Thursday, May 3, 2012

FOXNews.com: Rock band Train makes tracks in wine world

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Rock band Train makes tracks in wine world
May 3rd 2012, 16:43

Backstage with the rock band Train before a performance at San Francisco's hallowed Great American Music Hall may not be quite what you expect from a Grammy-winning, multiplatinum group.

What's missing from the dressing room — groupies, bling and that we're-about-to-trash-this-place vibe. What you get instead — a small table set with a few glasses and a bottle of the band's Save Me San Francisco wine which they are making in concert with ACME Wine Movers, a newly formed division of The Wine Group.

It's a pretty refined scene, but one that shouldn't come as such a surprise considering that Train started out in San Francisco, just a microphone stand's throw from the Napa Valley and its many wineries, says lead singer Pat Monahan.

"A couple of years ago, we decided that we wanted to start bringing San Francisco to the rest of the world and we decided that we would start by bringing one of the best things that we know about San Francisco, which is the wine," he says.

In collaboration with ACME, the band started the Save Me, San Francisco Wine Co., named after their 2009 album which included the hit "Hey, Soul Sister."

Their first bottling was a red named after another hit, "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)." A second wine, Calling All Angels chardonnay, followed and the latest release is California 37 cabernet sauvignon, named after the band's newly released album.

The wine is made in the Livermore Valley wine region east of San Francisco and sells for a suggested retail of $9.99.

Band members visited the winery before finalizing the collaboration and work with the winemaker in approving the final blend.

"They're regular guys." says Damon Musha, marketing director at ACME Wine Movers. "Moreover, they're people who are really passionate about the project. It certainly made our lives a lot easier. This is something that's genuine to them, rather than something they're trying to do to make a quick dollar."

Train's Save Me, San Francisco wines are available online and have made restaurant lists around the country, including the Hard Rock Cafe chain, appropriately enough. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the wines goes to support Family House, a San Francisco-based nonprofit providing temporary housing to families of seriously ill children.

In another foray into wine country, the band shot the video for their new single "Drive-By" at Shafer Vineyards in the Napa Valley. And if you were hoping for some shoot stories of wild excess, dream on. "We could not have asked for a nicer group of people to show up," says winery president Doug Shafer.

So, not quite as exciting as throwing a TV off a hotel balcony (Rolling Stones' Keith Richards) or being banned from Holiday Inns for life (The Who, but especially Keith Moon), but memorable in its own way.

"Our philosophy about all things from wine to records and downloads and T-shirts is, you know, we're not trying to get the most out of everybody," says Monahan.

The idea, he says, is "sharing something that we have as a community. Music that lasts 18 years like ours, you have to form a community at some point because you either know everybody so well or you have to figure out what else you have in common."

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FOXNews.com: Neil Armstrong's Corvette lands on eBay

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Neil Armstrong's Corvette lands on eBay
May 3rd 2012, 16:15

It didn't go to the Moon, but it sure looks like it did.

A 1967 Chevrolet Corvette once owned by Neil Armstrong is being auctioned on eBay.

The blue coupe sat unused in a garage since 1981, before being purchased by its current owner in February of this year. It's in barely running condition, but is mostly original.  Aside from a new carburetor, water pump, muffler and wheels, the only major modification is a set of poorly done fender flares.

The fully-documented 'Vette has a 390 hp 427 cubic-inch V8 running through a four-speed manual transmission and, fitting of a Florida car, factory air conditioning as well as power windows. The odometer shows just 38,148 miles, but as it only has five digits and hasn't worked since the 1970's, there's no telling how much mileage the car really has on it.

According to the seller, the yet-to-be-first man on the Moon took delivery of the 'Vette in December of 1966 as part of a special program run by Melbourne Chevrolet dealer, Jim Rathman. The enterprising salesman used to offer astronauts a special one year lease deal on 'Vettes so they would always be seen behind the wheel of the latest model. One of his employees bought the car in 1968 when it was turned in for trade.

Chevrolet's connection with the space program launched in 1961, when GM President Ed Cole presented the first American in Space, Alan Shepard, with a new 1962 Corvette upon his return. Afterwards six of the seven Mercury astronauts would join him as Corvette owners, with only John Glenn opting for a Chevy station wagon. Many other folks with the right stuff would follow, and the Cape Kennedy Corvette Club held a parade of cars with 30 surviving astronauts on May 7th, 2011, two days after the 50th anniversary of Shepard's flight.

The auction for Armstrong's car ends on May 6th, and as of this writing the bidding is closing in on $250,000, about $1 for every mile to the moon. That's still not enough to meet the unpublished reserve, so the sky's still the limit for this very unique piece of American history.

Read: NASA's Corvette connection

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FOXNews.com: How to deal with rust on your car

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How to deal with rust on your car
May 3rd 2012, 15:07

Rust does more than prematurely age your car. If left unattended, rust can spread and seriously damage your car.

What causes your car to rust?

In scientific terms, rust is iron oxide that forms when cast iron comes into contact with oxygen or water, especially if salt is introduced to spark an electrochemical process called corrosion.

Salt is a big rust trigger, especially if you live by the ocean. Salt-filled air comes in contact with your car, causing rust to form quicker than it would under normal conditions. But don't think you and your car are off the hook if you live hundreds of miles from the coast; the salt used to melt ice and snow during the winter can lead to a rusty car as well. Damage to the primer and paint on cars caused by anything from scratches to dents means rust-causing moisture can reach the metal beneath.

Parts of your car that are more prone to rust include the trunk compartment, engine and frame. The undersides of your vehicle may be the location of your worst rust problems says Terry Haltom, the education manager for the collision repair and refinish (CRRT) program at Universal Technical Institute (UTI) in Sacramento, Calif.

Results of rust

Not only does rust diminish the otherwise attractive appearance of your car, it can also be dangerous. And Haltom says that even with rust-proofing treatment, your vehicle can still rust.

"It is always best to keep checking your vehicle for signs of rust and addressing corrosion problems as they appear," he says. "This is especially important if you live in a climate where they use anti-icing agents on the roads."

Removing rust

"If you find significant rust or rust that is affecting the painted or exterior of your vehicle, your best bet is to call in the professionals," says Haltom. "The rust may have caused structural damage that the average do-it-yourself person is not equipped to fix."

However, there are ways to treat small rust spots in areas where there is no paint yourself, he says.

What You'll Need:

  • Protective glasses
  • Face mask
  • An abrasive pad ("The one you're using in the kitchen will do," Haltom points out.)
  • Sandpaper
  • Disposable gloves
  • Rust metal primer or a car-quality sandable primer (both of which you can find at your local auto parts store)
  • A can of rust neutralizer or converter such as POR-15 or Locktite Rust Neutralizer
  • A clean and soft cloth
  • A small paint brush. (Pick one up at the auto parts store or use something along the lines of a model paint brush.)
  • Newspaper to spread under the area where you will be working
  • Mineral spirits

Spread out the newspaper under your work area. Check the area surrounding the rust spot for any loose materials or fragments and remove them. Rub away the visible rust with the abrasive pad. Using your small paint brush, carefully apply some of the rust neutralizer or converter. "Make sure you follow the instructions on the package on how long you need to wait before you proceed to the next task," Haltom adds.

Wait about 24 hours and then apply primer, following the directions on the package. Wipe down the area with a damp cloth when it is safe to do so to get rid of excess primer, and then wipe the spot dry.

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FOXNews.com: Test Drive: 2012 Chrysler 300 S

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Test Drive: 2012 Chrysler 300 S
May 3rd 2012, 15:15

When it hit the scene hard in 2005, the Chrysler 300 matched bold style with a cheap fit and finish that was palatable with a powerful HEMI V8 under the hood, but little more than a plastic prison when powered by one of the thirsty, weak-in-the-knees V6s on offer.

Mistakes were made. New Chrysler doesn't make mistakes.

As with the rest of the automaker's lineup, for 2012 its flagship sedan has been redesigned to fix what was wrong and make what was good fantabulous.

This starts with the exterior, which keeps its signature Bentley-on-a-budget look, enhanced now with flush headlights and grille, a slightly more wedge-shaped profile, clever little tailfins at the rear, a heavy helping of LED lighting elements and larger windows for better visibility and an airier feeling cabin.

In there you'll find an all-new motif that's centered around a standard 8.4-inch monitor for the various entertainment systems, lots of soft-touch plastics and improved visibility thanks to the extra glass. This still isn't a Cadillac or Lincoln interior, as there isn't nearly enough leather trim, but for a starting price of $29,395, more than 15 grand less than an MKS, you can deal. (For those whom must swath themselves, the $40,940 Luxury Series trim level is available that's got additional hides and was named one of Ward's 10 Best Interiors of 2012.)

The HEMI is back, of course, and available in two flavors, offering 363 hp and 470 hp, respectively. Both are a thrill, but neither a necessity. The standard-issue engine is Chrysler's new and much-vaunted Pentastar 3.6-liter V6, a world-class mill that delivers 292 hp and 31 mpg on the highway, unsurpassed among gasoline-fed rear-wheel-drive full-size sedans.

Helping it achieve this level of efficiency is Chrysler's first use of an 8-speed automatic transmission, which is not yet available with the V8s. The box of many gears putting it in league with foreign luxury brands like BMW and Audi, not to mention its most direct rival, the Hyundai Genesis.

Aside from a fiddly toggle switch-style gear selector that makes choosing reverse a continual challenge, the tranny operates as smoothly as the rest of the car. Top-of-the-V6 line "S' models like our tester have paddle shifters behind the wheel, which you may actually find yourself using on occasion.

Even when fitted with all wheel drive, the 300 likes to think of itself as a rear-drive car. The proof of this can be seen on a torque-split display located in the instrument cluster that tells you where the power is going at any given time. I ran the car hard enough through a couple of curves to get the back end to slide out a bit for fun, and it never once thought of calling the front tires into action for the save because that would be lame.

So, this 300 is quick and nimble, but also quiet outside and in. My cameraman on the side of the road never heard me coming, and on the highway it's as if you're wearing a pair of noise-canceling headphones like those big bulky ones from Beats By Dr. Dre, which happens to supply the 522-watt audio system on the 300 S. The bass sound is so tight, they should call it snare. The automotive collaboration is a first for the former World Class Wreckin' Cru member and lends the 300  the kind of urban cool that Chrysler's recent ad campaigns so desperately want us to believe that it has.

In this case, it does. The 300 may technically be imported from Canada, not Detroit, but it is imbued with as much of the American luxury ethos as the 1957 edition, despite the extra two doors.

Gripes? This is not a car that you want to mess with, but if I must; the gas pedal has more travel in it than Anthony Bourdain, and the manual parking brake pedal to the far left of it seems kind of low-tech in a car that can be ordered with adaptive cruise control and a blind spot warning system. Also, while I generally love the relatively low-priced ($795) Garmin-sourced navigation system, the maps locked up a few times when it was directing me around traffic. It's soothing female voice, however, never led me astray.

Chrysler has been having a great year in 2012, and this car exemplifies why. Like many of the company's popular products, it's unique in the marketplace.

For all of the right reasons this time around.

---------

2012 Chrysler 300 S AWD

Base Price: $36,745

Type: 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

Engine: 3.6L V6

Power: 292 hp, 260 lb-ft torque

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

MPG: 18 city/27 hwy

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FOXNews.com: Speeder tells cops his bike can go 190 mph

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Speeder tells cops his bike can go 190 mph
May 3rd 2012, 12:37

RAVENA, N.Y. -- New York state troopers arrested a boastful -- and unlicensed -- motorcyclist for going at speeds in excess of 150mph for 50 miles on the New York State Thruway, before telling them his Suzuki was capable of even more.

A trooper first spotted the motorcycle heading south through Ravena, near Albany, going 166mph, police said Wednesday. Other troopers and Thruway workers tracked the motorcycle's location for about 20 minutes until police were able to stop it more than 50 miles south in New Paltz, near Poughkeepsie.

During that time, police clocked the bike going between 150 and 170mph.

The rider, Nikkolaus V. McCarthy, 25, of Charlton, N.Y., pulled over because he was low on gas, police said. When troopers told McCarthy how fast he had been going, he told them his Suzuki could easily top 190mph.

Feds seize stolen supercar stash headed for Asia

Police arrested McCarthy and charged him with third-degree fleeing police, reckless driving, speeding and operating out of class, because he did not have a motorcycle license, authorities said.

McCarthy was arraigned in the Ravena Village Court and sent to the Albany County Correctional Facility on $20,000 bail.

Study: Turn signal neglect now a serious safety issue

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

FOXNews.com: End of the manual transmission?

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End of the manual transmission?
May 2nd 2012, 18:22

Go to any given dealership with 100 new cars. 

On average, just four of the 2012 models will have manual gearboxes.

The trend of the vanishing third pedal is nothing new, notes The Detroit News

Even a decade ago, just 8.5 percent of 2002 models were manuals. The paper's own automotive reporter even confesses she never learned to drive a stick shift until it essentially became a job requirement.

It's more than a little contradictory to automotive reviews (including many you'll read here) extolling the pleasure of enthusiastic driving with a true manual gearbox. Likewise, purists gravitate to manuals for tackling their favorite twisting road or occasional track day. It's the original form of in-car connectivity.

But everyday life for most isn't about testing new cars on tracks or winding highways. It's stop-and-go commuting and running errands; pretty mundane stuff by comparison. One serious traffic jam can numb the left legs of manual drivers and give cause to reconsider.

What was once derided as the slushbox has seen major improvements in efficiency,  performance and weight; all were former advantages of manuals. Yet a 2013 Ford Mustang with a V-6 and six-speed manual can't match the fuel efficiency of the same car with a six-speed automatic.

Manufacturers like BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes and Porsche have implemented race technology into their road cars and actively promote their automatics as the performance advantage.

Then there's the overachieving Nissan GT-R. It doesn't even offer a manual gearbox, period.

But don't believe the clutch pedal is going the way of the headlight dimmer that used to reside on the floor alongside it.  At least not yet.

Cars like the 2012 Ford Focus beat take-rate expectations for the manual gearbox, now forecast to close in on 10 percent of sales. The Fiat 500 Abarth and Volkswagen Golf R versions destined for the US get manual transmissions only. It echoes Ford spokesman Chris Terry's thoughts that some drivers don't consider their cars appliances and want to actively remain in control "to the absolute greatest degree possible."

Those of us who fall into that camp seem to be dwindling based on sales figures, but sore left legs are becoming less common also.

More from TheCarConnection

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FOXNews.com: Buy a car get a video camera?

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Buy a car get a video camera?
May 2nd 2012, 15:52

It's one of the most anticipated cars of the year.

It has a 252 hp turbocharged engine.

It costs $24,495.

It comes with a $299 video camera.

Of course it does.

Ford has begun taking orders for the 2013 Focus ST, the hottest high-performance hatchback the automaker has ever sold in the United States, which launches later this year. With its 252 hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine, it aims to compete with the likes of the Volkswagen GTI and Mazdaspeed3 for the hearts and minds of the kind of young hot shoes who aren't into the Mustang muscle car thing, and early buzz surrounding the car is good.

But to sweeten the deal, Ford is giving the first 1,000 customers who place a pre-sale order on the car a free GoPro HD Hero2 camera – one of those little silver boxes you see stuck to the heads and gear of nearly every extreme sports star these days so they can give you a first-person view of their antics on YouTube.

Meanwhile, through the end of July Scion is bundling its teeny tiny iQ microcar with a Sony PlayStation Vita portable gaming device that includes a special edition of the MotorStorm RC racing game featuring a remote-control version of the toylike iQ. The idea plays off what Sicon says are the small, fun and functional designs of both products.

But are freebies like this really necessary to move the metal?

Polk VP of Marketing and Industry Analysis, Lonnie Miller says offers like this are an effort to "rally around the target demographic," rather than a make or break proposition. They can help to get the cars onto the shortlist of a potential customer, but are more about adding value and making someone feel even better about a purchase they probably would've already made.

Miller likens it to a Gen Y version of Lexus giving away Coach luggage with its ES 300 sedan back in 1996, enhancing the overall experience of ownership. Volkswagen tried the same thing with younger buyers with Trek and K2 editions of the Jetta that came with a bike and skis or a snowboard.

Ford spokesperson Chris Terry says that including the GoPro cameras facilitates something many Focus ST buyers probably would've gone out and done on their own. Posting track day videos online, he says, "is a cultural phenomenon and Ford wants to be a part of it."

It can also act as a form of free viral marketing, as early videos of the car in action are sure to get tons of views, and Ford will be engaging owners via Facebook and encouraging them to post videos online.

Now if it'd just throw in a set of floor mats with the rest of its cars, everyone would be happy.

Ford Sync peers ahead to streaming video feature

Ford introduces open-source platform so developers can create apps

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FOXNews.com: Waitress left two pennies and a 'my two cents' note by a customer

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Waitress left two pennies and a 'my two cents' note by a customer
May 2nd 2012, 12:32

At some point everyone has either waited tables, or at least had the pleasure of being served at a restaurant.  Let's face it, sometimes it's not so pleasurable --either for the server or the served.  

But does apparent bad service also deserve a lesson on how to do your job? 

The following note was posted on Reddit by someone claiming that a friend of a waitress supposedly received this note after serving a customer.

It reads:

Waitressing 101

Don't tell every customer you're very busy to excuse your lack of serving skills. Your job is to attend to us, not make us feel like we're an inconvenience. A little bit of personal attention goes a long way in the form of a tip. Just my two cents.

The customer left two pennies for their "trouble." 

Cruel tipping stories are hardly new. A Seattle bartender was not only stiffed on her tip by a customer, he also insulted her by scrawling on the receipt: "P.S. You could stand to loose (sic) a few pounds."

That prompted bartender to post a picture of the receipt on her Facebook page, along with the customer's name, Andrew Meyer. Soon, angry readers found and re-posted the so-called dead-beat tipper's  Facebook page  --but it was the wrong Andrew Meyer.  It was bad all around.

Then there was the incident of the receipt showing a 1% tip and the handwritten "get a real job" note.  A person who called himself a banker reportedly left a $1.33 tip on a $133.54 bill, and left a note telling the server to "get a real job". 

It apparently was a hoax. According to TheSmokingGun, the restaurant where the bad tip was purported to have been left  found the actual receipt.  Rather than a bill of $133.54, the receipt showed a $33.54 bill, and a tip of more than $7. 

While it's unclear if the two-cent tipper is real or if two cents were left, the note taps into a frustration we've all had at some point while being the brunt of bad service.  Is the note a teaching moment, or its author just a jerk?  Let us know what you think.

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FOXNews.com: Poland's 211 MPH supercar

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Poland's 211 MPH supercar
May 2nd 2012, 13:32

Development of Poland's Arrinera supercar has progressed with rapid pace since the project was first announced early last year.

Since then we've seen Arrinera partner with British supercar legend Lee Noble, which included the merging of Arrinera with Noble's latest startup, Fenix Automotive.

Now, Arrinera has announced the final specs for its supercar along with the all-important pricing details.

The starting price of the Arrinera supercar is a very reasonable $160,060 excluding destination charges and local taxes.

That gets you a mid-engine exotic powered by a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 rated at 650 horsepower and 604 pound-feet of torque. That engine just so happens to be the same LS9 unit found in the Corvette ZR1 supercar but Arrinera is providing even more power should its customers desire additional thrills.

Some of the Arrinera supercar's unique features include a tubular steel chassis covered with lightweight carbon and Kevlar body panels, a Graziano gearbox, plus bi-xenon lights up front and LEDs at the rear. There's also a set of light alloy wheels measuring 19 inches in the front and 20 inches in the rear. The suspension, meanwhile, is an independent, multi-link setup designed and optimized by Lee Noble.

Overall weight comes in at a tick under 2,900 pounds, which combined with the 650-horsepower output promises 0-60 mph acceleration in just 3.2 seconds, a quarter-mile ET of 11 seconds flat and a top speed of around 211 mph.

Inside, there are bespoke materials fitted all around. The car is equipped with an audio system, power windows and mirrors as well as air conditioning, and for safety reasons--in case of a rollover--reinforced roll bars have been positioned behind the seats and both seats are equipped with inertia reel seat belts. Optional goodies include a thermal camera package and a carbon package, which adds even more special trim elements in the cabin.

Arrinera is currently taking orders for its supercar and hopes to start deliveries in Europe, the Middle-East, China and the U.S. later this year.

Croatia's $980,000 electric supercar

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FOXNews.com: Ohio liquor control agency offers vodka discounts

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Ohio liquor control agency offers vodka discounts
May 2nd 2012, 13:58

Ohio's liquor control agency says it's reducing prices on certain kinds of vodka in an effort to make room for new items.

The Department of Commerce's Division of Liquor Control said Tuesday that more than 60 vodka items, including bacon-flavored vodka, will be sold at discounts starting at 15 percent.

Brands include Absolut, Belvedere, Grey Goose, Firefly, Godiva, 3 Olives and others. Items range in price from about $7 to $34.

An agency official says the discounts are due to the discontinuation of certain products and to make room for new inventory.

The sale includes different sizes and flavors of vodka. It will last for a short time and will be offered while supplies last.

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FOXNews.com: Bank giving away Mercedes-Benz with $1 million deposit

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Bank giving away Mercedes-Benz with $1 million deposit
May 2nd 2012, 12:06

In an era when small businesses are turning to barter, and Utah is letting gold be used as legal tender, could cars also become currency?

Tampa-based C1 Bank is now offering a brand new Mercedes-Benz to customers who purchase its $1 million 5-year CD. But it's not as simple as that.

In effect, the car is an upfront payment of the 1.20 APY interest the customer would otherwise earn in the traditional fashion. The $61,294.04 is earmarked toward the purchase of a Mercedes-Benz SLK350, SLK350, E350, ML350, or E350 Convertible from dealer stock at Crown Eurocars in St. Petersburg, tax, title and fees included.

If you want a different model, you'll have to pay the difference, but you can't just take the money and run. In fact, if you try to get out of the CD early, you'll be hit with a $3,000 penalty and forfeit the upfront payment.

The very unique CD is part of a promotion to celebrate C1 Bank's recent name change from Community Bank, and is good through the end of July at any of its18 branches in the region.

But don't get too excited if you're a snowbird with cash to spare and a hankering for a new set of German wheels, the offer is only open to Florida residents with driver's license issued by the Sunshine State.

The rest of us will just have to settle for a toaster, or invest our money the old fashioned way and wait five years to buy a car.

They'll be better by then, anyway.

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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

FOXNews.com: 'Round the house robot roundup: the latest mopping ‘bots

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'Round the house robot roundup: the latest mopping 'bots
May 2nd 2012, 04:00

For those who hate household chores, there are few tasks as dreaded as mopping. Hauling a bucket of dirty water around while you push what amounts to a rag on the end of a stick —it all seems so primitive, so twentieth century. Luckily there are a number of cleaning robots that can tackle this hated task, giving you clean floors without all the effort.

Mopping 'bots have been on the market for a few years, but a second generation of cleaners has hit the market in the last year, offering a few improvements over previous models.

So whether you're looking to upgrade, or buy a mopping robot for the first time, check out the newest robo-cleaners on the scene.

iRobot Scooba 390 ($499)

Weighing in at 8.6 pounds and sporting a 14-inch diameter, the iRobot Scooba is a floor-scrubbing beast. The Scooba 390 features a multi-stage cleaning system that vacuums the floor of larger items, sprays the floor with water, scrubs with a rotating brush and then squeegees the floor clean.

The 390 series, which the company released earlier this year, is an incremental upgrade to the previous generation. The latest model sports an improved battery that's 30 percent more powerful, which means you can clean up to 425 square feet on a single charge. The company has also improved the device's cleaning cycle, allowing it to clean a little smarter and harder than previous models.

While the improvements are welcome, iRobot has failed to fix some of the original problems with the 'bot. Because of its round shape and wide diameter, the Scooba can't get into corners to clean, leaving you with telltale triangles of dust and grime on your floor.

And for an automated cleaner, the Scooba requires a lot of hands-on prep to work properly. You need to fill it with water each time you use it, remember to plug it in after it's done mopping, clean the scrubbing brushes and empty the vacuum filter on a regular basis. That said, if you're loathe to pick up a mop, the Scooba is an adequate replacement and will certainly lighten the load. Just don't expect it to do all the work for you.

Best for: People who want a really deep clean, but recoil at the idea of picking up a mop.

iRobot Scooba 230 ($299)

At just 6.5 inches across, the Scooba 230 is half the size of its bigger brother, but it still packs a punch. Its tiny form factor means that it can fit into tight spaces, like behind the toilet, cleaning areas in your home that probably haven't seen a mop in years.

On the robot's underside, there's a series of stationary brushes, a squeegee and two water jets. Because it's much smaller than the 390, this model doesn't have the same horsepower, dispensing with the vacuum and the rotating scrub brushes. So while its smaller size makes it a more nimble cleaner, it does come with a few drawbacks.

On particularly dusty floors, the 'bot tends to push dust into unsightly clumps, leaving you to pick up after it. And with a range of only 150 square feet, the 230 can't handle larger rooms, like a typical kitchen, making it more suited for bathrooms and smaller spaces.

That said, for those looking for an entry-level 'bot, or those with limited hard surfaces, the 230 is a great little machine.

Best for: People who hate mopping the bathroom; apartment dwellers with small spaces to clean. 

Mint Plus ($299)

While the Mint Plus is a hard-surface cleaner like the Scoobas, it takes a very different approach. Scoobas tend to clean in a rather haphazard manner, going over the same spots repeatedly. The Mint Plus, however, features a sort of indoor GPS system. Place the NorthStar navigation cube on top of a high surface and it communicates with the 'bot, telling it where it has already cleaned and where it needs to go.

The original Mint cleaner already included this innovative feature, but the Mint Plus' biggest improvement is that it allows you to link multiple cubes together, extending the robot's range to a whopping 2,000 square feet.

Rather than rely on a large water tank like the Scooba, the Mint Plus uses reusable microfiber cloths — a dry cloth for lighter cleaning jobs and a wet one for a more thorough clean. While it lacks the deep-scrubbing power of the Scooba 390, the Mint Plus does come with a few advantages. First, since it's basically a push-mop on wheels, the Mint Plus is nearly silent. The Scooba 390, with its vacuum and rotating scrub brush, on the other hand, is noisy enough to drown out a conversation.

Second, without all that extra machinery, the Mint Plus's battery life is much longer than a Scooba, allowing it to clean for up to four hours on a single charge. So if you have a lot of hard surfaces to clean, and never let your floors get too dirty, the Mint can get the job done.

Best for: People with large spaces and light cleaning needs.

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FOXNews.com: Prices go thigh-high as consumers seek dark meat

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Prices go thigh-high as consumers seek dark meat
May 1st 2012, 20:18

Pat LaFrieda Jr. can't get enough chicken thighs. If his family business featured on the new Food Network series series "Meat Men" orders 100 cases of boneless, skinless thighs, his supplier might deliver only 60.

That's because consumers have discovered something chefs have long known about dark meat: "It was always the least expensive protein that you could buy, but it had the most amount of flavor," LaFrieda said.

Thighs and drumsticks are climbing the pecking order as Americans join consumers abroad in seeking flavor that isn't found in ubiquitous, boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The poultry industry used to have trouble finding a market for dark meat, but changing domestic tastes and growing exports to countries that prefer leg quarters are pushing up prices and helping pull the poultry industry out of a deep slump.

Poultry industry experts agree TV food shows are helping to spur demand as chefs talk up dark meat and give home cooks new ideas. Dark meat is more forgiving than white and doesn't dry out as easily, La Frieda said, so thighs are great on the grill, while ground dark meat works well shaped into burgers, stuffed into ravioli or stirred into a Bolognese sauce and served over pasta, he said.

"If you're looking for what the next trend is ... always ask the butcher what he takes home," said LaFrieda, whose company, Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors of North Bergen, N.J., supplies restaurants in the New York City area and along the East Coast.

Matt Monk, 29, of Birmingham, Ala., a customer service representative for Medicare, said he grew up eating chicken breasts because that's all his mother would cook. He wasn't introduced to dark meat until he moved in with his father in his teens.

"I like it because of the flavor," Monk said. "It does not dry out like white meat. White meat, to me, it's flavorless. Any flavor that comes from the meat, it has to come from me seasoning it."

The convenience and greater availability of boneless, skinless thighs is another major factor in the dark meat craze. New, automated equipment makes it more economical to debone leg quarters, where the work once had to be done by hand.

Dark meat historically has been cheaper than white, but according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, wholesale boneless, skinless thighs now cost as much as breasts, and sometimes more. Both averaged $1.33 a pound in March, but thigh prices were up 15 percent from a year earlier, while breasts were up only 1 percent. Bone-in leg quarters averaged 53 cents per pound in March, up 26 percent from a year ago.

Melissa Dexter, 27, a student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, said she noticed recently when buying both boneless breasts and thighs at Wal-Mart that the package of dark meat actually cost about 50 cents more. She said thighs are generally cheaper, though, and help stretch her budget.

"Growing up, whenever we had chicken, whether it was KFC or homemade, the breast meat was always dry," Dexter said. "I always enjoyed the flavor, not just the juiciness, but the flavor coming out of the dark meat."

For decades, producers made their money on the front half of the bird but lost money on the back half, said Bill Roenigk, senior vice president and economist with the National Chicken Council. That began changing in the 1990s as the industry found new markets in Russia, Asia and Latin America. While producers still lose money on dark meat, he said, the difference isn't as great as it once was.

Domestically, chicken companies are becoming more innovative with new products such as chicken sausages, which are mostly dark meat, Roenigk said. At the same time, they're seeing more sales to Hispanic and Asian immigrants, who have brought their food preferences with them.

At Whole Foods Market Inc., the dark meat trend has mainly shown up in sales of store-made chicken sausage, said Theo Weening, global meat buyer for the Austin, Texas-based chain. The varieties vary, but Italian and breakfast sausages are top sellers. Whole Foods had to scramble last year when sausage makers boosted production for the holidays and dark meat became hard to get, but things are back on track now, he said.

The No. 1 U.S. chicken producer, Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale, Ark., declined to provide sales figures before its earnings report next month, but a spokesman said it has seen strong growth with dark meat and is actively promoting it to "value-conscious customers."

"Last year, we launched a line of chicken lunch meats, which are packaged deli-style for retailers," Gary Mickelson said. "Other areas perfect for dark meat chicken include pizza toppings, ground chicken and smoked sausage. These offerings allow value-conscious customers to buy high quality, great tasting all-meat products, but at a lower price point."

While companies wouldn't release figures, other supermarkets and suppliers also said they're seeing strong growth in dark meat sales.

Tim Wensman, an executive vice president for St. Cloud-based GNP Company, which supplies Gold'n Plump brand chicken to Midwestern supermarkets, said a line of chicken sausages it's launching this month has already attracted strong interest.

Eden Prairie-based Supervalu Inc., the nation's third-largest supermarket operator, has seen "double-digit" growth in dark meat sales at its Midwest and East Coast chains, spokesman Mike Siemienas said. He wasn't sure why, but speculated that the mild winter led to an early start for the grilling season.

Nobody is ready to write off the boneless, skinless chicken breast, however.

"I think we're still a white-meat nation when it comes to chicken," said Tom Stone, marketing director for Bell & Evans Chicken, of Fredericksburg, Pa., which supplies dealers including LaFrieda and Whole Foods, and restaurants such as Chipotle Mexican Grill. While thighs are definitely in, Stone said he hasn't seen demand grow as much for bone-in drumsticks.

"That's great kid food," he said. "Maybe it just hasn't hit yet."

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FOXNews.com: How to host the perfect garage sale

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How to host the perfect garage sale
May 1st 2012, 15:07

Garage sales are a great way to make some extra cash and get rid of clutter. With proper planning and some organization, you too can throw a successful garage sale.

Give yourself plenty of time
Garage sale listing and informational site Weekendtreasure.com suggests setting aside at least a month to get everything together. During this time, scope out other garage and yard sales. When you get home from each one, jot down a few notes about anything, good or bad, that stuck out that you can apply or avoid in your garage sale.

You might need a permit to hold a garage sale in your town or city. Check it out before you put in all that work; you don't want your sale thwarted because you do not have the proper paperwork.

Pick the date early in the garage sale planning process. Are you going to extend the sale over a weekend, or hold it as a one-day event? If you have a lot of stuff to sell, consider stretching it out over a few days. Decide what you are going to do if it rains and include that on your signs and advertisements. Choose a start time that you can stick with, as eager garage sale enthusiasts won't be too pleased if you aren't ready for them.  Ask your family and friends to help you run the sale, and see if they want to contribute their own loot to the bunch.

Don't forget to spread the word about your sale. See if you can post online or place an ad in the local newspaper.

Figure out the logistics before the actual sale. How many tables you will need? What are you going to put the money in? Is the sale going to actually take place in your garage, or will it spill out into your yard or driveway?

Price as you go
When you are sorting through items that you may want to sell, come up with some way to price them. Sticky notes or separate piles may do the trick for the time being. Be careful not to use tape or stickers on boxes that will decrease in value if damaged. Avoid relying on colored stickers and a corresponding chart that discloses prices when it comes time for your sale, as this can be frustrating for shoppers.

Clean or wash everything before you sell it. Toss items that do not work or are beyond repair. If you are selling antiques, include a sign with the year you or your family member acquired the item.

Pricing can be difficult. Patrick van der Vorst, the former director and head of department at Sotheby's London, says how to decide what to charge is the "million dollar question." Look at the item and take a brief moment to ask yourself the price at which you would buy the item if you came across it at a garage sale. Weekendtreasure.com says the rule of thumb is to sell things at one-half to one-third of retail prices.

Van de Vorst advises against assuming that only old-looking items are valuable, and that all antiques are collectables. Electronics that are representative of an era, however, may be worth some serious cash. He said his website, Valuemystuff.com, recently valued a 1950s typewriter at $1,500 and a first-generation iPod at $300.

"Be as open and broad-minded as you can, and do a bit of homework yourself on the Internet," he says.

Van de Vorst suggests clearly pricing your items with labels. "Otherwise," he says, "people might think you are charging according to the look of your potential buyer, and that doesn't inspire trust."

Create a welcoming shopping environment
If it is hot out, set up some fans so that your shoppers are more comfortable and, therefore, willing to spend more time browsing. Think about setting up a tent or canopy to cover the outside tables.

Presentation is important when it comes to garage sales. Add balloons to your mailbox so people are drawn to your house. If you are selling a lot of adult clothes, you should have them ironed, pressed and hung. Have packages, boxes, bags and newspaper on hand for items. A portable clothing rack, or even a broom between to ladders will do the trick. Enlist help and make some kind of schedule. Assign shifts and specific jobs so the items, and the cash, are accounted for and there is always someone available to offer assistance.

Van de Vorst says, "Have fun with the garage sale and reflect that when you're selling. People want to buy from happy sellers and feel good about their purchase, rather than buying from a dull vendor."

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FOXNews.com: Oldest unrestored Mini sells for $65,000

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Oldest unrestored Mini sells for $65,000
May 1st 2012, 19:34

Grungy, gunky, funky, and rusty, this Austin Mini Se7en De Luxe is said to be the oldest surviving unrestored Mini in the world. Built in May 1959, it's the eighth Se7en De Luxe ever made. And now it belongs to one lucky (?) new owner, who ponied up the £40,250 ($65,000) it took to win the Bonham's auction.

In relative terms, that's a bargain for owning a piece of automotive history. Sure, it doesn't run, and it's most likely not a candidate for restoration unless you like ruining decades of authentic patina, but as an exhibit, a sort of once-rolling sculpture, you could do much worse.

Read: 'World's oldest Indian' sells for $155,000

This particular car, registration number XLL 27, chassis number AA2S7/108, is thought to be the fourth-oldest surviving Mini, period. The only other ones are in collections in the U.K. and Japan.

Sadly, while it's almost completely original, there have been a few items replaced: the driver's door being chief among them. The original Farina Grey paint remains (where it's not turned into rust), and the engine, transmission, and interior are all original and intact. The odometer shows a total of 30,041 miles.

Click here for more photos from MotorAuthority

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FOXNews.com: Calif. chefs seek repeal of looming foie gras ban

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Calif. chefs seek repeal of looming foie gras ban
May 1st 2012, 20:08

In 2004, the California Legislature gave foie gras producers seven years to find a humane way to create the duck liver delicacy without forcing food down the birds' throats.

With the law set to take effect the July 1, some of the state's top chefs on Monday were attempting to overturn it. A hundred have signed a petition saying they want to keep the sale of foie gras legal and establish new regulations for raising the birds. They are visiting with their representatives trying to accomplish an uphill task: finding someone to sponsor a bill to repeal it in time.

Their 11th-hour attempt has ruffled the feathers of the ban's original sponsor.

"I gave them seven years — seven years, and I shouldn't have — and now they're all going, 'Oh my God, I just don't know how we're going to survive,'" said John Burton, the former president pro tem of the state Senate who is now the state Democratic Party Chairman. "I'm so infuriated with the bad faith going on here that words cannot describe it."

Burton's bill banned the "inhumane practice" of force-feeding ducks and geese as well as the sale of foie gras in California. Burton initially agreed to delay implementation of the bill because the state's sole producer had asked for time to find a more humane way to engorge the birds' livers to keep the dish on menus.

"It's been a rough couple of years for restaurants because of the economy," said Nathan Ballard, spokesman for the group that delivered the petition to the office of Assembly Speaker John Perez on Monday. "This is one more blow to the restaurant industry in California. Chefs don't want to see it go into effect."

Perez's office had no comment on the issue.

Foie gras, French for "fat liver," is created by the funnel-forced ingestion of large amounts of feed into the duck's esophagus. Eventually the liver grows to more than 10 times its normal size.

The chefs who opposed the ban — most from the San Francisco Bay Area — also are using an animal welfare argument. Calling themselves the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards, or CHEFS, they are asking the state to set standards for foie gras production that would include audits by animal welfare experts, cage-free birds, hand feeding by methods that don't impair breathing, and limits on fattening. They say that if foie gras is outlawed, people will buy it on the black market.

Sonoma Foie Gras founder Guillermo Gonzalez, whose company is California's only foie gras producer, said his 26-year-old business has been unfairly maligned in the name of animal rights. His birds, Gonzalez said, roam free for most of their lives and are individually fed by the same feeder twice a day for the last two weeks of their lives.

"I do not believe that foie gras farming, when done correctly, is harmful or hurtful to the animal," Gonzalez said. "I believed then, as I believe today that our farming techniques would be considered humane under any unbiased scientific scrutiny."

He said that when Burton first introduced his bill, there was talk of a compromise in which the state would fund research "validating or negating whether the methods used in our foie gras production were acceptable." But the funds never were attached to the legislation, and "as a result, there was no study, and therefore, no way to exonerate my business."

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FOXNews.com: Building the million-mile car

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Building the million-mile car
May 1st 2012, 15:30

Can modern cars make it to a million miles?

That's a question Meg Novacek, the director of reliability quality at Chrysler Group, is trying to answer. At the automaker's Chelsea, Mich., and Yucca, Ariz. proving grounds, Novacek oversaw testing for the newly designed 2013 Dodge Dart, a four-door compact that debuts in June.

"Our durability testing is now more stringent," Novacek tells FoxNews.com. "We test for more lateral loads and aggressive driving on curvy roads. And, we're benchmarking against more competitors."

The automaker racked up about 8.5 million miles on the road and in the lab on its Dart test fleet, averaging about 150,000 miles per car. That's about twice as much driving as Chrysler put its test cars through just five years ago.

During the tests, Chrysler made sure that the horn can handle at least 75,000 honks (in China, drivers honk about 20 times per day, or 40 times more than the US), the doors can open and close 84,000 times, and the brakes can last for about 400,000 red lights and the pedal can be pressed about 1 million times.

This kind of longevity testing is helping. According to a Polk study released last year, owners are keeping their cars an average of 10.8 years, up from 8.4 years in 1995. Automakers are putting more miles on each test car, and the cumulative totals for fleets are also going up. At its Stanfield, Ariz., proving grounds, Infiniti has early prototype cars with about 300,000 miles on each vehicle, and simulates road wear for 20 years of use.

For the newly designed 2013 Malibu, Chevrolet engineers used about 170 pre-production test cars, driving each one about 45,000 miles per month for 22 months. (The re-designed 2013 Malibu Eco debuted in March.) In total, they put about 1 million miles on the test cars during the pre-production phase.

Ed Kim, an automotive analyst with AutoPacific, says automakers are making cars last longer. One key change is that modern engines now use better self-diagnosis techniques to check on oil levels and tire pressure so that a tune-up is barely even necessary anymore.

Interestingly, he says the electronics in cars were always one of the detriments to longevity -- the computer chips would wear out or fail before the mechanical parts. Now, the electronics systems are tested more thoroughly and tend to last longer.

Kim says companies like Kia can offer a long 10-year or 100,000 power train warranty because of the more extensive road testing, more rigid body construction and higher quality parts. "There are few truly bad cars in terms of quality and reliability," he says. "The market has demanded that new vehicles don't break down, and automakers have had to answer that call or be pushed out of the marketplace."

Technology is also helping. Dave Miller, the chief security officer at Covisint, a company that makes cloud-based solutions for connected vehicles, says modern vehicles will soon be able to communicate through the Internet and from one car to another. For example, as you drive, your car will be able to report on spark plug wear and transmission quality. Cars will use predictive technology to know when a failure might occur, and suggest a corrective action.

This could even assist automakers in other ways. Once cars are widely connected to each other and the roadway, automakers could tap into a treasure trove of data analytics: how often drivers brake, the routes they typically take, and even how many potholes they hit per day. Miller says this data would be collected anonymously and require drivers who want to help improve future cars to opt in.

Analysts say modern cars could reach 1 million miles, but there's some question about whether American drivers even want to stick with one car that long. A Toyota spokesperson, who declined to give specifics about actual mileage tests for the company's cars, joked that a pair of Nike shoes might last your entire life, but most people wouldn't want to wear them that long.

Automakers need to do their part, but regular maintenance is also key. Jason Kavanagh, an engineering editor at Edmunds.com, says the best way to make a car last is to do regular maintenance, spring for the pricey synthetic oils and high-grade fuels, address problems quickly, and even to drive less aggressively on the roadways.

New cars have a "design life" of 150,000 to 200,000 miles, Kavanagh says, but, "with regular maintenance, practically any car can outlast its design life."

Just ask Irv Gordon, whose 1966 Volvo P1800 is close to breaking the 3 million mile mark. He changes the oil every 3,500 miles or so and has only had to have the engine rebuilt twice over the years.

But do cars like the new Dodge Dart have what it takes to pull off the same feat? The real question may be whether or not any of their owners do.

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