News

Demonstrations intend to educate public and create awareness of laws

TORONTO, ON - Ontario Provincial Police are partnering with Volvo of Oakville to offer a car seat installation clinic for area residents. The initiative will provide awareness of proper installation techniques and clarification of current laws.

The local initiative between the Burlington OPP and the Volvo dealership will offer demonstrations on how to correctly and safely secure infants, toddlers and young children, stressing the importance of having children of all ages and sizes properly restrained while in the vehicle. A roll-over simulator will be on site in order to demonstrate the reality of what can actually happen in the event of a collision. Officers will also recommend proper car seat adjustments for any interested members of the public who attend the clinics with their own vehicle regardless of make or model and will even be providing child seat recall notice information. Refreshments will also be provided.

"Volvo prides itself on its reputation for building safe, reliable vehicles and there should be no higher priority than the safety of our children," says John Martins, President of both Volvo of Oakville and Hamilton Volvo who is pleased to welcome Burlington's finest to his dealership, "We are honoured to be involved with an initiative that creates awareness of this important cause."

Pet Restraint Systems will also be discussed with the assistance of a representative from M & G Pet Foods who will demonstrate various pet restraint products for vehicles. An unsecured pet is in danger of injury not only to itself but of other occupants in the vehicle as well.

The child seat safety clinic times are as follows:

Date: April 10th, 2012 @ 8:00am - 6:00pm

Location: Volvo of Oakville - 770 Pacific Road, Oakville, ON

TURIN, ITALY – Consolidated vehicle sales for Fiat-Chrysler rose 8.2 percent in the first two months as strong Chrysler demand in North America offset Fiat's decline in Europe.

Sales increased to 616,800 compared with a year earlier, Fiat said.

The Italian automaker, which owns 58.5 percent of Chrysler Group, began releasing consolidated results for the two automakers for the first time on March 31.

Fiat-Chrysler sales in North America, the largest market for the two carmakers, rose 35.8 percent to 281,200 in the first two months, Fiat said. Overall, the region accounts for 45.6 percent of global sales.

In the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA), Fiat-Chrysler's second-largest market, sales declined by 18.7 percent to 181,800. Passenger car sales fell 13.8 percent to 149,700, while light commercial vehicles dropped 23.9 percent to 32,100.

Car sales in the EU and EFTA countries fell 16.5 percent to 135,100 while light commercial vehicle sales dropped 17.4 percent to 32,300.

The EMEA markets account for 29.5 percent of global sales.

Sales in the No. 3 market, Latin America, grew by 2.3 percent to 135,600, rising 9.8 percent in Argentina, but remaining flat in Brazil. Latin America represents nearly a quarter or 22 percent of Fiat-Chrysler global sales.

Growth in Asia Pacific (APAC) showed the biggest increase, but the region remains the smallest market by sales volume for the two automakers. Sales grew by 27.2 percent to 16,200, with Jeep sales of 6,900 in China and sales of Fiat-branded models reaching 3,800 in India. Asia Pacific accounts for 2.6 percent of overall global sales.

Fiat's high-end sports car brands, Ferrari and Maserati, grew global sales by a combined 6.7 percent to 1,900 in the first two months.

In January, Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne forecast that the alliance, which has been operating as single company since September 1, 2011, will sell between 4.1 and 4.4 million vehicles this year, up from 4.0 million in 2011.

WOODSTOCK, ON. - Toyota's Canadian manufacturing arm announced Wednesday it will invest $80 million to increase production at its Woodstock, Ont. assembly plant, a move it says will create some 400 new jobs.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. said it will ramp up production of its RAV4 crossover vehicles to 200,000 vehicles at the plant by early 2013, an increase from the current annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles.

The Woodstock facility currently employs about 2,000 workers.

Toyota has faced production problems due to last year's earthquake and tsunami in Japan and massive flooding in Thailand that cut parts supplies and slowed down their global output, even in Canada.

But sales have begun to spring back recently, with Toyota Canada reporting sales rose 31 per cent year-over-year in February with 12,384 Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles sold.

"We are optimistic that the market is coming back and we're grateful for the strong sales of the RAV4 in the North American market, which has created this increase in production and jobs," said TMMC chairman Ray Tanguay said.

Ontario has seen traditional Detroit Three carmakers — GM, Ford and Chrysler — cut tens of thousands of jobs in the last decade as their parent companies restructured in the United States. But Toyota and Honda have expanded their operations in Ontario, Canada's manufacturing heartland.

The company has already announced plans the first Toyota electric vehicle to be built in North America, the RAV4 EV, would be made in Woodstock beginning this year.

Canada's Minister of Industry Christian Paradis lauded the company, saying the move will help to strengthen Canada's automotive industry.

"Our government welcomes the news of increased production at Toyota's Woodstock plant, and congratulates the company on the success of the RAV 4," he said in a statement.

"Together, Toyota's Canadian plants represent one of the company's largest, most successful manufacturing operations in the world, leading to jobs and growth in those communities and for Canadians."

Ontario's Minister of Economic Development and Innovation Brad Duguid said the investment will result in more jobs for Ontario auto workers.

"This is great news for the auto industry in Ontario and shows the strength and diversity of the sector in the province. This expansion demonstrates that Ontario made the right decision by supporting the development of Toyota's manufacturing presence here in Ontario."

Toyota began its Canadian operations in 1986 in the southwestern Ontario city of Cambridge.

It currently employs about 6,500 Canadians at two plants in Cambridge and one in Woodstock, where the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix, Toyota RAV4, and the Lexus RX 350 vehicles are manufactured.

CHERRY HILL, N.J. - Subaru of America, Inc. has announced the debut of its EyeSight™ driver assistance system. The suite of safety and driver assist technologies will debut at the New York International Auto Show on 2013 Legacy and Outback models. EyeSight will subsequently appear on other products in the Subaru line-up. EyeSight integrates adaptive cruise control, pre-collision braking, and vehicle lane departure warning. The new technology, which can also detect obstacles in front of a parked car and limit potential damage in an impact, will become available later this year.

Combining safety and convenience features, the Subaru EyeSight system will be one of the most affordable of such technologies available in the United States market. EyeSight uses two charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras developed by Subaru. EyeSight is mounted inside the car on the upper edge of the windshield, thus reducing the potential for damage that could occur in bumper-mounted systems, such as radar. The EyeSight system processes stereo images to identify the vehicles traveling in front, as well as obstacles, traffic lanes and other items. The video information is relayed to the EyeSight computer, which is also networked with the car's braking system and electronic throttle control. Below speeds of approximately 19mph, EyeSight is capable of detecting pedestrians in the vehicle's path and can activate in order to mitigate or even avoid the collision. Under certain circumstances, Eyesight is able to bring the car to a complete stop, thus avoiding a collision.

Pre-Collision Braking Control and Collision Mitigation

At relative speeds under approximately 19 mph, EyeSight's Pre-Collision Braking System can detect obstacles in the car's path and, if the driver has not applied the brakes in time, the system can do so to slow the vehicle or bring it to a full stop to help avoid the potential collision. Pre-Collision Braking is always on in the background to act like a second set of eyes for the driver. It can also be turned off temporarily for off-road or rough road travel.

At relative speeds above approximately 19 mph, EyeSight can apply the brakes when an object is detected, and will attempt to brake if the driver takes no evasive action, or does not brake appropriately. In this way it will mitigate potential damage from a collision. The system, which can recognize programmed objects such as vehicles, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians, can help mitigate collision damage.

Lane Departure and Sway Warning

By monitoring traffic lane markers and lines, the Subaru EyeSight system can detect if the car begins to wander outside the intended lane without a turn signal being used, or if the car begins to sway within the travel lane. Using the turn signal cancels the warning.

Adaptive Cruise Control

Intended for freeway use, Eyesight's Adaptive Cruise Control system can maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front, braking and/or accelerating the car as needed to maintain the driver-selected target speed and traveling distance. Adaptive Cruise Control is operational from 1-87 mph and can fully brake the vehicle to a stop if the system "locks on" to a vehicle ahead.

As an added convenience, Adaptive Cruise Control assists the driver in heavy "stop and go" freeway traffic by maintaining distance from the vehicle ahead. This feature can help reduce driver fatigue, which can therefore help keep the driver alert.

Additional EyeSight Benefits

In heavy traffic conditions, EyeSight will also alert the driver when the vehicle ahead has moved if he or she doesn't react within several seconds. The technology can also help reduce collision damages by cutting the throttle when it senses an obstacle in front, but the accelerator pedal continues to be pushed. The system is also effective when a driver shifts into 'Drive' inadvertently instead of 'Reverse' when backing out of a parking space. The stereo camera design of EyeSight provides a detection angle wider than that of radar-based systems.