Volkswagen Owns Italdesign Giugiaro

About 5 days ago Volkswagen had announced that it had acquired a 90.1 percent stake in Italdesign Giugiaro, the famed Italian design firm responsible for our recently revealed Proton EMAS concept, our upcoming new Persona, as well as countless sculptures on wheels of past and present, including the Alfa Romeo 159, the sharpest-looking sedan money can buy...

The deal was closed between Lamborghini Holding S.p.A and Italdesign Giugiaro. Lamborghini is owned by Audi, which itself is owned by Volkswagen.

Volkwagen has teamed up with I.D before in the past, spurring the likes of the golf mkI and numerous concepts.

From paultan.org;
“With this shareholding in Italdesign, we are participating in one of the most renowned design and development companies with one of the richest traditions in the automobile industry. Italdesign is the flagship for creative Italian automobile design and has been instrumental in shaping the face of the automobile industry worldwide. As the creator of the Golf I, Giorgetto Giugiaro laid a new foundation for Volkswagen design in the 1970s,” said Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of VW.

More; http://paultan.org/2010/05/25/official-vws-lamborghini-buys-90-1-percent-stake-in-giugiaro/

EVs Not Recommended by Honda

You have clean diesels, you have hybrids, and now you have all-electric vehicles, or EVs, which is by far the cleanest, most efficient, most viable (in terms of both production costs and consumer costs) and most advanced type of propulsion for the automobile.

However much Jeremy Clarkson may despise tiny, green, electric cars, (its his ego by the way), EVs will inevitably be a huge part of the future of the automotive industry.

Suprising then, when the odds suggest otherwise, that Tomohiko Kawanabe, President of research and development for Honda, says that Honda is not too keen on EVs, and is not confident that future consumers are willing to accept the limited range and charging woes that comes with owning and driving an all-electric car.

Well, Honda being Honda, Mr. Kawanabe surely knows something that we don't know...

Full story here; http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/19/honda-randd-president-says-automaker-lacks-confidence-in-viabili/

'New' New Beetle

A cetain artist named David Cardoso has released renderings of his vision of the Volkswagen Beetle replacement. The old 'new Beetle' is going to have to retire soon, in 2012, and still, Volkswagen has not yet fed our imagination as to what their idea of a new beetle replacement is, so we are left free to speculate the silhoutte of the new car to come.

That is what David Cardoso has done, with his rather neat renderings.

I must say, the side profile is hard to beat; the greenhouse runs three-quarters of the car. It integrates with the side profile very well.

I can't say the same thing for others angles, though (note rear design, and cheesy-looking rear lights...) Overall, absolute bubble-car. I wish Proton has one bubble-design EV in their stable... Just my imagination...

See for yourself; http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/17/rendered-speculation-one-possibility-for-next-gen-new-beetle/

E-mail Musings

Food for thought from Mohd Aizuddin bin Ab Halim, President of Sekretariat Rakan Muda Universiti Teknologi Petronas (SRMUTP) (my boss), through the e-mail which he had sent;

renungan bersama...

kata hikmah sayyidina abu bakar as-siddiq RA

Orang yang bakhil itu tidak akan terlepas daripada salah satu daripada 4 sifat yang membinasakan, iaitu:
· Ia akan mati dan hartanya akan diambil oleh warisnya, lalu dibelanjakan bukan pada tempatnya.
· Hartanya akan diambil secara paksa oleh penguasa yang zalim.
· Hartanya menjadi rebutan orang-orang jahat dan akan dipergunakan untuk kejahatan pula.
· Adakalanya harta itu akan dicuri dan dipergunakan secara berfoya-foya pada jalan yang tidak berguna.

kata hikmah sayyidina umar al-khattab ra

· Orang yang banyak ketawa itu kurang wibawanya.
· Orang yang suka menghina orang lain, dia juga akan dihina.
· Orang yang menyintai akhirat, dunia pasti menyertainya.
· Barangsiapa menjaga kehormatan orang lain, pasti kehormatan dirinya akan terjaga.

kata hikmah sayyidina usman ibnu affan ra

Antara tanda-tanda orang yang bijaksana itu ialah:
· Hatinya selalu berniat suci
· Lidahnya selalu basah dengan zikrullah
· Kedua matanya menangis kerana penyesalan (terhadap dosa)
· Segala perkara dihadapainya dengan sabar dan tabah
· Mengutamakan kehidupan akhirat daripada kehidupan dunia.

kata hikmah sayyidina ali karamullah hu wajhah ra

· Tiada solat yang sempurna tanpa jiwa yang khusyu'.
· Tiada puasa yang sempurna tanpa mencegah diri daripada perbuatan yang sia-sia.
· Tiada kebaikan bagi pembaca al-Qur'an tanpa mengambil pangajaran daripadanya.
· Tiada kebaikan bagi orang yang berilmu tanpa memiliki sifatwarak (memelihara diri dan hati- hati dari dosa).
· Tiada kebaikan mengambil teman tanpa saling sayang-menyayangi.
· Nikmat yang paling baik ialah nikmat yang kekal dimiliki.
· Doa yang paling sempurna ialah doa yang dilandasi keikhlasan.
· Barangsiapa yang banyak bicara, maka banyak pula salahnya,siapa yang banyak salahnya, maka hilanglah harga dirinya,siapa yang hilang harga dirinya, bererti dia tidak warak.Sedang orang yang tidak warak itu bererti hatinya mati.

--
MOHD AIZUDDIN BIN AB HALIM,
Presiden,
Sekretariat Rakan Muda (SRMUTP 2010),
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS,

Monaco Grand Prix 2010; Webber on a Roll

Direct from http://sundayafternoonclub.blogs.topgear.com;

Just a week after winning the Spanish GP, Mark Webber ruled the roost on the streets of Monte Carlo with a dominant victory in Monaco – moving him into the lead of the F1 drivers’ standings in the process.

The Red Bull ace qualified on pole position and led the race from start to finish, despite a race hit by no fewer than four Safety Car periods.

When the lights went out, Webber made the perfect start to lead into turn one, but behind, team-mate Sebastian Vettel was able to jump ahead of Robert Kubica. Further back, Rubens Barrichello jumped up to sixth from ninth but Jenson Button went the other way and slipped down to eleventh.

Although the pack made it through the opening corner unscathed, the Safety Car was soon deployed when Nico Hulkenberg – who had dropped to the rear of the field with a clutch issue – went off going through the tunnel.

There was further drama behind the Safety Car when points leader Button then stopped with smoke pouring from the rear of his McLaren – possibly down to the team failing to remove a blanking plate from the sidepod as the Briton headed round to the grid.

The Safety Car period allowed Fernando Alonso – who had started from pitlane due to his practice accident – to make an early stop for medium tyres and it would prove to be a key call for the Ferrari man as the race wore on.

When the Safety Car peeled in, Webber led from Vettel and Kubica with Felipe Massa slotting into fourth and Lewis Hamilton and Barrichello rounding out the top six. Michael Schumacher had jumped Nico Rosberg for seventh at the start with Tonio Liuzzi and Adrian Sutil rounding out the top ten.

Those positions would remain unchanged as Webber eased away at the front of the field with all eyes on Alonso at the back as he set about making up places. Although Lucas di Grassi in the Virgin made it difficult, Alonso soon cleared the backmarkers and when Hamilton became the first runner to stop and rejoined just ahead of Alonso, it became clear that the early stop had put him right into contention.

By the time all the stops had taken place, Webber continued to lead from Vettel, Kubica, Massa and Hamilton, but Alonso had now jumped to sixth ahead of Schumacher, Rosberg, Sutil and Barrichello – who was one of the big losers during the stops.

Barrichello’s race wouldn’t last for long, however, when he suffered a spin into the barriers at the top of Beau Rivage to bring out the second Safety Car period. The third caution period would follow soon afterwards while a loose drain near the incident was checked.

A series of quick laps meant Webber was able to build his lead after each restart but there was still a late scare when Jarno Trulli ran over the rear of Karun Chandhok’s Hispania at Rascasse as Webber came up to lap the pair. With Trulli’s Lotus coming to rest on top of the Indian drivers car, the final Safety Car was deployed which would lead the field round until it peeled off into the pits at the end of the final lap.

That allowed Webber to take the flag ahead of Vettel, with the Red Bull duo now level on points in the standings – although Webber takes the lead having won two races. Kubica had to settle for third ahead of Massa and Hamilton but Schumacher managed to steal sixth from Alonso after the Spaniard got out of shape at Rascasse. Ferrari was set to appeal against the move although Mercedes chief Ross Brawn was sure the positions would stand.

http://sundayafternoonclub.blogs.topgear.com/2010/05/16/webber-rules-in-monaco/

Torque

Torque... What is torque? Well, if you've been wondering, here's an idea of what torque is.

We have learned that a force, in terms of Physics, is simply a push or a pull, and objects begin to move, accelerate, and/or decelerate when subjected to a force.

But is it enough, only to be able to describe physically and mathematically, simple ans straightforward forwards and backwards motion? Of course no.

This is where torque comes in. You can call torque a 'rotational force', since objects begin to rotate, undergo angular acceleration, and/or deceleration when subjected to torque. Torque is to rotational motion what force is to translational motion(motion without rotation). When we study torque, we are studying the dynamics of rotational motion; studying what causes rotational motion to happen in the first place.

To make an object start rotating about and axis clearly requires a force, but the direction of this force, and where it is applied, are also important. For example, an ordinary situation where you open the door. The more force you apply, the quicker the door will open. But if you apply the same magnitude of force at a point closer to the hinge, the door won't open so quickly; the effect of the force is less

Where the force acts, as well as its magnitude and direction, affects how quickly the door opens.

Thus, with this in mind, torque can be described by a simple formula; torque=rF sinx, where r is the lever arm, or the radial line from the axis to where the force acts, F is the applied force, and x is the angle between the object and the acting force.

More? Okay then...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torque
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0Jem7OCfP0

Center of Mass (CM)

What exactly is the center of mass?

From what I have learned, motion can be divided into two types; translational motion and rotational motion. Translational motion is any motion that does not involve spinning or rotating. Moving in a straight line is translational. Moving along a parabolic curve is also translational. Rotational motion, as the name implies, is spinning motion. For rotational motion, we studied objects rotating along fixed circle, with a fixed radius and axis of rotation.

So how does translational and rotational motion relate to the center of mass?

In real solutions, an object seldom goes through pure translational motion; objects can also move and rotate at the same time (planets, for example). Observations indicate that even if an object rotates, or several parts of a system of objects move relative to one another, there is one point that moves relatively similar to the path of pure translational motion. This point is called the center of mass (CM).

The CM coincides with the center of gravity (CG) of a particular object (CM and CG are the same point), but there is a conceptual difference between the two.

There is a formula for calculating the CM of a system of objects, but it would be tiring to state it here...

Click the link if you're willing to know more. Watch the video and see how the formula is applied to determine the CM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teynoIDTlSU
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_of_mass

Porsche 911 GT2 RS

This is the 911 GT2 RS, the latest addition to Porsche's stable of the iconic 911 range. And a significant addition this is, because what you see here is the most powerful Porsche you can buy, when it goes on sale some time later. This beast has a 3.6 litre twin-turbocharged engine, producing 620 horses, propelling this car from naught to century in a mere 3.4 seconds. 205 mph top speed. Will take you around the nurburgring in 7 min 18secs. That means fast. 620 horsepower means a whooping 90 horsepower increase from the previous generation GT2, and not to forget its also lighter than the previous GT2 by 154 pounds. Imagine that.

To me, the strongest pulling factor for this car is the crazy amount of supercar horsepower that you can get, from a relatively small 3.6 litre engine. The 245,000 dollar price tag buys you all that power and 'the most powerful Porsche' title, but you can't put a price on the iconic status of the 911. It has a limited production run of 500, and certainly enthusiasts would not delay even a second in getting their hands on a piece of Porsche history in the making.

Back From the Jungle

If I could recall clearly, I've been away from at least three things. I've been away from home; I've been away from family...one more thing. What is it? It's on the tip of my tongue...Yes; I've been away from this blog.

Well, I'm at home now. Been studying my head off in the middle of a jungle in a disclosed secret location called Tronoh. I've been through two mind-squeezing tests and one major exam. I have learned a year's worth of Physics, Chemistry, and Advanced Maths, all in the span of roughly four months. But all that doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm home now. Home sweet home.

Alhamdulillah.

Sometimes, in life, there comes a time when you have to sacrifice what you like the most, in order to gain something else, for the greater good. I had to sacrifice caring for this blog in order to gain the time needed to concentrate on my studies.

Take your eyes of the thick books, and you're sure to get lost in a sea of equations, formulas, laws, concepts... I had to unlearn what I have learned in high school, keep my mind open to new ideas and concepts, and accept new knowledge that is alien and previously unimaginable to my logic.

So I put The Axiom on hold.

Since I'm officially on a week-long holiday starting today, its best I spend this week that I've got wisely; revise studies, keep up with the real world, keep up with mates in Alor Star, keep this blog fresh. What else?

I hope you remember that the Axiom will never die, no matter what happens. You see? Even after 3 months flat without any new updates, the Axiom can manage to come back to life again...

To Ikwan; sorry lama tak update blog. Tiap-tiap kali hang bukak, mesti ada gambar api dok menyala tu, kan? Aku mula update balik. Banyak cerita untuk dikongsi, banyak rahsia untuk dibongkar...

To Alvin; finally able to read your advancements in life in your blog. Wow, you got Bank Negara Scholarship Interview! Congratulations. Enjoyed reading your experience. You wrote it very nicely. What other interviews you went to? I hear you're teaching drama now with Dickson:)

To Lee Jia Jing; Hi, Jia Jing. Thank you for adding my blog to your list of blogs. Nice blog. Long time no see...

Since I've been away in the jungle, a lot has happened in the local and international automotive scene. A few F1 races had also passed by this year. Looks like Jenson Button's poised to take the title this year, if he keeps his current pace. He's got the car, and he's got the skills.

With this post, consider new life breathed into the Axiom, with plenty of updates coming your way, from the lessons in UTP lecture halls, to the advancements in the automotive industry, and also a certain conspiracy in UTP among January 2010 Foundation students.

Stay tuned.