Automotive News
News for March 12, 2010One of the interesting fallouts of Toyota’s quality and safety problems is that it’s going to move more design, engineering and manufacturing to the American market. Don Esmond, the senior vice president of Toyota Motor Sales USA told Autoline yesterday the company is doing this to get its decision making closer to the customer. Toyota is also establishing a clearer chain-of-command in its executive ranks to speed up the flow of information and decision making between its North American operations and its headquarters in Japan. It is also going to appoint a safety guru for North America who will oversee all recalls. We’ll have more of Don Esmond later in the show.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that traffic fatalities in the United States fell to their lowest level last year. There were 33,963 people killed in motor-vehicle accidents last year, down from over 37,000 the year before. That translates into 1.1 fatalities per 100 million miles driven, the lowest ever. The credit probably goes to the recession. During a recession, people lose their jobs and don’t drive as much so the fatality rate goes down. In a couple of years when the economy is humming again, traffic fatalities will go up, and we’ll hear an indignant chorus calling for more safety regulations.
A California man who claims his Prius sped out of control and wasn’t able to stop without help from a police officer, says he won’t sue Toyota. According to the AP, Jim Sikes says he doesn’t plan to sue, but that statement was issued by a law firm he hired. So if he’s not suing why did he hire legal representation? But the story gets even more interesting. Jalopnik reports that Mr. Sikes filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and owes over $700,000, including a lot of payments on his Prius, although Sikes denied being behind on payments. Even so, his story is starting to sound very suspicious.
News for March 11, 2010
The Wall Street Journal reports that the complaints against Toyota are now pouring in. Ever since a widely reported accident involving an off-duty California policeman in a Lexus took place last year, sudden-acceleration complaints against Toyota have skyrocketed. It’s the herd mentality, a socially recognized phenomenon. Now Toyota owners are actively looking for problems in their cars.
In a move that could dramatically improve the public image of General Motors, CEO Ed Whitacre says the company will not only pay off its $8 billion in government loans early, when it does its IPO and starts issuing stock later this year, the government could make a profit. In fact, a substantial profit. Whitacre says the government will make a lot of money and that the bailout will prove to be a really good investment.
News for March 10, 2010
More runaway Priuses in the news. Yesterday it was a runaway Prius in California. Today it’s one in New York. The Detroit Free Press reports that a 56 year-old woman in the Westchester area was pulling out of a parking lot when it allegedly accelerated out of control and hit a stone wall. She only had minor injuries.
Meanwhile, in more Toyota news, the AP quotes Toyota executive Don Esmond as saying sales jumped 50 percent in the first eight days of March thanks to new sales incentives, and Edmunds.com says Toyota is likely to see a 30 percent increase in sales for the full month. But Ward’s reports that in China, Toyota dropped off the top-10 list of automakers based on sales, and a poll by the Chinese website sina.com says over 70 percent of Chinese people now say they will not buy a Toyota or Honda due to their recent quality problems.
Cadillac doesn’t want anyone to think it has anything to do with General Motors. According to Bloomberg, Cadillac will remove the GM name from its advertising and its dealerships, and will even change its email addresses from @gm.com to @cadillac.com. Cadillac will no longer participate in GM sales promotions such as the Red Tag Event. Cadillac feels that GM’s bankruptcy has tarnished the brand and wants to avoid being associated with it.
News for March 9, 2010
In a well-publicized webcast, Toyota refuted professor Dave Gilbert’s test that showed how he could induce unintended acceleration in the company’s cars. Toyota brought in experts from Stanford University, a testing company called Exponent, as well as its own electronics experts. Toyota charged that professor Gilbert’s test rewired the car’s throttle system and could not happen in the real world. It also said it has not found any deterioration or corrosion that Professor Gilbert says could cause unintended acceleration in Toyotas. It also demonstrated how the same test would cause the same results in cars from other automakers.
Toyota also showed how ABC News edited its coverage of Professor Gilbert’s test, using a shot of a tachometer that quickly hit redline to show how dangerous this test could be. But Toyota pointed out that video clip was shot while the car was in park and not moving. ABC News admitted it used that clip, but it only admitted it on its website, not on its nightly broadcast. Interestingly, in last night’s update, ABC News pulled the journalist who originally broke the story, Brian Ross, and had David Muir fill in instead.
But Toyota’s problems are far from over. The Detroit Free Press reports that two top executives, Yoshimi Inaba and Jim Lentz, have been ordered to appear in court in Troy, Michigan, in a lawsuit involving a fatality with alleged unintended acceleration in a Toyota Camry. The Associated Press says there are now 81class-action lawsuits against Toyota, which could cost the company over $3 billion, and that doesn’t even include wrongful death and injury suits.
News for March 8, 2010
The Detroit Free Press reports that GM, Ford and Chrysler are mad at Toyota for what they see as calculated, misleading attempts to trash their quality. Toyota sent a set of charts to key congressional committee members showing that the Detroit Three had three-times the safety recalls of Toyota over the last decade. The Big Three are mad because those had nothing to do with the current investigation into unintended acceleration, and was clearly calculated to deflect criticism off Toyota.
News for March 5, 2010
Toyota has responded to that professor’s demonstration, who rigged up a Toyota Avalon to induce unintended acceleration. Bloomberg reports that Toyota says it’s highly unlikely it could ever happen in the real world and could only be contrived in a laboratory. It also says it rigged up GM and Ford products using Professor Dave Gilbert’s test, and was able to induce them into unintended acceleration. Bloomberg also quotes a different professor from Stanford University saying that Dave Gilbert’s test makes no effort to show that the short circuit he created is similar to the circuit in the car.
And while that is good news for Toyota, the company still faces a torrent of bad publicity. Now 60 complaints have been filed with NHTSA against the company. These involve cars whose gas pedal assembly was repaired at dealerships but drivers still experienced unintended acceleration. NHTSA says it has the authority to order Toyota to come up with a different solution.
So now the chairman of the subcommittee that held the first hearings on this Toyota issue is saying people should not feel very safe driving a Toyota. Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Michigan, says Toyota clearly doesn’t know what the problem is or how to fix it.
The Detroit News has more news on those raids on Japanese supplier companies. Last week, the FBI and their counterparts in Europe and Japan raided the offices of Denso, Yazaki, Tokai Rika, Sumitomo and Furukawa. Authorities also visited German company Leoni AG, and contacted the American companies Lear and Delphi, but that seems more to gather information since it did not involve raids. The Detroit News says the investigation is centering on wiring harnesses and that these Japanese companies may have formed a cartel to try and limit competition. It says they face fines, damage awards and even jail time for executives.
News for March 4, 2010
Bob Lutz made it official yesterday that he’ll be stepping down at General Motors. This continues CEO Ed Whitacre’s shakeup of top management at GM. Except for those involved in the technical aspects of the business, all other top execs associated with former CEO Rick Wagoner are being pushed out.
General Motors and Toyota are dumping the pension obligations for their former NUMMI employees in the lap of Uncle Sam. Both automakers say there is no legal requirement for them to carry those pensions since it was part of their joint venture called NUMMI, and NUMMI is being shut down. Reuters reports that they’re dumping the pensions in the lap of the PBGC, the Pension Board Guarantee Corporation.
News for March 3, 2010
Despite massive snowstorms that shut down thousands of dealers for days on end, and despite all of Toyota’s problems, car sales were up 13 percent over a year ago, and up nearly 12 percent compared to last month. The annualized sales rate, or SAAR, hit 10.34 million vehicles vs. 9.14 a year ago. Not a great number, but definitely a big improvement.
How did the Detroit Three do? Ford had a fantastic month, up 43 percent, GM enjoyed double-digit growth, but Chrysler barely eked out a gain. Comparing sales to a month ago though, Ford was up 22 percent; GM’s sales actually fell 3 percent, and Chrysler’s sales jumped nearly 50 percent over January.
Nissan had a fantastic month, up nearly 30 percent, Honda enjoyed double digit gains and so did Hyundai. Toyota was off nearly 9 percent.
VW Group was up nearly 33 percent, with both VW and Audi up by about that much. BMW posted solid double-digit growth, but Mercedes-Benz barely eked out a gain.
News for March 1, 2010
Ed Towns, a Democrat from New York, who is also the Chairman of the oversight committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, accuses Toyota of hiding evidence in car crashes. This is based on information provided to the committee of a lawyer who formerly worked at Toyota, Dimitrios Biller. He says Toyota has a database known as the “book of knowledge” which contains design info and crash data that Toyota kept secret, the Associated Press reports.
Toyota says it is not uncommon for companies to object to certain demands for documents made in litigation, and that it will maintain the confidentiality of competitive business information and trade secrets.
Meanwhile, Akio Toyoda is in China meeting with government officials and the media, apologizing for the company’s recent recalls, Reuters reports. All this has taken a toll on Toyota’s reputation. Consumer Reports says 60 percent of Toyota owners say they would buy another. But while that’s down 10 percentage points from a couple of months ago, it’s still higher than the brand loyalty for Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge.
Automotive News is reporting changes on GM’s sales and marketing staffs. It says those duties are being split up. Sales executives for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac will now report to Mark Reuss, President of GM North America. They had previously reported to Susan Docherty, the Vice President of marketing for GM North America. Docherty continues to report to Reuss.
source: www.autolinedetroit.tv/
Other news
NASA and GM Create Cutting Edge Robotic Technology
02-04-2010
WASHINGTON -- NASA and General Motors are working together to
accelerate development of the next generation of robots and
related technologies for use in the automotive and aerospace
industries.
Engineers and scientists from NASA and GM worked together to
build a new humanoid robot capable of working side by side with
people. Using leading edge control, sensor and vision
technologies, future robots could assist astronauts during
hazardous space missions and help GM build safer cars and
plants.
The two organizations, with the help of engineers from
Oceaneering Space Systems of Houston, developed and built the
next iteration of Robonaut. Robonaut 2, or R2, is a faster, more
dexterous and more technologically advanced robot. This new
generation robot can use its hands to do work beyond the scope
of prior humanoid machines. R2 can work safely alongside people,
a necessity both on Earth and in space.
Laser Spark Plugs
October 13, 2009
Ford is working on replacing spark plugs with laser ignition.
Benefits include, the ability to project the spark into the
middle of the mixture, away from the cold cylinder wall, the
possibility of creating numerous sparks per cycle – maybe even
in different places – and the ability to analyze the products of
combustion by collecting reflected laser light.
Developing fiber-optic cables robust enough to deliver the
high-energy laser light is proving tricky, and the cost will be
higher than plugs and coils.
Hybrid Use
July 17, 2009
Autoblog reports that a study released by Quality Planning shows
that hybrids may not be all they’re cracked up to be. Throughout
2007 and 2008 the organization analyzed the habits of 360,000
drivers. It found that hybrid and non-hybrid drivers have very
similar commutes, but ‘hybrid people’ drive 25 percent more,
burning most of the fuel hybrids are supposed to save. The study
also shows that hybrid drivers are much more likely to get
traffic tickets, and it also shows that repair costs for hybrids
are significantly higher than with non-hybrid cars.
Flying automobile
Ottawa, 25.11.2008 12:00
Canadian engineer Paul S. Moller has designed a functional
flying automobile after 40 years of hard work.
Moller International has developed a concept vehicle that can
execute vertical take-off and landing like a helicopter, fly
like an airplane and drive short distances on the ground like a
car.
This innovative vehicle, called the M400 Skycar, has four
aircraft engines.
The M400 Skycar is a four-seat model that can be altered to seat
six passengers or one passenger. The Skycar has a 1.200 km
range, and approx. 11,000 m ceiling. In addition, it can climb
more than one vertical mile per minute.
Since it is airborne, the Skycar is not restricted by road speed
limits or by traffic jams. If successful, the M400 Skycar could
be the next big step in the field of personal transportation
.
Copyright 2008 makfax.
Be wary of ‘fuel-saving’ devices for
your car
By JONATHAN WELSH
The Wall Street Journal
High gas prices have produced a bountiful supply of one kind
of product: fuel-saving gadgets for your car.
These devices, which cost anywhere from $35 to $300, are pitched
as simple ways to improve fuel economy. While not all of the
devices are new, $4-a-gallon gasoline has increased consumer
interest and inspired new ad campaigns — often evoking hybrid
vehicles and alternative fuels.
A kit called Water4Gas, for example, has instructions for
converting your car into a “water hybrid” that uses “the atomic
power of hydrogen” for less than $150. The Magnetizer offers to
save fuel by rearranging the ions in your fuel line. The maker
of the Fuel Saver 7000 says the $170 device boosts fuel economy
by treating gasoline to a “three-stage” vaporization process.
One familiar type of fuel saver looks like a fan or turbine made
of sheet metal or plastic and ranges from $35 to $65. Installed
in a vehicle’s air-intake such products, with names like
Turbonator, Spiral Max or CycloneFuelSaver, are supposed to
improve fuel combustion inside engines by causing incoming air
to swirl.
Another type of device works on the fuel to make it burn more
efficiently. Some systems inject air, water or other vapors or
liquids into the fuel mixture before it enters the engine or
infuse fuel with tiny amounts of platinum. Others use heaters to
expand the fuel or employ magnets attached to the fuel line to
modify the fuel.
But auto-industry officials and federal energy experts say most
fuel-saving add-ons don’t work. The Environmental Protection
Agency and Federal Trade Commission have tested products that
claim to boost fuel economy and found they generally don’t
improve vehicles’ efficiency — and they sometimes actually harm
performance and increase emissions. The dozens of products
tested include some air-swirling gadgets, magnetic devices and
liquid-injection systems, though not specifically the FuelSaver
7000, Water4Gas, Magnetizer, Turbonator, Spiral Max or Cyclone.
And drivers, beware: In some cases, installing certain devices
can void cars’ factory warranties.
Biofuels May Hinder Antiglobal-Warming
Efforts
The idea behind switching energy usage from fossil-based fuel
like gas to ethanol is that it is better for the environment.
Much of the push to create alternative energy companies has been
based on this premise and it has also helped the American farmer
get more for crops like corn.
Now it appears that ethanol may not be so "green." According to
The Wall Street Journal "a study published in the latest issue
of Science finds that corn-based ethanol, a type of biofuel
pushed heavily in the U.S., will nearly double the output of
greenhouse-gas emissions." A second study appears to support
those findings. Part of the CO2 increase created by biofuels is
due to changing land from forest to farmland. The process causes
large amounts of greenhouse-gas emissions to be sent into the
atmosphere.
The news is hardly good for the hundreds of biofuel companies
that have been created around the drive for "green" fuel, and it
may not be good for farmers who are getting higher yield from
the crops they plant to create alternative energy.
Friday, February 01, 2008 MEDFORD, Wis. (AP) —
Frank Oresnik is on the verge of making history driving his old standby — the pickup truck he says is about to pass the
1 million mile mark.
Oresnik took the 1991 Chevrolet Silverado to the Oil Ex-Change Quick Lube in Medford on Thursday for what he expects will be its last oil change and tuneup before hitting the magic number.
He said the truck is 1,200 miles from a million, and once he hits the mark he will retire the vehicle.
"I feel almost like the longtime NFL player as he goes into his last training camp knowing this is the end," Oresnik said.
He credits proper maintenance and a good measure of luck for allowing the truck to rack up so many miles. He said he's had more than 300 oil changes and tuneups at the Medford business, going in every 3,000 miles.
The truck has had four radiators, three gas tanks, five transmissions and six water pumps, but the engine has never been overhauled, Oresnik said.
He bought the Silverado in June 1996 after the original owner put 41,000 miles on it. Oresnik uses the vehicle to deliver seafood in three states, putting on about 85,000 miles a year.
Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
These vehicles are built to last, and
their owners have a few tips for you
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday, October 5, 2007
Maybe you or someone you know has an old junk heap of a car with
150,000 miles on it. Maybe you think that's a lot.
It's not. read
more
What's in your Glove Box?
Americans no longer use the glove box to store gloves, which
is what the space was originally designed for when it was first
introduced in the 1920s, and 72 percent of people do not know
how the compartment originally got its name.
While drivers need to be more mindful about storing their
vehicle title in the glove box, they are on the right track when
it comes to storing other essentials. The survey took a peek at
what people are storing in today's glove box:
The results revealed that nearly half of Americans are storing
something they shouldn't - the vehicle title. Forty-four percent
of Americans are unintentionally sending an invitation to car
thieves by storing their vehicle title in their glove box. If a
vehicle title gets in the wrong hands, a thief would be able to
change the name on the title, sell the vehicle or legally put
the keys in his or her pocket.
"Vehicle titles should never be kept in the glove box but
rather in a safe place at home or in the office," said Mike
Accavitti, director for Dodge Brand and SRT Marketing and
Communication. "Dodge wants to inform consumers on what should
be stored in the glove box and how they can optimize utilization
of the space to enhance their lifestyle."
While drivers need to be more mindful about storing their
vehicle title in the glove box, they are on the right track when
it comes to storing other essentials. The survey took a peek at
what people are storing in today's glove box:
94 percent store proof of insurance.
92 percent store vehicle registration.
71 percent store tissue and napkins.
63 percent store maps.
53 percent store a flashlight.
47 percent store their sunglasses.
44 percent store the vehicle title.
38 percent store a first-aid kit.
Moose Attacks Car
10/24/09
By Rich Hewitt
Bangor News
PENOBSCOT, Maine — There’s a moose on the loose and apparently
it’s not a happy camper.
Unprovoked, the unidentified moose attacked an unarmed vehicle
on Western County Road just after dark Wednesday.
According to Deputy Jeff McFarland of the Hancock County
Sheriff’s Department, a Castine woman was traveling on the road
when she came across the belligerent beast blocking her way.
The woman told the deputy that she stopped abruptly to let the
moose pass by.
“She was waiting for the moose to get out of the road,”
McFarland said Friday. But then “just as it passed the car it
drew right off and kicked it. I guess it didn’t like her
headlights.”
The well-aimed kick destroyed the headlight of the woman’s 2004
Volvo and damaged the front fender and bumper, the deputy said.
He estimated the damage to the car at $2,000.
After the moose kicked the Volvo, the animal sauntered off into
the woods.
Hair samples were found on the vehicle and officers may have
obtained a partial hoof print, a police dispatcher offered. As
of Friday afternoon, however, the moose was still on the loose.
Deputy McFarland issued a warning to motorists:
“Don’t mess with the moose in Penobscot.”
Michigan man’s finger gets stuck in gas
tank
Emergency responders called in to extricate appendage in 4-hour
ordeal
Associated Press updated 1:22 p.m. PT,
Sat., March. 28, 2009
SAGINAW, Mich. - A Michigan man has learned not to stick his
fingers in certain places.
Victor Harris, of Saginaw, Mich., was pouring a fuel additive
into his Lincoln Navigator sport utility vehicle Thursday when a
piece of paper fell into the gas tank. Harris tried to fish the
paper out, but his index finger became stuck in the gas tank.
WJRT-TV reported Harris tried to extract his digit for two hours
before friends called the fire department. It took another two
hours before emergency responders cut the gas tank tube out of
the vehicle.
Doctors later removed Harris' finger from the tube. He received
two stitches.
Harris said he's learned his lesson and won't put his finger
back in the gas tank.
If you're going to rob your mechanic,
it's unnecessary to pay for your repairs first
Autoblog - by Chris Shunk on Mar 15th 2009
at 2:04PM
Police in Ypsilanti, MI had little trouble nabbing a thief
suspected of holding up a repair shop employee at gunpoint
because they knew exactly what car he was driving. The
24-year-old alleged robber dropped his vehicle off at the repair
facility on Wednesday and came to pick it up on Friday. The man
paid $200 for the repairs, but used the cold hard steel of a gun
to request all the money in the register after being given his
change. The man was given $500 from the register and he drove
off in his newly repaired car.
If this doesn't sound like a great robbery plan to you, you're
spot-on. Not only did the shop know the make, model and likely
the license plate number of the vehicle, they likely also had
the gentleman's contact information so they could inform him
that repairs were done.
Take A Cab: South Korean woman fails
driving test... 771 times
by Chris Shunk on Feb 6th -
autoblog.com
Most people pass the driving exam on the first try, with a
select few failing once or twice before finally getting it
right. In South Korea, one woman has been trying to pass the
written test since 2005 and has yet to pass. In all, the 68
year-old woman, known only as Cha, has failed the exam 771
times. Okay, so you're thinking that South Korea has some
wicked-hard test that takes a MENSA certificate to pass.
Probably not. Actually, you only need a 60% to pass, and Cha
typically lands in the 30-50% range. Unfortunately, the test
isn't cheap, either. Each and every failure costs Cha 6,000 won,
which equals about $4.69 in U.S. funds. That doesn't sound like
much, but spread over 771 failures, we're talking about $3,600.
Cha is hoping to get a car to help her business. She sells food
and household items door to door.
November 11, 2009
Talk about perseverance. Now Autoblog, says Cha Sa-soon has
finally passed the written portion of the exam after 949 times!
On the 950th attempt she finally made it. It's not like the test
is that hard, you only need a 60 percent to pass. This
accomplishment only took her four years and cost of five-million
won or about $4,200. Now all she has to do is complete the road
test.
Dizzy carpet python spends week wrapped
around car's air-conditioning fan
By Alyssa Betts Northern Territory
News November 24, 2008 08:07am
A Carpet snake has survived a week "spinning around like a
bloody washing machine" wrapped around a car's air-conditioning
fan.
Mechanic Kit Carson, 59, found the 1m snake after being asked to
investigate strange noises in a Northern Territory woman's car.
"Him and I both got a jump," he told the Northern Territory
News.
"He'd been spinning around like a bloody washing machine, but
the end of his tail must have been hanging out - it was all
feathered and ratty."
Mr. Carson, of Cheaper Car Air-Conditioning, put the dazed snake
into a bucket and took him to Yarrawonga's Ark Animal Hospital.
The snake is now in better shape - although he is now a little
shorter than when he arrived.
Vets were forced to amputate about 5cm of his tail.
