Thursday, January 31, 2013

FOXNews.com: Local Motors partners with U.S. Army to bring crowd-sourcing to the front lines

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Local Motors partners with U.S. Army to bring crowd-sourcing to the front lines
Jan 31st 2013, 20:29

Sharing is always good, but it's even better when it can save lives.

The U.S. Army's Rapid Equipping Force (REF) is charged with making America's soldiers more effective and efficient by coming up with new ways to use off-the-shelf products on the battlefield and improving the performance of military-spec equipment based on real-world experience.

Through its network of liaison officers embedded with units around the world, it gathers information from the front lines, prototypes ideas, sends them into the field for testing, and makes recommendations to the Army's acquisition departments for wider deployment of successful projects.

The system has led to countless innovations, and saved millions of dollars in development costs through the years, but now REF wants to know what it can achieve if every member of the Army has the opportunity to contribute to the process.

And it's about to find out.

Today at the Washington Auto Show, the REF announced that it is teaming up with Local Motors, a pioneer in the area of crowd-sourced design, to build an online platform that will potentially let anyone in uniform contribute to ideas to improve the equipment they use every day.

Local Motors has a lot of experience in this area.

Founded in 2007 by Jay Rogers, a former Marine Infantry Company Commander and Iraq war veteran, it turned the idea of co-creation into a thriving car-building and design business where its community members submit ideas that are voted on and further modified by their peers, ultimately culminating in fully realized vehicles like the military Flypmode prototype and Rally Fighter. The Rally Fighter is a high-performance off-roader that combines custom parts with commercially available components like the engine from a Chevrolet Corvette and the taillights from a Honda Civic into a package that costs substantially less to put together than a ground-up creation.

The partnership with REF is aimed at honing anything in realm of the human-machine interface, which includes robotics, bomb detection and operational vehicles, in near-real time.

"They are the smartest guys out there," says REF Director Colonel Peter Newell. "They know what the problems are. We just have to be there to observe what's happening and provide them the platform where they can actually deliver the idea."

Rogers says that while the current system works well, by removing reporting layers and putting troops in essentially direct contact with the REF and its contractors, the process could be sped up immeasurably and fed with the freshest information while the online community ensures that the best ideas rise to the top.

Additionally, the database could allow troops to quickly develop and disseminate solutions to pressing issues among units that are deployed in a common theater of operation.

Picture a mechanic at a remote forward operating base jury-rigging an new air-filter to deal with a local type of dust that's causing problems with his unit's HUMVEES. With the online system, he'll be able to upload his design for other units experiencing the problem to copy, who can in turn offer their own suggestions to optimize it while the folks back at REF tap into this conversation and put it through a more formal engineering review.

Rogers hopes to be able to launch the system within the next six months, because there's no time like the present, especially when lives are on the line.

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FOXNews.com: Hostess picks lead bidders for Twinkies brand

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Hostess picks lead bidders for Twinkies brand
Jan 31st 2013, 19:04

Hostess has picked a lead bid for its famous Twinkies.

The bankrupt company said late Wednesday that it has selected a joint offer from two investment firms — Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management LLC — as the lead bid for its Twinkies and other snack cakes.

Hostess says the two are teaming to on $410 million bid for the snack-cake business and five bakeries.

The "stalking horse" bid would set the floor for an auction process that lets competitors make better offers. A judge would have to approve any final sale. In an interview on CNBC Thursday morning, Hostess CEO Greg Rayburn said he expects the auction for the cakes to be "wild and wooly." Twinkies and other cakes could return to shelves during the back-to-school season, he said.

After years of management turmoil and turnover, Hostess declared in November it was going out of business and selling its brands. The company already announced separate lead bidders for its other brands including Drake's cakes and Wonder bread.

The offer sets the stage for the return of Twinkies and other Hostess cakes to supermarket shelves under new management, which could mean stepped up marketing for the spongy yellow cakes with mysterious cream filling. Although supermarkets saw a run on Twinkies when news hit in November that Hostess was going out of business, the company's sales had been declining amid changing tastes and a lack of investment in marketing.

In bankruptcy proceedings, Hostess has stressed that it needs to move quickly in the sale of its brands to capitalize on the outpouring of nostalgia and media coverage prompted by its demise. The longer the cakes and breads are off shelves, the more people will become accustomed to eating cakes and breads by rivals, the company has said.

Still, Hostess cakes generated significant sales to the end. For its final year, Twinkies pulled in about $76.2 million, according to Hostess. Hostess Donuts brought in $384.6 million and CupCakes brought in $138.1 million. The figures exclude sales at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Hostess Brands Inc., based in Irving, Texas, has been filing the bids for its brands in stages. Flowers Foods Inc., which makes Tastykakes and a variety of breads, was picked as the lead bidder for six of Hostess' major bread brands, including Wonder.

United States Bakery Inc. was picked as the lead bidder for a number of smaller bread brands.

Hostess had been making its second trip through bankruptcy reorganization last year and hired Rayburn as a turnaround expert. Rayburn announced in November that the company would have to shut down after workers at its second biggest union went on strike and the company couldn't reach a deal on a new contract.

The shuttering means the loss of roughly 18,000 jobs in total. Hostess has said the wind down is expected to take about a year, with the company retaining top management during that time to see through the process.

The bakers union said in a statement that it looked forward to working to bring Hostess cakes back to store shelves. The statement noted that it is "engaging with bidders who recognize the value" the union can bring to the ongoing business.

On Monday, the company requested in a bankruptcy filing to stop making payments to its retiree benefits as of Feb. 28. It had already stopped making contributions to employee pensions in August 2011.

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FOXNews.com: Super fabulous football sweets

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Super fabulous football sweets
Jan 31st 2013, 15:30

By

Published January 31, 2013

FoxNews.com

Looking for an imaginative treat for your Super Bowl party? Well, look no further than the Internet. Thanks to the vast world of social media there are so many inspiring ideas out there. From blogs to Pinterest, the options are endless.

These bloggers have embraced the Super Bowl spirit with a new twist on some classic desserts. Make one of these fabulous recipes and you may even get your most rabid fan to look away from the game--if only for a minute.

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FOXNews.com: Doritos to roll out 'Taco Bell' flavor chips

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Doritos to roll out 'Taco Bell' flavor chips
Jan 31st 2013, 16:38

Frito-Lay wants a bite of Taco Bell's popular Doritos Locos Tacos.

The snack food giant plans to roll out its Doritos in a "Taco Bell" flavor as a limited-time product this spring, aiming to capitalize on the popularity of the Doritos-flavored tacos introduced by the fast-food chain last year.

Ann Mukherjee, chief marketing officer for Frito-Lay North America, said it will mark the first time Doritos are branded with the logo of a national restaurant chain.

Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos has been one of the biggest new menu items in recent times, with Taco Bell selling more than 300 million of the tacos with flavored shells since their introduction in March.

They were such a hit that Taco Bell postponed a follow-up Cool Ranch flavor to early this year to make sure there was enough capacity to make the shells. The chain also plans to introduce a taco in "Flamos" flavor, a Doritos variety available only in select regions of the country.

The offerings reflect the unique bonds between Yum Brands Inc., which owns Taco Bell, and PepsiCo Inc., which owns Frito-Lay. PepsiCo spun off Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut more than 15 years ago but the three chains still serve PepsiCo drinks and executives collaborate in other ways to boost their respective fortunes.

The idea for the Doritos Locos Tacos, for example, came about in early 2010 when Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed visited Frito-Lay executives in Plano, Texas, to discuss how to celebrate the chain's upcoming 50th anniversary in 2012. Since Frito-Lay didn't have a production line for the flavored shells at the time, the Doritos seasoning was sprayed onto regular taco shells so executives could get of sense of how they'd taste. Creed said he knew right away it would be a hit.

"You know you've got a big idea when you don't have to explain it," said Creed, who has been with the restaurant chains since they were owned by PepsiCo. Creed noted that the mutual trust between the companies meant the project was based on "a handshake" in the early days.

Doritos Locos Tacos now account for about a quarter of all taco sales at Taco Bell, according to Creed. Without giving details, Mukherjee said in a separate interview that Doritos Locos Tacos have also boosted sales volume for Frito-Lay, which supplies taco shells for Taco Bell.

A variety of flavors were tested for the Doritos Locos Tacos before executives settled on Nacho Cheese, which is by far the most popular Doritos flavor (Cool Ranch is second). But Frito-Lay didn't want its Doritos name on just any taco shell, so it created a special, crunchier shell for the Doritos Locos Tacos.

"They wanted it to have that teeth-rattling crunch," Creed said.

To mimic the taste of Doritos Locos Tacos, Mukherjee said the Taco Bell-branded Doritos this spring will be a combination of Nacho Cheese flavor and taco flavor. Their release could be intended to capitalize on the much-anticipated rollout of Cool Ranch shells, although Taco Bell hasn't specified when that will be.

The partnership is likely to continue paying off for both companies, with Creed saying Taco Bell plans to keep looking for new Doritos flavors for its tacos. Taco Bell also works with PepsiCo to offer unique soft drinks, such as Mountain Dew Baja Blast.

The enduring relationship between PepsiCo and Yum was even captured in an exchange on Twitter last fall when Pepsi tried to engage customers on Twitter by asking them to fill in the blank: "After school snack: Pepsi and ______."

Taco Bell responded with the suggestion, "Taco Bell."

Pepsi shot back with, "There's no better answer. (hash)truth."

The exchange was mocked by the website BuzzFeed as "The Saddest Moment in Twitter History," but it also highlights the unusual ties between the two companies.

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FOXNews.com: Study names Fiat 500 worst car for passenger injuries

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Study names Fiat 500 worst car for passenger injuries
Jan 31st 2013, 16:04

Smaller is better when you have to park your car, or are looking to save gas.

Crashing? That's a different story.

A new study from Insure.com found that the car with the highest rates for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Medical Payments (MedPay) coverage is the Fiat 500 subcompact.

According to Insure.com, despite the 500's good crash test ratings -- it's an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick -- these insurance costs are a direct reflection of the real world safety of the vehicle, although the type of driving owners engage in also plays a role.

The Kia Rio 5 and Toyota Corolla rounded out the top three.

Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that big, heavy trucks dominated the other end of the list. The GMC Sierra 1500 pickup, Porsche Cayenne and GMC Yukon listed 1-3 in lowest PIP and MedPay costs.

The reason?

Simple physics and engineering.

While small cars filled with airbags can perform well in single-car accidents, when two vehicles hit each other the bigger one typically wins thanks to its greater mass and larger crash absorption structure.

"If you're looking for safety, bottom line is, you need to look for a big vehicle," IIHS spokesperson Russ Rader told FoxNews.com.

Test Drive: 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth

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FOXNews.com: Small town to hold big microcar auction

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Small town to hold big microcar auction
Jan 31st 2013, 14:45

Madison, Ga. –  The little town of Madison, Ga., is home to the biggest collection of the smallest cars in the world.

They are known as microcars, and most of the super economical rides were built in Europe just after WWII while people there were rebuilding their lives.

"It's awesome! It's just hysterical," visitors told FoxNews.com on a recent visit as they checked out the tiny rides.

Unfortunately for fans, the popular attraction closed its doors this past weekend. But now the cars can be yours, for the right price.

"I've been collecting microcars for a good part of about 25 years and it's just the end of the line for me for collecting microcars," said Bruce Weiner, founder of The Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum.

The former owner of the Dubble Bubble gum company, Weiner spent millions on the little cars he discovered when traveling the world for business.

"I'd go there [Europe] for four or five days…I'd spend one day doing business and three or four days hunting down these cars," said Weiner. He managed to hunt down more than 300 of the miniature rides over the course of 25 years and opened up his microcar museum in Madison in 1997.

If you're of like mind, you won't have to look so hard. On Feb. 15 and 16, RM Auctions is putting more than 200 of the street legal, teeny trucks and cars on a very little auction block in the middle of the museum.

"I think they are going to go all over the world,' said Weiner. "People are going to be coming from all over the world to collect these, and they will be disbursed to many hundreds of collectors."

"It's sad to see a collection like this close," museum visitor Dennis Schwecke told FoxNews.com. "I'm grateful to Mr. Weiner for making it available to the public. He's built one whale of a collection and it's so neat to see them all in one place."

Many of the "cars" in the museum have only three wheels, can fit just one or two people, and weigh a mere 300 pounds.

"Microcars create smiles," said Neil Kaye who traveled from Delaware just to see the car collection before it closed its doors. "Everyone that sees them loves them, you get big smiles, people ask questions, they are just fun."

But one lingering question remains: How much is this collection of cars worth?

"I've been asked a hundred times 'What is the collection worth? How much value is here? How much do you think you'll profit from it?'" said Weiner, adding in true car fanatic fashion: "I have never kept track of what I paid for something."

Nevertheless, Weiner predicts that some cars at the auction will go for as little as $5,000 while a few could fetch up to $200,000.

Pretty big money, for very cute, little cars.

Mary Quinn O'Connor is part of the Junior Reporter program at Fox News. Get more information on the Junior Reporters Program here.

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FOXNews.com: Who takes the cake? 10 insanely expensive cakes

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Who takes the cake? 10 insanely expensive cakes
Jan 31st 2013, 10:00

A classic white sponge cake consists of eggs, sugar, flour, and water, so how is it that when you're planning your wedding day or throwing a huge soiree that a cake can get to be thousands, even millions of dollars?

These cakes are the epitome of expensive.

From decadent fillings to extraordinary décor, your classic cake can easily become something that looks like this one from Cake Boss Buddy Valastro and costs big, big bucks.

Those who are hosting over-the-top bashes or using a premier cake decorator like Sylvia Weinstock or Ron Ben-Israel, they really are paying for what they're receiving.

If you're looking to include diamonds and rubies on the cake tiers or 20 bouquets of lush peonies dipped in edible gold, you can imagine how pricey a slice could get.

As couples and private companies get more and more imaginative in their confectionary requests, the price tags are rising. These wedding cakes are sure to blow your mind.

See the slideshow at The Daily Meal 

More from The Daily Meal 

25 Party Foods Worth Your Attention

11 Great Winter Dates

Best Frozen Foods for a Super Bowl Party

10 Dining Etiquette Skills That Will Make Your Valentine's Heart Sing

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FOXNews.com: 3 Tidbits you need to know about today's sellers

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3 Tidbits you need to know about today's sellers
Jan 31st 2013, 13:15

When markets move in a positive direction, you'll hear it from real estate agents first. They see busier open houses, quicker sales or even multiple offers. By the time the news finally hits the mainstream media, buyers start to feel the pull to get back in the market.

That's what we're seeing in many parts of the country right now. With all signs tilting toward a sellers' market for the first time in years, it's helpful for buyers to understand today's seller. No two sellers are alike, of course. But there's a certain mindset that many sellers these days share, and it's a grateful one for many. Understanding that mindset can help buyers more successfully and easily navigate through the process of purchasing a home. The same holds true for sellers. They should be mindful of the buyers that stand before them.

Here are three things home buyers should know about today's sellers.

Many homeowners are in a negative equity position

According to Zillow's negative equity report, 28 percent of homeowners with a mortgage today are underwater. Many sellers have been hoping and wishing for prices to increase just a little bit. Some have outgrown their current home, are forced into an hour-long commute (or longer) each day or simply want to move to a new town or area. But due to negative equity, they've been stuck. The emergence of a sellers' market provides them with a glimmer of hope. They just may be grateful for any offer that will allow them to get out at last.

Sellers are often buyers, too

Often, sellers feel the same amount of stress or excitement that buyers feel because they're somewhere in the buying process, too. Though some sellers will become renters after their sale is complete, many will get back in the homeowner game soon after the sale goes through, sometimes immediately. Sellers, as would-be buyers, want to capitalize on low interest rates and home values. Getting the home sold quickly and at today's value may be all a seller needs to make a purchase. Though it may be a "sellers' market," these sellers usually aren't greedy. They feel the buyer's pain and likely want to get out cleanly and quickly so that they, too, can buy.

Sellers are starting to feel relieved but are still cautious

Even the sellers who are above water or own their homes outright are well aware of what's happened in the real estate market over the past five years. They've watched their friends and neighbors lose their shirts on real estate, forced to do short sales, or even have their homes foreclosed. They welcome the news that the market is changing, and in their favor, at last. They're more hopeful than they were even six months ago. Generally speaking, however, sellers who aren't stuck in their homes (because of depressed home values or other reasons) are still feeling conservative and cautious. They're more likely to take a bird in the hand than to risk losing a sale because of greed.

Advice for buyers

Real estate is a game, in a sense, in which both sides hope to achieve their goals, which is why it always helps to understand your "opponent." When you've found a home you like, figure out who the seller is, how they got there and why they want to sell. Don't make assumptions. Take a step back. Put yourself in their shoes.

Sellers aren't the same as they were around 2005, when many were driven by greed as the market's rise seemed endless. They've just weathered the worst real estate market crash in decades, so don't go into this market, which is very different from even six months ago, assuming sellers are looking to take advantage of you. Don't let your real estate agent convince you that's the case, either. Even though you might think they have a hot property that will sell quickly, the seller is usually willing to negotiate. They may even be grateful to receive a reasonable offer, especially if it at least comes close to the value their home had before the crash.

Related:

Brendon DeSimone is a Realtor licensed in both California and New York. He has collaborated on multiple real estate books, and his real estate expertise is regularly sought out by print, online and television media outlets like FOX News, CNBC and Forbes. An avid investor, Brendon owns real estate around the U.S. and abroad. You can find Brendon online or follow him on Twitter and Google +

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.

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FOXNews.com: Wine fit for the big game

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Wine fit for the big game
Jan 31st 2013, 13:46

I'm going to a Superbowl party this weekend and I'm drinking wine.

And I don't care that there will be tons of beer and chips and wings and more beer.

I will be drinking wine.  Or maybe Prosecco.

And so will Jimmy Cefalo. 

The former NFL player turned radio host is a wine lover too.  Jimmy Cefalo grew up drinking wine and playing football.  And he liked both – a lot.  He went on to play wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins, played with Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino and was coached by the legendary Don Shula. He even played in what many consider one of the greatest games in NFL history: The AFC divisional playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins on January 2, 1982 at the Orange Bowl. The Pro Football Hall of Fame named it the "NFL's Game of the '80s."

And through it all, Cefalo, was still enjoying wine, even when his football-playing peers had beers before a game.  Cefalo had a glass of wine.  And after football, the wine enthusiasm kept growing. He now has more than 1,200 bottles in his personal wine cellar and, in 2007, received an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration in Food and Beverage Management from Johnson & Wales University.

So it's no surprise Martini, (http://www.martini.com/lda?ReturnUrl=%2f)

one of the many brands under the Martini and Rossi umbrella, chose him as its wine ambassador for iconic Italian wine brand. These days they make everything from Prosecco, Sparkling Rosé and to that infamous Asti, made from Moscato Bianco grapes.

And just in time for the Superbowl, you can get that P rosecco in 4-packs for about $14. So fun when you're friends are grabbing for beers.

So what are you drinking at your next football game? 

I know for sure, I won't be drinking anything with wheat or barley in it.

Cent' Anni.

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FOXNews.com: Think pink: Barbie Café opens in Taiwan

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Think pink: Barbie Café opens in Taiwan
Jan 31st 2013, 14:56

Barbie really does have it all: an endless wardrobe, a dream house, a number of careers, and now a restaurant.

On Wednesday, Barbie Café in Taiwan opened its doors to fans of the iconic doll. Inside, the sofas are hot pink, the chairs resemble tutus and the waitresses wear tiaras. The menu includes macaroons in martini glasses and crustless tea sandwiches. The walls are decorated with Barbie showing off many stylish outfits, and just about everything is some shade of pink. 

"We picked Taiwan because theme restaurants are very popular and successful here," said Iggy Yip, a senior manager at Mattel's Greater China division. "We are very confident that the Barbie Cafe can promote our brand image."

Mattel has licensed restaurant group Sinlaku, which runs the Hello Kitty-themed café in Taipei, to operate the restaurant.  

Perhaps this café will work out better than the company's previous attempt at a Barbie-themed eatery. Back in 2009, Mattel opened the Barbie Shanghai Flagship Store, which had not only a restaurant, but also a spa and a Barbie bar. The Shanghai concept store closed in 2011 after sales failed to meet expectations.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

FOXNews.com: Honda to offer Apple's Siri in three cars this year

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Honda to offer Apple's Siri in three cars this year
Jan 30th 2013, 19:11

Published January 30, 2013

FoxNews.com

  • honda-siri-660.jpg

Siri is sure getting around.

Honda announced today that it will be offering Apple's voice-activated assistant in three of it's models.

Owners of the 2013 Honda Accord, Acura RDX and Acura ILX equipped with Bluetooth will soon be able to have Siri integration added as a dealer-installed option.

With it, drivers can pair an iPhone running the system and use it to dictate and read text messages and e-mails, make calendar entries, check the weather and sports scores, and get turn-by-turn directions with point of interest info. It's activated by a long hold on the steering-wheel mounted voice command button and employs an Eyes Free mode that automatically operates with the screen turned off to cut down on driver distraction.

The automaker joins General Motors in confirming Siri availability in its vehicles this year. Chevrolet also plans to offer it in Sonic, Spark and Spark EV models equipped with the company's MyLink infotainment system.

Pricing and exact on-sale dates for any of these applications have not yet been revealed.

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FOXNews.com: Toyota recalling 1.29M vehicles for air bags, wipers

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Toyota recalling 1.29M vehicles for air bags, wipers
Jan 30th 2013, 16:31

Toyota is recalling 907,000 vehicles, mostly Corolla models, around the world for faulty air bags and another 385,000 Lexus IS luxury cars for defective wipers.

Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Naoto Fuse said Wednesday that two crashes were reported in the U.S. related to the air bag problem, but Toyota had not been able to confirm them. Fuse said it was unclear whether anyone had been injured in the two crashes. Toyota has confirmed 18 cases in the U.S. of abrasion-type injuries from the air bag problem, he said.

Initially, the Japanese automaker had said there were no accidents related to either problem. In total, it received 46 reports of problems involving the air bags from North America, and one from Japan, and 25 reports of problems related to the windshield wipers.

Some 752,000 Corolla and Corolla Matrix cars in the U.S. and thousands of similar vehicles in Japan, Mexico and Canada that were manufactured between December 2001 and May 2004 are being recalled for air bags that can improperly inflate. Some 141,000 vehicles in Canada are part of that recall, according to Toyota.

The air bags inadvertently inflate when the vehicle's electronic signals damage a chip in the part that controls the air bags, Fuse said. Under the recall, the part will be corrected to be able to block such signals, he said.

The problem wipers, which can get stuck if there is heavy snowfall, affect three kinds of Lexus IS models, manufactured from May 2005 to October 2011, including 270,000 vehicles in the U.S. and nearly 17,000 vehicles in Canada. The recall also affects the Lexus IS sold in Europe, the Middle East and China, Toyota said.

Toyota's reputation for top quality was undermined in the past few years by massive recalls for a spate of problems, including bad brakes, gas pedals and floor mats, mostly in the U.S.

Executives have repeatedly promised to beef up quality controls and be quicker with recalls to repair Toyota's image.

Toyota's production was hit by the quake and tsunami in northeastern Japan in 2011, where key suppliers were located, but it has since recovered, seeing sales grow not only in the U.S. but also in Asia.

Earlier this week, Toyota released its tally for global vehicle sales last year at a record 9.748 million vehicles, regaining its spot as the world's No. 1 automaker from U.S. rival General Motors Co.

Toyota has announced some recalls in recent months, but they have been relatively minor, such as floor mats, and generally affect vehicles manufactured before its latest efforts to regain sterling quality.

Last month, Toyota agreed to pay more than $1 billion in the U.S. to settle lawsuits where vehicle owners said the value of their cars and SUVs plummeted after the company recalled millions of vehicles because of sudden-acceleration issues.

Executives say they are not admitting fault. But they acknowledge the company is eager to put the recall crisis behind it, and move ahead with sales growth in Asian nations as well as the U.S.

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FOXNews.com: Ways to bring out hidden curb appeal

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Ways to bring out hidden curb appeal
Jan 30th 2013, 15:00

Realtors know that a great first impression can mean the difference between a quick sale and a house languishing on the market for months. That's why improving curb appeal -- that all-important first glance at a home -- is crucial in a competitive housing market.

Most homeowners will take care of the basics, like mowing the lawn, weeding the garden and clearing junk from the yard. But if you really want to wow potential buyers, here are some often-overlooked aspects of curb appeal that can make or break a sale.

A New Front Door

For potential buyers, the first stop on the tour of your home is waiting to be let in at the front door. In order to make a great first impression, replace an aging door with an affordable new steel door. A recent study found that you can recoup up to 102 percent of the cost of a new steel door, which means that this home improvement will likely pay for itself. In addition to looking better, a new, solid door conveys a sense of security, a huge selling point for most buyers.

A Fresh Coat of Paint

Replacing chipped and faded exterior paint with a fresh coat is pretty standard for sellers looking to move their homes in a competitive market. However, the mistake many make is choosing the wrong colors. Those bright, playful hues that catch your eye might turn off some buyers. This isn't the time to showcase your personality. Selling a home should be all about the buyer. By choosing more muted tones, potential buyers can better imagine themselves settling in and making it their own.

This isn't the time to showcase your personality. Selling a home should be all about the buyer.

- Adam Verwymeren

If you've got siding rather than paint, you can still beautify your home with a good scrubbing. Rent a power washer to strip off years of grime, which can send a signal of neglect to potential buyers.  

Low-Maintenance Landscaping  

Weeding and replacing dead plants in the garden should be one of your first steps to improve curb appeal. However, while dressing up a garden can make it look good, you can also go too far. Ornate, high-maintenance gardens can frighten away those looking for low-key landscaping. A yard crowded with flowers can also turn off homeowners who would rather use the space for entertaining friends or playing with their kids. So keep the flower beds contained, trim back the rose bushes, and make the yard look spacious.  

Your Messy Neighbors

It's an unfortunate truth, but messy neighbors could be scaring away potential purchasers. No one wants to live next to slobs, so if the houses around you look pretty rough, it can cause buyers to steer clear of your place. While it can be a little tricky to get your neighbors to clean up their acts, a little diplomacy, and perhaps a modest bribe of freshly baked cookies, could get them to help you out. Explain your situation and offer to lend a hand. An afternoon helping your neighbor pick up trash and mow the lawn could make all the difference for you.

Brighten Things Up

Many potential buyers might come by in the evening hours, and a home with poor exterior lighting can really turn people off. To start, make sure you've replaced any burnt-out bulbs. To take things a step further, add new fixtures along walkways and by the front door to make the walk up seem more inviting. Finally, replace harsh flood lights with softer lighting options. While you want to give people a good look at your home, you don't want your yard to feel like a prison yard.

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FOXNews.com: Steal a car, escape the apocalypse

FOXNews.com
FOX News Network - We Report. You Decide. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Steal a car, escape the apocalypse
Jan 30th 2013, 12:58

10 Questions for The Disaster Diaries author Sam Sheridan

Sam Sheridan has an intimidating bio. In addition to stints in the U.S. Merchant Marines and a degree from Harvard, he's worked construction at the South Pole, been a cowboy on the largest ranch in Montana, and toiled as a wildland firefighter, a sailor, and a wilderness EMT. He's also written a couple books on his time as an amateur boxer, MMA fighter, and student of muay thai and jiu-jitsu.

You'd think that would make him the top draft pick for anyone's fantasy survival team. But guys like Sam tend to be overachievers, so in the interest of really preparing for the end times, he challenged himself to learn the few practical, adaptable, post-apocalyptic skills he didn't already possess. Then he wrote a book about the point and process of learning each of these. This is The Disaster Diaries: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Apocalypse.

On the occasion of his book's release, we gave Sam a call to discuss stealing cars, outdriving zombies, and if there's anything he wouldn't do to survive. Highlights from our conversation follow.

Brett Berk: "You have quite an impressive, varied, and very butch resume. Are you working from some sort of lifelong checklist, or do you just enjoy a challenge?"

Sam Sheridan: "There's no checklist. It's just you sort of—I'm always looking for what's the most fun thing to do at the moment. I definitely try to set up things and see if I can get things working that seem kind of extreme. But I have a million jobs I've tried for that I haven't gotten—like, I tried to get hired as an oilrig firefighter once."

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We're all going to die sometime, and when the bomb hits, I personally plan to drive into the mushroom cloud. Why this profound interest in resisting the apocalypse?

I think it's human nature. You may say now that you hope you'll be incinerated, but when an event actually happens, the natural thing is to choose life. Also, I recently had a son. When you're a single guy, you think: if a tsunami comes, I'm a good swimmer. I'll be fine. But when you have a family, you have other people who you're responsible for.

You learn how to forage for food, perform close-range knife combat, and patch up traumatized family members. But you spend a lot of time discussing your "go bag"—the items you need to be ready for whatever comes. If you had to winnow that down to just three things, what would they be?

People always want lists—what's the best this, what's the best that. But you have to look at problems and think about what you'll be facing and what tools you'll need. Survival is very much like jazz. It's improvisational. There's no right way to do it, it's just doing what works. In order to survive, you try to move within the rules, and play a jazz song.

You also learn how to steal a car—though your outcome is less like Gone in 60 Seconds, and more like Gone in 60 Minutes. Tell us a little about how you found an instructor. Did you just post it on Craigslist: Expert car thief wanted?

I'd been in contact with this organization in LA called Homeboys, which rehabilitates formerly incarcerated gang members through work in a bakery and café. So when I was thinking about urban survival, instead of going online or reading a book, I thought I should talk to people who'd actually survived in a rough urban environment. And they led me to a guy known as The Hairy Hand, who could steal anything. He thought my question about how to hotwire a car was kind of hilarious, because stealing cars that way isn't really practical with modern vehicles—anything after the early 2000s has so many electronic theft prevention systems. But he still showed me. 

This instructor, Luis, tells you you'll get better with practice. When you walk by easy-to-steal cars now, do you get the itch to pull out your Slim Jim and dent puller?

No, no. But it's nice to know it's there, it's an option. There's a growing disconnect with our technology. You pop the hood on a modern car and they've hidden everything under a cover. So it's nice to get back to the opportunity of messing around under there with some hope of success.

You also learn how to perform some evasive maneuvers at a stunt driving school. You pass the class. But what was your least favorite part of this process?

The hardest thing was doing the skid turn into a 90-degree stop. Doing a 180 and coming to a stop isn't that hard because it's all big moves. But the sliding 90-degree turn stop—the Ace Ventura—you have to make a sort of finesse move inside some big moves. It's like rubbing your tummy and patting your head at the same time, but, you know, fast and while you're driving.

Have you had the chance to practice any of those since—maybe during a high-speed run to pick your son up from day care, or make it to a matinee of Ice Age 4?

No. I did the course some time back, and the learning all feels very perishable—even the professional stuntmen all talk about needing to get on the track at least once a year. Plus you need to fix the e-brake on your car so you can pump it like a regular brake. Also, being in your own car, when you're paying the damage bills, it's a little different.    

I get the allure of stealing cars and knowing evasive maneuvers, but in a post-apocalyptic world, do you honestly think you're going to be driving much?

No. But if you don't make it through the first ten minutes of the apocalypse, you don't have to worry about the next three weeks or three years. You have to be tactical enough that you can outrun that zombie, fire, earthquake, whatever right away. After that initial episode, is there going to be any gas anywhere? Probably not. But you worry about the first 24 hours and figure out how to improvise from there.

You confess to not being much of a car guy—in fact, you confess to being the antithesis of a car guy: you owned a Chevy Corsica and a Geo Prism. Has that changed now that you've been exposed to real driving, and driving instruction?

Definitely. I'm still probably not going to buy some crazy sports car. But I'm into something with more power, more clearance, more off-road capabilities. More of the survivor-type car. But for these kinds of applications, there isn't one best vehicle. You have to be adaptable. I have a neighbor with an armored car. But if he can't get to it, then what good is it? It's like having a bunker: if you're not near it when the trouble strikes, then how is it helping? If you put all your eggs in that basket, it can become a crutch.

Having undergone all of this training, is there anything that you simply wouldn't do to survive?

I think there are certainly moral places I probably wouldn't go to survive. It's a slippery slope. You don't want to become the monster. Would I kill someone? It depends. Are they trying to kill me? Or am I killing them to take their water? I think that one of the dangers that people who prep get into is that they think when the s--- hits the fan, the law will never return. And I think they'll be surprised how quickly the law returns. The Nazis thought Nuremberg would never happen. I think there's going to be a reckoning sooner than you think. And I think there's a moral question to survival that isn't often addressed in survival books. Not only how you are surviving, but why and how.

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FOXNews.com: Bobby Flay to open restaurant at Cincinnati casino

FOXNews.com
FOX News Network - We Report. You Decide. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Bobby Flay to open restaurant at Cincinnati casino
Jan 30th 2013, 00:33

Published January 29, 2013

Associated Press

  • bobbyflay_girls.jpg

    Jan. 9, 2013: Chef Bobby Flay and girlfriend actress Stephanie March attend the HBO "Girls" premiere after party at Capitale in New York.AP/Invision

CINCINNATI –  Award-winning chef and restaurateur Bobby Flay will open his 14th Bobby's Burger Palace at the new Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati in Ohio in March.

Rock Gaming officials said Tuesday that Ohio's first BBP will be in the casino next to the gambling floor and feature an assortment of burgers.

Flay also is owner and executive chef of Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay Steak, and Bar Americain in various U.S. locations. He has published 11 cookbooks, appeared on Food Network and Cooking Channel and is a regular contributor on NBC's "The Today Show."

The $400 million casino is slated to open March 4. Casinos in Cleveland, Toledo and Columbus opened last year.

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FOXNews.com: Fading favorites: 11 dishes disappearing from menus

FOXNews.com
FOX News Network - We Report. You Decide. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Fading favorites: 11 dishes disappearing from menus
Jan 30th 2013, 13:00

If you were to travel back in time 50 years and visit a restaurant, be it a high-end French bistro or a grubby roadside truck stop, a glance at the menu would most likely send your head spinning. Menus are ever-evolving creatures, and even in the past 20 years certain dishes that were once considered restaurant staples have gone the way of the dodo.

Consider the humble Salisbury steak. The ground beef patty, topped with gravy and served alongside mashed potatoes, was once as commonplace on menus as hamburgers and fried chicken. Now, it's been relegated to the back of the freezer aisle.

Or the elegant Duck a l'Orange. There was a time when every respectable French restaurant had their definitive version; now, a quick Menupages search reveals only a handful of restaurants serving the classic dish in all of New York City.

So what is it, in particular, that causes a dish to completely fall out of fashion? Tastes change over time, of course, but what's not to like about, say, beef Stroganoff? The once-glamorous dish was brought back from Russia after World War II and was a menu mainstay through the 1950s and beyond, but now it's largely relegated to traditional Russian restaurants and, once again, the freezer aisle.

For the most part, these dishes disappeared from menus because they were very heavy, and tended to rely on complicated French techniques that have gone out of style in recent years. But in some cases, dishes have vanished due to necessity. Take, for example, Abalone Meunière, which was once de rigueur on high-end menus, especially in Southern California. But abalone was essentially fished out of existence, and it is no longer commercially viable for restaurants to serve it.

From humble working-man fare to the outrageously ostentatious, click through for a glimpse at some food items that are rapidly disappearing from American menus.

Trout Almondine
This dish's official moniker should be amandine, but when it first started appearing on menus (as an adaptation of the French sauce meunière), it was misspelled and it stuck. The dish, a simple pan-fried trout fillet in a sauce of butter, parsley, lemon, and almonds, was once a mainstay on just about every high-end restaurant's menu. Its cousin, sole meunière, is still around, but these days when you see the word almondine it's usually preceded with the words green beans.

Salisbury Steak
Ah, the Salisbury steak. We all know it by heart: a patty of ground meat (beef, hopefully), topped with gravy and mushrooms, with mashed potatoes, green beans, and a little apple crumble in the middle compartment. But while our memories of it might originate from TV dinners, the dish itself was once an incredibly popular dish at lunch counters and inexpensive restaurants. It actually was invented in 1897 by an American doctor by the name of J.H. Salisbury, who was an early advocate of a low-carb diet for weight loss.

Veal Cordon Bleu
This dish originated in Switzerland,, and is a riff on traditional schnitzel. But instead of just frying the pounded veal cutlet, it's stuffed with ham and an easily meltable cheese (generally Swiss or Gruyère), usually rolled up into a roulade, and then deep-fried. This was another staple of fine dining restaurants from the 1950s right into the 1990s, but in recent years the heavy dish, like the similar Chicken Kiev and its counterpart chicken cordon bleu, has fallen well out of fashion. Cordon bleu translates to "blue ribbon," but it has no affiliation with the famed Cordon Bleu cooking school.

Sole Véronique
This dish was invented by one of the greatest chefs who ever lived, Georges Auguste Escoffier, during a visit to London, and he named it in honor of the opening of a French opera there. Its name? Véronique. It's a fairly simple preparation of Dover sole poached in white wine and topped with a sauce of heavy cream, fresh herbs, and grapes. And while grapes and fish might not make for an obvious pairing, audiences around the globe went crazy for it, and it became a French restaurant mainstay. Today the dish has all but vanished, and only appears on one menu in New York, according to Menupages, albeit with scallops instead of sole, and with mushrooms added.

Crab Louie
This salad was incredibly popular at the turn of the 20th century, especially on the West Coast. It originated in either Seattle or San Francisco, and is a fairly straightforward salad of crabmeat, sliced hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, and asparagus, served on a bed of lettuce. It was traditionally served with a mayonnaise-based dressing, in some cases Green Goddess dressing, another former West Coast staple that's mostly fallen out of favor. The salad had a nationwide boom during its early-1900s heyday, but is now only available at a few hotels and restaurants on the West Coast, with an uptick during peak crab season.

Abalone Meunière
This dish was always considered a delicacy, another West Coast specialty that had a brief, booming heyday and has since vanished into obscurity. Meunière sauce, similar to the already-mentioned amandine sauce, is a simple mixture of butter, parsley, and lemon juice, and in this preparation, abalone (a type of edible sea snail) is pounded thin, sautéed in butter, and served topped with the sauce. The dish was incredibly popular in the mid-20th century; so popular, in fact, that some restaurants substituted large calamari for abalone and diners were none the wiser. The poor shellfish was nearly driven to extinction, and finally restaurants stopped serving it. The dish has experienced a slight resurgence in a few California restaurants thanks to some thriving abalone farms, but due to the fact that table-ready farmed abalone takes many years to reach the preferred size of about seven inches, odds are it will never experience the kind of nationwide popularity of its heyday.

See all 11 disappearing menu items here

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