Among the most iconic racing events held around the world, few American races have the clout to rival the 12 Hours of Sebring. Names like Andretti, Fangio and Moss have made it famous, and the annual "once around the clock" event continues as a mainstay of the American Le Mans Series enter. But if you're going to count down the hours until the finish line, you're going to need the right equipment. At least, that's what the event's promoters figured when they teamed up with Swiss watchmaker Alpina Genève to offer an official timepiece of the race: the Alpina Extreme 12 Hours of Sebring.

The watch's action is made of black steel, with a matte black dial said to be reminiscent of the track surface with the requisite bit of carbon fiber at the center. The branding beneficial to a 12-hour race and a 12-hour watch practically creates itself, but we're impressed that the folks at Alpina resisted the urge to go all chrome and varnish, opting for a decidedly subdued look instead. Only 257 examples will be offered, to commemorate the 57th running of the clan this coming March 18-21, 2009.

[Source: TimeZone]

Source: feedproxy.google.com

The Chery S16 is called a sedan even though it only has two doors, a hatchback, what appears to be zero bring up headroom, and is about 22 inches shorter than a Chevy Aveo. From the front, the styling conjures words like "bizarre" and "Picasso" and "flounder," but -- and perhaps it is the hour -- we provide it kinda cute. At the rear, things get confused with a host of grafted designs that don't blend so well together.

Regardless of whether it's a sedan or what you think of its looks, Chery plans to release it by May of this year. What the company needs now is a name, and is appealing to the Chinese public to provide it with one. We don't understand why Chery is still in the look -- the car came with the perfect name when it was launched at the 2005 Shanghai Auto Show: Chery Wow. Indeed.

[Source: Gasgoo]

Source: feedproxy.google.com

Growing up in Canada, every kid knows what the Zamboni is. But for the poor, deprived children of warmer climes, we'll fill you in. It's not a lunch meat or a pastry you'd find in Little Italy, but the ice resurfacing machine you see put-putting around the rink before, after and in the middle of hockey games. Created by Frank Zamboni in 1949, the company's pretty much had a monopoly on the market ever since. But the times, as Bob Dylan sang from the penalty box, they are a-changin'.

Toronto, Canada's largest incorporated town, is slowly phasing out their Zambonis in favor of Finnish-made IceCats (pictured above). So is the National Hockey League. And the reason is carbon monoxide: while the Zambonis run on propane or natural gas, the IceCats are all-electric. In an indoor arena, that can make all the difference: it's no big surprise to read that a study in the American Journal of Public Health determined that replacing carbon-emitting resurfacing machines with electric ones would reduce the concentration of nitrogen dioxide in indoor arenas by 87%, except to wonder at what place the other thirteen percent is coming from (flatulent spectators?). At a whopping $160,000 apiece – twice the price of a new Zamboni when many skating rinks already have their own – the IceCats aren't cheap (there are only four in all of Canada), but with carbon emissions onward everybody's minds, Zamboni may get beaten to by the Finnish line.

[Source: Wired]

Source: feedproxy.google.com