Car Smart: Jaguar sports some new spots

At first glance, there's not much that distinguishes the Jaguar XF from a Ford Fusion or a Volvo S80, but all you need to do is hop inside to see and feel the difference.

Luxury comes from the interior and the driving experience, not the exterior. Long gone is the iconic Jaguar hood ornament as this is not the Jaguar of old. The front of the XF sports an understated honeycomb grille with a Jaguar emblem that matches the center of its 19-inch wheels.

Leather stitching on the dashboard frames a 7-inch touch screen GPS and entertainment system pumping some 825 watts. Bluetooth connects with ease, part of a system that is so easy to use, you may never have to crack open the manual.

Supple leather six-way power seats are cooled for warm summer days and heated for those frigid February mornings. The test XF car is also equipped with a heated steering wheel, which comes in handy while you wait for the engine to warm up from freezing temperatures.

Paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel take the optional 3-liter supercharged V6 XF from a sports car to a race car experience. This 8-speed all-wheel-drive car craves speed and loves to corner, so care needs to be taken to avoid the occasional police escort. An ASL mode limits the speed and would be a wise choice for those who would like to ward off the blue-light special.

The XF rides low to the ground and strikes the delicate balance between feeling every pebble and being too cushy. Responsive steering and great sight lines make driving this car quite enjoyable.

An unexpected feature is the ECO mode, which takes some getting used to, but saves some gas money and the environment. It's an awkward sensation that makes the XF feel as though it has stalled. The ECO mode shuts the car off at lights and when stopped in traffic, then fires the car up when it's time to go. With the XF averaging 16 mpg in the city and 26 on the highway, the ECO mode will come in handy.

A modern cockpit feel is enhanced by a pop-up drive shifter, which at first seems over the top, but soon becomes second nature to the driver. All the drive options are right at your fingertips in James Bond-style.

With an MSRP of $58,725 as tested, there aren't many trade-offs with the exception that there's just not that much space. The trunk is small and the back seat lacks the legroom of Jaguars past, but then again this is not a Jaguar of old.

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Victims’ lawyer blasts GM, FEDS

A Texas lawyer representing the families of more than 60 people killed and 600 seriously injured in accidents allegedly caused by faulty ignition switches in General Motors vehicles criticized the automaker and the federal regulatory agency that fined it $35 million yesterday for taking more than a decade to disclose the defect in millions of cars.

"Thirty-five million dollars is pennies in a fountain, less then 1 percent of GM's total net worth and cash on hand," said Robert C. Hilliard, whose clients include a Boston College graduate assistant football coach whose sister was killed while driving a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which levied the fine, "has always been seen as a toothless tiger, a joke inside the walls of the big car companies," Hilliard said. "This is a complete victory for GM ... NHTSA needs to speak on behalf of the memories of my clients' loved ones ... It needs to order these defective cars parked now."

Although the maximum fine from safety regulators was doubled to $35 million this year, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx urged Congress to raise it to $300 million.

Phil Trautwein, the coach whose 19-year-old sister, Sarah, was killed five years ago when her car veered off a South Carolina highway at 8 a.m. and hit a tree, went a step further.

"We want criminal charges against GM," Trautwein told the Herald, urging people to join the more than 109,000 others calling for that in a petition on Change.org/GM.

The nation's largest auto-maker already is the subject of a criminal probe by the U.S. Justice Department, as well as a civil investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

NHTSA also is fining the company $7,000 a day for failing to answer 107 questions about the ignition-switch recalls by April 3.

GM has acknowledged knowing since at least 2001 that the switches in its Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and other compact cars could turn off without warning, disabling the power steering and brakes, as well as the air bags.

But although automakers are required by law to report safety-related problems within five days, it was not until February that the company began recalling 2.6 million of the cars.

"GM's ultimate goal is to create an exemplary process and produce the safest cars for our customers," CEO Mary Barra said in a statement yesterday. "They deserve no less."

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Home Smart: By the banks of the river Charles

This Dover home sits high above the Charles River and takes full advantage of the views from a living room, sunroom, bedroom and outdoor rear decks.

While the 1953 clapboard home has a blocky-looking exterior, the home's interior was completely renovated from 2008-2010 with a redone foyer and kitchen, new windows, sliding glass doors and insulation, and upgraded electric and plumbing.

The highlight of the home is a renovated vaulted living room with beams, a picture window on one side and glass sliding doors out to a large deck that overlooks the river. Another glass slider leads out to a koi pond and fountain fashioned out of an in-ground gunite swimming pool.

The open kitchen/dining area has granite counters and an island and it leads out to an enclosed sunroom with great Charles River views over a private, rural area of the waterway.

The renovations have an artistic flair, with contemporary light fixtures throughout the house. The living room wood fireplace has been redone with decorative tile. The house's bathrooms are all updated with marble floors, vanities, showers and vessel sinks — and one half bath even has an alabaster vanity.

The master bedroom suite is on the first floor and offers a bedroom with hardwood floors, a walk-in closet and a light green and white marble spa-style bathroom with a glass-enclosed shower.

There are two additional good-sized hardwood-floored bedrooms on the second floor. One has glass sliders out to a large rear deck overlooking the Charles, and the other has a three-part window. Each has a remodeled marble bathroom nearby. A laundry room off the hallway has a full-size Whirlpool washer and dryer.

The current owners had a new 430-foot artesian well drilled and installed a new water holding tank within the past few years. They've also recently added a water-softening system and new septic tank.

The home's basement has a semi-finished space ideal for a family room or home theater, a connection to an attached two-car garage and an unfinished area for storage that has an updated oil-heating system. There is no central air conditioning.

The surrounding 1 1⁄2 acre lot has been extensively landscaped, and it descends down through a wooded area to the river, where you can tie up a canoe.

Home showcase

• Address: 167 Claybrook Road, Dover
• Bedrooms: Three
• Bathrooms: Three full, one half
• List price: $1,188,000
• Square feet: 2,509
• Price per square foot: $473
• Annual taxes: $13,455
• Location: Three miles to retail and restaurants in Natick Center in one direction and Wellesley Center in the other; about four miles to offerings in Needham Center.
• Built in: 1953; remodeled and updated systems 2008-2013
• Broker: William Raveis agents Shari Sklar Jacobson at 617-512-5169 and Marjorie Gold at 617-549-0181

Pros:

• Large vaulted living room with decorative-tile fireplace
• Sunroom and decks with great Charles River views
• New artesian well, water holding and septic tanks and water-softening system
• Extensively landscaped with koi pond and new retaining walls

Cons:

• Blocky-looking exterior
• No central air conditioning

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Obama to trumpet tourism at Baseball Hall of Fame

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he's heading to the Baseball Hall of Fame to stress how tourism can lead to good-paying American jobs.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama announces that he'll visit the hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, on Thursday. Obama says tourism is an export that can grow the U.S. economy.

Obama is describing the pitch to Congress to spend more to modernize U.S. bridges, roads and ports. He says first-class infrastructure attracts first-class jobs.

Obama warns that almost 700,000 jobs are at risk if Congress doesn't authorize more transportation dollars by the end of summer.

In the Republican address, Sen. John McCain of Arizona says the reported delays in care for veterans is unconscionable. He says Veterans Affairs needs a top-to-bottom overhaul.

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Online:

Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: http://www.youtube.com/user/gopweeklyaddress

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Legos ready for Assembly

More than 3 million Lego pieces went into the building of the Legoland Discovery Center Boston opening next Friday at Somerville's Assembly Row.

Among Merlin Entertainments' 11 Legolands, the 44,000-square-foot attraction has the largest Miniland — 2,404 square feet of regional landmarks made from Lego bricks — and the only interactive tour transporting visitors to Lego's Billund, Denmark, factory.

A 4-D cinema enhances Lego movies with lightning, snow, wind and rain. Kids can step into a chariot for the Kingdom Quest Laser Ride and save a princess, or hop aboard Merlin's Apprentice Ride. They can build and test Lego Racers for speed, construct towers and see how they fare in a simulated earthquake, and climb in the play zone.

"It's just so supportive of hands-on, experiential and educational learning, and family-oriented," Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone said during a visit yesterday. "It's great for the community, and it's great for the region."

Legoland is in Federal Realty Investment Trust's Outlets at Assembly Row that start opening this month — the first phase of the 40-acre, $1.5-billion Assembly Row project.

Somerville students were among the first visitors getting a Legoland preview. "This is awesome," said kindergartner Lukas Lima as he grabbed a joystick in the factory tour room that lets kids fashion their own on-screen Minifigures.

Miniland has detailed Lego representations of 44 area buildings and attractions, from the Paul Revere House and Fenway Park to the Cheers bar and Citgo sign. Details include break-dancers outside Faneuil Hall and, as of yesterday, a sad face emoticon on the TD Garden roof following the Bruins' loss.

A window looks into the workshop of master model builder Ian Coffey, a former New York Senate desk clerk who won a contest to land the job. "I wanted to get out of politics, so I was happy to get (it)," he said. "Obviously, it's a dream job."

Admission is $18 to $22.50, but parents can expect to spend more during the two- to three-hour Legoland stays. Photos from the Kingdom Quest ride are $18 to $35, and there's a cafe and 2,000-square-foot store.

As a safety precaution, adults must be with a child to enter Legoland. AFOLs — "adult fans of Lego" — can visit solo on monthly adult nights that start June 18. They could prove popular: The 15-year-old New England Lego Users Group is one of the largest groups for adult Lego hobbyists.

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The Ticker

Massport OKs Logan garage space funds

The Massachusetts Port Authority board yesterday approved a partial project budget of $20 million to fund work on adding up to 2,050 parking spaces at Logan International Airport.

Massport will start construction later this year on additions to the central and Terminal B garages that will cost an estimated $60 million. The added spaces will be completed in 2015 and 2016.

Hundred subpoenas issued in R.I. probe that includes 38 Studios loan

A lawyer for former Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox told a judge yesterday more than 100 grand jury subpoenas have been issued in what he believes is a wide-ranging investigation by federal and state authorities that includes looking at the failed 38 Studios deal.

The attorney made the comments before Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein as he sought to quash a subpoena issued to Fox for a range of documents related to ex-Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's now-bankrupt company. Silverstein is overseeing a lawsuit brought by the state's economic development agency over the $75 million loan guarantee it gave 38 Studios.

Bay State jobless rate drops, 
but so does the number of jobs

The state unemployment rate fell to 6 percent yesterday, but the state lost jobs for the first time since January.

"It's a bit of a mixed picture," said Alan Clayton Matthews, a professor at Northeastern University.

The state lost 1,600 jobs, and saw the largest drop in the leisure and hospitality sector. Clayton Matthews said that sector can be volatile, and may not reflect the economy's true direction.

"The payroll survey was very weak this month, but it's not indicative of a weakening trend in the economy," he said.

Today

Commerce Department releases housing starts for April.

THE SHUFFLE

Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc., a leader in the fields of cancer metabolism and inborn errors of metabolism, announced the appointment of Chris Bowden, M.D.to the newly created position of chief medical officer. He will oversee global clinical development and regulatory initiatives. Bowden, who brings more than 17 years of experience in clinical drug development, including the approval of several cancer medicines, was previously vice president, product development oncology, franchise lead at Genentech Inc.

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FCC passes proposed rules for Web ‘fast lane’

The Federal Communications Commission yesterday voted to take the first step to set new rules that would allow Internet service providers to charge companies for faster delivery of their content.

The 3-2 vote on the proposed rules governing net neutrality came after a federal court in January tossed the agency's previous rules.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler appeared to walk back on some of the original proposals for a "fast lane" for content, saying the Internet should remain open, and not be divided into the have and have-nots.

"I will not allow the national asset of an open Internet to be compromised," Wheeler said.

Still, some have said the proposed rules could stifle innovation and hurt startups who are not able to pay for priority service.

"The FCC has to make sure that the Internet remains an open platform for innovators, especially those that don't have the muscle to negotiate with Verizon and Comcast," said Andy Palmer, an entrepreneur and investor in Cambridge.

The Internet Association, which represents companies including Google and Facebook, said it will "advocate for the FCC to use its full legal authority to enforce rules that lead to an open Internet."

The rules now enter a 120-day public comment period, before FCC commissioners revise the proposal and vote again.

"It seems to me the chairman has a very fine line to walk," said Daniel Lyons, a law professor at Boston College. "The question is which way is the chairman going to steer the ship. Frankly, I'm not sure."

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Foes: Casino panel colluded

Casino opponents say a lawyer for the state Gaming Commission colluded with Mohegan Sun to torpedo the Hub's claim as a host community, an assertion the commissioner leading the deliberations on the Boston-area casino license called "absurd."

"The idea that we can't ask questions of our applicants and find out what is in the application, and what they mean by parts of the applications, is absurd," said James McHugh, who assumed the role of chairman on the Boston license decision after Stephen Crosby recused himself last week. "We have to be able to do that."

In a letter filed yesterday with the state Inspector General, Matt Cameron, a lawyer for No Eastie Casino, said an April 28 phone call by a commission lawyer to a Mohegan lawyer to discuss a Suffolk Downs lease provision "was inappropriate on its face under the commonly-understood standards applicable to any impartial tribunal's dealings with parties before it."

The call was followed by the striking of the lease provision that would have allowed Suffolk Downs — who would be landlords to a Mohegan casino on the property's Revere side — to require Mohegan to also manage the racetrack on the Boston side. This, Cameron said, could have been used to argue Boston is a host community to the casino. The commission voted May 8 to deny Boston host status drawing criticism from Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who hasn't closed the door on a lawsuit to settle the question.

McHugh described the purpose of the commission's April 28 call to Mohegan to communicate that "you ought to be prepared to talk to us about that provision at (the May 8) meeting."

Cameron said he believes the call was an attempt to quash Boston's host claims.

"I don't see why they should be able to influence the outcome, which is what this is," Cameron said.

The commission yesterday approved a schedule that would see them decide between Mohegan Sun's Revere plan and Wynn Resorts' Everett plan as early as Aug. 29. Meanwhile, Crosby said yesterday he will not bow to calls that he resign from the commission due to ties to an owner of the Everett casino land and his attending opening day at Suffolk Downs.

"I've thought it through, and I've talked about it with the commissioners, and we have all agreed that there is absolutely no reason on earth to do that," Crosby said. "Sure, I thought about it, and it's not gonna happen."

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City Council OKs ‘Level 4’ infection research at BU biolab

A controversial Boston University lab got the go-ahead from the Boston City Council yesterday to conduct research on the most dangerous life-threatening infectious diseases such as Ebola.

The council voted 8-5 not to bar BU's National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories from "Biosafety Level 4" research at its Albany Street site in the South End.

The outcome was disappointing, said City Councilor Charles Yancey, who filed the ordinance to ban the research. "Many other surrounding communities have banned Level 4 research to protect their residents from a potential risk," Yancey said. "I don't believe that the city of Boston is prepared to deal with an emergency resulting from the release of a pathogen."

The BU lab scored another victory yesterday when a Suffolk Superior Court judge ruled against 10 residents fighting the lab.

"We presented a great deal of scientific data and evidence to both the state court and City Council which demonstrated (BSL-4) research can be done safely in the city ... and we're pleased that (it) was convincing," BU spokesman Steve Burgay said.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement that he's committed to working with BU and the neighborhood on "twin goals of furthering Boston's position as a leader in the life sciences, while ensuring the safety and security of our residents."

The City Council decision was crucial to the state's biotech industry, said Massachusetts Biotechnology Council CEO Robert Coughlin. "If the city of Boston banned BSL-4 labs, it would have a dramatic chilling effect on our reputation," he said.

The BSL-4 research still is subject to a permitting process with the Boston Public Health Commission.

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Riots in Vietnam leave 1 Chinese dead, 90 injured

HANOI, Vietnam — A 1,000-strong mob stormed a Taiwanese steel mill in Vietnam overnight, killing at least one Chinese worker and injuring 90, Taiwan's ambassador said Thursday, the first deadly incident in a wave of anti-China protests prompted by Beijing's deployment of an oil rig in disputed seas.

The spreading unrest is emerging as a major challenge for Vietnam's authoritarian and secretive leadership, and is damaging the country's reputation as an investment destination. Companies from Taiwan, many of which employ significant numbers of Chinese nationals, are bearing the brunt of the protests and violence.

The overnight riot took place at a mill in Ha Tinh province in central Vietnam, 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Hanoi, operated by the conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group, one of the biggest foreign investors in Vietnam, according to Ambassador Huang Chih-peng and local hospital officials.

Huang, who spoke to a member of the management team at the mill Thursday morning, said rioters lit fires at several buildings and hunted down the Chinese workers, but did not target the Taiwanese management. He said the head of the provincial government and its security chief were at the mill during the riot but did not "order tough enough action."

He said he was told one Chinese citizen was killed in the riots, while another died of natural causes during the unrest. He said around 90 others were injured

A doctor at the Ha Tinh General Hospital said about 50 people, most of them Chinese nationals, were admitted to the hospital Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. He didn't give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Huang said the rioters left the complex at 6 a.m., but he feared they "might be going for a rest and could come back."

Anti-Chinese sentiment is never far from the surface in Vietnam, but it has surged since Beijing deployed an oil rig into disputed waters in the South China Sea on May 1. The government protested the move as a violation of the country's sovereignty and sent a flotilla of boats to the area, which continue to bump and collide with Chinese ones guarding the rig, raising the risk of conflict.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, mobs burned and looted scores of foreign-owned factories in southern Vietnam near Ho Chi Minh City, believing they were Chinese-run, but many were actually Taiwanese or South Korean. Authorities said they had detained more than 400 people.

Ambassador Huang said the mill in Ha Tinh is Vietnam's largest foreign-invested project, and one of the largest integrated steel mills in Southeast Asia. It employs 1,000 Chinese nationals, he said. Vietnamese Prime Minster Nguyen Tan Dung attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the complex in 2012.

Low wages, especially compared to next-door China, have been driving investment in Vietnam over the last years.

Investors and analysts said that if order wasn't restored quickly, then investor confidence could take a hit.

"If this madness continues and spreads out in the next couple of days to other parts of Vietnam, definitely it will have a very damaging effect on exporters, because they might not be able to commit to their delivery day," said Willy Lin, who heads a Hong Kong trade group representing knitwear manufacturers and exporters.

Hong Kong-based contract clothing maker Lever Style, which started outsourcing production to Vietnamese factories three years ago, has sent some Chinese quality assurance and technical support staff working at those factories back to China as a safety precaution, said CEO Stanley Szeto.

"You always have these little hiccups, no matter where you go," Szeto said. "Other than our staff, we're not really affected."

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Associated Press writer Kelvin Chan in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

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