Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Camry, Motor Trend's 2007 Car of the Year
2007 Toyota Camry, the redesigned version, won Motor Trend Magazines 2007 Car of the Year award. Said award went to all variations of the car including the hybrid. According to Angus MacKenzie, editor-in-chief of the magazine, Camry is innovative yet has a broad appeal. This is the first year said vehicle has won the award.
The Camry is the one car rival automakers all wish they could build. It offers something for nearly everyone performance, efficiency and roominess at a price point most Americans can afford, MacKenzie said.
According to the magazine, the version of Toyota Camry outshone 26 cars that are either totally new or redesigned before the year 2007. Japanese automakers had 10 cars, the US automakers has 6, 5 from Korea, 4 from Germany, 1 from Sweden, and also 1 from United Kingdom. MacKenzie said the redesigned Camry won in a very strong field. There have never been more choices available to American car buyers. That is a fact of life in the 21st century, MacKenzie added.
Motor Trend's staffers evaluated the entries according to their innovation in engineering, design, safety and technology; their performance and quality; and whether the vehicle delivers value to the consumer. In Motor Trend's search, Camry's competitors were Chrysler Sebring, Saturn Aura, Nissan Altima, Kia Rondo, Honda Fit, Mercedes-Benz S Class, Volvo C70 T5 and the Volkswagen Rabbit.
Through October this year, Toyota Motor Company reported 350,481 sales of Camry. So far, Camry is the hottest-selling car in the United States. Next to Camry is Toyota Corolla. The information was released by Autodata Corp.
Sixth generation of the vehicle uses redesigned auto parts for Toyota Camry. These parts are assembled at the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Kentucky; Aichi, Japan; and Melbourne, Australia. Camry is competing against Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Altima, Mitsubishi Galant, Mazda6, Ford Fusion and the Chevrolet Malibu.
Corolla, on the other hand, is known for its low fuel consumption, reliability and distinct Toyota engineering. Corolla is manufactured in Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Malaysia, Taiwan, Pakistan, South Africa, Brazil, Venezuela, China, Philippines, Thailand, Turkey and India.
The tenth generation Corolla was introduced in Japan this year. In this generation, the automaker incorporated advanced equipment to Toyota Corolla car parts. Advanced equipment include rearview monitor display, one-touch double folding rear seats, and Pre-crash Safety System. Toyota Corolla will be offered in Australia and United States next year.
Which Car Should You Own To Keep Insurance Rates Affordable?
Do you consider the cost of car insurance before you buy your dream car? You should. The Highway Loss Data Institute analyzes the cost to insurance companies from theft, collision, and injury claims as they relate to cars. They look at the color of the cars, how many doors they have, and even break them down type.
The Highway Loss Data Institute is a nonprofit public service organization. It is closely associated with and funded through the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is wholly supported by auto insurers. HLDI gathers, processes, and publishes data on the ways losses vary among different kinds of vehicles.
4- Door cars have a 93% less chance of having a claim related to theft than their sibling 2-Door cars. Buy a Buick LeSabre and have relatively no chance of a theft loss. Compare that to the convertible Chevrolet Corvette that has over 5 times the average theft rate. You may have known that. However, did you know that the Toyota Celica has a 67% higher chance of theft than the Toyota Camry?
In addition, even though the 2002 Lexus IS 300 gets a "best pick" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for its performance on crash tests, previous years' models of the same car are some of the most costly in terms of collision claims. "One of the factors that come into play there is the cost of repairing an expensive vehicle," says Russ Rader, with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
What about safety? You may be surprised at some of the results. For example, the Porsche 911 has a 67% less chance for injury claims than the norm. Go figure. The Mitsubishi Lancer has almost double the injury claim rate over the norm.
Where does you car fit for injury theft and collision? What about your dream car? Take a look at this run down based on 2000-2002 HLDI data:
Models that are among the most expensive for theft claims include:
Cadillac Escalade four-wheel drive
Chevrolet Corvette Convertible
Lincoln Navigator four-wheel drive
Jeep Cherokee four-door
BMW 3 series Convertible
Models that are among the least expensive for theft claims include:
Buick LeSabre
Buick Park Avenue
Volvo V70 Station Wagon
Mercury Grand Marquis four-door
Models that are among the most expensive for injury claims include:
Suzuki Esteem four-door
Kia Rio four-door
Mitsubishi Mirage two-door
Kia Sepectra four-door
Models that are among the least expensive for injury claims include:
GMC Sierra 2500 two-wheel drive
Chevrolet Silverado 2500
GMC Yukon XL 1500 four-wheel drive
GMC Sierra 2500 four-wheel drive
Chevrolet Tahoe two-wheel drive
Models that are among the most expensive for collision claims include:
Subaru Impreza WRX four-wheel drive four-door
Lexus IS 300 4 door
Hyundai Tiburon two-door
Porsche 911 Coupe
Acura RSX
Models that are among the least expensive for collision claims include:
Ford Excursion two-wheel drive
GMC Safari four-wheel drive
GMC Sierra 2500
GMC Yukon XL 1500 four-wheel drive
Source: The Highway Loss Data Institute
Vehicle Design Award Given to Chevrolet Silverado Classic Hybrid
Chevrolet Hybrid Silverado gets top honors from Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) as best hybrid. The best hybrid is the newest award at the SEMA show.
"The collaboration between Chevrolet, General Motors and SEMA is very valuable. We gain a lot of accessory ideas and product ideas to give the consumers what they really want. We look closely at what is offered at SEMA, we are encouraged with what's offered and we look at new ideas. That's where the collaboration comes in strong for us," said Dale Sullivan, Regional Sales Marketing Manager, Western Region, General Motors.
Silverado Classic Hybrid, the first full-size production pickup that uses hybrid technology, is the first hybrid in the industry to be recognized as the most accessory friendly vehicle in this year's SEMA show, which was held at Las Vegas. The hybrid version of Silverado was launched last year. It is the first hybrid vehicle of General Motors.
Chevrolet Silverado replacement parts are designed to boost the performance of the hybrid. The vehicle's electric motor serves power accessories only. In addition, the system of vehicle automatically shuts down when the truck brakes below 13 mph. Silverado hybrid uses electric power to restart it.
Parts Chevrolet integrated in the Silverado hybrid are enhanced to achieve the full potential of the pickup. It is equipped with 3 additional 14 V batteries mounted under the rear seats to accumulate auto power. The extra reserves of power for the accessories make the pickup truck well-matched to the building or construction contractor market, since they almost always require AC power when on the job. The vehicle also uses a 5.3 L Vortec 5300 V8 for primary power.
At its inception, Silverado's production was extremely limited. However, in the later part of 2005, the pickup was offered at retail in Alaska, California, Florida, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Eventually, starting this year, it was made available in all US states.
"Our participating manufacturing members had early access to the Chevrolet Silverado Classic Hybrid and discovered that its proven lineage of design and engineering provides several opportunities for customer personalization," said Carl Sheffer, SEMA vice president, OEM Relations. "Based on feedback from the automakers, we are having a positive impact on the design and marketing of future vehicles."
SEMA, founded in 1963, represents the $34 billion specialty automotive industry of 6,817 member-companies. It provides quality information about the automotive industry including new car technologies, models, and more.
