Peugeot Shoo Concept To Sport A Solar Panel Roof

It seems like Peugeot is thinking about the future and their designers are creating many great concept cars which will be also environmentally-friendly. After the Wheel-less Peugeot 360, another green car of the future is the Peugeot Shoo which has a shape like a triangle.
The design was inspired by a boat and it’s very aerodynamic thanks to this fluid shape. The Shoo concept will feature a roof entirely made of solar panels which will harness energy and then send it to the electrical engine. Probably the most important thing of this car will be the pendular system as you can see from the pictures, it’s very likely that you will feel butterflies in the stomach.

Toyota hyping hybrids with consumer face-to-faces

Toyota Canada and the Ontario Toyota Dealers Association are bringing the Toyota Hybrid Tour to Ontario shopping centres this week, inviting consumers to join a test drive and interview a company rep.

The tour will feature interactive information displays, the opportunity to learn about eco-friendly automotive technology generally and Toyota's hybrid vehicles specifically - the Prius (pictured), Highlander Hybrid and Camry Hybrid - as well as "fuel-sipping" (as opposed to fuel-guzzling) gasoline models including the Yaris and Corolla.

The tour will make four stops - Toronto's Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Vaughan's Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre, Ottawa's Byward Market and Mississauga's Square One Shopping Centre, where the initiative kicked off yesterday morning.

www.hybridsynergydrive.ca.

Japan fuels electric car revolution

Japan is preparing for the arrival of plug-in electric cars next year with plans to build hundreds of “quick recharge” power stations and other infrastructure to accommodate the vehicles.

Drivers in Japan will be the first in the world to be offered battery-powered cars by large automakers. The transport and power system upgrades, which are supported by the government, carmakers and electricity utilities, are designed to promote rapid adoption by easing concerns about the cars’ convenience and driving range.

Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), the utility giant that supplies Japan’s capital region, said it had developed a recharging device that could provide enough power in a five-minute stop to drive a small electric car 40 km – a big advance over current experimental systems. A 10-minute charge delivered 60km worth of power, it said.

The company, a big promoter of electric cars, has been testing the Y4m ($36,500) device with Mitsubishi Motors and Subaru – which will roll out the first plug-in cars in 2009 and 2010 – and hopes to install it in supermarkets and other public places.

“We got involved in electric cars to try and sell electricity at night,” Tepco said, noting that most drivers would recharge their cars at home during the utility’s off-peak hours using regular power sockets. “But it has become a way to contribute to society.”

Kanagawa prefecture, the region adjoining Tokyo, has committed to providing 150 of the quick-recharge stations as part of an effort to put at least 3,000 electric vehicles on its roads within five years.

The national government is backing the technology. Next month it will begin accepting applications from cities and towns wishing to become “model districts” for next-generation vehicle infrastructure, a programme that will involve installing power outlets at pay car parks, supermarkets and restaurant chains for drivers to use free of charge.

The government also plans to encourage private enterprise to offer discount rates to electric vehicle drivers on everything from parking to insurance and loans. It is pushing Japan Post, the recently privatised postal service, to convert its fleet of 21,000 delivery vehicles to electric cars.
Yasuo Fukuda, prime minister, wants half of new cars sold by 2020 to be powered by non-petrol sources. Japan pledged at the G8 summit this year to cut overall carbon dioxide emissions by 60-80 per cent by 2050.
Mitsubishi plans to offer the MiEV, a small five-door electric hatchback, for commercial sale next year, while Subaru, a unit of Fuji Heavy Industries, is to introduce its two-door R1e electric microcar soon after.

The Nissan-Renault alliance is planning an electric car for Japan and the US in 2010 while Toyota is working on a plug-in version of its Prius hybrid to go on sale the same year.

TOYOTA PUTS BRAKES ON GLOBAL SALES HOPES

The global economic downturn has forced Toyota Motor to revise its sales targets downward and scale back its ambition to shift more than 10 million vehicles in one year. It has cut its 2009 global target from 10.4m to 9.8m but is ramping-up its efforts in the BRIC markets. Toyota is also changing its focus to smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles in the US, where consumers have selected reverse gear on gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs.

Data sourced from France24.com

Discovering Google Insights

After Google Trends, another great tool Google offers to online marketing professionals. It's called Google Insights for Search and it allows you to understand search behavior more and more in detail.


Like Google Trends, you can just type in a search term to see search volume patterns over time, as well as the top related and rising searches. You'll also have the possibility to compare search volume trends across multiple search terms, categories, geographic regions, or specific time ranges.
If you're interested in social media, Royal Pingdom has done a great job using Google Insights to map the most popular social networks and the most "socially" active countries around the world. For example, it looks like Turkey is the country with the highest interest in Facebook since 2004.

Of course this tool has been conceived to help advertisers who use AdWords, but I personally find it extremely interesting from a sociological point of view as well.

BMW presents new BMW 7 Series in a fascinating installation on Red Square in Moscow

A unique vehicle presentation on Red Square in Moscow (Russia) on 8 July 2008 marked the start for the BMW Group of the countdown for the European market launch of the new BMW 7 Series in the autumn of this year. With the motto "Never stand still", the world's most successful provider of premium segment automobiles had an hourglass almost twelve metres high built against the historic backdrop of St Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin. With the largest hourglass in the world, BMW impressively presented its new flagship to around 400 international guests and Moscow citizens. Success is the driving force.The hourglass on Red Square has been attracting attention since 6 July 2008. In the upper half of the acrylic glass and steel structure stands the new BMW 7 Series - initially hidden by more than 180,000 silvery, glittering balls. These gradually dropped into the lower half, finally revealing the new BMW 7 Series completely as the high spot of the event on Tuesday evening. "The new generation of the BMW 7 Series is continuing the success story that started over 30 years ago", said Jan-Christiaan Koenders, Head of Brand Communications BMW and Group Marketing Services. "The promise that we will keep improving on our own achievements is intrinsic to our brand. The BMW 7 Series exemplifies this particular concept", says Koenders as an explanation of the idea behind the event motto "Never stand still". Taking what has been achieved as the starting point for new outstanding achievements - this concept is also the motivation for the international artists who appeared at the vehicle presentation. These included the ballet duo Mark Peretokin and Ilze Liepa from the famous Bolshoi Theatre, the renowned conductor and orchestra and shooting star Adele. These artists use the fact that they are amongst the best in their field today as a motivation to continue to develop all the time.A dynamic capital."Moscow is developing at an extraordinary pace. The capital city and Russia in general are also particularly important for the BMW Group", says Christian Kremer, Managing Director of BMW Group Russia. "The Russian market plays an increasingly important role for us. Today's presentation reflects the confidence that the BMW Group has in this country's potential." The car manufacturer has been represented in the world's largest country, in terms of area, since 1992, and has had its own sales company here since 1999. By the end of 2008, the dealership network will have grown to 63 branches in 47 cities. This means that the BMW Group will be represented in all the major Russian cities. The country's economic growth is also reflected in rising sales figures for BMW Group. "Our sales of BMW and MINI vehicles have risen by 33.4 percent in the first six months in comparison with last year. It is our aim to awaken even more enthusiasm for all the BMW Group brands in Russia. Exclusive vehicle presentations, such as the showing of the new BMW 7 Series in Moscow, are one key way of doing this", continued Kremer.

Renault targets Russia with new Symbol car

Renault will next week present the Renault Symbol, a replacement of its ageing Clio Symbol in a bid to boost sales in what will become Europe's biggest market.

A spokesman said on Wednesday that the new model will be unveiled at the Moscow Motor Show on Aug. 26. The Symbol has a boot unlike the hatchback main version of the Clio compact car.
Renault said it is targeting Central and Eastern European markets, Russia, Turkey and the Maghreb countries with the vehicle. In particular among these, Algeria, Romania, Russia and Turkey will be important markets, a Renault spokesman said.
France's second-largest auto group will begin selling the vehicle from the end of September in some target markets, a spokesman said.
Its predecessor was launched in 2000 and has sold over 600,000 units in its life. The spokesman declined to give a sales target for the new model, but noted that the previous version - the Clio Symbol - sold 100,974 units in 2007.
The new Renault Symbol will be assembled at the group's Bursa facility in Turkey, which has been expanded to allow for production of 360,000 vehicles overall per year.
Last year, 263,000 vehicles were produced there. Russia is currently the group's 8th-largest market by car and LCV sales, including its Dacia and Renault Samsung Motors brands. Last year it recorded 101,166 vehicle sales and a 3.9 percent market share in the fast-growing market.
At the start of the year Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn forecast growth in Russia above 10 percent for the group in 2008.
Main competitors for the new vehicle will include the Skoda Fabia, the Chevrolet Aveo, the Honda City and the Hyundai Accent, the spokesman said.. Renault last year bought a 25 percent stake in Russia's largest domestic car maker.