LATTE BLOGGER

Ms Sandiford to be executed for drug trafficking.

2013-01-22T02:26:00.001-08:00

Lindsay Sandiford was arrested in May last year after she tried to enter the Indonesian holiday island with illegal drugs worth £1.6 million hidden in her suitcase.

Local prosecutors had called for the 56-year-old housewife to be jailed for 15 years. But today there were gasps in the Bali courtroom when a panel of judges announced Ms Sandiford would be executed for drug trafficking.

As the shock verdict was announced, Ms Sandiford, from Gloucestershire, slumped back in her chair in tears before hiding her face with a brown sarong as she was led out of the courtroom.

yellow jacket stun gun case for iphone

2012-08-04T03:56:00.001-07:00

yellow jacket is a case that transforms the iPhone 4 & 4S into that 650,000-volt stun gun you've always needed.

scheduled to hit the US market in fall 2012 the case is advertised as being able to
easily stop an aggressive male attacker, and ready for use in less than two seconds.
its designer seth froom, a former military policeman came up with the product after
being robbed in his home at gunpoint.

what is the demand for such a hostile product you might ask? well, yellow jacket
has managed to receive over 100,000 USD worth of backing on the crowd-funding
website indiegogo which means that there must be quite a few people out there
who feel the need to transform their phone into a weapon.

detail of the stun gun nodes

the iPhone's designers could never have conceived half of the the weird and wonderful accessories
that have been designed for use with the iPhone since its launch, but even in the name of self defense
a stun gun seems a bit much, doesn't it?

Now You Can Buy a $250,000 Nail Polish

2012-08-02T17:39:00.001-07:00

Remember that time when everyone got all freaked out about thatsnakeskin pedicure that cost $300? Well, get ready to completely lose it, because we just got a press release for the “most expensive nail polish in the world.”

That title was previously held by Models Own, which produced a $130,000 bottle (featuring a 24-carat gold, diamond-encrusted lid) back in 2010. However, the self-professed “king of black diamonds,” Azature, has doubled that figure. A bottle of black nail polish containing a whopping 267 carats of black diamonds in the actual polish will go for $250,000. Yikes. You won’t be able to just walk into Duane Reade and buy this sucker, however–only one bottle of the stuff will be produced.

For those of us who can’t afford a quarter of a million dollars for a manicure, Azature is offering a $25 version (see, now doesn’t $25 nail polish sound downright cheap in comparison?) containing one measly black diamond. You’ll be able to pick it up in LA at Fred Segal starting this month.

Estepona Town Hall sacks 176 municipal workers

2012-08-02T16:50:00.001-07:00

The news was given on Wednesday by the Councillor for Personnel, Pilar Fernández-Figares Estepona Town Hall has sacked 176 municipal workers. The PP Councillor for Personnel, Pilar Fernández-Figares, announced on Wednesday that the 176 workers are victims of the ERE Employment Regulation which the Town Hall put forward in June. The workers will be compensated with 2.5 million € and they will be given their ‘finiquito payments of 408,000 € between them. Pilar Fernández-Figares said one they were sacked the Town Hall will start to work on a new ‘training program for the reinsertion of the sacked workers’.

BMW to sell luxury cars for less online

2012-07-29T11:23:00.001-07:00

The BMW i3 concept car at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show in January. (John T. Greilick / Detroit News)

BMW will sell cars over the Web for the first time as the world's largest maker of luxury vehicles seeks an inexpensive way to reach more buyers to recoup spending on its electric models.

A direct online sales platform for BMW's new I sub-brand will be unique in an industry where, outside of small-scale experiments, competitors leave Internet orders for cars to dealers. BMW's range of strategies for the models, including a roaming sales force backing a limited showroom network, reflects the challenge carmakers face as low-emission vehicles trickle into dealerships to sluggish demand after years of development.

"There is considerable risk in BMW's approach of promoting the I brand so prominently," said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Science in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. "There is the image risk, if they don't succeed as quickly as expected, and then there's the main risk of costs, which can only be countered with high deliveries."

BMW opened the I models' first showroom Tuesday in London, although only prototype cars and informational materials will be displayed at first because the vehicles themselves won't go on sale before next year. BMW is spending about $3 billion developing the i3 battery-powered city car and i8 plug-in hybrid supercar, according to an estimate by Frost & Sullivan. Industry sales of electric cars last year, at 43,000 vehicles, were only 57 percent of the 75,000 deliveries predicted by Sarwant Singh, a London-based automotive partner at the consulting company.

Starting prices posted

The four-seat i3, scheduled to reach the market in late 2013, will be priced at about 40,000 euros ($48,500), Bratzel estimated. That compares with a 23,850-euro starting price ($29,388) in Germany for the 1-Series, the cheapest BMW-brand car. The i8, targeted for sale in 2014, will cost more than 100,000 euros ($123,221), according to Ian Robertson, BMW's sales chief.

Details of how I-model buyers, the website and dealerships will interact are "still in the planning process" and will be communicated later, Linda Croissant, a spokeswoman at Munich- based BMW, said last week. Sales will be focused on the world's major urban areas, she said.

The online sales option is aimed at a generation of drivers used to making daily purchases over the Internet, and will be an extension of the car configuration that most automakers offer customers to view models with desired options such as interior colors, seat materials and roof styles.

Test drives not an option

The Internet platform may take a while to catch on because "many customers will still want to go somewhere to look at and drive the vehicle before buying," said Ian Fletcher, an auto analyst in London at research company IHS Global Insight.

"With new technologies, there may be even greater skepticism about buying a car over the Internet, as in many cases you'll have to win the confidence of customers that it works and there is support for them," Fletcher said in an email.

The setup may help BMW reduce expenses: Internet sales require less than half the cost of distributing through a dealership, according to Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer of the Center Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany. That allows online car prices to be 5 percent to 7 percent less than showroom tags.

Still, BMW sees standard dealerships as "the backbone of what we are doing in the interface with the customer" for the I models, Robertson said in June at a press presentation at the sub-brand's Park Lane showroom in London.

Dealer selection criteria

Outlets will be restricted to dealers with high BMW-brand sales volume who have floor space as well as capacity to work with I models' powering technology and carbon-fiber body material, Robertson said. The carmaker has chosen 45 of its approximately 200 dealers in Germany to sell the i3 and i8, a ratio that will probably be similar elsewhere, he said.

Dealers will be designated as agents for the I models, which provides an "advantage" by keeping the vehicles on the carmaker's books, the association of BMW distributors in Germany said in an email.

Electric vehicles' disadvantages versus conventional cars include costly battery packs, limited ranges and the time needed to recharge. Consumer reception to models like the Nissan Motor Co.'s Leaf and General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet Volt has been tepid.

"Currently available electric cars have a limited market success because they are a big compromise," said Arndt Ellinghorst, a London-based analyst at Credit Suisse AG. "Customers are not willing to compromise and spend a lot of money."

Carbon fiber bodies lighter

BMW Chief Executive Officer Norbert Reithofer started Project I at the end of 2007 as tighter emissions regulations threatened the viability of sporty sedans. BMW chose to create all-new vehicles that use expensive carbon fiber for a lighter body to make up for the weight of the battery system.

The approach contrasts with a decision by Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz Cars division to convert existing models, such as the van-like B-Class or two-seat Smart, to electric power.

To make its electric vehicles more attractive, Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler's Smart brand offers to lease the battery separately from the car. The automaker has a target of selling more than 10,000 of the models next year, with a starting price of 18,910 euros plus monthly battery rental at 65 euros.

The I models' new technology poses risks for BMW, "but they have no choice if they want to keep their premium and image as an innovation leader," Ellinghorst said.

The i3 and i8 will probably be among BMW's lowest-selling models through 2024, alongside the existing Z4 roadster, according to IHS estimates. In 2014, the first full year of production, BMW will probably deliver 31,380 i3s, compared with 564,760 of the best-selling 3-Series model and 18,101 Z4s, a study by the research company shows.

BMW's stance is that the models should produce earnings from the start, sales chief Robertson said.

"We clearly, as a company, go into any product launch with the view of making profit, which is no different with the I brand," Robertson said. "This is a car line just as every other car line, and we intend to make profit from Day 1."

HANGING OUT WITH FRIENDS TODAY

2012-07-18T10:34:00.001-07:00

Grabbing a cup of coffee

Dining out at your favourite restaurant

Spending some time at the museum

Meeting at a popular fast food centre

Relaxing at the beach

Going to a game

Going out on a date

Taking a drive around town

I am thankful I belong to another generation !!!!

“It’s become appallingly clear that our Technology has surpassed our Humanity” -- Albert Einstein

Tattoos are permanent reminders of temporary feelings

2012-07-13T06:47:00.001-07:00

'It's wisest to pick someone whom you cannot break up with or divorce.' Photograph: Gary Powell/Getty Images

Tattoos are permanent reminders of temporary feelings – at least if you believe the report in Thursday's Daily Mail, which looked at "embarrassing" matching couple tattoos – designs that complement or complete each other across two, romantically involved bodies.

Yet there are millions of people who feel no embarrassment about the tattoos they share with their friends, lovers and even exes. Moreover, as with most perceived "new trends" in tattooing, this practice is one with a history far older than the current generation; it's a phenomenon that provides both an insight into human beings' fundamental relationships with their own bodies and the bodies and lives of those close to them.

Tattoos have been used as markers of association for probably as long as human beings have walked the earth, to mark tribal affiliations, regimental membership in the military, membership of fraternal orders such as the masons or US college Greek letter groups, and to signify gang membership.

The most common of these types of affiliative tattoos, though, is marking an attachment to a loved one. There's an old adage in tattooed circles that suggests getting your lover's name tattooed on you is a sure kiss of death for that relationship, and it's an old gag too: Norman Rockwell's famous 1944 Saturday Evening Post cover painting, The Tattooist, shows a salty sailor in the tattooist's chair, having yet another name added to an arm already full of the crossed-out names of past paramours. Even earlier, a cartoon in Punch from 1916 shows a "fickle young thing" – a well-turned-out young woman, as it happens – revisiting her tattooist to seek an amendment to the ornamental crest tattoo on her arm as she has, euphemistically, "exchanged into another regiment".

None of this seems to have affected the long-standing popularity of having names or symbols tattooed to commemorate couples' love and bond. Magazines in the 1920s reported the latest fad for newlyweds was getting matching tattooed wedding rings; preserved tattooed skins in the Wellcome Collection from the late 19th century feature names and portraits of lovers; studies of tattoos in the American navy in the 18th century reveal a large percentage of seamen of the period bore tattoos of the names of women; even Christian pilgrims in the 16th century were recorded to have borne the names of their wives on their skins, as tokens or identificatory marks; and records attest to romantic tattooing even in ancient Rome – St Basil the Great (329-380) is said to have condemned the tattooing of a lover's name that he observed on someone's hand. While I'd certainly never advocate getting a permanent mark of your relationship too hastily, it does seem that the instinct to inscribe a permanent token transcends the ages. Caveat amator.

Single tattoos that span multiple bodies appear to be a more recent phenomenon, however. In 1977, New York-based tattoo artist Spider Webb undertook what was probably the first conceptual art project to use tattooing, in a piece called X-1000, in which he tattooed single, small Xs on to 999 individuals, and, as a culmination, one large X on the final, 1,000th skin, conceived as one contiguous work. This tattoo, potentially spanning thousands of miles at any one time, was, Webb said, "the largest tattoo ever done at any point in history". In 2000, as the culmination to a performance art project begun in 1998 designed to highlight the horrific lives and plights of the homeless and hungry in Mexico City, Santiago Sierra produced his piece 160cm Line Tattooed on Four People, a single black line tattooed across the backs of prostitutes in exchange for wraps of heroin, as a symbol of their desperation, interdependence, and utter powerlessness. Sierra would later remark: "You could make this tattooed line a kilometre long, using thousands and thousands of willing people." In 2003, author Shelley Jackson famously published her short story Skin on the bodies of 2095, one tattooed word per person. These tattoos bring together strangers in common cause.

My favourite set of matching tattoos, though, are probably the ongoing collection of work worn by twins Caleb and Jordan Kilby, tattooed with matching work by influential and extraordinarily talented New York-based artist Thomas Hooper. If you must get matching tattoos with someone, it's wisest to pick someone whom you cannot break up with or divorce, and to get the work carried out by a tattoo artist who will produce a piece of work that will stand the test of time on its own terms.

Latvian company creates leather bound Ferrari

2012-07-13T04:22:00.001-07:00

We're familiar with seeing tight leather on smoking hot women, and weird old men, but it's a first for us seeing a leather bound Ferrari F430.

There seems to be a lot of fuss over this leather bound Ferrari F430 in the UK with both The Sun and The Daily Mail reporting about it recently.

However, this isn’t a new car by any means as US motoring blog Jalopnikreported on the F430 way back in August last year. It’s a pretty cool, albeit manky, car so we thought we’d show you anyway.

It’s the work of a Latvian custom car company called Dartz who hit the headlines in 2009 when they created a $1.5 million ruby red SUV with whale foreskin-covered seats. Yes, foreskin…

Anyway, some high roller with more cash then sense decided it would be a great idea to cover his €170,000 Ferrari in dark leather.

The owner of Dartz, Leonard Yankelovich, said: "One of our very rich customers from the Cote d'Azur wanted a leather exterior and knew we could deliver.

"It took three of my staff 16 working days to apply the leather and finish. He was more than happy when he picked it up."

He won’t be too happy when he scratches it though.

Is this the most expensive way to ruin a Ferrari?

Freeze Fresh Herbs in Oil to Preserve Them

2012-07-05T05:09:00.001-07:00

Have a few fresh herbs sitting around that you won't get to using before they turn? Sure, you can freeze them in water or dry them out, but if you know you'll use them relatively quickly, you can add a few weeks to their life without damaging their potency by freezing them in oil instead. We've shown you how to make simply syrups with them, and how to use sea salt to dry them, but if you have some lovely herbs you want to use, but won't get to before they turn brown, consider dropping them in an ice cube tray, filling up the cubes with olive oil (or any other oil of your choice, as long as it freezes nicely), and popping them in the freezer. When you're ready to fry some potatoes, for example, pop out a couple of rosemary oil cubes—you'll need the oil for the pan anyway, and the rosemary will be right at home. Need some oil in a baking dish or crock pot for a few chicken breasts? Grab a frozen sage oil cube. The sky's the limit. The only thing to note is that with some herbs have a shorter shelf life when frozen in oil than in water (like garlic, for example), so this won't beat drying if you're looking to keep your herbs fresh for months and months. It will, however, work for weeks on end, and if you freeze them, pop them out of the ice cube trays and put them into zippered baggies, they'll keep even longer. Then, the next time you need oil for a recipe, you can add a little fresh flavor at the same time. Hit the link below for even more oil-freezing tips, and some tips on which herbs take well to freezing and which don't.

mclaren 12C spider convertible

2012-07-03T11:48:00.001-07:00

'MP4-12C spider' by mclaren

mclaren automotive has produced its second 'MP4-12C' model, the '12C spider'. bred through the essence of a race car, the '12C spider' incorporates a

convertible roof explicitly designed to let users experience the sounds of the vehicle's V8 twin turbo engine. unlike many other convertible models,
the hard top roof can be operated whilst moving at speeds of up to 30 kph (20mph) taking less than 17 seconds to raise or lower. with the '12C' originally
designed as a convertible, its 75kg carbon fibre monocle frame required no additional strengthening for it to feature in the 'spider'.

closing the hard-top

the raising of the roof frees 52 liters of space for storage. in 2013, vehicle lift will be available as an option, allowing for the '12C spider' to be raised
in the front and rear for improved ground clearance, up to 40mm (1.5") at the front and 25mm (1") at the rear.

the MP4-12C will be launched in 'volcano red', one of 17 exterior paint finishes currently available for the '12C' and '12C spider'.
first deliveries to customers are planned for november 2012.

closed top

3/4 top view

3/4 rear view

top view

interior view

specifications:

0-62 mph (0-100 kph) : 3.1 sec
0-100 mph (0-161 kph) : 6.1 sec
0-124 mph (0-200 kph) : 9.0 sec
¼ mile (400m) : 10.8 sec at 134 mph (216 kph)

engine configuration: V8 twin turbo, 7 speed automatic

George Washington's copy of US constitution sells for $9.8m

2012-06-23T03:46:00.001-07:00

Portrait of George Washington, whose personal copy of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights fetched $9.8m at auction. Photograph: Stock Montage/Getty Images

George Washington's personal copy of the US constitution and bill of rights sold for $9.8m (£6.3m) at auction on Friday, setting a record for any American book or historic document.

Bidders at Christie's New York salesroom and others on the telephone competed for the first US president's signed, gold-embossed volume dating to 1789, which had a pre-sale estimate of up to $3m.

The non-profit Mount Vernon Ladies Association of the Union, which maintains the historic Mount Vernon estate in Virginia that was Washington's home and is now open to the public, was the successful bidder.

"The unique book had been in the Mount Vernon library until 1876, and will soon be returned to that library," said Chris Coover, senior specialist of books and manuscripts at Christie's.

The bound volume was Washington's personal copy of the Acts of Congress and is noteworthy for his bold signature marking it as his own.

The Acts of Congress include the Constitution, whose preamble promises to "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity," and the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the constitution, which establish such fundamental liberties as the right to free speech, press, assembly and religion.

Christie's described the book as being in near-pristine condition after 223 years. It was specially printed for Washington in 1789, his first year in office as president.

The margins include Washington's handwritten brackets and notations highlighting key passages concerning the president's responsibilities.

The Acts of Congress volume was sold from Washington's library at Mt Vernon in 1876 and eventually bought at auction by collector Richard Dietrich in the 1960s. It was being sold by the family's estate.

Similar volumes created for Thomas Jefferson, the first secretary of state and third US president, and attorney general John Jay, are in Indiana's Lilly Library and a private collection, respectively.

Rare books and manuscripts have achieved impressive prices in recent years.

An autographed manuscript of Lincoln's 1864 election victory speech sold for $3.4m in February 2009, which set a record for an American manuscript at the time. A 1787 letter written from Washington to his nephew on the subject of the ratification of the Constitution fetched $3.2m in December 2009.

ASTON MARTIN ONE-77

2012-06-23T03:03:00.001-07:00

performance@holmesandco-london.com

ASTON MARTIN ONE-77

Car No.40 of 77 Made.

The Client is seeking 1.2 Million Sterling for the Car.

The Cars were originally sold by Aston Martin for 1Million, plus costs.

Equivalent cars are available for 2 Million Sterling – 2.7 Million Dollars.

We are Offering the Car at 1.4 Million, but it should be considerably more.

Our Client wishes for the Sale to be Confidential, and approaching clients will need to provide documents

BMW i3 gets luxury makeover for opening London BMW i Store

2012-06-18T16:27:00.001-07:00

BMW has unveiled a new luxury version of the company's i3 Concept as part of the opening celebrations for the manufacturer's first i Store in London. Designers lathered the cabin in premium wood, leather and natural fibers, all with an eye toward sustainability. The wood trim is carved from Eucalyptus trees harvested in Europe, and the leather is tanned using a special olive tree extract instead of harsh chemicals.

The cabin is outfitted with bench seats front and rear, which allows for easy ingress and egress in tight city parking situations. The driver, meanwhile, is treated to three displays for vehicle information, climate control and entertainment options. BMW says the design does away with the need for a center console.

Power still comes from a 170 horsepower electric motor with 170 pound-feet of torque, which is good enough to scoot the concept to 62 mph in under eight seconds, thanks in part to a single-speed transmission. Top speed sits at 93 mph. The concept relies on lithium-ion batteries, which can be charged in around six hours via a standard socket, though a quick charger can reduce that time to around an hour. Expect a range between 80 or 100 miles depending on usage.

The organiser of the Goodwood Festival of Speed hopes a UK-based philanthropist will keep an important part of our motoring heritage at Brooklands, where it held the outer circuit lap record.

2012-06-16T02:46:00.001-07:00

The ex-"Tim" Birkin Blower Bentley is expected to fetch more than £8 million when it's auctioned during the Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Earl of March, founder of Goodwood's Festival of Speed, has called on the Government to ensure that "the most famous British car of all time", a 1931 supercharged Bentley that held the record on the Brooklands outer circuit of 137.96mph, is sold to a responsible owner when it is auctioned at the festival on June 29.

In the Telegraph Letters Page, Lord March, as President of the Brooklands Museum Trust, writes of his hope that a buyer will be found who would enable the car to stay at Brooklands, in Surrey, but that, failing that, "an enthusiastic philanthropist" be the successful bidder.

He writes: "This car epitomises all that is good about the British spirit. It possesses historic, intellectual, technical, aesthetic, and exhilarating qualities… It would indeed be a very sad day for the vintage car world if the car left this country, and one would hope that an Export Licence would be demanded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport."

The ex-Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin 1929-31 Bentley 4½-Litre Supercharged single-seater is part of the collection of watchmaker George Daniels, along with six other cars and two motorcycles. Bonhams expects the whole collection to make more than £8 million, with an estimate for the Bentley "on request".

Other auction highlights include a Lotus collection of 24 vehicles, from 1953 to the present, that is expected to fetch more than £1.5m.

Man stranded in desert builds motorcycle out of his broken car

2012-06-11T01:00:00.001-07:00

According to Merriam-Webster, ingenuity can be defined as "skill or cleverness in devising or combining" or "cleverness or aptness of design or contrivance." We'd say that's an apt description of a Frenchman named Emile who reportedly found himself stranded in the deserts of Northwest Africa after breaking a frame rail and a suspension swingarm underneath his Citroën 2CV.

What to do? Why, disassemble the broken hulk and build yourself a motorcycle from its pile of parts, of course! As the story goes, Emile was able to use the inventive machine to escape the desert, though not before convincing the local authorities that he wasn't an insurgent and paying a fine for importing a non-conforming vehicle...

Since Emile was the only soul in the area, nobody has been able to confirm the veracity of the events that led to the little French runabout's conversion into a makeshift motorcycle. That said, judging by the images you can see here (apparently from the March 2003 issue of 2CV Magazine), this Citroën-bred two-wheeler does indeed exist, and it was definitely fashioned from parts scavenged from an old 2CV.

Emile, wherever you are, we take our hats off to your real-life MacGyver skills, sir.

David Cooper, part-sleuth, part-mechanic, restores Millicent Rogers' Delage

2012-05-19T15:05:00.001-07:00

David Cooper instructed the tall, elegant gentleman with a white beard to close his eyes and imagine he was behind the wheel of his mother's car in the 1940s. Pretend it's raining, Cooper said. You need to turn on your wipers. What do you do? Arturo Peralta-Ramos reached above his head. Melissa Harris' Chicago Confidential Bio | E-mail | Recent columns Related David Cooper adopts creative business model for car collecting Restoring vintage automobiles 1937 Delage D8-120 Aerosport Coupe Maps 401 N May St, Chicago, IL 60642, USA Ads by Google Car Repair Specialists in Middlesbrough. Car Service Mechanic Near You. acornvehiclerepairs-ts5.co.uk Repair Garage Flawless Car Repair Work. We're The Experts. Call Us Now. platinummotors-middlesbrough.co.uk It was the first of many clues that helped Cooper confirm he had just purchased a rare find: A 1937 Delage D8-120 Aerosport Coupe, one of only 12 made. This particular Delage was one of the last of its kind built with windshield wipers activated by an overhead switch. Cooper has spent five years collecting stories and records about this car in an effort to prove it was originally purchased by Peralta-Ramos' mother, the Standard Oil heiress Millicent Rogers. By tracing the car's history, Cooper would substantially increase its value. That is, once his team of artisans put it back together. Cooper's journey would take him from an Austrian ski town to Peralta-Ramos' smoke-filled private office in his adobe-style hacienda in Taos, N.M. "Did I think I'd have to spend this much effort to trace down its history? No," Cooper said. "But it's also something that makes our shop unique. I've had people doing research for me at archives in Washington, London, even Copenhagen. Auto shops don't normally do that." Cooper is a vintage car restorer, whose life has become wrapped around Rogers'. A fashion icon, she had three husbands and a long string of lovers, from Clark Gable to Roald Dahl to Ian Fleming. She died in 1953 at age 50 after surgery for an aneurysm. As a young child, she contracted rheumatic fever and was told she wouldn't live past age 10. She suffered heart attacks, contracted pneumonia and had a weak arm. Her tastes were so eccentric (and extravagant) that she owned a 24-karat toothpick. According to The New York Times, she wrote "an anguished" Gable before sprinting away to New Mexico in 1947, "I have always found life so short, so terrifyingly uncertain." According to the newspaper, not long before Rogers "installed herself in New Mexico," she was frequently spotted jetting through New York in a chauffeured, custom Delage coupe that interior designer Billy Baldwin described as being so stuffed with throws and other furs that he could barely squeeze in. Cooper, 55, raced vintage cars in the 1980s. The son of a manufacturing executive and a college professor, he grew up in Evanston and majored in political philosophy at the University of Michigan. After graduation, he joined his father's sewing-equipment company. When his father sold the firm, Cooper decided to turn his car hobby into a business and opened a garage. The West Loop operation, called Cooper Technica, specializes in very old and very high-end European luxury cars. One shop wall is lined with cabinets of books. In 2006, he began looking for investment opportunities. He told his contacts he wanted to buy a car that was French, built before World War II, touring, streamlined, had a famous owner and was in boxes. "That was the only way I could afford it," he said. Cooper got a hit on Rogers' rare Delage. There were two problems: The car broker had no proof of the Rogers connection, and the car's parts were spread across three countries. The body was being worked on outside London; the mechanicals were being restored in Lyon, France; and a few parts were in boxes in a garage near Geneva, Switzerland. "I had already done some homework on Delages, and I didn't think they were doing the restoration right," Cooper said. "It turned out to be that there is quite a bit of difference between a Series 1 and a Series 2 Aerosport. They knew this car was a Series 2, but they hadn't done enough homework to figure out all of the differences." Cooper made three trips to Europe in three months to arrange the purchase. He later decided to open a garage in Lyon, where craftsmen familiar with Delages would restore the car. There are five key features to a classic car: The chassis, engine, drive train, transmission and body. To be deemed an "original," Cooper said, a car must retain three of those features, and one of those must be the chassis. The art world calls this provenance. Cooper had the Delage's chassis, engine, drive train and less than one-quarter of the body. But he had no records linking his Delage's badge or engine number to the one Rogers purchased for her third husband, Ronald Balcom, at the 1937 Paris salon. Cooper wrote letters to all of Rogers' relatives. Her granddaughter replied that her uncle and Rogers' only surviving child, Arturo Peralta-Ramos, would meet with him. Peralta-Ramos told Cooper about traveling from his family's home in Austria to Paris in the spring of 1938 to visit the workshop of the car's designer, Letourneur & Marchand. There he remembered watching his mother use her lipstick to draw a new shape on the car's rear fender. The new lines gave the rear a longer and sleeker look that better matched its streamlined front.

Man being hard on BMW for 20-month erection

2012-04-30T22:07:00.001-07:00

You can't buy publicity like this. USA Today reports a California man is suing both BMW and motorcycle seat manufacturer Corbin after a four-hour motorcycle ride left him with a severe case of priapism. Henry Wolf claims he's had an erection since stepping off his 1993 BMW after a ride in September 2010, or some 20 months ago, if we're counting. According to the suit filed in California Superior Court, the seat's "ridge-like" design caused the painful condition. Wolf's lawyer says the man is unable to engage in sexual activity, and as a result, has endured "substantial emotional and mental anguish." Wolf is suing for compensation from both BMW and Corbin for lost wages, medical expenses, emotional distress and general damage. Neither company has commented on the case.

Australian billionaire to build Titanic II

2012-04-30T00:27:00.001-07:00

One of Australia's richest men, Clive Palmer, on Monday unveiled plans to build a 21st century version of the doomed Titanic in China, with its first voyage from England to New York set for 2016. Palmer, a self-made mining billionaire, said he had commissioned state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to construct Titanic II with the same dimensions as its predecessor. "It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems," Palmer said in a statement. "Titanic II will sail in the northern hemisphere and her maiden voyage from England to North America is scheduled for late 2016." He added that he had invited the Chinese navy to escort the Titanic II to New York. The announcement comes just weeks after the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic, which went down on April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg on its first voyage, from Southampton to New York. Palmer said the new ship would be a tribute to the spirit of the men and women who worked on the original, which sank with the loss of 1,514 passengers and crew. "These people produced work that is still marvelled at more than 100 years later and we want that spirit to go on for another 100 years," he said. Titanic was commissioned by White Star Line and was the largest liner in the world at the time. Palmer said he has established his own shipping company, Blue Star Line, with the new vessel having the same specifications as its predecessor -- 270 metres long (885 feet), 53 metres high and weighing some 40,000 tonnes. It will have 840 rooms and nine decks with design work in conjunction with an historical research team underway. No figure was given on how much it would cost. The only changes to the original would be below the water line including welding and not riveting, a bulbous bow for greater fuel efficiency, diesel generation and enlarged rudder and bow thrusters for increased manoeuvrability. "Titanic II will be the ultimate in comfort and luxury with on-board gymnasiums and swimming pools, libraries, high class restaurants and luxury cabins," Palmer said. The ship would also include an exhibition room which will be located in the space of the original's coal boilers which will showcase his home state of Queensland. Palmer is estimated to be Australia's fifth richest person, worth more than Aus$5 billion (US$5.2 billion), thanks to his vast coal and other mining assets in Queensland and Western Australia. He has also branched out into tourism and owns the luxury Coolum resort on the Sunshine Coast, while recently saying he wants to move into the media industry, a sector dominated by Fairfax and Rupert Murdoch's News Limited. His decision to commission a Chinese shipbuilding yard, which will also construct other luxury liners for the tycoon, reinforces his ties to the country, which is a key buyer of his coal and iron ore. "The Chinese are renowned for building commercial cargo and container ships," he said. "China currently produces around two to three percent of the world's luxury ships but is looking to challenge the Europeans who have around 75 percent of this market. "The Chinese ship building industry with our assistance wants to be a major player in this market." The original Titanic was built in Belfast.

Hundreds of new car shows have sprung up across Britain in the wake of the British Motor Show’s demise. Here are the country’s best.

2012-04-28T01:08:00.001-07:00

The last “proper” British Motor Show – once the undoubted and much-loved highlight of the UK motoring calendar – is now just a fading memory.

For years it thrilled enthusiasts at London’s Olympia, then Earls Court and Birmingham’s NEC, before moving to ExCeL in the capital in 2008, where it attracted nearly half a million show-goers.

But when the economic downturn hit the industry and major manufacturers began opting for bigger international shows instead, it was reluctantly killed off by the organisers.

Its demise was mourned by sections of the motor industry and car enthusiasts alike, but what few foresaw was that its passing would kick-start an exciting new era with hundreds of alternative new shows bursting onto the scene, and existing ones vying to fill the vacuum.

Today, the best-known is Goodwood’s Moving Motor Show on June 28, the day before the Telegraph-partnered Festival of Speed. But hundreds of others, large and small, have sprung up across the UK, each attracting a loyal following and allowing enthusiasts to cherry-pick their favourites throughout the year.

Shows range from thoroughbred classic car events to those showing new – or even “clean green” cars – and those that feature commercial and passenger vehicles and motorcycles.

Here are some of our favourites so that you can start planning your own motoring summer.

Footman James Bristol Classic Car Show

When: April 21-22

Where: The Bath and West Showground, Somerset

Timed to coincide with the popular Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs’ Drive it Day – when owners are encouraged to drive their classics on the roads – this lively show attracts enthusiasts from all over the UK, and no wonder. Seventy clubs will mount displays indoors, with more than 900 classic cars on view outside.

There’s an eclectic mix of new and second-hand parts, tools, books and memorabilia. There’s a car boot jumble on both days and a classic cars and automobilia auction on the Sunday, with viewing on the Saturday.

Ecovelocity

When: May 10-13

Where: ExCeL London

Now a stand-alone part of the Grand Designs Live show (based on the Channel 4 series), this event lets you drive the latest crop of ultra-frugal eco cars including electric, plug-in hybrids, hybrids and other CO2-busting vehicles. Visitors to both shows will be able to pass freely from one to the other.

Enfield Pageant of Motoring

When: May 25-27

Where: The Playing Fields, Great Cambridge Road, Enfield, Middlesex

Extensive displays including 2,000 trucks, motorcycles and cars, with entries from the Whitewebbs Museum of Transport. Expect an unlikely mix of American and British classics alongside historic commercial – and even beautifully restored passenger – vehicles, and live music. There’s also more than 400 autojumble stalls to choose from.

Classic Car Spectacular

When: June 2-4

Where: Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire

Celebrating the “golden age of motoring”, this event is a three-day Jubilee special with 2,000 cars on display from 80 car clubs, a two-day autojumble and a wide range of general trade stalls. Organisers are also looking for owners who want to take part in a classic car mart. They are promising family attractions and an “Italian supercar feature”.

Motorexpo

When: June 11-17

Where: Canary Wharf, London

A free-to-visit show that transforms this London business district with displays of more than 250 vehicles from the world’s leading manufacturers. Names confirmed so far include Bentley, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Kia and Volvo, and this year’s event is expected to be the biggest yet, drawing an anticipated audience of 425,000.

Best of all, the vehicles are unlocked, with show-goers invited to get in and look around. Organisers are even offering test-drives on the Canary Wharf estate.

Brooklands Double Twelve Motorsport Festival

When: June 16-17

Where: Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey

Expected to be the biggest motoring competition held at Brooklands since 1939, this event, organised in conjunction with the Vintage Sports Car Club, will see 144 classic and vintage cars taking part in exciting driving challenges and a concours d’élégance, as well as up to 100 pre-war cars competing in the Double Twelve Speed Trials. There will be a sprint on the adjoining Mercedes-Benz World circuit on the Saturday, with everything from Sinclair C5s to bicycles and pre-war racing cars tackling the Test Hill Challenge on the Sunday.

Croft Nostalgia Weekend

When: August 4-5

Where: Croft Circuit, Dalton on Tees, North Yorkshire

Described as a “magical trip down memory lane”, this event not only features on-track single-seater, saloon, GT and sportscar races for cars from the Forties to the Seventies, but also boasts Second World War attractions including tanks, jeeps and buses, and fashion. There’s also an aerial display and – as at the Goodwood Revival – show-goers are encouraged to dress in period style to help the party go with a swing.

Pentillie Festival of Speed

When: August 25-26

Where: Pentillie Castle and Estate, St Mellion, Saltash, Cornwall

A colourful, lively new event aimed at celebrating “all that’s good about motorsport” and based around an exciting, twisting hillclimb that starts at a private quay on the banks of the beautiful Tamar, before taking in hairpin bends and exhilarating straights and passing within metres of the castle. As well as extensive displays of classic cars, there will be laser clay-pigeon shooting, racing simulators, off-roading and giant Scalextric.

Donington Kit Car Show

When: September 1-2

Where: Donington Park, Castle Donington, Derbyshire

Not everybody likes their cars straight out of the showroom in one piece; some prefer the DIY approach. This show will include 40 kit car manufacturers and 60 owners’ clubs as well as interactive events such as “how to build your car” demonstrations and Q & A sessions with experts. There will also be racing on the circuit.

Beaulieu Autojumble

When: September 8-9

Where: Beaulieu, Brockenhurst, Hampshire

The best-known autojumble of them all. In fact, it is claimed to be the biggest outdoor autojumble this side of the Atlantic, and all within the inspiring grounds of the National Motor Museum. Complete with more than 2,000 stands groaning with all kinds of vintage and classic bits and bobs. Includes a 200-vehicle “automart” sale and Bonhams’ collectors cars sale.

2013 Ford Escape 1.6L EcoBoost officially rated at 23/33 MPG

2012-04-26T22:34:00.001-07:00

When we drove the all-new Escape recently, Ford was still awaiting official EPA certification for fuel economy. Now, though, the numbers are in, and the Blue Oval can confidently state that it offers the most fuel-efficient vehicle in the small crossover segment... with an automatic transmission, that is.

The hero engine for the new Escape is Ford's new 1.6-liter EcoBoost inline-four, offering up 178 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. Combined with a six-speed automatic transmission, this engine is good for 23 miles per gallon in the city and 33 mpg highway, besting the highway numbers of the Chevrolet Equinox,Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and others. At 33 mpg, this means the new Escape is not only more efficient than the outgoing four-cylinder model, but it bests the numbers of the old Escape Hybrid, too.

But again, this only pertains to automatic transmission-equipped vehicles (the Escape does not offer a manual transmission with any of its powertrains). The 2013 Mazda CX-5 with its 2.0-liter Skyactiv inline-four and six-speed manual 'box is rated at 35 mpg highway, but opting for the six-speed auto drops that number to 32 mpg.

The other powertrains offered in the Escape are returning some pretty impressive fuel economy numbers, too. The naturally aspirated 2.5-liter base engine is rated at 22/31 mpg, and the range-topping 2.0-liter EcoBoost with 240 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque is good for 22/30 mpg. Scroll down for the full details in Ford's press release.

Nissan's luxury Infiniti car brand will expand its partnership with Formula One champions Red Bull next year

2012-04-25T23:34:00.001-07:00

Nissan's luxury Infiniti car brand will expand its partnership with Formula One champions Red Bull next year, both sides announced at the Korean Grand Prix on Sunday.

The deal will feature more prominent branding on the Renault-powered cars as well as new areas of technical and product collaboration.

Nissan executive vice-president Andy Palmer told reporters that brand awareness in the first year of the association with Red Bull, who won both titles last season and have again taken the constructors' championship and the drivers' crown with Sebastian Vettel, had been "tremendously successful".

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Germany's Vettel has won ten of the 16 races so far, while Red Bull had, until Saturday, racked up 16 pole positions in a row dating back to last year.

"We use a system of measuring seconds of TV time...and by that measure we are the most visible car manufacturer on the grid," said Palmer, who recognised that 24-year-old Vettel was about 11 years younger than the target customer.

"It looks like Infiniti will have a record year for sales so there is obviously some correlation between one and the other."

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said the relationship with Infiniti - under the Renault-Nissan alliance - would make available more technology and know-how for future developments, particularly from 2014 when the engines change.

"It opens avenues of technology that previously as an independent team wouldn't have been available to us and that obviously would to the likes of Ferrari or Mercedes or even McLaren," he said.

Horner did not rule out the engine one day being 're-badged' from Renault to Infiniti.

"Obviously in 2014, nothing is decided yet in terms of whether it will be a Renault or even an Infiniti engine," he said.