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MINI’s Mounting Renewed Attack on Rally Car Circuit

July 30, 2010 By lizzie Leave a Comment

The latest addition to the growing MINI lineup, their micro crossover, the Countryman, has already attracted interest as the shortest length all-wheel drive automobile to be sold in North America. In a move that will no doubt gain more curiosity, the 2011 MINI Countryman will be the basis a new motorsport revival. Harking back to the 1960s when the original Mini (note the different letter casing in distinguishing between the old and new car), the small British car settled into victory lane for the Monte Carlo Rally 3 times within a 4-year span.

About to become a showcase vehicle in the FIA’s WRC (World Rally Championship) Super 2000 class, the new WRC category devotes itself as championing cars that are more production-based resulting in a more affordable medium for drivers to compete on the world rally stage. Featuring a MINI’s factory ALL4 all-wheel drive system, MINI Countryman is almost guaranteed to be the perfect counter against the Volkswagen Polo and Opel Corsa.

Powered by a MINI Cooper S-sourced 1.6 liter gasoline engine, turbocharging and direct injection will allow 184 brake horsepower to be generated coordinated with variable valve management technology which mirrors the BMW Valvetronic system. This engine power is field to the rally car’s drive wheels using a spec-gearbox in accordance to the FIA rules.

Planning a MINI rally car effort since last year, the BMW subsidiary gained the experience race engineering company Prodrive. Bolstering the image of British auto maker Aston Martin through world GT class competition prior to Prodrive’s owner David Richards buying the prestige brand, Richard’s company was also instrumental in aiding Subaru’s popular WRC efforts which is highlighted by the 3-straight manufacturer championships from 1995 to 1997.

While this sighted as a return to world rally competition by the company now known as MINI, the entrance of the Countryman into FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship, the MINI (or Mini) name in he series is not the only sense of nostalgia. MINI’s German parent company BMW have certainly not forgotten about their rallying history which included the BMW 2002 in the 1970s and a BMW M3 victory in the 1987 Corsica Rally.

While MINI will compete with a factory-funded works team, the manufacturer has also indicated that customer or privateer efforts are going to have a chance to race this race-prepped Countryman. Showing off their new Countryman vehicle in pro racing trim, MINI will be entering the specialized vehicle into select 2011 FIA World Rally Championship event before graduating to a full season schedule for 2012.

Seeking victory in one of the most grueling motorsports, mastering the rocks and sailing over snow will be no small order for the MINI Countryman. However, history has taught us that strength is not always a physical quality.

Information and photo source: BMW & MINI

MINI’s Mounting Renewed Attack on Rally Car Circuit

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Filed Under: Autos, Life & Style Tagged With: Bmw Valvetronic, Brake Horsepower, British Auto, Car Effort, Class Competition, Drive Wheels, Gasoline Engine, Mini Cooper S, Mini Countryman, Monte Carlo Rally, Race Engineering, Rally Car, Rally Championship, Rally Competition, Rally Stage, Subaru Wrc, Victory Lane, Volkswagen Polo, World Rally Championship, Wrc Rally

Cadillac CTS-V Coupe: Eating Your Way To A Burnout [Jalopnik Reviews]

July 29, 2010 By lizzie Leave a Comment

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Click here to read Cadillac CTS-V Coupe: Eating Your Way To A Burnout

America is many things: Freedom. Food. Quality. The freedom to eat food lacking in quality. And Cadillacs. I took a 556-hp, rear-wheel-drive Cadillac into fast-food America, stuffing myself silly in search of truth and excess. This is what I found. More »

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Filed Under: Autos, Life & Style Tagged With: Burnout, Cadillac, Cadillac Cts, Cadillac Cts V, Cadillacs, Fast Food America, Food Quality, Freedom Food, Hp, Many Things, Rear Wheel Drive, Source Article, Truth, View Source, Wheel

Porsche Greenlights the 918 Spyder Supercar

July 28, 2010 By lizzie Leave a Comment

Porsche 918 Spyder

Well that was quick. It was only a few months ago that Porsche debuted their 918 Spyder Concept at the Geneva Motor Show, and they’ve already confirmed the car for production. The Porsche 918 Spyder is a plug-in electric supercar that Porsche says will be getting a V8 engine good for around 500 horsepower, along with three electric motors, increasing output by about 215 hp. The part that’s hard to believe: a claimed 78+ MPG.

Given, it’s a plug-in hybrid, meaning the gasoline engines don’t have the burden of charging the batteries, but the MPG numbers here are misleading. They’re calculated on a course designed for standard gasoline engines, and don’t take a different powertrain into consideration. I’m sure we’ll get more details on that closer to production.

Regardless, the 918 Spyder is Porsche’s next Carrera GT – an over-the-top supercar meant for a wealthy few. We should hear more about the car in the next few months.

Porsche Greenlights the 918 Spyder Supercar

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Filed Under: Autos, Life & Style Tagged With: Boxster, Carrera Gt, Charging Batteries, Gasoline Engines, Geneva Motor Show, Horsepower, Hp, Hp Part, Mpg, Porsche, Porsche Boxster, Porsche Spyder, Powertrain, Source Article, Sportscars, Spyder, Supercar, V8 Engine, View Source, World Debut

School’s Out! You Failed!

July 28, 2010 By lizzie Leave a Comment

When it comes to restaurant experiences, it takes a lot to please me, but it also takes a lot to irk me. And Toronto’s School Bakery and Café just managed to annoy me.

I hate to be a mean person, but this one deserves an F mark (for fail, fail, fail)! I mean, the restaurant’s concept is cute enough. Give people a place they can relate to; something that feels familiar – like a school. It works that the kitchen and bakery looks like a cafeteria. And that the bar is designed like a library (for oenophiles) is quite clever. A plethora of other school-related details show us that gimmicks could sometimes work: the wall clocks frozen at 3:30, the clipboard menus, and even apples on each table.

How do I justify the failing grade when others like blogger Mardi from Eat, Live, Travel, Write had such an excellent experience? Well, to start, I brought my infant daughter along and placed her and the car seat beside me on a banquette adjacent to the front patio. Prime location, I deduced, judging from the waitstaff scurrying back and forth immediately on the path beside my table. But even though the carved path was right there, they have all managed to ignore me as if I were the Invisible (Wo)Man. I kid you not, for almost one hour, they ignored me. My table remained empty, my glass unfilled. Despite my efforts to make eye contact, the wait staff merely walked past me with their eyes looking down (because I’m a glutton for punishment, I didn’t want to flag anyone down – I wanted to see if they made the first move). This situation totally baffled me, as I had – by then – a crying baby, but we were ignored yet again. Anyway, how could they have heard us above the din that was playing in the background?

So, I stood up and left – a class walkout! True, I was disappointed that I didn’t get to try their Lime-Cervesa Battered Halibut with Chili Pepper Fries, nor their Baja Fish Tacos with Avocado Chipotle Mayonesa, nor the towering Amigo Burger. I was so pissed, but not nearly enough to stop me from ordering some over-the-counter pastries on my way out. After all, everyone deserves a second chance.

Paying for bakery sweets here is based on an honour system: order your treats, then walk over to the other end to tell the cashier what you got and pay for it. This time, no one ignored a cash-wielding customer – good for them!

By now, the whole thing had left a bitter taste in my mouth, and it was hard for me to enjoy my take-home stuff. The popovers – I got one with spinach and the other with bacon and cheese – were dry, dull, and lifeless.

From left to right: apple cinnamon dough fritter, apple mini-cake, and lemon mini-cake were all nicely sweet and freshly made, but memories of bad service at School have left me with sour feelings as well.

Mr. Brad Moore, what’s going on? People, this is the one time I will recommend you to skip School!

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Filed Under: Life & Style, Travel Tagged With: Avocado, Baja Fish Tacos, Banquette, Blogger, Chili Pepper, Crying Baby, Eye Contact, First Move, Gimmicks, Glutton For Punishment, Halibut, Infant Daughter, Live Travel, Mayonesa, Oenophiles, Plethora, Prime Location, Restaurant Experiences, Waitstaff, Walkout

Tomato and Einkorn Wheat (or Spelt) Salad

July 28, 2010 By lizzie Leave a Comment

Tomato and Einkorn Wheat Salad

My weekday lunches revolve around salads like this one, built on grains, fresh vegetables, some sort of protein element, and fresh herbs. I prepare a few servings at a time, and that conveniently takes care of lunch for the next couple of days.

I do try to mix things up so as not eat the same thing all the time, but I admit I’ve become a little fixated on this particular one lately: it is full of flavor, refreshing and filling, with a satisfying mix of textures from the fleshy tomatoes and the chewy grain.

The cereal I am using is petit épeautre (literally, small spelt), an ancient cousin of spelt that goes by the Latin name Triticum monococcum or the common English name einkorn wheat.

Petit épeautre was one of the first cereals cultivated for food*; it is a nutritious grain that thrives on arid, mountainous grounds where little else will grow. The one I buy, an organic petit épeautre de Haute Provence grown in the Southeast of France, is said to have been grown unchanged — without cross-breeding that is — in the area for 9,000 years**. It is protected by a geographical indication, and it hopped aboard the Slow Food Ark of Taste a few years ago.

Einkorn wheat has long been displaced by higher-yield crops, but it is regaining a little popularity in France and elsewhere, as conscious eaters try not to rely so heavily on common wheat, and also because it has been suggested that the grain, although not gluten-free, might be safe for gluten-intolerant patients. (I’ll hasten to note that more research is needed and it is too early to be taking any risks, but these initial findings are hopeful.)

Einkorn wheat is worth seeking out, but if you can’t find it, feel free to substitute spelt (Triticum spelta) or emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum, a.k.a. farro) here, depending on what’s available locally.

While the tomatoes and petit épeautre are permanent fixtures of this salad, the third wheel varies according to what’s on hand: I like it with firm tofu, as pictured, but it is also very good — perhaps better — with feta or mozzarella. You’ll also note that I add a touch of ground cinnamon to the seasoning mix: it is too subtle to be identified as such, but I like the spicy tickle it brings.

* See Alternative Wheat Cereals as Food Grains, G.F. Stallknecht, K.M. Gilbertson, and J.E. Ranney, 1996.

** If you understand French, I recommend reading this interview with einkorn wheat producer Etienne Mabille.

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Filed Under: Foods & Delicacies, Life & Style Tagged With: Cereal, Cereals, Common Wheat, Couple Of Days, Crops, Cross Breeding, Einkorn Wheat, Farro, Fresh Herbs, Geographical Indication, Grains, Initial Findings, Latin Name, Nutritious Grain, Provence, Salads, Slow Food, Triticum Dicoccum, Triticum Spelta, Weekday

Chevy Taking Orders for the Volt – Pricing Announced

July 28, 2010 By lizzie Leave a Comment

Chevy Volt

The long-awaited and much-hyped Chevy Volt electric car is finally on Chevy’s purchase orders. Dealers in “select” markets are beginning to take orders for the electric car. This means if you’re close to one of Chevy’s listed dealers (the list can be found here [.doc]), you can head over to your trusted salesman and put in your order.

The Chevy Volt is called an “Extended-Range” electric car, meaning it’s a hybrid made the way they should have been made in the first place. It runs about 40 electric-only miles on a full charge (slightly higher than the average daily commute.) Once the batteries are drained, the gasoline-powered engine kicks in to recharge the batteries (not drive the wheels,) to extend the car’s drivable range another 300 miles or so. It’s a smart system – most people don’t do much more than 40 miles for “A to B” driving anyway, but when they do, they’ll have a regular gasoline engine to back them up. That’s the problem with fully electric cars right now – they couldn’t be your primary car due to a limited range and the fear of running out of juice too early with no place to charge up.

Pricing for the 2011 Chevy Volt comes in at $41,000 base price, with a federal tax credit of up to $7500, for a net starting price of $33,500. If you’d rather lease, Chevy will get you into one starting at $350/month. That pricing gets you 5 years of OnStar and a (surprisingly good) eight-year, 100,000 miles warranty on the batteries. Good luck trying to sell it after 8 years, though.

Deliveries are going to start at the end of this year. Check out the Chevy Volt website for more info and to ask any questions about the car.

Chevy Taking Orders for the Volt – Pricing Announced

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Filed Under: Autos, Life & Style Tagged With: 8 Years, Base Price, Batteries, Chevy Car, Chevy Volt, Deliveries, Drivable, Electric Car, Electric Cars, Federal Tax Credit, Four States, Gasoline Engine, Gearhead, Good Luck, Hybrid, Miles Warranty, Onstar, Smart System, Volt Electric, Wheels

NASCAR’s Jack Roush Crashes Plane In Wisconsin [Breaking]

July 28, 2010 By lizzie Leave a Comment

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Click here to read NASCAR's Jack Roush Crashes Plane In Wisconsin

NASCAR team owner and motorsport legend Jack Roush crashed his plane while landing in Wisconsin today. Roush is reportedly in serious but stable condition. His jet, a Raytheon/Beechcraft Premier 390, broke in two and appears to be a total loss. More »

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Filed Under: Autos, Life & Style Tagged With: Beechcraft, Jack Roush, Legend Jack, Motorsport, Nascar, Nascar Crashes, Raytheon, Source Article, Stable Condition, Team Owner, View Source

Two Girls, A Pesto Recipe, And A House That Is A Home

July 27, 2010 By lizzie Leave a Comment

Slowly but surely, we are getting settled in to our new house. Which got me thinking, “what makes a house a home?” All of a sudden the Burt Bacharach song comes to mind:

A chair is still a chair
Even when there’s no one sitting there
But a chair is not a house
And a house is not a home
When there’s no one there to hold you tight
And no one there you can kiss good night…

And all I can think about is how extremely lucky I am that I have my two girls to keep me sane and insane at the same time.

Like for instance, I was working on a pesto recipe for my food blog, Black Sushi. My older one wanted to help, so I assigned her to pick basil leaves off its stem and stuff them into the mortar. Normally, if I was working on this solo, I’d be done in no time. But with her around, it’s double (even triple or quadruple the time). But I do enjoy her company and I love seeing her eyes light up when she learns something new. See? Insane and sane at the same time!

Then there’s my littlest one, only 4 months old. There’s a reason God bestowed upon them chubby cherubim cheeks, soft cuddly skin, and funny little personalities. So you don’t go totally ballistic when they keep you awake at night (and day).

Our pesto turned out well in the end, even if took us longer than it normally would.

And for those who know our story, that’s how our life unfolds: it’s turning out well, even if it took us a long time to get here. I may even start travelling soon (for work)…

Our house is not a home without the deux of them…

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Filed Under: Life & Style, Travel Tagged With: 4 Months, Basil, Burt Bacharach Song, Cheeks, Cherubim, Funny, Girls House, Insane, Kiss, Long Time, Love, Mortar, Nbsp, Personalities, Pesto Recipe, Reason God, Source Article, Stuff, Sushi, Two Girls

The Hidden Treasures Auto Workers Leave In Cars [Car Culture]

July 27, 2010 By lizzie Leave a Comment

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Click here to read The Hidden Treasures Auto Workers Leave In Cars

During the bad old days of labor disputes and union misbehavior, auto workers would “accidentally” lose tools in car doors or parts behind the dashboard. Those days are over. That means workers now just legitimately lose stuff. Here’s some examples. More »

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Filed Under: Autos, Life & Style Tagged With: Auto Car, Auto Cars, Auto Workers, Bad Old Days, Car Culture, Car Doors, Car Parts, Dashboard, Hidden Treasures, Labor Disputes, Misbehavior, Source Article, Tools, View Source

Audi A7 Sportsback: Playing the Numbers Game

July 27, 2010 By lizzie Leave a Comment

When Audi officially invested into the use of alphanumeric coding through the late 1990s, the German luxury brand used only even numbers to define their North American offerings. Consisting of A4, A6, and A8 for the longest name, it could be debated this could have been a choice made in result to German rival BMW’s constant use of odd numbers for identification of their model lineup. It would make sense for Audi to avoid any confusion and stick with even numbers. However, witnessing the emergence of a new, more aggressive Audi division, they threaten to rule the count.

Apart from using odd-numbered designations, the Audis built wearing the opposing number scheme have all been lively presentations. In 2005, the Volkwagen Golf-based A3 hatchback brought Americans an under $30,000 opportunity to experience Audi’s premium attention. Last year, Audi added some additional sizzle giving German luxury car fans a personal coupe/convertible inspired by the elegance of their sedans but heightened by a punch. Shoehorning a 4.2 liter, 354 horsepower V-8 under the hood for the high-performance S5 provided even more of a reward to Audi lovers. Audi has progressed to the next odd-numbered digit for the 2011 model year denoting what could easily be a bigger and better.

Coming this fall, the German luxury car company releases the most debonair example of Audi’s odd-numbered cars, the 2011 Audi A7 Sportback.

Unmistakably, the A7 Sportback is Audi’s weapon for the growing European 4 or 5-door sports car market which includes the Mercedes-Benz CLS and BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo. Advertising itself as a five-door coupe, the Audi A7 Sportback is again another lesson to North American motorists on automotive terminology. While the commonly-accepted declaration that a coupe is identified as a two-door on this left side of the Atlantic Ocean, the true definition of a coupe as a sporty-styled car is again exploited for another four-door German offering. Foregoing the deck lid as the long rear window flows gently onto uniquely contoured LED taillights. As for forward lighting, the Audi A7 Sportback can also benefit from a LED lighting solution. Mature, expertly-positioned styling, please avoiding using the dirty word ‘hatchback’ in describing this car.

A touch over 2 inches longer than the A6 sedan, the sleek body is an assortment of high-tech steel and aluminum. Balanced for lightweight as well as high-strength, the A7 Sportback is also configured for maintaining minimal cabin noise. Just as expertly-engineered as the upper body structure, the lower ride pieces of the Audi A7 Sportback feature aluminum control arms and an optional adaptive suspension and dampening system. A variety of 18 to 20 inch wheels will be available in complimenting the graceful roll of the five-door coupe.

Promoted with two gasoline engines and two TDI powerplants, the Audi A7 Sportback can can motivated with up to 300 horsepower from the supercharged, 3 liter six-cylinder engine. It’s unclear whether one or two diesels will be offered in North America but we can look forward to Audi’s famous Quattro all-wheel drive option. Joining the Audi Quattro drive system on the A7 Sportback will be an S-tronic 7-speed gearbox.

Accomplishing the sporty roof line, the 2011 Audi A7 Sportback’s exterior design adds some benefits to the interior. The rear lift gate provides access to 18.89 cubic feet of cargo space (considerably higher than any vehicle featured in Audi’s sedan lineup). Further forward, the passenger cabin area wraps around the occupants giving everyone a top-quality sports car feel. While the A7 Sportback may respond like a sports sedan, the luxury-oriented comfort suits at least four adults. The division’s MMI (Multi Media Interface) adds to the premium interior derived from the A8 with optional Heads-up Display offered.

With only a European price announced at 51,600 Euros (a little under $67,000 US in comparison), the Audi A7 Sportback release will be another option to enjoying Quattro drive to an extreme.

Photo and Information Source: Audi USA