Wednesday, July 29, 2009

AC Cobra 427 : The Car That Forced UK To Create Their Highway Speed Limit

In the mid 1960's, AC Cobra 427 captured the heart and imagination of world's performance. It happened because Cobra had been following the recipe for the performance car to be successful.

The recipe was by squeezing the biggest and most powerful engine into a small frame that could carry out the power. They also made it come with an elegant design and attractive body with a top that can be opened to make your cruise more fun in open road.

Being the oldest manufacturer in Britain, the AC caught everybody's attention in 1953 at London Motor Show. The fact that it was one of post war sport cars in Britain with supporting chassis and its attractive body made it much admired by everyone.

In 1962, Carol Shelby impressed by AC's performance and saw a potential in it so that he talked AC to fit the Ford V-8 engine into the AC body. Fitting the 260 Cu in 4.4 lt lightweight engine was no problem at all, but they found difficulty in doubling up the power output.

Later on, Shelby put a Ford 7-liter engine and revamped the chassis and suspension. The 4.7 version in 1964 is based on the this version. Cobra then won its first championship on the race track in 1965. The AC Cobra did not join the international racing, but they were successful with American SCCA events. Shelby had found the very car that can beat Chevrolet Corvette.

It has been said as a rumor that Cobra was the reason of national speed limit regulation in UK. It was known that in 1964, Jack Sears and Peter Bolton reached 185 mph while testing Cobra on the M1 motorway in anticipation of 24th Le Mans race. However, the officials from UK denied this rumor and claiming that the main reason they created the regulation to limit the speed in highway is because of the increasing death rate.

Cobra was by far the perfect sport car ever made. It was fast with an immortal elegance despite its lacking in comfort features. These all made Cobra as the best car ever.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Megadeth United Abdominations Album Review

The new Megadeth album, “United Abominations”, is considered as a sonic assault, in the first album which featured a stable line up since their album “The World Needs A Hero” David Mustaine speaks up his mind on nuclear war and government corruption in the United States.

In first impression, the songs in the album are similar to other Megadeth's late albums. The music focuses on the song structure and the guitar rhythm without insane speed and technique. Megadeth is an old rock band, but they can play with the same intensity with other groups younger than their age. The album is steady and easygoing while full of lyrical message. Mustaine tries to deliver instead of the skill show-off as in “Rust in Peace.”

The album starts with a song with a catchy tunes in “Sleepwalker”. This is the typical song same with the opener of the previous album “The System Has Failed”, the song full with unique lyrical structure that unfortunately never reach the peak as Megadeth's songs use to be. “Washington Is Next” has catchy chorus and faster speed. “United Abominations” is definitely the catchiest song in the album, as it becomes the title of the album. Next comes “Never Walk Alone...A Call To Arms," a long paced song slipping in the middle of the album. The songs after “United Abominations” unfortunately get worse in comparison to the previous songs. "Gears Of War" is full of metal frenzy yet too amateur for Megadeth's reputation. The same music also goes for "Blessed Are The Dead" and "Play For Blood.” The next remake of “A Tout Le Monde” which features Cristina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil fails to impress since it is played the same with its previous version in “Youthanasia.” Cristina Scabbia's voice barely heard in the song and Glen Drover's guitar solo are lame and out of technique. The last three songs "Amerikhastan," "You're Dead," and "Burnt Ice" do not come any better. The closing of the album gives an impression that the album completion is rushed so that they just grab any song to fill in the album. The guitar solo is painful to hear and lack of creativity. Dave's guitar sounds chaotic, but Drover's is actually good, only he's an artist who can only re-create others' works and without creativity.

The sound quality in “United Abominations” is no good compared to “The System has Failed” album. The album sounds as if it is made not in a professional recording establishment, but in a home studio. The good thing about this album is that it can easily be listened to. The sound is average and not full of music and instrumental distortion.

To Megadeth fans, even though they buy the album, this album is disappointing. The songs are not as what they may have been expected. There are no heavy metal music, only simple hard rock. Mustaine fails to do a great job this time.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Secret to Developing Excellent Customer Service in Your Business - Part 2

To achieve a good customer service, your company must have good representatives in the field. You need to train your employees well since they are the ones who represent your company in the eyes of your customers. You need to train your employees on how they should handle customers and respond to their inquiries.

Tell your employees that the phrase "I don't know" is illegal to be delivered to your customers, yet replace it with something like "I can get the information for you" and not to fail what they have promise. Teach your employees to never reject what a customer requires even though what s/he require is beyond the employee's knowledge or responsibility. When that happens, tell your employees to direct the customer to the right person to answer his/her concern.

Customers need a feeling that the company's employees have interests in their problems and have found every way possible to solve it. Therefore, never imply that the solution that your employees offer is the only way and they have no choice but to accept it. Avoid the phrase "This is the only way" and use "The best option is..." instead. This phrase brings positive meaning that will meet customers' expectation for options and alternatives.

Enthusiastic employees are also a positive point to your customers. Your employees need to show that they enjoy their job and are ready to help whenever your customers need them. Do not show the faces which consider that customers are troubles, but greet them with best smiles and friendly words like "What can I do for you?" However, do not overdo the enthusiasm or it may feel fake to your customers.