Peugeot RCZ

Peugeot RCZ
PSA Peugeot-Citroen, plans to expand its market share by trying to enter the premium segment. Meanwhile, Citroen’s first start by introducing DS3, which is the first model for the French manufacturer of luxury class. The Peugeot as his brother has announced that it will also develop a similar type called RCZ.

To bear the luxury sedan, the division established a separate Peugeot-Citroen as well as made-called “hors-Serie”. That is, this is a special division to make a car with limited production. Thus Autoevolution site launched, Wednesday (17/3/2010).

RCZ will enter a new line-up starting in June next Peugeot. The car had been on display at the Geneva Motor Show which recently took place. Sedan 2 +2 coupe model with height 1.36 meters dibanderol USD 280 million for the lowest model and USD 338 million for the most expensive type that also use the 2.0 L diesel engine

The variant with a 1.6 L gasoline engine turbocharger equipped with maximum power 156 HP and 240 Nm of torque. This car is more powerful than the version of the same machine. Strength with 200 HP and 255 Nm of torque as it languished in the engine room the MINI Cooper S.

The second model works planned hors-Serie appear next year, but in the form of 508 station wagon. This product will replace the type 407 and 607. In 2012, hors-back Serie third vehicle delivery. Although the existing design, the model is still a secret.

Our Truck of the Year Gets Good JD Power Scores

DETROIT – Ford is pretty proud of its latest JD Power and Associates Initial Quality Score (IQS) results, released Monday. The Ford F-150 scored just 88 problems per 100 vehicles, tying the Toyota Tundra in its segment for best pickup truck score. The industry average for all cars and trucks that JD Power measured averages 108 problems per 100 vehicles. This year marks the first time the F-150 had led its segment since 1996, which also coincided with an all-new model.

So with the new F-150’s scores, Ford is disproving the old rule that you should avoid the first model year of a new model if you want good quality.

High quality was designed in to the manufacturing process, says Bernie Fowler, Ford’s group vice president for global quality. That means the design makes it hard for line workers to make mistakes in building the truck. The supply base also is part of that solution, Fowler says, and Ford will continue to improve the manufacturing process to increase quality, he says.

The F-150 isn’t the only bright spot among all-new models. JD Power also singles out the Acura TL, Honda Pilot and Nissan 370 Z.

Good news for the domestic brands is that initial quality has improved 12 points in the last year. In 2008, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler averaged 124 problems per 100 vehicles. This year, it’s 112 problems per 100. That’s four points short of the average overall; 108 for the industry, down from 118 per 100 vehicles last year.

On the other hand, Jaguar suffered a drop in score, to 134 problems per 100 vehicles, from 112 per 100 in ’08. This year, it’s tied with Dodge. Jaguar says its number-one ranking in another JD Power survey this year, for three-year dependability, better reflects the “huge progress we’ve made.”

And here’s where the IQS results get tricky. Do they reflect real problems, the kind that mean you have to drop off your brand new car before work and pick it up a day or two later? How much nit picking occurs? This is the kind of variable that’s hard to measure, making it impossible to determine exactly how close Chevy or Ford quality is to Toyota or Honda quality, for example.

Jaguar says its drop this year is the result of minor problems with its new XF sedan. “Ninety percent of the score is from one model’s launch, the XF, in which minor launch glitches/issues impacting the score have since been resolved,” says Stuart Schorr, Jaguar Land Rover’s North American veep for communications and public affairs.

Which glitches? The touch-sensitive glovebox button, which looks cool in the XF but can open the glovebox on your date’s knees when it’s brushed by mistake. Or, it doesn’t open as easy as it should. Jaguar has abandoned the button for a conventional latch. Schorr also cites a fuel filler flap problem that also has been solved.

“The score was also impacted by customer questions on brake dust, a common issue,” he says.

There’s also the question of whether Jaguar owners, for example, demand more than Ford F-150 owners, for example. I don’t think that’s true anymore – the F-150 hasn’t been a simple, low-content model for some time. King Ranches and Platinum trim level models can easily breach the lower end of Jaguar’s price range.

The important question, as we report how rapidly GM’s and Ford’s quality (Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep all are still near the bottom of the list) catches Toyota’s and Honda’s, is, how close are they, really? Are Camry or Civic owners expecting more because of what they’ve had in the past, or are the domestics really as trouble-free as JD Power suggests?

Cadillac jumped from 13th to third this year, with a score of 91 PPH, just behind Porsche (90) and Lexus (84). At 102, Ford is just ahead of Chevy (103) and behind Toyota and Mercedes (101), Honda (99) and fourth-place Hyundai (95). On the other hand, some of the best-scored models are cars and trucks that their makers have been making so long, they had better be well built. Pontiac G6 tied with Chevy Malibu for second-best midsize car (Nissan Altima was first) and the best-rated large car was the Mercury Sable.

Source : blogs.motortrend.com/6524077/car-news/our-truck-of-the-year-gets-good-jd-power-scores/index.html

?koda History

1905 Laurin & Klement A: ?koda Auto Museum, Mlad? Boleslav, Czech Republic

The origins of ?koda go back to the early 1890s where, like many long-established car manufacturers, the company started out with the manufacture of bicycles. It was 1894, and 26-year old V?clav Klement, who was a bookseller by trade in Mlad? Boleslav, in today’s Czech Republic, which was then part of Austria-Hungary, was unable to obtain the right spare parts to repair his German bicycle. Klement returned his bicycle to the manufacturers, Seidel and Naumann, with a letter, in Czech, asking for them to carry out repairs, only to receive a reply, in German, stating: “If you would like an answer to your inquiry, you should try writing in a language we can understand”. A disgusted Klement, despite not having any previous technical experience, then decided to start his own bicycle repair shop, which he and V?clav Laurin opened in 1895 in Mlad? Boleslav. Before going into business partnership with Klement, Laurin was an already established bicycle manufacturer from the nearby town of Turnov.

In 1898, after moving to their newly-built factory, the pair bought a Werner “motorcyclette” , which was produced by French manufacturer Werner Brothers. Laurin & Klement’s first motorcyclette (which was powered by an engine mounted on the handlebars driving the front wheels) proved dangerous and unreliable ? an early incident on it cost Laurin a front tooth. To design a safer machine with its structure around the engine, the pair wrote to German ignition specialist Robert Bosch for advice on a different electromagnetic system. The pair’s new Slavia motorcycle made its debut in 1899. In 1900, when the company had a workforce of 32, Slavia exports began, with 150 machines shipped to London for the Hewtson firm. Shortly afterwards, the press credited them as makers of the first motorcycle.

The first model, Voiturette A, was a success and the company was established both within Austria-Hungary and internationally. By 1905 cars were being produced by the firm. During the First World War ?koda was engaged in war production.

After WWI it began producing trucks, but in 1924, after running into problems and being hit by a fire, the company sought a partner. As a result it merged with ?koda Works, the biggest industrial enterprise in Czechoslovakia. Most later production was under the ?koda name. After a decline during the economic depression, ?koda was again successful with models such as the Popular in the late 1930s.

During the World War II Occupation of Czechoslovakia, the ?koda works was turned into part of Hermann G?ring Werke serving the German World War II effort.

wikipedia

Proton History

Based on technology and parts from Mitsubishi Motors, production of the first model, the Proton Saga began in September 1985 at its first manufacturing plant in Shah Alam, Selangor. Initially the components of the car were entirely manufactured by Mitsubishi but slowly local parts were being used as technologies were transferred and skills were gained. The 100,000th Proton Saga was produced in January 1989.

Until the end of the 1990s, the car’s logo featured the crest from Malaysia’s coat of arms, featuring a crescent and a fourteen-pointed star. The new Proton logo features a stylized tiger head. In 1993, a model called Proton Wira was introduced based on the Mitsubishi Lancer/Colt. More than 220,000 units were sold between 1996 and 1998. Proton Perdana, based on the Mitsubishi Galant/Eterna, was first produced in 1995, intended for higher end market. The Proton Waja (Proton Impian in UK), which launched early 2001, is the first car model designed internally by Proton.

By 2002 Proton held a market share of over 60% in Malaysia, which was reduced to barely 30% by 2005 and is expected to reduce further in 2008 when AFTA mandates reduce import tariffs to a maximum of 5%. (See “Trivia” section for update on tariff implementation)

With the acquisition of Lotus technologies in 1996 from ACBN Holdings (a company owned by the owner of Bugatti), Proton has gained an additional source of engineering and automotive expertise. This led to the production of Proton Gen-2 which was code name Wira Replacement Model (WRM) before the launch. The Gen-2 is the first of cars to be manufactured and assembled at the new manufacturing plant in Tanjung Malim, Perak which is part of Proton City development project. The plant was opened in 2004. On June 8, 2005 Proton introduced the second model to be manufactured in Tanjung Malim, the 1,200?cc 5-door supermini, the Proton Savvy. Both the Gen-2 and Savvy, were models that MG Rover was looking to rebadge when the British firm entered into collaboration talks with Proton. However these joint-venture talks were unsuccessful and MG Rover subsequently collapsed.

In 2007, Proton launch its new sedan as replacement version for Wira Sedan but with new name, Persona. The new Proton Saga replacement model (codename Proton BLM) was launched on 18th January 2008. The new Saga is based on the Savvy platform, but using Campro 1.3L instead of Renault engine. It was announced on August 8, 2008 that Proton is developing a new, fuel-efficient hybrid car to beat rising costs and address environmental concerns. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told reporters that he had already test-driven the car and urged the company to continue researching energy-saving techonologies.

As of August 3, 2008, Proton has produced 3 million cars since 1985, where the 3 millionth car is a second-generation Saga.

History Of Toyota

In 1933, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works created a new division devoted to the production of automobiles under the direction of the founder’s son, Kiichiro Toyoda. Kiichiro Toyoda had traveled to Europe and the United States in 1929 to investigate automobile production and had begun researching gasoline-powered engines in 1930. Toyoda Automatic Loom Works was encouraged to develop automobile production by the Japanese government, which needed domestic vehicle production partly due to the worldwide money shortage and partly due to the war with China. In 1934, the division produced its first Type A Engine, which was used in the first Model A1 passenger car in May 1935 and the G1 truck in August 1935. Production of the Model AA passenger car started in 1936. Early vehicles bear a striking resemblance to the Dodge Power Wagon and Chevrolet, with some parts actually interchanging with their American originals.

Although the Toyota Group is best known today for its cars, it is still in the textile business and still makes automatic looms, which are now computerized, and electric sewing machines which are available worldwide.

Toyota Motor Co. was established as an independent and separate company in 1937. Although the founding family’s name is Toyoda (??), the company name was changed in order to signify the separation of the founders’ work life from home life, to simplify the pronunciation, and to give the company a happy beginning. Toyota (???) is considered luckier than Toyoda (??) in Japan, where eight is regarded as a lucky number, and eight is the number of strokes it takes to write Toyota in katakana. In Chinese, the company and its vehicles are still referred to by the equivalent characters (traditional Chinese: ??; simplified Chinese: ??; pinyin: f?ng ti?n), with Chinese reading.

During the Pacific War (World War II) the company was dedicated to truck production for the Imperial Japanese Army. Because of severe shortages in Japan, military trucks were kept as simple as possible. For example, the trucks had only one headlight on the center of the hood. The war ended shortly before a scheduled Allied bombing run on the Toyota factories in Aichi.

After the war, commercial passenger car production started in 1947 with the model SA. In 1950, a separate sales company, Toyota Motor Sales Co., was established (which lasted until July 1982). In April 1956, the Toyopet dealer chain was established. The following year, the Toyota Crown became the first Japanese car to be exported to the United States and Toyota’s American and Brazilian divisions, Toyota Motor Sales Inc. and Toyota do Brasil S.A., were also established.

Toyota began to expand in the 1960s with a new research and development facility, a presence in Thailand was established, the 10 millionth model was produced, a Deming Prize and partnerships with Hino Motors and Daihatsu were also established. The first Toyota built outside Japan was in April 1963, at Port Melbourne in Australia. By the end of the decade, Toyota had established a worldwide presence, as the company had exported its one-millionth unit

Wikipedia