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| » February 8, 2007 |
Honda Canada introduces new Element SC
Honda has announced the new 2007 Element SC, which provides
more than ten additional features, including the first standard
18-inch wheels from Honda. The SC also includes a lowered
ride height, sport-tuned suspension, aero grille, project
beam headlights, painted bumpers, exclusive interior with
carpeted floor, centre console with storage, piano black
trim and exclusive fabrics.In addition to the SC, the entire
Element model line-up undergoes a transformation for 2007,
with freshened styling, 10 more horsepower, a new available
five-speed automatic transmission and extensive new standard
safety equipment, including side curtain airbags and vehicle
stability assist. The SC also includes a 270-watt high-output
audio system with MP3/WMA capability and auxiliary input,
body-coloured composite body panels, uniquely-shaped painted
side sills and slimmer roof mouldings. The SC comes in front-wheel
drive only.
Ontario students working in Texas on GM's Challenge
X
Engineering students from 17 North American universities,
including Ontario's University of Waterloo, are meeting at
the University of Texas-Austin to learn how to use advanced
technologies to deliver environmentally-friendly, functional
and fuel-efficient vehicles to consumers. The students are
part of Challenge X, sponsored by General Motors and the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The program began in 2004
and was slated for completion this year, but GM and the DOE
have extended the program until 2008; the fourth year will
give student teams the opportunity to focus on independent
customer acceptability and over-the-road reliability and
durability of their advanced-propulsion systems, with real-world
evaluation outside of the laboratory and proving ground environment.
Currently, city officials and journalists are test-driving
the students' vehicles. At the Austin Winter Workshop, the
students are learning how to refine their vehicles to near-showroom
quality, a required component of the program's third year.
In the first year, the students focused on math-based simulation,
modeling, subsystem development and testing; in the second
year, the student teams performed initial integration of
their experimental powertrain designs into a Chevrolet Equinox.
Student entries include bio-diesel hybrids, gasoline hybrids,
bio-ethanol hybrids, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell propulsion
schemes. The vehicles are judged in such areas as towing
capacity, acceleration, ride and handling, noise and vibration,
greenhouse gas impact, total well-to-wheels fuel economy,
emissions and consumer acceptability. The Challenge X teams
will reconvene for the third-year competition from May 30
to June 7 at GM's Milford Proving Ground in Michigan, where
they will vie for more than US$90,000 in cash prizes and
awards. For more information, visit ChallengeX.org.
Cordless heated seat now available in Canada
ColdHeat has announced that its newest product, the ColdHeat
Cordless Heated Seat, is now available nationwide at Canadian
Tire. The seat can be used in cars, outdoors or in hockey
arenas, or for more warmth at home or in the office. The
microprocessor-controlled heating system features three temperature
settings that will warm the seat up to 46C (115F) in less
than sixty seconds, and extend the consistent delivery of
heat for up to six hours. The automatic power save sensor
regulates the temperature and reduces energy consumption
when not in use. The seat comes with a long-life rechargeable
battery pack that provides up to 3,000 hours of use, with
a standard 120-volt charger cord for standard wall outlets,
and a 12-volt DC power adapter for extended use in a car,
boat or recreational vehicle. For more information, visit
ColdHeat.com.
Thieves targeting catalytic converters from
cars, trucks
The precious metals in catalytic converters
are a temptation for thieves. Thieves are reportedly
crawling under vehicles and cutting away catalytic
converters, making them a hot commodity in more ways
than one at scrap yards, according to the Associated
Press. In Bangor, Maine, thieves brazenly removed catalytic
converters in a busy hospital parking lot in broad
daylight. Police also have fielded reports in recent
weeks in Alabama, California, Louisiana, New York,
North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee. Prices paid by
scrap yards for catalytic converters have grown from
$5 to $30 a decade ago to today's level of $5 to $100.
Some can fetch up to $150. Millions of catalytic converters
have been put on cars and trucks since they were first
introduced in 1974 to reduce tailpipe emissions. Inside
most of them is a ceramic honeycomb that's coated in
a material that contains small amounts of platinum,
rhodium and palladium, which serve as the catalyst
to reduce emissions of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon
monoxide and nitrogen oxides. The growth in catalytic
converter thefts has followed the growing value of
those precious metals. Platinum, for example, was selling
for $400 an ounce in August 2001; the price is more
than $1,100 today. A small number of catalytic converters
are refurbished and recertified for sale; the vast
majorities are sold as scrap, industry officials say.
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries issues
e-mail alerts whenever thefts of converters are reported.
The institute also urges its members to carefully screen
suppliers and to photocopy the driver's license of
those who sell them.
Toyota rakes in record $3.6B in third quarter
Toyota Motor Corp. earned
a record $3.6 billion in
the third quarter of the
Japanese fiscal year, a 7
percent increase over prior-year
levels, and now hopes to
exceed its forecast for a
full-year profit of $13 billion.
The Japanese automaker's
results for the October-December
quarter were above analysts'
expectations and reflected
strong vehicle sales, notably
of the Toyota Camry and Corolla
cars. Toyota's operating
income increased 19 percent.
About one-sixth of the gain
reflected the benefits of
a weaker yen, the company
said in a statement. "Toyota's
numbers are super, super
strong," Koji Endo,
a Tokyo-based auto analyst
at Credit Suisse First Boston
Securities, told the Associated
Press. "To be honest,
it's hard to find anything
bad at this point." Toyota's
vehicle sales rose 8 percent
to 2.15 million units, with
two-thirds of that increase
taking place in North America,
the company said. Last week,
Japan's second-largest automaker,
Honda Motor Co., reported
an 8 percent rise in third-quarter
profit to $1.2 billion, while
Nissan Motor Co. reported
a 22 percent drop in earnings
after struggling in North
America last year. Toyota
shares, which have gained
a third over the past year,
closed at $66 on Tuesday
in Tokyo, up 1.8 percent.
Sludge smudges Toyota, Engine problem is latest
issue to dent automaker's reputation
Jeff Meckstroth's dispute with Toyota Motor Corp.
might have ended quietly on March 1, 2001, when an
arbitration panel unanimously agreed that Toyota was
liable for the damage to the engine of his 2-year-old
$37,000 Lexus RX300 sport utility vehicle. Instead,
it escalated. As the two Toyota representatives packed
up their papers, they referred casually to other, similar
cases they were handling. "Then we had our suspicions
up that this isn't an unusual case, that Lexus knows
about the problem, and has formed a response -- just
deny, deny, deny," said Meckstroth, a 47-year-old
New Orleans stockbroker. "We decided to sue." His
case mushroomed into a class-action suit representing
prior and current owners of nearly 4 million Toyota
and Lexus vehicles that may have suffered engine damage
due to thickening oil, or sludge. It can accumulate
and deprive the engine of necessary lubrication. Toyota
agreed last fall to settle the case but maintains that
its engines were not defective. It said the settlement
terms mirror a program to reimburse customers for sludge-related
engine damage or repairs that it put in place in 2002.
A Louisiana state court is expected to approve the
settlement this week after a hearing today. With engine
replacements costing as much as $10,000, the final
tab could run into the billions. But the damage to
Toyota's reputation might be even more costly for the
Japanese automaker. "It would be accurate to say
that there have been enough issues with Toyota in the
past couple of years that they don't have the spotless
image they had a couple of years ago," said Karl
Brauer, editor in chief of Edmunds.com, an automotive
research Web site. But he adds that problems at Toyota
attract a disproportionate amount of attention because
of the automaker's sterling reputation for quality. "Most
companies wouldn't get noticed for these problems." |
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