Gizmodo Australia » indy

Honda Going Green At Indy

Nick Broughall — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:01:22 +0000

The days of loud, obnoxious motorsport may well be coming to an end, with Honda announcing that they will be debuting their 100% ethanol powered V8 engines at the Gold Coast Indy race in October.

The ethanol engines use a plant-based fuel which burns cleanly with less air pollution, as opposed to the traditional methanol engines used by Indy cars. Yet they still manage to squeeze out the performance, with cars capable of hitting 160kph in less than three seconds.

Generally ethanol isn’t considered to be a suitable replacement for fossil fuels as it requires vast amounts of plant life to convert into fuel, and that can eat into the plants being used to feed us. However, last year Honda uncovered a tech that can just convert the inedible bits of food into fuel, kind of like Mr Fusion in the Back To The Future II DeLorean (or not).

Hopefully we’ll see this tech develop into the consumer (and time travel) space.

Honda Turns the Gold Coast Indy 300 Green
Honda is gearing up for the Australian debut of its 100 per cent ethanol-powered V8 engines at the Nikon Indy 300 on Queensland’s Gold Coast next month.

Honda is the exclusive supplier of engines for the Indy Car series, which traditionally run on methanol. Ethanol is a clean-burning, renewable fuel derived from plants that reduces air pollution. Ethanol fueled engines were first introduced to the series in the USA at the beginning of the 2007 season.

Honda Australia Managing Director, Yasuhide Mizuno said Honda was committed to finding new and innovative ways to be more sustainable. “We are proud to be contributing our technological advancements to the world of motor sport. The new ethanol powered engine demonstrates it is possible to have an environmentally-friendly fuel that delivers real racing performance”.

“Not only is ethanol better for the environment, but the 3.4 litre engines can accelerate the car from 0 to 161kph in less than three seconds.” said Mr. Mizuno.

Last year, Honda revealed technology to extract ethanol from the inedible stalks and leaves of plants, leaving the edible parts for human consumption. This initiative overcomes the competing needs of food and fuel sources and Honda has set up an
experimental production facility at its Wako, Japan, R&D campus to further study the market potential of this technology.

In addition to its commitment to the advancement of cleaner power, Honda remains dedicated to its range of environmentally-friendly vehicles, including the Honda Civic Hybrid, Australia’s most affordable hybrid at just $32,990*.

The Nikon Indy 300 will be held on the Gold Coast, Queensland from 23-26 October.

*Recommended retail price without on-road costs

Indiana Jones 4 Blu-Ray Details Released With Cool Extras, Movie Still Poop

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:20:20 +0000

The Blu-ray edition of the biggest letdown in movie history, also known as Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Whatever Crystal Something will be released on October 14, just in time not to buy it for this holiday season. The two-disc Blu-ray comes in the obligatory 1080p and comes loaded with extras that don’t make the movie any less crappy:

The Special Edition Blu-ray is presented in 1080p High Definition with THX Certified English 5.1 Dolby True HD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles. The two-disc set includes the following special features:

Blu-ray Disc 1:

Indiana Jones Timelines– Explore the movie through interactive timelines that include video featurettes, in-depth information and unique imagery. Your adventure begins with one of these three timelines:
Story Timeline: Showcases the key events of the “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” storyline.
Production Timeline: A Making-of chronology for “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”.
Historical Timeline: Dives into the real-world historical influences that are referenced in the film.
The Return of a Legend–The evolution of the new film and a tribute to the legendary hero and his creators. (HD)

Pre-Production–Follows Steven Spielberg as he creates animatic sequences, Shia LaBeouf as he learns to swordfight and captures the reunion of filmmakers and cast on the soundstage. (HD)

Disc 2:

Production Diary: Making Kingdom of the Crystal Skull–Join filmmakers, cast and crew for a complete look at the making of the film.
Shooting Begins: New Mexico (HD)
Back To School: New Haven, Connecticut (HD)
Welcome to the Jungle: Hilo, Hawaii (HD)
On-Set Action (HD)
Exploring Akator (HD)
Wrapping Up! (HD)
Warrior Makeup (HD)

The Crystal Skulls (HD)

Iconic Props (HD)

The Effects of Indy (HD)

Adventures in Post Production (HD)

Closing: Team Indy (HD)

Galleries

The Art Department
The Adventure Begins
Cemetery and Jungle
Akator
Stan Winston Studio
Corpses, Skeletons & Mummies
Aliens & Crystal Skulls
Production Photographs

Portraits

Behind-the-Scenes Photographs

[Latino Review]

Indiana Jones Roundup: Making Everyone Behave Like They’re Mentally Ill

Gizmodo US Edition — Mon, 26 May 2008 13:00:00 +0000

Forget the iPhone, and screw Terminator 4. Everyone who’s anyone knows that this week was all about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There are plenty of mature and dignified ways of welcoming back the good professor. Here are the rest:

5 Million-Piece LEGO Boulder Chases Indy, Crashes Into Car

Gizmodo US Edition — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:05:00 +0000

Ah LEGO, how much we love you? Let me count the ways: five million. The same amount of million multicoloured pieces needed to create this solid boulder, as big as the one in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Then get a fake Professor Henry Jones (You call this archaeology?,) fake Sallah (Asps. Very dangerous. You go first,) and some other dudes to push it to chase a fake Indy down the streets of San Francisco. The result: an instant classic, even without the Hovitos. Let’s hope the actual movie is this crazy and preposterous. [Indiana Jones and LEGO in Gizmodo—thanks Cristiano]

FX Whip Toy from Indiana Jones Makes Beating Up Colleagues a Pleasure

Addy Dugdale — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:17:57 +0000

Hasbro’s FX whip, part of the flotilla of Indiana Jones merchandise that is sailing into port this year, should be hung on the wall of every office in the land. This is what makes corporal punishment in the workplace such a pleasure. The US$19.99 toy plays the theme tune —this is, sadly, the one crappy bit about it— as well as a thwack-a-lacka-boom-boom sound when you crack it. Hasbro could have come up with some more interesting sound effects, though. The FX whip will be available from May 1 from most toy shops. [Hasbro]

Indiana Jones IV Trailer Makes Us Wet Our Pants

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:38:25 +0000

Here’s the trailer for the most anticipated movie of all time, at least for me: Indiana Jones IV. We knew there are going to be aliens and Soviet soldiers led by Cate Blanchett, but one thing is seeing those made of LEGO and the other is to actually see how it all looks. Which is amazing. Let’s hope it is as good as it feels now. And yes, there are no weird mechanical traps and gadgets on the trailer, but this is Indiana Jones, people. There’s nothing higher. Update: official video is up. [Yahoo Trailers]