Video Report

1. The challenges and tribulations of being a group assignment
   In the group assignment we have faced many challenges and tribulations such as, communication, work to meet deadline, organizing group meetings and allocating task to members and decision making. Decision making has always been the greatest challenge for our group, as each member will often have their own opinion and preferred way to process a task. Tribulation occurred when writing the storyboard for the video. At the start, we came up with two different scenarios for the video, after we have chosen a scenario, we each have a different preferred ending for the story, high tension and conflict often occurs during these processes. Fortunately, our group includes four members, most of these challenges faced during decision making were able to overcome by voting.
   Another great challenge was faced during the process of filming the video, we originally wanted to film a scene where two characters was talking to each other, however, we were unable to organise a time to film the scene together, therefore, we have changed the scene into a telephone conversion, which allows us to film both character separately. An outdoor scene was required for the introduction of the video, the bad weather on the filming day have made it more difficult for us to film the scene.
2. The process of creating the video

In order to being the process of creating the video, we had to decide what our video was going to be on. We first discussed some ideas for what we wanted our video to be about on. Our first ideas were not great or would not be feasible within the limited time amount so we looked to Youtube for some inspiration for our own video. After going through numerous car videos, we decide that we would go with one of our own ideas which was to film the type of the cars that university students drive to university.

With our concept done, we now had to figure out how to film the video. One of the members had a 5.0MB pixel camera phone so we decided to use this device as it would be sufficient for the filming our video.

We would then meet on a Tuesday as all the group members were at university on that day and all members could participate in the making of the video. We decide to go to the university carparks as it would be the easiest way to film the type of cars students drive to university. During our filming process, we looked for and filmed different types of cars and to make it more entertaining, we each made satirical comments about the cars. Overall, we filmed 6 cars which were a Toyota Camry, Honda Integra, Audi A6, Toyota Prius, BMW 3 Series and an ancient car.

From there we got the clips from the phone and put them together and this became our video

3. How does the video relate to your blog?

Our blog, “The Stig’s Guide to Cars” is a blog centered on cars. We talk about old vehicles, new vehicles and also some of the most popular cars through time. We give insight and reviews on these vehicles and also like to put a comedic twist to our entries e.g. the piano falling on the Morris Marina.

With this in mind, the video we have created is also centered on cars, namely the cars found in Macquarie University. The group walked around the car park inspecting the vehicles, we then decided on a particular few vehicles which we would record and provided narration to go alongside the video. Again we tried to put a comedic twist on the narration in the video and anything said was purely for comedic purposes and was not meant to cause offence to anyone.

Throughout our blog we have covered many vehicles, ranging from the affordable to the incredibly expensive, we kept this same theme in our video as well and selected vehicles with a wide range of price tags, makes and models.

With all these aspects taken into consideration we have come up with a video which we believe compliments our blog.

Assignment 3

Report

Report part 1 JT

The topic for our blog is cars, which was decided and completely agreed upon by all four group members because we all had some interests on that topic. Our interest of cars was brought up by discussing some of the interests we had and eventually cars was brought through our common interest of watching the BBC car show ‘TopGear’. The show was also our inspiration for our title and profile with one of the ‘presenters’ of the show known as ‘The Stig’ whose real identity is a well kept secret used for our title. The topic of cars is also widely available with plenty of new as well as interesting news and information from all different sources and this would certainly make things easier for us to find things to blog about. Cars also feature in the majority of people’s lives whether it’s used drive from point A to B or carpooling to university so you don’t have to waste 3 hours a day on a train. Because of this, we believed that our blog topic would be able to engage a wide range of audiences.

Report part 2

The largest challenge with a team assignment is the communications. Sometimes the team members were not turning up to class or meeting. Therefore we had to communicate with each other online. Four team members could not be online at the same time; some important messages had to pass around in the team. As a team, there is little discussion between the team members; therefore we did not have too many suggestions in the team. There are some challenges in the team assignment as well. Some team members did not finish jobs on time, there would be a delay on the team assignment. Culture difference is the challenge as well. Team member sometimes would have different idea for the team assignment which we had to discuss and make a decision.

Report Part 3 J.W

For the final design, we had tried different style of the blog and viewed some design of other blogs. It is not easy to establish a blog that everyone would like it. Actually, black and other dark color were removed, because, we thought, that can not stimulate people’s desire. Also, we do not like too colourful style for the car topic. We believed that the light colour are preferred for most of people. In order to avoid the blog looks too bored, we had posted at least one picture or video to the blog to motivate people’s interest. Furthermore, we had set up different colour and fonts for the words. Titles are more brilliant than content. Hence, audiences could easier to focus the titles and read it.

Report Part 4 A.S.

A blog which hosts similar content to ours is “The Car Blog” which can be found at http://www.thecarblog.com/. The car blog was designed by some of today’s top web designers and was created as a place they could talk about cars, trucks, motorcycles etc.
The design team is from Automotive.com and the blog contains posts dating back to October of 2004. The main blog articles are updated 2-3 times a week and the shortlinks section is updated all of the time, this is also where you can subscribe to the rss feed for regular updates.
The Car Blog also supports comments and believes this is a big part of the blog as it allows users to offer their own opinions on the articles posted and makes reading the blog a more interactive experience. The blog is also categorised so it makes it easier for someone visiting the blog to find articles on particular topics e.g. Asian imports, Domestics, Euro cars. It also has a search bar if the user is looking for anything specific.
Our blog however is a much more basic version of what ‘The Car Blog’ has to offer, our posts date back to April 2010 and was created for the purposes of an assignment for university. When it comes to design elements, none of our group members are professional web/graphic designers so the look of the blog is very basic when compared to ‘The Car Blog’. Our content is also centred around cars whereas ‘The Car Blog’, contrary to its name, also talks about trucks and motorcycles.
‘The Car Blog’ has been updated regularly since October 2004 and looks like it will continue to be regularly updated within the foreseeable future, for us however, there is no real intention to continue with updating the blog after the duration of the assignment.
A similarity between our blogs however is the comments section, we too believed that comments were an important factor in the blog and would allow users to voice their opinions about it, this would lead to an overall greater blogging experience and would also provide us with user feedback.

Showdown of the Century

Okay guys this is the big one, the one we’ve all been waiting for, the showdown of the century, the Bugatti Veyron vs. The McLaren F1 in a 1 mile drag race in Abu Dhabi. This is going to be an epic competition between the two fastest road cars in the world, who’s gonna take the prize? The only way to find out is to watch and see.

Volkswagon Golf GTI MK VI

Here is a car that does it all, and does it all better than anything else does it all, or even just does bits of it. ‘It', or in this case ‘it all', is performance, practicality, tractability, affordability, credibility, reliability, safety, quality, subtlety. And there are bound to be loads more ‘ities' that it does better than everyone else. The Mark VI Golf GTI is what happens when, ideologically speaking, that Porsche and that Polo are subject to some sort of stem cell research to find a cure for the fact that nobody can afford fast cars any more. It's the hybrid love child of extravagance and conservatism. And in this respect it is, essentially, perfect.

In what is now the GTI's 33rd year, the changes made do make for a better car, but without taking away from what also made its immediate predecessor a great one. The engine is now more compact and 3kg lighter. But for that it is also greener, more fuel efficient, more powerful and able to deliver its peak torque 100 rpm faster. Small things, but all of which add to up a more impressive whole. So total power output is now 155kW, taking the GTI to 100km/h in 7.2 seconds, figures that are almost identical to the old car.

Perhaps the most significant changes to the new car are aesthetic ones. Where the Mk V was a very deliberate homage to the Mk 1, borrowing and embellishing upon various instantly familiar styling cues, the Mk 6 moves on from this, taking the nostalgia and morphing it into something more modern. The headlight lenses are more geometric, while the grille is a simpler, narrow parallel slit, albeit one still trimmed in that now trademark red. The front fogs have been pushed as far as possible into the corners of the bumper to give the car a greater sense of width, and with it more aggression and menace.

So this really is Porsche meets Polo, the performance car for our times. Every bit as quick and capable as you will ever need on a British, or European, road, and genuinely easy to live with. And, relatively speaking, to buy too.

Review from:
http://www.topgear.com/au/volkswagen/golf-gti/road-test/mk-6

Morris Marina

Well you've heard it all before but how could we resist writing about what is quite possibly the worst car of all time, ladies and gentlemen i introduce the Morris Marina.

The Marina was manufactured by the Morris division of British Leyland throughout the 1970's, a period that provided great struggle for the British car industry.

The Marina has been has been criticized with having a poor build quality, handling like a 'skip on wheels' and possessing an outdated design even for its time.

Even with all the criticism the Morris Marina was a very popular car in Britain and was one of the country's best selling cars throughout its production life. Production of the Marina lasted almost 10 years though now fewer than 1 in every 1000 made are still on British roads today which makes it the most scrapped car to be sold in Britain over the past 30 years.

High Points:

• Doesn't look as bad as the Austin Allegro

Low Points:

• The worst steering on a car ever
• Poor build quality
• Outdated design

The Morris Marina also has a tendency of piano's falling onto it, the reason for this however remains unknown.

Post2

Post1

Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMG

MERCEDES-BENZ and the FIA have announced today that the 2010 Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMGwill act as the official safety car for the 2010 Formula 1 championship.

Making its debut at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on March 12, the SLS AMG will take over from last year's F1 safety car, the Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMG.

The 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is powered by a 6.2 litre V8 engine, developing 420kW of power and a stout 650Nm of torque. The 0-100km/h run is dispatched in just 3.8 seconds and top speed is electronically limted to 317km/h.

European pricing will start at around €177,310 (AU$298,900) when it arrives in German showrooms this year. Australian pricing and a precise sale date will be revealed sometime later in 2010.

From: http://www.themotorreport.com.au/49914/2010-mercedes-benz-sls-amg-the-new-formula-1-safety-car

Bugatti 16C Galibier

Bugatti seems intent on keeping us on the ropes regarding the production prospects for the 16C Galibier. The concept was unveiled to a very select audience last September during the Frankfurt Motor Show, but didn't debut on the marque's show stand. Bugatti pulled a similar shtick in Geneva, but we were luck enough to get a closer look at an exclusive viewing in Beverly Hills.

The company has been fairly tight-lipped on whether their higher-ups at the Volkswagen group have given it the green light – leaving the matter up to speculation and conjecture – but to keep us interested, they've released this batch of photos showing what appears to be a second show car, doing its best Johnny Cash impression instead of the two-tone blue and silver paint scheme seen on the the original.

Underneath the dramatic split hood sits a version of the Veyron's 8.0-liter W-16 engine, but with a pair of superchargers replacing the quartet of turbos and an eight-speed automatic reportedly in place of the Veyron's seven-speed DSG. Will we ever hear one rumbling down our streets? That's in Wolfsburg's hands now, so for the moment, we'll just have to enjoy the latest crop of photos in the gallery below.

From: http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/16/pics-aplenty-bugatti-16c-galibier-is-back-in-black/

2010 Ferrari 599 GTO

Not too long ago Ferrari announced plans to ressurant the Gand Turismo Omologato moniker with a special edition 599 Fiorano. The super very special 599 GTO will be unveiled in March at the Geneva Motor Show with a scheduled production run of only 500 units, each priced at around half a million dollars each. This will be the first time that the Italian automaker has used the GTO badge since the F40 super car inspiring 288 GTO.
The 599 GTO will be a road going version of the Ferrari Corse Clienti special, the Ferrari 599XX. Through the extensive use of lightweight carbon fiber, essentially dropping about 300 pounds from the GT car, bringing the curb weight down to 1450 kilograms. Meanwhile the high revving 6.0 Liter V12 will be tuned to deliver somewhere between 680 HP and 700 HP making the future 599 GTO a real beast that will be able to sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in only 3.2 seconds and gallop all the way to a 217 MPH top speed.

From:http://www.topspeed.com/cars/ferrari/2010-ferrari-599-gto-ar83487.html

Selling in the Motor City

The steering wheel in a 1960 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible is surprisingly thin. It's oversized and humongously circular, but still startlingly narrow considering it directs a very bargelike Caddy. Oh, and the seats are fairly comfortable. And the odometer has rolled over precisely 34,844 miles.
Not that the Internet bidder who paid the hammer price of $75,000 for the classic would know all of this. But we did. Because we got an up-close look at the Caddy and sat in it, minutes after it sold at RM Auctions' classic-car sale on Saturday in Novi, Mich.
And we weren't the only ones to check out this piece of iconic sheetmetal. Resplendent in white paint and chrome with the imposing bullet grille and monster fins in rear, the car sat on the show floor before and after crossing the block at the cavernous convention hall.

Underground Racing Lamborghini cracks 250 mph

Earlier this year, we told you about Underground Racing, a shop in Charlotte, N.C., that makes a business out of upgrading Lamborghinis with twin turbochargers to boost engine output to more than 1,000 hp.
Now, a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera upfitted by Underground Racing cracked the 250-mph mark at the Texas Mile event.
Car owner Richard Holt made the 250.1-mph run in late March, but video was posted just this week.
We gave you a look at Underground Racing and what it does back in January. You can read the article, including a test drive with IndyCar driver Graham Rahal, here: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100104/CARREVIEWS/100109992
The twice-yearly Texas Mile is a three-day, high-speed challenge staged on a runway for the Goliad Industrial Air Park, about 90 miles southeast of San Antonio. Participants drive to post a top speed for a one-mile section of the runway.Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100425/CARNEWS/304259998#ixzz0mDvagOzP

2010 MG ZERO concept car

The MG ZERO concept car has been unveiled to the world's media today as one of the stars of the Beijing Automotive Show, now one of the world's most important automotive events.The MG ZERO Concept car has been developed by MG Global Design team, led by British MG Design Director Anthony (Tony) Williams-Kenny, based in Birmingham.At around 4m in length, the MG ZERO concept previews the design direction of the brand and demonstrates how MG can expand into this high- volume sector of the market. MG ZERO reflects the latest trends in the market for vehicle size, styling and technology and is designed to show how MG will offer products that will appeal to a wide audience across the global market.MG Zero also demonstrates the design and engineering capabilities of SAIC by showcasing a number of innovative features. The bold interior has clean and simple lines with high contrast flashes of accent colour. It uses the latest technology touch screens to allow occupants to interact with the world around them and features a striking ‘floating console' design around the driver.The high-tech materials are draw inspiration from ultra high-performance sports equipment and there is highly innovative use of interior lighting features to create real emotion in the cabin. The bold red-coloured illumination adds a touch of drama.Commenting on the exterior style, Design Director Tony Williams said " This concept shows a bold, individual soul. The bonnet is formed around the famous octagonal badge, the graphics flow into striking lamps and the large lower grille completes the confident, sporty character. The body-side has a strong shoulder, a dynamic scalloped feature in the doors and flared arches to give a wide stance and strong road presence. The feature lines have been designed to give a strong relationship to the wheel arch demonstrating the fun nature of the cars dynamics."MG ZERO also explores the integration of the latest communications technology in the vehicle and in addition to the interior systems, it features a fun communications system on the exterior of the rear!Guy Jones, MG Motor UK Sales and Marketing Director summarised by saying "MG Zero is crucial to the development of the brand globally, as it gives clear direction for the future beyond the current products. We are all proud to see our British-designed vehicle wearing the MG badge creating such an impact in Beijing. With the MG TF back in production in Birmingham, sales increasing and the MG6 coming at the end of the year, the MG ZERO has come at the perfect time to build further awareness and interest in the brand here in the UK."

A Car That Doesn't Emit Emissions?

Honda's new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car, The FCX Clarity, which runs on hydrogen and electricity, emits only water and none of the noxious fumes believed to induce global warming.

The FCX Clarity has a range of about 435km per tank with hydrogen consumption equivalent to 3.1 litres per 100km, according to the carmaker. The 1630kg vehicle can reach speeds up to 160km/h. It is powered by a fuel-cell stack that uses an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to convert chemical energy into electricity to power the motor. The fuel cell draws on energy synthesised through a chemical reaction between hydrogen gas and oxygen in the air, and a lithium-ion battery pack provides extra power.

Honda FCX Clarity points to petrol-free future.

Credits: Carsguide

Peugeot RCZ coupé enters the Nurburgring 24 Hour race

April 20, 2010 by George Skentzos




To mark the launch of the limited edition Peugeot RCZ coupé and the brand’s 200th anniversary, Peugeot will compete for the first time in the Nürburgring 24 Hours race.





Peugeot will race two diesel-powered RCZ coupes in the D1T category which will be mostly standard, save for the compulsory safety equipment and a few select part from the Peugeot Sport “client motor racing” range.
Specifically, Peugeot will use the 2.0-litre HDi FAP RCZ which develops 147kW – with the brand hoping it has found a competitive balance between power and economy to take the class win.

The two RCZs will display the numbers 200 and 201, to symbolise 200 years of innovation, and will be driven respectively by a Peugeot French team and a Peugeot German team.




Among the list of drivers is Jean-Philippe Peugeot, Vice-president of the PSA Group’s Supervisory Board, Stéphane Caillet, ground link technician, Cyrus Ayari, sales executive, and Olivier Perez, Peugeot Marketing executive.

SHOCK! M3 is more economical than a Prius

Well, Jeremy and his TopGear team decided to make this odd drive comparison and see which car achieves better gas mileage after 10 laps of a race track. The idea was to really push to the max the 1.5 liter 4 cylinder, 110 horsepower Toyota Prius, while the M3’s job was simply to keep up with it.
After 10 laps, surprisingly, Jeremy gives the M3 some credit, with its 19.4 MPG fuel consumption versus the 17.2 MPG for the Prius.
Does that mean that the BMW M3 is more economical than the Prius? Not really, if the test would have been conducted during a broader mileage range and in different driving situations, the Prius, as expected, would have come on top.

Bottom line: Drive a M3 if you want to be Green !

From TopGear

Ferrari 458 Italia

Baby Enzo, anyone? The Ferrari 458 Italia’s a dead ringer!

Funny you should say that, because not only does the 458 bear a striking resemblance to the legendary supercar flagship, it can actually lap the Fiorano circuit in the same 1min 25sec. That’s the same as the stripped-out Scuderia by the way, and 2sec quicker than the F430 it replaces. Impressive, but with the eco-conscious Mille Chili concept from 2007 fresh in my mind, I’m guessing that this thing weighs 1000kg and has a hybrid motor stuffed behind the seats?Not exactly, but the 458 does employ some of the Mille Chili’s ideas, including active aerodynamics. Two fins located at either side of the front grille are designed to deform at speed, partially blocking off the grille needed to cool the front-mounted radiators at low speeds and directing the air around the car, reducing the drag co-efficient. Other aero work has resulted in vents near the lights used to slow gas speed over the front wings, reducing lift and even using the high pressure built up in the rear wheelwells to cool the engine. Italy’s wind tunnels must’ve been kept busy for these past few years.

So if there’s no KERS system, what’s under the bonnet?

Something more conventional but still full of tech. There’s a naturally aspirated 4.5-litre dry-sumped V8 that revs to a stratospheric 9000rpm and delivers 562bhp, compared with 483bhp from the F430’s unrelated 4.3-litre motor. To save you scrabbling around for the calculator, that equates to a massive 127bhp per litre, a record for a naturally aspirated production car. It shares its block, heads and direct-injection technology with the California but the front-engine car runs out of puff before 8000rpm, and delivers just 454bhp. Also shared is the seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox, although the 458 adds E-diff 3, the latest version of Ferrari’s electronic differential. And for the first time on a mainstream Ferrari, there’s no manual gearbox alternative.

So what’s the 458 Italia like to drive?

Would you believe fast? Zero to 62mph takes ‘less than 3.4sec’ says Ferrari and it feels every bit as rapid. Eighty percent of the 400lb ft peak torque is available from 3250rpm and that’s exactly the point at which the 458 starts to feel seriously quick. Run it out to the redline and the noise is race-car fierce, and never abates because there are now no pauses between shifts. The standard carbon brakes offer plenty of stopping power and more feel than rivals while the new, 30% quicker steering rack means mountain roads, and even gathering huge slides (see first image above – more pics like this in the next issue of CAR!), rarely involves more than a flick of the wrists. The 458 will slide, providing you’ve tweaked the steering wheel manettino to the appropriate position, but unless you provoke it, this Ferrari is always massively stable and has huge reserves of grip.One for Sundays or something I could use every day?Definitely an everyday supercar in the mould of the Audi R8. The ride comfort is excellent, visibility good, noise levels low, build quality leagues above the F430’s and that dual-clutch gearbox means the 458 is just as happy trickling through traffic as blasting around Fiorano. Wherever you are you’ll feel like you’re piloting a spaceship thanks to the button-festooned steering wheel and twin TFT displays, one showing the status of the car’s major components and the other, audio and navigation duties.

Verdict

No doubt about it, this is the most rounded supercar you can currently buy and is likely to remain so until McLaren deploys the MP4 12C in 2011. Even then, the McLaren is going to have to be really good. Is the 458 Italia really worth an estimated £60k more than an Audi R8 V10? Judging by the number of five-star ratings in our spec sheet, yes. If you can afford the Ferrari, it is the better car and we’d definitely recommend the premium. We’re just left wondering if the 458 is this good, how amazing is the next Scuderia going to be?


From:http://www.teamspeed.com/forums/458-430-360/31641-458-italia-test-drive-car-magazine.html