Automobile News

Keeping tab of changing economic times and various other issues confronting the automobile industry, Japanese car giant Toyota has come up with a band new model, namely the Avensis. Speaking on the sidelines of its release at a glittering ceremony, Toyota UK corporate affairs director Clive Bridge said that the current economic situation is the most opportune time to come up with a new model, and also stressed that the model in question is one of the company’s better products and should go down well with the discerning public.

It is important to note here that the this new model has come barely two months after the company has abruptly suspended the production of the night shift making the Auris, albeit temporarily. The production of the model is scheduled to take off again from March, 2009. Meanwhile, the workers working at the unit have been redeployed on community projects.

Toyota seeks to employ more than 4000 people for the production of this third generation Avensis, to be built at Burnaston, Derbyshire.

The company has a lot at stake with the launch of the new model as it by its own admission for the last few months has been going through tough times. Its quarterly profits were far from satisfactory forcing it to redraw its earning forecast for the current fiscal year. Most notably, it took a pounding in the three months leading to September as its net profits shrunk by a dreaded 69%, which was a clear case of economic slowdown in the US influencing customer spending.

Mr. Bridge however, exuded confidence that the model would do well and appeared to be pretty upbeat considering the warm reception it garnered at the recently concluded Paris Motor Show. The years of toil and sacrifices made by the workers to develop the advanced model fully stocked with extras, like high-powered car speakers, will bear fruit, he hoped.

With the global economic recession and a debit crunch hitting the UK hard, good news is few and far between. The Automobile industry was also not left unaffected and it for the record witnessed a slump of 23% in unit sales compared to that of 2007. Nevertheless, car manufacturing companies are back in business mode and are ready to face these difficulties in style. First out of the blocks is Japanese car giant Toyota, which making a strong statement of character and resilience has revealed its latest innovation the all new 1.33-litre Dual VVT-I petrol engine.

The unit delightfully incorporates the increasingly popular start/stop technology, claimed to be the first of its kind in the world, which can go a long way in improving fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emission. While sat navs, and in-car DVD player entertainment systems are also very useful, neither help to improve a car’s fuel efficiency. The new specifications look impressive enough, with 17 percent lower emissions and 19 percent improvement in fuel consumption compared to their previous 1.4 litre VVT-I unit.

The Stop and Start technology apart, the unit has also been inscribed with the intuitive Toyota Optimal Drive technology, consequently wearing the hat of being the first model to be released in the UK with these new engineering and design.

Toyota for the time being has decided to import these new Auris’ engines until October 2009 directly from Japan, with its Deeside plant subsequently taking over the reigns after that date. Meanwhile, Toyota is likely to pump in substantial investment to get the factory ready in time to start production.

While we have long been used to exorbitant petrol prices in the UK, Americans spoiled by super cheap petrol are starting to cringe in the face of runaway prices. 80 percent of consumers in the US expect petrol prices to only continue to rise. In light of this development hybrid vehicles have become especially interesting and attractive.

According to a study by the consulting company J.D. Power, around 62 percent of drivers are considering purchasing a fuel saving hybrid for their next car. A year ago this number was only at 50 percent. The interest in ethanol powered vehicles has also increased during the same period from 43 percent to 47 percent.

So it comes as no surprise, that out of the 30 most environmentally friendly cars in the US determined by a new study, hybrid cars took up eight spots. Four of these hybrids stem from Toyota alone: the Prius, the Camry Hybrid, as well as the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and the Lexus RX 400h. Toyota manages to have a total of seven cars on the environmentally friendly list. Nissan, Chevrolet, and Honda follow with four models each. Interest in hybrid cars in the UK has also been increasing as of late, although many people are put off by the higher expense and believe diesel is more environmentally friendly.

The list of electronic gadgets for improving your car is practically endless. Navigation systems, Bluetooth kits, DVD players, satellite radio, and entire stereo systems are all great ways to get more out of your car. Indeed, entire industries have sprout up offering these accessories. It seems that the actual makers of the cars themselves have perhaps felt a bit left out, and Toyota is actually planning on including many of these so-called amenities, in its new models by default.

Beginning in 2009 with the all new Venza models, Toyota will ship the cars with the company’s own integrated Bluetooth technology. The hands free kits are practically a standard in most cars today, as it is unlawful in most places to talk on a mobile phone while driving, and Toyota is likely trying to bypass the third party Bluetooth manufacturers with this latest move. Toyota claims its technology is easy to use, and it comes readily integrated, so there is no need to plug in any wires. The user only needs to register the mobile with the system, that’s it. Furthermore, the Toyota Bluetooth solution also comes with many advanced features, such as answering calls in one touch by pressing a button on a steering wheel. With this amount of features and simplicity, the Toyota hands free solution could indeed rival many third party kits, and other car manufacturers are also sure to catch on.