Hasta La Gadget!

Chris Pine and his model girlfriend Dominique Piek have reportedly called it quits.

The “Star Trek” actor and his “Sports Illustrated” lady have been together for almost a year and made their public debut at last May’s Cannes Film Festival. And yet, Pine has never spoken publicly about his relationship with the 27-year-old South African beauty.

Sources tell E! News that though Pine and Piek have split, “it was mutual.” Us Weekly confirms that “They both needed their space. She has been very busy with her modeling work and traveling. He’s got ‘Star Trek’ and his other projects keeping him busy.”

Read More…
More on Celebrity Couples

Vines aren’t exactly a new from of high art or anything. But while poorly edited Vine’s of your friends’ cats doing nothing are probably what you see most often, there are some pretty good ones, with a bit more meat to ’em. These Tribeca Vine Competition winners are a pretty good sample. They’re so good you might even go “huh!” More »

Honda has issued a recall for 43,782 of its 2012-2013 Honda Fit Sport vehicles all across the United States. The recalls has been issued so that the company can upgrade the vehicles’ Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) software. The current software on the 2012-2013 Honda Fits may function improperly, allowing Honda Fits with certain tires to exceed the yaw rates allowed by the U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).

Honda says that owners of a 2012-2013 Honda Fit can take their vehicles to an authorized Honda dealer to check up on their vehicles. Their software will be updated free of charge. Vehicle owners are expected to receive their recall notifications in the middle of May. Vehicle owners can also visit Honda’s recall website to see if their Honda Fit is affected by the system software issues.

This isn’t the first recall that Honda issued this month. Earlier this month, Honda, alongside Toyota and Nissan, all recalled a total of 3 million vehicles due to a potential airbag issue that causes the airbag to deploy abnormally. The improperly deployed airbags could have resulted in injury and worse, death, if the issues were not fixed. In total, Honda recalled 1.14 million vehicles that could have airbags improperly installed.

In the following week, Honda also issued a recall for around 204,500 of its CR-V, Odyssey, and Acura RDX vehicles due to an issue with their braking system. In temperatures below freezings, those vehicles would allow their drivers to shift even when they aren’t pressing on their brakes. It hasn’t been a good month for Honda so far, but hopefully this Honda Fit recall will be the last recall it will have to make (at least for a while). Be sure to check out our Cars Hub for the latest news on the automotive industry.

[via Honda]

Honda recalls 44,000 Honda Fit Sport vehicles to upgrade security systems is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

General Motors will soon lose its title as North America’s leader in rechargeable auto sales and Tesla will take its throne. Shanna Hendriks, spokeswoman for Tesla, stated that the company is expected to report a minimum of 4,750 deliveries of its Model S vehicles in North America when it releases its first quarter results on May 8th. That number will surpass the 4,421 Chevrolet Volts that GM delivered as well as the 3695 Nissan Leafs that were delivered.

Tesla started selling its Model S vehicles back in the middle of 2012, and it has plans of delivering 20,000 of its vehicles this year. So far its shipments are limited to North American consumers. Customers are able to purchase a Model S thanks to Tesla’s financing tool that will allow customers to pick up a Model S for virtually no down-payment and with monthly payments of $500 a month for 36 months. Elon Musk also promises customers that they can sell their Model S back after 36 months for the “same residual value percentage as the iconic Mercedes S Class.”

However, despite Tesla’s growth in sales last quarter, it still won’t reach the sales of GM and Nissan, who both sold 30,000 of their rechargeable vehicles last year. Tesla, being a small business, is limited to sales in only the United States and Canada, and until it can sell its Model S vehicles to other countries, it may have a tough time. According to one analyst, its small size will put it under financial pressure. John Wolkonowicz, an auto analyst in Boston, states,

“Tesla’s small size, relative to GM and Nissan, will keep the electric-car maker under financial pressure. The auto business is all about capital intensity, you have to spend money to keep improving your products and develop new ones. A small little auto company like Tesla, I just don’t think they can do it.”

Regardless, Tesla is doing well so far. The company says that in its 10-year history, it will be reporting its first-quarter profit on May 8th. The company also plans on repaying its loan from the Department of Energy 5 years in advance. Tesla’s vehicles appeal to customers not just because of their build quality, but also because of the company’s policies that assure that its customers will receive high quality service when purchasing their vehicles. Alongside the financing tool, Tesla will also provide a complete warranty program that will cover “essentially anything that happens to your vehicle”. The program will last for 8-years after you purchase your vehicle.

[via Bloomberg]

Tesla Model S surpasses GM Chevrolet Volt in sales is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve already seen a furry iPhone 5 case. But if you love plants more than Wookies, a Japanese company called Ag Ltd. has something for you. They’re making what they call the World Parks series, which are iPhone 5 cases that are modeled after grassy parks.

The first World Parks case is modeled after Yoyogi Park, a historic landmark in Tokyo, Japan. Ag Ltd. achieved the grassy look and texture by adhering five different colors of fibers to the case using a process called electrostatic flocking.

The first batch is composed of only 100 units. It will go on sale by the end of this month in Japanese stores for ¥3,980 (~$41 USD). If you don’t get your hands on one, don’t worry – Ag. Ltd. is planning on mass producing succeeding batches, which will be modeled on other famous parks in the world including the world famous Central Park in New York and the Hyde Park in London. I wonder if we’ll be able to tell which case was modeled after which park.

[via Diginfo via Akihabara News]