Nice New Honda Civic Tourer Spot from Wieden+Kennedy London Highlights The Inner Beauty.

From the Honda Newsroom:
Honda finds the ‘Inner Beauty’ with TV campaign for all-new Civic Tourer

The creative team behind Honda’s recent smash-hit viral film ‘Hands’ is aiming for further success with a new TV advertising campaign to welcome the Civic Tourer into Honda dealerships across the UK.

The campaign celebrates the idea that beauty is about much more than what appears on the surface. The creative plays to the trend in design, engineering and wider society of looks being valued over substance. The viewer is taken on a journey through various objects, including a golf ball, suitcase, chest of drawers and a guitar amp, to reveal the inner beauty of each.



It then goes on to position the new Civic Tourer as another perfect example of ‘Inner Beauty’; dynamic and sporty-looking, yet under the surface there lies practicality and function. That hidden substance includes a huge, class-leading 624 litres of boot space, secret storage compartments, concealed door handles, innovative safety features and Honda’s unique ‘Magic Seats’.



‘Inner Beauty’ comes hot on the heels of the critically acclaimed ‘Hands’ film, which to date has received almost 10 million views and won two awards. Creative agency Wieden+Kennedy London has once again teamed up with directors Smith and Foulkes of Nexus Productions to create the new campaign.



Inner Beauty debuts as a 60-second spot on 3 February; followed by further 60- and 30-second spots on television and video-on-demand.

Olivia Dunn, Head of Marketing for Honda (UK) comments: “Take a first glance at the Civic Tourer and you see a great-looking car. This campaign takes the viewer beyond that first appearance to emphasise the balance between style and performance, and the incredible practicality that the car delivers. Once again the team behind ‘Hands’ has brought the message to life in a fresh, innovative and compelling way in line with Honda’s high standards and unique style.”

As with many Honda commercials of recent years, the creative idea for the new campaign was in part inspired by time spent interviewing Honda engineers. Adrian Killham, Chief Engineer for the new Civic Tourer spoke at length to the team behind ‘Inner Beauty’ about the considerable amount of time spent on the design of both the exterior and interior, and his hope that people would want to look deeper than what’s on the surface to discover what lies beneath.


above: Honda 'Hands', which won several awards, celebrates the curiosity of Honda engineers, which has led to some of the most successful Honda innovations over the past 65 years.

Scott Dungate, Creative Director at Wieden+Kennedy London, adds, “Beauty is more than just the outside. Beauty also lies inside, in how something fits together and works. We wanted to create a film that yes, showed the external beauty of the car, but also celebrated the wonder of the inside and how it works.”

To celebrate this new campaign, Honda (UK) will be running a five-day Twitter competition, launching on 3 February to coincide with the new TV adverts’ premiere. A short hypnotic loop from the ad will be Tweeted daily, each clip featuring a cleverly concealed word that relates to a great prize. Fans will need to find the hidden word and tweet it to @Honda_UK, using the hashtag #CivicTourer for the chance of win. Prizes include a camera, £743 to spend in one of the world’s most famous department stores (reflecting the car’s 74.3mpg performance) and a holiday for two. Follow @Honda_UK on Twitter for further information.



Designed and developed in Europe, the British-built Civic Tourer delivers distinctive styling, class-leading utility, advanced technology and an impressive balance between fuel economy and performance. With the lightest in class and super-frugal 1.6 i-DTEC engine, the first from Honda’s next generation Earth Dreams Technology range, the 1.6 diesel version offers low running costs with a highly competitive 74.3mpg and CO2 emissions from just 99g/km. The new Civic Tourer is the world’s first production car to feature a Rear Adaptive Damper System and features an all-new suite of innovative passive and active safety systems.

The new Civic Tourer is available to order now, arriving in dealerships in February 2014, with OTR prices starting from £20,265 for the 1.8 i-VTEC S model. For further information please visit www.honda.co.uk/civictourer

The Hennessey Venom GT Nabs The Title Of The World's Fastest Production Car - For Now.

Bugatti has a little catching up to do - 0.63 mph. to be exact.


above: previous record holder for the world's fastest production car, the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

Grabbing the title away from Bugatti for the fastest production car in the world, the Hennessey Venom GT set a new world speed record for 2-seat sports cars by reaching a top speed of 270.49 mph (435.31 km/h), beating the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport's previous record of 269.86 mph.





On February 14, 2014, the test was performed at the Kennedy Space Center on the 3.2-mile Space Shuttle landing runway:





Brian Smith, Director of Miller Motorsports Park, drove the Venom GT to its record speed:





A representative from Racelogic, world-renowned maker of VBox GPS data-acquisition systems, was on hand to independently verify and document the Venom GT's highest recorded speed.




The Venom GT was powered with Pennzoil Platinum® with PurePlus™ Technology, a first of its kind synthetic motor oil made from natural gas.



2013 Hennessey Venom GT Specifications:



Optional Upgrades
• Michelin Pilot Sport Cup ZP Tires
• Bare Carbon Fiber Finish
• Right-Hand Drive
• Stefano Ricci Bespoke Interior
• Stereo System Designed by Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

Note: The Hennessey Venom GT design is based on the Lotus Elise / Exige. The Venom GT is created from a base Lotus Elise / Exige and utilizes components including but not limited to the roof, doors, side glass, windscreen, dash, cockpit, floorpan, HVAC system, wiper and headlights. Hennessey Performance and the Venom GT are not associated with Lotus Cars.

Want One?


For more information about the Venom GT or to place an order, please contact John Hennessey by telephone at 1.979.885.1300 or by email at info@venomgt.com

Jalopnik has a nice little history of the world's fastest cars here.

Related links:
http://www.venomgt.com
http://www.hennesseyperformance.com

The Elio: An Eco-Friendly, Revolutionary 3-Wheeled Vehicle Hits The Road.

It's green, It's lean. It's got three wheels and can be ordered now. Introducing the Elio.




Founded in 2008 by Mr. Paul Elio, Elio Motors set out to provide affordable transportation to those commuters seeking an alternative while providing vital American jobs.

The result is a street legal three wheeled environmentally friendly vehicle that goes from 0-60 in under 9.6 seconds and gets 84 miles to the gallon. For students, the vehicle provides a safe and reliable means to commute around campus. For those families with mini-vans or SUV’s, Elio provides an efficient and economical way to get to and from work. The price-point of the vehicle ($6800 USD) allows Elio to be an addition to a family's fleet without adding any additional cost to an already stretched budget.



Features:
• 84 Miles per Gallon
It gets 84 miles to the gallon on the highway. That means you can go from Detroit to New York City on a tank of gas – or drive from Shreveport LA to Dallas and back – then back to Dallas again – and still have about 110 miles left before a refill.



• 8-Gallon Tank:
It can go 672 miles, or thereabouts, because it has an 8-gallon tank and 8X84=672. Of course, other factors will affect your mileage.



• Eco-Friendly:
It gets 84 MPG on the highway, but you’ll be doing your share of city driving, too. With its city rate of 49 MPG, you’ll be consuming only 1/3 of what the average American vehicle consumes.

• Transmission:
5-speed manual or automatic. And yes, it has a reverse gear.

• Power:
An inline, 3 cylinder, .9 liter, 55 HP, fuel-injected, SOHC gas-powered, liquid-cooled, automotive engine. Top speed is in excess of 100 MPH, and the 0-60 speed is under 9.6 seconds.



• Traction:
The engine is in the front and it is a front-wheel-drive vehicle. With a low center of gravity and weight towards the front, you’ll get great traction action – even in the snow.

• Suspension:
The Elio is built on an independent suspension with unequal length control arms, coil-over-spring and shock in the front and mono-shock with coil-over-spring and shock in the rear. The ground clearance is 5.75″ — similar to most of the passenger vehicles you see on the road today.

• Brakes:
3-wheel disc brakes with the Anti-Lock Braking System on 15″ wheels.



• Safety:
Each Elio comes equipped with a Safety Management System that includes three airbags – a reinforced roll-cage frame, Anti-Lock Braking System, and 50% larger crush zones than similar vehicles. Preliminary safety tests on computer models anticipate a 5-Star safety rating.

• Quiet:
The body panels are made of a composite (which is more sound deadening than steel) and attached to a tight, solid body that doesn’t have a lot of moving (read squeaky) parts. These two design features help keep outside noise from getting into the cockpit and getting in the way of your favorite tunes playing on our AM/FM radio (that’s standard).

• Space:
The trunk space will be at least 27″ x 14″ x 10″, enough for an airline carry-on bag or a golf bag with the rear seat down (47″+).



Exterior Specs:
Overall Length: 160.5″
Overall Height: 54.2″
Front Wheel Track: 66.8″ (center rim to center rim)
Wheelbase: 110″ (center of front wheels to center of rear wheel)



Interior Specs:
Headroom: Driver 39.8 Passenger 36.4 in
Seat width: Driver 20.6 Passenger 25.3 in
Interior Shoulder Width: 26.8 in
Front seat Legroom: 42.7 in
Rear seat Legroom: 33.1 in

Comfort:
Elio has been designed to fit 95% of all people, whether it be a 6’8″ former college basketball player, a 6’3″ 365 lb man or a 5’0″ petite woman.



American Made = American Jobs
It should come as no surprise that Elio will create a number of much-needed jobs for American workers. The company is estimating 1,500 jobs at their Shreveport, LA plant beginning in 2014.

Price:
It only costs $6,800. That’s about what you would pay for an outboard motor to power a rowboat.

Warranty:
The Elio comes standard with a 3 year/36000 mile warranty.



When you own an Elio, you’re not just a customer, you’re part of a family. So we’re not going to lure you in with that $6,800 low price, only to mention things like A/C and an AM/FM radio are extra. They’re not. You get those items plus heater, defrost, the three airbags, power windows and door lock, seat belts, tempered glass, and windshield wiper at no extra cost.


Learn more and/or pre-order the Elio here

A Driveable Truck Made Of Ice Makes For One Cool Product Demo.

Here's a product demonstration that will leave you cold...  -49°C to be accurate. Canadian automotive parts retailer and manufacturer, Canadian Tire, constructed a completely drivable truck made of ice on the frame of a Chevrolet 2500HD to test the limitations of their MotoMaster Eliminator AGM battery. The truck was then used in a Canadian television commercial (shown at the end of this post).



They froze this battery to -49°C (-52° Farneheit) , then used it to start up the ice truck built out of more than 11,000 lbs of ice.





The project had numerous challenges. To put 14,000 pounds of ice on a regular truck frame, it had to be welded rigid because if it moves even a fraction of an inch it will crack the ice. And while your ice cubes at home may have a white center because of the air trapped inside, they had to remove all that air so the blocks were crystal clear.




The Canadian Tire Ice Truck even has an ice engraved vanity plate:



And an ice sculpted rear view mirror with an Ice Pine Tree Air Freshener hanging from it:


And ice sculpted side-view mirrors:


More pics:




The television commercial that aired in Canada:


And a look Behind The Scenes:


The tools that went into constructing the Canadian Tire Ice Truck:


Once it was all said and done, the ice truck had to be melted, which required a blow torch:


And here's an artsy time-lapse video (in reverse) of the ice truck....
Melt Video of the Canadian Tire Ice Truck (Extended):


Learn about the car batteries here

information courtesy of Canadian Tire;