during the fourth quarter of 2010.



It’s not just the Hemi that’s been revised, though. The V6 models are set to get the new Pentastar engine that was first introduced in the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It’ll also be seen in the Dodge Charger, Avenger, Durango and Journey, as well as the Chrysler Town and Country, 200 and 300.



Using one engine across so many models is all about manufacturing efficiency and cost saving. Incredibly, the Pentastar will eventually replace seven legacy V6 engines, and it’s expected that it’ll be found in a third of all Chrysler Group vehicles built.



Power and torque will be tuned for specific applications, and in the 2011 Challenger it’ll break the 300 bhp barrier. 305 bhp (227 kW / 309 PS) to be exact, which is a big increase versus the 250 bhp (186 kW / 253 PS) that today’s car has. Torque is also up, from 338 Nm (250 lb/ft) to 363 Nm (268 lb/ft).

S 1000 RR HP Race Parts

2010 has been a successful season for racers campaigning the BMW S 1000 RR.



For instance, Italian rider Ayrton Badovini completely dominated the 2010 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, winning nine out of the ten rounds. Meanwhile, in the UK Steve Brogan secured the Mirror.co.uk British Superbike EVO Championship and Jon Kirkham took the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship title.

Drawing on the experience gained in competition, BMW has now developed a range of High Performance Race Parts for the S 1000 RR that’s aimed at race teams and track day fanatics alike.



Included in the HP Race Power Kit are a replacement ECU and a titanium and carbon fibre Akrapovic exhaust system, which impressively weighs 6.8 kg less than the standard item.

Those components raise power from 190 bhp (142 kW / 193 hp) to 197 bhp (147 kW / 199 PS), while torque increases from 112 Nm to 120 Nm. Not dramatic, but the important 5,000 to 9,000 rpm midrange is said to be significantly improved.



After the new ECU has been installed, the revised mapping means that full power is available across all four engine management modes (‘Rain’, ‘Sport’, ‘Race’ and ‘Slick’). Instead, the modes alter the electronic rider aids with the Race ABS reducing input and the Dynamic Traction Control allowing full power at greater lean angles as the modes move from ‘Rain’ through to ‘Slick’.

To help with track riding, engine braking on the overrun is reduced to give a more balanced entry into corners, while a pit lane speed limiter is activated when the starter button is held down in first gear.



The HP Race Power Kit can be fitted by S 1000 RR owners but, interestingly, it has to be checked and activated by a BMW Motorrad dealer. Unfortunately, the kit isn’t road legal.



For those riders who like to keep their bike looking neat on the track after the indicators, number plate holder and mirrors have all been taken off, the HP Race Cover Kit is the answer. As the name implies, it includes two covers for the mirrors, two covers for the front direction indicators and a cover for the underside of the tail section.

Premiere on Fox: Justin Bieber's New Video

Justin Bieber's new music video will premiere on FOXthis weekend.

The video is for a special acoustic version of his hit single "Never Say Never" off his upcoming album due out at the end of November. The premiere will happen during FOX's pregame show for Game 3 of the World Series of Baseball, which begins at 3:30 p.m. this Saturday, October 30.

The video was shot at Angels Stadium and features Bieber wearing athletic gear representing both teams in the World Series: the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers.

Bieber will not be the only pop star at the game this Saturday. Texas native and American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, will perform the National Anthem before the game. Martha Plimpton, star of FOX's Raising Hope, will be singing God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch.

FOX will also be announcing the winner of their World Series of Costumes, a competition in which viewers sent in photographs for consideration.

Justin Bieber to Embarrass Major League Baseball

In 2007 the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez announced he was opting out of his contract during Game 4 of the World Series, and a lot of people got mad that A-Rod was taking attention away from baseball. Well, that particular contentious incident will seem like a mere trifle compared to what's going down Saturday: Before Game 3 between the Giants and Rangers, during Fox's preshow, Justin Bieber will be premiering his music video for "Never Say Never." (The video was shot at Angels Stadium, and in it Bieber "sports gear from both teams.") But here's the problem: Once that level of advanced Bieber entertainment is introduced to impressionable baseball viewers, will anyone even bother sticking around to watch the inevitable let-down of a game? Expect all-time World Series ratings lows, MLB.