WheelTronix

On Friday Toyota turned over its first Prius electric hybrid to Portland State University for trying. Michael Rouse who is the Vice President of Philanthropy for Toyota USA said
“It’s a demonstration phase to check the viability of this new technology.” He further added that “You guys have a sensitivity to mixed mobility and we believe a vehicle like a Prius plug in is going to be part of that future.” Portland along with five other places was selected to test drive and assess the cars in all kinds of weather situations.

Merely 600 of the Prius plug-in have been developed.  And in spite of Toyota’s latest recall problems there is no cause for fear of safety. Rouse stated that, “Toyota is going to great lengths to ensure and make sure that our customers understand that our vehicles are very, very safe.”

It is assumed that the Toyota hybrid plug-in can go approximately 13 to 15 miles on a single charge. The ultimate price of the hybrid plug-in will be decided only after the test. If Toyota decides to put the plug-in on the market, the earliest would be in 2012.

Tata is producing it’s first-ever MUV the Indicruz. The Indicruz will be a competitor to the Toyota Innova and the Mahindra Xylo. Tata’s car range will include some more variety in addition to this Multi-Utility Vehicle.
The Indicruz is founded on the platform of the Tata Safari and will boast the same 2.2-litre engine barricade which powers the Safari.

The Tata Indicruz has the 32-bit 2.2-litre 16 valve DICOR engine. The engine has 2 versions. One which develops 140bhp and the other develops 120bhp. The Indicruz will be powered by 140bhp.

(more…)

Aston Martin the British sports car manufacturer has stunned the world by revealing a new city car. This car is known as the Cygnet and it is almost based on the current Toyota iQ. The Cygnet is projected to show off a lavish new inside.

The Cygnet will get a 1.0- and 1.33-litre engine which means that the firms’ super cars could have low-polluting sub 100g/km CO2 bidding.

Ulrich Bez the boss of Aston has explained this fundamental different approach as: “Now is the right time for Aston Martin to take this first bold step to embark on this special project. This concept – akin to an exclusive tender to a luxury yacht – will allow us to apply Aston Martin design language, craftsmanship and brand values to a completely new segment of the market.”

With regard to price the firm has not yet revealed anything so far but hearsays are that Aston Martin will charge as much as £20,000.

General Motors Corp registered for insolvency on Monday. This has forced the 100-year-old automaker which was formerly a sign of American economic strength and dynamism into the wilderness of a doubtful age of government ownership. This is the third largest bankruptcy filing in the history of the US and biggest ever in US manufacturing.

This filing of bankruptcy in order to render an extra taxpayer fund of $30 billion is an enormous speculation for the Obama administration. This was done in order to bring in some restructuring for the automaker.

The immediate allegation is that GM will get smaller and thus reducing its market share to a lesser competitive structure. This will give an opportunity for rivals like Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai to take advantage of the situation and rise up and affix their stamp in the auto industry.

A survey was conducted and it was found that the UK’s electricity supply system and national grid has the capacity to deal with an increase in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The every day peak-use increase is expected to be less than 2%. This is measured under the assumption that electric and plug-in vehicles account for 10% of all vehicles on Britain’s roads.

(more…)

One of Toyota‘s ultra-productive world cars the Verso, unveils as a new 3rd generation model at the 2009 Geneva International Motor Show. The MPV has changed a lot since it was last launched.
The Easy Flat-7 system has been made easier to operate. The 5 rear seats can be individually folded up with a single pull of a lever to give in more space. Toyota says there are 32 permutations which can be done with Easy Flat-7. Characteristically there are more cargo space and slots in the Verso than can be seen in a mountain climber’s backpack.
When the Verso is set in motion in the UK in April three engines will be available, two of them petrol powered. Toyota uses LED technology for lighting up the foot wells for gentler access to the interior. The gear lever releases space in the centre console as it is located close to the steering wheel. The large panoramic sunroof contributes to the feeling of spaciousness in the Verso.

Toyota has eventually exposed the Mk3 Prius, which is the nearest rival to the Honda Insight which is also revealed at Detroit.

The new Prius has a bigger 1.8-litre, 98bhp engine and a total power output of 134bhp. The engine is more proficient than the current 1.6, and also predicts a faster 0-60mph acceleration time of 9.8 seconds.

It has a 3-mode driver-selection system: EV-Drive Mode, giving electric-only propulsion for up to a mile at low speeds, sporty Power Mode and a fuel-careful Eco Mode.
New boasts on offer include a solar moon roof, with solar panels which collect energy to power the ventilation system.

There’s also a remote air conditioning system, parking assistance, LED low-beam headlamps and tail-lights, dynamic cruise control, Toyota’s pre-crash safety system, lane departure warning, a rear-view camera, voice-activated satellite navigation and automatic announcement of disaster services in the event of a smash, an SOS call button and stolen vehicle tracking.
The Mk3 Prius will be on sale this spring; pricing and specification for the UK will be declared nearer to launch.

For the 13th year in a row the Holden Commodore is the best-selling car Down Under.

Though the 51,093 cars sold were less when compared to the Commodore’s peak sales figure of ten years ago 94,642, it was still ahead of the next contender, the Toyota Corolla.
Sales were promoted by the addition of the Sport wagon estate to the array and discounts offered to the tune of $10,000 towards the end of the year.

Toyota, having its manufacturing facilities in Australia, was the best-selling brand by a wide margin. It sold nearly 239,000 vehicles, whereas Holden sold less than 130,500. Ford sold 104,715.

New car sales went down by just 3.6% on 2007′s results, with 1,012,164 vehicles sold. Fiat, Maserati, Ferrari, Volkswagen, Audi and Citroen all recorded large rises.

In Britain, the best-selling car is the Ford Focus and in the US it’s the F-150 pick-up truck.

Toyota has frozen the opening of its new factory in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Though the building work on this all-new facility is said to be virtually complete, the onset of car production has been indefinitely shelved.

The $300 million Tupelo plant was to make the new-generation Prius hybrid for the North American market, supplementing Prius production in Japan.
Production equipment has not yet been installed and Toyota has not confirmed when production will begin. No employees already hired are to be laid off as yet.

Toyota has 7 other factories in North America and has cut down on output at these facilities as its sales have slowed. Its sales are 13.4% down this year, though this decline is less severe than the American average.

Launch of the Mk3 Prius is still scheduled for the Detroit Motor Show next month.

Toyota has a long-term plan to bring in all choices of hybrid cars in all shapes and sizes under the Prius brand. Hybrid cars of Toyota are being separated under a different brand dealership.

Toyota Motor Co is taking into consideration to sell a family of Prius-branded hybrids with devoted areas in franchises to demonstrate the elaborated line-up. At present the Prius is a single model of Toyota dealership but the company wants to offer a succession of derivatives under the Prius brand name including lower cost ones also.
A redesigned Prius will be available after its debut in Detroit in 2009. A smaller hybrid model is also on the way. The new hybrid Honda model will be available for sales in 2010.