Chevrolet Volt shown in Toronto

Oshawa, Ontario - The Chevrolet Volt Concept made its Canadian debut yesterday at the Energy and Environment Conference (EECO) in Toronto. The Volt has the potential to virtually eliminate the need for daily commuters to visit a gas station. "If you are like most Canadians who live and work within a 64-km round trip, the Volt is a gas-free, emission-free car," says David Paterson, vice president, corporate and environmental affairs, General Motors of Canada. "Drivers will simply unplug and go each morning, much as we do with our cell phones today." The Volt, which was unveiled earlier this year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, can be fully charged by plugging it into a 110-volt outlet for approximately six hours a day. When the lithium-ion battery is fully charged, the Volt can deliver 64 km of electric vehicle range; if the driver needs to travel more, a range-extending power source from gasoline, ethanol, hydrogen or biodiesel fuels recharges the battery when required, for a driving range of more than 1,000 km.

Mercedes-Benz developing cars that can 'see' and 'think'

Friedrichshafen, Germany - Mercedes-Benz is laying the groundwork for a new, forward-looking safety concept that will focus more strongly on anticipatory recognition and the prevention of accidents. New features will include intelligent driver assistance systems that utilize stereo cameras and radar sensors to monitor the area surrounding the vehicle. These systems will have the ability to make predictive interpretations of critical driving situations and then issue timely warnings to drivers - or even intervene autonomously if there is imminent danger. "Several years ago, we introduced Pre-Safe, which gave the vehicle certain 'reflexes,' so to speak," said Dr. Thomas Weber, DaimlerChrysler Board of Management member responsible for Group Research and Mercedes Car Group Development. "In the future, we will also give cars the ability to 'see' and 'think.' It's always been a matter of policy for us to develop vehicles capable of withstanding the most severe crash tests. However, it makes much more sense to prevent accidents from occurring in the first place - which is exactly what we're working on in the interest of all traffic participants." In the future, Mercedes-Benz will continue to base the development of its safety systems on real-life accident statistics and data from its own accident research activities. The focus here will be on intersections, sharp curves, and construction sites, as these locations are the site of approximately one-third of all serious accidents that occur in Germany. Other issues to be addressed in the development of new driver assistance systems include driver fatigue, speed, and lane departure, all of which are also among the most frequent causes of accidents. Mercedes-Benz will also further improve occupant protection through preventive measures and by networking active and passive safety systems.

Mitsubishi opens nine new dealerships in nine months

Mississauga, Ontario - Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada has opened nine new dealerships across Canada in the past nine months, and now has 62 dealers nationwide. The company says that it currently has 13 letters of intent from prospective dealers, which should help it to achieve its goal of 75 dealers nationwide in 2008. Of those, ten have made commitments to build all-new facilities to represent the brand. "Our dealer growth plan is right on track with our overall business plan," says Koji Soga, Mitsubishi Canada president and CEO. "These latest numbers move us decidedly forward in our goal to reach our target of 75 Canadian dealerships by April 2008, and 90 by April of 2009." Soga says that from January through May of 2007, average sales per dealer have been 23 vehicles, with May averaging 27 per dealer. The average for the same period in 2006 was 16 vehicles per dealership. "Those results are an index of the tremendous sales efforts made by our dealers, and an indication of what we have in store for the future," Soga says.

Dealership technology: Atlanta dealership adopts RFID

Real-time location system reduces labor, help sales and service departments quickly locate specific vehicles and track how many times a particular vehicle has been test-driven. RBM of Atlanta, a Mercedes store, is implementing an RFID-based real-time locating system (RTLS) at its newest location, opening this fall, according to a report in RFID Journal. The system is designed to help the dealership reduce the time required to manage its inventory of 600 cars, while enabling sales associates to quickly find specific vehicles. According to general manager Randy Powell, the dealership is adding the system "so we can track a vehicle from the time it is released to us by the vehicle manufacturer, its location on our lot, how often it has moved-and, with the integrated key control, who moved it-and, very importantly, if it is not on our lot." RFID provides inventory management, sales data, reporting and other functions. Tags will be attached to each car, transmitting 2.4 GHz signals that can be received and processed by standard wireless access points. Built-in motion sensors can detect a car's movement and activate the tags in response, causing them to transmit their ID numbers. In addition, the dealership's service department will be able to use the RTLS to locate vehicles on the lot that need to be prepped for customer delivery or need service. The RTLS is expected to be much easier to use than the bar-code system the dealership currently uses at its flagship location in Atlanta.

eBay Motors survey highlights customer turn-offs

eBayMotors survey results indicate that car dealers with moustaches should reach for their shavers if they want to close the sale. An eBay Motors customer satisfaction survey of 1,400 car buyers found that 92 per cent of respondents would ‘dismiss’ any car salesman with a moustache and 63 per cent would be put off by gold jewelry, according to an article in Motor Trader. Other elements such as wearing a cell-phone headset were also given the thumbs down. Some 98 per cent of respondents said they made instant judgments about car salespeople based on clothes, personal hygiene and even elements like hair color and the strength of handshakes. Half of eBay Motors survey respondents said they preferred bypassing the sales staff and using the internet to source vehicles. The company has also carried out consumer focus groups and found that badly designed or unimaginative dealer websites could potentially turn off buyers. Other negatives included following up an internet-advertised car and finding either dealer or BDC staff know nothing about it, difficulty speaking to relevant staff members and unwanted telephone rather than e-mail responses. “Smart dealers will build a relationship with the customer before they contact the dealership,” said eBayMotors trade manager Emma Parfitt.