2012 Toyota Camry Spy video

Here's more on that spy photo of the next generation Camry.... I'd be surprised if this stayed up more than a couple of days....

2012 Toyota Camry Teaser Video

Promises to exceed expectations

Toyota has released the first teaser video for the 2012 Camry.

While there isn't much to see, Toyota president and CEO Akio Toyoda says the model is the "best Camry ever" and will "exceed your expectations." He also promised the Camry will be a "remarkable car in terms of handling, safety and fuel economy."

Additional information is limited, but the redesigned Camry will be available this fall.

Read more: http://www.worldcarfans.com/111063034613/2012-toyota-camry-teased-video#ixzz1QxKBTDba

Source;
http://www.worldcarfans.com/111063034613/2012-toyota-camry-teased-video

2012 Honda CRV Rearend Spyshot

Spied somewhere in China where apparently the current CRV is very popular.

Source (via www.burlappcars.com);
http://auto.163.com/

Burlapp Fine; 2012 Euro Honda Civic?

Not too sure what to think about this one, the front doesn't go with the body in my opinion....
Source;
http://www.burlappcars.com/2011/06/2012-euro-honda-civic.html

Woodyscarsite Find: 2012 Toyota Camry Illustration?

Source;
http://www.woodyscarsite.com/2011/06/2012-toyota-camry.html

Honda: Operating profit forecast not conservative

TOKYO: Honda Motor Co's annual operating profit forecast is not conservative given yen strength and rising raw materials prices, the automaker's chief financial officer said on Tuesday.

"I don't think assuming 80 yen to the dollar is conservative at all," Fumihiko Ike told a small group of reporters. "The same goes for raw material prices," he said.

Japan's No.3 automaker this month forecast a worse-than-expected 65 per cent fall in annual operating profit to 200 billion yen ($2.49 billion) for the year to March 2012 and projected a 6 per cent drop in global car sales to 3.3 million vehicles.

Many analysts consider its guidance overly conservative.

Source;
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/honda-operating-profit-forecast-not-conservative/articleshow/9021763.cms

2012 Honda CRV website up and running

Shrawan Raja of the sites below was kind enough to send a 'heads up' to the new 2012 Honda CRV teaser site up and running here http://automobiles.honda.com/2012-cr-v/

http://indianautosblog.com
http://indianmotosblog.com
http://steeringnews.com
This is straight from Shrawan's site;

Here’s what the website says -

With a new design—both inside and out, new features and new possibilities, the 2012 CR-V will set a new standard for the class. As a top-selling crossover for over five years, expectations for the 2012 CR-V are high and we’re confident they will not only be met, but exceeded. Much more will be revealed over the next several months so be sure to sign up on this page to receive updates.

The new CR-V is a crucial model for Honda in India as the 20-30 lakh rupee crossover/SUV space is prone to a lot of tussling. The Chevrolet Captiva, BMW X1, Toyota Fortuner and the Renault Koleos are very desirable cars and feature-packed and stylish enough to take away limelight away from the Honda. The lack of a diesel engine is hurting its sales in India. In America however this won’t matter as the market share of diesel cars is not considerable.
It is said that the new CR-V (codename 2WS) will arrive with a 4-cylinder gasoline engine producing 180 – 220 horsepower. A hybrid variant is reportedly another development exclusive to the Japanese and American markets

The incoming model according to reports online will be marginally shorter (4,535mm x 1,820mm x 1,685mm as opposed to the current model’s 4,575mm x 1,820mm x 1,680mm (L*W*H respectively) ) and slightly more fuel economical.

Source:
http://indianautosblog.com/2011/06/2012-honda-cr-v-microsite-live#ixzz1QTwURi00

2012 - 2013 Euro Honda Civic's

Here are a couple of pic's of what may be in store for UK Honda, a Hatchback (like the 2002-2005 Civic SiR that we saw here) and the sedan version of the Civic?!?

Thanks for pointing this out Ron!

Source (via Ron);
http://visions-autos.sport24.com

Honda is the brand with fewest warranty claims, study says

UK warranty specialist MB&G states that the companies that filed the fewest number of claims for the past year are those from Japan and Korea. Honda has received the top spot in this study. MB&G noted that as drivers have decided to keep the cars until they’re in their fourth years or even up to six years, there are some drivers who will be surprised with the type of maintenance costs that they’d have to incur.

Kevin Pearce, a director of MB&G, said that modern day cars are “reliable” but that errors are more common in the fourth or fifth years and if “the mileage reaches 70-100,000 miles.” He explained further that the cars feature plenty of electronic equipment that controls the engine management automatic gearbox and a small software error can often create issues.

Of course, there’s wear and tear that have to be considered. MB&G says that the average age and mileage of cars being is increasing, but generally, the corporate/SME market doesn’t like to go beyond the warranties. Pearce said that each year, tens of thousands of warranties are being processed. The average age of those cars are also increasing quite significantly. Pearce added that for now, there are more drivers who would drive around, thinking about purchasing a warranty for “extra peace of mind.”

Source;

http://www.4wheelsnews.com/honda-is-the-brand-with-fewest-warranty-claims-study-says/

Honda Greensburg plant gets survey's highest award

Honda Greensburg was named one of the world's best car assembly plants

.J.D. Power and Associates, a research firm that hands out an annual prize likened to the Academy Awards of vehicle manufacturing, on Thursday singled out the southeast Indiana factory.

Honda Greensburg received the researcher's highest rating, the Platinum Plant Quality award.The Greensburg plant, which assembles the Civic car, scored 24 problems per 100 vehicles, compared with an industry average of 107 problems per 100 vehicles.

"It's a real feather in the cap for a plant that is that new," said Ed Miller, American Honda Motor Co. senior manager for corporate affairs.

Honda opened the plant in 2008 after selecting 900 workers from about 30,000 job applications. Honda is now recruiting a second shift of about 1,000 workers to start late this year.

Honda plants differ from Toyota's and General Motors' by relying slightly less on automation and more on hands-on effort on the assembly line.

To obtain the results, J.D. Power surveyed 73,000 cars and trucks of all makes in the hands of buyers. The survey covers initial problems detected within 90 days of purchase of model year 2011vehicles.

Greensburg was tied for the Platinum award by Toyota's Lexus RX assembly line at Cambridge, Ontario, and Toyota Kyushu 2 in Japan, which produces the Lexus ES, IS and RX. Each plant scored 24 defects per 100 vehicles."

These results are an important demonstration of our focus on the customer and the tireless efforts put forth by Honda associates throughout our organization -- in R&D, in manufacturing and in sales -- toreflect the voice of our customers and to exceed their high expectations of Honda and Acura," Tetsuo Iwamura, chief executive of American Honda Motor Co., said in a statement.

Source;
http://www.indystar.com/article/20110624/BUSINESS/106240345/Honda-Greensburg-plant-gets-survey-s-highest-award

Lexus, Honda top J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey, Ford plummets

Despite being caught in the undertow of Toyota's recall and safety issues last year, Lexis tops J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Study (IQS) as the best brand in the survey being released today. Even better, Lexus' flagship LS sedan had the fewest problems of any vehicle in the first 90 days of ownership.

Meanwhile Ford, which was fifth last year and the only mass-market brand in the top five, fell to 23rd this year. It had 116 problems per 100 vehicles,up from 93 last year and worse than the industry average of 107 owner-reported problems. Its Lincoln brand dropped from No. 8 to 17 this year, with 111 problems.

Power attributed Ford results partly to two specific issues about which owners have complained: complicated communications and other controls and a dual-clutch automatic that some owners found balky and unpredictable. (Drive On friend Greg Gardner of the Detroit Free Press explained the complaints and predicted the IQS rating fall in a detailed story here.)

Power also said new technologies were an increasing problem for all makers. While the overall industry average improved to 107 from 109 problems last year, the IQS scores for models all-new or with major redesigns was 10% worse: an average of 122 problems, up from 111 last year. Carryover or lightly freshened models, by contrast, improved to 103 from 108.

"Exciting models with the latest features are crucial for winning over today's demanding consumers," said David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power and Associates. "However, automakers must not lose their focus on the importance of these models also achieving exceptional quality levels. Expected reliability continues to be the single-most-important reason why new-vehicle buyers choose one model over another."

Honda, Acura, Mercedes-Benz and Mazda rounded out the top five nameplates in the IQS survey, which is one of the most closely watched measures of quality in the car industry.

With Ford's fall, you have to go to ninth place before the first U.S. brand shows up -- Cadillac.

Only it and GMC were above the industry average of 107.

Land Rover showed the biggest improvement.

The worst brands for quality? That would be Dodge, followed by Mitsubishi and Suzuki. Still the gap between best and last isn't all that great. Lexus had 73 and Dodge had 137 per 100 vehicles -- and the study doesn't take into account whether the problem was as simple as a rattle in a glove compartment or as bad as a cracked engine block.

Overall, cars had fewer problems, but the number of issues increased slightly in new models.
"Automakers must not lose their focus on the importance of these models also achieving exceptional quality levels. Expected reliability continues to be the single-most-important reason why new-vehicle buyers choose one model over another," said David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power.

Only seven all-new or redesigned models rank among the top three of their respective award segments, compared with 17 models in 2010, and only one launch model receives a segment award this year vs. five launch models in 2010. Just one-fourth of redesigned models perform better than the outgoing previous-generation model did in 2010, and eight all-new models perform above their respective award segment average.

Honda picked up seven segment awards for the Accord, Accord Crosstour, Civic (in a tie), Element, Fit, Insight (in a tie) and Ridgeline.

Lexus receives four segment awards for the ES, GS, GX and LS models. For a second consecutive year, the Lexus LS has the fewest quality problems in the industry with just 54.

Source;
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/06/lexus-toyota-gm-ford-jd-power-initial-quality-survey/1

Burlapp find: 2013 Mitsubishi EVO Illustration

Gotta say, nice looking illustration....
"Another illustration, so who know what it will look like.But Road and Track reports that the Evo is not dead.And the new version would be powered by a Hybrid system, paired with a 1.6 Liter Turbo engine.Why not?We still need fun cars around. I just wish they also looked more fun. So far it's just been tricked out versions of the boring Lancer.How about its own design, for once. "

Source;
http://www.burlappcars.com/2011/06/2013-mitsubishi-evo.html

Toyota to reveal GRMN Hybrid concept at Nürburgring 24

TOYOTA TO UNVEIL NEW GRMN HYBRID CONCEPT AT NÜRBURGRING
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) will show the "GRMN (GAZOO Racing1 tuned by MN2) SPORTS HYBRID Concept II", a convertible mid-engined petrol-electric hybrid concept, at the 39th Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race taking place this weekend.

The GRMN SPORTS HYBRID Concept II is an updated version of a petrol-electric sports concept shown at Tokyo Auto Salon in 2010. The vehicle features advanced styling and an improved sports-hybrid AWD system with the main power unit (petrol engine, rear-wheel drive motors and transmission) mid-mounted in conjunction with a front-wheel drive motor. Positioned this way it improves manoeuvrability, increases driving enjoyment and provides enhanced stability.Toyota launched the world's first mass-produced petrol-electric vehicle, the Prius, in 1997, and has long conducted active research on applying hybrid technologies to racing and sports cars. The GRMN SPORTS HYBRID Concept II is the next step in the evolution of these efforts.

GRMN SPORTS HYBRID Concept II
EngineType
Petrol
V6

Displacement (cc)
3,456

Maximum output (bhp)
245

System Maximum output
(bhp)295

Body Length (mm)4,350
Width (mm)1,890
Height (mm)1,200
Wheelbase (mm)2,575
Weight (kg)1,500 or less

Vehicle layout
Mid-engined with front electric motor

Tyres
Front225/40R19
Rear255/35R1924

Hours Nürburgring Race Outline
Name39th ADAC Zurich 24h-Race 2011

Dates
June 23-26, 2011 (main competition runs from June 25 and 26)VenueNürburgring (Nürburg, Ahrweiler, State of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany)

1 A vehicle-development and motor-sports support program created by GAZOO, which also operates the GAZOO.com customer-participation portal site launched in 1998, "GAZOO mura" driving events and the "Drive Kingdom" large-scale test-drive events for the general public.

2 Stands for "Meister of Nürburgring", referring to Hiromu Naruse (1944-2010), a TMC test driver and chief of the GAZOO Racing team.

Source;
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/22/toyota-to-reveal-grmn-hybrid-concept-at-nurburgring-24/#continued