En Santa Monica, California arrestaron a dos jovenes en coneccion con el robo un un Mercedes Benz de John Travolta. Los muchachos estaban mas sorprendidos de que el auto era de Travolta que haber sido arrestados.
Weekend: The icon lives on Antonin Careme,; The demise of an ultra-stylish design icon and technological world-beater like Concorde does mark the end of an era. But Britain’s reputation for excellence stretches far wider and still burns brightly, as Chief Feature Writer Paul Groves explains.(Features)
The Birmingham Post (England) November 1, 2003 Byline: Paul Groves The period of mourning was fittingly protracted and the litany suitably reverential.
The final flight of Concorde provided hundreds of thousands with the chance to pay their respects. It also prompted some to lament the demise of a golden age.
It is true to say the clipping of Concorde’s wings does a draw a line under one chapter of British history. However, the supersonic airliner’s legacy lives on in many other guises.
Our reputation for producing true icons of style, design and innovation lingers in the shape of the Mini and Land Rover Defender, along with the Rolls Royce jet engine. Crucially, a new generation of innovators and pioneers is blazing a trail in the 21st century to complement the remarkable achievements of the previous hundred years. Their work is typified by the filofax (the brainchild of designer Paul Smith), the personal computer (such as those produced by Sir Clive Sinclair), James Dyson’s revolutionary domestic appliances and video games like the phenomenally successful Lara Croft Tomb Raider series.Whereas previous innovations have come in the traditional powerhouse industries, the new generation occupy an altogether different world. Their respective achievements do, however, mark them out as true world leaders and enable Britain to continue its proud tradition of innovation. this web site land rover defender
The success of previous generations is typified by the continuing status of the Land Rover Defender -it is coolness on four wheels, it is the greatest car ever built, it has found fame across the world. It also has a spiritual home in the West Midlands.
The Land Rover Defender is a 50something design icon, a rugged and reliable four-wheel friend that will not let you down wherever you find yourself. Above all, it has become something of a talisman for an industry in dire need of hope.
As well as helping to put the ‘great’ in Great Britain, the Defender has been elevated in the last few decades to the Midlands’ motor industry’s banker. While everything else was seemingly struggling, as Rover was being saved from its death throes, as debate raged on the future of Jaguar, the Defender stood resolute in the face of adversity. Motor industry analyst and consultant Jon Milburn said: ‘What people need to realise is that, although the Defender still has very strong ties with Solihull and is still a very British vehicle, the market is just as likely to be in the wilds of Tashkent as in a farm near Tamworth.
‘The reliability under the most severe conditions, and this enduring and fantastic image, make it an object of desire all over the world.’ The Defender has assumed iconic status. It finished a close second to Aston Martin in a list of all-time ‘coolest cars’ and was voted greatest vehicle of all time by television viewers in a recent poll against some formidable opponents.
As the 4×4 of choice for Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider films it has captured the imagination of a whole new generation. ‘The key word in all this is ‘British’,’ added Mr Milburn.
‘That does not just mean the countless clubs and societies in this country dedicated to the Defender, but the fact that the British tag is also important to people in the far-flung reaches. These are just as important selling points as the vehicle’s ability to cross a swollen river in the middle of nowhere.’ It is, perhaps, no coincidence that Lara Croft -the computer generated heroine created in the Midlands and now a true 21st century icon -would choose the Land Rover Defender.
Core Design have the unending gratitude of millions of teenage boys (and their dads) for their creation, brought to life on film by Angelina Jolie.
Jeremy Heath-Smith helped found the company in 1996 and the release of the company’s first Tomb Raider game that year set it on an astronomical rise. To date, 28 million Tomb Raider games have been sold worldwide.
Core was bought by games publisher Eidos and the firm moved to premises at Derby’s Pride Park in 1999.
Although many lament the fact that the Tomb Raider franchise has been hijacked by the Americans, its UK origins are still a major element.
‘The UK is one of the major driving forces in the video game industries, some of the biggest and best software and many of the most innovative ideas have been generated here,’ said Simon Taylor, an IT specialist.
‘It does generate tens of millions of pounds, but it is the export of British innovation and excellence around the world that has become such a crucial factor.
‘Although Core Design has been swallowed up by Eidos and Jeremy Heath-Smith has left, it doesn’t mean we are now losing ground to the Americans. Far from it, people like Jeremy are the modern innovators and pioneers and they are still taking a lead.
‘The rest of the world does look to us when it comes to these newer sectors. They might not be the same as the old manufacturing industries, but they are vitally important and they show we are still capable of setting a very high standard.
‘I really liked the fact that a link has been established between two of our greatest icons and that Lara Croft drives a Land Rover. They may be from different decades and use different technologies, but both show what Britain does best.’ It is a rich legacy and it is one that shows no sign of diminishing. Even if Concorde will no longer be flying the flag, the technology that helped create the world’s first supersonic airline lives on in many different respects.
Equally, the likes of the original Mini remains a relevant and active icon despite the development of its spiritual successor by BMW. landroverdefendernow.net land rover defender
There are still Minis to be seen on roads around the world, but there are also elements of its development that have an impact to this day -the world’s first city car and supermini has spawned countless imitators but arguably none has come close to providing the cheap, enjoyable, spacious, reliable runabout it has represented since it first hit the roads in the 1960s. Also, as the first mass produced front-wheel car it has paved the way for others to adopt the same technology.
The likes of the Filofax may be completely different, but they still represent British innovation.
James Dyson is closer to the traditional manufacturing industry pioneers of old, but his domestic appliances are firmly rooted in 21st century technology.
The tradition lives on. Britain remains at the cutting edge and continues to lead the world.
Land Rover Defender1947 -September 4, the board of directors approve full development and production of the Land Rover and the following April it makes an eagerly-awaited debut at the Amsterdam Car Show.
1949 -First Land Rovers sold into USA and Canada (via Roots Motors, Inc.).
1954 -The 100,000th Land Rover built, the 250,000th follows five years later.
1966 -In April, the 500,000th Land Rover built and the success further inspires the development of the prototype Range Rover.
Rover Motor Company merges with Leyland, Leyland becomes dominant and the following year merges with British Motor Holdings (owned Jaguar and EMC to form British Leyland Motor Corporation).
1971 -The first appearance of the Range Rover does little to diminish the appeal of the original 4×4 and in June of this year, the 750,000th Land Rover rolls off the production line.
1976 -The million mark is reached and in 1978 Land Rover Ltd is created.
1989 -As the Range Rover moved further upmarket, the gap developing in the range was closed with the introduction of the Discovery, aimed at the family/leisure market.
1990 -The Land Rover 90 and 110 models were renamed ‘Defender’ and equipped with the Tdi diesel engine, first introduced in the Discovery.
1998 -As the all-new Freelander model went on sale, Land Rover prepared to mark a very special milestone as the Defender reached its 50th anniversary, now boasting sales of over 1.6 million units.
2000 -Land Rover is acquired by Ford Motor Company in July and in 2001 total Land Rover production reached three million.
Lara Croft Tomb RaiderDeveloped by Derby-based Core Design, the Tomb Raider series (5 games in total) has sold over 28 million copies worldwide.
Tomb Raider is the number one selling franchise on Sony’s PlayStation system in Europe and the US.
The latest instalment is Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness -regarded as a classic it has the heroine as ‘both hunter and hunted relying on her ingenuity, athleticism and a new edge that has arisen from her dark inner demons’.
The Tomb Raider series has been credited with a wide range of innovations in the hugely lucrative and influential video game industry -the latest franchise sees Lara with the ability to interact with characters and the choice of which path to take.
The game employs a brand new engine built from the ground up to fully utilise the power of PlayStation 2 and the latest PC graphics cards.
Lara herself is made up of over 5,000 polygons (closed figures made by joining line segments where each line segment intersects exactly two others that combine to create an image) as opposed to just 500 in previous Tomb Raider games. She also has more than 250 fluid animations, as opposed to 25 in previous Tomb Raider games.
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The Land Rover Defender will always be able to fight its corner, but with Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft behind the wheel there’s no stopping it. Below, Rolls Royce provide engines for many of the world’s great planes, including the planned Airbus superjumbo A3XX which will be powered by Trent 900s. The Mini is an another enduring legend enjoying a high profile, while Sir Clive Sinclair’s Spectrum home computer and James Dyson’s vacuum cleaner both started their own revolutions.
