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Author
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Topic: Post your random news stories here
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 03-03-2014 10:21 AM
quote: Daily Wail
Final passenger flight of the DC10
After more than 40 years in the air, the DC10 passenger airliner bowed out in style this week, being given the water arch salute as it landed into the UK for the last time.
Flying from Dhaka, Bangladesh, via Kuwait, the plane landed its last commercial flight at Birmingham Airport at 5.55pm last Thursday, February 20.
Sadly, after plane enthusiasts were treated to scenic flights this week from Birmingham, the craft has now flown back to Bangladesh for it to be dismantled and its parts sold.
The last commercial flight, which was operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines and landed at 5.55pm on Thursday, February 20, took 14 hours - including the stopover in Kuwait. It had 35 passengers, who had travelled to Dhaka especially for the flight.
The Birmingham Airport fire service provided the water arch salute to mark the occasion as the aircraft landed.
And it left Birmingham Airport to return to Bangladesh - with no passengers - on Monday.
On the days between, more than a thousand passengers were treated to one-hour scenic flights on the craft, travelling towards Scotland before looping back towards England's second city.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines was the last airline to use the craft. It said it would now be retired and replaced with newer models.
The model, which first took to the air in 1971, will still be used in the military - for the U.S. Air Force for refuelling purposes, for instance - and freight services.
One of the 35 passengers on-board the final flight into the UK was Gordon Stretch, who had travelled to Bangladesh from Solihull a few days before to be a part of the journey.
'The reason I did this is because I'm an aircraft enthusiast,' he said.
'When the opportunity came and I heard that the last DC10 flight was coming to Birmingham, I thought "wow".
'I decided to go out to Bangladesh and fly back on the plane.'
He said Bangladesh is not a country he'd choose to visit ordinarily, but he was happy to spend two and a half days there - after flying from Heathrow - in order to be on the flight.
If a 14-hour journey doesn't sound difficult enough, Biman Bangladesh Airlines is a non-alcohol airline.
Mr Stretch said: 'It was completely dry. We were only on the Diet Cokes, as they say.'
But he flatly refused to say he regretted the decision to go on the flight. 'It was definitely worth it,' he said.
The flight even gave passengers - all aircraft enthusiasts - the opportunity to venture into the plane's cockpit and speak to the pilots.
The aircraft's final flight - which did not carry any passengers - took off from Birmingham and flew back to Dhaka for its parts to be sold.
It was originally intended that the plane be flown to New York from Birmingham, to be positioned in a museum.
But, when the Seattle museum said it could not accommodate for it, plans were changed so it would be exhibited at the Bruntingthorpe Aviation Museum, Leicestershire, instead.
Then, with days to go before its landing at Birmingham, the airline announced it had found a buyer for the craft's three jet engines, and it would be taken back to Bangladesh to be taken apart.
The last flight took off from Birmingham at 3pm on February 24.
I'm probably going to be flamed for writing this, but I'm not going to be shedding any tears. My first few years of travelling regularly between Britain and the US coincided with the last few years of Northwest's decline into bankruptcy (KLM/NW were the only operator from my local airport), during which time they were opreating ancient and not very well loved DC10s on their transatlantic routes. I'm sure that the safety-critical maintenance was being done, but everything else was just being left to rot. On virtually every DC10 flight I took something went wrong: several hours' delay in leaving because of a fault, a mid-air problem resulting in a diversion to Greenland and eventually home a day late, a broken reading light on one red-eye flight, the noise level in the cabin making it virtually impossible to sleep, CRT projectors beaming a VHS rendition of some seriously sh!tty Disney movie from the '80s onto a bulkhead screen just too big to ignore completely, no meal because the galley equipment broke down, you name it. When NW was finally bought out by Delta, got rid of them and replaced them with 767s and A330s, it was like the industrial revolution had happened and the horse and cart was no more.
As for the thought of going to Bangladesh and then having to sit for 14 hours on one of those crates without even any booze to dull the experience ... I think being strapped into an electric chair on its "slow cook" setting with Celine Dion's greatest hits being played through earphones in the helmet would be more pleasant than that!
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 04-01-2014 11:45 AM
The Telegraph has quite a good April fool this year:
quote: The Daily Telegraph
Lego is a tool of Satan, warns Polish priest
Father Slawomir Kostrzewa says toy company represents 'world of death' and that Zombie and Monster Fighter mini-figures can lead children 'to the dark side'
A Polish priest has warned parents to be on their guard against Lego, warning the plastic blocks are a tool of Satan and can "destroy" children's souls.
In a presentation aimed at parents, Father Slawomir Kostrzewa said the popular Danish toy company had taken a lurch to the dark side with its series of Monster Fighters and Zombie mini-figures, and that they "were about darkness and the world of death".
"Friendly fellows have been replaced by dark monsters," he explained. "These toys can have a negative effect on children. They can destroy their souls and lead them to the dark side."
Lego's Monster Fighters range features Lord Vampyre, a fanged Dracula-like character, who battles the likes of Doctor Rodney Rathbone and Major Quinton Steele as they try to prevent him from "cloaking the world in darkness".
The priest also cited research by New Zealand's University of Canterbury that found the facial expressions of Lego figures have also become angrier over the years, and that this compounded their evil potential.
"Facial expressions may be lead to confusion between good and evil," said Father Kostrzewa. "It appears the good suffer in battle and the 'villains' have a face showing satisfaction with their evil deeds."
But the claims that Lego blocks are becoming the work of the devil was dismissed by at least one expert.
"These are just blocks," retorted Monika Filipowska, a psychologist interviewed by the Super Express newspaper. "Linking them to Satan is just wrong, and all that will happen is that children will be afraid of them now."
Father Kostrzewa's attack on Lego is not the first time he has accused toys of harbouring evil. Hello Kitty and My Little Pony have also come under his scrutiny, with the latter being described as a "carrier of death".
Lego was unavailable for comment.
The reference to Hello Kitty gave me a giggle, because my wife's nieces are obsessed with Hello Kitty, and that family is very religious. I'm sort of worried that if I forward this to their mother, she might take it seriously and rush to put all their Hello Kitty crud on a bonfire!
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Frank Cox
Film God
Posts: 2234
From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada
Registered: Apr 2011
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posted 04-04-2014 03:41 PM
The most Canadian police chase ever: Alberta Mounties bum ride on snowmobile to chase stolen John Deere tractor
quote:
RED DEER, Alta. — Alberta Mounties had to bum a ride with a snowmobiler to chase a stolen tractor through snowy fields east of Red Deer.
Blackfalds RCMP got a call about a break and enter at a rural address where firearms and other items were stolen, and then got another call about a stolen John Deere 6400 tractor with a front-end bucket being driven away across the fields.
Police gave chase after stopping a snowmobiler and being offered a ride, following the tractor as it crashed through farmers’ fences and stands of trees.
Finally, the driver at the wheel of the stolen farm implement, while trying to evade police, stalled it while trying to go up a hill.
When he tried to back up, he lost control and rolled the tractor.
The driver was not injured but was taken into custody.
Police say they found the stolen firearms in the cab of the tractor, which sustained extensive damage.
Jesse Cecka, 25, of no fixed address, has been charged with break, enter and theft over $5,000, along with other charges.
He will make his first court appearance on April 3.
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 05-18-2014 11:49 AM
quote: CNN
"Deathtrap" on GM's Naughty Word List
"Deathtrap," "widowmaker," "rolling sarcophagus."
Those are a few of the words that General Motors asked its employees to avoid using in their internal communications.
A lengthy list of unacceptable terms appeared in a 2008 presentation given to GM (GM, Fortune 500) employees on how to communicate with each other regarding possible safety issues.
Besides individual words, certain phrases were also discouraged in the presentation. "This is a lawsuit waiting to happen," and "Unbelievable engineering screw-up" were among what the presentation described as "examples of comments that do not help identify and solve problems."
Rather, employees should use phrases like "Windshield wipers did not work properly. Would run for 3-4 seconds and then quit for the next 7-8 minutes... repeatedly."
Among the "Judgement words" employees were told to avoid: "Hindenburg," "powder keg," "Titanic," "apocalyptic," "You're toast," and "Kevorkianesque."
Less inflammatory words such as "safety," "safety related," "serious," "failure," and "defect" were also listed as words to be avoided.
Such words and phrases were not to be used because they are "vague and non-descriptive" according to GM's presentation.
Instead of "Safety," an employee should write that something has "Has potential safety implications." Instead of "Defect," an employee should say that something "Does not perform to design." Instead of a "Problem," there is an "Issue, condition, matter."
As part of the evaluation process for new vehicles, automakers will often have company employees drive vehicles before they go into full production. The employees can then share any problems they might experience so issues can be resolved before the car, truck or SUV is released to the public.
In the presentation, GM admonished employees to "Understand that there really aren't any secrets in this company".
"For anything you say or do, ask yourself how you would react if it was reported in a major newspaper or on television."
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Acting Administrator David Friedman criticized GM for the presentation during a press conference Friday. Friedman said that, in telling employees to avoid certain language when writing about safety issues, GM was discouraging open and free discussion of potential problems.
"We encourage employees to be factual in their statements and will continue to work with NHTSA to improve our safety processes," GM said in a written statement responding to questions about the presentation. "Today's GM encourages employees to discuss safety issues, which is re-enforced through GM's recently announced Speak Up for Safety Program."
In the "Speak Up for Safety" program, GM has said it will recognize employees who share ideas to make vehicles safer or who point out potential safety issues in vehicles.
Prior to the new safety promotion program, which was introduced after a massive recall over ignition switches tied to 13 deaths, employees were told not to be "cute or clever," something that might be "especially easy to do in an e-mail, when there might be a temptation to use a casual tone to describe a potentially serious safety risk."
The presentation, which was released to the public on Friday by NHTSA, concluded with the warning to "Consider how documents will be interpreted by people outside of GM."
The presentation, labeled "GM confidential," was submitted to NHTSA as part of the agency's investigation into the automaker's delayed recall of the Chevrolet Cobalt and other cars due the ignition switch problem.
On Friday GM agreed to pay a $35 million fine -- the maximum possible for a single violation -- for not reporting the problem to NHTSA quickly enough.
Reminds me of an April fool a few years ago: a report that Lufthansa had decided to name its new fleet of A380s after distinguished German leaders. So there were planes called Ebert, Adenauer, Kohl, etc. etc. ... and one named Hindenburg. In an interview, the CEO said that he realized that naming one after Hitler wouldn't have been a good idea, but had no idea that there could be any problem with his predecessor.
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Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012
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posted 06-13-2014 01:01 AM
Supreme Court: Coke's pomegranate juice not the real thing
Ruling paves way for lawsuits from rivals
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a pomegranate by any other name would be a cheat.
The justices said Coca-Cola can be sued for false advertising by labeling a drink as “Pomegranate Blueberry Flavored Blend of 5 Juices” even though it contains just 0.3 percent pomegranate juice.
Their decision was a victory for POM Wonderful, makers of 100 percent pomegranate juice. POM had sued Coke, makers of Minute Maid juices, under a 1946 law intended to prevent companies from claiming that impostors are the real thing.
Justice Anthony Kennedy’s opinion cited Coke’s “practices that allegedly mislead and trick consumers, all to the injury of competitors.”
The 8-0 ruling (Justice Stephen Breyer recused himself) is likely to have a broader effect on the clash between free enterprise and false advertising.
“We can expect more vigorous litigation between competitors, as well as more class actions arising from consumer product labeling issues,” said Dan Silverman, former general counsel at POM Wonderful.
The case pitted two federal laws against each other. POM cited the Lanham Act, which permits a competitor to sue for false or misleading advertising. Coke cited the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which prohibits misbranding and is enforced by Food and Drug Administration regulations.
The ruling: Agency regulations cannot render the false advertising law impotent.
Seth Waxman, POM’s attorney, had contended during oral arguments in April that Coke’s product contains just an “eye-dropper” of pomegranate juice. “It amounts to a teaspoon in a half-gallon” of what otherwise is mostly less expensive apple and grape juices, he said.
Coke argued that FDA regulations permit naming products by their minority contents. It said the FDA had the ultimate authority in this area, not state governments.
But that argument didn’t convince the justices, who said the FDA’s main role is overseeing health and safety, not the marketplace.
Kennedy called Coke’s label “misleading” and “deceptive” during oral arguments. He went so far as to admit he himself had been duped.
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20140612/NEWS01/306130010/Supreme-Court-Coke-s-pomegranate-juice-not-real-thing
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 10-02-2014 09:27 PM
quote: San Bernardino Sun
Inland Empire elected officials are expressing shock and disappointment over a comment made by a top executive at Los Angeles World Airports in which he referred to the Inland Empire as the “inbred Inland Empire.”
The statement, made by LAWA Chief Operating Officer Stephen Martin in an e-mail, surfaced in a motion filed in Riverside Superior Court on Friday by the city of Ontario in its ongoing legal battle with LAWA over control of L.A./Ontario International Airport. The motion also made mention of a comment made by LAWA Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey in January 2010 in which she referred to an airport regionalization plan as a “politically driven mantra to appease LAX neighbors.”
“I was appalled by the statements that were made, and I think, frankly, it shows their ignorance of the Inland Empire economic market and what goes on out here,” Ontario City Councilman Alan Wapner said Tuesday. “I don’t think most of these people have even been to the Inland Empire, and it’s reflected in their statements. It shows their ignorance.”
In its motion, Ontario alleges LAWA abandoned a 2006 regionalization plan to boost passenger and cargo airline traffic at its underutilized airports including LAX, Ontario International and Palmdale Regional airports, and instead focused its efforts solely on LAX. Ontario is asking the judge to turn control of L.A/Ontario International Airport over to the Ontario.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles Councilman Mike Bonin, prompted by “troubling statements” in Ontario’s court motion, introduced a motion calling for LAWA to report to a City Council subcommittee on the efforts it has made since 2006 to spread traffic to other airports in the region.
In October 2012, LAWA released figures showing that passenger traffic at Ontario declined by 6.9 percent between 2011 and 2012, while passenger traffic increased by 3.8 percent at LAX in the same time period, according to the court motion.
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“The ‘death spiral’ at (L.A./Ontario International Airport) will continue unless something dramatically occurs to halt it,” the motion states.
During a May 2014 presentation about Ontario and improvements authorized by the Board of Airport Commissioners, Martin also referred to the battle over Ontario airport as “a storied tale of charity toward the Inland Empire,” according to the court motion.
Ontario has been in negotiations with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti over a price to regain control of the airport. Jeff Millman, spokesman for Garcetti, who oversees operations at LAWA, said late Tuesday: “Mayor Garcetti supports continuing negotiations for a fair transfer of Ontario Airport.”
Neither Martin nor Lindsey responded directly to requests for comment Tuesday, but a statement issued by LAWA said Martin’s comments were taken out of context. His comment, according to the statement, was in reference to a newspaper article in which Martin questioned the reporter’s objectivity and thoroughness.
“It is very clear that a term Mr. Martin used referred to his belief that facts and airline industry trends impacting passenger levels at (L.A./Ontario International Airport), and that provide context, are being rejected and ignored by the Inland Empire media,” according to the statement. “It is wrong to imply that Martin was referring to anything other than inaccurate and unbalanced news stories.”
Some aren’t buying it.
“It absolutely was not taken out of context,” Wapner said. “It was taken directly from an e-mail by Mr. Martin.”
The e-mail in question, dated April 16, 2013, is Martin’s reply to an e-mail he received from consultant Warren Adams, who was critical of a news article regarding the legal battle between Ontario and LAWA.
“I thought reporters were supposed to be objective? She has been relentless in her views,” Adams said in his e-mail to Martin, to which Martin replied, “Not in the inbred Inland Empire.”
On Monday, Congressman Ken Calvert, R-Corona, called for Martin’s immediate termination. He called Martin’s statement “offensive and highly unprofessional.”
“The attitude and biases of high ranking LAWA officials makes it crystal clear that they do not have the best interest of the Inland Empire in mind,” Calvert said in a statement. “The court filings demonstrate the city of Los Angeles is running the Ontario airport like a slumlord. Los Angeles is unfit to operate Ontario airport.”
San Bernardino County supervisors on Tuesday, while expressing disappointment in the comments made by LAWA’s top executives, said they were more concerned with moving forward and negotiating a deal with the city of Los Angeles.
Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Janice Rutherford chalked the disparaging comments up to “sticks and stones.” She said Ontario will continue working with Garcetti in negotiating a settlement.
“I think that Mayor Garcetti understands the need for and agrees with the concept for local control of the airport and is supportive of that,” Rutherford said. “The name calling and personal animosity is extraneous to all of that.”
Supervisor Gary Ovitt, who sits on the Ontario International Airport Authority’s board of directors and whose district includes Ontario, called the comments made by Martin and Lindsey inappropriate, but was willing to overlook them.
“It’s too bad they don’t have the respect for us that we’re willing to show them,” Ovitt said Tuesday. “On our side, we’re willing to overlook some of the remarks their staff members made because we want to get our airport back and make a difference for our constituency out here, help develop our economy and build a real viable airport.”
Ontario Mayor Paul Leon said he is never impressed when anyone makes negative statements about the Inland Empire.
“We know none of those descriptions fit,” Leon said, adding that his city is perfectly capable of managing and operating a “world class international airport” and that the city aims to prove that.
LAWA spokeswoman Nancy Suey Castles said in a statement Tuesday that it is disappointing that Ontario has engaged in the legal strategy it has chosen.
“It is disappointing the plaintiffs will take selective, and what they believe are the most incendiary, comments to include in a court filing and to present them in a way that supports their position,” Castles said.
FYI for non SoCal-ers, the Inland Empire is basically an 80-mile long ribbon development stretching from the eastern suburbs of LA along the three parallel freeways (the 210, the 10 and the 60) heading out into the desert. Otherwise known as "the 909" it does not enjoy a very positive reputation...
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Rick Raskin
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1100
From: Manassas Virginia
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 10-17-2014 07:20 AM
Study: Smelling farts may be good for your health
web page
The next time someone at your office lets out a "silent but deadly" emission, maybe you should thank them. A new study at the University of Exeter in England suggests that exposure to hydrogen sulfide — a.k.a. what your body produces as bacteria breaks down food, causing gas — could prevent mitochondria damage. Yep, the implication is what you're thinking: People are taking the research to mean that smelling farts could prevent disease and even cancer.
The study, published in the Medicinal Chemistry Communications journal, found that hydrogen sulfide gas in rotten eggs and flatulence could be a key factor in treating diseases.
"Although hydrogen sulfide gas is well known as a pungent, foul-smelling gas in rotten eggs and flatulence, it is naturally produced in the body and could in fact be a healthcare hero with significant implications for future therapies for a variety of diseases," Dr. Mark Wood, a professor at the University of Exeter, said in a statement.
While hydrogen sulfide gas is harmful in large doses, the study suggests that "a whiff here and there has the power to reduce risks of cancer, strokes, heart attacks, arthritis, and dementia by preserving mitochondria," Time reports.
Dr. Matt Whiteman, a University of Exeter professor who worked on the study, said in a statement that researchers are even replicating the natural gas in a new compound, AP39, to reap its health benefits. The scientists are delivering "very small amounts" of AP39 directly into mitochondrial cells to repair damage, which "could hold the key to future therapies," the university's statement reveals.
You'll have to decide for yourself, though, whether exposure to hydrogen sulfide in flatulence is worth the potential health benefits.
- - Meghan DeMaria
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 11-19-2014 03:38 PM
quote: The Daily Telegraph
Who will look after this cat? Battersea's fattest ever cat put on Christmas diet
Morbidly obese cat taken to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home weighing 26 pounds, making him three times overweight and needing a double width staircase to his pen
Britain's most famous animal welfare home has taken in its fattest ever cat and put him on a diet in time for Christmas.
The morbidly obese cat was taken to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home weighing 26 pounds.
Staff said he is the fattest cat they have ever had and nicknamed him Texas, after the famously large American state.
The eight-year-old long-haired cat's weight is so extreme his pen had to be kitted out with specialist equipment to cope.
He was brought to Battersea when his owner passed away - and has been put on a strict diet because he is three times overweight.
Texas is being given health food and made to exercise while staff try and find a foster home for him.
Suili Weight, team leader at the London cattery, said: "Many people may be starting to think about losing a few pounds in the countdown to Christmas, but for Texas this really is a very serious health issue he's battling.
"At Battersea we take in around 3,000 cats every year, so we see cats of all shapes and sizes, but Texas is by far the biggest cat we've ever seen.
"We have had to specially kit out his pen with a double-wide staircase up to his bed and extra bedding to make sure he is comfortable.
"Some people might think it's funny to see a cat this big, but it is in fact extremely sad to see an animal which is suffering so badly.
"Overfeeding your cat is a form of cruelty, you may think you are showing it love by giving it treats and feeding it human foods, but it's in fact an incredibly cruel thing to do in the long run."
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Sammy Ross
Film Handler
Posts: 9
From: Los Angeles, LA, USA
Registered: May 2014
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posted 11-24-2014 03:26 AM
Will ET Be Here Soon? NASA Brings Scientists, Theologians Together To Prepare
Looking for extraterrestrial life is akin to a search for a cosmic needle-in-a-haystack, as evidenced by the incredible Hubble Space Telescope image which shows approximately 10,000 galaxies.
In large part, thanks to NASA's Kepler spacecraft, more than 1,400 planets have been identified beyond Earth.
A few days ago, NASA tried closing the gap between life on Earth and the possibilities of life elsewhere. The space agency and the Library of Congress brought together scientists, historians, philosophers and theologians from around the world for a two-day symposium, "Preparing For Discovery." Their agenda: To explore how we prepare for the inevitable discovery of extraterrestrial life, be it simple microbial organisms or intelligent beings.
"We're looking at all scenarios about finding life. If you find microbes, that's one thing. If you find intelligence, it's another. And if they communicate, it's something else, and depending on what they say, it's something else!" said astronomer, symposium organizer and former chief NASA historian, Steven J. Dick.
"The idea is not to wait until we make a discovery, but to try and prepare the public for what the implications might be when such a discovery is made," Dick told The Huffington Post. "I think the reason that NASA is backing this is because of all the recent activity in the discovery of exoplanets and the advances in astrobiology in general.
"People just consider it much more likely now that we're going to find something -- probably microbes first and maybe intelligence later," he added. "The driving force behind this is from a scientific point of view that it seems much more likely now that we are going to find life at some point in the future."
Among the many speakers at last week's astrobiology symposium, one has raised a few international eyebrows in recent years.
"I believe [alien life exists], but I have no evidence. I would be really excited and it would make my understanding of my religion deeper and richer in ways that I can't even predict yet, which is why it would be so exciting," Brother Guy Consolmagno, a Jesuit brother, astronomer and Vatican planetary scientist told HuffPost senior science editor David Freeman.
Consolmagno has publicly stated his belief that "any entity -- no matter how many tentacles it has -- has a soul," and he's suggested that he would be happy to baptize any ETs, as long as they requested it.
"There has to be freedom to do science. Being a good scientist means admitting we never have the whole truth -- there's always more to learn." Consolmagno also doesn't think the public would panic when or if it's revealed that alien life has been found.
"I really think it would be a three-day wonder and then we'd go back to worrying about reality TV or the crazy things going on in Washington -- that's the way human beings are. Because I think most people are like me: we expect it's out there. And our reaction would be, 'Wow, thank heavens. It's about time."
Earth is no longer the center of the universe, nor is it flat -- at least that's the currently accepted thinking among most scientists. And we now know, conclusively, that there are a lot more planets than the ones in our own solar system.
"The number of habitable worlds in our galaxy is certainly in the tens of billions, minimum, and we haven't even talked about the moons. And the number of galaxies we can see, other than our own, is about 100 billion," Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at California's SETI Institute told HuffPost.
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 11-28-2014 12:53 AM
quote: The Daily Telegraph
Property tycoon sues garage after £1m Lamborghini blows up
Property tycoon Jon Hunt claims in High Court writ that wrong type of spark plugs fitted to 1971 Lamborghini Miura SV before it exploded in flames.
The billionaire founder of Foxtons estate agents is suing a leading garage that serviced his £1m Lamborghini - after the car blew up while his son was driving it.
Property tycoon Jon Hunt claims the wrong type of spark plugs was fitted to his Lamborghini Miura SV by the garage that serviced it last year.
His son had driven less than a mile from the Lamborghini London garage when it exploded in flames.
Mr Hunt's son was not hurt, but the rare 1971 supercar, which was worth almost £1m and was the world's fastest road car when it was first built, was reduced to a fire-blackened wreck on the A40 in Acton.
Now the property magnate, whose wealth was put at £1.07bn by the Times Rich List this year, is suing luxury car specialists, H.R Owen Dealerships Ltd, trading as Lamborghini London.
He is claiming £700,000 compensation for the wrecked supercar, plus additional damages for storage and "loss of enjoyment" of the vehicle, only 764 of which were ever built.
Mr Hunt is a British property entrepreneur, best known as the founder of estate agency Foxtons, which he sold for £390m in 2007.
The father of four, 61, a well-known classic car enthusiast, reportedly refused an offer of £300m for his home at Kensington Palace Gardens in 2012.
He also owns a Suffolk estate, Heveningham Hall, near his childhood home. It is an 18th century Grade I listed Palladian country house with 25 bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, 12 receptions, set in 460 acre.
In a writ lodged at London's High Court, Daniel Scarrott, for Mr Hunt, said that H.R Owen, a well known purveyor of cars to the rich and famous, "held itself out as having particular expertise in the repair and servicing of Lamborghini motor vehicles".
"The defendant agreed to inspect, assess and service the vehicle" the writ states, adding that H.R Owen owed Mr Hunt "a duty of care to exercise the reasonable care and skill of an expert Lamborghini repairer and service".
Mr Scarrott continues: "On December 19th 2012 Mr Hunt delivered the vehicle to the defendant's garage on School Road, North Acton.
"The defendant thereafter purported to perform the services and in particular carried out a service of the vehicle and replaced the engine oil, filter and spark plugs.
"The defendant notified Mr Hunt that the services had been completed and the vehicle was ready for collection.
"On 5th April 2013 Mr Hunt, by his son, attended the garage to collect the vehicle. Mr Hunt's son was then provided with the keys to the vehicle... he then proceeded to drive into London along the A40.
"As the vehicle proceeded along the A40, the vehicle did not appear to be running smoothly... within less than one mile of the garage, the vehicle's engine gave off a puff of white smoke."
Mr Scarrott said that, at this stage, Mr Hunt's son pulled over and was advised by a garage employee who was nearby in another vehicle to drive the car back to the garage.
"Mr Hunt's son then proceeded to drive off with a view to returning to the garage. As he did so he noticed a smell of an old car and a further wisp of white smoke and an unexpected noise.
"There was then a deep percussion noise and the engine of the vehicle caught fire. In that fire the vehicle was substantially damaged," Mr Scarrott says.
The lawyer goes on to allege that mechanics at the garage had put in the wrong type of spark plugs when they serviced the car.
He claims: "The spark plugs fitted worked at too high a temperature and created the risk of fire.
"The fire was caused by the ignition of fuel. Such ignition could not have taken place unless the fuel system was not intact or the spark plugs were not properly adjusted or fitted.
"Both of these matters could have been avoided by a competent service of the vehicle."
Mr Scarrott also puts forward an alternative case that the fire was caused by the engine's timing being out and its carburettor not being properly adjusted.
The writ states that Mr Hunt is claiming for the loss of the £900,000 car, but agrees to offset the £200,000 salvage value it has even as a burnt out shell.
He is also claiming aditional damages for loss of use of the car and storage costs.
H.R Owen's defence was not available from the court and the contents of the writ have yet to be tested in evidence before a judge.
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Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 11-28-2014 02:29 PM
I agree... and to the exclusion of information that I really wanted to know about.
I didn't know that simply putting the wrong spark plugs into an engine could make it catch fire. It is certainly something I could imagine that would happen but I didn't know that, right off.
But, taking that information at face value, I would really like to know just how bad of a mistake putting the wrong plugs into an engine really is. I'd also like to know whether the driver (the owner's son) contributed to the problem.
For instance, I kind of think (or imagine) that, if the wrong plugs were put into the engine, simply driving slowly would have given the driver enough time to get the car back to the garage before it blew up.
I kind of get the feeling that the son took the car out of the mechanic's garage and was showing off, driving fast or doing something out of the ordinary which caused the engine to catch fire. Had he driven more conservatively, he would have had a chance.
But, since the article was all about some "rich guy" it makes it harder to find out what I really want to know.
I guess I'll just have to Google-Fu it... ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
EDIT: After doing some Googlling, I found out that Lamborghini Muira are prone to catching fire regardless of the spark plugs. There are several reasons why they can catch fire and using the wrong plugs is just one. (Too much ethanol in the gas is another reason.)
So, in the scheme of things... This sounds like news that's not really news.
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 11-28-2014 06:12 PM
quote: Randy Stankey
But, taking that information at face value, I would really like to know just how bad of a mistake putting the wrong plugs into an engine really is. I'd also like to know whether the driver (the owner's son) contributed to the problem.
+1. I, too, had always thought that if you mistakenly buy the wrong type of plugs for your engine, then either they quite simply won't fit the threads in the cylinder head, or the consequences will be relatively minor (slightly worse MPGs, smog test failure, etc.).
The individual who we've been told many times over is very rich must also either be very sure that the wrong plugs were fitted to the engine (e.g. have a receipt in his possession stating the catalog number of incorrect plugs) or be extremely stupid, given that, even from a Google search, Randy was able to establish that these engines are prone to spontaneous ignition for other reasons. AFAIK, petrol (gas) sold in Britain cannot contain more than 5% ethanol, though I believe that this is about to be increased EU-wide.
And even if he does have cast iron evidence that the garage put the wrong plugs in, I'd guess that the garage still has enough of a defense, given the above, to make this case very expensive and messy. At the very least, if I was the defense attorney here, my first argument would be that the rich guy's son should immediately have turned off the engine and ceased driving the moment he was aware of the engine behaving abnormally.
Background info: Foxtons, the real estate agent the very rich guy became a very rich guy by starting, is quite a controversial presence in London. It has been accused by its critics of business practices that have exacerbated the "affordable" housing crisis in the city, and in particular of using their near monopoly in some high end, inner London suburbs levying unjustifiably high charges on landlords and renters in the tenancy side of their business. I suspect that there could be a whiff of schadenfreude in this article, therefore.
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