Banned Again: Toyota Prius TV Ad Gets Axed For Exaggerating CO2 benefits!

Believe it or not but the British Adverting Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a second Toyota hybrid-car related ad in a month! This time it’s for a Prius TV ad that misleadingly claims it emits less CO2 than an equivalent diesel engine family car. About a month ago, ASA pulled the plug off a Lexus RX 400h magazine advert for falsely implicating that it caused little or no harm to the environment and had low CO2 emissions in comparison with all cars.

The Prius TV commercial, created by Saatchi & Saatchi Japan, claimed "what if all cars were like the Prius, with its hybrid synergy drive technology, it emits up to one tonne less CO2 per year" On-screen text stated "1 tonne of CO2 less than an equivalent family vehicle with a diesel engine. Average calculated on 20,000km a year. Toyota Prius: CO2 emissions: 104g/km".

The problem was that, according to ASA’s investigations, the chart used by Toyota to make the calculations held data on petrol and diesel cars as opposed to merely diesel. Moreover, while the average annual distance driven by private cars in the US was 20,000km, the average for the UK was 13,440km. -Click “Read More…” for ASA’s press release

Ad: A TV ad, for the Toyota Prius, claimed "what if all cars were like the Prius, with its hybrid synergy drive technology, it emits up to one tonne less CO2 per year" On-screen text stated "1 tonne of CO2 less than an equivalent family vehicle with a diesel engine. Average calculated on 20,000km a year. Toyota Prius: CO2 emissions: 104g/km".

Issue: The complainant challenged whether the claim "it emits up to one tonne less CO2 per year" misleadingly exaggerated the environmental benefits of the car.

Response: Toyota sent a chart that took an average of the emissions of new cars registered in 2005 and compared that with the emissions of the Prius. The chart showed that, on average, new cars registered in 2005 emitted 172g of CO2 / km, while the Prius emitted 104g / km. They said they had taken the difference of 68g/km and multiplied it by 20,000km, which they considered a reasonable average annual distance travelled by a car. That gave an emissions saving of 1.36 tonnes. The chart also gave emissions figures for individual cars with engines of between 1.2 and 2.2 litres. They said they had chosen 1.8 litres as a threshold of comparison because although the Prius had a 1.5 litre engine, they believed its output was comparable to a 2.0 litre engine. They sent a document that compared the output of the current Prius with the first generation Prius hybrid and the Toyota Allion, which had a 2.0 litre engine. They argued the chart showed that the Toyota Prius emitted one tonne less of CO2 than a range of cars with engines either side of their threshold of comparison and pointed out they had qualified the claim by stating "up to" 1 tonne less to make clear that the emissions saved would not always be as much as 1 tonne.

The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) said they had checked Toyota's evidence with an independent consultant, who had advised it was suitable to show that the Toyota Prius emitted significantly less CO2 than other cars.

Assessment: Upheld

The ASA noted on-screen text stated that the claim compared the Prius with "an equivalent family vehicle with a diesel engine" and that it made clear calculations were based on an annual driving distance of 20,000km a year. However, we noted that the chart sent by Toyota held data on petrol and diesel cars and that, while the average annual distance driven by private cars in the US was 20,000km, the average for the UK was 13,440km.

We noted that the chart drew on UK government data and compared the Prius against a range of cars from different manufacturers, but the document that measured the output of the car was produced inhouse and only compared the Prius against the previous model and another Toyota car.

We did not consider that document suitable to establish that the output of the Prius was comparable to all 2.0 litre cars registered in 2005. We noted that none of the cars with 1.5 litre engines featured in the chart emitted 1 tonne more CO2 than the Prius and that less than half of those new cars that had engines of less than 1.8 litres emitted 1 tonne more CO2 than the Prius.

We noted that Toyota had qualified the claim by stating "up to one ton less CO2 per year" and that the Prius emitted significantly less CO2 than some other cars with greater engine capacity, but we did not consider their evidence demonstrated that it emitted 1 tonne less than equivalent vehicles with diesel engines or that it took into account the average annual distance driven by private cars in the UK.

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.1 (Evidence), 5.2.2 (Implications), 5.2.6 (Environmental claims) and 5.4.6 (Comparative advertising).

Action: The ad should not be broadcast again in the same form.

Technorati: Toyota, Toyota+Prius, Lexus, Carscoop, blogs, automotive, vehicles

Buy One Get Two: Dunkin Donuts Split Car For Sale On Ebay

Dunkin Donuts has used this sawed in half 1980 Eagle to advertise their new SoBe Energy Coolata, and now, it’s being auctioned on E-bay! It was custom built by Premier Studio Rentals which is the leading supplier of vehicles for the motion picture and television industries. The car is completely cut in half and is perfectly contained. From the pics it looks as though no car parts were spared during the “division”. Is there even a saw blade big enough to cut through this thing so perfectly? The commercial should post a disclaimer too: “Warning: Dunkin Donuts is not responsible for your children’s behavior while consuming this beverage. All children under the age of 18 should have an adult or parent present.” -Check out the Video after the jump

Posted by Dani

Via: Autoblog.com

ACEA Accepts Toyota Motor Europe’s Application For Full Membership

As anticipated, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) announced that it has accepted the application of Toyota Motor Europe (TME) to become a full member of ACEA. The Japanese carmaker’s membership will start in January 2008. Back in May, ACEA had announced that its members would take a formal decision on June 8 at the association’s general assembly. Until now, ACEA had 13 members: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, DaimlerChrysler, FIAT, Ford of Europe, General Motors Europe, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge, Porsche, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault, Scania, Volkswagen and Volvo.

Commenting on the announcement, ACEA’s President and CEO of Fiat Group stated, “We welcome Toyota Motor Europe in our midst and are convinced TME will make a valuable contribution to the work of our association. ACEA and TME share the same challenges and concerns with regard to EU regulation and our sector’s competitive strength. Together we will give even more vigorous input to the on-going process of improving the EU regulatory framework and the “better regulation” agenda of the European Commission.”

On Toyota’s behalf, Tadashi Arashima, President of Toyota Motor Europe stated, “We are very proud to have been accepted as a full member of ACEA. We now have an important presence in Europe and so joining the European automotive association was the next logical step. We look forward to working more closely with fellow members on the issues confronting the industry.”

Chrysler Admits Nitro & Sebring Are Mediocre Products, But Vows To Make Up

We could’ve avoided being so blunt and titled the post as “…Nitro & Sebring miss mark”, but what’s the point of hiding behind your finger when this is so evident in a recent Chrysler Group internal employee question-and-answer report that “accidentally” fell into the hands of Detroit News.

According to the report, Bob Lee, head of powertrain engineering who answered several employee questions noted that Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda and Chief Operating Officer Eric Ridenour, are "quite upset" and agree the company "missed where the market was to end up versus our projections."

Among other conclusions from the report is that in concern with the Sebring and Nitro -- two of 10 products Chrysler launched last year, the company underestimated competitors, set standards too low in some areas and was not where it needed to be in areas such as fuel economy, interior quality, and limiting noise and vibration. Commenting on this Lee wrote, "as a result of these embarrassing 'misses,' there are extremely aggressive actions being taken on many of the existing products -- and also the yet to be introduced products to get us at least to the middle of the competitive pack in very short order.” In other words, we’re going to get it right next time.

According to Detroit News, Chrysler Group spokesman Rick Deneau confirmed the authenticity of the employee Q&A report noting that it was designated to be seen by a relatively small group of employees. Obviously not. What do we think? Well, first of all, by admitting a problem you’re halfway to solving it. Our second thought is that we seriously doubt that a report like this would have ever “accidentally” fallen into the hands of journalists if Mercedes hadn’t announced Chrysler Group’s sales. Sounds to us like someone’s searching for an escape goat.

Read Detroit News article here

Technorati: Dodge, Chrysler, cars, autos, vehicles

Ford Focus WRC-S: Special Version Limited To 666 Units

We know what your thinking, and the answer is no, we haven’t a devils clue to as why Ford decided limit production to exactly 666 units. What we do know though is that the special edition WRC-S was unveiled by Ford’s WRC driver, Marcus Gronholm, at the Barcelona Motor Show (June 6-19) and it’ll be available (for the time being) solely to the Spanish market. Based on the 3door, 136Hp Focus 2.0 TDCi, the diesel powered sport hatch is equipped with the same bodykit as the 225Hp Focus 2.5T ST along with 18-inch rims. The only difference is that it also receives eye popping WRC decoration stickers on both sides along with the production number.

Inside, the WRC-S gets a set of new sporty black colored seats with white lineation and matching floor mats, aluminium pedals and, well that’s about it. No 3-spoke steering wheel by the way. The Focus WRC-S has a base price of €21.595 ($29.000) in Spain, which means it’s €1.430 ($1.925) more expensive than your next-door neighbor’s Focus 2.0 TDCi. -Click “Read More…” below for more pictures

Technorati: Ford, Ford+Focus+WRC-S, cars, autos, vehicles

Alfa Romeo 147 Murphy&Nye

The Italian carmaker has joined forces with Murphy&Nye, a company renown for its nautical clothing and sportswear, to create a special version of the 5door version of the Alfa 147. Powered by the 120Hp 1.9 JTDM, the 147 Murphy&Nye feautures an exclusive Light blue Crystal bodywork, 17” alloys and a chrome-plated exhaust terminal. The grille, whiskers and wing mirrors all have the same satin-effect finish, while the Murphy&Nye logo decorates the pillar and rear end.

Inside, the Murphy&Nye edition further boosts the 147’s luscious interior with blue and cream trim accents. Just look at those sporty leather seats with blue side strips and a cream seat, and the Alfa logo embroidered in red on the head restraints; makes the BMW 1-Series and Audi A3 interiors look like they’ve been designed by a sunless mechanical engineer living in Pleasantville, doesn’t it… -Continued: Click “Read More…” below

Other features of the special edition 147 include the red coulisse on the gaiters of the gear lever and hand brake knobs and on the document pockets of the seats gives. Further more, the are kick-panels decorated with the M&N logo and the rope and frogging pattern on the mats underline. But if that’s not enough, there’s a generous range of M&N accessories that includes a large bag, a key-ring and a document folder with the company logo. Standard equipment on the Alfa 147 Murphy&Nye includes foglights, dual zone automatic climate control, Cruise Control, a trip computer, VDC, ASR, 6 airbags and a radio complete with CD player and 6 speakers. The Alfa 147 Murphy&Nye is available exclusively with a 5-door body and a list price of €24.690 on the road.

Technorati: Alfa+Romeo+147, cars, autos, vehicles

Bugatti Veyron: 365km/h - 227mph on the Autobahn

So how does it feel like going 365 km/h or 227 mph on the German Autobahn with a 1001 Hp Bugatti Veyron? According to Autocar’s Chris Harris who points out more times than our ears can handle; i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e. Can’t say that we share the same enthusiasm with the old chap –even my century year old grandma’s aunt could probably manage to push the pedal to the metal in the autobahn. Still though, the video might be worth a few minutes of your time. Via: Autoblog.nl

Technorati: Bugatti+Veyron, cars, autos, vehicles

BMW Group Posts 7.0 Percent Sale Rise In May

Thanks to the rising sales of the new BMW X5 and Mini hatch, BMW Group managed to increase sales in May 2007 by 7.0 percent to 128.408 units. According to the world’s largest premium carmaker, BMW-brand sales rose 5.8 percent from a year earlier to 108,488 units, while Mini sales increased by 14.0 percent compared to May 2006, climbing up to 19,864 cars. As for Rolls Royce, the British brand sold 56 vehicles, exactly the same as last May. Comparatively, the Mercedes Group’s (Mercedes-Benz & Smart) sales rose by 2.9 percent in May 2007 to 116.000 cars (partially due to the introduction of the new C-Class and Fortwo) while Audi’s sales advanced 10.0 percent in May 07 to just over 87.000 units.

• Brand: - May 07 - Difference May 06/07 – YTD 07 – Difference YTD 06/07
• BMW Group Automobile: - 128.408 - +7,0% - 580.043 - +2,1%
• BMW: - 108.488 - +5,8% - 494.712 - +1,9%
• MINI: - 19.864 - +14,1% - 85.110 - +3,5%
• Rolls-Royce: - 56 -0% - 221 - +3,3%
• BMW Motorräder: - 12.289 - -1,1% - 47.632 - +9,1%

Technorati: BMW, cars, autos, vehicles

Caparo T1: 575Hp & 550Kg Supercar In Final Test Stage

Developed by engineers that helped deliver the iconic McLaren F1, the Caparo T1 promises to get you as close to an F1 race car while remaining totally street-legal. Weighing in at 550kg or 1.212 lbs the T1 is equipped with a home-grown 3.5-litre Caparo V8 engine, which produces 575bhp (425kW) at 10,500rpm and 420Nm (310lbft) at 9,000rpm. Make the math and you’ll get the first series production car ever to break through the 1,000bhp-per-tonne barrier. To be exact, the T1 boasts a headline figure of 1,045bhp-per-tonne power-to-weight ratio! And how about performance? Well, the British supecar feautures a 0-60mph (96km/h) time of less than 2.5 seconds and the ability to reach 100mph within five seconds. Braking performance is no less impressive with 100mph to standstill being delivered in 3.5 sec.

And at what price? According to Caparo, as soon the hand-built supercar passes the final tests and goes into production, the T1 will feature a base price of £190,000 (excluding taxes) which comes to about €280.000 or $376.000. Now that’s an impressive figure. -Full press release along with specs and photos after the jump

Press Release

Caparo T1 breaks cover during final stages of test and development

Caparo Vehicle Technologies – a new and advanced automotive engineering consultancy formed a year ago by the rapidly expanding Caparo Group to provide carmakers globally with a centre of excellence in lightweight vehicle design – is putting the finishing touches to the first car it has ever produced.

The Caparo T1 is a high performance two-seater sports car with highly resolved aerodynamics, which has been designed with the looks and performance close to that of a Formula One race car. With series production about to commence, the car will be built for discerning customers seeking the ultimate track day experience in a road driveable vehicle. The Caparo T1 also serves as a technology flagship for demonstrating the company’s high level vehicle design and engineering capabilities.

“We said a year ago, at the outset of this programme, that the only way to truly convince carmakers that we have the experience and skills to design a safe, reliable, cost-efficient and high-performance car is to actually design and build one,” says Ben Scott-Geddes, the car’s co-designer and operations director at Caparo Vehicle Technologies. “We’ve now done so … we’re proud of what we’ve achieved … and we now have something real and tangible to discuss.”

Releasing full details of the car’s specification during the final stages of prototype testing and development, the company has revealed that while customer cars are being readied for start of production, preparations are also well in hand for the T1’s first public appearance as a running car and star attraction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 22-24 June 2007 – which effectively becomes the vehicle’s launch date.

With distributors appointed in the UK, USA, South Africa and Dubai and more dealers under evaluation the company has a fast-filling order book. The handover of the car to the first customer is scheduled for July.

The biggest attraction for customers and the most striking aspect of the car’s specification is its headline figure of 1,045bhp-per-tonne power-to-weight ratio. The Caparo T1 is the first series production car ever to break through the 1,000bhp-per-tonne barrier. This has been achieved by installing a home-grown 3.5-litre Caparo V8 engine, which produces 575bhp (425kW) at 10,500rpm and 420Nm (310lbft) at 9,000rpm, into an extremely lightweight body and chassis constructed of advanced composite materials and weighing just 550kg.

The Caparo T1 is around one-third the mass of the average family saloon. Its carbon/aluminium honeycomb monocoque features a separate composite crash structure at the front, while the rear sub-frame specifies aerospace grade steel. The non carbon-fibre steel suspension illustrates the company’s ability to specify structural materials that can deliver the maximum performance at the lowest possible cost.

This means the Caparo T1 is lighter and faster even than a race-winning Le Mans sportscar. In terms of power-to-weight ratio its closest rival would be the latest super-bikes, which are now capable of delivering 175bhp into 185kg thereby just falling short of the magic 1,000bhp-per-tonne figure. Apart from these two wheelers and Formula One cars, no other road or track car comes anywhere close to the Caparo T1’s power-to-weight ratio and highly efficient aerodynamic properties.

This supreme power-to-weight ratio results in a 0-60mph time of less than 2.5 seconds and the ability to reach 100mph within five seconds. Braking performance is no less impressive with 100mph to standstill being delivered in 3.5 seconds.

“We’re absolutely delighted with the progress we’ve made throughout the test and development programme,” says engineering director and T1 co-designer Graham Halstead. “The aerodynamic efficiency was already well established through wind tunnel testing of a scale model even before we built the first prototype. With tens of thousands of miles of durability trials and specific testing now under our belts we have progressively fine tuned the specification of the vehicle to meet and exceed even our high performance objectives.”

“The combination of highly resolved aerodynamics and chassis make the vehicle predictably safe and responsive to driver inputs,” adds Scott-Geddes. “The car drives and handles extremely well both on the road and track and this was the number one consideration in such an uncompromised high performance vehicle.”

“The Caparo T1 not only looks and performs like a Formula One car but it also helps us to demonstrate new and advanced technology to vehicle manufacturers in the aerospace, automotive, defence, marine and motorsport industries,” says Richard Butler director Caparo Vehicle Technologies and chief executive of Caparo Vehicle Products. “Already, we’re working on a number of highly confidential client projects, applying the same approach to aerodynamics, choice of materials and efficient vehicle design, which has allowed us to develop the T1.”

“Ultimately, our goal is to help carmakers to create a new generation of more fuel-efficient and lightweight family cars with significantly lower CO 2 emissions more in keeping with the needs of the 21 st century,” says Angad Paul chief executive of the $1.2bn turnover Caparo Group, a fast-growing automotive Tier 1 supplier, which created Caparo Vehicle Technologies to back the T1 project. “We will help carmakers achieve their objectives by continuing to invest in advanced technology in order to develop new lightweight materials and commercialise their manufacturing processes so they are affordable for mass production.”

“Given the car’s performance potential - the engine has already been successfully bench tested to 700bhp on methanol - we are now looking into the possibility of introducing for our customers an international T1 race series,” says commercial director Sean Butcher. “Our objective is to give customers an affordable and reliable season on the track without incurring the extraordinary costs of running a real Formula One car.”

“Customers comprise private individuals with a passion and desire for ultra high performance and corporate clients requiring an affordable yet prestigious track car for the fast growing market of hospitality race experience events,” added Butcher.

In terms of colour and trim each of these highly exclusive hand-built cars, which has a starting price of £190,000 (excluding taxes), will be tailored to suit individual customer requirements.

Caparo V8 engine specification:

• Bespoke 3.5 litre normally-aspirated fuel-injected V8
• 575bhp (425kW) at 10,500rpm
• 420Nm (310lbft) at 9,000rpm
• Original concept tested at up to 700bhp (515kW) on methanol
• Limited to 10,500rpm for reliability but designed for maximum 12,000rpm
• 90 degree V8, 4 valves per cylinder, 4 overhead camshafts
• 93mm bore / 64.3mm stroke
• Finger follower valve train system
• Lightweight titanium valves
• Aluminium head
• Aluminium block
• Steel billet ‘flat plane’ crankshaft
• Internal piston cooling system
• Aluminium / Nikasil liners
• Gas filled ring cylinder head sealing system
• Dry sump with one-piece sump / ladder frame for increased stiffness
• 8 butterfly throttle system
• Electronic sequential fuel injection system with twin-spray fuel injectors
• Engine concept is essentially to Indy racecar specification but with revs dropped to 10,500rpm for extended reliability in Caparo T1
• Pectel SQ6 engine control unit (ECU)
• Engine is fully stressed but installed in T1 to take torsion loads only
• Longitudinal, lateral and vertical loads taken up by tension and compression links to the rear of the chassis
• Engine runs on 98RON pump fuel at a fuel pressure of 5bar
• Fuel system is a return top tank system to eliminate fuel vapourisation
• Engine bottom end modified from race engine specification to increase main bearing tolerances and help cold start of the engine
• A bespoke carbon air-box and filter tray has been designed and installed to suit the Caparo T1
• Air filter is a mesh and washable filter system
• All up engine weight with ancillaries is circa 116kg

Caparo T1 vehicle specification

Overall description

• Advanced technology composites for ultra lightweight construction
• 575bhp V8 engine / 550kg kerb weight
• 1,045bhp-per-tonne power-to-weight ratio for ultra high performance
• Fully tuneable aerodynamics
• 2-seater
• Rear mid-engine layout
• Built for discerning customers but also technology flagship for Caparo Vehicle Technologies - demonstrating principles of lightweight vehicle design which can also be applied to everyday cars

Aerodynamics

• Front cockpit road aero screen, other options available for track use
• Ground effect diffuser
• Adjustable front twin element wing
• Adjustable rear single element wing
• Adjustable fowler flaps
• Low drag body design
• Range of wing options for road and track

Steering

• Magnesium cased lightweight high ratio steering rack
• Bespoke removable steering wheel

Capacities

• Dry sump tank 8 litres
• Fuel tank 70 litres

Body

• Carbon fibre multi part body with tuneable aerodynamics
• Designed in sections for easy repair
• Carbon/glass and Nomex panel construction

Chassis

• 2-seater carbon/aluminium honeycomb monocoque
• Separate front composite crash structure
• Rear tubular aerospace grade steel space-frame

Suspension

• Streamline double wishbone front and rear
• Tuneable front and rear anti-roll bar
• Five-way adjustable race dampers

Safety

• Central safety cell with high strength steel roll hoop
• Composite front crash structure
• Head protection system
• 6-point harness for driver and passenger compatible with HANS (head and neck restraint system) device
• Fire system

Electronics

• Fully tuneable engine ECU
• Bespoke wiring aerospace grade loom
• Multi-function race dash including data logging
• Speed sensors for traction and launch control
• Fly-by-wire throttle for optimum tuning

Gearbox

• Bespoke magnesium pneumatic paddle-shift gear change
• Paddle-shift gear change control
• Limited slip differential
• Equal length hollow tripode driveshafts
• Various gear and final drive ratios available

Brakes

• 355mm diameter steel race discs front and rear
• Fully floating discs
• Front 6 pot billet machined race callipers
• Rear 4 pot billet machined race callipers
• Fully adjustable brake bias pedal box
• Pad compound options available

Equipment

• Road legal SVA approved road version and full track versions available
• Road and track parts fully interchangeable
• Wet weather canopy/bib screen or race screen
• Further bespoke options to individual customer requirements

Weight

• 550kg (dry weight)

Technorati: Caparo+T1, cars, autos, vehicles