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Creativity Motivation – What is motivation – Corey K Katir
Advertising From http://www.creativitymotivation.com Describes motivation process for creativity with emphasis on intrinsic motivation by Corey K Katir Nissan recalls vehicles over air bag concerns
From autos.ca.msn
WASHINGTON – Nissan Motor Co. is recalling more than 200,000 vehicles sold in several countries, including Canada, to fix a sensor system that could affect the car’s passenger side air bag. Nissan says the recall includes 140,000 Nissan Altima cars from the 2007-2008 model years. It also involves 2007-2008 model years of the Infiniti EX35, G35 Sedan, G37 and the Nissan 350Z, Murano and Rogue. The Japanese automaker said yesterday an issue with an electronic component could interrupt a signal in the sensor system. That could prevent the passenger air bag from deploying under certain conditions. A Nissan spokesperson says there have been no injuries or crashes. Most of the recalled vehicles are in the United States; others are in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Persian Gulf.
Toyota raising Japan prices on Prius and Harrier hybrids in Japan
From autos.ca.msn
Aug. 26, 2008TOKYO-Toyota is raising its prices for the Prius and Harrier hybrids in Japan in response to the soaring cost of steel and other raw materials – the first hike here without a model makeover in three decades.Speculation had been rife that Japan’s top automaker would raise some domestic prices soon, and Toyota has acknowledged that as risky because the domestic market is already sluggish.The new suggested retail prices, announced yesterday, show an average increase of three per cent for the two gas-electric hybrid models, and an average two per cent for several commercial vehicles.Starting next month, the Prius basic S model will go up by 73,500 yen (US$668) to 2.38 million yen ($22,000). The Harrier Hybrid Premium S Package will go up by 136,500 yen ($1,240) to about 4.76 million yen ($43,000), Toyota said in a release.Other Japanese automakers may follow. With steel prices surging, Nissan’s chief executive Carlos Ghosn has hinted he is waiting for its bigger rival to take the lead to make it easier for others to raise their prices, too.Toyota said it has struggled to keep prices down with cost cuts, but material costs are expected to stay high for some time.”Recent further price increases in raw materials have been larger than (Toyota’s) cost reduction efforts are able to offset,” it said.Like other automakers, Toyota has raised its U.S. prices without major model changes previously.The last time Toyota raised prices on Japan models was in 1974, by 10 per cent, in the wake of the first oil shock.It also hiked prices in 1973, by seven per cent, as well as on its commercial vehicles such as trucks and vans in 1992.Otherwise, Toyota has not raised prices in Japan except for remodelling that happens only once every several years in which improved features are added.Although Toyota has averted some of the serious troubles of its U.S. rivals General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, even Toyota is struggling to fight skyrocketing energy prices, the crunch of material costs and fears of stagnation on global markets.Toyota, which also makes Lexus luxury models and the Camry sedan, reported a 28 per cent drop in its April-June quarterly net profit.It is forecasting its first full-year profit decline in seven years as it faces more problems from the weakening U.S. market.
VANCOUVER – Honda has launched its second-generation Fit subcompact car just as soaring fuel prices have driven up sales in a vehicle class once considered fit only as second cars and student wheels. The 2009 Fit began rolling into dealerships this month, earlier than expected because Honda Canada has gone through its allocation of the old 2008 version, says executive vice-president Jerry Chenkin. “Basically we ran out of product,” he says. “The shift in the marketplace and consumers’ taste has been so rapid that basically we could not react quickly enough to the demand.” Pricing for the new Fit, slightly larger, more spacious and with a peppier engine, will start at $14,980 up to $20,480, about $1,000 more than the top-selling Toyota Yaris. Subcompact cars such as the Fit, the Yaris, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, Suzuki Swift and Nissan Versa made up seven per cent of new vehicle sales in Canada last year but their share is growing. Their U.S. market share is much lower – about 3.66 per cent for the first seven months of this year, according to J.D. Power Ltd., an industry research firm. But U.S. sales spiked along with fuel prices this year, up 39 per cent compared with 2007 when the segment’s market share was 2.34 per cent, leading the industry. Only three of the other 26 vehicle segments that Power tracks – subcompacts, wagon-like compact crossovers and mid-sized cars – grew at all, says Tom Libby, Power’s senior director of industry analysis in Troy, Mich., outside Detroit. “The industry over the same time period is down over 11 per cent,” says Libby, adding in July alone, subcompact had a 4.6 per cent market share. “To lend some perspective to it, it is greater than the share for mid-sized vans and mid-sized utilities and pickups. Using a lot of different measures it’s doing very, very well.”The single-digit market share may not seem like a lot but translated into projected U.S. new vehicle sales of about 14.5 million this year, that’s more than 500,000 cars – almost a third of all new Canadian sales last year. In Canada, subcompact sales soared 27 per cent in the first seven months of this year to more than 94,000 vehicles – 10 times the overall new vehicle sales hike – according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants. J.D. Power forecasts subcompacts – which it terms basic compact – will reach eight per cent market share this year. Libby says his firm believes the higher U.S. market share is sustainable and could rise further if gas prices continue higher. “Not only gas prices but also these products are different than what had been in the segment before,” he says. “They’re no longer really econo-boxes that are sort of perceived as very, very cheap. Also there (are) more models coming in the segment, so we see this segment staying robust.” Foreign makers dominate the subcompact market and even North American companies rely on offshore models in the segment, at least for now. Chevrolet imports the Korean-built Aveo and Ford plans to offer its European-designed Fiesta for 2010 built in North America, which probably means Mexico. Chrysler is said to be considering China as the source of a new subcompact. Low-cost manufacturing will be crucial to the success of any new subcompacts from the so-called Big Three automakers, says Libby, because factory and dealer profit margins for them have always been low. “The lower margins, if they exist, will be a limiting factor,” he says. “There’ll be less motivation for the companies to make them.”The Fit sold here is made in Japan but Chenkin says Honda’s philosophy is to bring production close to target markets. Bringing Fit production to North America will depend on growth in demand, he says. The current model Fit ranks fourth in sales in its segment and about 10,000 have been sold so far, tracking for 16,000 for 2008. Chenkin says the sales target for the new version is 20,000 cars a year. Honda makes about 400,000 vehicles, mostly Civics, at its Alliston, Ont., plant and is opening a new engine-manufacturing facility next to the plant later this month. Canadian and American drivers flocked to small cars in the 1970s after the Arab oil embargo and the 1979-80 oil crisis triggered by the U.S. confrontation with Iran. Consumers went back to larger vehicles as soon as the heat was off. But Libby said sustained high gas prices may shift North Americans’ thinking about smaller cars closer to the European approach. Subcompact and compact cars are the norm in Europe, where fuel prices have always been much higher. Models come in all grades, from entry level to luxury. Chenkin agrees this may be a more permanent change, spurred partly by higher prices and more environmental consciousness. “But my feeling is that unlike previous gas crises where as soon as the price of fuel went down, people came running back to larger vehicles, I think this time we’re seeing a very different trend,” he says. “It’s not cool to drive a gas guzzler right now.” The success of premium subcompacts such as the Mini and the stylistic flair of the Fit and its competitors is helping make them more desirable to North American buyers. “I think they’re perceived as more acceptable, more mainstream, less purely utilitarian and cheap than they were,” says Libby. “I think that helps the segment a lot. They’ve lost that negative connotation.”
DETROIT – In crises past, Chrysler has somehow managed to stamp out a blockbuster hit vehicle to pull itself away from the cliff’s edge.But as it faces a possible sale to another automaker and what may be the most serious problems in its 83-year history, industry analysts say there’s nothing in the current product portfolio that looks like a savior.Chrysler’s U.S. sales are down 25 per cent through September, the worst decline of any major automaker. Losses are mounting: well over $1 billion for the first half of the year. Things are so bad that Chrysler LLC wants to shed a quarter of its salaried workforce, and its owner, Cerberus Capital Management LP, is talking with General Motors Corp. and others about a sale.Of Chrysler’s 26 models on sale in both 2007 and 2008, only four have sold more this year than last, and three of those are small-volume niche vehicles such as the Dodge Viper. The company’s market share has dwindled from 16.2 per cent in 1996 to 11 per cent this year, according to Ward’s AutoInfoBank.Analysts say there are no cutting-edge designs or potential big sellers in sight to rescue the maker of the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands.The smallest of Detroit’s three automakers, once-brash Chrysler took risks and gained big rewards for vehicles like the 300 full-size sedan in 2005. The company invented the minivan when it introduced the Plymouth Voyager and Dodge Caravan in 1984. The Plymouth Reliant and Dodge Aries “K-car” sedans of 1982 helped earn the money to repay $1.5 billion in government-guaranteed loans that saved Chrysler from going under in 1980.”If Chrysler has another hit on the way, I am unaware of it,” said David Lewis, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan, who followed the auto industry and taught business history for 43 years until retiring earlier this year. “Oh, for the days when the minivan was an instant homerun, and Chrysler owned that highly profitable market segment.”With little in its product pipeline, a chilly economy and the worst U.S. auto sales slump in 15 years, analysts say Chrysler may not make it on its own, and that’s why Cerberus is shopping the company to GM and others. Chrysler also has a lineup tilted toward trucks and sport utility vehicles when customers are buying mainly fuel-efficient cars.”In many ways this really looks like the end of the road for Chrysler in the way that we know it,” said Aaron Bragman, an auto analyst with the consulting company IHS Global Insight. “They are going to face a change in ownership, that is a certainty. From what we hear, product development is on hold because of the uncertainty.”Chrysler’s lacklustre products, said Bragman, can be traced to the nine years it was owned by Germany’s Daimler, which approved chintzy interiors and cars with more noise and vibration than the competition.”The truth is Daimler did them no favours,” said Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics of Birmingham, Mich. “They approved products that previous Chrysler management wouldn’t have approved if they were completely drunk and beaten crazy.”Under Cerberus, which bought 80.1 per cent of Chrysler from Daimler AG in August of last year, the Auburn Hills-based has tried to improve its products. The latest vehicles have far nicer interiors, especially the new version of the Ram pickup.But quality concerns still haunt Chrysler. Nearly two-thirds of its model lineup were below average in Consumer Reports’ annual vehicle reliability rankings this year. The Chrysler Sebring sedan was the worst-rated car.Through the first nine months of this year, Chrysler sold 1.18 million vehicles in the U.S. – 395,304 less than the same period last year.Chrysler’s leaders say they have made cuts to stem negative cash flow and have slashed factory production so the company isn’t producing more vehicles than it sells. Despite the large losses, they say Chrysler is meeting its internal goals.The company is banking on the new Ram to pull it out of sales doldrums, but its release this fall coincided with one of the worst pickup markets in years. Chrysler also says it is making big strides on quality and plans to bring out seven new products in 2010, including a subcompact made by Nissan Motor Co.In September, Chrysler surprised the industry by showing off three electric vehicle prototypes and promising to put one in showrooms by 2010.Hall says there are good products coming, and that in a normal auto sales market, Chrysler could survive on its own. But now, like GM and Ford Motor Co., it’s all about having enough money to survive until the economy recovers and auto sales are revived, he said.Bragman, however, has less faith.”I do not believe that it is a healthy company and everything’s on track and all they simply need to do is wait it out,” he said. “Healthy companies that are on track don’t slash one-quarter of their white-collar workforce.”
Nissan plans to sell electric vehicle by 2010
From autos.ca.msn
Advanced lithium-ion batteries twice as powerful
Nissan Creates New Paint that Repairs Scratches Automatically
From autos.ca.msn
Stylish New EX35 to Sport New Paint Technology that Heals Itself
Canadaas most affordable new compact cars
From autos.ca.msn
Nissan is getting in on the low-priced compact car war with its entry-level Versa sedan 1.6.And Nissan didn’t play a “Price is Right” undercutting move by pricing the car $1 lower than the competition, but rather the Versa sedan’s $12,498 sticker is $712 less than the $13,210 Toyota Yaris – the best-priced 2009 model up until Nissan this week made the price adjustment. The new low price is only half the news. Nissan Canada is bringing in a full range of Versa 1.6 sedans including a base vehicle and a Value Option Package model that is unique to Canada.The Value Option Package adds air conditioning, power windows, heated power mirrors and remote keyless entry, among other features. Nissan says safety won’t be compromised either: the Versa 1.6 gets six standard airbags, including front-seat and side-curtain airbags.The new price improves on the Versa hatchback by $1,100, and should do a good job of luring new customers into Nissan showrooms, especially when factoring in that the cheapest Kia Rio or Hyundai Accent starts with an MSRP of $13,595, a Chevy Aveo or Pontiac G3 Wave gets an MSRP of $13,770, and the same basic car with a Suzuki badge, the Swift+, stickers at $13,995.
Automakers face legal heat over $100 air conditioner tax charges
From autos.ca.msn
TORONTO – Automakers are being accused of deceiving vehicle buyers into paying a $100-per-vehicle charge on air conditioning which is presented as a Canadian tax but is really part of the negotiable price. A class action suit filed in Ontario Superior Court against five automakers seeks refunds of the charge to everyone who paid it. The $100 federal excise tax on air conditioners, paid by manufacturers when they produce or import a vehicle, “is really just part of the sale price and is not actually an obligatory tax payment,” stated Toronto-area lawyers Brian Osler and Glyn Hotz. The lawsuit, not yet tested in court, contends that manufacturers and dealers misrepresent the charge as a retail excise tax that everyone buying or leasing a vehicle is obliged to pay – not part of the price that can be dickered over. “They try to make it difficult for you to negotiate the price and understand exactly what you’re really paying for,” Osler said in an interview. “But all that stuff is just part of the sales price – it’s just the cost of getting the car.”The proposed class action names Ford Motor Co. of Canada, Chrysler Canada, Honda Canada, Toyota Canada and Nissan Canada. Representatives of Chrysler, Nissan and Toyota said their companies hadn’t been served with the suit and had no response. The other companies didn’t respond to requests for comment. General Motors and other automakers also impose the charge but are not cited because no buyers of their products have come forward as complainants, Osler said. The lawsuit, with seven lead plaintiffs, seeks restitution of the payments that were represented as an excise tax.It also alleges a conspiracy and fraudulent representation to pocket the “unconscionable” charge. It’s unclear how much money would be at stake in the litigation if the Ontario Superior Court agrees to hear it as a class action, but the statement of claim suggests $2.5 billion and seeks $50 million in punitive, exemplary and aggravated damages. As a class action, any compensation would be shared among people who are sufficiently like the named plaintiffs to be recognized as members of the class. However, there are several legal hurdles the plaintiffs must cross before their suit is recognized by the court as a class action. Osler said the tax has been in place since the late 1970s – “it goes back quite a ways.” “The manufacturers and dealers tell you that there is an excise tax. The reality is there is no $100 excise tax on a retail sale and they know it,” said Osler. “When they say, ‘We want you to pay an extra $1,000 because of delivery,’ at least most people probably know you can negotiate that. But when they say, ‘You’ve got to pay a tax,’ you’re not going to negotiate that – you’re just going to pay it, like any good Canadian taxpayer.” Osler is also involved in a suit filed in February accusing Transport Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, Mercedes-Benz and BMW of violating the Competition Act by forcing buyers to pay large fees for unnecessary vehicle modifications and approvals on cars imported from the U.S. He also filed suit in June 2007 against Mister Transmission (International) Ltd., alleging illegal fees for providing repair estimates. A court hearing on whether this should be certified as a class action is set for early October.
Nissan GT-R gets even hotter with NISMO
From autos.ca.msn
New wheels, tires, exhausts and carbon-fibre add-ons
Official: New pics show 2013 Nissan Altima from all the angles
From autoblog.com
Filed under: Sedan, Nissan Nissan has released a passel of official photosd of the 2013 Nissan Altima, the sedan it “would like to make #1 if customers agree.” While the new styling might take getting used to, the other changes are all welcomed: it’s lighter, has a revised transmission, will return 38 miles per gallon if equipped with the four-cylinder, and starts at $21,500 before the $760 destination charge. Now that the Altima and Toyota Camry are known quantities, the pending reveal of the Honda Accord will fill out the field and then we’ll have a better idea of the fight to come. Until then, have a closer look at the new Altima in the photo gallery above.
New pics show 2013 Nissan Altima from all the angles originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 May 2012 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink|Email this|Comments
Report: Car Wars report predicts Hyundai, Kia will lose market share
From autoblog.com
Filed under: Car Buying, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, Earnings/Financials The annual “Car Wars” report by Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy predicts that, despite their seizing of U.S. market share over the last few tumultuous years, Korean brands Hyundai and Kia will give it all back and then some to companies like Ford, General Motors and Toyota by 2016. Murphy bases his predictions not on tea leaves or crystal balls, but rather the rate at which automakers launch new products. Ford will replace 26 percent of its product line over the next four years, a number that represents 46 percent of its volume, while General Motors will replace 25 percent and Toyota 24 percent. On account of these new product launches, Murphy says Ford can expect to add 0.8 percentage points of market share, General Motors will recover 0.5 points and Toyota will add another 0.3 points. Other automakers that won’t be so aggressive in turning over their lineups with new models include Chrysler, Honda, Nissan and the European brands, which Murphy surmises will all remain flat in terms of market share. Hyundai and Kia, meanwhile, will be introducing fewer new models than the rest and therefore, Murphy predicts, will see a 0.5 decline in U.S. market share. Of course, these are all just predictions and can be blown to bits with the next unforeseen economic crisis or natural disaster, just like the last three years were. And there are other factors that might affect market share for each automaker during the next three years, including the availability of raw materials, exchange rates, union contracts, recalls and a million another minor things that might grow to become big things, not the least of which is consumers deciding they actually like all those new products being launched.
Car Wars report predicts Hyundai, Kia will lose market share originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 18:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink|Email this|Comments
Filed under: Motorsports, Mitsubishi, Electric, Racing No, that’s not a Mitsubishi i-MiEV in a fat suit, it’s the automaker’s brand-new all-electric race car, and it’s set to take on the 2012 Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb in July. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen an EV enter the Pike’s Peak challenge – Nissan commissioned a Leaf for battle last year, a car that set the bar for all future electric racers. Mitsubishi says that its race car, dubbed i-MiEV Evolution, uses the same motor, drive battery and other major components as the standard, bean-shaped electric car that we haven’t quite grown to love. Aside from the additional bodywork, the chassis has clearly been lengthened and widened, and the race car now uses an all-wheel-drive configuration rather than the rear-wheel drive of the standard i-MiEV. To give you an idea of just how big the racer is, a quick glance of Mitsubishi’s specs show that the i-MiEV Evolution’s dimensions are within a few inches of the stock Lancer Evolution. We wouldn’t be surprised if the all-wheel-drive system was sourced from the Lancer, as well. Mitsubishi will also be bringing two more of its EVs to the Pike’s Peak event, including an i that has been updated with a more aerodynamic front bumper and new safety equipment, as well as a bone stock model. Scroll down for the official press blast.
Continue reading Mitsubishi previews bonkers i-MiEV Evolution for Pikes Peak
Mitsubishi previews bonkers i-MiEV Evolution for Pikes Peak originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink|Email this|Comments
Video: Nissan Leaf ensures high-quality whisky from Isle of Islay
From autoblog.com
Filed under: Etc., Videos, Hatchback, Nissan, UK, Electric The Bruichladdich Distillery has been making artisan single malt Scotch whisky since 1881 on the Isle of Islay in the UK. As the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, you may not expect the island’s 620 square kilometers (239 square miles) to be the ideal habitat for electric cars. Apparently, though, the Nissan Leaf works out quite well for Mark Reynier, managing director at the distillery. The island’s inhabitants are also benefited, says Reynier, by Nissan’s Power Control System, which allows the Leaf’s high-capacity lithium ion battery to power other devices – important when a single storm can completely cut the island’s link to the outside world. Watch Reynier describe how the Nissan Leaf has improved his life and his distillery in the video below. And, if you’re interested in other ways to use Bruichladdich’s whisky as a biofuel, you can also watch James May run a Radical SR4 race car on the spirit in a separate video.
Continue reading Nissan Leaf ensures high-quality whisky from Isle of Islay
Nissan Leaf ensures high-quality whisky from Isle of Islay originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink|Email this|Comments
Fuel cells, sidelined but not forgotten at electric vehicle show
From news.consumerreports As the spotlight has shifted to battery-powered cars, other promising alternative fuels have been left in the dark. That’s especially true for yesterday’s transportation stars, fuel-cell vehicles. But that doesn’t mean progress has stopped. California is still planning to get…
Electric car drivers left hanging in charger wars
From news.consumerreports With long charge times and charging stations few and far between, government agencies, Google, and others have gone to great lengths to maintain lists of every charging station in America and make it available via smart phones. But EV drivers…
Best deals on used SUVs for spring
From news.consumerreports We’re heading into the busy summer travel season and if a road trip is in your getaway plans, a used SUV may be a good choice to fit the family and gear. As we have been reminded by our recent…
California to boost mandate for electric cars
From news.consumerreports Even with their low cost of ownership, some have speculated that the electric car movement is being driven more by regulations than by consumer demand. Specifically, they’re referring to regulations in the state of California that demand major automakers sell…
Purpose-built electric cars trump manufacturer-converted models
From news.consumerreports There are two kinds of electric cars at this year’s electric vehicle symposium, fondly known as EVS26: Purpose-built electric cars, and those that have been built from standard gasoline cars. The difference could not be more stark. Cars that have…
Behind the wheel of the improved Coda electric car
From news.consumerreports At the 26th Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26) in Los Angeles this week, we had an opportunity to drive the Coda small electric sedan. It has been updated to be more affordable since we first piloted one in November 2011. The…
2013 Nissan Altima Debuts at 2012 New York International Auto Show
From feedproxy.google
 The 2013 Nissan Altima made its debut at the 2012 New York International Auto Show. The Altima was the second bestselling car in the United States in 2011. The new vehicle has a wider front and rear track (+1.4 inches) and deeper fenders (+0.8 inches each side). Nissan says it turned to NASA to help with cabin design and reduce fatigue during long road trips. Here are some more highlights of the 2013 model:
The vehicle also includes Nissan’s Xtronic CVT, which Nissan describes in the following video:
Photo: Nissan Permalink | Facebook | Twitter | Recent Headlines | RSS Feeds
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