Bentley W66 GTS (speed car) attracts all the car lovers and admirers. There are 3-4 other companies who developed Gold cars like Bugatti, Porsche and Mercedes but Bentley W66 GTS Gold, made by ASI Corporation, has inspired a lot of geeks. ASI Corporation was established in Nagoya, Japan in December 2007. It manufactures variety of vehicles but ASI Bentley is a unique project and it was proclaimed in “Tokyo Special Import Car Show” in 2008. The car has a gold coated body and costs about $800,000. The car has 626 HP and goes from 0-62 mph in just 3.5 seconds with a top speed of 230 mph.
The MINI Beachcomber Concept Wallpapers The MINI Beachcomber Concept is a four-seater concept car designed consistently for maximum driving pleasure, taking up the enhanced options of the new MINI and combining these potentials with the vision of a radically open body concept. ALL4 all-wheel drive and the variable interior give the MINI Beachcomber Concept abilities absolutely ideal for a spontaneous and active experience of freedom and leisure time.
The potential offered by the car's modern drivetrain technology and space concept is used here to the greatest possible extent to ensure a highly emotional driving experience. Hence, the MINI Beachcomber Concept consistently does without doors, a conventional roof and all other body elements which might possibly limit the intensity of the occupants' encounter with their surrounding world. This makes the driver and up to three passengers one harmonious entity communicating directly with their surroundings - whether cruising through town, enjoying rough tracks in the mountains, or breezing along the beach. The MINI Beachcomber Concept combines all-wheel drive with cutting-edge suspension technology, numerous body elements serving to make the car extra-strong and robust, as well as an elevated seating position. Generous spring travel and extra-large light-alloy wheels raise the entire car to a higher level.
The world's largest swimming pool... it's 1,000 yards long
If you like doing laps in the swimming pool, you might want to stock up on the energy drinks before diving in to this one. It is more than 1,000 yards long, covers 20 acres, had a 115ft deep end and holds 66 million gallons of water. Yesterday the Guinness Book of Records named the vast pool beside the sea in Chile as the biggest in the world.
St. Augustine, FL 09/08/09 - Kenneth Albin's photograph "Sandpiper on a Golden Beach" was selected by the editorial staff of Boulevard of Photographers for inclusion in their book "Best Photos of 2009 Anthology".
Kenneth Albin has been an avid photographer most of his life but is relatively new to the world of commercial photography. His career includes nature, wildlife, landscape, and pet photography. His photographs capture the essence and mood of the moment. Mr. Albin has had success locally with framed print sales, donating a percentage of the proceeds of his sales to a local animal rescue/adoption group. We look forward to following his promising career.
The economic downturn that's swept the globe has crushed financial markets, exploded unemployment and shaken confidence in the banking system.
The disaster isn't shared equally, though। Some countries are in a much better position than others to rebound from the current malaise by attracting entrepreneurs, investors and workers.
Who are they? Our fourth annual Best Countries for Business ranking looks at business conditions in 127 economies. Topping the list for 2009: Denmark, for a second straight year, takes the No. 1 spot. The U.S. is up two spots to No. 2, Canada is up four spots to No. 3, Singapore is up four to No. 4 and New Zealand is up seven to No. 5.
Big movers included New Zealand (No. 5, up seven spots), followed by Jordan (No. 33, up 28), Australia (No. 8, up five), United Arab Emirates (No. 46, up 28) and Malaysia (No. 25, up 13).
This is not a tally of economies with high gross domestic product growth, or low unemployment. The goal is to quantify for entrepreneurs and investors the often-qualified information about dynamic economies and what they would consider desirable conditions for business.
Personal freedoms play a big part--it's hard to start a company or find talented employees under totalitarian regimes and military juntas. So we include measures of the right to participate in free and fair elections, freedom of expression and organization.
Taking care of investors, with laws assuring recourse for minority shareholders in cases of corporate misdeeds, is also important. As a barometer for corruption, Transparency International examines the number and frequency of incidents where corporate assets are misused for personal gain.
Amid the financial turmoil this year, we added stock market performance to reflect the extent of disrepair in countries' banking systems, as well as investor confidence in a recovery. Intellectual property rights, the promotion of free trade and low inflation, combined with low taxes on income and investment, give a snapshot of the conditions for business in each.
All was not lost in a tough year for believers in low taxes, free trade and limited bureaucracy. Despite swelling budget deficits, at least 50 countries recently cut or passed plans to cut taxes on individuals and businesses, including eight of the top 10, with individuals and investors in the U.S. and Norway left in the lurch.
Sliding the most this year was Ireland (No. 14, down 12), which even saw plans for a Guinness mega-brewery shelved by parent Diageo (nyse: DEO - news - people ) as exports slowed. Uruguay (No. 66, down 22), Armenia (No. 94, down 31), Paraguay (No. 99, down 29) and Latvia (No. 45, down 13) rounded out this year's losers.
Expertise, research and published reports--from the Heritage Foundation, World Economic Forum, World Bank, Transparency International, Freedom House, Deloitte Tax, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Central Intelligence Agency--all contributed vital analyses of various socioeconomic indicators on the countries included.
ENOUGH of the gloom: the list of candidates you have nominated as worthy of the dubious distinction of being the world's worst country in the year ahead is depressingly long.
Let's turn to the other end of the spectrum. Which will be the world's best country in 2009? Bhutan prefers gross national happiness to gross national income. The problem is how to measure it.
The World in 2005 asked the question: which would be the best place to live in 2005? The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) devised an ingenious model for measuring and comparing the quality of life in different countries. Its worldwide quality-of-life index looked at the factors that people say in life-satisfaction surveys affect their sense of wellbeing: money matters, of course, but so do a number of other things, including, health, freedom, employment, and family and community life.
The EIU consulted its analysts, fed all their appraisals into the model, and—hey presto—it produced the answer. The best place on Earth in 2005 would be Ireland. (Many Irish disagreed.)
For 2009 Ireland, suffering recession and a property crash, would be an unlikely winner. And in any case, in the absence of the EIU's models and data, we'll have to rely on individual judgment—including on what the criteria should be.
However, it should involve more than just income per head (which would measure the richest country on earth). It might be a country that will set a particularly fine example, where improvement in the quality of life will be most striking, or which will be exerting a benign influence in its neighbourhood.
It may be tougher to think of nominations for the best country than for the worst. But let's give it a go.
