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