Retro Rocks
By Mood Dude
We're not talking about retro rocks which loosely translate to fossils. No, we are talking about how retro is a rocking concept. This is evident by so many car manufacturers who have gone back to hot styles of yesterday. Check out how Chrysler made the PT Cruiser that looked so like a 50's van. It sold like hot cakes. Ford came up with its Thunderbird. Then there was the GT40 which was almost indistinguishable form the original. Porsche of course still sticks true to its first Beetle derived design.
Right now there are a whole bunch of manufacturers who have jumped onto the retro band wagon to bring back classic iconic design to the present day. You probably won't see these cars on the streets of Dhaka but you can right here in the pages of RS.
In the latest auto show from Detroit, USA, three particular concepts had people's mouth watering especially of this writer.
2009 Chevrolet Camaro Concept
Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros were always warring rivals just like Hasina and Khaleda. When one automaker created a new version of their car, the other would lash 
back with a louder raucous version just the way our leading ladies do.
Ford came up with its new Mustang that harked back to the days of the first pony car that rolled off and captured so many hearts. The new Mustang quickly became a hot seller and you can't expect Chevrolet to sit back.
So now GM comes out with the Camaro--a retro-styled, two-door coupe with a honking big V-8 that harks back to the glory days of Motown. The muscular Camaro concept is pure '69 updated, with the kind of subtle detailing that makes it look up-to-the-minute. The interior is very glitzy, and pays homage to the original, even down to the GM seat belt insignia and the twin instrument pods. Just check the picture and compare the two cars. What silver car you see here is a computer generated image. The pictures taken of the real car from the show had too many people in the shot cluttering the image of the oh-so-cool car. Don't you agree this is better?
A show car has to be outrageous and so this has 21 inch wheels at the front and 22s at the rear. The engine produces 400 horses from the LS2 6.0-liter V-8 engine powering through a six-speed manual transmission. The architecture is hardly cutting edge although far more sophisticated than the live-axle Mustang. Keeping the tech low means a base model could be had for $20,000 with a cheaper V8 or even a V6.
The real car would have smaller wheels, but the overall diameter of the tires wouldn't be much changed. If this car comes out the war among the Mustang and Camaro owners starts all over again.
2008 Lamborghini Miura
The Miura is considered by many as the sexiest car ever from Lamborghini. Maybe the sexiest ever. In its heyday it was the epitome of wealth and style. Just look at the pictures above and you will see what I mean. Watch how the long sloping bonnet goes on and one. That is simply poetry etched in metal. Can you believe that this car is actually 40 years old?
Lamborghinis were made to take on Ferraris in the 60's. Ferrucio Lamborghini, the creator of this marquee and a tractor maker, was not always impressed with Ferraris. One story suggests that Lamborghini's Ferrari had a noisy gearbox. When he complained, Enzo replied that Lamborghini should stick to tractors and let him worry about sports cars. Another tale is that Ferruccio spotted components on his Ferraris that he was also using on his tractors, but that spares cost three times as much - and he realised that there was money to be made building sports cars.
Whether either story is true is open to doubt, but it's certainly true that Lamborghini decided to take on Ferrari at its own game.
Technically, it was very advanced even for today: the mid-engined layout and all-independent suspension in an era when some Ferraris still sported rigid rear axles. Sadly the live axles are still in use in crappy cars like the Toyota Starlet.
The 3.9-litre four-cam V12, developed a claimed 350bhp. There was talk of a top speed of 180mph: the reality was 'only' a little over 170, but even that was fast enough. Orders streamed in with prospective owners having to wait months or years even. Miuras rose to power in the early 70's with the SV model having 385bhp.
The new concept is inspired by the original Miura but is clearly more modern. It has many nice aspects, including exquisitely detailed head- and taillights, wraparound front glass, brushed metal louvers over the engine.
Although the show car isn't a runner, it was designed on the Gallardo's platform with production feasibility in mind. It all depends on how well people respond to it. It could come out with a 6.5-liter version of the Murcielago's V-12 engine. While the original Miura's motor was transversely mounted, the new one would have a more conventional longitudinal configuration. Expect more than 650 hp and a price north of $350,000 if and when the Miura appears.
2009 Dodge Challenger Concept
Another muscle car to hit the scene is the Challenger from Dodge. Most people in Bangladesh who love cars know of Stangs, Camaros and Chargers but this is an equally famous car except that it's production was a little limited. The Challenger draws its inspiration directly from the 1970 car. In fact, of the other two cars mentioned here this resembles the actual car most.
The retro-styled coupe has a rear-wheel-drive chassis used by the current Charger and is powered by a 425-hp 6.1-liter V-8 linked to a manual transmission with a pistol-grip shifter. But this orange-hued coupe is more than just a reminder of Detroit's glory days. It's widely believed that this show car presages a new, production Challenger with (of course) Hemi V-8 power available along with a V-6 for the price-leader model.
Review by Gokhra
It's yet another large family movie. Steve Martin's "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" is superior to its predecessors.
The plot:
It's a noisy and silly sentimental movie. You have Steve Martin as the funny hopeless dad, Bonnie Hunt as his loving, no-nonsense wife Kate, and a sprawling brood of kids with varying degrees of attitude.
Kids are growing up fast; the daughters played by Hilary Duff and Piper Perabo have already flown the coop, college is looming for others, and the parents want to assemble the whole brood. It's a natural process that fills Tom with panic. Oldest daughter Nora (Piper Perabo) and her husband (Jonathan Bennett) are expecting their first child, while son 
Charlie (Tom Welling) yearns to strike out on his own and graduating daughter Lorraine (Hilary Duff) is off to New York for a magazine internship.
In a last-ditch effort to keep the clan together, Tom rents the Wisconsin lakefront cabin at which the family once spent their summers. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be: The place is a dump. As if that wasn't bad enough Tom's high school rival now lives across the lake with his eight children in a mansion the size of a retirement complex. He's made a lot more money than Tom Baker, whose job as a college football coach evaporates in some vague dialogue. Jimmy's on his third wife (Carmen Electra) and he's a taskmaster with his kids, making them spend two hours a day reading and writing.
The two fathers resume their lifelong rivalry, and Murtaugh shows off at a fancy Fourth of 
July clambake at the lake club, where the fireworks go off prematurely and destroy everything in sight.
The burden of the plot's little dramas falls on the younger kids. Alyson Stoner plays tomboy Sarah who ahs a crush on daredevil Eliot Murtaugh (Taylor Lautner).
She gets all mopey and starts experimenting with make-up. Mom tells her ''when you like a boy, don't be anything but yourself," but then the family offers her up on a first date with a full makeover. Just goes to show how contradicting parents can sometimes be.
The sub plot of the movie involving the blooming romance of the kids and the associated horrors is the highlight. This movie remembers the kind of suffering that kids coming of age go through. It shows that teasing, however slight, however kind, however well-meaning, 
comes as a crushing blow.
Also Jimmy Murtaugh's new wife of six months Sarina surprises us by actually being nice. Step-moms have a habit of being portrayed as witches. She's hot but she really cares for her eight new stepkids.
This movie has good does of comedy with Martin having to handle all the slapstick portion of the movie taking on water-ski pratfalls and random crotch injuries. Kids will laugh and so will a lot of old, old people. This is a very fun family movie about a very fun family.
RS tried to peep in to the album and share feelings with Breach. Starting from the album cover design up to the songs and lyrics, one thing was prominent, that the whole concept is very intriguing.
The songs are Baeg (Instrumental), featuring neo classical and progressive musical influences in Breach.
Anonto is the acoustic version of a very heavy rock
Composition emphasizing on the lyrics. Anonto - meaning infinity, is the realization of God's presence and asking from ONLY God for a better life.
Shopno and Tobuo are very much 80s and melody influenced songs in the album.
Ebarer Cholon is a hard rock number with a lot of grunge influence on its guitar riffs with a creative guitar solo. The song is a satire attacking the upstart culture of some 'ultra cool' kids who have abandoned basic values such as patriotism and pride of our own language in one's own culture.
Dhongsho portrays the nu-metal side of the band and gives new meaning to the phrase "abrupt changes". The song depicts mass destruction and mayhem going on in the world.
Jantrik Shobbhota is probably the song that has been worked the hardest on and features modern progressive and new age elements. This song is a realization of 'Dhongsho' and fighting for ultimate freedom.
Nei Shekor puts heavy emphasis on acoustics and has a lot of psychedelic influences narrating dark depressing moments of a gloomy soul.
Rock band Breach's self-titled debut album was launched recently. The album features nine songs and one instrumental by the promising band. The album has been sponsored by djuice and was released under the banner of G-Series. (L-R) A djuice official, the members of Breach and the owner of G-Series are seen with the album at the launch
Char Deyaler Majhe, the only soft rock number in the entire album. Yet, another song, which portrays the thinking process of a depressed young boy who suffered family problems all through his life.
The last track Joga Khichuri despite its kiddish outook is a funk-influenced composition. The song lyrically holds deep meaning from personal perspectives, as it depicts the band's personal history and says out loud that "all's well that ends well".
