One of the “must-do” activities for those who live in the Southern California area is to visit the Disneyland resort. Being based in so-cal myself I have been to Disneyland many times and I love it. One of my favorite things to do at Disneyland is visit the “Innoventions” pavilion. The Innoventions pavilion is full of all kinds of cool tech that, well used to be from the not so distant future. However today most of the tech on display are products that are out now but just a bit out of financial reach for most people. Although one very futuristic piece of tech still lives in Innoventions and that is Honda’s ASIMO Robot which does live shows every day.
ASIMO stands for “Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility” and was developed by Honda to be an “assistant” to people and their families in their daily lives. I have seen the live show myself many times and I can tell you that watching the little bot in action is pretty awesome. For those who have not had a chance to see ASIMO, Honda has launched a Facebook contestto help a lucky person meet their assistant bot in person. The winner will receive a four-day, three night stay at the Disneyland resort for four people with Airfare, hotel, and tickets to the park all included. When the winner visits Disneyland they will get a chance to interact one-on-one with ASIMO after one of the live shows. That sounds like a pretty sweet deal!
To enter, contestants must “like” ASIMO on Facebook, print out a photo of ASIMO from Facebook gallery and take a picture of themselves with that printed photo enjoying a favorite activity, take another picture of themselves and a group of friends with the printed photo enjoying another fun activity, answer a set of triva questions, and finally write in 50-200 words why you love ASIMO and why you want to meet it at Disneyland.
That is definitely a bit extensive but for a practically all expense paid trip for four to the happiest place on earth to meet a full-on robot I would say it is worth it. At the very least contestants will come away with a few fun photos for their Facebook pages!
To enter, simply visit ASIMO’s Facebook page (click the bold red text) and follow the official rules and instructions. Good luck!
April is probably my favorite time of year next to December. Why? By the time April rolls around Formula 1 has already gotten off to its start, Indy Car has begun, Formula D kicks off in Long Beach, and the Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach kicks off a week after! Granted it is a lot of work to cover it all but I still love it! If you don’t know, the Grand Prix Of Long Beach is a combination of races that take place over three days on the literal streets of Long Beach. The nearly 2 mile course takes the drivers down the scenic Shoreline Drive and through other downtown Long Beach landmarks like the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Long Beach Convention center. There is also a “Lifestyle Expo” inside the convention center put on by AAA that usually has some fun stuff going on.
Since it is a “Grand Prix” event, in just this one weekend you can watch several series go at it on the course including Indy Car (main race, American LeMans, Indy Lights, World Challenge, and even a Formula Drift sanctioned “Team Drift” competition (a crowd favorite).
Friday is one of the best days to go because the tickets are cheap, there is no reserved seating on Friday (sit in any grandstand you want), and the teams from all the series are either practicing or getting ready for the weekend so it is a great time to watch badass race cars get prepped by professionals. So, that’s exactly what I did! Friday I cruised around the Expo, paid a visit to the Indy Car garage, World Challenge garage, and American LeMan’s garage. Then, I shot some practice photos as well as a few candids from the Indy Car autograph session.
You can cruse through all the photos in our Facebook gallery. Stay tuned for more galleries and posts from days 2 and 3!
Here is day two of our coverage from the 2010 LA Auto Show presented by Borla Exhaust. In this gallery we cover the Kenita Hall with all the cool aftermarket stuff and exotic cars as well as manufacturer exhibits like Mazda, Audi, and more. There are over 200 pics to check out so hurry up and click on the gallery link below!!
The Tjin family is producing another hot Camaro for SEMA this year only this time instead of Neil “The Ninja” at the helm its his brother Gene “Don’t Call Me Napolean Dynamite” Tjin at the helm. Despite my close ties with the family I couldn’t get too many details about what else they have in store for Gene’s Camaro but I would assume some type of boost will be on hand. If you’re feeling the exterior of this car as much as I am you can head over to the Chevy SEMA facebook page and vote for this car to win best Camaro. If you click the thumbnail below you can get a wallpaper sized version of the pic so you can rep Gene’s Camaro on your desktop.
A few months ago a few passionate individuals from Audi USA marketing decided to start a online petition powered by Facebook and Twitter in an effort to bring the super fresh Audi TT RS to America. The petition was also used to gauge interest and get a rough count of how many serious TT RS buyers were residing state side. In just the first month they got over 11,500 signatures pleading with Audi corporate to bring the TT RS over.
Well today we got official confirmation that Audi USA’s efforts were successful and the TT RS will come to America! We should start seeing the sport coupe in Audi dealerships around the third quarter of 2011. That is relatively quick considering the normal slow pace of OEM’s when it comes to this kind of thing. Given this recent news development I wonder if we’ll see the TT RS at the LA Auto Show in November?
Press Release:
Confirmed: Audi TT RS coming to America
- High-performance sports coupe scheduled to arrive in U.S. dealerships by the third quarter of 2011
- ‘Bring it to the U.S.’ Facebook petition gathered 11,500+ signatures in just one month, including many likely buyers
- The Audi TT RS will achieve 360 hp, 0-62 mph time of 4.6 seconds
HERNDON, Va., Sep 14, 2010 - The hopes of American sports car enthusiasts will be realized. Audi announced today that it is bringing the 360-horsepower Audi TT RS coupe to the U.S. market by the third quarter of 2011.
The introduction of the Audi TT RS to the U.S. market has been under consideration for several months. To gauge consumer passion for the high-performance car, Audi launched an innovative survey on its Facebook tab. After more than 11,500 fans expressed their enthusiasm for the Audi TT RS in just one month, and the American automotive media praised its dynamics, Audi executives concluded the car’s time had come.
“With performance and agility rooted in Audi motorsports success, the TT RS is truly an emotional sports car,” explained Johan de Nysschen, President, Audi of America. “That emotion became abundantly clear as we explored interest across the country.”
Audi has not yet determined pricing for the Audi TT RS and will continue to define features and options available to U.S. consumers. Only the coupe version of the TT RS will be available in the U.S.
The Audi TT RS headed for America will share key performance attributes of the models sold in Europe and elsewhere. The car will come with the same, award-winning 2.5-liter TFSI, five-cylinder engine that generates 360 horsepower. The turbocharged engine also produces an impressive 332 lb-ft of torque. It was developed exclusively for the Audi TT RS and won International Engine of the Year honors this summer in judging for its category by 71 automotive journalists. The 2.5T engine will be paired with a six-speed manual transmission and quattro® all-wheel drive to achieve a 0-60 mph time of 4.6 seconds. The lightweight body featuring Audi Space Frame ASF® aluminum construction produces a low drag coefficient of 0.32.
In the latest marketing stunt by Vodafone (AKA Verizon here in the US) they have decided to put their mobile broadband network against the youngest champion in F1. The way it will work is that a 2.7km course will be set up for the young driver to navigate and at the same time a Vodafone mobile device will attempt to download a 288MB file of Facebook pictures. The test will be if the device can finish downloading all the pictures before Hamilton completes the course hence the cool looking CGI F1 car in the promo video. This race is slated to go down on September 13th so if you want your Facebook picture added to the 288MB file that Hamilton will race against head over to facebookvshamilton.nl to be a part of the race.
Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am really not big on the Facebook games. You’ll never find me playing Farmville, Cafe World, Mafia Wars or any of that stuff. It is not just a personal thing either, I’ve seen what Farmville addiction can do to people! However, I’ve come across a Facebook game that I think I can actually get behind (and probably become addicted to). Its called Car Town and it was developed by Cie Games based right here in Long Beach, CA.
Car Town is similar in a lot of ways to other Facebook games that are currently being played but the big and important difference is that instead of tending a farm, running a restaurant, or expanding your organized crime syndicate Car Town is all about earning money to buy the cars you want by playing games and doing “jobs” and also using the money you earn to fix up the cars you own. You can race your cars against your Facebook friends, deliver pizza to other friends to make money, even enter car shows. There is a ton of customization available in the game as well from the cars to your own avatar.
Right now the game is still in beta testing, but since someone thinks I’m cool I had a chance to test it out before its release. We’ll continue to bring you updates on Car Town until its full launch which should be coming soon!
It’s hard to learn the story of Tony Stark/Iron Man and not be inspired to create something that could aid in making life better for everyone. However doing something like that requires a ton of resources, namely money! Thankfully for all you innovators out there Audi USA is doing their part to help someone’s idea become a reality. They are the official sponsors of the “Tony Stark Innovation Challenge“.
Starting tomorrow this challenge will call on you to record yourself explaining your innovative idea that will make life better through technology. You can then upload your video to the challenge website where people can rate and comment on your idea. The winner of the contest gets $15,000 to make their idea a reality! Cool stuff huh?
Press Release:
Audi announces “The Tony Stark Innovation Challenge”
- Contest calls for ideas for “living better through technology”
- Winner receives $15,000 to help fund their idea and a tech-lovers’ adventure
- Social media program to support the Audi Iron Man 2 integration
HERNDON, Va., Apr 27, 2010 – In celebration of the April 26 world premiere of Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment’s Iron Man 2 in Los Angeles, Audi of America, Inc., announced that it is launching a social media competition called “Stark Expo & Audi Present: The Tony Stark Innovation Challenge” in support of its prominent presence in the film, which releases on May 7. Beginning April 28, consumers can submit up to two-minute videos that showcase their ideas for better living through the use of technology, just as Tony Stark did with the Stark Expo. Participants then must rally members of their Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other social media networks to rate, comment, and discuss their ideas. Full contest information and rules are available at www.TonyStarkInnovationChallenge.com.
“Achieving progress through technology is the message behind Iron Man 2, and this idea is fundamental to Audi,” said Scott Keogh, Chief Marketing Officer, Audi of America. “The partnership in Iron Man 2 celebrates our shared focus on innovation, and this contest allows anyone with a great idea to not just express it, but potentially make a true difference within their industry.”
“The Tony Stark Innovation Challenge” mirrors Tony Stark’s desire to take Stark Industries in a new direction, using his vast intellect and resources to eradicate problems through technology. Submissions will be judged by Audi on their ability to:
• Make the world a better place by solving a problem or improving an existing solution
• Articulate and demonstrate expertise of the “better living through technology” philosophy
• Have a scalability and adaptability to potentially change the way we live
• Showcase innovation, adventures, and intelligence worthy of Audi and Tony Stark
• Appeal to the general audience as viewer ratings will help determine top entries
The winner will receive:
• $15,000 in funding to develop their concept
• Their experience documented and featured on www.audiusa.com
• A four-day trip for two to California including air transportation, hotel and meals
• Transportation in the latest innovation from Audi, the 2011 A8
• Spa treatments, tailored cocktail attire, and grooming to perfect their Stark style
• A tour of Audi Design Center in Santa Monica
• A VIP day with the ICON Aircraft team, joining them in flight and water testing of the innovative ICON A5 aircraft (one of Tony Stark’s toys)
• A day at the Audi Sports Car Experience to drive Tony Stark’s favorite car, the Audi R8 on a racetrack
Audi will also be lending its support to the film through activities including a month-long late night TV and national cable campaign and an online presence on Fandango.com and Movies.com. The brand is also unveilng an all-new Audi Iron Man ad that will run in cinemas in the month leading up to the film release. Additionally, Audi is sponsoring the re-launch of Marvel.com that will include a digital comic book featuring the R8 Spyder.
Tony Stark will be seen throughout Iron Man 2 in his Audi R8 Spyder, the new soft top convertible version of the R8 super car which was featured in the first Iron Man. In addition to the R8 Spyder, the A8 sedan will also be showcased in the film.
The video submission period starts April 28, 2010 and ends June 9, 2010. The voting period starts April 28, 2010 and ends June 13, 2010. Approved submissions will be posted to the site within 48 hours. Users can rate video submissions once per day, for the length of the contest participation period on a scale from one to five. Final ratings will be calculated toward the final score of each entry and will help determine the grand prize winner. Finalists will be selected shortly after the submissions end. Clearance, notifications and interviews will take place between June 17, 2010 and June 25, 1010, and the winner will be announced the week of June 28, 2010. Prizes will be redeemed in August 2010. Submissions are only accepted in English and from residents of the 50 U.S. and D.C. who are 18 and over and who possess a valid driver’s license.
I love it when Formula D comes to Long Beach or Irwindale because both areas are pretty close to us but it is a total bummer when Formula Drift is out of town and I have to hover over twitter or call up one of our ninjas to get current info. Well thanks to YoParts.com and Formula D those days are over! Formula Drift has just announced “DRIFTStream 2010″. Now you can see each round LIVE by either watching the feed on Formula Drift’s website, installing the DRIFTStream app on your facebook page, or even on your smart phone!
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