Best Green Global Brand 2013 - Toyota

Toyota confirmed its position of constant leader, for the third consecutive year, at the annual Interbrand report. The 2013 Best Global Green Brands award was won again by the Japanese automaker. The key methodology of the award determines the distance between the medium friendly performances of certain brands in comparison to the current average practices regarding protecting the environment.

Over 10.000 consumers from around the world have given Toyota credit not only for their commitment to gaining the leader spot when it comes to responsibility and protection regarding the environment, but also for their investment in innovative products like the pioneer model Toyota Prius. Toyota also invested a lot in various programs which have the objective to reduce the energy and water consumption in the entire operational process of making their cars as well as lowering the overall carbon dioxide emissions for their models.

Currently, the Japanese automaker has sold over 5.22 million Toyota and Lexus hybrid cars worldwide, which lead to an estimate reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, in comparison to regular cars, of about 35 million tones. Currently, Toyota is on a worldwide three year cycle of product launches which will lead, by the end of 2015, to the introduction of 21 new, modernized hybrid models.

The current lineup for the European markets includes 12 Toyota Hybrid models and 1 Lexus hybrid model. Currently, hybrid vehicles represent 18% of the total sales for the Toyota Motor Europe branch.

By 2015 Toyota aims to sell a hybrid models with the fuel cell technology based on hydrogen. The Japanese automaker’s commitment towards developing sustainable operations and obtaining the leadership position when it comes to protecting the environment leaves its mark on the entire life cycle of the Toyota products.

The Toyota Motor Manufacturing United Kingdom (TMUK) is the first foreign production unit of the Japanese automaker and the first automobile factory in Great Britain to obtain an ISO 14001 certificate for its environment management systems. In 2011, the largest solar panel park in the Great Britain hooked up to an industrial unit was accomplished at the TMUK and is currently composed of 16.800 solar panels. At its maximum capacity, the solar park can offer enough energy to build 7000 cars per year.

Last year, thanks to the fact that the Toyota dealership network in the Great Britain reduced the carbon emissions by 15%, there was a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of 3700 tones.

30 million Volkswagen Golfs

The extremely popular Volkswagen Golf has reached the 30.000.000 units produced in the entire world. The first generation of the German popular vehicle was launched in 1974. During its entire existence, the Volkswagen Golf received numerous awards both at European level as well as around the world.

In its 39 years of existence, Volkswagen sold in the entire world no less than 30.000.000 units of their Volkswagen Golf model. The anniversary one, the exact 30 millionth Golf, is a Volkswagen Golf TDI BlueMotion, the most efficient model in the history of the German compact model. After the official unveiling of the car, scheduled to take place tomorrow, the car will be on display at the Volkswagen museum.

The seventh generation of the Volkswagen Golf was launched last year at the International Auto Saloon of Paris. The Volkswagen Golf earned the World Car of the Year 2013 award, one of the most prestigious distinctions in the auto industry.

The 2013 Volkswagen Golf is available starting from 15.578 Euro for the Trendline equipment level with the 1.2 TSI engine capable of developing 85 horsepower. For 18.720 Euro the Volkswagen Golf comes with the same level of equipment but with a 105 horsepower engine.

The cheapest diesel version of the Volkswagen Golf comes with a 1.6 TDI engine capable of developing 90 horsepower available starting from 18.004 Euro. With the Highline equipment package the Volkswagen Golf comes with a 2.0 TDI engine capable of developing 150 horsepower for a price starting from 22.639 Euro.  

2013 Opel Insignia revealed

Opel officially revealed a series of photos and information of Insignia model. The 2013 Opel Insignia has gone through a facelift process and will be launched later this year, in the autumn, at the International Auto Saloon in Frankfurt. The new Opel Insignia will be available with a new petrol unit with a turbocharger that will have outputs ranging from 170 and 250 horsepower. Another new powerhouse will be the turbo diesel engine that will have an output of 140 horsepower and an average fuel consumption figure of just 3.7 liters per 100 kilometers.

The German automaker revealed that the facelift version of their model will officially be launched in Frankfurt later this year. The Opel Insignia will benefit from a series of new equipment levels and a new design.

A new generation infotainment system will be available for the new Opel Insignia. This new system integrates a lot of features that will help out smartphone users. More than that, it will be easily and intuitively accessed thanks to the 8 inch touch sensitive interface on the central console.

The 2013 Opel Insignia will be powered by three different types of fuel, more precisely each buyer will have to choose between a diesel propulsion, a petrol unit or a LPG unit with the final output ranging between 110 horsepower and 325 horsepower.

The new Opel Insignia 2.0 CDTI is available in both a 120 horsepower version and a 140 horsepower version. The 140 horsepower version of the 2.0 CDTI engine of the Opel Insignia has an average fuel consumption of 3.7 liters per 100 kilometers.

The most powerful diesel unit available is the 2.0 BiTurbo CDTI which has an output of 195 horsepower. The high performance diesel engine with bi-sequential turbochargers has a torque of 400 Nm and offers a very prompt response for a large of revs.

Extremely impressive are the petrol units. More precisely, the 2013 Opel Insignia comes with two turbocharged direct injection petrol units: the 1.6 SIDI Turbo engine, a new generation unit, with an output of 170 horsepower and 260 Nm (up to 280 Nm thanks to the amplification system, hence the SIDI name) and the real muscle unit, the 2.0 SIDI Turbo petrol engine with 250 horsepower and 400 Nm. For those of you wondering, SIDI stands for Spark Ignition Direct Injection.

Both of the petrol units can be coupled with a six speed manual transmission and a Start/Stop system or the new six speed automatic transmission with reduced friction. Along with the front wheel drive version, the 2013 Opel Insignia 2.0 turbo SIDI version is also available with all wheel drive.

13th Edition of "Best 4x4" Romania

The “Best 4x4” Romania competition wants to award the automobiles with the best results in both off-road and on-road. It is interesting to mention that all the participating automobiles have the same equipment levels as those found in the showrooms.

At the start of the 13th edition of the competition there were four automobile categories: Pickup, Off-road, SUV Premium and SUV. The on-road stages took place on the National Road 73A, between the Mateias mausoleum and the Holcim factory. The off-road stages took place on two mountain tracks set up around the Leresti county.

In order to be eligible for this competition, all the models must have been on sale in Romania in the first half of the year 2013. All the models in the competition had only factory equipment, homologated by the automakers for normal road use. No improvements or modifications of the drive train, body, transmission or engine were allowed. The tires were those mentioned as being the official equipment of each car.

The Best 4x4 Pickup category was won by the new Ford Ranger. The Ford Ranger managed to defeat other experienced models in the segment like the Nissan Navara, the Mitsubishi L200 and the Isuzu D-MAX. The Ford Ranger impressed the jury with its off-road qualities, its extremely safe driving behavior as well as the decent fuel consumption. It is important to mention that the downhill assistance system worked very nicely, despite the manual transmission on the Ford Ranger.

The Best 4x4 Off-road category was dominated by the new generation Range Rover, which also won the award. The British SUV convinced the members of the jury with its exquisite qualities, both on tarmac and on the off-road tracks, where the Range Rover combines the comfort offered to the passengers with the remarkable easiness in going over any obstacle. The Range Rover clearly beat its contenders at the off-road category, the Suzuki Jimny and the Volkswagen Touareg.

The Best 4x4 Premium SUV award was won by the Audi Q3 thanks to its out of the factory high quality, dynamic behavior and polyvalence in exploitation. The Audi Q3 managed to defeat the Land Rover Freelander 2 and the Audi Q5.

The most important award, the Best 4x4 SUV was won by the Mitsubishi Outlander. The Japanese SUV had important competition, including the Nissan X-Trail, the Kia Sorento, the Hyundai Santa Fe, the Honda CR-V, the Ford Kuga and the Dacia Duster. The members of the jury appreciated the mix between the on-road qualities of the Mitsubishi Outlander and the off-road abilities.

Kia recalls a number of models for brake pedal issue

Kia has announced through its dealership chain that it is launching a recall campaign for a number of models, including the Kia Carnivel (2006 – 2007 model), the Kia Soul (2010 – 2011), the Kia Sorento (2007 – 2011) and the Kia Sportage (2007 – 2010). The reason for the recall is the preventive replacement of the electric contactor of the breaking pedal. Kia has announced a couple of thousands vehicles in Europe are being recalled for this reason.

The automobiles which have this flaw can develop a number of malfunctions because of the intermittent operation of the brake pedal contactor. Some of the flaws that can show up include the braking lights which won’t turn on or off. Another malfunction that can appear, but only depending on specific levels of equipment on the Kia models, is the ESC light on, the malfunction of the Cruise Control system, the malfunction of the START button, not being able to move the gear shifter from the P position in the automatic gearbox. In Europe, there were no accidents caused by one of these flaws until now, but the South Korean automaker is looking to fix it before that is a case.

All of the costs of the recall will be supported by Kia Motors Company, without any financial involved from the customer side. Starting this month, owners of the vehicles that might be affected by the above mentioned flaws will be informed, by letters, to take their car to the nearest Kia authorized service unit. The entire operation of replacing the contactor lasts about 45 minutes on average, depending on the exact model.

SsangYong shows its new lineup

Wallis Automotive Europe will launch this summer the new range of models for the SsangYong automaker. Amongst the newcomers we can count the SsangYong Actyon Sports, the SsangYong Rexton W and the new SsangYong Korando. Later this year, towards the autumn season, the new MPV model named SsangYong Rodius will make its debut.

The new compact SUV SssangYong Korando is the first of the new models in the European lineup of the South Korean automaker. The design of the compact terrain vehicle was done by the famous Italian stylist Giorgetto Giugiaro. The SssangYong Korando is a landmark for the South Korean company as it is the first car to feature a monocoque chassis in the automakers’ entire history. The new SsangYong Korando will be available with one petrol engine and two diesel units as well as a choice between a manual gearbox and an automatic six gear one. Customers will also have a choice between the advanced all wheel drive traction and the front wheel drive option.

The completely new SsangYong Rexton W, a large terrain premium vehicle, will be available as a seven seat version. The body is independent from the chassis. The SsangYong Rexton W comes with a non permanent all wheel drive system with a lockable reductor. Thanks to all of these qualities, the SsangYong Rexton W will offer a great price to quality ratio for its class.

The new SsangYong Actyon Sports, in contrast to the traditional pickup trucks, is not just a vehicle used for labor, as it can be very nicely used as a family car or a recreational vehicle as it offers total comfort for a maximum of five people. These qualities are possible thanks to the fact that the SsangYong Actyon Sports uses an independent rear suspension with five arms, offering a level of comfort which one could normally find in regular road cars. Other pickup trucks normally use leaf springs which severely reduces the ride comfort.

Volkswagen Canyon - a SUV based on Polo?

In the most recent number, published at the beginning of this month, the French magazine Auto Journal concentrates its attention towards the future models that will be launched in the years to come in the Volkswagen SUV range of models.

Leaving aside the new generations of the existing models, like the Volkswagen Tiguan, there will some all new models in the lineup of the German automaker.

One of the big surprises should be the new Volkswagen Canyon, a SUV based on the Volkswagen Polo. The car is not an official project of the German automaker, but more likely what the French auto magazine is imagining it should be like.

The Volkswagen Canyon should be of the same size and class as its potential French rivals, the Peugeot 2008 and the Renault Captur. The Volkswagen Polo based SUV should be an urban crossover, meant to make its debut at latest at the end of the next year with a starting price of 15.500 Euro for the western markets.

The Volkswagen Canyon should be followed by its sibling, the Volkswagen Taigun, as the last new SUV model in the range of the German automaker along with the second generation of the Volkswagen Tiguan and the Volkswagen Touareg.

Photo via: Auto Journal