Jaguar given green light

Some British Auto industry news:

Jaguar has been given the green light to build a £160 million business park in Whitley, Coventry. This is an ambitious project covering 70 acres of land around the present plant. It is expected to create upto 2000 jobs, I guess a welcome news, following the closure of the Peugeot plant in Ryton.

The project was actually approved five years ago but got delayed because of environmental reasons.

They have now agreed to build a £30000 play park and contribute £1 million towards public transport and green travel schemes.

It's really nice to hear news like this.

Tags: British auto industry Whitley Jaguar

Seat changes decision and crash test results

Spanish car-maker Seat has bowed to consumer pressure and reversed its decision to remove the seatbelt reminder system from the León. Euro NCAP was told that the safety feature would be axed at the end of August 2006, as part of a cost-saving exercise and asked Seat to reconsider this decision. After receiving no response, Euro NCAP issued a press release on the 25th August 2006 informing consumers of Seat’s proposed action. Public reaction to that information appears to have convinced Seat’s management to continue to fit the seat belt reminder system as standard.

Seat issued a press release stating that no Leóns had been produced without the seatbelt reminder system. Following a request from Euro NCAP for clarification, Seat has now informed Euro NCAP that they have no plans to remove the seat belt reminder from the León.

Euro NCAP Chairman, Claes Tingvall, said, “This shows the influence that public opinion can have on car manufacturers when it comes to maintaining the highest levels of safety. We are pleased that Seat have responded as they have.”

Today, Euro NCAP issues its latest set of crash test results.

Ratings for four new cars are released: the Toyota Auris, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Magentis and Skoda Roomster. Two of the cars, the Auris and the Roomster, are awarded a five star rating for adult occupant protection. The Magentis and the Sante Fe are both awarded four stars.

Despite the Skoda’s excellent five star adult occupant rating, Euro NCAP’s tests identified a weakness in the Roomster. Main battery power cables are vulnerable to damage as they are routed down the front of the battery. In the frontal crash test, these cables were damaged resulting in a loss of electrical power. As a consequence, the seat belt pretensioners failed to fire. Skoda proposed the fitment of reinforced sleeves over the cables to protect the cables. They also proposed a modification that maintained sufficient electrical supply to fire the pretensioners, even if the cables were damaged. As a consequence, Euro NCAP allowed a retest. In the retest, the cable protection was found to be inadequate with some cables again being damaged. However, the other modifications did ensure that the seat belt pretensioners operated correctly.

Euro NCAP asked if Skoda planned to modify cars already sold but was disappointed to learn that there are no plans to do this. Skoda has appllied the modifications to vehicles from VIN number TMBVCB5J875025783.

As well as a maximum five star rating for adult occupant safety, the Toyota Auris also achieves a commendable three stars for pedestrian protection. However, the Hyundai Santa Fe is given a zero-star rating for its pedestrian protection after failing to score a single point. The Kia Magentis also does extremely badly, scoring only three points for a one-star rating.

Claes Tingvall, “These are appalling results from these two Korean manufacturers. It has taken the car industry a long time to address the issue of pedestrian safety but several manufacturers are now making improvements and the Toyota Auris joins a growing list of three star cars. For the Santa Fe not to score a single point shows that Hyundai have made no effort whatever to protect pedestrians and reflects a worrying disregard for the safety of this important group of road-users. Manufacturers like Hyundai and Kia are now a long way behind the front-runners and it is high time that they realise that such poor results are unacceptable.”

The ratings for these cars in more detail go to their site here .

For further information please contact the Euro NCAP office: office@euroncap.com.

Tags: Citroën C4 Picasso Euro NCAP Seat Skoda Toyota Auris

Toyota the next No. 1

Most analysts predict that Toyota will become World's No 1 automobile manufacturer ahead of General Motors (GM) sometime during 2007.

However,the top guys are apparently "not slacking" as this article in Businessweek reports.

Tags: Business week Toyota

Mitsubishi Motors to unveil "Prototype-X" concept

Tokyo, December 18, 2006 — Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. (MMNA, based in Cypress California) will unveil the Prototype X concept for a next-generation high-performance 4WD sport sedan at the 2007 North American International Auto Show (the Detroit Motor Show). The 2007 NAIAS runs from January 7 to 21 at the Cobo Center in Detroit and opens to the general public on January 13.

The Prototype-X concept car on show is an advance development model for the new Lancer Evolution due to be launched in the 2007 fiscal year. Embodying Mitsubishi Motors' trademark "fun to drive" qualities throughout, Prototype-X features styling based on the current Lancer but was developed to project a visibly higher performance image. The concept model is fitted with Mitsu-bishi's S-AWC*1 (Super All-Wheel Control) vehicle dynamics system that delivers the ultimate in four-wheel drive traction and handling control together with a new turbocharged MIVEC*2 engine with an aluminum cylinder block and a high performance 6-speed manual transmission.


Prototype X image sketch1


Prototype X image sketch2

In addition to the Lancer and Prototype-X, Mitsubishi Motors will be featuring the Outlander sport utility vehicle, which was released in the U.S. market this October. Outlander is powered by a new high-performance 3-liter V6 MIVEC*2 engine together with a 6-speed automatic transmission to deliver strong acceleration and ample power at cruising speeds. The Raider pick-up, winner of the 2006 Baja 1000 (Stock Mini class), will also be showcased along with other local production models.
*1 S-AWC: Super All-Wheel Control. Vehicle dynamics system that integrates control of drive torque, braking, steering and suspension at all four wheels.
*2 MIVEC: Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing and lift Electronic Control

Tags: concept Mitsubishi Prototype-X

Open Source Car

I was going through the Businessweek site when I chanced upon this article. It's about an amazing project using open-source practices to build a car. Of course, I was incredulous. As far as I know, open source is limited to ICT. Or so I thought. Tine for a Paradigm Shift.

Markus Merz is the founder and "maintainer" (that's the title on his business card) of the OScar project with the Tag line - Reinvent Mobility.

- One of the submitted designs

The Idea as given on the site:

A community of people plans and develops a new car in the web. The idea is about the goal to develop a simple and innovative car, but also about the way how this goal is achieved. We would like to convey the idea of Open Source to “hardware” and we want OScar to be the precursor for many different projects in this field.

Wishing the project all the best. Maybe I could contribute in my own small way.

Tags: Markus Merz Open source car OScar

New Lancer global premiere

Tokyo, December 11, 2006 — Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. (MMNA, based in Cypress California) will give the new North American market specification Mitsubishi Lancer compact sport sedan its global premiere at the 2007 North American International Auto Show (the Detroit Motor Show). The 2007 NAIAS runs from January 7 to 21 at the Cobo Center in Detroit and opens to the general public on January 13.

The new North American market Lancer uses a larger body than the current model, with an overall length of 4570 mm (35 mm longer), overall width of 1760 mm (65 mm wider), overall height of 1490 mm (60 mm taller) and wheelbase of 2635 mm (35 mm longer). The design uses elements from the Mitsubishi Concept-X shown at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show to create a handsome, purposeful-looking shape and a confident, stable stance.

The new Lancer rides on the same next-generation platform employed by the company's Outlander on-road SUV for outstanding crash safety and rigidity. The powertrain mates a new high output (152 hp) low emission 2.0-liter DOHC MIVEC*1 engine to a 6-speed SportronicR CVT*2 transmission. This is the first Mitsubishi vehicle destined for the North American market to offer a CVT. Some trim levels are offered with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters that allow the driver to shift gears manually without taking his hand off the wheel. Delivering outstanding economy and environmental performance, the driveline is complemented by an equipment and appointments specification that elevates driving enjoyment to a new level in a total package that satisfies all the requirements for a next-generation sport sedan.

*1 MIVEC (Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing and lift Electronic Control


New U.S. market Lancer

Tags: Lancer Mitsubishi MIVEC

Five-star rating for four cars

Euro NCAP has recently released the test results for a total of eight new results.

Four of the cars achieved the maximum five-star rating for adult occupant protection – the Ford Galaxy, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, the Lexus IS and the Citroën C4 Picasso. All of the other cars, including the Honda Civic and Audi Q7, achieved four-star ratings.

The five-star cars were praised by Euro NCAP’s chairman, Claes Tingvall, “These manufacturers clearly believe that their customers demand the highest levels of safety and they are able to provide that very high level of protection in their cars. It is reassuring that such manufacturers consistently achieve high ratings.”

In contrast, it was widely reported that Honda expected the new Civic to achieve a five-star rating. However, to Euro NCAP’s disappointment, the tests have shown that it is a four-star performer, an uncompetitive result compared with other cars in its category.

Claes Tingvall, “It is disappointing, though perhaps not surprising, that some manufacturers should try to make it known that they are expecting the highest award from Euro NCAP. Honda state on their websites that they expected a five-star rating for the Civic and continue to do so even after our rating has been published. Such statements are clearly misleading and confusing to the public. Honda has yet to produce a five-star car and should wait until our results are known before suggesting otherwise.”

Audi’s Q7 suffered a rupture of the footwell in the frontal impact, a result of poor welding. Audi state that they have improved production quality as a result of Euro NCAP’s tests, yet they decided not to submit the vehicle for re-test.

Claes Tingvall, “The Q7 is an expensive, prestige vehicle from a marque known for the quality of its products. Those who have bought the car will be disappointed that it has not been rated higher than some older, cheaper vehicles in the same category. People paying a premium price for a vehicle must surely expect to get the highest levels of protection."

Six of the cars achieved a four-star rating for child protection with the other three cars being awarded three stars.

The Honda Civic was the only car to be awarded three stars for its pedestrian protection. All other cars were awarded two stars except the Kia Carnival which was awarded only one star.

Claes Tingvall, “It is reassuring to see Honda continuing their good results in pedestrian protection. There are now a number of three-star cars and we hope that the trend will continue to spread across the industry. At the same time, it is disappointing to see Kia achieve only one star. It shows that some manufacturers still do not take pedestrian safety seriously. Clearly they have much to do to catch up with the others. We would like to see them and other poor performers place a much greater emphasis on protecting this vulnerable group of road-users.”

Read the ratings for these cars in more detail here.

Tags: Audi Q7 Citroën C4 Picasso Euro NCAP Ford Galaxy Honda Civic Lexus IS