Tesla in Tokyo

Tesla, the US maker of electric sportscars, has opened its first Asian showroom in Tokyo.

The Palo Alto, California-based Tesla Motors has globally sold only 1,400 of the electric cars - which start at $101,500 in the US (and 1.5 times that in Japan).

And while the price for electronic vehicles is likely to come down, a major drawback remains the lack of recharging stations, which make them risky for long distance driving.

Toyota is a shareholder in the American company, recently investing $50 million in Tesla stock, and signing a $60 million contract to have Tesla help develop an electric version of Toyota's RAV4 crossover vehicle. Japanese electronics maker Panasonic also supplies the cars' batteries.

In Japan, electric vehicles are tax-free and eligible for government incentive cash payments that can reduce the price tag by a quarter of the retail price.

More affordable electric vehicles are on the market already, such as the iMiEV from Mitsubishi Motors Corp., although sales at about 4,000 vehicles, mostly in Japan, still make a tiny fraction of overall auto sales.

Already showing wider appeal is Nissan's Leaf electric car, set for delivery in December. Its price in Japan is about 3 million yen with incentives, and about $25,000 in the US with federal tax credits. Nissan has received 20,000 orders for the Leaf in the U.S, and 6,000 in Japan.

Points scoring system for 2010 F1

The 2010 F1 season will see the most radical change in the points scoring system in 60 years. For the first time ever the drivers will be able to score points right down to 10th place, meaning that 38% of the starting grid next season will score at least one point. But what exactly does this mean?

The first thing to establish is how the points as distributed. Under the previous scoring system, the winner received 10pts, second 8 points, third 6 points, fourth place got 5 and so on as far as 8th position. While this rewarded consistency, it had it’s critics right from when it was introduced back in 2003. Many felt that it began to devalue the race win, Whereas previously it was a 4-point gap between 1st and 2nd compared to 2pts, which also meant that drivers had built up a sizable lead at the beginning of the championship, like Fernando Alonso did back in 05 and of course Jensen Button last season, and were able to sustain a championship challenge without needing to challenge for race wins but gain a steady amount of points consistently in the second half of the season. This prompted Bernie Ecclestone to try, but thankfully fail, to implement a ‘medals’ system whereby the driver with the most wins won the title regardless of how many points he had.

But under the current system this could all change. Instead of receiving 10 points for a victory, the winner will now receive 25 points, with 20 points for second, 15 points for third, etc:

Here's how the new scoring structure works:


1st place25pts

2nd place 20pts

3rd place 15pts

4th place 10pts

5th place 8pts

6th place 6pts

7th place 5pts

8th place 3pts

9th place 2pts

10th place 1pt

First Boeing 747-8F

On the evening of November the 17th, Boeing moved the first 747-8F from the paint hanger in Everett, Washington.

Boeing says the aircraft is painted with an oversized number 8 on the background of the tail and 747-8 featured on the belly of the aircraft. The first flight of the 747-8F is scheduled for early 2010, with Cargolux being the launch customer and is scheduled to take delivery of the first 747-8F during the fourth quarter of 2010.


The Boeing 747 has been a very popular plane and is the worlds most recognizable aircraft. Boeing claims that design of the 747-8F will be quieter, more economical and more environmentally friendly than all previous versions of the 747 and has the economic benefit of similar training and interchangeable parts.

For the 747-8 family of aircraft, Boeing has given the wing an extensive overhaul that will improve the lift over drag and also the engine, This will incorporate all the newest techology that is going into the 787 project, This will allow the airplane to fly further and in a more efficient manner than preceding 747’s.

The passenger version of the 747-8 is called the Intercontinental (747-8I), It will be capable of carrying up to 450 passengers in 3-class configuration over 8,000 nautical miles (14,816 km) at 0.86 Mach, The Intercontinental is not expected to be on the flightline for quite some time yet unfortunately.

Boys day out.

Last weekend was the annual speedshow exhibition, A great day out for the boys in Auckland. This year had a line-up of cars and motorcycles - new, performance, classic and customs.

This year's event saw Speedshow fill to capacity with three main halls of the showgrounds, and an extensive outdoor display and activities to add to the attractions for the speed lovers. And the new children's area called Speedshow 4 Kids proved very popular with Roary the Racing Car shows at 10am and 12pm each day.

Some of New Zealand’s best drift cars were alongside historic racing cars and bikes and New Zealand’s best race car simulators.There were new cars and motorcycles from some of the world’s leading manufacturers and exhibitors with a wide range of motoring and motorsport-related products and services, but honestly there’s too much to mention so if you like cars and motorbikes, Speedshow was the place to be.

This year's key draw-cards included the world's fastest NASCAR and the original movie Batmobile from the original Batman movies courtesy of Warner Brothers Movie World on the Gold Coast, The motorbike from the movie "The worlds fastest Indian" as well as the world famous Britten motorbike.

The oldest exhibit was a 1903 Ford that cost 180 pounds when brand-new while nearby was a DTM-spec Mercedes Benz AMG supercar, one of only 100 in the world that cost well over $500,000 new.

This event has only been running 3 years in New Zealand and has already moved venue because of space, It doubles in size every year so next years event should be better again.

Top photo is my 5 year old son with former superbike rider, Aaron Slight.
2nd Photo is the bike from the movie "Worlds fastest Indian"

Nissan's electric car.

Nissan have fallen behind Japanese rivals Toyota and Honda in hybrids, Nissan is making the electric vehicle the pillar of its green strategy and have developed a new electric car with a battery that has been developed by the Japanese automaker, It is said to deliver more power than the type of battery that is common in today's hybrids. It has a 300 kilogram lithium-ion battery and it is said to accelerate quicker than comparable petrol-engined cars, Hybrids such as the popular Toyota Prius have a nickel metal hydride battery, which has a lot less power than a lithium-ion battery. All the major automakers are competing to develop lithium-ion batteries for the green cars now and in the future.

This electric vehicle will be going on sale in 2010 but only in Japan and the US, The rest of the world will have to wait until 2012.

All the major automakers around the world are trying to develop ecological products because of the growing concerns worldwide about the gas prices and global warming. Electric vehicles produce zero emissions. Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors are working with Japanese battery maker GS Yuasa who plan to mass-produce lithium-ion batteries for Mitsubishi Motors when there new plant in Japan is completed

But Nissan faces competition from other automakers, including General Motors and Ford, that have developed electric vehicles. The only problems with these electric vehicles is they are unreliable, Heavy and can't travel long enough distances, Its only a matter of time before the new Technology exists though.

Nissan has also developed a side impact prevention feature that uses sensors to recognise approaching vehicles, and warns the driver when they are switching lanes. This warning feels like a tug, delivered through slight braking.