MUMBAI (AFP) — Indian technology giant Tata Consultancy announced on Thursday a sponsorship deal with Formula One team Ferrari, bucking predictions that the sport could collapse in the global economic crisis.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will display its logo on Ferrari cars during the 2009 season, a company statement released in Mumbai said.
“TCS has entered into a historic agreement with Ferrari for an enhanced technology and marketing partnership,” it said, without giving financial details of the deal.
Last week Formula One agreed cost-cutting measures following a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Monaco.
The sport’s governing body is clamping down on costs as it struggles to survive the global credit crisis.
Honda’s recent shock withdrawal from the Formula One raised fresh fears over the future of the multi-million dollar sport.
TCS has been a technology partner of the Ferrari team since 2005.
Ducati North America is pleased to announce a customization contest as part of the forthcoming Ducati Monster 1100 S showroom premiere.
In order to launch the Monster 1100 S to the public in real monster style, Ducati has launched a dealer contest to see who can build the best custom Monster. As the original custom-ready naked bike, the new Monster 1100 S is ready for modifications, and the gloves are coming off in a contest to build the best.
Fifty-eight dealers in the US and Canada have taken delivery of a body panel set in order to begin paintwork on the dealership’s dream Monster; and all have accessories in house waiting to be fitted on the dealership’s first bike. The results promise to be nothing less than spectacular and will launch the Monster with a bang.
The Ducatti dealers will have two weeks over the holidays to build their custom; and their bikes will be unveiled to customers over the National Premiere weekend, January 9-10th. The weekend will celebrate the individuality and personal expression inspired by Ducati’s original naked bike and highlight the vast potential of the Monster 1100 S.
For a list of participating dealers, and to vote for the coolest custom Monster, please visit www.ducatiusa.com; where the contest will run January 1st through January 13th.
Midsize sedans are no longer blandly styled, boring boxes for driving to work. Today we are seeing emotionally provocative and exciting designs on the common, everyday four-door sedan.
The Chevy Malibu didn’t become the 2008 North American Car of the Year by accident. Interior comfort and fine handling led by a compelling exterior design caught the attention of critics. So who should lead the pack of contenders for the title 2009 Car of the Year? I’d be willing to put money on the 2009 Mazda6.
The emotional design cues that are so essential to attracting buyers to toy cars, such as roadsters and convertibles, are finding their way to the meat-and-potatoes of the car market, the conservative five-passenger everyday driver – the midsize sedan.
With a starting price of $18,550, the glamorous Mazda6 looks like it’s worth twice that amount. There’s a silky sheen that floats over the velvet sheet metal. The Mazda team says the all-new Mazda6 is infused with Japanese values. The exterior glow, as on my dark blue tester, does reflect a harmony with nature, which is so intrinsic to the Japanese culture. The instrumentation gauges were brilliant in reds, purples, blues, whites and blacks without being blinding.
The Mazda6 has a low, flat, planted stance. And if you can imagine delicate ivory inlays in wood and furniture then you will understand the attention to craftsmanship designers say they applied to the details of the new Mazda6.
If you were going to consider the Mazda6, then you would want to test-drive both engine options offered on the 2009 sedan. Available in four trims (SV, Sport, Touring and Grand Touring), the base model is standard with the 2.5-liter, 170-horsepower four-cylinder engine coupled to a six-speed manual transmission.
The top-of-the-line model I drove was equipped with the 3.7-liter V6 mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. This powerful engine developed 272 horsepower at 6250 rpm and 269 pound-feet of torque at 4250 rpm. The EPA figures are estimated at 17 miles per gallon city, 25 mpg highway. The vehicle’s as-tested price was more consistent with its pricey looks at $32,790.
All 2009 Mazda6 sedans come standard with dynamic stability control, side curtain air bags, front seat-mounted side-impact air bags, antilock brakes, air conditioning, plus power windows, mirrors and door locks.
The 2009 Mazda6 is built with a stiffer body structure compared to the previous model. The overall goal with the body of the new Mazda6 was to build a front-wheel sedan that would be more exciting to drive and to own. The 2009 sedan is more responsive to smaller steering inputs and delivers a stable, precise, linear response. This is the kind of feel you get in a European sports sedan. The flat and stable ride qualities on my tester come, not only from the improved torsional rigidity, but also from the standard 18-inch alloy wheels and tires.
The Mazda6 has a nice range in the price points to accommodate the tastes and demands of a variety of buyers. It very well could become the new “Car of the Year.”
– For more columns and reviews, visit sfgate.com/cars.
The automaker’s new $25 million, 62,000-square-foot data center is one of a handful in the United States that’s certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
By J. Nicholas Hoover
InformationWeek
Many business technology organizations are pursuing green computing, but what does that actually look like? At Honda’s new data center in Longmont, Colo., it entails floors made of recycled concrete, office furniture crafted of reused steel and newsprint, low-flow automatic faucets, motion-sensor lights, energy-efficient servers, outside air for cooling, and an Energy Star-certified roof.
Honda isn’t insulated from the economic pressures squeezing U.S. automakers; its U.S. sales fell 32% in November compared with a year ago. Honda’s green IT push should lead to lower energy costs and other efficiencies, though the bigger impetus is a company-wide commitment to being environmentally friendly, says Jennifer Sepull, CIO of American Honda.
Honda’s 61,000-square-foot data center, which opened in October, is one of a handful of U.S. data centers certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system for green building construction. Honda spent more than $25 million on the data center, a price that included a premium for its green design. Because the facility is only 2 months old, Sepull declined to estimate just how much Honda stands to save in energy costs.
Honda selected building materials based on proximity to the data center’s location and materials that were produced in an “environmentally responsible manner,” Sepull says. And it recycled 73% of the construction waste associated with the project. The company left much of the site undeveloped and replanted trees and shrubs indigenous to the area.
Data center administrators were trained in how to be more energy efficient. For example, they were advised to decommission unused equipment quickly and to use management tools to ensure that servers are optimally provisioned. Honda has found that energy-monitoring tools aren’t up to snuff and that the data they generate needs to be more comprehensive. “They’re just coming on the market,” Sepull says. “We monitor electricity, but monitoring will get more advanced to give us better day-to-day awareness.”
The data center is just one example of a broader push. Like other companies, Honda is using videoconferencing in lieu of air travel when possible. The conference room used by its IT department has two flat-screen monitors. Just last week, Sepull avoided a trip to Japan thanks to the setup.
The company recycles everything from old computers to server racks to batteries and overhead projectors; employees lugged in 9 tons of equipment last year from their homes and offices.
BLACK AND WHITE
It’s saving on paper and ink, too. Within the last few months, Honda set defaults to black-and-white and double-sided printing everywhere in the company. That step alone is saving tens of thousands of dollars.
During a town hall meeting last year, Sepull gave her troops a call to action. Soon after, an employee-led “official green club” sprouted to brainstorm and bring in outside speakers to talk about green IT.
Honda’s now considering eliminating screen savers in favor of having monitors turn off. It’s also looking at desktop virtualization. Consolidation of systems continues, as does an increase in shared services among the company’s regional and global divisions.
The drive toward energy efficiency will continue and, along with technologies like demand planning software, will help Honda keep moving forward in a tough economy. Says Sepull, “There’s no complacency.”
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The top has come off the Ferrari 430 Scuderia in honor of the brand’s victory in the 2008 Formula 1 Constructor’s World Championship. Ferrari has announced that it will offer only 499 examples of this lightweight high-performance drop-top.
The Scuderia Spider 16M will be available in two new color schemes. The standard will be black and grey, but true racers at heart will opt for a tricolor livery available as part of the Carrozzeria Scaglietti Personalisation Programme. In commemoration of Ferrari’s 16th Constructor’s World title the rear grille will sport a special badge.
Inside, a plaque reading “limited series” is mounted just above the air vents at the center of the dashboard. Other features specific to the limited edition include a carbon-fiber roll bar and the implementation of a next generation audio system that can be paired with a customized Ferrari 16GB iPod Touch that can be docked right in front of the dash.
Having Scuderia in the name implies that this car isn’t all show and no go. It tips the scales at just 2,954 lbs which is 132 lbs lighter than a F430 Spider. Behind the cockpit resides the sweet-sounding 4.3-liter V-8 cranking out 510 horsepower and linked to the quick-shifting six-speed F1-style gearbox. That 5.7 lb/hp ratio is good for a 0-62 time of only 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 195 mph.
Ferrari says the Scuderia Spider 16M is the fastest open-top road car around the Fiorano circuit yet, and with those numbers posted above, we’d believe it. Pricing for this piece of history is yet to be announced. Also missing from the press release is the number of examples that will be making across the pond.