The Golden Rose

The Golden Rose

The Golden Rose is a gold ornament, which popes of the Catholic Church have traditionally blessed annually. It is occasionally conferred as a token of reverence or affection. Recipients have included churches and sanctuaries, royalty, military figures, and governments.

TOYOTA

TOYOTA
There are few things auto buyers like more than incentives, but for the industry they are the profit-eating menace that helped drive two of Detroit’s Big Three makers into bankruptcy.

The gold standard

The gold standard

The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of gold. Three distinct kinds of gold standard can be identified. The gold specie standard is a system in which the monetary unit is associated with circulating gold coins, or with the unit of value defined in terms of one particular circulating gold coin in conjunction with subsidiary coinage made from a lesser valuable metal. The gold exchange standard may involve only the circulation of silver coins, or coins made of other metals, but the authorities will have guaranteed a fixed exchange rate with another country that is on the gold standard, hence creating a de facto gold standard, in that the value of the silver coins has a fixed external value in terms of gold that is independent of the inherent silver value. The gold bullion standard is a system in which gold coins do not actually circulate as such, but in which the authorities have agreed to sell gold bullion on demand at a fixed price.

GOLD

GOLD
GOLD, gold is a transition metal and can form trivalent and univalent cations in solutions. Compared with other metals, pure gold is chemically least reactive, but it is attacked by aqua regia (a mixture of acids), forming chloroauric acid, but not by the individual acids, and by alkaline solutions of cyanide. Gold dissolves in mercury, forming amalgam alloys, but does not react with it. Gold is insoluble in nitric acid, which dissolves silver and base metals. This property is exploited in the gold refining technique known as "inquartation and parting". Nitric acid has long been used to confirm the presence of gold in items, and this is the origin of the colloquial term "acid test", referring to a gold standard test for genuine value.

The Vauxhall Vectra

The Vauxhall Vectra has been a common sight on British roads since its introduction in 1995. Whether buying, selling, policing, commuting or holidaying, drivers have covered millions of miles in Vauxhall’s saloon.

So its all-new replacement, the Vauxhall Insignia had better be good.

It certainly looks far prettier than the Luton stalwart we’re used too. But can it cope with the daily grind? We drove one for a week to find out.

Fiesta

The new Fiesta has a dashing new design with the unmistakeable ‘Ford face’ – large headlights, a lower grille and sleek lines. It’s bigger than its predecessor but also 40kg lighter. The model we tested had a set of 15-inch four-spoke alloy wheels which are a £100 option over the standard eight-spokes found on the Zetec model. Entry level models get steel wheels while sportier Fiestas get a set of 16’s.

Honda

Honda has revealed a zero emissions three-wheeled concept vehicle at the 2010 Geneva International Motor Show.

The revolutionary 3R-C shows what a minimal urban transport vehicle for one person might look like before too long.

The battery powered electric drivetrain is mounted low in the chassis to keep the centre of gravity low and thus improve stability.