Russian auto plant reduces car prices

Great news for the Russian automotive industry from the Gorky Automotive Plant.

Gorky Automotive Plant is setting unified prices for 'GAZ' cars all across Russia. As a result, the prices will decrease in the regions located far from the production center. For example, in the Russian Far East the prices will decrease by RUR17000 for passenger cars and by RUR24-55000 for commercial vehicles.

These changes in the pricing policy aim to make the products maximally close to customers and to further improve the services of the maintenance-sales network at sale and after-sale point servicing.

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Honda updates Element

American Honda Motor Co., Inc, announced that the substantially updated 2007 Honda Element LX and EX went on sale at $18,900. That accounts for an average increase of just 2.7 percent or $572 on a sales weighted basis (not including the all-new Element SC). The all-new Element SC, which goes on sale September 28th, will start at $22,695. Destination and handling charges for all 2007 Honda models is $595.

The extremely versatile Honda Element SUV undergoes a transformation for 2007 with freshened styling, 10 more horsepower, new 5-speed automatic transmission and extensive new standard safety equipment that includes side curtain airbags and Vehicle Stability Assist. The all-new sporty variation, the Element SC, will also debut with a sport-tuned suspension, "Street Custom" styling and premium features. The 2007 Honda Element returns with an extensive list of advanced safety equipment while providing a new level of sophistication and refinement. Honda believes that the expansion of the Element lineup to include the Element SC, will appeal to an even broader set of customers and Honda enthusiasts.

In addition to new safety equipment, more than a dozen enhancements have been made to the Element LX and EX, highlighted by new headlight and grille styling, a more powerful 166-horsepower 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine, Drive-by-Wire(TM) throttle control system, new interior color schemes, standard painted exterior body panels (EX only), Maintenance Minder(TM) system, black urethane flooring, new gauge designs and more. As a further enhancement, the addition of seat-integrated front safety belts to all Element models allows for much easier rear passenger loading and unloading.

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New automotive R&D facility from MG Motors

MG Motors has set-up a new research and development facility for the University of Oklahoma. This could help turn OU into a world-class automotive engineering school reports OU Daily.

Thomas L. Landers, Dean of the College of Engineering said that MG Motors North America Inc. plans to set up shop somewhere on campus this fall and will eventually construct its own facility near the Stephenson Research and Technology Center south of the main campus.

The facility will employ a combination of company engineers, OU faculty, and students with paid assistantships, and there will probably be one student for each full-time engineer.

Chinese automaker Nanjing Automobile Corp., which last year purchased the assets of legendary British sports carmaker MG from a bankruptcy court, announced July 12 that it had picked Oklahoma City as the headquarters for its new MG Motors subsidiary.

The company plans to employ about 550 people in Oklahoma, with some 150 at the Oklahoma City headquarters, 325 at a manufacturing plant in Ardmore, and about 35 at the research facility in Norman. The engineering and research team will require people with a variety of backgrounds and skills.

The facility will also provide work experience and research opportunities for aerospace and mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, industrial engineers, computer scientists and chemical engineers who will work with materials, fuel mixtures and combustion processes.

The OU program with the most direct connection to the auto industry is aerospace and mechanical engineering, and there is a number of Oklahoma University students with an interest in the auto industry. The university has a chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers, which sponsors a racing team.

Only a few professors at OU do automotive research and students interested in the automotive field have had few opportunities to get into the industry so far.

Having an R-and-D facility in OU's backyard will be a huge step forward for the automotive education in the academic institution.

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BMW chooses Zenon software

The BMW Group has chosen to use zenOn software solutions for their plants world-wide. Copa-Data zenOn will manage the security and reliability at all production plants. The German car manufacturer is confident that it could increase efficiency and productivity considerably across their plants. The BMW Group decided in favour of world-wide implementation of zenOn. It's not all news though as the visualization solution of Copa-Data has already successfully operated the surface technique across the BMW Group for 5 years.

The software makers point out that with the decision to use zenOn company-wide, BMW has entered a strategic partnership with Copa-Data.

For car production, the automotive specialist chose the contractor who could offer the most standardisation, and thus create the greatest possible internal synergy between operations. Furthermore, the automotive manufacturer requires a universal solution from the plant pictures to the alarm management. This universality not only increases quality, but also the overall productivity of their equipment.

As zenOn 6.20 can be used on all Windows operating system and platforms, from Windows CE up to Windows Server 2003, a transparent flow of information throughout the company network can fully be guaranteed.

Supervisory control to operator terminal transparency offered by zenOn makes it possible for the production team members to come to the right decisions at any time irrespective of their location.

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Automotive Engineering Programmes

IUCTT (International University College of Technology Twintech) is starting to offer a range of tertiary programmes in automotive engineering this year.

IUCTT is the first institution in Malaysia to provide such programmes at diploma, degree, master and Ph.D levels at its School of Automotive Engineering.

The programmes will be conducted at the IUCTT campus in Bandar Sri Damansara in collaboration with Auto Terminal Sdn Bhd (Tekat).

A Memorandum of Agreement was signed between IUCTT, represented by Dr Ismail and Tekat, represented by its executive chairman, Prof Datuk Dr Zainal Kling and witnessed by Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat.

Dr Ismail said the IUCTT-Tekat collaboration would encourage more local students to obtain high-quality education in Malaysia without the high financial burden to pursue equivalent courses overseas.

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New Volkswagen Plant in Russia

The way for a new Volkswagen AG production plant in Russia is clear. The Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Skoda Auto, Detlef Wittig, signed the necessary contracts with the Russian Federation and the Kaluga Oblast in Moscow on Monday.

The new plant will be built in the city of Kaluga some 160 kilometers to the south west of Moscow. Representing the Russian partners, the contracts were signed by Minister German Gref on behalf of the Russian government and Governor Anatoly Artamonov on behalf of the city of Kaluga. “We will be significantly expanding our position in Russia over the coming years with this new plant. It represents an important strategic step for our Group, and also contributes to securing jobs in Germany,” commented Pischetsrieder.

"We are firmly resolved to tap the considerable growth opportunities offered by the Russian market,” said Pischetsrieder. He added that, due to high customs duties on imported automobiles, Volkswagen and Skoda models could only be offered at competitive prices if they were produced in Russia. “The new plant means lower customs duties and more attractive prices for our cars. That is how we can significantly increase our market volumes in Russia and thus raise capacity utilization at the Group’s component plants.” Pischetsrieder stated that the objective was to expand Group sales from some 30,000 vehicles at present to 150,000 units over the next four to five years.

During the run-in phase, semi knocked-down Volkswagen and Skoda brand models will be assembled in Kaluga from the second half of 2007. The Skoda Octavia will be the first model to leave the assembly line. Initially, some 20,000 units will thus be produced annually. At the same time, full production facilities comprising body shop, paint shop and assembly lines will be installed, with operation scheduled to commence in the first half of 2009.

More here.

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Gasoline prices delaying 'green' cars

Thirty-seven percent of consumers say high gasoline prices have them thinking about replacing their cars with more fuel-efficient vehicles. And half of those say they are considering a gasoline-electric hybrid, according to a new survey by Consumer Reports.

But when cost-conscious consumers actually look at hybrids, many of them will be turned off, predicts Douglas Love, a spokesman for Consumer Reports.

The first generation of hybrids, such as the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, "were designed from the start to deliver great fuel economy," Love says. These cars use electric motors to supplement small gasoline engines for significant increases in mileage.

Although the tiny two-seater Insight is being discontinued, the Prius continues to fly off dealer lots, often at a premium over the sticker price. The Honda Civic Hybrid, another model designed mainly for mileage, is also selling well, but that's partly because of a redesign that has boosted sales of all Civics, including the non-hybrid version.

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Automotive corporate responsibility

Great news from TNS! Automotive companies are finally striking a chord with their social responsibility programmes in emerging markets. A great step towards building some strong local ties that can aid the production of cheap cars in the future.

The 2006 Global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) study, which was conducted in March and April across 16 countries, reveals that emerging markets such as Thailand, India, and China rate automotive companies higher in regards to corporate social responsibility than mature markets of the west. The study attributes this to the general public's high ratings of the automotive sector in emerging markets for generating jobs and improving quality of life.

Chris Bonsi, regional director TNS Automotive explains: 'Thailand, India, and China have recorded phenomenal industry growth in the automotive sector and consumers in these markets see automotive companies playing an integral role in the economic and social development of their country. Conversely, the governments of some emerging markets do not fully recognise the contribution of the automotive sector in generating jobs for their country - in some cases, levying high taxes on the automotive sector because the end-products are seen to be luxury items that only a few can afford, without considering the jobs the sector creates for everyday people manufacturing, distributing, and servicing these products.'

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Robotic cars driving inside city limits

Seven months after an unmanned Volkswagen successfully drove itself over the rugged Mojave Desert, the Pentagon is sponsoring another challenge for self-driving vehicles that can weave through congested city traffic without causing an accident.

The contest, to be held in November 2007, will test the vehicles' ability to independently carry out a simulated military supply mission in an urban setting in less than six hours.

The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, created the latest challenge to spur development of vehicles that could be used in the battlefield without any sort of remote control.

Participants will have to navigate a complex 60-mile test course in a yet-to-be-determined city filled with moving vehicles -- both manned and unmanned. The test course will be designed like a real city street where vehicles will have to make sharp turns, navigate intersections and avoid crashing into obstacles such as utility poles, trees and parked cars.

Equipped only with a computer brain and sensors, the participants will be graded on how well they can obey traffic laws, change lanes, merge with moving cars and pull into a parking lot.

The first vehicle that successfully completes the mission will win $2 million with second-place finishers claiming $500,000 while third place will receive $250,000.

Last October, the agency awarded $2 million to a driverless Volkswagen SUV, which beat out a field of 23 vehicles by traversing 132 miles of twisting desert and mountain terrain. While the vehicles had to drive on rough road and dodge man-made obstacles, they didn't have to drive in traffic.

''We believe the robotics community is ready to tackle vehicle operation inside city limits,'' DARPA Director Tony Tether said in a statement.

Stanford University computer scientist Sebastian Thrun, who won last year's race, said he was excited to see the agency take the challenge to the next level. Thrun said the artificial intelligence knowledge gained from the contest could also benefit society by pushing the development of ''smart cars'' that can self-navigate on highways and potentially reduce accidents.

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