GreenBkk.com Video | MY NEW HOT GIRLFRIEND

MY NEW HOT GIRLFRIEND

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GreenBkk Video | SUPER-PERV?! : ASK SHANE #23

SUPER-PERV?! : ASK SHANE #23

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GreenBkk.com Auto | 2011 BMW X3 xDrive35i

2011 BMW X3 xDrive35i

By Joe DeMatio, Eric Tingwall, David Zenlea, Rusty Blackwell, Jean Jennings

I was so ho-hum about the last X3, that I was completely unprepared for the drive home. Holy Toledo, Buckaroo! I think we found the oscillation overthruster. This turbocharged 6 and the other-wordly eight-speed transmission (that will make you wonder why you'd ever need a manual) make the X3 the star of BMW's whatever-utes. This X3 is a preproduction prototype, which means it's not totally ready for prime time. Plenty ready for my garage, I'd say.

- Jean Jennings

Put the X3 into Sport Plus mode, and the eight-speed transmission will snap off upshifts that are harsher than those in a Nissan GT-R. It's absolutely ludicrous. And also absolutely awesome. It makes for a dramatic personality change, particularly when you're calling the shifts from the steering-wheel-mounted paddles. The gearchanges are so quick and so aggressive that they invite triple downshifts into full-throttle passes.

Put it back in Comfort mode, with the transmission choosing the gears, and the shifts are much gentler. However, there are times when the gearbox feels overactive and slightly abrupt. It's evidence that we've maybe added one too many gears to the automatic transmission, or that the calibration team need to be more willing to skip gears altogether in certain situations.

Beyond the transmission -- which leaves me with a divided opinion -- I'm really impressed with the new BMW X3. It's comfortable, spacious, and attractive. The engine offers the usual BMW goodness with imperceptible turbo lag and linear power delivery. After the new 5-series left many cold, the X3 should be a definite hit for BMW.

- Eric Tingwall, Associate Editor

Like Eric, I was taken aback by the rapidity of the eight-speed auto's upshifts, and I wasn't even using the shift paddles; I just had it in Drive. This X3 has quite the powertrain. I remember not so long ago when we heard that BMW was going to implement turbocharging widely across its powertrain lineup, and many of us were put off by this news, because we'd driven so many turbo engines over the past fifteen or twenty years that were peaky and had lag and sounded like crap. BMW, the car company with the word "motor" in its name, was going go down that same road? It didn't sound good, but our fears were unfounded, and now we've come to expect and accept that BMW's turbocharged engines are absolutely top-notch.

The X3 as a whole appears to be pretty top-notch, also, with the predictable crisp exterior styling, smartly turned-out cabin, and premium features that we expect from a modern BMW. Compared with the first-generation X3, the biggest improvements are the cabin, as the last one was subpar; and so too was the ride quality, as the first-generation X3 rode like a farm wagon, especially when it was equipped with the sport package.

With the arrival of the X3, we now have four solidly capable and competitive compact luxury crossovers from Europe: the BMW; the Audi Q5, newly available with an efficient yet powerful turbo four-cylinder; the Mercedes-Benz GLK, which is, arguably, the least pretty of the group; and the Volvo XC60. Comparison-shop them all.

- Joe DeMatio, Deputy Editor

I don't care what car you put this engine in, it's fantastic. The turbocharged 3.0-liter straight six sounds especially cool in parking garages and also first thing on a cold morning, when it sounds very burbly and mean.

What do I think about the brand-new X3? On the outside, it looks quite smart and more carlike than its predecessor (do I see a bit of Mercedes-Benz GLK in the side profile?). The X3's comfortable cabin uses nice materials all around, and there's plenty of room for me to sit behind myself (I am only five-foot-six, though). I'm not entirely sold on the interior's wood trim, however, which looks a bit weird because of its very light hue. In any case, I'm looking forward to spending more time in a U.S.-spec X3-the car we tested here was a European-spec preproduction model.

- Rusty Blackwell, Assistant Editor

As Joe noted, the Europeans as a whole have really brought their 'A' game when it comes to compact crossovers, such that it's now a matter of personal taste. The X3 just might be my personal favorite. The turbocharged six-cylinder is predictably superb, as is the eight-speed automatic, which is indeed wonderfully aggressive in sport mode. The suspension and handling really hit the Goldilocks "just right" spot, with steering that's a bit easier at parking lot speeds than in an Audi Q5, and sharper reflexes than a Mercedes GLK.

I only wish the X3 were more exciting visually. Much like the new 5-series and 7-series, the new X3 clearly avoids controversy at the price of standing out. Isn't there a happy medium between flame-Bangle and bland?

- David Zenlea, Assistant Editor

2011 BMW X3 xDrive35i

Base price (with destination): $41,925

Price as tested: $57,850

Standard Equipment:

3.0-liter turbocharged 6-cylinder engine

8-speed Steptronic automatic transmission

xDrive all-wheel drive

Dynamic stability control

Hill decent control

4-wheel disc brakes with ABS

Xenon adaptive headlights with auto-leveling

LED adaptive brakelights

Leather upholstery

8-way power front seats

60/40 split rear seats

Automatic climate control

Tilt/telescoping steering column

Rain-sensing wipers

AM/FM stereo with CD/MP3 audio system

12 speakers

HD radio with iPod and USB adapter

iDrive system

Bluetooth connectivity

Dynamic cruise control

Tire pressure monitoring system

Options on this vehicle:

Premium package -- $3450

Auto-dimming rearview mirror

Panoramic moonroof

Lumbar support

Technology package -- $3200

Park distance control

Rearview camera with top view

Navigation system

Oyster Nevada leather -- $1450

Dynamic handling package -- $1400

Performance control

Dynamic damper control

Variable sport steering

Head-up display -- $1300

Sport activity package -- $1250

Sports leather steering wheel with paddle shifters

X-line exterior trim

Sport seats

Roof rails in aluminum satin

Convenience package -- $1150 Power tailgate

Comfort access keyless entry

Rear manual sunshade

Cargo net

Cold weather package -- $1150

Retractable headlight washers

Heated steering wheel

Heated front/rear seats

Premium hi-fi system -- $875

Mineral silver metallic -- $550

Smartphone -- $150

Key options not on vehicle:

None

Fuel economy: 19/26/22 mpg (city/hwy/combined)

Engine:

Size: 3.0L turbocharged I-6

Horsepower: 300 hp @ 5800 rpm

Torque: 300 lb-ft @ 1300-5000 rpm

Drive: 4-wheel

Transmission: 8-speed Steptronic automatic

Unladen weight: 4222 lb

Wheels/tires: 18 x 8.0-inch aluminum wheels; 245/50R18 Pirelli P Zero tires

Competitors: Audi Q5, Mercedes-Benz GLK, Acura RDX

Credit: Automobile Magazine (www.automobilemag.com)

GreenBkk Tech | Nintendo warns against youngsters playing its upcoming 3-D system

Nintendo warns against youngsters playing its upcoming 3-D system

By John D. Sutter, CNN

The Nintendo 3DS may cause problems for kids under the age of 6, the company said on its website.

(CNN) -- Nintendo is warning young children against playing 3-D video games on its upcoming handheld gaming system, the Nintendo 3DS.

Kids younger than 6 who play the 3-D games may have the growth of their eyes stunted, the company said in a statement on its Japanese website.

The warning notes that parents can turn off the 3-D functionality of the handheld 3DS. They can also set passwords that keep kids from using that feature.

The statement also asks everyone who plays the 3-D gaming system to take periodic breaks from the games as often as every hour or 30 minutes.

The warning follows many others on the potential health effects of three-dimensional entertainment. TV makers have issued warnings about young people, pregnant women and even drunk people viewing 3-D TV, noting that the medium may cause nausea, dizziness and seizures.

In one such warning, Samsung said those risks are heightened in kids.

Nintendo has largely gotten favorable reviews for the 3DS system, which lets players see games in three dimensions without wearing the clunky glasses that are required for most 3-D television and movie displays.

The company debuted the 3DS at a trade show earlier this year.

The $300 device is scheduled to hit stores in Japan in February and then in the United States in March.

Credit: CNN (www.cnn.com)

GreenBkk Tech | Internet outlook for 2011

Internet outlook for 2011

CNN's Maggie Lake talks to internet guru Caterina Fake about her predictions for the web in 2011.

Credit: CNN (www.cnn.com)

GreenBkk Tech | Windows Phone 7 hits 5,000 app milestone

Windows Phone 7 hits 5,000 app milestone

By David Goldman, staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Windows Phone 7 hit the 5,000-application mark in its app store on Wednesday, as Microsoft announced it has shipped 1.5 million devices to retailers since the phone went on sale two month ago.

But software giant also hasn't yet said how many sales to end users it has made. That's not usually a good sign.

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) sold 1.7 million iPhone 4s in June in the first three days the phone was available, and has sold 31 million phones so far this year. Google says it is currently activating 300,000 Android phones each day.

Still, analysts are impressed by what Microsoft has been able to do, considering that it was at a standstill in the mobile space just a few months ago.

"No one expected Windows Phone 7 to take the market by a storm, and ... 5,000 apps [plus] 10 devices in 30 countries is by no means a trivial achievement," said Al Hilwa, analyst at IDC. "If Microsoft executes on its mobile strategy, it will have a seat at the small table of the top two or three mobile application platform players in the next five years."

Though the iPhone App Store has 300,000 apps and the Android Marketplace now sports 200,000 apps, 5,000 apps in just two months is a nice start for Microsoft. That's already as many apps as Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ, Fortune 500) 18-month old Palm WebOS platform has, and a third of the 15,000 apps on the BlackBerry App World.

Hilwa expects Windows Phone 7's app count to surpass Research In Motion's (RIMM) Blackberry by the middle of 2011.

Almost all of the most-downloaded apps on the iPhone App Store and the Android Marketplace are also available on Windows Phone 7 -- but there are a few glaring omissions. Wanna play Angry Birds? You can't yet on a Windows Phone.

On the flip side,Netflix (NFLX) is notably available on Windows Phone 7 but not on Android. According to the streaming video company: "The hurdle has been the lack of a generic and complete platform security and content protection mechanism available for Android."

Microsoft's biggest advantage is its platform's familiarity. Windows Phone 7 apps are written in .NET, the same software framework for programs for Windows. .NET is incredibly popular, with hundreds of thousands of developers writing to it.

Developers say that converting Android or iPhone applications to Windows Phone 7 has been a cinch.

Credit: CNN (www.cnn.com)

GreenBkk Tech | Barnes & Noble: e-books take lead in online sales

Barnes & Noble: e-books take lead in online sales

The Barnes & Noble nook, a Wireless eBook Reader, is seen during a news conference in New York October 20, 2009.

Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

(Reuters) - Barnes & Noble Inc said that sales of digital books made through its website now exceed those of traditional books that it sells online.

Barnes & Noble, which introduced its Nook electronic reader last year to compete with Amazon.com Inc's Kindle, said customers bought or downloaded 1 million e-books via the Nook on Christmas Day.

A spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble said that figure included free e-books, but that most were paid downloads.

Barnes & Noble, which put itself up for sale last summer, is under pressure to show that its share of the e-books market is growing fast enough to mitigate a longstanding industry-wide decline in book sales. Barnes & Noble says it has a 20 percent share of the e-books market.

The top U.S. bookseller also said the various versions of the Nook devices were now its best-selling product, echoing claims earlier this week by Amazon that the most recent version of the Kindle was its bestselling item ever.

Both companies do not divulge exact sales figures. The sales numbers compare the devices to items within a category, such as individual books or CDs, rather than any category as a whole.

Analysts estimate that Barnes & Noble has sold about 2 million Nooks since the device's launch, while the Kindle, launched in 2007, is thought to have sold about 6 million devices.

Barnes & Noble makes most of its book sales at its 717 namesake stores in the United States. In the quarter that ended on October 30, retail location sales were more than five times greater than on its website, according to its most recent quarterly report.

Barnes & Noble shares were down 5 cents, or 0.3 percent at $14.26 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba. Editing by Robert MacMillan)

Credit: Reuters (www.reuters.com)

GreenBkk.com Tech | Canada is most Web-addicted nation: study

Canada is most Web-addicted nation: study

By Etan Vlessing

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - Maybe it's all those Justin Bieber fans: Canadians log more time on the Web and social media, including Facebook and YouTube, than any other nation.

The measurement company comScore reported Canada has the highest penetration of Internet access, with around 68% of Canadians routinely surfing online, against 62% in France and Britain. Close behind is 60% of Germans going online and, south of the border, 59% of Americans.

The laggards are Italians, where only 36% of the population goes online, according to comScore.

Web-addicted Canadians now spend an average 42 hours a month surfing the Web, up from 40 hours in 2009, and view an average 147 videos a month on YouTube and other online video websites.

And around 17 million Canadians, or 51% of the population, have Facebook accounts. Canada has a vibrant Twitterverse, with an estimated 5% of the traffic routinely following the world domination of homegrown pop idol Justin Bieber.

Despite Canada's broadband connectivity, Canadians still lag Americans in their embrace of so-called "smart TV." Netflix is only a recent entrant into the Canadian market, while Google TV and Apple TV have yet to break through north of the border.

The delay is due in part to the country's TV watchdog debating whether to regulate the Internet as major cable and phone carriers steadily buy up major TV networks -- Shaw Communications purchasing Canwest Global Communications Corp., Rogers Communications picking up Citytv and Bell Canada acquiring CTV -- to offer TV to Canadians across multiple digital platforms before American behemoths establish themselves here.

Credit: Reuters (www.reuters.com)

GreenBkk Tech | RIM dismisses claims of PlayBook battery weakness

RIM dismisses claims of PlayBook battery weakness

Conference attendees look over the Blackberry PlayBook at the Research in Motion Blackberry developer's conference in San Francisco, California September 27, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Robert Galbraith

(Reuters) - Research In Motion defended its embryonic PlayBook tablet computer against charges its battery life is shorter than that of rivals already on the market, saying power management will be comparable.

Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu earlier this week cited unnamed sources saying the PlayBook's battery lasts "a few hours" compared with six hours for Samsung's Galaxy Tab and 10 hours for Apple's iPad.

Wu said RIM may have been forced to delay the PlayBook's launch so it could re-engineer the product, unveiled in late September and due to be released early in 2011.

Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM dismissed Wu's claims.

"Any testing or observation of battery life to date by anyone outside of RIM would have been performed using pre-beta units that were built without power management implemented," the BlackBerry maker said in an emailed statement.

It said development of the battery was on schedule and its performance would be comparable to competitors.

Analysts, on average, forecast RIM will sell fewer than 4 million PlayBooks in the 12 months after its launch.

Apple has sold more than 7 million iPads since launching the device in April and analysts expect as many as 6 million to have been sold in the December quarter.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; editing by Rob Wilson)

Credit: Reuters (www.reuters.com)

GreenBkk.com Tech | Group coupon business soars

Group coupon business soars

In August, the CEO of Groupon.com discussed the success of the group coupon website.

Credit: CNN (www.cnn.com)

GreenBkk Tech | 2010: The year the internet got tricky

2010: The year the internet got tricky

By Adam Ostrow, Special to CNN

Editor's note: Adam Ostrow is the editor-in-chief of Mashable.com, a blog about social media.

(CNN) -- As 2010 draws to a close, we who report on the ever-evolving digital space have been given the perfect backdrop for looking back at the year that was and the year ahead.

In a year full of gray -- think of the debate over whether Facebook and WikiLeaks are forces for good or evil -- two high-profile attempts to make things black and white bubbled to the surface in the past few weeks: the federal government's rules on access to internet service and its proposed "do not track" registry for online advertising.

Both represent a significant shift in thinking about the internet, even if the results for the average American aren't immediately obvious.

For starters, an internet version of the "do not call list" for telemarketers would seem to destroy the holy grail that online publishers and advertisers have sought since the early days of the Web: advertising directly targeted to individual consumers' behavior.

Although marketers have long used cookies to track your Web surfing, recent innovations have given them a whole new level of precision. Facebook's "like" button -- derided this year as a major privacy infraction because it exposes you and your preferences not just to friends but to advertisers -- has been installed on more than 2 million Web sites, with tens of thousands more adding it daily.

Geolocation services like Foursquare, in their infancy a year ago, now track the whereabouts of millions of users. With smartphones growing ubiquitous and location-aware applications of all kinds becoming commonplace, advertising that knows both where you are and what you like is very much a reality.

Most advertisers and publishers do allow users to opt out of such targeting, but the Federal Trade Commission believes that simpler, more transparent options are needed.

The devil is in the details here: Opt-outs on obscure Web pages or hidden browser menus won't help consumers much, but in-your-face requirements that encourage more users to take their privacy more seriously may pose a huge problem to some of the Web's most promising companies.

Information and how it travels are also central to "net neutrality," the buzzword for unrestricted access to internet services and content. Rules passed this month by the Federal Communications Commission probably won't much alter the way you use the internet, but they pose interesting questions.

For starters, as an internet regulator, would the FCC have the authority -- through its new relationship with internet service providers -- to block a site like WikiLeaks, which posts information potentially harmful to government interests?

Thus far, we've seen the private sector self-regulate by cutting off services to WikiLeaks, but the new FCC-ISP dynamic could create intriguing (frightening?) scenarios down the road as WikiLeaks intensifies its document dumps, which seems likely.

Other internet issues that seized our attention in 2010 are at least tangentially related to this debate. A largely unregulated internet has created knowledge and wealth, but it's also long provided a medium for predatory, abusive and bullying behavior.

Concern over this came to a head this year, with social networking services taking heat for their role in cyberbullying. Perhaps the most prominent example of internet harassment came in September, when Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi committed suicide after a video stream set up without his knowledge showed his sexual encounter with a man in his dorm room.

Although prosecution of cyberbullies falls out of the FCC's jurisdiction, provisions in the net neutrality rules, such as the ability for businesses that provide internet access (like coffee shops and bookstores) to block content as they see fit, have the potential to cut off a readily available source of the anonymity that bullying thrives on.

Of course, blocking access to the likes of Facebook and Twitter has negative repercussions too, especially as more consumers turn to these services both for communication and to share news and information.

But like much of what went on in 2010, that's still a gray area, too.

The reality of the year ahead probably falls somewhere between doomsday scenarios and an internet that continues to evolve for both consumers and big business. Information is coming of age, and the stage has now been set for some interesting all-but-inevitable conflicts that will probably be right there on the surface when we take a look again, roughly 365 days from now.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Adam Ostrow.

Credit: CNN (www.cnn.com)

GreenBkk Tech | How Facebook eclipsed Google in 2010

How Facebook eclipsed Google in 2010

By Pete Cashmore, Special to CNN

Facebook beat out Google as the No. 1 most-visited site in the US in 2010, according to the web analytics firm Hitwise.

Editor's note: Pete Cashmore is founder and CEO of Mashable, a popular blog about social media. He writes a weekly column about social networking and tech for CNN.com.

(CNN) -- Facebook beat out Google as the No. 1 most-visited site in the United States in 2010, according to internet analytics firm Hitwise.

How was Facebook able to outplay the former Web champion? And can Google make a comeback in 2011 and beyond?

Let's begin by admitting that the Hitwise data doesn't represent the whole truth. For starters, Hitwise only measures unique visitors in the United States. What's more, Hitwise measures sites on a per domain basis: If the analytics firm were to include Google-owned YouTube in its calculations, Google's network of websites would outrank Facebook properties.

Nonetheless, there's a tectonic shift at work here: Facebook, once easily dismissed as the next social networking fad, has seemingly discovered Google's weak spots.

What are they, and can Google regain ground here?

Identity Wars

The first area in which Facebook has bested Google is online identity. Remember the days when trying out a new website required entering your name, username, password and other details into a form? Now sites can opt to use your Facebook account for one-click signup, making life easier for both websites and their users.

Facebook was able to make this move because the service was founded around the principle of real names. While this may have slowed Facebook's growth in its early days, the company now owns a massive database of more than 500 million identities, most of them real.

As a result, Facebook is becoming the de facto identity system for the Web. The social optimization service Gigya claims that Facebook accounts for 46% of website logins versus Google's 17%.

Social struggles

Where else is Google behind? How about "social," one of the biggest Web trends of the past five years? Understanding the connections between people is Facebook's core competency, but Google has struggled to compete in the social networking arena.

Google Buzz, widely considered a flop after a highly anticipated launch this year, unsuccessfully tried to turn Gmail contacts into social networking friends. Gmail users, it turned out, didn't need yet another social network, and didn't see their email contacts as synonymous with their real-life friends. That's a major hurdle for all of Google's social efforts: The company doesn't possess a "social graph" of our real-world connections.

More troubling is that social gaming, with such Facebook hits as FarmVille, has become a megatrend over the past few years. Google has few inroads here.

Google is expected to roll out a "social layer" uniting its Web properties in 2011, but the company has played down claims that it will launch a full social network, and expectations are low for Google's next social foray. Google could change its social fortunes through an acquisition, however: The purchase of social messaging service Twitter is the obvious move.

Search Rivalry?

Google is synonymous with search and continued to reign supreme in 2010. Surely this is the one area in which the company can maintain its lead in the coming years.

Google would indeed prove difficult to unseat in search, and yet Facebook may eventually gain a little ground here, too. Not only does Facebook possess a large database of every users' personal preferences, but its increasingly popular "Like" buttons allow members to express interest in particular Web pages.

If the company felt so inclined, Facebook might be able to provide a search engine that delivers highly personalized results. Better still: Facebook may stockpile enough personal information to recommend relevant content without the need for a search box.

Such a move is unlikely to unseat Google overnight, but this means of social discovery could lessen our dependence on search engines in the long haul.

Google's big gains: Mobile, video

Facebook is only "beating" Google if we limit the playing field to the Web. But in the rapidly growing mobile sector, Facebook is a minor player.

While the leading social network is attempting to bring social features to phones, Google owns an entire operating system: Android. What's more, Android is spreading like wildfire and proving to be a real challenger to Apple's iOS. Facebook, meanwhile, doesn't even have an iPad app.

What about watching online video, one of the Web's most popular activities? Yes, Google wins there, too: As the owner of YouTube, the company serves up the vast majority of online video views. In neither mobile nor video does Facebook look to be a threat to Google's position.

Google will always retain the lead, meanwhile, in professional life: From collaborative document creation to enterprise email, it's hard to see Facebook challenging Google's role in the workplace.

An uncertain victory

In 2010, Facebook challenged Google where it is weakest: Online identity and the social Web. Given that "social" is the Web's fastest-growing trend, it's hardly surprising that Facebook has benefited from the rising tide.

And yet Facebook only outranks Google on that very narrow metric: U.S. Web traffic. As mobile operating systems and app stores grow in popularity, is Web traffic really an accurate measurement of an Internet company's success?

Oh, and let's not forget that Google still crushes Facebook on the number that really counts: Revenue.

Credit: CNN (www.cnn.com)

GreenBkk.com Auto | Ed Welburn Drives the Oldsmobile Aerotech

Ed Welburn Drives the Oldsmobile Aerotech

By Evan McCausland

After nearly twenty three years of waiting, Ed Welburn , General Motors’ vice president of design, finally had a chance to slip behind his favorite project -- the Oldsmobile Aerotech -- for the very first time. Welburn learned lessons designing the Aerotech that are still helping him design cars that balance aerodynamic requirements with appealing exteriors, but it wasn’t until September 24, 2010 that he learned what it was like to be behind the wheel of the record-breaking concept car.

Four-Cylinder Formation

Although the sleek, high-performance single-seater seems like the stereotypical concept car fodder dreamt up by pie-in-the-sky stylists, the Aerotech wasn’t exactly the brainchild of General Motors’ Design Staff. Credit for the entire program is largely due to a small group of Oldsmobile engineers and managers seeking to show off a new engine while simultaneously pushing their troubled division into the limelight.

In late 1984, Oldsmobile was wrapping up development of the Quad 4, a new inline four-cylinder engine design that incorporated dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder. This isn’t exactly heady technology by today’s standards, but it was relatively innovative for a four-cylinder, let alone one crafted by GM in 1984. Olds touted the engine as the perfect mixture of fuel economy and power, and the Quad 4 certainly delivered the latter. In its early 2.3-liter displacement days, the engine was capable of delivering 150 horsepower and 160 pound-feet of torque, eclipsing other domestic four-bangers and rivaling competitors’ V-6 offerings (Honda’s 2.5-liter V-6, for instance, was rated at 151 horsepower and 154 pound-feet in 1986).

Olds’ top officials were bullish on the Quad 4’s potential, but none more so than Ted Louckes, the division’s chief engineer and father of the Quad 4. Louckes quickly formed a group to develop the Aerotech, a so-called research vehicle designed primarily to demonstrate the Quad 4’s performance potential to consumers and engineers alike through setting a world speed record.

Aero Is King

By the time designers were informed of the Aerotech project, Louckes and company had established most of the program’s specifications. The car would consist of a slick, GM-designed carbon-fiber body riding on a modified March 84C CART chassis, similar to that used to win the Indianapolis 500 that year. Power would come from a Quad 4, of course, albeit a turbocharged, 2.0-liter variant capable of spitting out over 900 horsepower.

That mission floored Welburn, then the assistant chief designer in the Oldsmobile studio. Although he was primarily tasked with crafting the exterior for the 1988 Cutlass Supreme, Welburn was infatuated with endurance racecars -- cars that bore a remarkable resemblance to what Louckes was looking for.

“I loved cars that ran at Le Mans,” Welburn told Automobile, “like the Porsche 917s, and especially the Chaparrals. I often found myself sketching such vehicles as a side while working on the W [body] cars, and the Aerotech project was my dream assignment.”

Welburn found himself sketching a number of elongated, slippery race car shapes in early 1985, but a single drawing was apparently all it took. His first Aerotech concept rendering quickly caught the eye of Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac executive design director Len Casillo, who quickly ran it up the flagpole to design director Chuck Jordan and design vice president Irv Rybicki. Both men quickly gave their approval.

“I kept telling them I had other ideas; other sketches,” Welburn chuckles. “But they were sold on the first sketch.”

After logging long hours working on the Cutlass Supreme and other production vehicles, Welburn, along with sculptor Kirk Jones, would labor on the clay models in secret at night. Although the first draft appeased Welburn’s bosses, it would need to be vetted in the wind tunnel -- after all, cutting aerodynamic drag plays a large part in improving a vehicle’s top speed.

“His initial design was very good,” recalls Max Schenkel, an aerodynamicist at GM who also served as a staff engineer on the Aerotech project. “It had a lot of potential for low drag, but we needed to refine a few aspects.”

Wind tunnel testing, performed both at GM’s Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, and abroad by March’s staff, pushed the designer to round the Aerotech’s nose and refine the canopy shape, along with moving the cooling system intakes from the sides to the top of the fenders. Welburn’s original concept called for faired-in wheel wells, but Goodyear engineers expressed concern that such a design would retain heat and reduce tire life.

Arguably, Aerotech’s biggest aerodynamic trick lurks underneath its sinewy form. The car is fitted with adjustable underbody panels from bumper to bumper, which incorporate deep air channels that run the entire length of the car. This system not only created a tremendous amount of downforce, but also allowed crews to precisely dial it in for different courses.

Welburn’s original design called for a long tail, inspired by the famed Porsche 917LH, but this conflicted with Louckes’ plan for legendary Indy 500 driver A.J. Foyt to drive Aerotech to a closed course record at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A long tail may be the ultimate low-drag shape, but a short tail -- coupled with a secondary pedestal spoiler -- provided the proper downforce for Indy’s corners.

Track Tested, FIA Approved

While GM, March, and Foyt’s own employees were hard at work piecing together the Aerotech, plans to run the car at the Brickyard fell apart, thanks in no small part to GM’s legendary inter-brand politics and bureaucracy. Louckes’ team chose instead to make a pass at the closed-course speed record at the Fort Stockton Test Center in Texas.

Before that could happen, however, Foyt needed to shake down the car. By late 1986, construction had wrapped on the first Aerotech, which was then shipped to GM’s proving grounds in Mesa, Arizona, for preliminary testing. Foyt was a little skeptical of a car built with flamboyant bodywork and without his input, but soon found himself at home in the Aerotech at speeds up to 218 mph around Mesa’s banked oval.

“After the first shakedown runs in Mesa, Foyt was just thrilled,” Welburn recalls. “The relationship between AJ and I shifted considerably once he saw how stable the car could be.”

The success of the Mesa runs, coupled with the forced change of venue, prompted Oldsmobile to revisit Welburn’s original long-tail design. Construction of a second Aerotech was ordered at the end of 1985. Built again from a March chassis, the second car was almost a dead ringer for the first, but differed in two ways -- the rear bodywork was elongated and tapered downwards, and the Batten-built single-turbo Quad 4 was replaced by a twin-turbo 2.0-liter developed with a little help from Fueling Engineering. Olds never talked specifics, but the twin-turbo Quad 4 was reportedly good for more than 1000 horsepower.

The Oldsmobile camp descended upon Fort Stockton on August 26, 1987, with Foyt’s team, FIA officials, and the requisite safety crews in tow. Initial runs with the short-tail Aerotech fell just shy of the 250.919 mph closed-course speed record held by Mercedes-Benz’s CIII-IV prototype, prompting the crews to improvise aerodynamic modifications (i.e. taping over the cabin air inlet) to eke additional speed from the car. In the meantime, Foyt hopped into the long-tail car, which had yet to be shaken down and tested on a track. After a few practice runs, he was blitzing through the flying mile at an amazing 275 mph.

The next day, Foyt made flying mile runs in both directions of the track, averaging 267.399 mph, a record that remains unbroken. Following that, Foyt switched to the short Aerotech, laying down a closed-course speed record of 257.123 mph, easily surpassing the C111-IV’s previous record.

Four More Cylinders, Five Years Later

The record breaking proved to be great exposure for Oldsmobile, and the Aerotech was used as in print ads, TV spots, and even made the rounds at various auto shows (a non-running model was fitted with a gussied-up interior for use on the show circuit). After that, however, both cars were shuffled off to a warehouse, seemingly relegated to history.

Ironically, Olds found itself with a similar situation in 1992. The division was readying a new DOHC 4.0-liter V-8 for its forthcoming Aurora luxury sedan, and to prove the engine’s mettle, the division turned once again to its streamliners. World records were again the name of the game, but this time, the Aerotechs were gunning to set new endurance speed records.

While a third running car was constructed from scratch, both short-and long-tails were dusted off and updated for their latest quest. To accommodate running 24-hours straight, the Aerotechs were blessed with enclosed headlamps, functional tail and brake lamps, and a roof-mounted flashing identification lamp. Other modifications for the endurance running included a reshaped air intake, smaller rear wheels and taller profile tires all around, a reshaped canopy, and a new monochromatic paint scheme.

Unlike the first Aerotechs, the revamped endurance cars were fitted with virtually stock engines. Modifications were restricted to revised camshafts, custom intake and exhaust systems, specialized engine tuning, and small tweaks designed to facilitate engine replacement, if so needed.

The three Aurora Aerotechs once again returned to the Fort Stockton track on September 4, 1992, and proceeded to run for eight days straight. In the process, the cars managed to set nearly 47 different speed records, including the FIA average speed record for a 10,000-kilometer run (170.761 mph) and a 25,000 kilometer journey (158.386 mph). According to Oldsmobile releases issued at the time, the eight-day run was roughly the equivalent of running 31 Indy 500 races back-to-back.

First Drive, Decades After

All three cars were driven hard, put away wet, and generally forgotten about. Although they occasionally made appearances at car shows across the country (even after Oldsmobile’s demise in 2004), the Aerotechs appeared to be forgotten -- even by Welburn.

That changed in September, however, as he was walking through the design studios. One group was working on a low-drag vehicle design, and had a number of photos posted for inspiration -- one of which was the original Aerotech.

“That made me smile,” Welburn noted, “but it also got me thinking. It’s one of those things; whenever I see the photographs, I just can’t believe I never had a chance to drive it. Foyt, endurance racers, and a handful of technicians were the only ones who ever did.”

Luckily, Welburn was able to make his dream come true just before jetting across the pond for the 2010 Paris motor show. After engineers pulled an Aurora Aerotech from the warehouse and inspected its various components for damage, the car was shipped to the company’s Milford proving grounds, where we joined Welburn to witness his milestone.

The Aerotech’s wild shape is certainly evident even in the worst press photos, but it’s incredibly low, long, and flowing when viewed in person. It’s also quite loud; despite the V-8 being close to stock, its open exhausts produce an amazingly coarse burble at idle, and an intimidating growl when its throttle is goosed. Despite being limited to a 61-mph top speed on the facility’s north-south straightway, Welburn had plenty of opportunity to do just that. We couldn’t help but grin at the noise, but our enjoyment paled in comparison to the toothy smile Welburn wore after prying himself from the miniscule cockpit after several laps.

“I can’t believe it,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s absolutely unreal to drive. It’s so fast, and just feels so good. I wish we could have gotten it up to some decent speeds – it seems so effortless to build up speed.”

Lessons Learned

We may not be cruising around in Oldsmobiles capable of eclipsing 250 mph (or any new Oldsmobiles, for that matter), but the Aerotech project did have some influence on modern GM vehicles, particularly in aerodynamics.

“Aero is very important to me today,” Welburn notes, “and I credit that push and knowledge to being involved with Aerotech. [Many] of the fundamentals I’ve learned directly came from the opportunity to work directly with aerodynamicists.”

“Ed did spend a lot of time in the wind tunnel, and modeling the car himself,” Schenkel recalls. “That’s fairly uncommon for designer. Usually, clay modelers do this work, but his willingness to jump in and work on the car’s shape did help the job go quicker.”

Indeed, when it came time to evolve the Chevrolet Volt concept into a production vehicle, Welburn knew aero would be an important factor -- and he knew just who to call for advice. Schenkel and other aerodynamicists lent a hand in optimizing the plug-in hybrid’s shape for reducing drag -- an important point, considering the original concept had a drag coefficient of 0.43 cD, which is worse than that of a Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid (0.36 cD).

A four-seat, five-door family car bears little resemblance to a record-breaking race car, but a number of the tricks employed in the Aerotech’s design do reappear in the Volt’s finalized form. The front corners have been rounded considerably to cut drag, while the fog lamp recesses have been exchanged in favor of a flush design.

The Volt’s sides, especially in front of the rear wheel wells, is remarkably flat; as was the case on Aerotech, this helps direct airflow over -- not into -- the rear wheels. Underneath the car, the Volt utilizes a set of three panels to direct air, although they’re not designed to generate downforce like those on the Oldsmobile.

Will we ever see GM demonstrate new technologies in such a wild fashion? Welburn thinks it’s important to illustrate what the automaker is working on, but thinks a vehicle rooted in reality may do the job better.

“We still have a number of internal concepts that are never shown publicly, and there is still some need to prove ourselves through motorsports, but we can showcase new technologies in actual production vehicles, like the Volt. In the new GM, our teams are able to use such creativity with every project. It’s a refreshing air of change.”

Credit: Automobile Magazine (www.automobilemag.com)