2012 Toyota Camry

Automaker continues recovery in 2012

Toyota is showing legitimate signs of recovering from production shortages due to natural disasters in Asia in 2011, with the automaker selling the most vehicles globally in the first quarter of 2012 according to Bloomberg News.

Sales have reached 2.49 million between the Toyota, Lexus, Scion, Hino and Daihatsu divisions in the first three months of 2012 according to a report released by the automaker.

General Motors sits in second at 2.28 million, and Volkswagen AG follows in third with 2.16 million according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

GM and Volkswagen finished first and second in global sales in 2011, with Toyota’s output being limited by an earthquake in Japan and flooding in Thailand.

Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive in Troy, Michigan, tells Bloomberg that the upswing in Toyota’s sales can at least be partly attributed to new products.

“They have a new sense of competitiveness and they certainly are bringing their volume back,” Schuster said. “They have some new product around the world that’s helping, with the new Camry and the Prius family.”

Toyota tells the website being the top automaker in terms of sales isn’t necessarily its main goal.

“Although being No. 1 is not the main goal for us, it’s nice to see because hopefully it shows we’re on the right track,” said Jim Wiseman, Toyota’s North American vice president of external affairs. “With customers reacting so positively to all of the new and updated products we’re introducing this year, we’re optimistic the good momentum will continue.”

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Ted Lalka

By Harry Pegg

When Ted Lalka, vice-president of product planning and marketing for Subaru Canada, first signed on with the company 23 years ago, it wasn’t really with the idea of a long-term career.

“My wife and I owned a Subaru and we loved it,” he says. “I applied because I wanted to meet the people who built the car.

“And I ended up with a job in human resources and administration.”

Lalka was the first person hired by Subaru Auto Canada.

“When Subaru first came to Canada, the distributorship was owned by Larry Barnes from Boise, Idaho,” says Lalka. “In 1989, Fuji Heavy Industries bought the distributorship and relocated the headquarters from Richmond, B.C., to Mississauga, ON, the idea being that a more central location would make it easier to centralize the company’s service effort.”

Since then there have been a number of ups and downs with the brand.

“In 1994, sales dropped from 7,000 units to about 4,000 when we tried to compete head-to-head with Toyota and Honda,” he says. “We couldn’t sustain that.

“At that time we sold a combination of front-wheel-drive and all-wheel drive cars. Then, in 1995, the decision was made to go exclusively with AWD. Then we introduced this funny-looking jacked-up station wagon which became the Outback.”

From those early beginnings, Subaru sales figures climbed to over 27,000 vehicles in 2011, down slightly because of the effects of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Introducing the BRZ, a joint project with Toyota, brings Subaru back to a two-wheel drive vehicle and the first rear-wheel drive it has ever offered in Canada. It also provides an opportunity to demonstrate the advantages of the Boxer engine, says Lalka, “and it’s a sports car in the true classic sense.”

“There’s a market out there for the car – people looking for something different from the WRX and STi.”

Where does he see the company going?

“We have a better understanding of what we’re all about,” he says, “an interesting alternative to mainstream brands.”

He says the leaders like Ford, GM, Toyota and Honda will always appeal to the majority “but there are some people who like to have some other options and are willing to try something different – if you can show them the benefits.”

He cites the Boxer engine design, long suspension travel, all-wheel-drive and safety.

“We’re not going to sell as many vehicles as the others, but there are more people looking for personalization or they don’t want to drive the same thing others are driving.

“They are finding that alternative in Subaru and our sales are steadily increasing.”

He says Subaru could increase sales considerably by adopting aggressive tactics like bid discounts and the like, “but we will continue to offer fair pricing.”

“We are in business to make money,” he says, “and that is not a bad thing. Our dealers and our workers make money, meaning they can support their families and make purchases that benefit the rest of the economy and they know the company will be around for a long time.”

He points out that he can’t go to the bank based on market share; it’s profit that counts.

Market share is an ego thing, he claims. “You can have a huge market share, but if you’re not making money on those units, you aren’t going to sustain the business.”

Asked what he’d like his legacy at the company to be, the 56-year-old executive takes a moment.

“First, I guess, is to make sure I leave the company in significantly better shape than when I came into it, but I think that’s happened already. I’d like to leave behind a team that will continue building the company based on the values we currently have.

“I used to think I had all the answers, but I know now that’s not the case. We listen to each other, we hash things out, we debate and we arrive at a decision we think is best for Subaru.”

He points out that at 56, he has “lots of years to go.”

“I still have the energy to take on more challenges,” he says. “I’m always looking at new ways of doing things.

“If you get set in your ways, you should probably move on.”

The government of British Columbia is taking advantage of the province’s abundant natural gas resources by offering $104.5 million in incentives to promote the use of the gas a transportation fuel.

The B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines has announced the Greenhouse Gas Reduction regulation, which advances the adoption and deployment of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in BC. The move is being lauded as a benefit to the province’s economy, environment and industrial transportation.

The bulk of the money ($62 million) goes toward incentives (to fleets who operate natural gas fuelled buses, trucks or ferries), up to $30.5 million on liquefied natural gas stations (new builds or current operations), and the remaining $12 million to compressed natural gas fuelling stations (again, new or current). The program is in effect until March 31, 2017.

“This is a positive step that will promote the use of domestic BC natural gas as a transportation fuel, and generate both environmental and economic benefits for our province and residents,” said David Demers, CEO of Westport Innovations (a leading global supplier of proprietary solutions that allow engines to operate on clean-burning fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), hydrogen, and renewable natural gas (RNG) fuels such as landfill gas and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions). “This program will allow the accelerated adoption of natural gas heavy-duty vehicles.”

The program is meant to displace high carbon fuel with the cleaner-burning natural gas as a transportation fuel in heavy-duty transport vehicles, such as trucks, transit buses, school buses, refuse trucks and marine vessels.

As a benefit to motorists, natural gas is currently 25-40% cheaper than gasoline and diesel, and is proven to produce up to 25% fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional gasoline or diesel vehicles.

Toward that end, the Clean Energy Vehicle program provides up to $2,500 to purchasers of CNG vehicles.

The province requires annual reporting on the specific programs developed under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction initiative to review success and determine if changes are needed.

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Quebecers happiest thanks to low premiums: survey

There are consumers, it turns out, who are satisfied with their auto insurance, and results from a new survey that polled Canadians say Quebecers are the most happy with their insurance, while British Columbians are the least happy.

The survey, which was conducted by Canadian company InsurEye Inc., asked drivers from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec how they feel about their car insurance. Manitoba and B.C., which both use a single, government-run insurance company, fared worst.

In fact, B.C. drivers were unhappy across all three criteria used in the survey – customer service, value for money, and claims service. All insurers were based on an overall five-star scale, and B.C. had the lowest overall ranking, finishing at 3.62/5.

Quebec had the highest overall satisfaction rating at 4.1/5, which could be attributed to the province having the lowest average insurance premiums at $76/month. Quebecers weren’t just happy about their value for money though – they also ranked customer service very high.

Ontario was the province with the third-highest overall satisfaction, with insurance companies scoring 3.88/5. This is despite Ontarians facing the highest premiums in Canada, averaging $149/month, with a quarter of drivers in the province actually paying over $190/month.

InsurEye said that while premiums in Ontario may be high, the result is better claim satisfaction, which Ontarians rank highest of the three criteria.

Saskatchewan’s overall satisfaction finished just ahead of Ontario’s at 3.9/5. InsurEye said both Alberta (3.77/5) and Manitoba (3.75/5) are both showing signs of decreasing customer satisfaction.

“Not having enough competition limits choices and very often translates into a low customer satisfaction,” said InsurEye Inc. Co-Founder Dmitry Mityagin. “As we see, consumers are less concerned about paying too much and more concerned about not having enough choice. Competition motivates insurance companies to listen to the customers and further improve their product offering.”

Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype in racing camouflage undergoing driving trials to sort out the hybrid drivetrain.

Super sports car enters driving trial phase

The long awaited Porsche 918 Spyder is one step close to mass production, with the recent announcement that Porsche has 918 Spyder prototypes on the road for driving trials.

The prototypes are camouflage in a form of tribute to the legendary Porsche 917 race cars. The final car is due to go into production at the end of September 2013, with the first deliveries expected before the end of 2013.

A concept of the future Porsche 918 Spyder super sports car was introduced at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

“What we are doing with the 918 Spyder is redefining driving fun, efficiency and performance,” said Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board Research and Development of Porsche AG.

The 918 Spyder is a plug-in hybrid. The focus of the driving trials is on the interplay between the highly sophisticated individual drive components – a combustion engine and two independent electric motors, one on the front axle and one in the drive line, acting on the rear wheels to give the car an all new (for Porsche) all-wheel drivetrain – and the development of the software to make it all work to the performance driving demands of the Stuttgart company.

The Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype shows the "top pipe" exhaust behind the roll bars, moved from the concept's lower-bodyside location.

The initial expectations are output in excess of 770 hp, and fuel economy in the range of 3.0 litres per 100 km. Part of the success in attaining those goals comes from a lightweight body made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic. Other innovations, such as fully adaptive aerodynamics, adaptive rear-axle steering and a “top pipe” exhaust contribute to the performance and performance look.

Porsche 918 Spyder concept

]]> http://www.autonet.ca/auto-news/new-car-models/2012/05/15/porsche-918-spyder/feed/ 0 2014,918,hybrid,plug-in,Porsche,Spyder “What we are doing with the 918 Spyder is redefining driving fun, efficiency and performance.” “What we are doing with the 918 Spyder is redefining driving fun, efficiency and performance.” Auto News no http://www.autonet.ca/auto-news/my-mechanic/2012/05/15/the-mechanic-tires/ http://www.autonet.ca/auto-news/my-mechanic/2012/05/15/the-mechanic-tires/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 04:55:43 +0000 AutoNews http://blogs.canoe.ca/auto-news/?p=164261 Crunching the numbers on tire sizes

By Dave Redinger

Q: I have to buy tires before summer driving season starts. I’m trying to price them but I don’t understand the sizing. Could you give me a quick explanation as to the meaning? My car is equipped with 185/65R15 tires.

Read another article from The Mechanic

A: Tire sizing is easy once you understand the language. The number 15 represents the size of the wheel diameter in inches. When buying tires, this number has to be adhered to – you can’t mount a “16” tire on a 15-inch rim; it just won’t work.

The 185 represents the width of the tire at the widest point in millimetres. So far it’s straight forward.

The 65 part is the aspect ratio – the height of the tire’s sidewall to the width. In this case the tire is 65% as high as it is wide (doing the math – 120.25 mm).

The aspect ratio and width are variable in that they allow the driver to tune the handling.

A rule of thumb is that wider and lower equals a tighter better handling car with a firmer ride, whereas a taller, narrower tire will give a softer ride and less accurate handling. In either case, don’t vary more than 10% from factory specs or you’ll upset the car’s on board computer. But wait there’s more.

If you intend to get larger wheels, because you have this need to look cool, you have to as closely as possible match the overall height of the wheel/tire package (unless you want to perform extensive body panel surgery); in this case that’s 15 inches plus 120.25 mm (4.734 inches).

Also, make sure you purchase TPS monitors (the sensors that inform the computer as to the individual tire pressures) because moving the old ones usually results in their breaking.

Better still contact a pro you trust and listen to their advice.

Dave Redinger has more than 40 years’ experience as a mechanic and has run his shop, Doctor H Honda Specialists, in Toronto for the past 26 years. He’s also a radio talk show host and produces several television shows.

A recent study out of California indicates that the best way to reduce fuel usage and emissions is not by legislation or technology, but by education.

In its report, “Ecodriving and Carbon Footprinting: Understanding How Public Education Can Result in Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Use,” the Mineta Transportation Institute provides a review and study of ecodriving and finds that exposure to ecodriving information had a tangible impact on people’s driving behaviour and some maintenance practices.

While not everyone modifies driving behaviour after reviewing the information, even small behavioural shifts due to inexpensive information dissemination could be a cost effective way to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. The methods could augment the more costly “coaching” approaches of many new vehicles’ onboard monitoring devices, which give continuous feedback on driving behaviour through displays such as growing leaves or butterflies.

“Ecodriving is a collection of changes to driving behaviour and vehicle maintenance designed to impact fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in existing vehicles,” says Susan A. Shaheen, PhD, one of the principal investigators. “Because of its promise to improve fuel economy within the existing fleet, ecodriving has gained increased attention in North America. One strategy to improve ecodriving is through public education on how to practice it.”

The study looked at whether or not travelers will adopt ecodriving practices in response to ecodriving and carbon footprinting information; the extent of greenhouse gas emission and fuel use reductions if the new behaviours are adopted; and, how long the modified behaviour would persist.

The study also completed a set of focus groups evaluating consumer response to a series of websites featuring ecodriving information.

Researchers also interviewed experts in public relations and public message campaigns to ascertain best practices for public campaigns, and they conducted a set of surveys, including a controlled stated-response study assessing the effectiveness of static ecodriving web-based information.

Results showed that people did reduce their driving speeds after exposure to ecodriving information, probably because these tips (changing driving behaviour) were more practical to implement than vehicle maintenance changes.

“Our literature review found that in 2008, transportation accounted for 27% of total US greenhouse gas emissions,” said Dr. Shaheen. “According to the 2005-2007 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates, 91.2% of households owned at least one vehicle, and over 50% owned two or more vehicles. Thus, it would be helpful for US households to have carbon emissions and fuel use information specific to driving, which is often their primary transportation mode.”

General Motors has announced the addition of the Trax compact sport utility vehicle to the Chevrolet lineup later this year.

The global model will be available in over 140 markets around the world, but Canada and Mexico will have the distinction of being the countries to launch the vehicle, in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The Trax is a variant of the Buick Encore that will be coming to the North American market this year. Like the recently released Chevrolet Orlando, which is sold in Canada but not the United States, there are currently no plans to bring the Trax to the U.S. market.

The Trax is a five-seater that GM describes as having a “a muscular exterior design and wide athletic stance” that help exhibit its “SUV toughness and capability.”

GM notes the exterior design of the Trax will “(evolve) the global Chevrolet design aesthetic”, while the vehicle’s interior and details will be “executed to standards usually found in more expensive vehicles.”

“Trax is an important addition to the Chevrolet portfolio in Canada,” said Marc Comeau, vice-president of sales, service and marketing for Chevrolet in Canada. “We believe Trax will be a popular choice with Canadians looking for the convenience and utility offered by a small SUV, which will be ideal to drive in urban centres and cities across Canada.”

The Trax will presumably compete with smaller offerings from competitors, such as the Jeep Compass, Mitsubishi RVR, and Volkswagen Tiguan. GM claims class-leading cargo space in its new vehicle.

France will host the official global debut of the Trax at the 2012 Paris Motor Show in September. The small SUV joins several other brand new or redesigned Chevrolet products being released in 2012, including the Spark mini-car, Malibu sedan, and Traverse wagon.