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The ongoing disaster in Japan caused by Friday’s massive earthquake and tsunami is forcing many automakers to extend production halts on domestic plants well into next week. Today, Toyota announced that it has decided to continue the vehicle-production halt started on March 14 at all of its plants in Japan, including all subsidiary vehicle manufacturers, through March 22. According to reports, the suspension of production has already cost Toyota some 40,000 vehicles up until now. “A decision on when vehicle production will resume in Japan has yet to be made,” the company said in a written statement. However, the world’s largest automaker noted that it will resume production of replacement parts for vehicles already on market beginning on Thursday, March 17, adding that it also plans to restart manufacturing parts for overseas production on Monday, March 21.
In the Version 2.0, the output of both electric motors has increased from 60kW (80HP) to 75 kilowatts (100HP) each, meaning that seconds at a time, pilots will now have an additional 200HP at their disposal. According to Porsche, the extra power is automatically activated through use of the throttle pedal and can be very useful when overtaking. Porsche has also optimized the hybrid system with the electric flywheel accumulator that stores energy now housed with the other hybrid components in a carbon fibre safety cell on the passenger’s side. In addition, thanks to the optimisation of the hybrid system’s high voltage components, the large louvres in front of the rear fenders were no longer necessary. The Germany company claims that these changes help reduce drag and lowers fuel consumption. All in all, Porsche’s engineers managed to reduce the weight of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid from 1,350kg (2,976 lbs) to 1,300 kilograms (2,866 lbs). “The emphasis of our work was on improving efficiency,” says Hartmut Kristen, head of Porsche motorsport. “That means we want to keep the lap times consis-tent with 2010 but use less energy, hence less fuel. In this way, we support future developments of road-going, sporting hybrid vehicles.”Other changes for the 2011 model include the thoroughly updated cockpit as most of the displays and controls have moved to the steering wheel. According to Porsche, drivers can operate the rest of the functions via backlit buttons now situated on the centre console. Gallery
The first ever touring race car version of the all-new Ford Focus will make its world premiere at this week's 2011 Geneva Motor Show, ahead of it is scheduled track debut in the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch towards the end of March. The BTCC Focus was developed by Arena Motorsport with technical support from Ford, and it's the first car to come out from a global initiative by Ford to support private teams around the globe in developing one common race car to S2000 specification. To meet current local regulations, Arena Motorsport's UK-based Team Aon has opted for a 2.0-litre turbocharged Ford engine, instead of the 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost engine other teams will use in Championships in line with international FIA regulations."There has been tremendous interest in new Focus from the racing community and it's the perfect fit for a global touring car," said Jost Capito, director of Ford Global Performance Vehicles and Motorsport Business Development."This new BTCC Focus is the first result of a collaborative effort between Ford and race teams around the world that have already built and raced successful Focus race cars. The teamwork has resulted in a global technical platform for racing using a common Focus with a safety cage built to FIA regulations – a competitive platform that can be tailored for regional competition, based on different rules," Capito added. Ford said that the new Team Aon Focus touring car is expected to compete in all 10 rounds of this year's British Touring Car Championship .Gallery
As we're nearing closer to the 2011 Geneva Salon, automakers are providing us with more details about their plans. Today, Ford announced that it will display a number of new production and concept cars including what the company simply described as a "groundbreaking new vehicle" without getting into any specifics. “Ford of Europe Chairman and CEO Stephen T. Odell will unveil a groundbreaking new vehicle during a Ford news conference at 14:30 on March 1 at the Ford stand,” the company said in a statement.What Ford did reveal is that it plans to showcase an all-new version of the 2011 Ranger pickup-truck called Wildtrak, the Vertrek SUV concept that hints at the next-generation Kuga, the Fiesta RS WRC, the C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid that will be joined by a C-MAX HEV when they both go on sale in Europe in 2013, and a conceptual all-electric version of the Transit Connect.Furthermore, the company will display its latest powertrain enhancements including a new 114g/km CO2 Mondeo ECOnetic that combines 115HP 1.6-liter turbo diesel with start-stop technology, as well as the new Ka Metal created through Ford’s Individual programme.“Today Ford has its strongest product line-up ever and we’ve got an aggressive plan to keep our vehicle portfolio the freshest in the industry," said Odell. “We have at least 20 new models and derivatives coming across our entire European range – from small cars to commercial vehicles – and at Geneva we will be introducing some of these.Gallery
For the past few months, we’ve been hearing various rumors about BMW’s future plans, but today, the German automaker came out with official details at a press conference in Munich starting with the debut of a plug-in hybrid version of the China market 5-Series at next month’s Shanghai Auto Show. “A highlight at the Shanghai Motor Show in mid-April will be the presentation of our New Energy Vehicle, said BMW Chief Executive Dr. Norbert Reithofer. “This model will be our e-car from China for China – a long version of the BMW 5 Series as a plug-in hybrid. This car will benefit from the strength and the excellent reputation of the BMW brand.”Reithofer confirmed the presentation of the production version of the MINI Coupe, first seen as a concept model at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, and the second generation of the BMW 1 Series, both of which will be launched this year alongside the new M5 sports saloon and the 6-Series models. BMW also revealed plans to add a small displacement three-cylinder turbocharged engine to its range, though the Bavarian automaker did not get into any more details.“We are gradually utilizing the BMW TwinPower Turbo technology in all petrol and diesel engines within our new BMW EfficientDynamics motor range,” said Reithofer. “This innovative engine technology package is based on a modular strategy. This holds true for future 4- and 6-cylinder engines as well as for our anticipated 3-cylinder drive. This modular system will generate significant economies of scale. It will also facilitate the standardization of interfaces and processes.”Finally, BMW said it will begin assembling the X3 in India alongside the 3-Series, 5-Series and X1 for the local market from the second quarter of the year, while the firm’s new Tiexi plant in China which is scheduled to start production in 2012 will produce among other models, the X1 crossover. Gallery
Today, Porsche put an end to the rumors concerning the production location of the Cajun by confirming that the assembly will take place in Leipzig, in the Saxony region of Germany, alongside the Cayenne SUV and Panamera sports sedan model. The facilitate production, Porsche plans to extend the Leipzig factory and turn it into a fully-fledged manufacturing site for the Cajun, including body assembly line and paint shop. Porsche said the decision to build the Cajun will create at least 1,000 new jobs in Leipzig and Stuttgart. The Leipzig plant has been producing the Cayenne SUV since 2002, with Porsche expanding the factory in 2009 to accommodate the Panamera. To date, Porsche has invested around 280 million euro in Leipzig.The Stuttgart-based automaker said the Cajun will come with typical Porsche traits such as “light weight” and “refined handling” adding that the baby SUV model “is expected to pave the way for new, younger customers to enter the world of Porsche”. The new model is expected to be introduced towards the end of 2012. Gallery
It seems that the petrol-sniffing Yellow Sac spider that forced Mazda to issue a recall on some 52,000 cars in the USA last week has a thing for mid-size Japanese sedans as the eight-legged arthropod also caused problems to Honda in the past. According to reports, Honda posted a Technical Service Bulletin in the summer of 2009 alerting its dealers to check Accords for possible infestation by the Yellow Sac spider, but had not issued a recall then. “Spider webs are clogging the EVAP canister vent hose or the drain box,” said Honda’s service bulletin with the corrective action being to clean the webs and install a spring in the drain box. Now, in the wake of the Mazda6 recall, Honda reportedly told its dealers to be on the lookout for the same spider in 2008-2009MY Accords. But while in the Mazda6 the spider webs could cause air pressure problems in the gas tank potentially leading to a crack and fuel leakage, Honda says that’s not the case with the Accord. "It's just not happening in our cars," Honda spokeswoman Christina Ra told CNN. The company said that in the Accord, the spider webs create blockages with the only visible symptom being a "check engine" light coming on.photos
Trussardi, one of Italy’s top design brands mostly known for its leather jackets, jeans, handbags and accessories, is celebrating its centennial anniversary this year with numerous events and special products, one of which includes a cooperation with BMW Italy. The two companies joined forces to design a limited edition version of the 5-Series Gran Turismo with bespoke styling cues.The design of the 5-Series GT by Trussardi is said to have been inspired by the world of leather and gloves, which characterized the origins of the Italian brand. The emphasis was on new exterior details and a more luxurious interior treatment. On the outside, Trussardi’s designers tried to polish up –pun intended- BMW’s crossover model with a an exclusive warm metallic brown named ‘Heraldic Brown’ that features three layers of paint. Numerous elements, such as the double kidney grilles and the window line decorations are in the same color as the body, while the strip in the front air intake and the 20-inch alloy wheels are finished in a dark grey matte color. Trussardi’s coat of arms that appears on the front fenders rounds off the exterior changes. Inside, the 5-Series GT’s seats are covered in a special Glove Beige color, with contrasting stitching that creates a caned motif inspired Trussardi’s glove series, while the company’s logo is embossed on the headrests and the center tunnel.The 5-Series GT by Trussardi is available with two petrol and two diesel engines, all of which can be equipped with BMW’s all-wheel drive system. The engine range includes a 3.0-liter turbo diesel with 245HP (530d) or 300HP (535d), a 3.0-liter turbocharged petrol with 306HP (535i) and a 4.4-liter V8 turbocharged petrol with 407HP (550i). BMW said the 5-Series GT by Trussardi will be built by custom order adding that it takes approximately six-weeks to complete each car. Pricing has not yet been announced. photos
