ATWMotorFreight.com – Car Care and News in the Auto Industry

Toyota might have been trailing several competitors in meeting the little offset barrier test set by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Although with the new Highlander, it’s taken its safety engineering to IIHS’s highest rating, Top Safety Pick . The Highlander becomes the 1st 2014 model in the mid-size SUV/crossover class to receive it.

The “plus” rating requires Good ratings in four crash tests: moderate overlap front, roof strength, side, head restraint, and a Good or Acceptable rating from the small overlap front. The tiny overlap test was introduced in 2012 to replicate the left front corner of a vehicle hitting a tree, utility pole, or any other car at 40 mph (64 km/h). Highlander was rated Acceptable.

Crash avoidance/mitigation is the “plus” factor and is based on a front collision warning and automatic braking systems to prevent or mitigate the effects of a impending accident. Highlander got an Advanced rating for its optional system.

Body beefed up in front and side, rear

Toyota took many steps in body/frame construction to pass the crash testing, and after that went beyond. The left front has a spacer at the bumper, which absorbs and transmits impact energy that’s outside of the bumper reinforcement in to the front side member. From that point it flows into a joining plate with the reinforced front A-pillar area, from which it is actually distributed up into the roof side structure and down through a rocker panel joining plate in to the lower body side structure.

Much of the Highlander forward side structure is made with high-strength steel, with ultra-high-strength steel inserts employed in the rocker panel and (as is customary) the B-pillar. The distribution of crash energy through the two joining plates as well as the beefed-up body structure suppresses body deformation around the cabin from a frontal collision, Toyota said. The two joining plates also are suited for the right side.

Side-impact protection includes door impact beams of course, and both the roof structure and floorpan have reinforcing crossmembers that transmit loads towards the opposite side in a side-impact collision.

The back has a collision mitigation design in the form of straight side members and three floorpan crossmembers forward from the rear bumper. The engine compartment hood features a pedestrian protection design–an inner panel that is certainly longitudinally ribbed to provide a crush space above the engine for the pedestrian landing on the outer skin of the hood.

Pre-collision warning, auto braking

The front side pre-collision system uses a millimeter-wave radar sensor, a type that is preferred for its image resolution and ability to identify what it “sees” ahead (car, pedestrian, etc.), even at nighttime. It also provides usable readings through rain, fog and dust and smoke. The Highlander’s driving support module is the primary sensor signal collector/processor and its skid control (stability control) module may be the electronic “foreman” for the system. The system uses signals in the steering, road speed, and yaw sensors.

It transmits a signal for an instrument panel warning display to flash and a buzzer to sound if the driving support module decides a collision can be done or likely. It also asks the skid control module to switch the brake assist to a readiness state. In case the driver’s foot hits the brake pedal enough to trigger the brake lights, the brake assist is activated. This part of the system comes into play at road speeds of 19 mph (30 km/h) and above.

Automatic braking is commanded if the driver doesn’t apply the brakes, with a collision possible or likely, a closing speed of 10 mph (15 km/h) or greater, and when reducing engine power wouldn’t provide enough deceleration. The skid control module applies the brakes through the anti-lock brakes hydraulic actuator. And additional braking is needed to further mitigate the crash, it sounds the buzzer to the driver to utilize the brakes, if the module determines that the won’t prevent a collision.

During automatic braking, the driving support module sets a target deceleration rate and continuously recalculates it. If the automatic braking does eliminate the collision danger, the system reduces the automatic application for smooth deceleration and returns to manual braking.

The new Prius also got a “plus” rating, although with Toyota’s competitors having moved quickly to accomplish it too on some vehicles (apart from mid-size SUVs), and a total of 22 vehicles already listed, it’s become the “need to have” for new models.

Road trips can be a truly exhilarating experience but on the flip side being stuck at the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night is no fun at all – even one of three is bad enough. That’s why it’s a good idea to have a car emergency kit in the trunk at all times. Whether you are heading out on the road trip of a lifetime or simply driving a few miles it can make a whole world of difference.

Here are a few basics you should certainly take with you on an extended road trip, particularly if your children will be joining you on this long distance excursion.

For Sanitation

You don’t want to get caught short in the middle of nowhere and not all public toilets are as clean and well equipped as you would hope. That’s why it’s a great idea to carry with you:

• Toilet paper – take out the inner cardboard tube and flatten the paper to take up less space but you should always have a roll or two handy in case of emergencies.

• Hand sanitizer – keep this in a zip top bag to prevent it from leaking onto other supplies.
• Plastic tablecloth – come in handy for more than just picnics, they also make the ideal surface for a quick diaper change.
• Trash bags – have all sorts of uses apart from storing the garbage. They come in extremely useful to line a bucket or toddler potty for emergency toilet facilities.
• Bar of soap – keep this in a soap box or a zip top bag.
• Tissues,
• Feminine hygiene products.
• A few spare plastic zip top bags for those unexpected emergencies.

For Sustenance

You do need to have a few snacks and nibbles to eat with you in case you break down a long way from civilization. It can literally be the difference between life and death. You will need things which have a long shelf life, are lightweight and calorie packed, stuff like:

• Energy bars / trail mix. You can buy some delicious examples or even make your own. Make sure that you don’t have trail mix with chocolate chips if you are travelling through the heat of the summer.
• Almonds – power houses packed with protein.
• Dried fruit – another great snack for the road.
• Whole wheat crackers.
• Peanut butter / other types of nut butter packed in foil.
• Water – don’t travel anywhere without a clean supply of drinking water, at least a couple of liters for each passenger in the car.

For Survival

It can be a fine line between surviving a potential dangerous situation and not – here are a few essentials to keep you safe in case of emergency:

• Water filter – just in case you run out of clean drinking water.
• Rain ponchos – brightly colored ones help to be seen and safe.
• Emergency blanket or sleeping bag – to keep you warm and comfortable.
• Fleece blankets – just roll a few up and pop them into the trunk, they can be used in many different situations including ground cover, window shade, changing mat etc.
• LED headlamps and / or flashlights
• Extra batteries – suitable for everything you have which uses batteries.
• Multi-purpose knife.
• Lightweight nylon cord – again you never know when it will come in useful and it needs the minimum amount of space.
• First aid kit.
• Comfortable walking shoes.
• Spare, warm, comfortable clothes for each member of the party.

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The Maruti 800 was created 30 years ago and changed the face of motoring in India forever.

On December14 and 1983, Harpal Singh, after paying the princely amount of Rs 47,500, was handed across the keys to the initial Maruti at that time Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Exactly three decades ago, the humble Maruti 800 was created. It went on to conquer Indian roads and turn into a symbol of mobility much like the Ford Model T did in America along with the Volkswagen Beetle in Europe. It vindicated Osamu Suzuki’s leap of faith in India at the same time when auto giants like Volkswagen, Fiat and Toyota thought it was suicidal to do so.

The 800 breezed into India as a wonder car with a long list of ‘firsts’. This little Suzuki was the first car to get disc brakes, front-wheel drive and synchromesh on first gear! Ridiculously insignificant details like floorshift gears, bucket seats, a plastic moulded dashboard and even wipers that worked effectively had car buyers, previously raised on a diet of prehistoric technology, in raptures. Overnight the antiquated Padminis and Ambassadors were swept away by a wave of Maruti mania. People discovered the joys of driving, women were liberated by its user-friendly nature and very quickly India was on the move. The 800 was responsible for doubling total car sales in India in the first two years but demand was higher still. Buyers were willing to pay a pay premium of twice the official sticker price to acquire a taste of the they had never experienced before – Japanese quality.

With the 800, Maruti not only put a nation on wheels but it introduced a work culture and philosophy for super-efficient manufacturing pioneered through the Japanese. It established a component industry from scratch, but to put it simply, Maruti single-handedly created India’s automobile industry.

What makes Maruti ‘s history intriguing are definitely the unique circumstances under which it was born. This company had the unequivocal support of not just the Prime Minister of India but a mother who wished to fulfill the dreams of her son lost within an air crash. With her emotional involvement in the project, other politicians and bureaucrats couldn’t meddle with Maruti. Actually, unlike other public sectors companies, Maruti was an exception and instead of red tape was given a red carpet.

It didn’t take long for Maruti to completely dominate the Indian car market. Despite the government exited the company more than a decade ago, Maruti went from strength to strength,. That’s easy approvals and many tax concessions which favoured Maruti cars certainly did help during the early years but what’s truly remarkable.

Maruti’s unbroken dominance in the Indian car market can largely be attributed to its top-class management. R.C. Bhargava, who led Maruti for 16 years, honed the corporation into a well-oiled machine by developing an effective work culture, which is the bedrock of the company.

Jagdish Khattar, the managing director within a more competitive environment, understood that there was nothing more significant than keeping his customers happy. Even today, Maruti’s top management has a customer focus like hardly any other company plus a shrewd power to find customers where none exist.

But today, on its 30th birthday, Maruti is facing competition not seen before.

Having concentrated on the cheerful and cheap end of your market, Maruti has glaring gaps in its model range and has completely lost out on the lucrative SUV segment, which has exploded in India. It has failed to find acceptance in premium (and profitable) segments and is also still reliant on Fiat for diesel technology, which makes it vulnerable in a country that’s strongly diesel driven.

And, after thirty years, Maruti still doesn’t possess the capability to design and develop cars in-house which is a crying shame, especially when home-grown rivals like Tata and Mahindra have made huge strides in product development.

However, they are challenges Maruti can’t manage to shy away from and is plotting an item offensive to maintain its grip on the market. After all, that which was once a punt in an unknown country for Suzuki has turned out to be its golden goose.