CarBuyersNoteBook

London is Now the Electric Car Capital of the World?

With plans to introduce 100,000 electric cars and 25,000 charging stations, London looks like it will earn the title of being the electric car capital of the world. The move is seen as London’s initiative to fight the growing concern for the rising problems concerning carbon emissions. The same initiative is being done all over the world but nothing definitive in numbers have so far been bared similar to that of London.

And to entice consumers to embrace this new alternative, the usual incentives to drivers to switch to electric vehicles is of course included. If all works well, the new direction should help address London’s declining air quality, considered one of the worst in Europe.

(Source) MNN

Posted in Alternative Energy, Cars, Enviroment | 0 Comments

Chevy Volt Equipped With Driver-Controlled Low Horn Audio Signals

Electric cars are great for addressing the issues surrounding alternative power for vehicles but like anything, they are not exempt from some areas. They will be quieter and eco-friendly but the safety of disabled people may be in question. This pertains for that issue on blind people who are walking the streets. The issue was first hurled at the Nissan Leaf which added futuristic noises at low speeds to warn pedestrians. Now the Chevy Volt has announced its own initiative, adding low horn audio signals that will be controlled by drivers.

On one hand, the Leaf has shown to be safer considering it makes sounds wherever it is though a bit irritating. The Chevy Volt leaves it up to the driver but some questions in mind such as driver responsibility comes into mind especially if they don’t keep their eyes on the road. Well there is always a loophole somewhere and hopefully they don’t pop out once these cars are in the streets.

(Source) Crunchgear

Posted in Alternative Energy, Enviroment, Nissan | 0 Comments

2000-2001 Toyota Tundra Lacks Rust Proofing? May Be Recalled

For all the owners of Toyota Tundra trucks, it would be advisable to make a periodic check of your chassis. Reports have it that some owners have been complaining about severe frame rust which may eventually lead to broken brake lines and loosening spare tires. The year models affected are 2000 and 2001 and covers about 218,000 vehicles. There have already been reports of underbody-mounted spare tire separations from the rear crossmember and broken brake lines. Fortunately, no accidents have been reported yet so take the initiative and check or observe these parts from time to time.

If investigations reveal that these are indeed Toyota’s fault once again, it may become the second recall after the celebrated floormat design unintended acceleration defect. Worse, it can really dampen the brand image of Toyota, something it doesn’t need right now with their floundering sales due to the recession.

(Source) Press

Posted in Cars, Industry, Toyota | 0 Comments

Toyota Issues Floor Mat Warning

How dangerous is a floor mat when it comes to associating it with car accidents? Well as far as Toyota is concerned, the current recall in the car mats that they package with their Toyota Lexus is still a puzzle. A fatal car crash which claimed four lives in Southern California last month has forced the arm of Toyota to order its dealers to make prior inspection of car mats in the light of this unfortunate tragedy.

It seems that the car mat caused the Toyota Lexus to get out of control, forcing it to crash into another vehicle, turn over and burst into flames. But to this day, no one knows if these car mats were truly the culprit but just the same, Toyota has taken the initiative for this tragedy.

Some tips to drivers when it comes to car mats though. Avoid the thick mats to be used in cars. Do not place more than one mat since this may become a reason for your accelerator to get stuck. Check out your car now. This could make all the difference between life and death on your end.

You can watch the report here.

Image Credit

(Source) Yahoo

Posted in Cars, Industry, Lexus, Toyota | 0 Comments

Watch Your Windows This Summer

Access to a car by bystanders starts with windows. Normally, these are kept closed but knowing how thieves operate, they will always find some way to break into your car and steal some of the things that they see such as your expensive car radio or maybe even the stuff you leave carelessly in your car.

Post Office Car Insurance takes the initiative in reminding motorists on the importance of making sure that windows are closed and making sure that valuables left inside their car are kept out of sight. By doing these simple reminders, you can save yourself the trouble of your car being broken into and losing some prized possessions.

(Source) Press

Posted in Business, Cars, Industry | 0 Comments

Car Color Preferences Driven by Social Factors

Who would ever thought that a simple selection of car color could be much trouble? Well as far as car manufacturers are concerned, these are small things that play an integral role in the car manufacturing process. For one, they need the numbers to know which cars (and colors) they have to supply. It is not as simple as overstocking them since with hard times now, business optimization also means wise manufacturing processes.

DuPont take the initiative in tracking the consumer buying behavior to which they attribute everything to social factors. Money, mood, and marketing vary and play an important role on the color preference of potential car buyers. This includes soliciting data from varying regions, determining which color/s are indeed suitable.

Here are some color meanings that should give you an idea of what really drives customers to pick the car color of their choice:

• Red or light violet – passion
• Deep red – security
• Blue – communication
• Blue-green – wholeness
• Indigo – understanding
• Yellow-green – empowered/assertive
• Orange – self-esteem/confidence

(Source) Press

Posted in Business, Cars, Industry | 0 Comments

Ford Sponsors Essence Music Festival

Ford will be sponsoring the 2009 Essence Music Festival, coming in as a first year sponsor for this event headed by Beyonce in New Orleans. Ford has been known to choose the events it will sponsor but as far as New Orleans is concerned, it is simply giving back to the community and to support their various women empowerment and multicultural initiatives during the nation’s largest annual gathering of African-American music and culture.

As a proud partner of the influential Festival, Ford has created unique programs for New Orleans, ranging from the sponsorship of the Women’s Day Seminar to vehicle ride and drive opportunities with various products in the Ford portfolio, including the All-New 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, the vehicle that allows you to drive 700 miles on a single tank of gas.

“Ford is pleased to partner with Essence on such an important initiative,” said Crystal Worthem, Multicultural Marketing Manager, Ford Motor Company. “The Essence Music Festival truly is an event that empowers women while simultaneously allowing them the chance to have fun for a weekend. We are excited to be a part of this year’s event.”

(Source) Press

Posted in Business, Ford | 0 Comments

Toyota of South Florida to Plant One Tree for Each Car Sold

Toyota of South Florida announces its own contribution towards eco-friendly issues today. To help address the lack of trees which are diminishing in numbers, Toyota has announced that they will be planting one tree for each car sold last April.

For the record, Toyota of South Florida sold 310 cars meaning that they will be donating 310 trees to American Forests, the world leader in planting trees for environmental restoration. Now this eco-friendly initiative should be something that environmentalists will surely praise. We are all aware that trees have been dwindling in numbers due to illegal logging and chopping and hopefully this effort translates into something better for the environmental needs today.

Cars sold in April in honor of Earth Day included the Corolla, the Camry, the Yaris, the Matrix, the Solara, and the Scion XD which are all vehicles available at Toyota of South Florida that provide more than 30 highway miles per gallon.

(Source) PR Web

Posted in Enviroment, Industry, Toyota | 0 Comments

Eco-Friendly Nissan Cars Demand Up in Japan

Thanks to a tax incentive announced by the Japanese government on low-emission cars, Nissan received a large orders for its eco-friendly cars. Among the notable vehicles that may lead the uprising demand in Japan included the NV200 Nissan Vanette light commercial vehicle bringing the total to 15 on domestic cars that are eligible for tax breaks.

Japan had lowered taxes on green vehicles last month which is foreseen to put an additional 310,000 vehicles in sales in the financial year to March 2010. Nissan for its part took the initiative for the impending demand, improving their engines with a big marketing push.

Nissan’s Shiga acknowledged that the lack of a hybrid car was a concern it often heard from dealers, but stressed that its extensive offering of fuel-efficient gasoline-engine cars would help lower emissions on the whole at the automaker.

(Source) Asia One

Posted in Cars, Enviroment, Nissan | 0 Comments

Automakers Launch Fight Against Online Fraud

There are a lot of things you can purchase online these days and cars are included. And while technology has made it easier for the modern consumer, it has also become an opportunity for crooks to take advantage of. For that matter, key automotive industry leaders announced today they are forming an alliance to address the growing threat of fraud in the online private party used car marketplace. ‘F.A.I.R.’ (Fraud Abatement through Industry Response) will host their first one-day roundtable event, including a public forum for Q & A, in Los Angeles on April 23, 2009 at the historic Petersen Automotive Museum.

Forty-four million used cars were sold in the US last year; over half of which were sold online. During the same period, Internet fraud rose 33 percent, according to a recent F.B.I./IC3 report. With consumer confidence at an all time low, the threat of increased risk could dampen online sales and further harm the ailing automotive industry if steps are not immediately taken to address this challenge.

“The for sale by owner market is being choked by fraud,” said Reza Bundy, CEO of Mota.com, a partner in the F.A.I.R. initiative. “The occurrence of fraud and financial loss in the peer-to-peer space is increasing and together our intent is to create standards that will ensure fair and square transactions for American consumers.”

(Source) Press

Posted in Business, Cars, Industry, Law | 0 Comments