Hybrids: the hottest
vehicles of the future
U.S. hybrid sales jumped more than 34
percent last year
 Hybrids
are still niche vehicles, but at their current rate of growth,
they could dominate the roads in another five or 10 years.
U.S. hybrid sales jumped more than 34 percent to a total of
338,851 in 2007, according to CNW Marketing Research in Bandon,
Ore. The only other vehicle segment that grew faster than
hybrids in 2007 was what CNW calls “budget cars.” Sales of these
small, inexpensive models, which include the Chevrolet Aveo,
Honda Fit, and Toyota Yaris, grew at an astonishing rate of
nearly 48 percent.
With rising gas prices and higher fuel economy standards
mandated by the federal government, analysts expect hybrid
technology to proliferate in the coming years. “You’re going to
see wider availability of hybrid powertrains as options on more
and more vehicles,” says David Wurster, president of the
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based market research firm Vincentric.
“I don’t think they’re going to be the ‘unique’ vehicles for
much longer because it’s going to become commonplace
technology.”
With new models entering the market and their popularity
expected to rise, CNW predicts that 1.1 million hybrids will be
sold annually by 2010.
Though their numbers continue to swell, hybrids still carry a
premium for the added hardware, usually electric motors and a
battery pack, estimated on average to be $3,000 over the cost of
their conventionally powered equivalents. But unless this figure
drops dramatically or gas prices take another large leap, some
feel the price differential will continue to be a barrier to
hybrids’ widespread acceptance. “It comes down to the old adage
that, ‘there’s no free lunch’,” says John Wolkonowicz, a senior
market analyst with Global Insight in Detroit. “You can build
vehicles that get better fuel economy and with reduced
emissions, but there’s a cost connected to all that.”
To help soften the financial blow and spur sales, the federal
government provides an income tax credit for buyers of hybrid
vehicles. This credit can be as much as $3,000 on a vehicle like
the Ford Escape Hybrid or Mercury Mariner Hybrid. However, these
credits are phased out once an automaker sells 60,000 hybrid
vehicles.
The tax credits have already expired for Toyota and Lexus models
and are in the process of being phased out for the Honda Civic
Hybrid. The Civic Hybrid’s credit was cut in half to $1,050 on
January 1, and will be reduced to $525 after July 1. Hybrid
vehicles from automakers that haven’t met the sales quota will
continue to qualify for a full tax credit through 2008.
Currently, this includes the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury
Mariner Hybrid.
This year, hybrid powertrains are being fitted into some of the
most unlikely vehicles: full-size SUVs. The Chevrolet Tahoe
Hybrid and GMC Yukon Hybrid are now available, and hybrid
versions of the Cadillac Escalade, Chrysler Aspen, and Dodge
Durango go on sale late in 2008 as 2009 models.
****
Why did I buy a car !
By Lal Alawatte
M.I.M.I (UK), Dip. Auto.Eng. (Jap.)
This is the first of a series of columns. The key reason that
urged me to pen some words about the vehicles and the Sri Lankan
vehicles buyers in general was the experiences I have gained as
an automobile engineer for the last 26 years.
If I were to say most Sri Lankans, who presently own motor
vehicles and others who intend to buy in the future, do not have
a rational and logical answer, if one were to ask why did or why
will you buy a vehicle, will you be shocked?
There is nothing shocking about it when you associate buying a
motor car with the buying behaviour of the Sri Lankan people!
Most of the Sri Lankans regard vehicles as a symbol of status.
Can a Third World country like Sri Lanka afford to have motor
vehicles as symbol of status, especially with the skyrocketing
fuel prices?
As an automobile engineer, I can say that there is an increasing
need in the country of a proper mechanism to educate the people
who are intending to buy a vehicle in the future. It is very
heartbreaking to note that Sri Lanka is the only country where
people buy motor vehicles, which they really don’t want to!
“I never wanted to buy this car but what to do, that was all the
money I had…”
“Frankly I didn’t like the car, but my broker said it was one
hell of a deal…”
“My neighbours had been using that car from the time immemorial
and they were literally roaming from Point Dendro to Point Pedro
every weekend. So my wife said we should buy the same vehicle…”
Above are several dialogues we frequently hear from the Sri
Lankan people, who are not satisfied with their vehicles.
Mainly, there are four factors that you should keep in mind when
you are buying a motor vehicle. Apart from that you should try
to keep yourself away from all the prejudices that Vattuhamy
Mudalali had when buying a vehicle for his son Aravinda in
Martin Wickramasinghe’s Yuganthaya!
First of all, before buying a vehicle, the intending buyer
should identify the purpose of buying a particular vehicle. What
is the point of buying a 1.5 million vehicle to go on a picnic
twice a month with all your kith and kin? There are several
automobile types such as motorbikes, passenger cars to earth
moving and special purpose vehicles, and each vehicle type is
designed to serve a different purpose. Yet, it is very
unfortunate to see that some Sri Lankans lose their entire
fortunes by buying vehicles without any purposes.
The second most important factor is the legal status of the
vehicle. Basically, there are three types of vehicles available
in the Sri Lankan market; vehicles used in Sri Lanka, used
unregistered vehicles and brand new vehicles through an agent or
a franchise. When you are buying a vehicle, you have to clarify
the authenticity of the vehicle’s paper work with the relevant
authorities.
The third is the availability of spare parts in the country.
Presently, there are so many vehicles on Sri Lankan roads for
which spare parts are not available locally. The worse part is
for some vehicles there are no authorised agents in the country.
Market value of the vehicle can be considered as the fourth
important fact that a buyer should consider. Interior, exterior
and all the mechanical details of the vehicle should be checked
by a qualified person. Why we talk about the market value is
that you don’t buy a car for your entire lifetime. At some point
you will be selling your car to buy a new one.
One thing you always have to keep in mind is that a motor
vehicle is an investment. Thus, if you are thinking of buying a
vehicle, remember to pay your attention to at least to these
four factors and avoid sleepless nights and long dreary hours at
your garage.
****
Land Rover’s stunning new LRX concept car
These are the world’s first pictures of the stunning new LRX
concept car, a three-door compact off-roader that’s tipped to
hit the road in 2010. Finished in pearlescent white paint, the 4
seater is a dramatic evolution of Land Rover’s traditional
ideals. In a bold move into a new niche the newcomer will rival
the forthcoming BMW X1, and Audi Q5.
Smaller, lighter, and built using reclaimed and recycled
materials, the LRX is intended to demonstrate the firm’s
commitment to reducing the environmental impact of its new cars.
Launched as Land Rover prepares to celebrate its 60th
anniversary, one of the car’s stated goals is to become one of
the least polluting vehicles in its class.
It should be no surprise that the model is the work of Brit
Gerry McGovern, who was also behind the creation of the landmark
Freelander in 1997. Described as a cross coupe, rather than an
SUV, or 4x4, the LRX is slightly smaller than the new Freelander
2, but nevertheless designed to be more up market than its
bigger brother.
Much of this is thanks to greater emphasis on leather upholstery
and liberal use of the kind of materials most often used in the
likes of the flagship Range Rover.
****
New three-door Mazda2 to debut at Geneva
Show
The new Mazda2 three-door hatchback will make its world
premiere on Tuesday 4 March at the 78th Salon International de
l’Auto de Genčve. This is the first time that Mazda has offered
a three-door variant in its popular Mazda2 model range. The
newcomer will feature all the attributes of the five-door
hatchback, but delivering an even sportier feel at a more
affordable price.
The new Mazda2 three-door hatchback is designed to attract new
customers and boost Mazda’s continued growth in the European
market. It comes with the same power train line-up – the lively
and responsive MZR 1.3-litre and 1.5-litre petrol engines and
the MZ-CD 1.4-litre turbo diesel – as the five-door hatchback.
These engines achieve high fuel efficiency together with
particularly low CO2 emissions.
The three-door Mazda2 shares the same overall dimensions as the
five-door and achieves a similarly modest kerb weight, model for
model. The five-door Mazda2 has already demonstrated that by
completely redesigning the body and chassis and implementing
Mazda’s unique ‘gram strategy’, the brand’s small car weight
could be reduced to under the 1,000 kilogram threshold. This
outstanding result reverses the industry trend towards bigger
and heavier cars.
Launched in September 2007 as Mazda’s first new-generation
Zoom-Zoom vehicle to evolve to the next level, the new Mazda2
was an immediate hit with European customers. In December 2007,
it was awarded a 5-Star safety rating by Euro-NCAP and it has
won more than 20 automotive awards. These include Car of the
Year awards in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark,
Greece and New Zealand, along with the Japan RJC Car of the
Year.
The Geneva Show will also witness three Mazda European debuts:
the Mazda Taiki concept car, equipped with a next-generation
rotary engine, the Mazda5 Hydrogen RE Hybrid and the upgraded
Mazda’s RX-8 four-seater, four-door sports car.
****
Maruti to beef up R&D
Maruti Suzuki is planning to treble the number of engineers
and designers at its R&D (research and development) centre over
the next three years.
The company at present has little less than 300 people in its
R&D wing. This will go up to 1,000 in three years, according to
company sources.
The move on the R&D front comes even as Maruti Suzuki is gearing
to roll out a range of new models such as Swift Sedan, A-Star
and Splash in the near future. In the medium-term, it is
planning to launch the D-segment car, Kizashi.
The company is also stepping up work in alternative fuel
segments like LPG, where it has shown success with WagonR Duo
and Omni.
“Maruti has an aggressive plan for model launches in the next
few years. This will require plenty of design and development
work for which we have to step up capability,” a top company
official said.
S. Nakanishi, Managing Director, had asserted that Maruti was
ready to play a major role in Suzuki’s global operations. It is
integrating rapidly with Suzuki’s game plan of launching world
strategic models. In the light of the success of world strategic
models like Swift and SX4, Maruti will be launching other Suzuki
world models like Splash and A-Star in the next 12-18 months.
The A-Star will be manufactured exclusively by Maruti and
exported to Europe and the rest of the world. Suzuki Chairman
and CEO, O. Suzuki, had always wanted Maruti’s R&D facilities to
be on a par with Suzuki Japan.
****
Nissan Carwings wins energy conservation
prize
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. today announced that its eco-driving
service available on its CARWINGS navigation system has won the
ANRE (Agency for Natural Resources and Energy)
Director-General’s award in the 18th annual Energy Conservation
Prize. The award is bestowed by the Agency for Natural Resources
and Energy in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and
the Energy Conservation Centre, Japan.
The award is open to the public, and covers a wide range of
energy conservation innovations, including use of new energy
-and resource-saving or high energy-efficient materials,
equipment and systems for non-military use. The award serves to
recognise innovative ideas in order to accelerate wider
commercial application of new energy conservation technologies.
The goal is to achieve a more energy-efficient society via the
adoption of new ideas towards energy conservation, reduced
emissions and environmental conservation. Nissan’s CARWINGS
service was recognised for its contribution to improve road
traffic congestion and driver-behaviour, and deliver sustainable
results in fuel-consumption improvement.
Fastest route guidance system. This service calculates the
fastest route to a given destination based on real-time traffic
information, combined with statistical and historical database,
via Nissan’s proprietary software to project the anticipated
traffic conditions. The system reduces commute times and
increases average speed, leading to higher fuel-efficiency. The
service is available to CARWINGS members via the navigation
system or the Nissan call-centre service.
Fuel consumption patterns are published on the CARWINGS website,
allowing members to compare their eco-driving performance
against other members, based on the same vehicle model. The
service also delivers personalised fuel-efficiency rankings for
the CARWINGS member and weekly tips to improve their eco-driving
skills. The CARWINGS eco-driving service offers a sustainable
approach in changing driving behaviour to minimise the impact to
the environment.
Nissan’s CARWINGS service has also been awarded the 2007
Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Prize in the
Eco-Services Division of the 2007 Eco-Products Awards.
Under the Nissan Green Program 2010 mid-term environmental plan,
the company aims to develop and introduce new technologies,
products and services that lead to real-world reductions in CO2
emissions, cleaner emissions to preserve the air, water, and
soil, and recycling of resources.
****
Renault-Nissan to rival Tata Nano
Buoyed by the overwhelming response to Tata Motors’ Nano,
French auto major Renault, today, said that, in partnership with
Japan’s Nissan, it will rival the world’s cheapest car with its
own version.
The company, which was earlier planning to roll out a US$ 3,000
car, has scaled down the targeted price, with its Chief
Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn hinting that the expected cost
would be around US$ 2,550.
Tata unveiled the world’s cheapest car, at US$ 2,500, in New
Delhi on January 10.
****
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