Six new scale models arrived straight from Japan!

Just a photo of the latest arrival (earlier post)!!!

Minor changes for Honda Legend in Japan

Honda did some minor tweaks to the Legend, including a newly developed six-speed automatic transmission, resulting in improved fuel economy and dynamic performance, as well as a type of silencer fitted around the wheels reducing the noise generated by the tyres.

The Legend is sold in Japan with prices starting from 6,200,000 ¥ and two additional packages are available called Advance and Euro.

Rendering shows Subaru FT-86 and new Impreza STI

The rendering above, which has been published by a Japanese magazine, shows the upcoming Subaru FT-86 on the left and the new Impreza STI on the right. Although this is just a rendering and the design of both cars appears to be a little dramatic, it provides an indication of the possible future design language of Subaru could look like. I think Subaru has to do a lot of work in terms of design, in order its cars to have a clear identity.

New Nissan Tiida (Versa) caught during testing

The new Nissan Tiida (Versa) was caught during testing in China and you can see some design elements of it, despite the camouflage. The new model, which has the Sunny logo on it, is going to be equipped with a 1.8L engine, but it's too early to know the spec for each market yet. Anyway, from what is visible, the new model will be miles better than the current one.

SKYACTIV technology: What the future holds for Mazda

Mazda has released details about its next-gen powertrain technologies with the name SKYACTIV, including completely new engines, transmissions, bodyshells and platforms that will be launched in 2011. 

Since Mazda claims that SKYACTIV technologies will be launched next year,  the first model to benefit will be the new Demio/2 which goes on sale in the first half of 2011. Thereafter, we can expect that the next models coming with the new technologies will be the new MX-5 (earlier post) and 6 (Atenza). 

SKYACTIV-G petrol engine

• Fuel consumption levels that until now have been the reserve of hybrid powertrains 
• Compression ratio of 14.0:1, the highest compression ratio ever used in a production petrol engine anywhere in the world 
• 15 percent drop in fuel consumption and 15 percent increase in torque output

SKYACTIV-D diesel engine

• Compression ratio at 14.0:1, the lowest ever employed for a diesel engine 
• 20 percent drop in fuel consumption 
• Two-phase turbocharger delivering smooth and linear responses from low to high engine speeds and increasing low and high-end torque up to the rev limit of 5,200 rpm

SKYACTIV-Drive automatic transmission

• It combines the advantages of a conventional automatic transmission, a continuously-variable transmission and a double-clutch transmission
• Direct driving feel that is comparable to a manual transmission  
• Improved fuel economy of up to 7 percent compared to a current, conventional torque-converter automatic transmission

SKYACTIV-MT manual transmission

• Lightweight and compact manual transmission contributing to lowering fuel consumption 
• Compact size allowing efficient vehicle packaging

SKYACTIV-Body & SKYACTIV-Chassis

• Newly-developed, high-strength bodyshell being 8 percent lighter and 30 percent stiffer 
• Outstanding crash safety with an excellent foundation for agile handling attributes 
• Use of high-tensile steels and optimised bonding materials 
• Newly-developed suspension that is 14 percent lighter than the current suspension

In further phases, efficiency improving technologies, such as regenerative brake systems and hybrid power systems, will be successively introduced.

Did you know that the Japanese "saved" Porsche...?

Many times I hear people arguing about which nation builds the best cars. Well, there is no such thing... How do you define the term "best"? 

Anyway, no matter of what you like, one thing is certain. When it comes to manufacturing techniques and precision, the Japanese are the best. Below is just a simple example (you can read the complete article here) of how efficient the Japanese are and how they have also helped other manufacturers. Don't get me wrong, I do like Porsches, although I would buy a GT-R instead... ;-)

"By the early 1990’s, however, Porsche was in trouble. Sales plummeted to 11,500 units in 1993 (of which only a quarter were sold in the United States) as the result of international recession, toughening competition, the poor exchange rate (which increased the apparent cost of the car in Porsche’s largest market, the United States), and increased real cost of producing cars. The company was making too many models and not enough examples of each.

Production problems were widespread as well. The management focus was on the product itself, which was expensive to make because the cars were assembled rapidly and then the faults corrected in a time-consuming and costly manner after the car was finished. There were also problems with parts suppliers. Many of the suppliers were the same ones that had been used since the 1950 return to Stuttgart. Timely and correct order completion were subordinated to these relationships, and as a result, fully 20% of all parts were delivered more than three days late, and a third of all deliveries contained the incorrect number of parts. Thus, in 1992, then new chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking described the past as “one long mistake…solved…by raising prices", and indeed, Porsche was on the brink of bankruptcy. The company had invested 600 million marks in a sedan model that would eventually be axed instead of being built, and the company had racked up $300 million in losses by 1995. The world’s smallest independent auto manufacturer was about to fold.

Wiedeking had much previous manufacturing experience and had devised a “turnaround” strategy within three months of his appointment as CEO that incorporated at its center the ideas of lean production. At his previous work at Glycol Metallwerke (where he was charged with turning the company back into a profitable entity, which he did), a German automotive parts supplier, he learned about Japanese production techniques, and went to Japan to study these firsthand. Following this trip, he reported that “the gap between the Japanese and German auto business was in three areas: production, production, and production. [The Porsche] engineers were doing an excellent job. Production efficiency was the gap…to close.” This confirms that on an organizational and philosophical level, lean production was actually quite compatible with Porsche. So, Wiedeking took twenty managers from Porsche to Japan, and eventually hired consulting company Shingijutsu, which was founded by Yoshiki Iwata, champion of Toyota’s lean production system, called Toyota Production System.

Though the arrival of the Japanese consultants was far from smooth, it brought enormous benefits that eventually contributed to the turnaround and subsequent success of Porsche. Using the proven kaizen technique, the number of hours necessary to build a car was reduced from 120 to 72, the number of errors per car was reduced by 50%, and the workforce was simultaneously decreased by 19%. In what was retrospectively named the circular saw massacre, the eight foot tall shelves containing 28 days of parts inventory was quite literally hacked to pieces. These shelves had previously required workers to climb ladders and then dig through parts bins, and were replaced with carts, each of which was stocked with only the necessary components for building one car, that traveled along the line with the worker so that it was no longer necessary to interrupt tasks to find parts. The space required to build the cars was also reduced by 30% as a result."

Nissan officially releases 11MY GT-R

 

 

Nissan announced today the launch of the 11MY Nissan GT-R, which goes on sale November 17th at Nissan dealers nationwide in Japan.

For 11MY, GT-R features improved engine output and torque, greater fuel efficiency, revised handling, a refreshed exterior with improved aerodynamics, revised interior treatment and new wheels and tires.Also, two new exterior colours will be available,  Meteo Flake Black Pearl and Aurora Flare Blue Pearl (photo at the top).

The 11MY Nissan GT-R will also be released in North America, Europe and other regions after February 2011. Nissan is considering introducing EGOIST in Europe and the Middle East, and the Club Track edition in Europe as well.

Below are all the modifications and enhancements made to 11MY GT-R as published by Nissan:

1. Mechanism
Engine and Transmission Enhancements

• By modifying the boost pressure of the turbocharger, valve timing and air mixture ratio, reducing intake air resistance by enlarging the inlet pipe diameter, and reducing exhaust air resistance through use of an enlarged section of exhaust pipe, fuel economy is improved to 8.5km/L (10-15 mode) or 8.6km/L (JC08 mode).
• At the same time, the engine output is significantly improved to 390kW(530ps)/6,400rpm with maximum torque of 612N・m(62.5kgf・m) from 3,200 to 6,000 rpm. A new red color engine cover is used to demonstrate its greater performance.
• Cleaner emissions are realized through adopting an ultra-low precious metal catalyst and ECM with high-capacity microprocessor - achieving SU-LEV certification levels (emitting 75% fewer emissions than Japan's 2005 exhaust emission standards).
• A new SAVE mode is adopted, which optimizes driving torque and modifies the shift schedule to improve actual fuel economy when driving highways or open roads. This mode also helps reduce ankle fatigue.
• Starting performance while selecting "R mode" for the transmission and VDC-R is improved.
• To control tight corner braking phenomenon, which can occur when starting the vehicle while turning the steering wheel, 2WD mode is added to temporarily shift to 2WD driving.
  * When the vehicle speed is below 10km/h and the steering wheel is turned more than halfway.

Honda Civic Type R FD2 scale model by Ebbro

All the recent models that arrived (earlier post) are sealed and thus I wasn't able to take decent photos. Well, I decided to unwrap one of them and here are some detailed photos of it. This is a Honda Civic Type R FD2 scale model (1/43) by Ebbro in Crystal Black Pearl.