SEOUL — North Korea’s representatives assured the South Korean government Tuesday that the country’s “cutting-edge” nuclear weapons are aimed only at the United States, not at its neighbors, as they struck a deal to send athletes to next month’s Winter Olympics and to reopen a military hotline.

The sobering words underscored how, despite the rare agreement with the South, Pyongyang continues to assert its right to fend off the United States with nuclear arms.

Nevertheless, South Korea achieved its immediate goal of bringing North Korean athletes to compete in what Seoul has dubbed the “peace games.” South Korean officials portrayed this agreement as a first step in a significant improvement in bilateral relations. The question, analysts said, is whether the North will pursue this opening with any sincerity.

South Korea signaled that it was willing to suspend some of its direct sanctions on North Korea to facilitate a Northern delegation’s travel to the Olympics, which will open Feb. 9 in the South’s PyeongChang region.

2017 BMW i8 review

The world first got a glimpse of the BMW i8 at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show and the plug-in hybrid performance car hasn't changed much since then. The i8 was never meant to be a high-volume car, but demand was so high that in 2015 the company doubled their daily production numbers to twenty units to meet demand. Today there are fewer than 5,000 of them on the road, so consider yourself lucky if you see one. Consider yourself even luckier if you get to drive one.  

BMW's first foray into a performance hybrid sports car has all the trappings of a brutally fun ride: gorgeous exterior, three power sources and a chassis willing to dive into turns. However, it also comes with an exorbitant price tag and a powerplant that only kicks into fun long after the driver requests it.

A mid-mounted 1.5-liter three cylinder turbocharged engine puts 228 horsepower to the rear wheels, while two electric motors, one mounted near the engine, one living up front, throws power to the front. Combined, the powertrain kicks out 357 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels. Extra go-go juice is stored in a 7.1-kWh battery, good for 15 miles of all-electric range. Total driving range is 330 miles and the EPA gives the i8 an MPGe rating of 76 in hybrid mode or 28 miles per gallon combined using just the gasoline engine.

The good news here is that you never have to plug in the i8 or visit a public charging station if you don't want to. The gas engine can function as an on-board generator, while regenerative braking captures energy as well. However, you can recharge in two and a half hours from a level 2 charging station or four and a half hours from a standard 110-volt outlet.

Behind the wheel, the i8 is both ridiculously fun and a tad bit frustrating, all at the same time. As with many performance cars these days, there are multiple driving modes. Comfort is great for toddling around town or you can go all-electric in eDrive. Eco Pro allows for the gas engine to kick in, but limits electrical features like HVAC output to save as much juice as possible.

Honda CBR 300R

Honda unveiled the 2014 CBR 300R, for the first time, at the China International Motorcycle Trade exhibition in mid-October 2013. It was again exhibited at the 2013 EICMA event at Milan, Italy.

The CBR 300R is a bigger version of the CBR 250R. The length of the CBR 300 R is 2035 mm, width is 720mm and height is 1120mm. When we compare it to the CBR 250 R, the length is increased by 3 mm, width is same and height has decreased by 7mm. Honda has also increased the wheelbase of CBR300 by 13mm to 1380mm. The ground clearance of both CBR 300 R and CBR 250 R is the same, which is 145mm. Both the bikes get the same wheels- 110/70-17M/C for the front and 140/70-17M/C at the rear.

The Yamaha R15 has been on sale in India since 2008 and is the Japanese bike maker’s premium 150cc sports bike. Underpinned by the same deltabox frame from the v-ixxion and eschewing a design from the larger R1, it has been popular with those who want efficiency with a whole load of sportiness. Yamaha facelifted the bike in 2011 and dubbed the new version as R15 V 2.0. 

At the heart of the R15 is a 150cc single cylinder unit that produces 17bhp and 15Nm of torque. The engine transmits power via a six-speed gearbox and a chain drive. It gets telescopic forks in the front and a monocross unit at the back. When it was launched, the R15 was one of the first bikes to offer a rear disc brake and continues to do so even on the facelifted model. The front unit is a dual piston 267mm disc while the rear gets a dual piston 220mm unit. Standard features include pilot lamps.

Bajaj Auto announces 50 per cent Pulsar production shift to Aurangabad

Things haven’t been going smooth at Bajaj’s Chakan plant for the past one year as the management and the workforce have been regularly engaged in a tussle. In fact, last year the plant was shut down for close to 50 days as workers had gone on a strike. Bajaj Auto had suffered huge losses at that time as the lockdown had affected its sales. With the workers union announcing another similar strike, Bajaj Auto has decided to shift close to 50 per cent of the Pulsar from its Chakan plant in Pune to the Waluj plant in Aurangabad to avoid loss in sales. Before this shift, the Waluj plant used to produce 25 per cent of the entire Pulsar range production.

Company officials haven’t confirmed yet whether this shift is permanent or a temporary one. This decision will, however, depend on the positive outcome of the negotiation between the company management and the workers. The Chakan plant manufactured 80,000 units of the Pulsar range on a monthly basis. This figure has now dropped to 45,000 units per month. Bajaj has announced that it will not shift the production of the Avenger and the KTM range from its Chakan plant. Currently 5,000 to 6,000 units of the Avenger and KTM range is produced at the Chakan plant on a monthly basis.

Suzuki Gixxer : Detailed Review

The new Suzuki Gixxer has been specifically designed for India and its neighbouring regions with the focus being on styling, fuel efficiency and cost effective production. And the bike scores in pretty much all these aspects. The Suzuki Gixxer is delightfully striking with sharp character lines. Most of these lines also have a purpose, which makes the design twice as nice. The muscular and stylishly sculpted fuel tank has great knee recess offering excellent grip giving the Gixxer a big bike feel and also has the segment standard 12-litre fuel capacity. There’s also the currently trending ‘3D’ Suzuki logo on the tank with edgy tank scoops bearing the Gixxer nomenclature.

It’s a street bike, so the Suzuki Gixxer gets a smart triangular headlight with a bikini fairing. The well chiseled side panels carry a trendy matt black and metallic gold combination. Another unique design aspect is its stout dual-type exhaust, which the company has used for the first time on sub-250cc motorcycle. Suzuki claims that this exhaust design isn’t just for show, but actually helps the process of scavenging.

TVS Apache RTR 150

TVS Apache RTR 150 where RTR stands for Racing Throttle Response which means RTR can make instant acceleration which can climb on 60 km/h in just 4.8 seconds without pillion. It makes RTR 150 is a real speed monster no doubt. With 15.2 Bhp @ 8500 rpm maximum power, Apache RTR 150 is regarded as one of the fastest motorcycle in our country as well as the top product of TVS in Bangladesh.