2011 Chrysler 200 Convertible

The Chrysler Group LLC recently announced the new 2011 Chrysler 200 Convertible will be making its debut at the worldwide 2011 Chicago Auto Show beginning February 9. The show will be open to consumers February 11-20 at 94R25ZM7B5S6 McCormick Place, the largest convention center in the United States.

The new convertible has been redesigned, engineered, packaged, and re-priced for this year, and tempts consumers with a driving experience of elegant craftsmanship coupled with the fun of the open air. The newly revised model boasts an astonishing list of standards, including every safety feature currently available. The 2011 Chrysler 200 Convertible is a tantalizing alternative for those who enjoy the benefits of a coupe but long for the freedom of open-air travel.

The new Chrysler 200 sports a classy new exterior design, with a refined ride and handling made possible by its upgraded suspension and new efficient powertrain. It is also available with a new optional 3.6 Pentastar V-6 engine for outstanding horsepower and excellent fuel economy, or the smaller, reliability proven 2.4-liter I4 World Gas Engine. A six-speed transmission accompanies either engine. The new convertible also offers consumers a choice between two tops; both are powered and auto-latching. One is a painted steel hard top, the other is a soft cloth top, and either will drop with the press of a button on the key fob.

The interior is not to be outdone either. The new 200 Convertible brings customers into a world-class level of comfort and craftsmanship. State-of-the-art features include a 30-gigabyte HDD/CD/DVD/MP3 media center with voice command, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, and SIRIUS Travel Link, to keep the driver and passengers connected and make the drive inviting to everyone.

In the U.S., three different configurations of the 2011 Chrysler 200 Convertible will be available – the Chrysler 200 Convertible Touring model, 200 Convertible Limited model and the 200 Convertible S (late availability) model. Starting at the U.S. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $27,195 (including $750 destination), it is an amazing value, considering the endless features, safety and style packed into this open-air driving experience.

On Sunday, the Chrysler 200 was featured with Eminem in a two-minute Super Bowl ad entitled “Imported From Detroit.” The ad increased Chrysler’s brand traffic by 1013 %, according to the Kelly Blue Book.

The largest study of single men and women funded by online dating website, match.com shows how mindsets of singles evolved from 50 years ago. Men today are just as likely to want to marry as women.

The study was conducted by Market Tools in cooperation with the Institute for Evolutionary Studies at Binghamton University (EvoS) debunked many myths held about singles and dating. Facts revealed in the study included were, men do want to get married like women. The same 33 percent of both men and women said they want to get married. Contrarily, the common belief is the guys do not want to be married and have to be coerced into having kids.

Another misperception is that young singles today are promiscuous. However, the study revealed that with singles aging 21-34, 24 percent of men and 23 percent of women are still virgins. In addition, the men are now quicker to fall in love and want children than women. Similarly, 24 percent of men and 15 percent of women under 18 say they want children. According to the study, 54 percent of men said that they had experienced love at first sight, in lieu of 44 percent of women.

Dr. Helen Fisher, biological anthropologist, says, “I am fascinated to learn that men are just as eager to marry and have children, and more eager to compromise in a relationship.”

Marriage is no longer the ultimate goal for many singles, as 72 percent are fine with co-habiting without marriage. Conversely, 62 percent of both men and women in the 21-34 age group desires to marry and 76 percent believes that if they married, it would last forever. Singles of today defies age, gender, dating habits and views about relationships once held long ago.

Overall, about 36 percent of singles prefers dating someone in the workplace. Getting to know the other person better accounted for the largest method of falling in love with 71 percent and 35 percent of singles said they eventually fell in love with someone to they had no initial attraction.

Match.com, one of the leading online dating companies, has helped millions of singles, both men and women; meet, and eventually fall in love. On Feb 2, 2011 the company bolstered its online dating service by acquiring OKCupid. It operates and powers online dating sites across 25 countries and in 8 languages.

Papa John's Pizza is the Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL and Super Bowl XLV, known for $10 pizzas and giving away one pizza every 45 seconds during the Super Bowl.

Papa John’s Pizza is taking a different approach to Super Bowl advertising this year. Instead of advertising during the big game, like the company has done in the past, Papa John’s is pushing a promotion to encourage people to order pizza online as part of their Super Bowl viewing party.

Every 45 second during the Super Bowl, someone ordering online from Papa John’s will win a $45 gift card.

The deal is meant to attract new customers to the pizza chain but also reward loyal ones. Papa John’s CEO Jude Thompson said the company’s online customers are already more loyal than customers who order over the phone. In 2010, the company had more than $2 billion in online sales.

For last year’s Super Bowl, Papa John’s sold 930,000 pizzas during the game, which helped the company set a record for most pizza’s sold in a single day. On Sunday, Papa John’s hopes to sell more than 1 million pizzas during the Super Bowl.

That is not all the company is doing. If the Super Bowl heads into overtime (something that has never happened in the game’s history), everyone registered with the company’s Customer Loyalty Program by midnight Saturday will win a free large pizza.

“We really have to have a longer-term strategic reason for spending that kind of money on 30 seconds,” Papa John’s Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Varga said in an interview. “Last year we had that reason with our newly created campaign. This year we didn’t have a similar reason.”

During last year’s game, Papa John’s promoted itself with a television ad that highlighted its new sponsorship agreement with the NFL.

Jamaal Mashburn, a former NBA player owns 37 Papa John’s franchises stated on CNBC the free pizza advertising campaign “brings a lot of recognition to the brand.” He went on to say he was hoping the Chicago Bears would of beaten the Packers since he has several franchises in the Chicago area.

The top days for pizza orders are Halloween, day before Thanksgiving, New Years Eve and Day. In anticipation of this years Super Bowl, Papa John’s has about 2 million pounds of cheese and 350,000 pounds of pepperoni ready to go.

2012 Porsche Boxster S Black Edition.

Porsche’s recent announcement of their new Boxster S Black Edition, concurred with the timing of their January Sales report, both holds much promise.

The new Boxster S Black Edition has a lot wrapped-up under  the hood, limited to 987 units worldwide, it boasts a 320-horsepower engine, with a 10 horsepower boost. Topping 171 mph in track speed it attracts the penny-pincher with up to 29 mpg on the highway. The included standard equipment comprises a long list of features, with a modest price tag starting at $65,200.

As the model’s name would indicate, it is only available in solid black. In contrast to the norm, where the trim and wheels accent the vehicle, the new Boxster has been given a monochrome treatment. The convertible top is black, and the intake grill, safety bars, and the Boxster Spyder design wheels are all painted black as well. Even the twin exhaust tailpipes have been coated in black.

The black does not stop on the outside. The interior of the car continues with black seats, dashboard, and instrument cluster. Even the sporty designed steering wheel is wrapped in smooth finish black leather.

The normal option packages available, the Design package and the Convenience package, come standard on the new model. The Design package comprises the black-painted interior and exterior touches, and the Convenience package includes Bi-Xenon ™ headlights, wind deflection, auto-dimming mirrors, rain sensor, and climate control.

The new model has the right mixture of engine (3.4 liter six-cylinder with direct fuel injection), transmission (PDK), and chassis (built for balance and handling) to go from 0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds, and reach 170 mph (PDK) while maintaining an estimated fuel economy of 19 mpg city, and 26 mpg highway.

Porsche sales for January are up 34% in respect to the same time last year, and have increased by double or triple digits for eight consecutive months. For Boxster, the poor man’s Porsche, sales increased 133% to 186 compared to 80 in January 2010. 911 models enjoyed a modest increase of 436 compared to 503 in the same period.

It is Detlev von Platen’s (PCNA’s President and CEO) goal to continue the trend throughout the New Year. The January 2011 sales are the best start to the year since 2008, representing the company’s eighth consecutive double digit sales increase. The announcement of their new model should move them toward achieving that goal.

Black History Month Recognizes African Americans and the Civil War.

This month, Institutions across America are joining to honor generations of African Americans. The Library of Congress, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Park Service, National Archives and Records Administration, The Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Smithsonian Institute are joining together to pay homage to African American pioneers of art, literature and civil rights during Black History Month.

Event highlights for 2011 include a travelling art exhibit (Kinsey Collection), a Smithsonian Family Day Celebration with some of the original Tuskegee Airmen, lectures by Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw (National Gallery of Art), a national Youth Summit webcast, musical performances sponsored by the National Gallery of Art, and research seminars at the National Archives.

This years theme focuses on the contributions and values made during the Civil War in honoring the people of African descent.

Black History Month began as “Negro History Week” in 1926, by Carter G. Woodson. As a result of Woodson’s resolve to raise awareness of society’s contributions by African Americans, he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), and chose February as the month to celebrate, alongside the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

The event was received with overwhelming support as many Black History clubs were formed, teachers called for more classroom materials in an effort to enlighten their students, and whites from all backgrounds endorsed the occasion.

Much progress had been made since Woodson’s death in 1950. More Americans showed support and appreciation for the annual celebration, and city government leaders across the nation issued proclamations acknowledging the February as Black History Month.

For more information on these activities, visit the African American History Month website at africanamericanhistorymonth.gov.

Punxsutawney Phil, did not see his shadow this day in history, a tradition celebrating the Groundhog Day holiday in Punxsutawney, Pa. since 1886. - Photo Groundhog Day

On a day when much of the country woke up to a thick blanket of snow, it may be hard for many people to believe that spring will come early this year.

That is the prediction of Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Punxsutawney Phil, the world-famous groundhog who makes weather predictions every February 2. Today, Phil did not see his shadow, meaning spring in on its way.

The start of spring season begins with the “Spring Equinox” when the north pole starts its point towards the Sun. For the year 2011, start of spring is March 20, 46 days, six to seven weeks away. According to the Groundhog Club, Punxsutawney Phil is correct 100% of the time.

After casting a joyful eye to his followers gathered before him, Phil proclaimed, “If you want to know next, you must read my text.” The prediction, “As the sky shines bright above me, my shadow I see beside me, six more weeks of winter it will be.”

Thousands of people braved the cold of Gobbler’s Knob, Penn. to watch the groundhog give his annual weather prediction and celebrate the 125th anniversary of Groundhog Day.

According to legend, if the groundhog comes out if his hole early on the morning of Feb. 2 and is not scared back inside by his shadow, spring will come early. If he does see his shadow, then people should prepare for six more weeks of winter.

The event began with a small group known as the Inner Circle and has grown to an internationally-watched celebration that brings as many as 30,000 people to Punxsutawney, Penn. a community some 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Groundhog Day is closely linked to Candlemas, an early Christian celebration where people would bless and hand out candles. A clear sky on Candlemas meant the winter would be long and cold. Romans cooped the holiday during the conquests of Central Europe and brought the tradition to Germany, where the traditional changed to involve a hedgehog predicting the weather based on his shadow. German immigrants brought their tradition to Pennsylvania, where in 1887 a Punxsutawney newspaper editor declared the local groundhog to be the ultimate weather authority.

Candlemas became Groundhog Day and the groundhog, named Phil by the newspaper editor, became an international star.

Thin Mints are mint flavored cookies covered with dark chocolate and are the most sold cookies by the Girl Scouts.

Scouts are scaling back the number of cookie varieties it sells to the six most popular flavors in response to the struggling economy.

Signature flavors, Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos, Trefoild shortbread cookies, Tagalongs, Samoas and Lemon Chalet Crèmes are staying on the menu. Newer treats like sugar-free chocolate chip and U-Berry-Munch may be gone soon. The best sellers makeup over 68 percent of sales with Thin Mints topping the list at 25%, followed by Samoas making about 19%, Tagalongs at 13% and 11% for the Do-Si-Dos sales. By selling the best sellers, its a move that will cut costs in an effort to only sell what sells the best.

The Girls Scouts makes more than $700 million from the annual cookie campaign. A spokeswoman tried to put a positive spin on the changes.

“We’re all seeking a little more simplicity,” said Amanda Hamaker, the manager of national product sales for the Girl Scouts.

A Girl Scouts spokeswoman said it was too soon to know how the public would respond to the news.

“It seems to be going well. It’s just a little too early,” Michelle Tompkins said.

The Girl Scouts are also planning to use more social media marketing to promote the cookie drive, but the cookies will continue to “not” be sold online. That would negate a major reason for the campaign, which is to help girls become more social and business aware.

“The activity of selling cookies is directly related to our purpose of helping all girls realize their full potential and become strong, confident, and resourceful citizens,” read a statement on the Girl Scouts’ website.

Glenn Giangrade, a write with YES Network, said the changes did not bother him because this favorite Girl Scout cookie, the Thin Mint, was not going anywhere. If Thin Mints were to go away, Giangrade said, he and many other people would have a problem.

“I think they might have a riot,” he said. “I don’t want to overstate things … but I mean, its thin mints.”

February 03, 2011 - January 22, 2012 marks the Chinese zodiac, Year of the Rabbit.

This year, marks the “Year of the Rabbit”, according to the Chinese calendar. The year 2011 is the Xin-Mao year as the Chinese say.

Mao means Rabbit in Chinese, which is fourth member of the group of twelve terrestrial branches, which includes Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and pig when named sequentially. Xen stands for metal in Chinese, which is the eight member of a terrestrial stem group. The Chinese zodiac for the “Year of the Rabbit” begines on February 03, 2011 and last until Jan 22, 2012.

The New Year celebrations, set to begin soon and lasts for a total of 15 days, starting from the New Year’s Eve. The celebrations run from February 2 through February 15, the day of the lantern festival celebration. The festivities are at its peak during the lantern festival. On this occasion, the Niu Yangge dance is performed in some parts of china as families meet, light firecrackers, and exchange New Year greetings. In addition, the traditional lion dance is performed during the lantern festivals.

Most celebrate on New Year’s Eve by cleaning their house thoroughly, which is symbolic of removing last year’s dirt. Afterwards, the house is decorated with red and green banners, symbolizing good fortune and kumquat trees symbolizing good health.

As a part of the celebration, the youth are given money in red packets called Hong Bao, decorated with lucky symbols. During the holidays, families reunite and dine as another expression of celebration. Throughout the 15-day celebration, oranges are exchanged, wishing good health and prosperity in the New Year.

Club Aqua Gumbet, left, main entrance, right, Club Aqua Ortakent aka Magic Route pool. Hotel received award for dirtiest hotel in Europe.

Winners of Europe’s ten dirtiest hotels as part of the esteemed Travelers’ Choice Hotels Awards. Although, Travelers’ Choice Hotels Awards normally reward the best hotels, the recent revealing is based specifically on travelers’ ratings of hotel cleanliness.

TripAdvisor’s list of shame divulges the dirtiest hotels in Europe based on collected feedback from hotel visitors comments. Overall, three regions dominated the list of shame. Amsterdam, London and the Aegean Coast in Turkey all rule the list of dirtiest hotels. According to Emma O’Boyle, spokesperson for TripAdvisor, “Despite the average overall rating for a property on TripAdvisor rising to four out of five, it is clear that a minority of hotels are still not delivering the minimum standard of experience travelers deserve, especially in relation to cleanliness”.

The top two award recipients were both in Turkey. First place went to Club Aqua Gumbent, with past visitors cautioned potential visitors to beware of the “rat family” that resided at the hotel. In addition, the hotel was depicted by one visitor as “hell on earth” and described by another visitor as “not safe for humans”. The runner up, Altin Orfe Hotel, was expressed as being “a health hazard hotel” and future travelers were warned to “enter at your own risk”.

London, home to a surplus of excellent hotels, followed close behind in third place with Cromwell Crown. The hotel, an ongoing ‘Dirty Hotels’ delinquent, explained by a recent tourist saying, “Absolutely the worst hotel I have ever stayed in.” Other vacationers warn of bait for rodents visible in common areas, bathrooms covered in fungus, tainted mattresses and ghastly smells.

Other dirty hotels on the list include Blair Victoria and Tudor Inn, Hotel Lantaerne, Hotel y Boulevard, Hotel Manofa, Hotel The Globe and repeat offender Corbigoe Hotel in London.