Daily Archives: February 2, 2012

Sometimes out of curiosity I like to browse around on the satellite images on Google… 2

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Google+ on by (updated 4451 days ago)

Sometimes out of curiosity I like to browse around on the satellite images on Google maps. I was taking a look at Paine Field in Everett WA, which is where Boeing has its main assembly plants for commercial aircraft including the 737, 747, 767, 777 and 787.

With all the delays to the 787 test program, there are currently 40-some examples in various stages of rework to incorporate changes that came out during testing. Those planes are parked all over the airfield along with a couple of dozen 747-8s. Sitting near one of the 787s is an old B52 bomber.

In and of itself the presence of a B52 at the factory where it was built back in the 1950s was no big surprise. What was surprising was how small it was. Seeing photos of the 8-engined B52 in isolation gives the impression that it is enormous. In fact, it's smaller than the mid-sized widebody 787.

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It looks like Toyota won't be the only automaker running a hybrid drive race…

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It looks like Toyota won't be the only automaker running a hybrid drive race car at Le Mans this year. Audi has just announced that two of the four R18 TDIs will also feature a hybrid drive system.

Audi hasn't announced any technical details yet but there at least a couple of options open to the ten-time winners. They could go with either a battery system like that used in some of their newest production vehicles or get more radical.

At the Petit Le Mans a couple of years ago I asked Audi Motorsport boss Dr Wolfgang Ulrich if they would use the flywheel based system that has been proven so effective by corporate cousins Porsche in the 911 GT3R Hybrid. Dr Ulrich was non-committal but didn't rule out the flywheel system either. We should know more at the end of the month when Audi unveils the new car. http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/alternative-fuel/hybrids/porsche-911-gt3r-hybrid-flywheel

#audi #lemans #hybrid

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A couple of years ago, while I was driving the Acura ZDX for a review http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/29/2010-acura-zdx-review/… 3

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged cars Google+ on by (updated 4451 days ago)

A couple of years ago, while I was driving the Acura ZDX for a review http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/29/2010-acura-zdx-review/ a product development executive from another automaker that I was talking to labeled the odd crossover-coupe as "Sales-Proof"

Based on the January sales figures released yesterday it appears he was right as a mere 54 customers drove off Acura lots with one. Although I liked the shape of the ZDX and some aspects of driving it, the overall packaging just never made any sense.

Despite the lackluster sales of both the ZDX and BMW X6, Audi and Mercedes-Benz both seem to be intent on creating similar vehicles of their own. Is there something that they know that customers don't?
#cars

In album Acura ZDX (17 photos)

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Sadly, the best satire is always grounded in truth

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Sadly, the best satire is always grounded in truth

Reshared post from +The Onion

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'Huffington Post' Employee Sucked Into Aggregation Turbine
NEW YORK—Shocked and saddened witnesses at the Huffington Post's news-aggregation facility have confirmed that employee Henry Evers, 25, died Wednesday …

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