Coolest car I've seen in years: Toyota ME.We Concept

Once in a while, there is a car that makes you want what you really don't need.
This is it.

To me, this is the best concept I have seen in years. A real 'concept". Offering not only a new design but also new ideas.
Design in Europe by Toyota's local design studio in partnership with creative designer Jean Marie Massaud.
It is all electric with a motor for each wheel. So it can be 2 or 4 wheel drive.


I'm not holding my breath, but this would be a huge thing for Toyota if they decided to build something close.
It could but Scion back on track....

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Honda Jade

 There's a decent looking Honda. After all the crap we've seen for the past few days, this is pretty refreshing.
Not sure what it is based on, but it looks like it could make a nice addition to the US Civic line.
Unfortunately, the jade is for China only. At least for now.

This is the Concept S from last year. The Jade is the production version of this.
And for once, the production model looks 100 times better than this horrific concept.

So there might be hope for some of the concepts we've seen this year after all...

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Toyota Yudong Shuangquing 2

This is one of the concepts Toyota is showing this week in China.
But, besides the concept-like front end, this looks like a production car.
In fact, it looks like the next Corolla. Similar to some of the spy pix we saw a few weeks ago.

I think this would make a decent Corolla in the US.
I don't expect Toyota's next compact to look futuristic.
But the front end has a bit of "new Avalon" in it. And the rest is just fine.

What do you think?

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The Brilliant Bus

Courtesy of the Palm Beach Post

Well this is something different.  We have a bus.  What’s so special about a bus?  This bus is a unique creation by retired Estella Pyfrom.  So a retired woman purchased a bus; what’s the big deal?  Well, how are you reading this: your phone, your computer, or a tablet, right?  This is something many people, especially children, do not have access to.  A simple desktop computer is something that a lot of us take for granted.

Estella Pyfrom realized this and with her retirement money spent an initial $450,000 on “Miss Estella’s Brilliant Bus”.  The bus was fitted with 17 computers loaded with educational software.  The bus tours around the Palm Beach area in Florida, allowing children without access to a computer get their hands on one.

She does have certain rules like no gum and no going on Facebook.  She has the stations set up to follow state mandated curriculums.  Children are only allow to progress to the next level of education on her bus if they get a 90% or higher on each level.  Now those are some standards! 

She does not just cater toward children though.  She also aids the parents of the children with helping them with writing a resume, finding affordable housing, and searching for jobs.  If that’s not enough, Pyfrom has also partnered with a nonprofit organization in the community to help provide meals to 3,000 residents each month!

Estella Pvfrom Courtesy of the Palm Beach Post

The total running cost is reaching almost 1 million dollars to maintain and modify the bus.  However, Pyfrom is not looking for an easy retirement. 

"I'm not tired yet. And I don't think I'm going to get tired," she said.  "I'm constantly charged up.  I look at the faces of the children and I get energized."

Now that’s a pretty bold statement; one that I can personally respect.  So many people are in a rush to help the children in Africa and other less fortunate areas, and while I will say there is nothing wrong with that, charity and goodwill should start from home.  There are millions of families here in the United States that can use our help.  Estella Pyfrom is helping with this amazing idea.

If you would like to learn more, or if you would like to help Estella Pyfrom continue this dream, visit Miss Estella’s Brilliant Bus website here!

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The Best Driving Video Games (That I have Played)

Two things that I need to get out of the way: one is that these are games that I have played.  I won’t judge games that I have not played for better or worse, as that’s not fair.  Second, these games are DRIVING games, and not games that are specifically RACING games.  So for all of you Gran Turismo fans wondering why your games are not listed, please see the two reasons above.  The following games are in no particular order:

Driver (1999)

Courtesy of Pwned

Come on, it’s in the name!  I remember playing this game as a little kid.  You are the wheelman, the mysterious undercover cop trying to chase down the evil Jericho.  That first level in the parking garage was a pain in the you-know-what!  I just hated hearing “hey man, watch the paint”, and “OK, Man! OK! OK! OK!”  These were good times.  Aside from that, this game was something that I had never played before at the time.  It was the first real open world driving game for me.  Sure it had limitations, and the cars could be destroyed by just pushing another car, but it was fun!

Driver 2 was fun to get out of cars, and Driv3r was fun, yet too much like Grand Theft auto, but when I first saw that AMAZING live action trailerfor Driver San Francisco based off of that first level of the first game, I was hooked.   This leads me to…

Driver San Francisco (2011)

Courtesy of The Controller Online

Okay, I will admit that the story mode was a little boring and WAY too easy, the music choice could have been better, and not all the engine sounds were accurate.  You know what?  Who cares!  It’s the first game that features both of my family vehicles: an S197 V6 Mustang (even though mine is not a convertible), and a last generation Chevy Blazer (and mine is not a two door)!  The graphics are well done, and the driving physics are the BEST that I have experienced in any game.  You can feel the loose and scary suspension of the Dodge Monaco, and you can turn the Lamborghini Murcielago on a dime at over 200 miles per hour.  A dirt road is sketchy, and the pavement begs for burning rubber.

The dialogue you experience when you use willpower to change into a car that has a passenger was well written.  The comedic value was appreciated.  The assortment of cars is quite respectable, and the side missions were quite fun.  As mentioned, it was very fast and easy to complete to 100%.  However, it has good playability even after 100% in my opinion, because the driving is so fun.  It has officially become my time killing game.  You know; that game where you can’t dedicate time to online matches of Call of Duty, but you have a few minutes before having to go somewhere.  That is a coveted position for a game of mine to hold.

Test Drive Unlimited 2 [TDU2] (2010)

Courtesy of Rack of Ammo

Beautiful, enormous, endless playability, customizable, dynamic, and worst acting/dialogue ever.  If you have not played this game, you are missing out.  This game is open world to the max.  You can drive ANYWHERE.  The graphics are simply gorgeous.  I’ll sometimes find myself driving the streets of Hawaii or Ibiza to the end of a cliff, just so I can watch the virtual sunset.  Then some jerk comes along and slams into my car knocking me into the water.  Yes, this game will not win any awards with its killer lines like, “Thank you.  I couldn’t have done it without you”, but the fact that to finish the game, it will take you close to an hour to drive around Hawaii as fast as you can is pretty damn awesome!

I can’t comment on the music, because after I realized the selection was terrible, I always turned off the radio.  I like the little things the game offers such as the cars getting dirty.  I still cannot say enough about the graphics though.  The lighting is superb as the sun sets, with rain on the ground, and everywhere else.  You can customize your character, but I prefer making the ’69 Dodge Charger look like the General Lee.  That took a LONG time to pull off.  The houses/garages are gorgeous as well, and I’m too cheap to buy the casino content, so I can’t comment on that.  Still, it’s great to drive around and meet some people who just enjoy the game as much as you do.

Honorable Mentions

In the event to keep this blog post at a decent length, I will just give the rest honorable mentions:

For LA Noir, I think it was pretty interesting to drive around in some iconic cars from our past.  While the physics and other aspects were not the greatest, the graphics and wide array of cars from the 30’s and 40’s with complete drivability was quite fun!

Picture Courtesy of Collider

It is very common for a game such as a first person shooter to throw in a driving level.  Usually they suck beyond belief.  The graphics are usually terrible, and the streets/settings look fake.  MOH Warfighter blew me away with the few driving parts it had.  The settings looked very real, the handling was surprisingly good, and the audio was stellar.  Great job all around.

Picture Courtesy of FPS General

Twisted Metal 2?  Come on; it’s a demolition derby style game that allows you to shoot rockets and other projectiles at your competition, and it’s for the original PlayStation.  Can it get much better?  Only if you could jump off the Eiffel Tower.  Oh, wait.  You can.

 Picture Courtesy of Wikipedia

There are tons of other games like Smuggler’s Run, RoadKill, Burnout Paradise, and more, but these are just some of the games that I think are the best driving (not racing) games out of the ones that I have played.  Have any other games in mind?  Let me know in the comments below! 

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Chrome Wrap: The Average Joe’s Alternative to an Oil Sheikh’s Daily Driver

It’s simple: girls like diamonds, and guys like chrome.  Any guy who loves his car, bike or truck, will usually try to get a tasteful amount of chrome accents on it when the budget allows.  What one would commonly see is wheels, exhaust, interior trim, engine dress-up pieces, and the like.  But what about having a chrome car?  Well unless you own an oil empire in Saudi Arabia, you may have to settle for chrome wrap.

Some of you may be asking, “What is a wrap?”  For those who are new to this, I’ll explain.  It’s pretty much what it sounds.  A large sheet (or precut pieces of vinyl) is placed over a car.  It’s as simple as that.  Doing this will give the car a completely new look such as changing the car’s color, adding graphics, or both.  Take a look at this black Mustang being turned blue!

Courtesy of Auto Blog

So now what about chrome wrapping?  Well, it’s the same concept as above, but now the “color” is chrome.  This will certainly be a head turner.  For an example, take a look at this video from a company that seems to have three names (click here for their website to see what I mean):

Any car modification in my mind comes down to “what’s the price?”  A shop in the Orlando, Florida area wrapped a 2013 Infinity G37 Coupe for about $8000.  That’s a lot of money to someone like me, and probably to most of the people reading this.  Most typical vinyl wraps can cost anywhere from $2000 to $4000 or more.  Is an extra $4000 really worth getting your car to look like a mirror?  That depends on the person with the car and wallet. 

All I have to say, is you better have a garage to keep that thing in, because that would be a (insert chosen word) to clean.

Courtesy of AUSmotive

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Acura RLX (2014)

 

Oke Car | Acura RLX (2014) | The RLX 2014 together with a new direct-injection 3.5-liter SOHC i-VTEC ® V-6 engine with an engine capacity SPORT sequential 6-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. For the tour excellent product RLX new 3.5-liter engine of 90 percent of the maximum torque over a wide speed range from 2,000 rpm to 6,600 rpm. The 3.5-liter engine complies with the strict ULEV-2 rated California Air Resources Board (CARB) emissions. 2014, RLX is larger than its predecessor RL in a series of important dimensions, including the width, the length and the front and rear. The pass to 112.2 centimeters, two centimeters longer than its predecessor, RL, offers more rear cabin space and improve the quality of leadership in the process. 74.4 cm wide, RLX Acura too. Significant 1.7 inches wider than the previous model RL Static and dynamic rigidity and rear lateral stiffness has greatly improved. The strength and stiffness in key areas to increase without increasing the weight, and 55 percent of the body piece of high strength steel RLX occurs. Hot forging of high-strength steel is used in key areas to improve the performance of impact resistance.

The 2014 Acura RLX Jewel Eye ™ offers LED headlights of the first world, excellent light distribution and excellent for the entire range of street lighting and the properties of light. The LED rear lights lighting RLX periphery that is effective and very special. The accuracy of the series steering wheel (AWS-P) RLX system continuously monitors and calculates the correct amount of traction independent (convergence angle), the. Before the new Acura RLX double wishbone, lower maneuverability of double articulation around a larger driver safety maneuverability of the fork and the confidence and sophistication. Available Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) allows the driver to the desired speed and extent of the distance behind a vehicle detected before selecting imagine why. When the vehicle is detected within the scope of the system and stop RLX be terminated. When the vehicle moves forward in the direction of the front part of the vehicle to flash multi-information display symbol.

RLX efficient vehicle stability ™ (VSA ®) improves vehicle stability during cornering. The RLX and RLX Brands navigation with 7-spoke alloy wheels 18x8J sound, while the level of technology, advanced audio and Krell have alloy wheels large noise reduction 19x8J. The special design reduces tire noise reducing noise of 7 dB over a range of audible frequencies. Standard three-zone climate control for comfort for passengers in the cabin. Ventilated front seats and heated rear seats able to advance the university. Rich, luxurious living place Milano leather is standard on the RLX with the technology package and higher, the degree of soil cover with leatherette seats. The focus of the new dashboard is a large, 8-inch color audio / information screen that offers a variety of useful information and access to a variety of custom features. If equipped with a navigation system, the screen combined in the same position / navigation and audio information.

The RLX comes with the new generation of Acura Link ® is based on cloud connected car equipped and offers a full range of media services, comfort and safety, including bi-directional communication and Internet-enabled devices. Superior sound quality has always been a brand Acura, and RLX, three audio systems are offered an impressive Acura / ELS ® 10-speaker sound system. Can RLX technology. Acura / ELS Premium Audio System Studio ® comes standard with an advanced powered speaker with 14 speakers and amplifiers in the last four years as one of the most respected companies in the world audio - In Advance Audio Krell and accounts, 14 - Krell speaker sets new standard for audio performance of the car. The new 2014 Acura RLX has a long list of safety technologies and standards available.

It is equipped with active safety technologies include Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) with traction control, Forward Collision Warning (FCW) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW). Passive safety systems include a new generation of advanced compatibility engineering ™ (ACE ™ IIS) body structure, two-stage, multiple-threshold front airbags, side airbags, side curtain airbags with rollover sensor, driver knee airbag, front head restraints and front seatbelts with pretensioners and force.

Automotive ATOZY

Automotive ATOZY

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