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Sunday, 26 June 2011

2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 SUV

2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 SUV
2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 SUV
2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 SUV
2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 SUV
2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 SUV
2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 SUV
2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 SUV
2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 SUV

2011 Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class GLK350 Sport Utility Vehicle Performance


  • Engine: 3.5L V6 DOHC with variable valve timing and four valves per cylinder
  • Premium unleaded fuel
  • Fuel economy: EPA (08):, 16 MPG city, 21 MPG highway, 18 MPG combined and 313 mi. range
  • Multi-point fuel injection
  • 17.4gallon fuel tank
  • Power (SAE): 268 hp @ 6,000 rpm; 258 ft lb of torque @ 2,400 rpm

SEA GOD (new brand)

By TLex I'm really not sure what to make of this new brand from . . . Italy? Really?! On paper the watches have some fairly reasonable specs. A 46mm AISI 316L Stainless Steel case with a water-resistance of 300m housing an ETA caliber 2824-2 mechanical with automatic winding, a domed AR coated sapphire crystal, black enamel dial with applied luminescent indexes with blue hue and a custom adjustable rubber divers strap.



But then there's all this unnecessary text everywhere. We've got Superlative Design (not superlative chronometer), Original Sea God Design (not original gas escape valve), and Professional Diver Instruments (not divers instrument) plastered all over the dial. They've even used 'design' twice for sea-god's sake! Then there's the bezel system, which if I'm correct is a two part design. The outer, which is a fixed bezel with 12 titanium screws (wonder if they're real screws or faux) with wave design . . .



OK I've just answered my own question; anyone got a wave-head screw driver handy! The inner (that's inner not internal) part, which is a unidirectional bezel is in fact a ceramic disc with no apparent means for gripping it. Try setting that with a wet divers glove! I think it would be fairly safe to assume that the team who designed this watch probably have little dive experience if any at all. The case design itself is a generic Rolex-type design, nothing special even with all the embellishments.



However I’m not ashamed to admit that there are some design elements that I do quite like though. If you were to remove 90% of the text from the dial, you might be able to notice its applied circular white markers with blue lume à la DEEP SEA. They’re nice! I have no quibble with the handset either, apart from the silly triangle in the center of the hour hand’s arrow head. Then there's the 'Sea Doo' (oops I meant Sea God) engraved case side, again totally unnecessary, but kind of cool. Nothing wrong with the Maserati-type trident logo engraved caseback either, it seems securely bolted down by its 12 titanium screws.



With that said I’m still passing on the Sea God, which will no doubt be coming to a shopping mall near you, soon! PS I have no idea on pricing, sorry!



Saturday, 25 June 2011

It's Car News

DAVOSA 'Black' TERNOS LE (new)

By TLex I haven't come across many black sub clones on my travels; this one looks quite reasonable. The Black Ternos by DAVOSA is a limited edition of just 333 pieces. It has a water-resistance of 200m and houses an ETA 2824-2. See below for further details . . .



From DAVOSA Black watches are by no means simply a passing trend, but instead represent a special kind of watch finishing. The elaborate PVD coating procedure used in creating these watches means that the watch surface is many times harder than steel. This exceptional feature, coupled with its unique look, were reason enough for DAVOSA to cloak its classic Ternos divers automatic wristwatch in a black protective coating and issue a limited edition of only 333 pieces worldwide. The Black Ternos Limited Edition is now available to purchase from 538 euros.



PVD 'The dark material' The letters PVD are often mentioned in connection with black coated watches. The acronym stands for Physical Vapour Deposition, an industrial production technique used to temper tools. This physical process makes the temper of the resultant steel much harder than normal steel – it even approaches the celebrated hardness of diamond.

This high-tech process can be simplified as follows: A special hard material is bombarded by lasers or electrons in a vacuum, thus ‘vaporising’ it so that it can then be deposited as a black layer on another object – in this case, a watch case. The advantages of this procedure are the high density of the coating, that the original surface structure remains intact and adhesion to the case is very strong. All of this ensures that the owner of a Black Ternos can enjoy his special edition black model for many years to come.



CASE Stainless steel with black PVD plating

STRAP Stainless steel with black PVD plating

MOVEMENT ETA 2824-2 Dial: Black with applied figures

GLASS Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with loupe

WATER Res. 20 ATM water resistance (200m)

DIMENSIONS 40 mm Height: 12.5 mm

WEIGHT 110 g

LE Numbered on the back of the case from 001 to 333/333

MSRP 538 euros

TUTIMA Pacific Black (new)

From TUTIMA A watch by Tutima is always something special. For everyone who regards time as something to be cherished and accordingly sees a watch as an instrument that does far more than merely tell the time, Tutima instrument watches are the brand of choice.



The new Pacific Black is yet another highlight in a series that was designed with perfection and precision in mind for the world of water sports. A watch that not only makes a statement, but that can cope with even the toughest conditions: the stainless steel case and bracelet have been specially hardened in a sophisticated high-tech process and then given a black PVD coating (physical vapor deposition).

The extra-hard base ensures that the PVD coating is particularly long-lasting and largely scratch-resistant. In other words, the owner of a Pacific has no need to worry about his watch when tackling challenges under extreme conditions, but can concentrate entirely on his own performance.


TEMPEST Viking (prototype)

By TLex A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough up to meet up with Ben, the owner and founder of TEMPEST Watches. Ben, who comes from Toronto, Canada, but now lives in Hong Kong was in Taipei on watch business, it was also my birthday, so I invited Ben and the Viking along for some drinks and so was able to discuss at great length the watch and his plans for it and for the Tempest Watch Company.



What I learnt from the offset was that Ben is a fastidious young man, who takes his work very seriously, continually adjusting and correcting the very smallest details of his design. He has worked extremely hard getting the Viking to look just the way he wanted. The result, a design that is as detailed as it is clean and is as brutish as it is refined.



The next day I met with Ben again to look over some hand drawings for his next model (it's also gonna be hot!) and had the opportunity to take these shots of the Viking. I should reiterate that this is a prototype and as such is not yet quite perfect. One thing that the sharp-eyed of you might spot is that the '50' font on the bezel is upside down, this will of course be corrected along with a number of other minor issues that Ben was unhappy with, such as the crown guards, which will be slightly elongated and made to graduate into case side.



So what were my first impressions of the watch? Well, from first glance it wasn't hard to see, where some of the inspiration for the Viking had come from. There are certainly elements from the DEEP SEA in the case design, and of course from its glossy black ceramic bezel inlay, but also from details like all the lovely beveling on the case sides that seem to draw inspiration from the RM 028.



But it's the combination of these two looks as well as striking features such as the Viking's extra high cog-like bezel design or its unique doubled tiered crown. And details such as its HEV framed with double rings and the polished beveling on the case sides and the bracelet complete with hex-screws that make the Viking truly its own thing.



On the wrist the Viking felt great, not so much weight as to feel uncomfortable, but certainly enough to feel that you're wearing a substantial timepiece. The fit and finish (considering it was a prototype) was really excellent. The attention to detail? See for yourself! The DLC version was also gorgeous. There are no shots of the caseback or the bracelet clasp at the moment, because at this stage they were not yet finished, but the caseback will feature a cool Viking ship engraving and the clasp will possibly be a push-button type clasp with divers extender.



Now, TEMPEST Watches are just days away from the highly anticipated launch of their new website and the opening of pre-orders for the Viking. There's a cool countdown clock on their page indicating time left until launch; my last look showed it was just 8 days away!











© OceanicTime

CES 2006 - Las Vegas

As others in my party were not arriving until late evening, or the following day, I joined some friends in the car audio industry and toured the 12-volt area of the Consumer Electronics Show the first day. I met some cool television personalities like “Mad Mike” from MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” and saw some amazing cars, custom installations and concept cars.



One of Noel’s (Monster CEO) private 40+ exotic car collection.



Beautiful restoration with technological advancements.


Alpine concept car: BMW Sinister

Alpine has always been the exhibit to see at the CES Show and for 3-4 years running, they have stolen best-of-show for their demo cars. This year was no exception and I had to actually revisit the exhibit early on Friday to share with others.





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