7-year-old boy almost buys fighter jet via internet

SYDNEY: A seven-year-old British boy nearly bought a real-life Harrier fighter jet for $113,515 via online shopping.

The boy hit the "buy it now" button to purchase the fighter jet, which was put on sale at the online store eBay.

But his father quickly apologised to the sellers, saying his son was not able to buy the aircraft out of his pocket money, news.com.au reported Friday.

"His dad rang up and profusely apologised to us, so it's still for sale. We've put it on as an auction now so that won't happen again," said a spokeswoman for Britain-based Jet Art Aviation, which is selling the Harrier.

The elite fighting machine was part of Britain's arsenal in the 1982 Falklands War, but the government put the plane out of service in 1997.

Falklands War was fought in 1982 between Argentina and Britain over the disputed Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

The US Marines still use a second-generation model of the Harrier. 

23 year old grandmother

LONDON: A 23-year-old woman from Romania has claimed to have become the "world's youngest grandmother", a media report said.

Mum-of-two Rifca Stanescu was 12 when she had her first child Maria. She urged her daughter not to follow her example -- but Maria gave birth to son Ion while only 11, 'The Sun' reported.

Rifca had married jewellery seller Ionel Stanescu when she was 11 and he was 13. They eloped because Rifca feared her father wanted her to marry another village lad in Investi in Romania. She was forgiven when she had her daughter -- making her mum, also Maria, a great grandmother at 40.

Son Nicolae was born a year later. The young mum later tried to persuade Maria to stay at school. But Maria left to wed when she was 10 and had her baby six months later, the report said.

Rifca cuddled grandson Ion, now two, and said: "I am happy to be a grandmother but wished more for Maria."

Britain's previous youngest grandmother was an unnamed 26-year-old from Yorks. Her daughter, 12, gave birth in 1999. 

Tata Motors on Tuesday presented the TataPixel, a new city car concept for Europe at the 81st Geneva Motor Show. Based on the Tata Nano, the TataPixel - at just over three metres in length - is the most package efficient four-seater in the world, comfortably accommodating four adults, unlike a typical city concept which is either a two-seater or can accommodate two adults and two children only. Speaking on the occasion, Carl-Peter Forster, managing director and group CEO of Tata Motors, said, "Tata Motors holds true to its belief that there is an opportunity in Europe for a city car, which is optimal in space, manoeuverability and environment friendliness. The Tata Pixel is a reflection of Tata Motors' idea of what such a car should be." The Tata Pixel's ability to manoeuvre and park in the tightest of spaces is made possible by its zero-turn toroidal traction-drive Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT), which assists rotation of the outer rear wheel forwards and the inner rear wheel backwards, while the front wheels turn at acute angles. The result is a turning circle radius of just 2.6 metres. The 'scissor' doors rotate upwards from the front to allow passengers to effortlessly enter or exit the Tata Pixel, even in the tightest of spaces. A forward sweeping roofline, with minimal front and rear overhangs, accentuates the youthful styling. The TataPixel is also designed to provide a high level of connectivity. Key functions are controlled by the driver's smart phone, running 'My Tata Connect' - the first integrated human-machine interface (HMI) concept from Tata Motors. A 1.2 litre three-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine, positioned at the rear of the Tata Pixel, gives lively performance. The engine is a low-friction design, featuring variable coolant and oil pump and rapid warm-up technologies. With optimised aerodynamic drag, low rolling-resistance tyres, stop-start technology, and intelligent battery charging, the Tata Pixel returns European combined cycle (NEDC) fuel economy of 3.4 l/100km and CO2 emissions of just 89g/km. Taking its pursuit of electric vehicles forward, Tata Motors is also displaying the Tata Indica Vista electric vehicle at the Motor Show's Green Pavillion. The Tata Indica Vista EV will be made available to fleet customers this summer in the UK. The four-seater family car has a predicted range of up to 160 km. The Tata Indica Vista EV bagged two trophies for its performance at the Royal Automobile Club's Brighton-to-London Future Car Challenge. A special version, the Tata Indica Vista EVX, participated in the progressive insurance automotive X Prize contest, one of the world's most prestigious events for environment-friendly vehicles. The company's displays also include the Tata Aria, the first Indian four-wheel drive crossover, the Tata Indigo Manza, among India's best selling sedans scheduled for launch this year in select countries, and the Tata Indica Vista. The Indica Vista has already been introduced in Poland and Italy, and is scheduled to be launched in Spain.

Bmw I series

BMW announces new sub-brad ‘i’; BMW i3 electric and i8 hybrid cars to come soon

BMW has announced its electric and hybrid cars with the advent of a new sub-brand ‘i’ at its corporate headquarters in Munich, Germany. Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG for Sales and Marketing, is reported to have said, “BMW i offers visionary cars and services, inspiring design, and an entirely new concept of premium mobility – all with a focus on sustainability.”

The first two cars in the ‘i’ line-up will the BMW i3 and BMW i8. The i3 and i8 will be showcased at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show commencing March 3^rd, 2011. The first of the BMW i-series cars will be launched sometime in 2013.

The BMW i3 will be an electric car while the i8 will be a gasoline-electric hybrid car.

The i3 and i8 will be built on ‘LifeDrive’ architecture, which uses aluminium chassis housing the powermills and the Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Plastic (CFRP), a new construction concept that will nullify all the extra weight added by batteries, thereby making the i3 and i8 lightweight and capable of offering ‘superior driving dynamics’ as well as increased range per charge

BMW has officially confirmed the launch of the production version of the “Vision Efficient Dynamics” concept, which the company unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2009.

Klaus Draeger, BMW’s R&D chief said this car will crown BMW’s line up in terms of technology and will also enjoy a higher status than any other BMW car on offer today. However, Draeger admitted that production plans are in the early stages of development and the company is still sifting through engine options to put in a suitable hybrid powerplant that will suit all global markets of BMW.

BMW has carried out about 60,000 km of testing with the Vision Efficient Dynamics driveline. The production car would have a sophisticated and practical design as against the concept. Matching the M3’s performance, this upcoming hybrid BMW is expected to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 4.8 seconds with top speed limited to 155 mph.

The first running prototype of Vision Efficient Dynamics’ concept combined diesel and electric power. The 1.5 litre, 3-cylinder common rail diesel engine produces 161 bhp. With the plug-in hybrid made up of lithium ion batteries pack, this car’s drivetrain produces 323 bhp (total) and runs up to 31 miles on battery power alone with zero pollution. The prototype has a driving range of 430 miles. The hybrid mechanism makes this BMW return a remarkable 75 mpg, while the car’s CO2 emission rating is as low as 99 g/km.

The cost of the BMW hybrid supercar would be about the cost of a Rolls Royce. BMW projects sales volumes of its cars would increase from 1.4 million to 2 million units in 10 years. BMW plans to invest $400 million to expand operations at the company’s Leipzig factory.

There is also speculation that the new BMW hybrid will get some fresh branding at the time of official launch. With carbon fiber technologies and latest safety aspects as in Formula 1, expect the BMW Hybrid in 2013. This is BMW’s answer to the Audi E-Tron, Porsche 918 RS Spyder and Mercedes-Benz SLS E-Drive.

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