Toyota’s latest Corolla for Japanese market features new technologies

It's always interesting to see what other parts of the world are doing to see what we will eventually be getting here in North America....

2013 Toyota Corolla Axio

Toyota Motor Co. is fitting new technologies into its redesigned 11th-generation Corolla as an attempt to give the compact car a more glamorous feel. The Japanese version of the Corolla will sport features like climate-controlled seats, safety belts with pre-tensioners, automatic high-beam headlamp dimmers as well as automatic interior lights. Toyota has started selling the Japanese version of the Corolla. However, it is still unclear whether the Japanese carmaker will also install those features in the overseas versions of the Corolla. However, Hiroya Fujita, chief engineer of the Japanese Corolla, remarked that the company wants to fit as many common parts as possible in all Corolla versions worldwide.

The Japanese version of the Corolla differs both in size and performance from the United States version of the nameplate. Also the two Corolla’s have separate chief engineers. Toyota is planning to announce the rollout schedule of the overseas versions of the Corolla next spring. According to Fujita, the US version of the Corolla will be powered by a 1.8-liter engine, while the Japanese variant is ran by a 1.5-liter powerplant.
Fujita remarked that the US version of the Corolla will be wider, longer and taller than the Japanese variant. Although both cars will sport similar interiors, they will don different exteriors, most notably the front fascia and grille. According to Fujita, stiffer competition in the global small-car market has prompted Toyota to make the improvements.

Source;
http://www.4wheelsnews.com/toyotas-latest-corolla-for-japanese-market-features-new-technologies/

Apple’s Hiring Automotive Engineers, Is An ‘iCar’ Infotainment System Coming?

By Matt Hardigree

Apple is once again proving they're still the company Steve Jobs built. After years of saying "meh" to working with automakers on tighter integration of Apple products into automotive infotainment systems, there's evidence Apple is now hiring people to build a system for them that'll work with all their devices.

The in-car infotainment marketplace is primarily split between people who already have existing deals with Microsoft to use their Windows CE-based Windows Embedded Automotive 7 system (Ford SYNC, Kia UVO, Toyota Entune) and those that don't (GM and the Volkswagen Audi Group, to name just a couple).

Volkswagen's top executives did meet with Steve Jobs in 2007 to discuss ways the company could work together, but nothing has been publicly announced other than Apple products showing up in VW concept cars.

Given Microsoft's almost full-decade jump on Apple in the space it's not hard to believe somewhere deep in Cupertino there's been a group developing their own car audio integration solution for automakers or customers (the idea of Apple building its own car, however, is ludicrous... at least at this point).

But, a hint that Apple might be in the process of actually trying to build a version of whatever concept they might have developed comes via China Car Times, who noticed a head-hunter posting in the automotive section of LinkedIn in China.

The representative of Allegis-BN says Apple China is looking for someone who can fill the role of a Supplier Quality Engineer/New Product Integration supervisor with experience in CNC/die casting/stamping/plastic injection who knows Chinese manufacturing.

That could mean they're looking for the kind of person you'd need if you were trying to manufacture a device to fit into a car dashboard — or that the type of person who knows his way around a CNC machine in automotive applications could translate that skill to other non-automotive uses. This could even just be the consumer electronics juggernaut of cool trying to build a prototype of a previously-developed concept.

This is nowhere near definitive proof that Apple is entering the space, but it's certainly a big clue that they might be. And, since Apple is famously tight-lipped when it comes to discussion of future product until it's being boxed up and shipped out it's not like we're going to get official confirmation. For the moment we'll have to rely on rumors and clues like this one to determine the reality of an Apple in-car automotive infotainment system.

Well, unless someone in China ends up leaving a plastic-injected or CNC-cut prototype center console in a bar. And if they do, let me be the first to say we know what to do when that happens.

Source;
http://jalopnik.com/5889578/apples-hiring-automotive-engineers-is-an-icar-infotainment-system-coming

2012 Porsche 911 Gets Official With 7-Speed Manual, Start/Stop System

Porsche's 991 911 is the next step in the evolutionary line

It may be hard for the untrained eye to spot the differences between the older 997 and new 991 versions of the 911, but people have been saying that for years when it comes to Porsche's most famous model. The 911 may have not changed significantly when it comes to styling, but there's enough going on under the flesh to justify it being called an "all-new" model.



First of all, in a move that is sure to anger some purists, the 911 is growing in size yet again (the last big jump came with the 996 introduction). The rear-engined sports car is now 3.9" longer overall bringing total vehicle length to 179.5". However, Porsche counters with the fact that the body weight weight of the vehicle is down 100 pounds thanks to the use of lightweight steel, aluminum, and composites.



Also new to the mix is a “world first” 7-speed manual transmission for those that prefer to row your own gears. For those that would rather have a computer micromanage your shifting, the 7-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) is available. Porsche has also installed an automatic start/stop system in the 911 which will help to improve fuel efficiency while driving around in the city.



Although Porsche has not revealed U.S. EPA numbers for the new 911, the company says that fuel consumption is down 16 percent compared to the outgoing model using the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC).



The engines are mostly carryover this time around, but power is up for both the Carrera (3.4) and the Carrera S (3.8). The 3.4-liter flat-6 is up 350hp (an increase of 5hp) while the larger 3.8-liter flat-6 jumps to 400hp (up 15hp).



As in previous models, 911s with the PDK transmission will be faster on the track than the manual-equipped cars. The Carrera with a PDK can hit 60mph in 4.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 179mph. The Carrera S with PDK and Sport Chrono Package can do the dance in 3.9 seconds and reach 188mph.



However, all of this fun is going to cost you a serious amount of coin -- the base MSRP for the Carrera is listed at $82,100. Stepping up to the Carrera S will set you back a whopping $96,400, and that's before the option overload that greets you when it's time to order your new 911.



Source;

http://www.dailytech.com/2012+Porsche+911+Gets+Official+With+7Speed+Manual+StartStop+System+/article22516.htm

New Car Engine Sends Shock Waves Through Auto Industry

Despite shifting into higher gear within the consumer's green conscience, hybrid vehicles are still tethered to the gas pump via a fuel-thirsty 100-year-old invention: the internal combustion engine.

However, researchers at Michigan State University have built a prototype gasoline engine that requires no transmission, crankshaft, pistons, valves, fuel compression, cooling systems or fluids. Their so-called Wave Disk Generator could greatly improve the efficiency of gas-electric hybrid automobiles and potentially decrease auto emissions up to 90 percent when compared with conventional combustion engines.

The engine has a rotor that's equipped with wave-like channels that trap and mix oxygen and fuel as the rotor spins. These central inlets are blocked off, building pressure within the chamber, causing a shock wave that ignites the compressed air and fuel to transmit energy.

The Wave Disk Generator uses 60 percent of its fuel for propulsion; standard car engines use just 15 percent. As a result, the generator is 3.5 times more fuel efficient than typical combustion engines.

Researchers estimate the new model could shave almost 1,000 pounds off a car's weight currently taken up by conventional engine systems.

Last week, the prototype was presented to the energy division of the Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is backing the Michigan State University Engine Research Laboratory with $2.5 million in funding.

Michigan State's team of engineers hope to have a car-sized 25-kilowatt version of the prototype ready by the end of the year.

Source;
http://news.discovery.com/tech/new-car-engine-sends-shockwaves-through-auto-industry-110405.html

New Toyota glass blocks UV by 99%

Toyota has invented an innovative glass technology that claims to reduce ultraviolet (UV) light penetration into the front of the car by approximately 99 per cent.

The new front-door glass will be used in various new cars to be launched on international markets during 2011.

Combined with UV-reducing windscreens, the use of the new front-door glass will result in an approximate 99 per cent reduction in overall UV penetration through the front-door windows and windscreen. Toyota estimates that the resulting sunburn protection is equivalent to that of wearing gloves while driving.

Windscreens, which use laminated glass, reduce UV by approximately 99 per cent through the use of a UV-blocking film between two sheets of glass in the laminating process. Door windows, however, generally use single-piece tempered glass that is often instilled with UV-absorbing material to achieve approximately 89 per cent UV protection.

For the new front-door glass technology, the interior side of the window glass has been surfaced with a high-performance UV-absorbing film to achieve approximately 99 per cent UV-reduction.

Source;
http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/cars/toyota/toyota-glass-blocks-uv-by-99-1.1002298