Two ENGINE JEEP -- Power of Engineering

Power of Engineering

If you're into off-roading

-- and we mean really into it --

then Daimler-Chrysler recently unveiled the vehicle of your dreams.

It's a Jeep with more horsepower, more climbing ability and more steering

options than any car ever made. With two HEMI engines and the ability to turn

itself completely around in place, the Jeep Hurricane concept car is truly one of a kind.

This vehicle is the ultimate proof of Jeep's absolute dominance off-road ...

Watching Hurricane in action, it's hard not to imagine all the potential applications --

for the military, for extreme off-roading and more. The fact is, we will do whatever it takes to ensure

that there's only one SUV at the top of the mountain.

With more than 14 inches (36 cm) of ground clearance and 20 inches (51 cm) of suspension travel,

the Hurricane is in a class of its own when it comes to off-road capability. As Zetsche said at the 2005

Detroit Auto Show, "To put that into perspective, the clearance is 5 inches higher and the articulation is

almost triple that of our most off-road-capable Jeep production vehicle."

The four-wheel independent short/long-arm suspension system is dampened by coilover shocks with

remote reservoirs (this allows for longer travel in the shock). The 20-inch wheels hold specially designed

off-roading tires that are 37 inches tall. Chrysler reports an approach angle of 64 degrees and a departure

angle of 86.7 degrees.

The Hurricane is more than just a Super Jeep. It also represents an attempt by

Chrysler's engineers to combine excess (it does have two HEMI engines) with responsibility

(new technology allows the Hurricane to operate on as few as four cylinders).

The Hurricane's steering system is a marvel of engineering all by itself.

There are multiple steering modes using four-wheel independent steering.

That means that each wheel can turn separately from the others.

In standard steering mode, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the

ront wheels, which tightens the turning radius and makes for more accurate steering.

In a second mode, the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the front wheels, meaning the

Hurricane can " crab-steer" -- move to the side without changing the direction that it faces.

A third mode, utilizing the "T-Box Zero Steer" mechanism, allows all four wheels to "toe-in" and

changes the drive direction to each wheel so that they alternate. The result? The Jeep Hurricane has a

turning radius of zero. The Hurricane can actually rotate in place.

Jeep Hurricane: Facts and Figures

1. Engine: Two 5.7 liter, 8-cylinder HEMI engines

2. Horsepower: 670 hp

3. Torque: 740 ft-lb

4. Transmission: 5-speed automatic

5. Curb Weight: 3,850 lbs (1,746 kg)

6. Length: 151.8 inches (385.6 cm)

7. Width: 80 inches (203.2 cm)

8. Wheelbase: 108.1 inches (274.6 cm)

9. Wheels: 20x10 inches (51x25 cm)

10. Tires: 305/70R20 (all four)

11. 0-60 mph (97 kph): 4.9 seconds

St. Valentine's Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favorite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

Seven reasons the world will end in 2012

Scientific experts from around the world are genuinely predicting that five years from now, all life on Earth could well finish.Some are saying it'll be humans that set it off. Others believe that a natural phenomenon will be the cause. And the religious folks are saying it'll be God himself who presses the stop button...

1. Mayan Calendar

The first mob to predict 2012 as the end of the world were the Mayans, a bloodthirsty race that were good at two things: Building highly accurate astrological equipment out of stone and
Sacrificing Virgins.

Thousands of years ago they managed to calculate the length of the lunar moon as 329.53020 days, only 34 seconds out. The Mayan calendar predicts that the Earth will end on December 21, 2012. Given that they were pretty close to the mark with the lunar cycle, it's likely they've got the end of the world right as well.

2. Sun Storms

Solar experts from around the world monitoring the sun have made a startling discovery: our sun is in a bit of strife. The energy output of the sun is, like most things in nature, cyclic, and it's supposed to be in the middle of a period of relative stability. However, recent solar storms have been bombarding the Earth with so much radiation energy, it's been knocking out power grids and destroying satellites. This activity is predicted to get worse, and calculations suggest it'll reach its deadly peak sometime in 2012

3. The Atom Smasher

Scientists in Europe have been building the world's largest particle accelerator. Basically its a 27km tunnel designed to smash atoms together to find out what makes the Universe tick. However, the mega-gadget has caused serious concern, with some scientists suggesting that it's properly even a bad idea to turn it on in the first place. They're predicting all manner of deadly results, including mini black holes. So when this machine is fired up for its first serious experiment in 2012, the world could be crushed into a super-dense blob the size of a basketball.

4. The Bible says...

If having scientists warning us about the end of the world isn't bad enough,religious folks are getting in on the act aswell. Interpretations of the Christian Bible reveal that the date for Armageddon, the final battle between Good an Evil, has been set down for 2012. The I Ching, also known as the Chinese book of Changes, says the same thing, as do various sections of the Hindu teachings..

5. Super Volcano

Yellowstone National Park in the United States is famous for its thermal springs and Old Faithful geyser. The reason for this is simple - it's sitting on top of the world's biggest volcano, and geological experts are beginning to get nervous sweats. The Yellowstone volcano has a pattern of erupting every 650,000 years or so, and we're many years overdue for an explosion that will fill the atmosphere with ash, blocking the sun and plunging the Earth into a frozen winter that could last up to 15,000 years. The pressure under the Yellowstone is building steadily, and geologists have set 2012 as a likely date for the big bang.

6. The Physicists

This one's case of bog-simple maths mathematics. Physicists at Berekely Uni have been crunching the numbers. and they've determined that the Earth is well overdue for a major catastrophic event. Even worse, they're claiming their calculations prove, that we're all going to die, very soon - while also saying their prediction comes with a certainty of 99 percent- and 2012 just happens to be the best guess as to when it occurs.

7. Slip-Slop-Slap- BANG!

We all know the Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field that sheilds us from most of the sun's radiation. What you might not know is that the magnetic poles we call north and south have a nasty habit of swapping places every 750,000 years or so - and right now we're about 30,000 years overdue. Scientists have noted that the poles are drifting apart roughly 20-30kms each year, much faster than ever before, which points to a pole-shift being right around the corner. While the pole shift is underway, the magnetic field is disrupted and will eventually disappear, sometimes for up to 100 years. The result is enough UV outdoors to crisp your skin in seconds, killing everything it touches