Toyota wins its first motor race with a hybrid car
Toyota has won last weekend's Tokashi 24-Hour Race with its Supra HV-R hybrid race car. It is the first time ever that a hybrid racer has won a competition. The win follows an entry last year when Toyota was the first car manufacturer to enter a hybrid vehicle, the Lexus GS 450h, which finished 17th overall. This year's race car is based on the Supra GT used in Super GT races in Japan, and modified and equipped with a special racing hybrid system. The vehicle contains three electric motors with a four-wheel energy regeneration and drive system: two in-wheel motors in the front wheels, and one 150 kW rear-axle-mounted electric motor. To compensate for repeated acceleration and deceleration under full system performance, a quick-charging capacitor system was used instead of rechargeable batteries. The car completed 616 laps in the 24 hours, 19 more than the second-place finisher.

More Canadian car buyers looking to import vehicles from the U.S.

Favorable exchange rates make U.S.-made products much less expensive North of the border. This story caught our eye since, typically, the flow of vehicles is reversed. A record number of Canadians are looking to their American neighbors for their next new or used car, a trend that will grow with relative weakness of the U.S. dollar, said the North American Automobile Trade Association, as reported in the Vancouver Sun. Last year, 112,826 American cars were imported into Canada, said Brian Osler, association president. That’s a 55 percent increase from 2005 and almost three times the number that were brought in five years ago, when the Canadian dollar was at a record low. As the Canadian dollar continues to rise, so will Canadian’s demand for relatively inexpensive American cars. And more and more consumers are realizing the thousands of dollars they could save by buying American. Just five years ago we saw Americans flock to buy Canadian cars as the Canadian dollar hovered just above 60 cents US. Now the tables have turned, and Canadians are asking how they can get their luxury dream car for a less-than-extravagant price. Some dealerships refuse to bring in American cars because they cannot guarantee a certain level of service — if a part failed or the car broke down — once the car leaves the lot. The factory new-car warranty is typically voided when a vehicle is sold across the border. This was the source of a 2003 class-action lawsuit from American consumers who alleged manufacturers were restricting the supply of cheaper Canadians cars. Now, the pressure lies on the Canadian manufacturing industry.

Quake disrupts Japanese carmakers

Toyota, Honda, Nissan halt work after parts supplier, Riken Corp., is damaged. A powerful earthquake that damaged an auto parts supplier in a coastal Japanese city brought Japan's mighty auto-making machine to a temporary halt. Japan's largest automaker, Toyota Motor Corp. stopped production at its Japanese plants Wednesday after Riken Corp., a supplier of transmission and engine parts, sustained heavy damage at its facilities from Monday's quake. Toyota also cancelled one shift today and all production at its assembly and components plants in Japan on Friday. It could not say when its operations would be up and running normally. Most other Japanese automakers also curtailed production schedules. Japanese auto executives said their North American plants had not been affected, but could not rule out interruptions in the future. "There's no immediate impact," said Victor Vanov, a spokesman for Toyota's U.S. manufacturing headquarters in Erlanger, Ky. "However, we're investigating." Most of Toyota's North American assembly plants have been idled this week for the summer shutdown, although the Texas pickup plant is running. Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. said their U.S. plants were not affected at this stage. Honda is assessing the impact of the damage at Riken's facilities, which supply its Japanese plants but do not ship parts to its North American plants, said David Iida, a Detroit-based spokesman for Honda. Toyota, Honda and Nissan assemble most of the vehicles they sell in the United States in North America, but they rely on engine and transmission shipments from Japan. Toyota, for instance, can assemble 1.6 million vehicles a year in North America -- representing two-thirds of its U.S. sales of 2.5 million in 2006. But it produces 1.4 million engines and only 600,000 transmissions a year in North America, importing the rest from Japan. Riken's Kashiwazaki facilities were damaged and several employees were injured by Monday's 6.8-magnitude quake, according to Japanese media reports. Riken is Japan's biggest manufacturer of piston rings and also makes sealing rings for transmissions. Customers including Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Fuji Heavy Industries, Suzuki Motor Corp. and transmission manufacturer Jatco all scaled back production in Japan. "Most Japanese automakers mentioned shutdowns for two to three days and said they would resume operations Monday," said Masaki Taketani, an auto analyst at forecasting firm CSM Worldwide in Northville.

Dodge dealer uses 'Trendy Technologies' to market his business

Connecticut Dodge dealer finds online services including YouTube are helpful in low cost marketing. For Dodge dealers Jim and Jamie Williams, thinking small is a big thing. Why is small so big? As News Wire Today reports, the father and son team own Southworth Dodge, “The Biggest Little Dealership in Connecticut” located in Kent, CT. In an age of dealership consolidation, the Williams’ are able to compete thanks to the help of their loyal customers throughout Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts. Their best advertising to date has been by word of mouth. You won’t find any full-page ads in the local papers advertising Southworth Dodge. The Williams attribute the ability to offer low prices to their low overhead. “Here, you deal directly with the owners. No salespeople, no sales managers, not even a finance manager; we do it all in one easy step for our customers” explained Jim. “People have always been misled to believe that bigger dealerships could give better deals. It’s actually just the opposite.” Jim explains, “Think about it, at most dealerships you start with a salesperson, they report to a sales manager or in some cases an assistant sales manager, then there’s a business or finance manager. Of course the general manager’s salary has to be paid and don’t forget the billing and title clerks. Our total overhead is most likely less than the payrolls of our competitors, when you do the math; it’s easy to figure out how we can offer the lowest prices without gimmicks.” Jim and Jamie wanted to have fun marketing their Dodge dealership. They wanted a simple and catchy domain name and came up with “Get Me A Dodge” GetMeADodge.com. It was simple and easy to remember. They reached to the Internet and posted their homemade video under “GetMeADodge” on YouTube. The Williams’ decided to have fun with Get Me A Dodge. At a recent cruise night bright red t-shirts could be seen advertising the message. Anyone driving along the local highways is likely to see bumper stickers such as “Grab Life” GetMeADodge.com, or “Hemi Power at GetMeADodge.com.” Or “My Honor Student said GetMeADodge.com.”

Florida Chrysler dealer becomes first to achieve environmental award

Miami, Florida - The Chrysler Group has announced a new dealership in Miami, Florida that, when completed, will be the most environmentally-friendly automobile dealership in the U.S. The Tamiami Automotive Group will relocate and expand to a building that will achieve the prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a nationally-accepted benchmark, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance "green" buildings. LEED recognizes performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environment quality. In conjunction with the announcement, Chrysler says that it plans to give other dealers in its network incentives to pursue LEED certification. Specific examples of sustainable design principles include selecting paints, sealants and adhesives with low volatile organic compounds; heating and air conditioning components which avoid HCFC refrigerants; increased external thermal values, including high-performance glass; energy management and monitoring systems; and harvesting storm water run-off for landscape irrigation. The program will also give recognition to dealers who are leaders in environmental activism. The new Miami-area dealership is the former site of a lumber yard; upon completion, the facility will utilize numerous water conservation and energy management systems, and rely more on natural light than artificial light.

Consumer interest in hybrids drops as diesels gain favor - J.D. Power

The percentage of new-vehicle shoppers considering hybrid vehicles is dropping as consumers become more realistic about their fuel-efficiency capabilities, while interest in diesels is increasing, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Alternative Powertrain Study. Now in its second year, the study examines the reasons why consumers consider or avoid alternative powertrain vehicles. The 2007 report found that 50 per cent of new-vehicle shoppers are considering a hybrid, down from 57 per cent in the 2006 study. While a general decline can be observed across all age groups, the largest drop is in younger vehicle shoppers aged 16 to 25 years old; 60 per cent are considering a hybrid in 2007, down from 73 per cent in 2006. The average additional price that consumers are willing to pay for a hybrid powertrain is US$2,396, with the expectation of receiving an improvement of 18.5 mpg (12.7 L/100 km) over a traditional vehicle of similar size. "In the 2006 study, we found consumers often overestimated the fuel efficiency of hybrid-electric vehicles, and the decrease in consideration of hybrids in 2007 may be a result of their more realistic understanding of the actual fuel economy capabilities," says Mike Marshall, director of automotive emerging technologies. "While hybrid sales are steadily increasing, they continue to face competition for market share against an increasing offering of other alternative powertrains and fuels options." The study also found that consumer consideration for purchasing clean diesel vehicles, which were introduced to the U.S. market in 2007, is at 23 per cent. In 2006, only 12 per cent of shoppers considered purchasing diesel vehicles. On average, consumers are willing to pay an additional US$1,491 for the clean diesel option, and expect an average additional fuel economy of 15 mpg (15.6 L/100 km). "As the automotive industry steadily offers more alternative powertrain/fuel options to consumers, buyer preferences will continue to shift the market in the coming years," Marshall says. "With high fuel prices, perceived dependency on foreign oil and an increased focus on environmental issues all being top of mind among consumers, manufacturers will not only have to continuously make efforts to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles, but also to diversify the range of options."