Archive for February 19th, 2010

Geneva preview: Toyota Auris will be company’s first Euro-built hybrid

Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota, Geneva Motor Show

We saw the concept version of Toyota’s Auris hybrid at the Frankfurt Motor Show last fall. The production version – which uses 19 percent less fuel and spits out 17 percent less CO2 than the standard Auris – will bow at the Geneva Motor Show in just a few weeks, part of the company’s push to diversity its European model mix to include more hybrids. Toyota has said it wants to boost global hybrid sales to the million-per-year level as soon as possible. We don’t know what the final efficiency numbers will be, but the current Optimal Drive Auris uses a 1.33-liter dual VVT-i engine that emits 135 grams of CO2 per kilometer and gets 40.5 miles per gallon (U.S.) on the European combined cycle.

The Auris hybrid will be built in the UK and should be ready for sale across Europe this summer. The Auris’ engines will be built at a Toyota plant in Deeside, North Wales. The Auris is Toyota’s first hybrid to be made in Europe.

Report: House subcommittee petitions Toyota for secret documents

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Toyota

According to a report by Automotive News, the House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to former Toyota lawyer Dimitrios Biller requiring him to submit secret documents to Congress in advance of a February 24 hearing about the Japanese automaker’s unintended acceleration issues. Biller is required to submit the reported four 18-inch bank boxes of documents to Congress by February 23. Biller filed a federal racketeering suit against his former employer over the summer.

Just one week ago Toyota won a temporary injunction against Biller barring the lawyer from releasing any of the secret documents. Biller’s lawyer, Jeffrey Allen, says the congressional subpoena supersedes the injunction and that Biller intends to supply the documents by the February 23 deadline. Biller contends that Toyota destroyed multiple documents that could have implicated the automaker in SUV rollover cases. In late September, Texas Judge T. John Ward ordered Toyota not to destroy any crash informaton.

Toyota is suing Biller for $33.5 million for divulging confidential information and Biller’s lawyer contends that Toyota’s ex-lawyer flew to Japan and tried for four days to get executives to air his concerns over the handling of the information. Biller was then reportedly asked to resign and given a severance.

The February 24 House Oversight meeting has still more drama due to the fact that Toyota President Akio Toyoda will testify before the committee. Toyoda originally planned to leave the testifying to Yoshimi Inaba, president of Toyota’s operations in North America. That changed when committee chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY) sent a formal letter to the Toyota president requesting his presence.

We’re not sure how the alleged SUV rollover info is relevant to unintended acceleration, but the bigger picture may be that congress is looking into whether Toyota has a history of hiding evidence that could potentially paint the company in a bad light.

Read more…

200-HP Citroen DS3 Racing confirmed for Geneva [w/video]

Filed under: Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Hatchback, Citroën

A year ago we got our first peak at the new Citroën DS3 in a darkened alcove off the French brand’s main stand in Geneva. As Citroën prepares to start building the DS3 for the road, it’s tasked its racing department – the same division that’s created so many WRC-winning rally cars – to create a hotter version, and the DS3 Racing is headed to the Geneva Motor Show.

Only 1,000 examples of the DS3 Racing will be built when production begins in the second half of this year. All of them will be motivated by a 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four that has been extra pressurized to bump output from 156 horsepower to a full 200 hp. Getting power to the ground is always a challenge in a front-wheel drive car, so the suspension and steering have been worked over by the motorsports crew. More robust springs and dampers and a new wheel and tire package lower the car by 15 millimeters and extend the track by 30 mm. Four pot calipers on the front help to dissipate kinetic energy when the time comes to slow down the party.

Assorted carbon-finished (we’re not sure if its actual carbon fiber) bits around the bumpers, wheel arches and rocker panels add to the “performance” image while the show car in Geneva will be further “enhanced” with DS3 Racing graphics. Inside, the front seats have been swapped in favor of more bolstered buckets to fully utilize the handiwork of the rally team’s modifications. Given how much fun a John Cooper Works Mini can be, we expect the DS3 Racing will be equally up to the task of bombing the back-country. Full details in the press release after the jump, along with a video of the DS3 Racing in action.

Ford to merge U.S. and European performance lines; Focus RS coming to America?

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Europe, Hatchback, Ford

Our friends across the pond in Europe have always good things to say about the Ford Focus RS, leading to a great deal of angst in America since the Blue Oval Boys have never brought the hi-po Focus Stateside. News from Jost Capito, the man in charge of aligning Ford’s performance divisions all around the globe, has us anxiously awaiting the time when that gross oversight is finally corrected.

Automobile recently got the chance to sit down and chat with Capito, and the conversation quickly turned to the new global Ford Focus platform that was recently unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show. According to Capito, Ford is still deciding what to call the next-gen high-performance Focus, saying only, “I don’t see RS in Europe going away, and I don’t see SVT in the U.S. going away.”

Regardless of what it’s called, we could very well see the speedy Focus take on multiple forms – similar to the path Ford has taken with the car in Europe with both a Focus ST and top-level RS. Previously, we heard rumors that a 240-horsepower Ecoboost-powered Focus ST could hit the scene within 18 months, followed by the latest RS, which could sport a 350-horsepower all-wheel drive hybrid powertrain, within the next three years.

There are plenty more interesting tidbits in the interview, click here to follow along.

Read more…

Ford gears for Figo launch, opens 28 new facilities

Ford India is all geared to launch its much anticipated small car ‘Figo’. Figo will be launched in the first week of March and will be competitively priced between Rs 4 to 5 lakh.

Ford hopes to get more volumes from Figo, which it could not get from its earlier models Ikon and Fiesta. Ford has also announced the stoppage of Fusion in Inida. Fusion was launched as an all terrain vehicle with higher ground clearance, however it could not generate more volumes because of its higher price tag.

Ford has opened 28 new facilities, some of which will be both showrooms and service centers and the rest only the service facilities. With this Ford has now 164 outlets all over India and aims to give best of the service facilities to its customers with the launch of Figo small car.

With discontinuing the models Ford might not get its customer faith in India. Lets wait and see how it plays with the Figo.

Read more…

Video: Four minutes of sheer SuperGT bliss

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, but if you had the chance to attend GTLive back in 2004 at the California Speedway, you got a rare glimpse into the world of SuperGT.

Interspersed with one of the first D1 competitions in the States and your normal show car detritus, was an exhibition race of both GT500 and GT300 cars in their heyday. After the race, there was talk of SuperGT coming back to the U.S. for an official event, but those plans were laid to waste and six years later, the most exciting series out of Japan has yet to return to our shores.

Why brings this sad tale up? Because the video after the jump is as close as any of us are going to get to the 2010 SuperGT season unless we book a ticket to Narita for the season opener at Suzuka. If high-revving touring cars is your thing – and if you’re interested in getting an earful of the all-new Honda HSV-010 – click past the break for a little sample of this year’s contenders ahead of the big race next month.

BMW to launch 330i in India in March 2010

     German luxury car maker BMW is bullish on the Indian market. It will launch the latest 330i in India in March which will replace the 325i as the range topper. The 330i will be powered by a 3 litre engine which is the same engine powering the 530i currently on sale in India. With a massive 258bhp of power 330i can reach 0-100kmph in just 7 seconds and can reach a maximum of 250kmph.

     The 330i sports features such as front and side airbags for driver and co-passenger, engine immobiliser, cruise control with brake function, ABS, automatic stability control (ASC), EBD, and hill-start assist to name a few. On the inside, it features automatic two-zone climate control, multi-function leather steering wheel, an on-board computer, steering adjust for reach and rake, CD player and auxiliary points for an MP3 player with six speakers.

     While the 320d forms the bulk of 3-series sales in India, the 330i will appeal only to a handful of enthusiasts and is unlikely to sell in huge numbers. BMW India’s decision to launch the 330i is more strategic. Firstly, BMW wants to take on the Audi A4 3.2 V6 petrol but, more importantly, it wants to flesh out its range and offer options at various price points. Prices haven’t been announced yet but we expect the 330i to cost a shade under Rs 40 lakh or a couple of lakhs more than the 325i, which is expected to be discontinued.