Social media traffic jam in first half 2015

FROM SUVS falling off the Skyway to doomsday scenarios of the evil Skynet caused by Sarah O’Connor’s tweet, the first half of 2015 social media traffic generators kept the social media busy with Twitter and Facebook posts and shares. Here’s a short compilation of some of the most notable ones for the first half of 2015.

‘Judgement Day’ robot panic

Earlier this month, what turned out to be a horrible accident where a robot accidentally killed a factory worker in one of Volkswagen’s production plants in Germany and became a real-life “Robopocalypse.”  According to VW spokesperson Heiko Hillwig, the 22-year-old contractor was part of a team that was setting up the stationary robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate.

On the same day, a Financial Times reporter Tweeted the story that became viral. Sci-fi buffs pounced upon FT reporter Sarah O’Connor’s tweet because her fictional namesake was the mother of Jack Connor of the “Terminator” movies. Both mother and son were unwilling heroes trying to prevent “evil” machines run by a program called Skynet trying to start a war that will lead to the extinction of the human race.

She tweeted: “A robot has killed a worker in a VW plant in Germany,” and the message was then retweeted over 6,000 times on the first day alone. “Ok, I should have thought about my name and its associations before tweeting this,” she said on Twitter. “Feeling really uncomfortable about this inadvertent Twitter thing I seem to have kicked off. Somebody died. Let’s not forget,” she rightfully added.

SUV takes a wrong turn

Last May, social media netizens were up in arms after photos of a black Toyota Fortuner turned turtle on the streets of BGC hitting a pregnant Australian national Jacinta Coote while innocently crossing the street. In the days that followed, video footages posted on Facebook and Youtube revealed that there were two black Fortuners hitting each other that caused the second SUV to turn over. It was evident that these two vehicles were traveling at a high speed inside a populated and busy street corner. Coote recalls how she felt enraged when she saw the footage of the May 12 accident in her fragile condition.

 

The police later identified the SUV drivers as Rolando Manese and Anne Allison Soriano, the latter also a BGC resident. Upon investigation, it showed that it was Manese’s vehicle that hit Coote after it was hit by Soriano’s car. The Cootes declined to comment on the status of the case but said that they have yet to receive an apology from both drivers as of press time. Coote and her husband, Douglas, and about 200 fellow BGC residents staged a rally demanding for safer streets in their community. Several expatriates and their small children were among the participants, the mass action was a rarity in the usually quiet upscale residential and commercial hub in Taguig City.

Practicing safe SLEx

This month’s torrential rains proved that driving in high speeds along SLExcan land you in rail. The driver of a Mitsubishi Strada pickup skidded and plowed into the concrete outer guardrail of the Skyway near the Bicutan exit with its tail first. Fortunately, the pickup got stuck on top of the concrete stopper but the collision took some chunks of debris that fell on a hapless vehicle below. In a Twitter advisory, the Skyway management said a Mitsubishi Strada figured in an accident on the southbound lane of Skyway. The driver and its passenger were safe, but caused heavy traffic in the area.

The accident raises the question whether the Skyway’s guardrails are adequate. Even if the Mitsubishi Strada is a light pickup, it had sufficient momentum to breach the guardrail. A heavier vehicle could go over the guardrail more easily. In December 2013, a bus operated by Don Mariano Transit plunged off the Skyway into traffic below, killing 21 persons. Last July 18, another vehicle fell off the Skyway. A white Mitsubishi Montero Sport broke through the guardrail, rear-first. It fell onto a wall bordering the service road in Bicutan. This is the second incident of a light truck skidding on the Skyway and meeting the railing just this month.

‘They’ve got it all for you!’

Inquirer reported last month that the SM Group has been trying to break into the transport business. But after some unsuccessful attempts, it scored a victory recently, announcing a tie-up with a big Luzon bus operator to serve Cebu City and nearby areas. Inquirer’s Biz Buzz reported that the Hans Sy-led SM Prime Holdings sealed a partnership with the popular JAM Liner bus company, which currently serves Metro Manila and Southern Luzon. JAM Liner is led by its president, Dennise Trajano. The two groups are forming a joint-venture company, known as Metro Rapid Transit Service Inc., which will provide a “high-quality public transport system” for Cebuanos starting 2015.

 

It will initially serve key routes from Talisay and Lapu Lapu City, where the Mactan-Cebu International Airport is located, as well as certain stops where SM has malls. This includes the South Road Properties, where SM Prime is building the massive SM Seaside City, which is scheduled to open later this year. Joining the venture is SM Prime chief financial officer Jeffrey Lim as well as the well-connected Marissa Fernan, who wears multiple hats within the organization apart from serving as SM Prime vice president for Visayas and Mindanao.

 

Turning new Fortuner’s wheels

 

Car enthusiasts ogled over the photos of the much-anticipated all-new Toyota Fortuner posted on social media recently and made SUV buyers salivate with anticipation and ponder as to when they can get their hands on one. The new Fortuner is expected to carry a 2.8-liter diesel engine with 174.58 HP and 450 Nm, with a promised improvement in fuel efficiency and reduced engine noise. A quick look at the photos shows that the front now sports a smaller, slit-like headlamps with what look like daytime running lights and LED main units. Based on the photos, there’s a generous helping of chrome, with two vertical strips and three bars across the grille. Even the foglamp surrounds get some chrome surrounds. The rear lamps are also wide and low, flanking a chrome bar stretching across the tailgate. There’s a conspicuous kink that rises aft of the rear doors. The instrument panel looks different from the new Hilux’s, with two big vertical bars flanking the center panel.

 

Setting a new record

 

Honda recently set a new Guinness World Records title for “Lowest fuel consumption—all 24 contiguous EU countries (all cars),” recording an average 35.503 km per liter over 13,498 km, in a 25=day drive across all 24 EU contiguous countries. Behind the wheel of a Honda Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC for the entire journey were two members of Honda’s European research & development team, Fergal McGrath and Julian Warren, who took on the challenge to further demonstrate the impressive real-world fuel economy of the Tourer. The remarkable distance traveled is similar to the team driving to Australia from their home in the United Kingdom, stopping just nine times to refuel. The car achieved an incredible average 1500 km on each tank of fuel, at a total fuel cost for the whole journey of just £459 (P31,853).

Internet Jeep hack

Wired magazine reported that two hackers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek were able to remotely took over a 2014 model Jeep Cherokee while being driven by a reporter from Wired magazine. During the demonstration, the hackers were able to shut down the car’s transmission, deactivate its brakes, and control its steering. Miller is a security engineer at Twitter, and Valasek is director of vehicle safety research at consultancy IOActive.

They were able to break into the car’s control system via its Uconnect cellular connection. After accessing the car’s infotainment system, they rewrote the code on one of its chips. This gave them access to the car’s computer network, which controls the engine and other driving components. Anyone who knows the car’s IP address can gain access to its controls, according to the researchers.

Because of this, Fiat Chrysler has decided to recall about 1.4 million cars and trucks as it will update the vehicle’s software to protect these from being manipulated via remote control. Fiat Chrysler also has taken certain security measures to make sure that hackers cannot get through its own vehicle network. Models affected were 2013-2014 Ram 1500 Pickup, Ram 3500 Cab Chassis, Ram 2500 Pickup, Ram 4500/5500 Cab Chassis, Ram 3500 Pickup, Dodge Viper and 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Durango, Jeep Cherokee and some 2015 Chrysler 200 models.

Mom breaks child’s heart

Netizens all over the world were enraged as China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported a woman in China prevented firefighters from breaking the window of her luxury car in order to rescue her trapped three-year-old son. The incident occurred in the city of Yiwu in Zhejiang province and triggered an outpouring of anger on social media. Large crowds had gathered after hearing the boy’s cries of help coming from within the locked BMW, but were surprised to find his unperturbed mother standing outside the car.

The poor boy was growing visibly weaker as he clawed in vain against the car window. An eyewitness said the mother insisted that they wait for a locksmith to unlock the car door as she did not want to damage the car. But the firefighters ignored her and ended up smashing the window to rescue her son.

Class dismissed

When a photo of the now infamous three police officers involved in a brazen robbery/abduction along Edsa last year surfaced, it eventually led to one of them being dismissed and two indefinitely suspended and stripped of benefits and privileges as members of the Philippine National Police Academy Alumni Association Inc. These rouge cops were identified as Senior Insp. Joseph de Vera, Senior Insp. Oliver Villanueva and dismissed Insp. Marco Polo Estrera, all from PNPA Class of 2001.The three were charged with robbery in band, kidnapping for ransom and a violation of the Anti-Carnapping Act of 1972 for accosting passengers of a vehicle on Edsa in Wack-Wack, Mandaluyong City, in September last year.

De Vera is the deputy commander of the Quezon City Police District Station 1 based in La Loma, Quezon City, while Villanueva is head of the station’s investigation and intelligence branch. Estrera was dismissed from the service prior to the incident.

TMP in millionaire boys’ club

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) hit the one-million mark recently. It took TMP 26 years to achieve this figure. The one-million milestone was celebrated at Makati Shangri-La last July 9, and was attended by representatives from the Japanese and Philippine governments and VIPs of the private sector, including the leaders of rival car companies. Flooding the social media scene were pictures of multiawarded international singing superstar Lea Salonga, backed up by a live orchestra conducted by her brother Gerard, serenaded guests.

TMP’s 2014 sales of 106,000 landed the Philippines into the prestigious 100K club of Toyota distributors worldwide. The hot streak continues. Sugata said that “for the first six months this 2015, Toyota nearly sold 58,000 units, giving us a 19-percent increase from the same period last year. Team Toyota has now shifted to higher gear, moving forward towards the next one million units in less than 10 years time.”

Instagram post angers world

Boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather showed off his supercar collection by posting a photo on Instagram to taunt challenger Manny Pacquiao. The photo shows that Mayweather posed in front of his private jet, and eight supercars. The caption reads “Welcome to my world.” These cars included a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, a Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet, a Lamborghini Aventador, two Ferrari 458 Spiders, and three Bugatti Veyrons—two “regular” Veyrons and one Grand Sport. With a combined horsepower totaling 6232 hp (excluding the jet’s), the price tags add up to $6.8 million. The cheapest car in the lineup is the Porsche at about $200,000, and the most expensive is the Veyron Grand Sport at $2 million. Mayweather was the highest-paid athlete in 2014, earning $105 million, according to Forbes. Sadly, the now famous Instagram post shows that money cannot buy good taste. Sorry, we’re just jealous.