Honda has just pulled the covers off a radical new concept motorcycle at the Intermot show in Cologne, Germany. Technically, there isn't much here that's real, but there's still plenty to dissect. Honda is obviously feverishly working on a new V4 engine and that will soon show up in a production bike. Rumor has it that the Japanese company is taking another look at oval pistons, which would allow for more valves and larger combustion chambers. Could this powerplant show up in a new Interceptor? While this is currently nothing more than a sculpture, so was the new VMax when Yamaha first showed that concept. Studying the lines a bit, we can tell that this wouldn't likely be a race bike, but more likely a new street-going model. We also see hubless wheels, which would be an extremely far-out bit of tech if they were to make it into production. Is that possible? According to Honda, yes. Big Red is saying this design is a "new beginning" for the company and the direction that it's headed, and that sounds awfully exciting. We'll be watching.
RESS RELEASE:
Cologne, Germany, October 7, 2008-- Honda Motor Europe Ltd. exhibited the World Premiere V4 Concept Model at Intermot Cologne. The V4 Concept Model proposes a new, sensual design direction based on Honda's trademark 4-cylinder V- engine.
This year Honda celebrates its 60th anniversary as a company and next year the 50th anniversary of its participation in road racing, as well as the 30th anniversary of racing with an innovative 4-cylinder V-engine with oval pistons. Considering these milestones, Honda chose "The New Beginning" as its exhibition theme leading into 2009 and exhibited the V4 Concept Model which signifies the beginning of a new era.
For Intermot, Honda collected and exhibited successive V4 race machines as well as mass-market motorcycle products which were developed by feeding back the technologies cultivated through participation in challenging race competition, enabling visitors to review the lineage of 30 years of V4 engine technologies and see how Honda will take motorcycling somewhere it has not been before. The exhibition also offers an easy-to-understand introduction to various challenges Honda has undertaken in order to create joy for its customers, by utilizing its technologies that have been continuously advanced through Honda's 60-year history and by its participation in motorsports.
Honda understands the global trend today that motorcycle users see increasing value in more emotional and sensual performance during the real world riding experience rather than absolute performance measured in numeric specifications. On another front, user friendly features that meet with human sensibilities are also becoming important along with safety and environmental features, especially in mature markets.
Honda believes that the challenge to create attractive products with an increased focus on sensual performance will be the key for the future. At the same time, safety and environmental technologies as well as future energy technologies will continue to become an important theme for the development of motorcycle products. Moreover, in order to offer a comfortable life with motorcycles for a larger number of customers, Honda will put increased focus on the human-fitting match of rider and machine. Conceived around the trademark 4-cylinder V-engine, the V4 Concept Model expresses functional beauty as well as a more sensual image to appeal more to the emotions of people. Embodying Honda's passion for motorcycle development, the V4 Concept Model expresses the unique characteristics of Honda for a new era.
The V4 Concept Model mobilizes the driving forces of Honda - dreams, challenges, and creating new value. Honda positions this model as "the new beginning" of Honda's motorcycles.
Honda V4
NCAA Basketball 10 from Electronic Arts
CAA Basketball 10 brings you the best of EA SPORTS basketball, refined and polished for the NCAA fan. NCAA Basketball 10 unearths the core of college basketball – excitement, emotion, intensity, and tradition. A laser focus on improving and refining core gameplay has resulted in the most fluid college basketball game to date with all the energy, excitement and pageantry of the college game.
College basketball is known for its strategic and calculated nature. NCAA Basketball 10 lets you use the unique styles and strategic motion offenses of every NCAA team to reach your full potential on the court. Force your opponent to play on your terms and let your team’s strengths shine.
For the first time, watch your Maui Invitational or March Madness final broadcast with full CBS or ESPN integration; hear the shots being called by real CBS SPORTS and ESPN NCAA Basketball announcers; and witness the spirited crowds roar and mascots dance as you take home the win.
Features:
* Gameplay Enhancements: This year’s game engine has been tuned and refined to bring you the most fluid college basketball experience to date. A new shot control system simplifies shooting to the touch of a button, and new locomotion allows players to move intelligently based on their position. You’ll see all the action in the game that you see on the court – from hustle plays and diving for loose balls to players cutting hard to the hoop on the backdoor pass.
* Authentic Broadcast Integration: Experience complete and authentic broadcast integration for the first time in sports video game history. From the classic CBS presentation of March Madness and animated personalities of Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery, to Dick Vitale’s one liners and ESPN graphics, NCAA Basketball 10 brings you all the excitement and tradition of every NCAA game no matter what time of year.
* Signature Motion Offenses: Each school brings a different flavor to the court in NCAA Basketball 10 with signature motion offences, including the Dribble Drive, Princeton and Zone Motion. Play to your school’s strengths and use ‘motion movement control’ to open up scoring opportunities with the touch of a button.
* Toughest Places to Play: Some arenas are notorious for electric and oppressive crowds, making them the toughest placer to play in the NCAA. Fans from around the country have chosen the top 20 toughest stadiums, and NCAA Basketball 10 has made scoring on their courts as daunting as it is in real life. Take your team to North Carolina, Clemson, and Xavier, and feel the pressure with camera shaking crowd intensity, tougher free throws, and hostile crowds.
Disney's A Christmas Carol Movie
PROFILE OVERVIEW
Theatrical Release: Friday, November 6, 2009 (Wide; 3,683 theaters)
Starring:
* Jim Carrey
* Cary Elwes
* Colin Firth
* Bob Hoskins
* Robin Wright Penn
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Genres: Comedy Family Animation Holiday
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
SYNOPSIS
"Disney's A Christmas Carol", a multi-sensory thrill ride re-envisioned by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, captures the fantastical essence of the classic Dickens tale in a groundbreaking 3-D motion picture event. Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (Gary Oldman) and his cheery nephew (Colin Firth). But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it’s too late.
If you were trying to think of the ideal role for craggy-faced British thespian Gary Oldman, then Tiny Tim, the limping little cherub from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, would probably appear somewhere near the bottom of any compiled list. But, thanks to the digital hocus-pocus offered by Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis’s continuing experiments in 3D motion capture cinema, this November will see the erstwhile Commissioner Jim Gordon being given the, surely once-in-a-lifetime, chance to play a sickly child in Victorian London. Starring in this latest of countless movie versions of Dickens’ classic tale is Jim Carrey, who not only tackles the lead of Ebeneezer Scrooge but also plays all three of the Ghosts who visit the curmudgeonly miser on a fateful Christmas Eve. As noted, Oldman is Tiny Tim, and he is also playing that character’s father Bob Cratchit, as well as Scrooge’s deceased business partner Jacob Marley.
Disney's A Christmas Carol Movie Trailer