Archive for January 4th, 2009
Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal, UK, Celebrities
 2008 was a good year for Lewis Hamitlon. In taking the Formula One drivers’ title, he became the youngest champion in F1 history, and the first British champion in twelve years. To cap off his victorious season and start the new one on the right foot, after commissioning Bentley to convert her limos to run on bio-fuel, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has named Hamilton a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Sounds pretty impressive, doesn’t it? Well for starters, Lewis can add the letters MBE to his name, but unlike his predecessor Jackie Stewart, it does not entitle Hamilton to knighthood. The MBE is the lowest rank in the British order of chivalry, and was awarded to Hamilton together with nearly 1,000 other recipients on the Queen’s annual new year’s list. Still, not bad when combined with his own set of stamps. Oh yeah, and the F1 trophy.
[Source: McLaren, Photo by DAVE CAULKIN/AFP/Getty]
Hamilton “honoured” by the Queen originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Frank Filipponio
Filed under: Videos
Ford’s recent announcement of a new, automated parallel-parking system has prompted us to drive down Memory Lane and revisit an oldie-but-goodie. A couple years back, a handful of highly-motivated, up-and-coming mechanical engineers from the University of Toledo designed and built their own parallel parking system that seems to work as well as (maybe better than?) anything available to consumers. Though it might seem ridiculous at first, it’s absolutely ingenious. The project takes a donated Toyota Corolla, some hydraulics, a motor, plus extra guide wheels and turns them into a brutally simple-yet-effective parallel parking device that could rival the latest techno-wizardry from Lincoln or Lexus.
Okay, okay – it’s not perfect. You do have to give up your trunk space, and it sounds like the exhaust no longer benefits from a muffler, but still… Parallel parking takes just 21 seconds with little (if any) help from the driver, and without fancy computers and sensors to monitor all the action. Now as then, this still looks like a winner. Check the two video clips after the jump to see the system in action, and check out the build blog by clicking here. Kudos on the project guys. Hat tip to David for reminding us about this one!
[Source: YouTube]
Continue reading From the archives: Students build their own parallel parking system
From the archives: Students build their own parallel parking system originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Griffin McElroy
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox, Microsoft Xbox 360, Online
Well, that was entirely unexpected. How, in a year chock-full of incredible Xbox Live-enabled releases, did Yaris manage to not only be the most downloaded XBLA title of 2008, but also place first on the annual Xbox Live activity charts? We could have sworn that those accomplishments would have gone to Castle Crashers and Halo 3, respectively! What’s that? They did, but we thought we’d distort the truth because we haven’t made a Yaris joke in a while? Oh, thank God.
Yes, Major Nelson recently released the final Xbox Live statistics for 2008 — Halo 3 dominated the overall Xbox Live activity chart (followed by CoD 4 and GTA IV), and Castle Crashers was the top downloaded XBLA title of the year (in front of Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 and Braid). We’ve got both of the totally unsurprising lists posted after the jump, as well as the top Live titles from the original Xbox, the winner of which will straight-up blow your mind.
Continue reading Major Nelson reveals top 20 Xbox Live games and arcade downloads
Major Nelson reveals top 20 Xbox Live games and arcade downloads originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Meta BD
While the holiday period made it a slow week for news Big Download was busy with a number of forward looking feature articles that give our picks for the games and events of 2009. As always let’s look back on the past seven days on our site:
Exclusive Features
- 2009 previews: We concluded our 2009 preview feature with looks at strategy, RPG-MMO and other games. We also gave our predictions for 2009 and picked our top 10 games we most want to play this year.
- Mac Monday: Our look at Macintosh games this week is a big one; a hands-on preview of the upcoming Mac version of City of Heroes/Villains.
- Independent Minds: In a departure, our weekly look at indie games takes a look at some staples of certain genre games.
- Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game themes takes a look at the (often annoying) game cutscene.
- Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free games takes a look at Area 51, the Midway shooter that was recently released as a free (ad-supported) download.
- Virtual Bargain Bin: Our look at games on the cheap returns with a look at the Oddworld series of titles.
News
The Best of Big Download: December 29-January 4 originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Euro, FIAT
Click above to view the Lancia Thesis in high resolution
You’d be forgiven for not knowing much about the Lancia Thesis. Or perhaps mistaking it for something like a SsangYong. The range-topping luxosedan from Fiat’s quirky cousin was never sold in North America, and even in the European market has remained something of an anomaly. We had a chance to ride in one on the way to the airport after driving the Alfa MiTo in Italy and were generally impressed, but with its homely, oddball styling and less-reputed badge, it never really stood a chance against class-leaders like the Mercedes E-Class, BMW 5 Series or Audi A6. Now, after less than seven years on the market, Fiat is reportedly set to pull the plug.
As it is, the Thesis is only made on demand, which has been relatively ( and understandably) low. Until the introduction of the Maserati Quattroporte in 2004, the Thesis was the largest and most luxurious sedan in the Fiat Group portfolio, but with dismal sales amidst difficult economic times, the Italian auto giant can no longer justify its continued production. Despite having no replacement in the pipeline, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne reportedly announced the model’s discontinuation for this past year, but production is now tipped to drag out until the Spring. The Lancia Thesis may have its small cadre of fans, but by and large it’s not likely to be especially missed as it rolls towards the sunset. To commemorate its passing, we’ve assembled the gallery below.
[Source: Autoblog.it]
Lancia to cancel top-of-the-line Thesis this year? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Joseph L. Flatley
Some Xbox 360 mods are the product of serious craftsmanship, some are rather silly, and some — like this Suzuki automobile console / Xbox 360 game console hybrid — really give one pause. This isn’t the sort of thing that one spends moments / hours / weeks on, after which he reflects for a moment (“Aren’t I rather clever?”), and then hides it safely in the closet (or sells it on eBay). No, this is an automobile. We’re guessing that the slight cringe of embarrassment he’s going to feel when picking up his date for the cotillion will be outweighed by the safety and security he feels knowing that he can always play Super Smash Bros. Brawl — even on the road. According to the photo’s description on Flickr, this car features not one but two Xbox 360s, two projectors, and two flat screens. The game controllers are availabe at a moment’s notice — including one in the steering wheel, one in front of the gear shifter — and one of the 360s is set in the dashboard. Oy vey.
[Via On 10] Filed under: Gaming
Suzuki Xbox dashboard mod for the undignified gamer on the go originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Lexus
 For fifteen years, the Lexus ES has been the top-selling luxury sedan from the top-selling luxury marque in America. But after twenty years of sharing its underpinnings with the Toyota Camry, the Japanese auto giant has decided to let the two mainstay models go their separate ways. With the sportier IS sharing the duty of anchoring the lineup and a new hybrid model on its way, the ES might get scrapped altogether… but not before one last hurrah, previewed by the crude spy shot you see to the right. The 2010 Lexus ES350 will be a subtle update on the current fifth-generation model, in true Lexus style, with modest tweaks to the styling to keep it fresh for another few years. Nothing revolutionary, which means nothing to upset the model’s conservative customer base, either. (That’s what things like the IS-F are for.)
[Source: BurlappCars.com]
ESpionage: minor tweaks for 2010 Lexus ES originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Gadgets, CES, Safety, BMW
 FLIR, the maker of BMW’s night-vision system, will be at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week showing off its PathFindIR thermal imaging camera. The company says its system isn’t confused by oncoming headlights, works well in cold weather and can even see through fog, dust and smoke.
FLIR also says its camera is based on the same technology used by the military to provide a 36° field-of-view of the road ahead.
We plan to check out the company’s claims in the 6 Series they’re bringing to CES. Maybe they’ll even let us take it out and recreate that urban rumor of 200-mph desert highway sprints with no headlights. No, probably not.
CES 2009 Preview: FLIR helps BMWs detect pedestrians originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: News, Halo 3, Gears of War 2, Call of Duty: World at War
Just in case you weren’t keeping (weekly) track of the most played games of 2008, our pal Major Nelson thought he’d do the community a service by listing the Top 20 Live Games of 2008, based on Live connectivity over the course of the past 52 weeks. We copied 2008′s top five 360 games below, because we can, but you can view a listing of 2008′s twenty most played games after the jump. For those who are interested in XBLA and original Xbox 2008 stats, Major posted those as well. Congrats to Halo 3, Castle Crashers and Halo 2 for being so darn popular.
- 1. Halo 3
- 2. Call of Duty 4
- 3. GTAIV
- 4. Gears of War 2
- 5. Gears of War
 List of the most played Live games of 2008 originally appeared on Xbox 360 Fanboy on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Griffin McElroy
Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Sports
We’re automatically skeptical of any reports coming out of an organization who uses the letter “Z” to pluralize, but we find it difficult not to believe in a recent finding from VGChartz (sigh), who claim that Wii Sports has surpassed Super Mario Bros. as the best-selling video game of all time. After compiling last week’s software sales, they’ve concluded that Wii Sports has barely crept past the 40.24 million mark that kept SMB on top of the pile for a bajillion years.
Of course, its worth noting that both games were bundled with their respective platforms (except in Japan and South Korea, whose Wiis were Sports-less), greatly boosting their sales. We wouldn’t be surprised if the report proves to be accurate — nor would we be shocked if Nintendo is currently looking for the highest, broadest rooftop from which they can proclaim their latest sales triumph.
Wii Sports is best-selling game of all time, according to VGChartz originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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