Toyota Camry 2007 News

The biggest recall has hit Toyota, which wants to check 144,500 Camrys for headlights, and nearly 8000 Honda Civics also have light problems.The federal Department of Transport says eight imported cars have been recalled since June 1, even Volvo, which makes safety a key selling point, hasn't escaped, recalling cars to check on a faulty door assembly.The latest recalls are;Audi: A6 built between March 2004 and March 2005 may have a software fault which, in exceptional circumstances, could delay release of both front air bags in an accident. Number of cars, 464.Toyota: Camrys built from June 2002 to May 2006; faulty headlight switch which may cause headlights to flicker or temporarily fail. Number involved, 144,589.Honda: Civic sedan and somes hatches built between 2001 and 2002; problem with plastic terminal connector melting, causing low beam lights to fail. Number, 7979.Volvo: Current model C70 may have incorrect left hand door assembly, so it doesn't meet legal requirements in an accident. Number, 173.Mazda: The Mazda3 MPS built from May 2006 to May 2007 may have a loose bolt securing the engine and transmission to its mounting. If it falls out, the engine may drop, detaching the drive shaft. Number of recalls, 1160. Recall will start next week. 

Car companies are struggling with a $1000 problem — buyers want the latest safety technology but don't like to pay for it.In fact, they'd rather have bling rims than a certain, potentially life-saving active safety measure.The issue is over stability control, a hi-tech system that can prevent a skid. Most experts rate it as the single biggest advance in car safety in a generation. However, the Australian car industry has found it is popular only when standard, not when an extra-cost option.So far this year, only one in 100 buyers of the Hyundai Getz, from $13,990, have added the safety pack option including stability control.A “sports pack” of alloy wheels, roof spoiler and bright interior trim has proved twice as popular.In the $21,000-plus Mazda 3, demand for the stability control option has reached five per cent this year, up from two per cent last year.The US intends to make stability control mandatory on all new cars and Europe reportedly has plans to do the same.European research found the move could reduce by 80 per cent the number of crashes caused by skidding, saving 4000 lives a year if fitted to all cars there, according to Germany's University of Cologne.But in Australia, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, representing car makers and importers, is pressing the Federal Government not to make stability control mandatory.“That just tends to lock in old technology,” said FCAI president and Toyota Australia chairman emeritus, John Conomos.He said self-regulation would allow companies to switch to better systems as they were developed.Stability control is expected to be in 40 per cent of new cars by the end of the year.Holden has made it standard in Commodore sedans and Toyota will fit it to all Camry sedans from August. It is an option in most Falcons, standard in top-level versions. But it is not available in the new model Toyota Corolla, the top-selling small car. 

It has been a turbulent past year for Australia's automotive industry but one that will go down as its best, at least in numbers of cars sold.A record one million new cars are tipped to be sold here in 2007, the first time the magic million will be eclipsed.It should be good news but such sales have only encouraged new brands to flood the market and pressure the local manufacturing base and established marques - cutting margins on new cars and largely to blame for forcing redundancies in Australian factories.Good news for new-car buyers, at least.By the end of this year, Czech and Indian-built cars will be sold in Australia, with Chinese-made cars soon to follow.Those cheap imports, along with more than 40 other imported brands competing for the Australian new-car dollar, have been held partly to blame for job losses at Holden, Mitsubishi and Ford.Holden cut more than 600 jobs at its Elizabeth plant in March, Ford announced it will stop production of its long-wheel-base cars, putting more pressure on its Geelong workforce which was cut by 600 late last year, while Mitsubishi's Tonsley Park factory is operating at just 50 cars a day with a “skeleton” staff.The job losses and flow-on job cuts in the automotive industry - more than 7500 in the past three years - also have been the result of consumers shying away from the Australian-built large sedans amid high petrol prices.However, domestic carmakers are sticking to their ambitions. Holden's new VE Commodore is proving to be a viable export option, as are Toyota's Australian-built Camry and Aurion.Up to 50,000 Commodores will end up in the U.S. as Pontiacs and long-wheel-base models will be exported to the Middle East, China and Korea.Mitsubishi - rebutting speculation that its SA plant will close - says it is tracking to its business plan, despite less than 900 of its 380-model sedans selling each month recently.Anthony Casey, general manager of national sales for Mitsubishi Australia, said the business, at the end of the first quarter of its fiscal year, looked like “a reasonable distance in front of where we had to be”.“We've stabilised (380-model sales) and, certainly from an imported product point of view, we were able to launch a number of new cars at the end of last year and they have been good for us,” Mr Casey said.“I think we've done a lot of work to consolidate our position. We did a lot of work last year in terms of right-sizing the business.”Mr Casey said Mitsubishi was gaining ground in the all-important eastern states in terms of sales and establishing a solid dealer network.Both Adelaide carmakers, Mitsubishi and Holden, have quietly revealed they have considered and studied bringing diesel powerplants to their range . . . even hybrid cars.Imported brands, particularly from Europe, are capitalising on a growing Australian passion for diesel, while improving hybrid technology has encouraged a growing green brigade of motorists here.GM Holden boss Denney Mooney said the economic climate had made it tough for the Adelaide carmaker to deliver a brand-new-model Commodore in the past financial year.The start-up costs for the VE Commodore and tough times for new-car trading sent GM Holden $146.5 million into the red in 2006. 

In the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) results this week, the Toyota Aurion, Toyota Camry and Holden Commodore all received a four-star safety rating, adding to the previously tested four-star performers, the Ford Falcon and Mitsubishi 380.NRMA Motoring and Services Vehicle Safety Expert, Jack Haley says most of these cars failed to reach a top rating because of the lack of side curtain airbags.The Toyota Aurion is the only car equipped with side head protection as standard, but Haley says Toyota chose not to proceed with an optional pole test. This meant they were unable to score five stars in the overall testing. The testing involved the top-selling version of each model and Haley says the other large cars offered curtain airbags as an option, but not as a standard feature in the models tested.“Obviously our aim is to get all cars up to a five-star safety rating,” Haley says. “We'd like to see curtain airbags in all vehicles and we would also like to see stability control as standard.”The Toyota Aurion and Holden Commodore have stability control as standard, but it is only an option in various other family cars. But Haley says stability control didn't contribute to the ANCAP testing, as the results show how a car performs in a crash, whereas stability control is an active accident-prevention device.Each car underwent three main areas of testing under ANCAP.They included frontal, side impact and pedestrian tests.Many Japanese and European cars have already received a five-star rating in the European version of testing, known as the EuroNCAP.They include the Toyota Corolla, Peugeot 207, Ford Focus XR5, Land Rover Freelander 2, Citroen Picasso, Mitsubishi Outlander, Volvo C30, VW Passat and Mini Cooper.Most of these models were tested as top-of-the-range, whereas in Australia the extra airbags are optional on some models. ANCAP advises motorists to buy vehicles with a full six-airbag package, including side head protection and electronic stability control.The Toyota Tarago and Mitsubishi Triton also scored a four-star rating in the recent testing, an improvement for the Triton, which is up from a previously low two-star rating.The Hyundai Accent scored three stars and the Mitsubishi Express van scored poorly with just one star. STAR RATINGS  Source: ANCAP 2007 

The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria has just completed its annual cost of ownership survey of a range of current models.The survey looks at total running cost and is based on vehicles travelling 15,000km a year, which is the Australian average.It factors in the cost of a typical car loan, depreciation, registration, club membership, comprehensive insurance plus servicing, fuel and tyre costs.Fuel costs were calculated on an unleaded petrol pump price of $1.26 a litre, $1.31 for diesel and 47c for LPG.Fuel prices have risen significantly since the survey was finished so true running costs will be even higher.The survey results show the cheapest car costs about $6000 a year to run, compared to $18,500 for the most expensive.The most affordable car was Hyundai's Getz at $116.54 a week, followed by Holden's Barina ($120.85) and the Toyota Yaris ($125.88).Go up a size and Toyota's Corolla was the winner at $154.49, followed by the Ford Focus ($156.49) and Holden Astra ($158.12).The medium class sector was won by Toyota's Camry at $193.05, followed by the Mazda6 at $197.85, and Honda Accord Euro ($218.07).Large cars are, as expected, more expensive to run but, surprisingly not that much more.The best was Mitsubishi's 380 at $200.44, so it is cheaper than the Honda Accord. Toyota's Aurion was next best ($217.60), followed by Ford's Falcon ($229.13).For large families, the Kia Carnival people mover at $216.68 beat the Honda Odyssey ($228) and Toyota Tarago ($267.61).Diesel and hybrid cars were cheaper to run but don't forget diesel cars initially cost more and replacement batteries for hybrids are hellishly expensive and have a short lifespan.The cheapest was the Honda Civic hybrid at $175.29, beating the Toyota Prius at $200.63. A VW Golf diesel was better than the Prius on the wallet at $187.93.A Ford Falcon running on LPG cost $211.43 a week, while the dual-fuel Commodore came in at $225.10.The popular compact SUV market was headed by Honda's CRV at $203.86, followed by Nissan's Xtrail ($207.36) and Subaru's Forester ($208.52).Medium SUVs had the Holden Captiva out in front at $225.16, followed by the Ford Territory ($234.47) and Toyota Prado ($286.16).At the expensive end of the running cost spreadsheet were the big four-wheel-drives.The cheapest was Nissan's Patrol at $269.53, while the Toyota LandCruiser cost $357.51 a week.

The Japanese car maker now owns a massive 21.9 per cent of the market, a rise of 0.6 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year.Australia's leading seller has surged to 91,984 sales to the end of May compared with 82,227 for the first five months of last year.Toyota is driving the industry to continued forecasts that more than a million vehicles will be sold for the first time in a calendar year in Australia.The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has nominated an annualised rate (SAAR) of 1.022 million vehicles for 2007.Chief contributors to Toyota's booming figures are the four-cylinder Camry while the 4 x 2 and 4 x 4 variants of the HiLux have recorded huge jumps along with the Yaris and the introduction of the V6 Aurion.Significantly, since improved supply, the petrol/electric Prius has more than doubled on 2006 figures with 1333 sold to the end of May compared with 625 for the same period last year.Toyota continues to punch above the performance of the total market.“Our aspirations are always to grow bigger than the market,” Toyota Australia chairman Emeritus John Conomos said at the launch recently of the 10th generation Corolla.“No one has ever achieved 25 per cent of the market in modern times before.“It's probably not achievable this year but it's a goal worth setting.”Holden remains in Toyota's shadow. It has increased sales from 60,792 to 61,863 year-on-year, but its market share is down from 15.7 to 14.8 per cent.Ford is a clear number three but has slipped almost 5000 sales year-on-year and has lost 2 per cent market share which now stands at 10.5 per cent.Mitsubishi continues to claw its way back and is moving up on Nissan in a fight for fifth spot.Those models selling well for Mitsubishi have been the Lancer, Outlander, Pajero and the Triton 4 x 4 although the model which the Adelaide maker has staked its future on, the 380, has declined from 5176 to 4641 in year-on-year figures.On the luxury front, BMW recorded its second successive monthly record with 1497 vehicles finding owners, taking its year-to-date tally to 6462.What has been a massive seller for BMW has been the new hardtop 3-series convertible and coupe with combined sales standing at 1170 compared with 313 this time last year.While sales of the X5 Sport Utility Vehicle remain robust and Z4 convertible and coupe sales have grown by a massive 49.4 per cent it is the two-door 3-series models which have allowed BMW to gain significant market momentum.BMW customer deliveries last month were 11.7 per cent higher than May 2006, adding an extra 157 units to last May's record figure.Volkswagen, the only European importer to make the top 10 list, has lifted its year-on-year volume share to 2.6 per cent from 1.9 per cent with sales topping 10,918 to the end of May.

Occasionally use a bicycle to commute, or use public transport, and you'll probably be eligible to drive a V12 sports car on Sunday.Hypothetical? Not according to the Australian Greenhouse Office, which argues that hybrid cars aren't the answer.Bigger reductions in greenhouse gases — which include carbon-dioxide, nitrous oxides and methane — are possible around the house.The office also reports that passenger cars contribute 7 per cent of Australia's total greenhouse-gas emissions — less than the nation's cow and sheep population emit through flatulence.Bushfires beat both, but the doozy is the greenhouse gases emitted to produce electricity — a whopping 35 per cent of Australia's total. Unless new and cleaner power sources for electricity generation are found, Australia — and the world — won't be able to justify mass use of plug-in electric cars.Think GM's aborted electric car was part of a conspiracy? It wasn't, but it made for an interesting film, Who Killed The Electric Car?.Basically, if all the 11 million passenger cars on Australian roads were suddenly converted to plug-in electric power, there would be no car emissions. But the electricity required to charge these cars would create a massive increase in greenhouse gases.Current electric plug-in cars marketed in the US and Europe require an average of 0.25kWh for each kilometre travelled.Electricity from a combination of gas and coal-fired stations in Australia produces 0.99kg of carbon-dioxide equivalent (CO2 which adds to other greenhouse gases) for 1kWh according to the Sustainable Energy Development Office.An electric car travelling 20,000km a year indirectly produces 4950kg of CO2 a year.By comparison, a Toyota Prius hybrid emits 2120kg of CO2 a year; a Toyota Camry petrol four-cylinder 4660kg; a Holden Commodore V8 6600kg; a Volkswagen Golf diesel 2980kg; and a Smart Fortwo 2260kg (source: Australian Greenhouse Office).Even a BMW X5 SUV diesel emits 4620kg — 330kg a year less greenhouse gas than an electric car.Of course, there are emissions from refining oil and gas. In Australia, that is estimated at "less than 4 per cent" of all energy emissions.Future electric cars are expected to have more efficient batteries, with the Lotus Elise-based Tesla prototype claiming 0.16kWh/km — resulting in 3168kg of CO2 a year.Change the electricity station to natural gas — which emits only 0.21kg per 1kWh — and electric cars start to make a difference.Change to sustainable power — wind or solar — and we will have virtually emission-free transport. That won't happen overnight.What can happen is a substantial reduction in greenhouse gases through simple changes to our houses. Each Australian household produces an average of 15 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually.On a per capita basis, that makes us one of the world's worst greenhouse gas polluters.This is because most of our electricity comes from coal burnt in one of the 24 power stations around the country.In the period 1999-2004, greenhouse emissions from electricity generation in Australia rocketed 50.4 per cent.In the same period, passenger car emissions rose 18 per cent — up because there are more cars on the road, but comparatively modest because car manufacturers are making "cleaner" cars.If every Australian motorist is serious about becoming green, they can cut car use by 30 per cent. Walk, use public transport or cycle.Do this and motorists will reduce the nation's greenhouse emissions by 2.5 per cent.However, we can achieve that same 2.5 per cent reduction by reducing our electricity use by 7 per cent.Change the incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs, turn off electrical appliances that have a standby mode, take shorter showers, change from electricity to gas or solar hot-water heating, raise the airconditioning temperature by 1C or 2C in summer, turn off lights in unoccupied rooms, and so on.Simply, legislation should be focused on how green we build new houses, not just new cars. The bottom line is we all have to become smarter and that includes car use. Just stop blaming the car for all our greenhouse woes.Do you agree with Neil Dowling's view? carsguide.com.au Things you should knowAustralia's total greenhouse emissions were 564.7 million tonnes recorded in 2004 (the latest data available).Livestock generated 65 million tonnes of the greenhouse gas methane, while passenger cars emitted 41.7 million tonnes.It takes 22 years and 10 months of driving at 20,000km a year for the $37,400 Toyota Prius to finally equate to the price differential of the $19,990 Toyota Corolla, assuming $1.20 a litre for petrol. But in that time, the Corolla dumps 30.5 tonnes more CO2 into the air than the Prius.If every household in Australia installed one energy-efficient light, it would equal a drop in emissions of taking 130,000 cars off the road.Appliances on standby account for one-eighth of household energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.Further information: greenhouse.gov.au

Though the large-car segment grew 4.7 per cent in March, small and light cars still dominate the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries' Vfacts figures for the month.Holden sold 5752 VE Commodores and Toyota managed 2037 Aurion V6 sales, the first time the car has eclipsed 2000 sales since it was launched last year.The Aurion's kissin' cousin Camry four-cylinder managed 2574 sales.Ford and Mitsubishi still trail in the family sedan stakes, selling 3249 and 1022 respectively. But their lowly large-car sales were offset by strong import performances.Overall, Mitsubishi had a 22 per cent lift in first-quarter sales against the same period last year, on the back of solid Colt, Lancer, Outlander and Pajero sales.Ford's Focus and Territory helped maintain the momentum for the Broadmeadows-based carmaker, as well as fleet sales that pushed Fairlane numbers to 263 for the month.FCAI chief executive Peter Sturrock says the remarkably strong start to the year may have even taken industry optimists by surprise."Consumers appear to have shaken off any lingering concerns about fuel prices and interest rates and have responded enthusiastically to the intensely competitive prices," he says.The new-vehicle market is being pushed by deflation, with new cars becoming cheaper and better equipped as the various brands fight it out.The market was up 8.3 per cent, compared with March last year, with an all-time sales record of 94,392 vehicles.If the sales momentum continues, this year could eclipse one million sales for the first time.In the first three months of the year 255,068 vehicles were sold, up 20,463, or 8.7 per cent, on the same period last year and surpassing the previous record for the quarter of 237,000 set two years ago. Despite the buoyant first quarter, the FCAI is still forecasting 970,000 sales this year.All segments, except people movers, are experiencing growth.The fastest-growing of all segments remains small passenger cars, which added 8532 sales, or 16.7 per cent, in the first quarter compared with last year. The small-car stars continue to be the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3, selling 4029 and 3182 respectively last month.Light-car sales grew 3334, or 11.9 per cent, SUV compact 2851, 22.2 per cent, and SUV medium 1617, 4.7 per cent.Toyota set a cracking pace in March with 21,390 sales, giving it No.1 sales spot ahead of Holden on 13,454 and Ford on 10,074.So far this year, Toyota has 22 per cent of the market, with Holden at No.2 with 14.3 per cent and Ford third with 10.7 per cent.

Toyota is closing fast on General Motors as the world's favourite brand and could even take top spot in 2007, despite the best efforts of the teetering American giant.GM has been on top of the world for 75 years, but its 2007 sales forecast of around 9 million vehicles is lower than Toyota's projected 9.35 million and that points to a titanic battle for supremacy."We're going to fight to keep the position," the chairman of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, said in Detroit at the weekend."We like being number one and our people take pride in it. It's not something we would sit back and let somebody just pass us by. If we lose, we're going to fight to get it back."Toyota has already zoomed past Ford to become number two on the global sales charts, using similar tactics to the ones which have given it market leadership in Australia for the past four years.The Japanese company competes in as many segments of the new-vehicle scene as possible and tries to dominate them.It has had the best selling car in the USA for more than a decade, thanks to its Camry, and has even built a giant pickup truck and entered down-home NASCAR stock car racing in America to build the company's following with the broadest possible range of customers.Toyota is also expected to soon announce that it will build another factory in North America, its eighth, to build the Kluger four-wheel drive family wagon.This would lift production by around another 200,000 vehicles.But that is just North America, and Toyota is still expanding in many other regions and countries including Australia.GM has been in retreat at home for years, failing to post any quarterly profits since 2004 and its loss of around $US9 billion last year is likely to be matched by a similar-sized profit by Toyota.Its sales in North America fell by 9 per cent in 2006 but Mr Wagoner says the company now sells 55 per cent of its vehicles overseas and it was making gains in China and South America."That's where the growth is in this industry and we're participating pretty well."Mr Wagoner forecast a huge battle, not just with Toyota but also to continue the restructuring and turnaround at GM.

The final member of the new Camry family is still about six months away for Australia.A new Kluger people mover has been developed and is ready to run, but the Japanese executive in charge of all Toyota Camry projects says it will not be unveiled anywhere until the first quarter of next year.The first priority is the United States, with Down Under deliveries not likely before midyear, he says."New Kluger is coming next year, first in the United States."It will be in the first quarter. Australia comes later," executive chief engineer of the Camry family Yukihiro Okane says.He was in Australia for introduction here of the Camry-based Aurion V6. Okane ruled out any chance of the Camry coupe — the Solara — or a hybrid making it to Australia.He was reluctant to give any details of the Kluger, but confirmed the basics."Concept is the same. Wagon for family, seven seats. There will be one engine for Australia, same as today. This will be a V6."The Kluger is a global vehicle, sold as a Highlander in Japan, but the Camry coupe and hybrid are much more targeted, he says."Solara is only for the US. It is only left-hand drive. And the Camry hybrid is still very expensive. It would be difficult to sell here (in Australia) and too expensive to manufacture."Okane has just been in the US for the start of Camry hybrid production, which comes on-stream as Toyota does all it can to boost hybrid sales there.It is doing extremely well with the second-generation Prius, which is popular with Hollywood celebrities and well ahead of demand forecasts."It is 4000 cars a month, very popular," Okane says.It was the demand that convinced the company to expand production into the US.Okane says US customers will take all the Camry hybrids it can make in that country, at least until the next full model change in about four years' time.Here, he drove the first of the locally focused Aurions during his visit and says he is happy with the localisation of his basic Camry design to take on the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon."This is a very good car. Very good driving. I am very happy."