Story Of The Year: Car Crash Leaves Woman In Persistent State of Sexual Arousal

Forget the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies. This is the automotive story people will be talking about the most as 2009 draws to a close.From Jalopnik. Though the original, significantly less smart-alecky version, including an interview with Joleen Baughman can be found on the KOAT-TV Albuquerque websi...

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Acer 17-inch, Intel dual-core laptop falls to $479

As 17-inch laptops go, it's a lot of laptop for the money, compared with higher-priced systems from vendors such as Hewlett-Packard. Big-screen, 17-inch-class laptops priced a couple of hundred dollars above the Acer typically offer slightly faster processors and higher-performance graphics. But for the average user, there's not much difference.And what do you get for $479? The Acer Aspire AS7736Z-4809 comes with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, a dual-core Intel Pentium Processor T4300 (2.1GHz), 4GB of memory, a 320GB hard disk drive, 8X DVD double-layer optical drive, a Webcam, and a 17.3-inch LED display with 1600 x 900 resolution.A...

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Novatech X70 CA Pro review

The Core i7 has taken so long to arrive in a notebook friendly form. It's here now though and the Novatech X70 CA PRO has one. Hidden behind the 1080p, 15.6inch screen and tres chic-let keyboard of the X70 CA Pro is one of Intel's 720QM processors. That chip has four individual Nehalem hearts beating in unison beneath its silicon surface, with Hyper Threading thrown in for octo-threading abilities. The differences between this Clarks field chip and a desktop Core i7 sound fairly cosmetic. A slightly smaller 989 pin package reflects the specialist notebook design, and there's only 6MB of level-3 cache in this model, rather than the 8MB in the other processors, but these differences are fairly slight.The most remarkable change is that the Thermal Design Power (TDP) rating is just 45W,...

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CES Preview 2010: Desktops and laptops

The largest shopper electronics event of the year is around the area, and by that we of course mean CES 2010. We'll all be there in Vegas scouting out the best of what's new, but you may find yourself asking: after Windows 7 and the launch of Core i7 laptops, what as well is there to look forward to? Plenty, by our measure. Here are the trends we're in the family way to see.New Atom processors, new NetbooksThe star of the show will likely be Intel's new line of Atom processors for Netbooks. beforehand codenamed Pine Trail, these new CPUs will give the Netbooks platform a routine push, we hope, making these popular laptops even more ever-present....

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MSI to launch Wimax capable laptops in India

MSI to launch Wimax capable laptops in IndiaMSI has plans to launch their Wimax capable laptops in the Indian market.Wimax is expected to become widespread in the coming months throughout India.HCL and Intel are involved in several projects to enable Wimax powered internet connectivity in several parts of the country.MSI spoke about their plans for the Indian market: “MSI WiMAX-enabled laptops will help in bridging the digital divide in India through the delivery of wireless broadband services anytime and anywhere with higher efficiency in a cost-effective way.Source: news.techwhack....

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Now Available Ultra-thin Dell Vostro V13 Laptop

Now Dell has started shipping the 13.3-inch Vostro V13 ultra-thin business laptop starting $449. The Vostro 13 designed exclusively for small business travelers weighs 3.5 pounds and is 0.65 thin. The notebook runs the Intel ULV processors and supports up to 4GB of DDR3 memory. Features:::::- Equally Slim & Striking : As thin as 0.65 inches (16.5mm)6 and starting at 3.5 pounds (1.6kg).- Power to Do More : Ultra-low-voltage Intel® processors help to manage energy efficiency while providing ample power for everyday computing.- Full Laptop Experience : A full-sized keyboard and generous 13.3" display let you power through work without sacrificing...

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The New Car And Driver...And How To Read It

Well, TireKicker told you a month ago about the coming January redesign of Car and Driver, but Jalopnik scores the first look, including a guided tour by editor Eddie Alterm...

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Dell Laptop In colors

Dell Laptops in Col...

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Laptop Coming In $99

Just when we thought the Black Friday rumors were not going any further in terms of Blockbuster-ish frenzy, Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE:CC) will have a reported $99 laptop computer available on Black Friday. Actually, the system will be $299 after rebates -- possibly matching an offer by competitor Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) but priced above a rumored $199 laptop from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT). The Circuit City laptop, however, will be just $99 after a customer signs up with Internet phone provider Vonage.Circuit City's featured notebook will be a rather bland but functional Compaq system that features a Celeron processor from Intel rather than processors from Advanced Micro Devices, and it will also come with an optical drive that burns both DVDs and CDs -- not just CDs like the rumored...

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Acer Aspire IE-3218 - Dual Core E2180 2.0 GHz/945GC/1GB/320GB/DVDRW/Linux/19" TFT LCD/1 year

CODE: Aspire IE-3218Market Price: Rs.29,500.00Our price: Rs.22,990.00 Price: Rs.0.00 (Rs.23,909.60 inc tax) You save: Rs.6,510.00 (22%)MODEL: Acer Aspire IE-3218 MICROPROCESSOR: Intel E2180 2.0 GHz CPU MOTHERBOARD: Intel 945GC Chipset VIDEO GRAPHICS: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950, Upto 128MB MEMORY: 1GB DDR2 HARD DISK: 320 GB SERIAL ATA II Hard drive,300 MB/sec @ 7200 RPM OPERATING SYSTEM: Linux OPTICAL DRIVE: DVD RW NETWORKING: 10/100 LAN COMMUNICATION: - MEDIA READER: - AUDIO: Realtek 7.1 Channel Audio Support FRONT PORTS: 4 USB 2.0 port REAR PORTS: 4 USB 2.0 port, Ethernet (RJ-45) port Headphone and microphone jacks Line-in and...

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laptop in just Rs 15,000

ACi has announced a low cost laptop priced at Rs 15,000 only for Indian market. Last year, ACi launched laptop for just Rs 19,999. The company may start selling the laptops by June next year. Budget laptops will see a decent growth in sales as more Indian consumers are planning an upgrade from desktop to a laptop. I think all are happy form this laptop price.&nb...

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Volkswagen (New?) Beetle Review

After 10 years, Volkswagen is still calling it the New Beetle. Apparently, it will go out that way, because next year, there will be a new New Beetle...probably a 2011 model.So should you wait? My knee-jerk reaction would normally be to say yes...but after a refresher in the existing Beetle, I'm not so sure.18 months or more ago, I'd have written the Beetle off as tired and way overdue to be put out to pasture. But I drove one recently with the new realities firmly in my brain and you know what?It's got a lot going for it.I mean, just look at the basics: $18,540 base price...20 mpg city, 29 highway. Yes, the Jetta and Golf (a previous generation...

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New for 2010: The 1993 Ford Taurus

The folks at the news satire site The Onion have done it again. Funny and depressing at the same ti...

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Car and Driver's Redesign

Good news in the December issue of Car and Driver. Editor Eddie Alterman lets us know that come January, there'll be a new look...a redesign of the once (and hopefully future) king of the car mags.Alterman discusses the disastrous last redesign three years ago, which he rightly describes as making C/D look "like a comic book". And it was worse inside, with a jumble of fonts and a graphic look that was universally hated by readers, who were told "we ain't going back."...which Alterman describes as a public relations move roughly as successful as the docking of the Hindenburg.To his credit, each issue of C/D since Alterman's arrival has been cleaner-looking...

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Scion tC Review

Here's a question I've never asked:"If Darth Vader were a college student and drove a Scion, what would it look like?"See above.Okay, that's probably a bit harsh...but I was more than a bit bugged by the Scion tC.Not the car itself, which I have always liked a lot...but by the way it was optioned.The tC, for the uninitiated, is a smart, tight, fun little coupe...with a base price of just $17,000, an EPA estimate of 20 city/27 highway, more handling capability than most vehicles with a Toyota pedigree, and an impressive list of standard features (17 inch alloy wheels, moonroof, 160-watt Pioneer audio system with subwoofer)for the price.Hard to...

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Lexus GS 460 Review

Think you've seen that car before? Well, you're right. The Lexus GS460 has been around quite a while now.Want proof? Look on the instrument panel.There...where the audio controls are.Volume knob...tuning knob....memory buttons...CD slot.Cassette deck.Yes, cassette deck. There. Behind the gear shift.Actually, it's kind of cool...made me want to dust off the old mix tapes during the week I had the car...but it's a serious indicator that it's time for some freshening. There's nothing wrong with the GS, which is now in its fifth year since its last redesign...but it plays in a segment where innovation is a selling point. The base price of the GS...

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Ford Raptor

Thanks to Randall Bohl and Joe Sage of Arizona Driver Magazine for snapping and posting this shot of yours truly behind the wheel of the 2010 Ford Raptor.Yes, I'm wearing a tie. TV and all that.Anyway, this was at a special Ford event this past Tuesday (10/6) at Firebird Raceway south of Phoenix...a ride and drive for members of the Phoenix Automotive Press Association to get familiar with hot new FoMoCo product all in one place.Some of them were vehicles already tested and posted here on TireKicker (Ford Taurus, Mercury Milan Hybrid), but we got a couple of fresh rides, too...including the Raptor.A full review is coming, but I'll say this much...

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This Time It's Real: The Caprice Is Back...For Police

Well, forget that stuff about GM importing the Pontiac G8 as a cop car.The real deal, according to Jalopnik, is a revival of the Capri...

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Inspiring Badge Envy

Once supplies run out, you and I won't be able to buy the wonderful Pontiac G8 anymore. But according to Jalopnik, we'll be able to enjoy the thrill of being pulled over by them, as GM plans to import them as police vehicl...

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Lexus RX350 Review

And the Volkswagen Beetle award for subtle refinement goes to....Okay, that's a bit of a stretch. But let me toss you in the Wayback Machine here. At the top of this article is the 2010 Lexus RX 350. Now here's what that vehicle (then called the RX 300) looked like 11 model years ago, in 1999:Of all the vehicles on the road today, I'm betting only the Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis are still that instantly identifiable as the same car over that 11 year span.It's a case of not messing with success, yet (as VW did with the Beetle) making constant changes and refinements. We're talking about a ton more power (275 horses today compared...

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David E. Davis, Jr: "I've never told this story in public before..."

Car and Driver's David E. Davis, Jr., guesting on Autoline After Hours, tells the story of his departure from Automobile, the magazine he founded in 1986 with Rupert Murdoch. It involves allegations of treachery, which inspires DED, Jr. to dream of a piano falling from an airplane and onto former protege' (now Automobile Editor-In-Chief )Jean Jennings. Scroll in to 14:55 and let it roll for a minute until the host and other guests start squirming. Also: Davis' story of his 1968 firing from C/D (about 10:30), and what inspired his 1985 resignation from his second tour at the magazine (11:43). And if you have the time, what follows is a very...

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The New Order of Things Automotive

Can't tell the players without a scorecard in the brave new post-carpocalyptic world? Mint.com's got you covered with a handy chart, suitable for framing. Click the image above to enlar...

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Thanks for a great first year!

Hard to believe, but TireKicker turns 1 on Monday, August 24. Thanks for your visits, hits, clicks, links and recommendations. You've taken us from a blank computer screen to 151 posts and counting. And the best is yet to co...

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Nissan Armada Titanium Review

When I first booked a week in the Nissan Armada Titanium, I had exactly the wrong idea.The name "Titanium" had me thinking this would be a new top-of-the-line trim level.Nope. It's actually a mid-level version...adding leather, 20 inch wheels, a backup camera without requiring a navigation system, keyless ignition and a Bluetooth hands-free phone interface to the stuff found standard on the base SE, for a little less than $5,000 extra.While the SE is probably the smartest buy, the Titanium gets you a lot of neat features without springing for the top-of-the-line Platinum (interior shown below), which throws in navigation, DVD entertainment, a...

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Chevy Aveo LT Review

Scroll to bottom of review for update.TireKicker Phrase I Never Expected To Write #1:"The Chevy Aveo is a good car. It's worth a look, a test drive and possibly a place in your driveway or garage."If they gave a "Most Improved Player" award to cars, the new Aveo would win it, hands-down.I'll get to how good the '09 Aveo is in a second, but here's what it had to overcome: Raised on the somewhat snarky automotive writings of David E. Davis, Jr., Jean (Lindamood) Jennings, John Phillips, P.J. O'Rourke and others, I've got a smart-aleck streak in me (okay, it was there before I ever picked up a car magazine). After testing the first Aveo five years...

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Ford Focus SES Coupe Review

I began my automotive journalism career 12 years ago this fall by testing a small Ford coupe that impressed me more than I expected. So it's kind of appropriate that this, the 150th TireKicker post (first anniversary is August 24), is also about a small Ford coupe that impressed me more than I expected.The Ford Focus has been a bit of a disappointment simply because there's a better one being sold in Europe. But there are two bits of good news: We'll be getting the Euro Focus (or something very close to it) in a year or two...and the American version is being constantly improved and refined in the meantime.The SES I drove had a 2 liter DOHC four,...

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Ford Transit Connect Review

Is this the future of small business vehicles in America?It is if enough florists, caterers, handymen, plumbers and electricians decide they don't really need full-size pickups and vans.The Ford Transit Connect has sold 600,000 copies in 58 countries since 2003. Now, Ford brings it to the USA.Selling points? A low base price...starting at $20,780.Fuel economy....EPA estimates are 22 city/25 highway.Innovative technology....more on which later.The interior is more Focus than F-150...but it's roomy and especially well put together.In work vehicles, it's what's in back that counts...and thanks to a low load floor and tall roofline, the Transit Connect...

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Toyota FJ Cruiser Review

If this were Jalopnik, the headline above would no doubt be something like "Honky Tonka" (Well, maybe not Jalopnik...their heads tend to be longer and more ironic).After all, that's what the FJ Cruiser has been for the three years it's been around...a real-life, full-scale Tonka Truck.But that's about to end. Toyota has said there won't be a next generation FJ...there's no assurance it will live beyond the 2010 model year.My take is that the FJ got a bad rap. Being a large scale, in-your-face SUV, a lot of people have lumped it into the same genre as Hummers...and they couldn't be more wrong.The FJ is actually a fairly economical vehicle...with...

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Jalopnik's Graverobber Swings For The Bleachers

Jalopnik has a fun regular feature, "Nice Price or Crack Pipe", in which readers debate whether a used vehicle offered for sale (usually on eBay or Craigslist) is worth the asking price. The contributing writer usually gets a few clever lines in, but Graverobber has outdone himself with today's entry about a 1985 Dodge 600 Convertible with a price tag of $15,000. And yes, there's a definite P.J. O'Rourke influence at work he...

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Car and Driver: Texting While Driving

Not a day goes by that I don't see some fool text messaging at the wheel (and my commute is at 3:30 AM and 12 Noon...imagine the target-rich environment of rush hour).Anyone with a brain (which apparently doesn't include the above-mentioned multi-taskers) knows it's dangerous. But how dangerous?Well, the guys at Car and Driver broke out the instruments and measured texting while driving against driving under the influence of alcohol.Please, watch this video. And if you have ever texted while driving, don't ever do it aga...

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Patrick Bedard Retires from Car and Driver

Patrick Bedard just announced (in print, in the August issue of Car and Driver) that he's retiring. August is his last column.Damn.In 41 years at C/D, Bedard could be counted on to tell it straight...even (make that especially) the stuff you didn't want to hear. Like how the automotive air bag is the first "safety device" in history to have a warning label saying that properly used, the device can cause death.He called BS on a number of things that needed it...shortened yellow light times that started showing up when red light cameras did...incessant and insane attempts at regulation...I'd need a while to fill out the list. Simply put, if it...

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Toyota Prius Review

Cult cars can be a lot of fun. For one thing, they're instant conversation starters.And no matter what you say, the 2010 Toyota Prius is a cult car. A big cult, to be sure, but a cult nonetheless...with the faithful believing everyone should drive them and an equally passionate resistance trying to set the English-language record for the number of times the word "smug" can be used in a single sentence.But back to the conversation starter thing...having just handed the Prius back to Toyota yesterday following a week at the wheel...there are a handful of core questions everyone asks:How many miles per gallon does it get?How much money does it cost?Is...

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