[INTUITION-INSIGHT-INSTINCT] WHY Wally-Hermes Yachts

WHY Wally-Hermès Yachts is the new company created by french luxury brand 
Hermès and monaco based yacht maker Wally, dedicated to a new lifestyle of living 
on the sea. 

designing a boat with a new concept is not an utopia. 
at every turn the yacht offers maximum space, durability and cutting-edge technologies. 
the exchange with Wally and Hermès was rooted deeply in terms of know how and sharing
the same philosophy of this new concept.

Hermès was involved in every step of the process from concept to realization, considering
both the outside and inside were just one of the many things. as always just like with all
their designs they paid special attention to detail, developing the overall architecture 
of the vessel evaluating issues of speed and spaciousness.

the boat is contained in a triangular hull measuring 58m x 38m. there is no superstructure.
the initial idea of this hull was confirmed by the ramform hull which they discovered,
redesigned and adapted to fit the concept of the wheel house that emerges from the silhouette
of the ship. the interior of the yacht is fitted out with water resistant buffalo leather using
the calpinage technique.

the yacht which took years in the making has been tested in gotebourg, sweden,
in a specialised tank testing facility, to see how it would perform in big seas.
the outcome is that, in full swell, the bow moves a tiny bit and the stern stays
completely still. anchored, the boat creates a totally flat surface behind it, like an
olympic-size pool where you can swim in total peace. on the bow, there’s a seawater
pool 25 metres long that follows the curve of the bow.

the environmental and ecological advantages are a strong point of the boat WHY.
different sources of energy are managed by a central computer.

the yacht is powered using a diesel electric engine. a surface of the photovolatic
panels which measure approximately 900 square meters provide the solar electricity
generated which covers part of what is needed to subsist the boat.




... the concept was developed by president and CEO of Wally luca bassani antivari, 
artistic director of Hermès, pierre-alexis dumas and design director of Hermès 
gabriele pezzini.


pierre-alexis dumas, artistic director of Hermès

design director of Hermès gabriele pezzini

CEO of Wally luca bassani antivari

[Wheelsman] To kill a mockingBRAND.......Pontiac

Chief Pontiac
 
 
Chief Pontiac (1720 - April 20, 1769) was a great leader of the Ottawa Indian tribe. He organized his and other tribes in the Great Lakes area to fight the British, in what is known as Pontiac's War (1763-1764).

Chief and Leader of Many Tribes:
Pontiac became chief of the Ottawa Indians in 1755. He soon became the head of the Council of Three Tribes, an intertribal group consisting of the Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwa people. The French traders and the Indian tribes had coexisted well, trading furs for supplies like food, guns, ammunition, and tobacco. In 1760, the British had just defeated the French and taken over their forts. Sir Jeffrey Amherst, Major Robert Rogers and British/colonial troops occupied Fort Detroit, and the British took possession of other forts around the Great Lakes region. Some of the British, including Amherst, were contemptuous of the Indians, limiting trade and angering the tribes.

 
Attacking the British
In 1762, Pontiac enlisted all of the local tribes to drive out the British. The English called this action "Pontiac's Conspiracy." Pontiac's strategy was to have each of the 18 local Indian tribes attack the fort nearest to them in May 1763, and then to eliminate the British settlements. Pontiac planned to begin the rebellion by taking Fort Detroit.

Attacking Detroit and the Other Forts
Pontiac planned to conquer Fort Detroit (what is now Detroit, Michigan) on May 7, 1762, but his plan was betrayed, and the British found out about it. He therefore did not attack as planned. Pontiac did lay siege to Detroit, encircling the fort with warriors, blocking supplies and reinforcements. On July 31, Pontiac won the Battle of Bloody Run, but reinforcements eventually did come to Detroit, and Pontiac retreated. The tribes captured eight of the 12 forts that they attacked, and the settlements were left in ruins.

Surrender
By 1764 the French no longer supported the Indian efforts and actually sided with the British, and the British re-took many of the areas. Pontiac agreed to a peace treaty in July 1766 at Fort de Chartres, Illinois. He was murdered by a Peoria Indian three years later. To avenge Pontiac's death, the Ottawa Indians killed many Peoria Indians.


 
Pontiac City
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 66,337. 

It is the county seat of Oakland County6. Considered a satellite city of Detroit, it is surrounded by affluent Metro Detroit suburbs. Although in the midst of these suburbs, Pontiac itself is an urban center with a significant manufacturing sector. 

The city is at the north end of the famous Woodward Avenue, known in the 1950s and 1960s as being popular with young people who would cruise and drag-race their hot-rods in the area. Pontiac participates in the annual Woodward Dream Cruise, an event celebrating Woodward's hot-rod history, stretching from Pontiac to Detroit. 

The city is sometimes referred to as "the Yak" by locals. Many younger residents are proud to claim the side of the city they hail from. The 300 and 400 address blocks are also other ways in which locals claim homestead in Pontiac. Numerous Hispanic immigrants also live in Pontiac, comprising an additional level of cultural diversity.

The city is bounded by the City of Auburn Hills to the east and north, the City of Lake Angelus to the north, Waterford Township to the west, and Bloomfield Hills and Township to the south. 

The city is best-known for its General Motors manufacturing plants and the GM automobile brand, Pontiac, which was first produced in and named after the city. Also of note is the Pontiac Silverdome, the stadium that hosted the Detroit Lions from 1975 until 2002.

 
Pontiac History
Although the first Pontiac car didn't debut until 1926, the division's history actually dates back to 1893, when Edward M. Murphy established the Pontiac Buggy Company in Pontiac, Michigan. The company produced horse-drawn carriages. As it became clear that motor car sales were going to eclipse carriages, Murphy wisely started the Oakland Motor Car Company, an offshoot of the buggy company, in 1907. 
 
Two years later, General Motors acquired half of Oakland in an exchange of stock. GM founder William Durant, a friend of Murphy's, was actually more interested in his talent and expertise than his Oakland cars. But Murphy died unexpectedly the following summer. A few months later, GM purchased full control of Oakland, amid rumors that Durant paid for part of the company from his personal earnings to help Murphy's family. Oakland was very successful through 1920. Then, a minor economic depression, combined with inefficient production and Durant's drive for acquisition, weakened Oakland and GM. 

By 1920, General Motors was in disarray. In just 12 years, Durant had founded the company, lost control in 1910, regained it in 1916, and lost it again by 1920. The company's seven divisions were fighting for the same customers, and none were priced to compete with Ford's $500 Model T. At the time, GM's prices ranged from $795 for the lowest-end Chevrolet, to $5,690 for the highest-priced Cadillac. Since GM wasn't in the position to rival the Model T, a committee of company executives, under the leadership of new GM President Alfred Sloan, decided to create a car to fill a long-standing price gap between Chevrolet and Oldsmobile. In addition, the new vehicle would serve as a platform to share vehicle components in an effort to improve volume efficiency. 

So they created Pontiac, a new car line, under the auspices of Oakland. 

What's next for Pontiac? As the division celebrates 75 years in the automobile business, it seems appropriate to reflect on the successes and failures of the past, and use the wisdom collected over the decades to make the next 75 years a time of true innovation, attention to detail and success.

Death of the Pontiac Brand
General Motors to Close Famed “Muscle Car” Division

The Pontiac name was taken from an American Indian Chief who lived from about 1720 to 1769. Chief Pontiac led a rebellion (1763-66) against the British as they were colonizing the Great Lakes region.
The Pontiac name appeared for the first time on trucks made by the Pontiac Spring and Wagon Works in 1905. The company started turning out cars in 1907 from its factory in Pontiac, Michigan.

Scripophily.com is a name you can TRUST!


The General Motors Era Begins in 1926
After some business mergers and acquisitions, General Motors bought what was now called the Oakland Motor Car Company in 1909. The Pontiac brand was launched by GM in 1926 and it was immediately successful. It was marketed as a lower-priced Oakland to fill the gap between the entry-level Chevrolet and the up-market Oldsmobile.

The Great Depression almost finished off the Pontiac Division. Steve Mertl writing for The Canadian Press on April 28, 2009 reported that, “…By 1932 its existence was under threat as GM reeled from the Depression. Yet, it was the Oakland that disappeared and the Pontiac that survived by sharing components with other GM makes.”
 
 
 
 
 
The Golden Age of Pontiac
For enthusiasts of the brand the high point of the Pontiac line was from 1956 to 1981.

Perhaps, the greatest fan of the Pontiac name is Steve Barcak who describes himself as a “Pontiac extremist.” He runs an operation called Pontiac Heaven in the Arizona desert where he has 500 Pontiacs, not one of them built after 1981.

For Barcak the turning point for Pontiac was when Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen became general manager of the division on July 1, 1956; “This man would change the image of Pontiac that remains to this day.”

Semon brought in John Z. De Lorean and Elliot M. “Pete” Estes as chief engineers and they began completely changing the brand. In 1957, they introduced the Bonneville with a big, powerful V-8 engine. It’s the V-8 years to which Steve Barcak has dedicated his Pontiac Heaven – the age of the brand’s high-performance cars.

The Time of the Muscle Car
In 1964, Pontiac introduced its GTO line. The name was inspired by Ferrari’s very successful racing car the 250 GTO, with the letters standing Gran Turismo Omologat.

The GTO was the brainchild of John De Lorean and is considered by many to be the first “muscle car.” In his 2003 book “Pontiac GTO” Steve Statham traces the history of this iconic vehicle; the one celebrated in song by Ronnie and the Daytonas’ Little GTO.

The Pontiac GTO was designed to appeal to young males and it did; by 1966, the company sold more than 96,000 GTOs. In 1975, the line was discontinued.

Firebird

The End of the Pontiac Brand
On April 27, 2009, General Motors announced it was phasing out the Pontiac brand altogether. By the end of 2010, it will be gone. But, back at Pontiac Heaven, Steve Barcak is not shedding any tears. Interviewed by Jennifer Wells of The Globe and Mail (April 28, 2009), Barcak says for him the Pontiac mystique ended when they started putting Chevrolet engines in the vehicle in 1981. “If you’re a customer,” he told Ms. Wells, “coming in to compare cars, you’re going to wonder, ‘Why am I driving a Pontiac with a Chevrolet engine when I can buy a Chevy for less?’ ”

He added that Pontiac “turned their back on me in 1981.”
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thrill is gone — GM’s Pontiac bites the  dust
“Pontiac was one of America’s greatest car brands with an illustrious history,” lamented industry commentator Peter DeLorenzo, who runs the Autoextremist.com blog and once worked for Pontiac’s marketing department.
 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
It is an ignominious end for a brand whose products fired the imagination of enthusiasts of traditional American muscle cars.

Near the end, Pontiac enjoyed the favor of Bob Lutz, who headed product development at GM until his retirement this year, with a revived GTO, the two-seat Solstice roadster, which could be seen as a latter-day Fiero, and the G8, a sedan that aimed to compete with BMW. As was the case with the Fiero, in the end, these cars were too little, too late.

And in the end, Pontiac lasted just one year longer than Oldsmobile’s century plus one. The division was still GM’s third-largest seller, with 278,000 sales last year, and it enjoyed the youngest average age of any GM brand.

But in the end, there just wasn’t enough “Excitement” left.

[W-Info-Autos] New Kenworth T700 Takes Center Stage, Leads Trucking’s Next Ae...

T700 Delivers Outstanding Fuel Efficiency, Performance, Driver Comfort and Modern Styling...

Kenworth Truck Company is once again leading the trucking industry into the next generation of aerodynamic advances with today’s introduction of the highly fuel-efficient Kenworth T700 at the annual Mid-America Trucking Show.

For the past 25 years, Kenworth has set the pace for aerodynamic advances by providing The World’s Best® trucks. Now, the new Kenworth T700 significantly advances that rich legacy by delivering excellent low cost operation, superior driver comfort, and modern styling.
Designed through the extensive use of computational fluid dynamics, Kenworth engineers have optimized the aerodynamic integration of the Kenworth T700, while carefully sculpting a shapely and distinctive, eye-catching appearance.

Kenworth Earns 2009 J.D. Power and Associates Customer Satisfaction Awards

Over The Road, Pickup and Delivery, and Dealer Service Honors:

[Wheelsman] Texting While Driving: Danger Eliminated with New Technology

Key2SafeDriving Now Available for BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian Mobile Phones...

Key2SafeDriving is available for general release for BlackBerry®, Windows Mobile® and Symbian™ powered mobile phones. Other operating systems and phones will be available in upcoming versions.

Key2SafeDriving uses easy to install handset software and a plug-and-forget Activator™ that installs in the vehicle without tools.

Activated when the car starts, Key2SafeDriving automatically puts the mobile phone into Safe Driving Mode™, disabling its ability to send or receive calls or text messages. It monitors, reports and regulates mobile phone activity while driving. Incoming calls go directly to voicemail and incoming text messages are sent an automated reply indicating the recipient is driving and will respond later.

Emergency call functionality is always enabled while the phone is in Safe Driving Mode, allowing the person to place emergency 911 or other pre-determined phone calls.

Key2SafeDriving is available to value-added resellers (VARs), wireless carriers and retailers. Key2SafeDriving is available to consumers now for $99.95 with no annual subscription fees.


[The "new" GM : General Motors Company] 2011 Corvette Z06 Carbon Limited Edition

Taking track-to-street technology to a new level...
When the 2006 Corvette Z06 was introduced, it represented the closest connection to the Corvette race cars ever. The 2009 Corvette ZR1 closed the gap between racing and production even further. This year, Corvette continues its tradition of track-to-street technology transfer with the 2011 Corvette Z06 Carbon Limited Edition.

 “Designed to further incorporate technology developed through racing, the Corvette Z06 Carbon Limited Edition is a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Corvette’s first race in the 24 Hours of LeMans,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet General Manager. “With a limited production of 500 units, this car is a must-have for the true Corvette collector and driving enthusiast.”

The Corvette Z06 Carbon Limited Edition is another example of the expanded Corvette line-up. Five years ago, customers had the choice of a Corvette coupe or convertible. With the addition of the Z06, Grand Sport coupe and convertible and ZR1, Corvette enthusiasts now have more choices than ever.

[Wheelsman] Ford Police Interceptor Concept


ALL-NEW FORD POLICE INTERCEPTOR PURPOSE-BUILT TO LEAD MARKET, SUPPORT THOSE WHO SERVE, PROTECT


Ford reveals its all-new, purpose-built Police Interceptor, engineered to exceed durability, safety and performance of today’s leading police car – the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.

New Ford Police Interceptor sedan will offer two fuel-efficient powertrain options – including EcoBoost with all wheel-drive – along with an array of safety technologies; interior has been designed to meet unique law enforcement needs Ford’s new Police Interceptor will be offered without interruption when production of the Ford Crown Victoria ends in late 2011. Ford confirms production of an additional Police Interceptor, a utility vehicle that will be pursuit-rated to complement the sedan; vehicle to be revealed later this year.

[W-Info-Autos] 2011 Ford Shelby GT500: Ready to Hit the Racetrack

The new 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 delivers an all-new aluminum block engine, even better driving dynamics and handling, improved fuel economy and better horsepower than ever before.

The new all-aluminum engine block, manufactured by Honsel, utilized Ford's patented Plasma Transfer Wire Arc (PTWA) cylinder liner technology to reduce weight and increase efficiency.

[The "new" GM : General Motors Company] Honoring Mr. Bob Lutz

Dear Bob,
Sooo sorry to hear you go Bob.... The Design Team(Ed Welburn & the team) will miss you; the new products "in the tube" will miss you; THe LA Auto Show, The Detroit Auto Show and The New York Int. Auto Show will miss you; Jalopnik and Wes will miss you; Cadillac CTS-V will miss you; Monticello Club,NY will miss you; GM's vehicle testing/proving grounds will miss you; the relevant media will miss you; The new Camaro's will miss you; The company cars in which you smoked your cigars will miss you; I will miss you; my Blogs will miss you; THE 'AUTOMOTIVE WORLD' WILL DEFINITELY MISS YOU; even Ed Whitacre will miss you; certainly Susan Docherty will miss you?... 


So long Bob...Wishing you a very, very happy & healthy ^post GM^ life... No one, if my memory is not fooling with me, served the world of cars as much and as long as you did Bob...


I sincerely thank you so much as just another car enthusiast.

M. Melih Tuzmen
Istanbul-Turkey 


Bob LUTZ; A gr8 guy..!