SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX Le 6 janvier 2012

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX Le 6 janvier 2012

Mercredi dernier nous sommes allés chercher  nos amis Paul et Lise à Mercedes puis nous nous sommes rendus jusqu’aux frontières du Mexique à quelques milles au sud. Nous avons laissé notre voiture dans un grand stationnement payant puis nous avons traversé le pont qui enjambe la rivière Rio Grande qui sépare les États-Unis du Mexique. Il n’y a aucun poste de douane à traverser et nous nous retrouvons immédiatement dans les rues de la petite ville de Progresso.

Comme il était presque l’heure du lunch, les Nantel nous ont proposé un restaurant qu’ils connaissaient. Deux bons repas accompagnés d’une bière et d’une Margarita servis de façon courtoise et rapide nous ont coutés  $24US, pourboire inclus. Il y avait même des musiciens sur place pour nous divertir. Après le lunch Paul s’est fait couper les cheveux pour la modique somme de $6 US et Marielle a décidé de suivre son exemple. Nous avons ensuite fait le tour des magasins. Le retour se fait de l’autre côté du pont mais cette fois-ci nous avons dû passer les douanes Américaines avant de rentrer aux E.U.

Le lendemain, nous sommes allés visiter South Padre Island.  SPI, comme elle est souvent appelée ici, est une île Barriere du Golfe du Mexique qui est reliée  par un pont (causeway) à la petite ville de Port Isabel. Nommée en mémoire de Padre Balli, un prête catholique, SPI est à la même latitude que St-Petersburg en Floride. Son climat sous-tropical humide est très confortable en janvier, avec une température  moyenne variant entre 20 et 11ᴼ C. Frais la nuit, la température monte  rapidement après le lever du soleil et atteint souvent 25 degrés au milieu de l’après-midi.  L’ile est un endroit de villégiature très populaire auprès des étudiants pour le congé  de mars et son festival international de musique annuel en novembre.

http://www.sopadre.com/island/

Il y a trois terrains de camping sur l’ile. Un KOA qui est très bien aménagé, un petit parc d’état assez rudimentaire et le parc Isla Blanca, un parc qui appartient au conté. Nous avons demandé la permission de faire une visite rapide du Parc Isla Blanca et nous sommes restés accrochés. Nous sommes arrêtés au bureau en sortant pour prendre plus d’information et lorsque nous avons réalisé qu’il n’y avait presque plus de terrains de disponibles nous en avons immédiatement réservé un pour un mois, soit du 27 décembre au 27 janvier. Pas possible pour le moment de garder ce terrain pour un deuxième mois car il est déjà  réservé pour les mois de février et mars.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/SmartDeals-g56691-South_Padre_Island_Texas-Hotel-Deals.html

La très grande popularité de ce parc est dû au fait qu’il est situé sur le bord de la plage. C’est un endroit idéal pour la marche et les randonnées en bicyclette tandis que nous n’avons qu’à traverser le pont pour trouver un Wal-Mart et plusieurs autres magasins. Tout ça pour $485US par mois, incluant les trois services (50 AMP) et le câble pour la télé. Le Wi-Fi est aussi disponible pour environ $30.00 par mois.

Webcams : http://www.spadre.com/default.htm

Aussitôt de retour à notre camping, nous les avons avisés que nous quittions le lendemain et j’ai  commencé à me préparer pour le départ et le lendemain midi nous étions relocalisés à South Padre Island sans avoir rien changé à l’intérieur de notre maison. C’est l’un des grands avantages de voyager avec un VR. Nous sommes toujours chez nous peu importe où nous sommes.

La photo ci-contre n’est pas le futur pont Champlain mais le Causeway qui relie Port Isabel , une petite ville d’environ 6000 habitants a une petite île qui a moins de 5000 habitants permanents. Ils ne font rien à moitié ces Texans.

FACEBOOK

J'ai une autre page FaceBook sur laquelle je publie de l'information que je trouve intéressante sur internet. (Le matériel est principalement en anglais)

Voici l'adresse:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Le-Bistro/244666738886151#!/pages/Le-Bistro/244666738886151?sk=wall

Veilside 4509 GTR Toyota Supra Takes Inspiration from Bentley, Audi R8

Considering how many years the MKIV Toyota Supra has been out of production, it’s amazing that the aftermarket continues to come up with new parts for it. But why not? The Supra remains one of the most versatile vehicles in the world when it comes to customization.


Veilside possibly has some of the world’s most famous Supras, and it looks like they wanted to make yet another statement at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon with the introduction of their 4509 GTR. Based on the MKIV Toyota Supra Turbo, Veilside decided to blend some luxury styling to the sports coupe.

A quick glance on the exterior and it’s easy to mistake the Supra with a Bentley, given its massive front grille. The front bumper also clearly hints at the Bentley Continental GT, while the headlights provide a tip of the hat to Audi’s R8 supercar.

And naturally, the Supra sports a massive widebody, allowing Veilside to squeeze 20-inch wheels in the front and massive 22-inch wheels in the rear. The custom body is constructed out of a combination of carbon fiber and fiberglass.

For the interior, the luxury theme continues with leather and diamond-stitched Alcantara, a sporty steering wheel and custom gauge cluster/panel.

Squeezing horsepower out of the Supra’s 2JZ is no secret nowadays, so it’s not too impressive, but worth noting, that Veilside’s Supra sports an HKS upgraded turbo kit to help put down 680-hp and 594.5 ft-lbs of torque. Complementing all the performance modifications is a new clutch, exhaust, Rotora big brakes and suspension mods.

Toyota Avensis BTCC Touring Car Looks Menacing in the Flesh

While there was much anticipation for the debut of Toyota’s Avensis BTCC Touring Car last October, the project was delayed. Now we’ve received word that it will be making its debut on April 3rd at the Dunlop MSA BTCC event in Brands Hatch in the UK.

The Avensis is still being built by GPR Motorsport and they have announced that two teams have committed to running the Avensis in the BTCC series: Dynojet and Speedworks.

Currently the Avensis is at the MIRA aerodynamic facility in the UK going thorough wind tunnel testing. In order to get a credible baseline to compare to their race car, a factory Avensis was used, giving the team plenty of data in order to fine-tune the aerodynamics of the race car.

A few more renderings can be found below, but we’d really like to see more of this machine in the sheet metal.

Toyota Unveils New Future Yaris in Japan

Just the Facts:

•Japan's new Vitz previews America's next Yaris.

•Styling is all new, with a big push on fuel economy.

•A hybrid model is also in the works, likely in 2012.


TOKYO — Unveiled Wednesday in Tokyo is the latest from Toyota, the new Vitz. This car, in essence, is expected to come to the U.S. as the next Yaris.

Nissan, Honda. Subaru and Mazda have all refreshed their subcompact offerings in Japan of late, so Toyota is now ready to up the ante with this first full redesign of the Vitz/Yaris since 2005.

Although the stakes are high, Toyota has essentially played it safe with this third-generation Vitz.

Yes, the styling is more expressive and, it seems, strongly Eurocentric (with more than a nod, perhaps, toward France's Renault). But underneath, this is a safe evolution of a well-established product. The platform is essentially a carryover, even though the wheelbase is up almost 2 inches and overall length stretches 4 inches to a new 153 inches.

The payoff is extra cabin space, especially in the back, but bigger news in Japan is the car's fuel economy. It may be academic for America, but on home turf, Toyota has reshuffled the existing 1.3-/1.5-liter engine, putting a lot of emphasis on the 1.3.

One trick version of that, with engine stop/start, returns a class-leading 62.3 mpg in Japan's 10.15-mode fuel cycle. The 1.5 that comes to the U.S. continues on with 107 horsepower and stars in the Vitz RS, the raciest of the new Vitz family at launch.

This RS spinoff runs with massaged grille and bumper treatment and gets 16-inch alloys and sport seats. An Activematic CVT option, with steering-wheel paddle shifters, is also on the RS menu, as an alternative to a stock five-speed manual shifter.

Inside, Toyota has gone for a simple, functional dashboard design with a long, thin metal panel running along the middle, plus a conventional main gauge cluster that's easy to get to know, if not terribly inspiring to look at. The makeover also brings all-new seats.

A hybrid model is also in the works but, we hear, won't appear until well into 2012.

Inside Line says: Toyota goes for a new look with the redesigned Vitz/Yaris, which may or may not lure new buyers into the fold. Whatever you think of the styling, this is a major new player for Toyota at home that's on a mission to sell 10,000 units a month, and counting. — Peter Nunn, Correspondent

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) established operations in North America in 1957 and currently operates 14 manufacturing plants, including one under construction. There are more than 1,800 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships in North America which sold more than 2.05 million vehicles in 2009. Toyota directly employs more than 35,000 in North America and its investment here is currently valued at more than $23 billion, including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and design. Toyota's annual purchasing of parts, materials, goods and services from North American suppliers totals more than $25 billion. Toyota currently produces 12 vehicles in North America, including the Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Matrix, RAV4, Sienna, Sequoia, Tacoma, Tundra, Venza and the Lexus RX 350.

See also:  http://www.toyoland.com/toyota/plants.html

Toyota Adjusts Yaris Future

Below is a future car article by the automotive experts at Motor Trend Magazine.
Hybrid Version of Next-Gen Small Car Planned


By Paul Horrell

Toyota's subcompact cars plans have been knocked sideways by the recession. The company was planning a new generation version of its Toyota Yaris that would feature the innovative engineering of the tiny iQ, but it will now instead rebody the current Yaris (pictured) for 2012.

However, in search of ultra-economy, Toyota will make a hybrid version -- a full hybrid, as opposed to the mild-hybrid system in the Honda Insight. Toyota plans to release hybrids across its range. In Europe it is launching an Auris -- the European Corolla-equivalent hatchback -- with Hybrid Synergy Drive. Toyota executive Takuo Matsui told MT "I strongly hope [we will make a Yaris-size hybrid] and I am pushing R&D for it."

Honda will shortly install its IMA hybrid system from the Insight into the Fit.

The iQ is still expected to come to the U.S. as a Scion. It's a tiny, 118-inch-long, 3+1-seater hatchback that manages to be so space efficient by utilizing several all-new packaging solutions around the engine, plus a redesigned differential, firewall, steering system, and air conditioner.

The original plan was to design a range of subcompacts longer than the iQ but with the same packaging solutions and front platform, yielding a very spacious five-seat car, and an additional seven-seater a little bigger than a Honda Fit. But now, the need to save money on retooling Yaris plants means the current car will get a straightforward rebody.

This strengthens the case for a hybrid Yaris. Packaging the hybrid system under the iQ’s snub hood would have been near impossible, whereas in the current platform it will be easier. Even so, making a hybrid small car cheap enough to be worthwhile, both for the manufacturers and consumers, is an enormous challenge.

Meanwhile, as previously reported here, the iQ will form the basis of Toyota’s pure-electric car for America in 2012. The EV will share most of its exterior panels with the gas version.