Ever since the original Ford Mondeo debuted in Europe in the mid-1990s, it's been highly regarded for its ride and handling qualities. The 2013 Fusion for North America now shares its underpinnings with the Mondeo and engineer Crissy Rodriguez helped fine tune its driving dynamics.
The Detroit Auto Show press conferences kick off in a few hours with Ford where they will be rolling out the 2013 Fusion midsize sedan but the story behind the new midsize challenger is live now. http://fordfusionstory.com/
It's a chopped Beetle with the same battery electric powertrain that will be coming to the Golf and Jetta in the next couple of years. Interestingly, VW seems to be following the same generally electrification philosophy as Ford. Instead of designing dedicated hybrids and EVs like Toyota or Nissan, VW and Ford) are engineering their new platforms to accommodate a variety of powertrains including gas, diesel hybrid, PHEV and BEV. Clearly prepared if battery costs come down but hedging on the probability that internal combustion will remain dominant for the foreseeable future.
We live in interesting times
#NAIAS
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Volkswagen E-Bugster Concept
Volkswagen chopped the Beetle's top and installed an electric powertrain for this 2012 Detroit auto show concept. Read about and see the E-Bugster at Car and Driver.
I've been using an iPad for the past week to test some stuff and frankly I'm not really loving it or even particularly liking it.
First and foremost, as a content creator, I find trying to type more than a sentence or two on the virtual keyboard to be utterly maddening. I would much rather have a Macbook Air for extra portability and have a real keyboard.
For ages I've heard tech journalists talk about how much smoother and more refined iOS feels and how much more responsive Apple's touch screens are. Frankly, I call BS! While the overall interface does run a bit smoother thanks to Apple tweaking it to feel faster, the screen responsiveness is decidedly disappointing. Both this iPad and the iPod Touch my wife has had for a couple of years are no better than any of the Android phones I've used. The iPad and iPod are just as prone to not reacting to touches as any other device and clearing text from a search box usually requires repeated taps of the keyboard back button as the X to clear usually doesn't react.
When combined with the hassle of trying to get media content on the device by having to rely on iTunes and it's limited format support, these hardware issues make me glad I've never put my money down on an iPad.
What may well be the first really legitimate American challenger to the BMW 3 Series has been exposed a few hours ahead of its official reveal this evening. At just 3,400 pounds, it is admirably svelte and it will be very interesting to watch how it actually performs on the road.
#NAIAS
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2013 Cadillac ATS: Suck It, Germany
General Motors has done a stellar job of bringing the Cadillac brand back from the brink of death. The Art & Science design language — now ten years old —
The old Chinese proverb/curse about living in interesting times has certainly played itself out here in Detroit over the last several years with the emphasis on the curse side.
Thankfully, we're seeing light in the tunnel these days and things are looking up from a product perspective. With the official opening of the 2012 Detroit Auto Show less than 48 hours away things are looking very interesting again in a really good way.
Unofficially, Cadillac will kick off the festivities on Sunday night with a reveal of the new ATS sports sedan that will be streamed live http://www.livestream.com/badertv
On Monday morning the focus shifts across town to Ford when it reveals the all-new Fusion. Check that out here at http://FordFusionStory.com.
#naias #cadillac #ford #fordfusionstory
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Bader TV
Bader TV on Livestream. Cadillac ATS Press Conference Coming Sunday Night at 7:30 PM – Watch live streaming Internet TV. Broadcast your own live streaming videos, like Bader TV in Widescreen HD. Live…
With NAIAS (aka the Detroit Auto Show) just a couple of days away, I've been toying with the idea of using an iPad in place of the trusty 15" Macbook Pro.
Alas, after spending some time trying to type extended pieces of text, I've come to the conclusion that a virtual keyboard on a touch screen is just not a viable way of writing more than a few words in a row. I've seen some people do it, but after more than two years of using touch screen phones and now this iPad I am not among them. That's why I continue to use a Droid 3 instead of a touch only phone. It's also why I will continue to use a laptop over a tablet for the foreseeable future.
I just wish I could afford an 11.6-inch Macbook Air.
When you think of visual effects in film and TV, the first thing that comes to mind is science fiction and fantasy epics like Lord of the Rings, Avatar and Star Wars.
You don't typically think of a show like Boardwalk Empire on HBO, which is set in prohibition-era Atlantic City. The creators of the show have done a remarkable job of recreating an Atlantic City that hasn't existed for a long time and doesn't even remotely resemble the contemporary version of the city. Rather creating elaborate physical sets of AC, the show makes extensive use of computer generated graphics as I found out on the most recent edition of The Ihnatko Almanac http://5by5.tv/ia/14
If you've seen the show, you'll be aware that one of the more challenging visual elements of the show is the face of Richard, a World War I veteran who was severely injured. It would have been nearly impossible to create that look with makeup but through the magic of motion capture and CGI, half of Jack Huston's handsome face is transformed into a grotesque image of the horror of war. Check out the video to see how they transformed some of the locations, turning back the clock 90 years.
