Toyota No Longer #1 Drops to #3

Yep, it's true, after three years as #1, Toyota drops to #3.


Carscoop has the story: 

"Well, it was almost certain to happen after the March 11 earthquake and Tsunami hit Japan causing multiple problems to the country's automotive industry. Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, saw its production drop by 23% to 3.37 million units for the first half of the year - and includes sales of Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino vehicles. 

As a result, the Japanese company lost the title of the world’s largest automaker that it held since 2008 to General Motors, which saw its sales rise by 8.9% to 4.536 million units for the first six months of 2011. For the time being, second place goes to the Volkswagen Group which sold 4.13 million units worldwide." 


I wonder what the odds UK bookies are giving for Toyota to return to #2 in 2012? It might be hard to conceive, but with the German economy steaming right along and the Japanese economy mired in the doldrums and our debt at 200%+ of GDP, it's hard to imagine that Japan can get back on top anytime soon.


Monday's Nikkei stock market opening, after the USA credit rating getting cut, should be an interesting fireworks display to watch.

Toyota "1/X" Mobil Hybrid Yang Berbody Rumput Laut

Toyota Prius yang menjadi primadona sebagai mobil Hybrid paling laris saat ini, tidak membuat Toyota untuk selalu berinovasi. Saat ini, Toyota sedang mengembangkan sebuah mobil yang tidak hanya menggunakan mesin Hybrid saja, akan tetapi juga bodynya dibuat dari rumput laut (seaweed) yang diperkuat serat karbon (carbon fiber reinforced plastic /CFRP), menghasilkan struktur yang kuat tapi ringan hingga berat kosongnya 420 kg.

Dengan nama 1/X atau 'Se-per-X', sebagian bodynya menggunakan bahan plastik (bioplastic) yang diperoleh dari hasil proses dengan bahan rumput laut. Penggunaan bioplastic ini juga otomatis mengurangi tingkat pencemaran lingkungan (karbon dioksida) sampai dengan 60%. Dan oleh karena bobot ultra ringan, membantu mencapai target konsumsi bahan bakar yang harus dua kali lebih tinggi dari Prius, pemakaian BBM pun 30% lebih hemat.

1/X beroperasi dengan mesin hybrid sangat kecil yang disimpan di bawah kursi belakang. Sistem hybrid 1/X mengkombinasikan teknologi rechargeable plug-in hybrid dengan mesin 500cc flex-fuel yang beratnya seperempat berat mesin Prius. Konsep hybrid plug-in dirancang mengakomodasi baterai lithium-ion yang dibisa di recharge di rumah. Hal ini memungkinkan Toyota 1/X menempuh jarak 960 km dengan tangki kecil berisi empat gallon (15 liter) bensin dengan kemampuan akselerasi setara Prius.

Rencananya mobil 1/X ini akan dipamerkan di pameran mobil di Melbourne (Melbourne Motor Show). Akan tetapi, jangan berharap dulu bahwa mobil ini akan segera dijual. Karena masih butuh waktu lama untuk pengembangan yang lebih baik lagi kedepannya.

Wah, kalau begitu adanya, mobil ini artinya bisa dijadikan makanan kalau dalam keadaan urgent. Betul? (",)v




Sumber : siradel.blogspot.com

Japan Still Makes the Best Cars in the World

The verdict is in! Japan still makes the best cars in the world! Japan! Cars! Quality!

GARY NUMAN - CARS

In spite of all the problems reported in the main stream US-based mass media with Japanese cars being recalled and other alleged problems with accelerators and mechanical parts, Consumer Reports shows that Japanese cars, using a 10-year scale measuring reliability, beat out all the competition.


Well, I thought Japan still meant "quality." I'm glad to see my suspicions confirmed. 


Before anyone wants to jump on me about accelerator problems in Toyotas, let me show you evidence that this was not true at all and a US Transportation Department 10-month study showed that there were no problems at all with electronics or mechanical parts in Toyota's. It was all media hype.

My 2004 Toyota. Driven everyday for the last 7

years and never been in the shop for repairs even once.

Well, the alleged problems were media hype. The results finding no problems with Toyota's was barely reported in the main stream mass media. Associated Press carried the story, but many major news outlets didn't. The AP reported:


The Obama administration's investigation into Toyota safety problems found no electronic flaws to account for reports of sudden, unintentional acceleration and other safety problems.


Anyway, reports of alleged problems are just that: supposed; accused but not proven. 


The test of time is the best judge, in my opinion, and the results of this 10-year survey are in: Toyota and Honda are the best cars made in the world.


Yahoo! Autos reports:

The Best of the best list guides you to the 2001 to 2010 models that scored well in our road tests when new and have been consistently reliable over time. Each has achieved multiple years of above-average used-car verdicts (available to subscribers), indicating that owners have had relatively few problems.

Models built by Toyota and Honda dominate the list once again, and many of the best used vehicles are from Asian manufacturers. But high-quality vehicles are available from domestic and European automakers as well.

The Worst of the worst list shows models that have had multiple years of below-average reliability in our survey. It is dominated by vehicles from domestic and European manufacturers, primarily General Motors, which had 16 of the 29 models listed.

Actually, it doesn't surprise me that there are no Japanese cars on the Worst of the worst list. I am, though, a bit surprised that there are so many lousy GM cars (Lousy? GM? Oh, but I repeat myself). And I am quite surprised to see that there are no Fords on the list.

I suppose the reason there are no Fords could be because they don't live past three years old. As they say, "F-O-R-D stands for 'Found on the roadside, dead."

Congratulations to Japan for still leading the world in building quality cars.

The proof is in the pudding. Japan may be the #3 world economy in 2010, but we're still #1, by far, for quality assurance and superior automobile manufacturing.

Thanks to Philip Oshiro

Japan's Toyota Still Shines in Local Dealerships

With all the problems that Japan is currently experiencing with the Chinese, the economy, the rising yen, there are still some things that, right in my own backyard, make me glad to live in Japan and make me never want to leave.

They also make me believe that Japan, with all its warts, still is a great country and, while our economic problems are huge, there's still a good chance for this country to rise and shine again.

Take my trip to the Toyota dealer today.

Toyota Corolla Dealership in Yoga, Setagaya, Tokyo

My automobile's right rear lock has been acting up recently so I've decided to get it fixed. What a world of difference it is going to a Japanese car dealer as opposed to a dealer in the USA.

The Japanese dealerships are all spotless and clean. There is a placard at the front that shows you the names and faces of every single staff member working at that dealership.

I drove into the parking lot of the Toyota dealer in Yoga in Setagaya and within 15 seconds, there were two cleanly uniformed Toyota representatives bowing to me as I got out of my car. I explained the situation to them and they told me to have a seat in the main showroom.

There, at the showroom, I was given a refreshment menu and asked what kind of drink I'd like. I ordered coffee and was given a hot cup of coffee and two small sweet cookies compliments of the dealership.

Don't tell my wife this, but he toilets are probably cleaner than the toilet at home! And there are places for young children to play while mom and dad talk to the servicemen or the salesmen.

Spotless

From the prompt, courteous service you receive upon immediately entering the premises, to the hospitality and amenities, you can tell that these people take pride in their work and their company.

Play area for tykes

This sort of thing is what made Japan great. The Japanese take pride in what they do. They take so much pride in it that they put their family names on their companies! That's why I think for now, and for the future, names like Toyota, Honda, Sony, Mitsubishi and many more - the family names - will fairly represent the best of Japan - the pride of Japan - and that is a pride and a best that has much more to come!