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Japanese car industry at a standstill

Japanese car industry at a standstill

Following the devastation of the earthquake and tsunami which ripped through many areas in the North of Japan several weeks ago, several major Japanese car companies have suspended production and some factories of the country's biggest car manufacturers are still shut down.

Tragically, some 7,200 people have now been confirmed dead and the government said it expects the death toll to exceed 10,000. Nearly 11,000 people remain missing and millions have been left homeless.

Toyota, the world's top automobile manufacturer, immediately suspended production at all its domestic car plants and parts factories and has estimated a production decline of 40,000 vehicles. The company has announced that it does not plan to restart production until later this week, and puts its production loss at some 16,000 vehicles.

The factories, even those that have not been severely damaged, could start-up again in the coming days but not for long due to the massive disruption to their supplier network. Toyota Motor Corp resumed the production of repair or replacement parts yesterday, however assembly plants throughout Japan remain closed, spelling a knock-on effect for the production of 95,000 vehicles.

Honda and Nissan have also temporarily halted operations, while Fuji Heavy Industries, maker of Subaru cars, closed five factories having suffered partial building and equipment damage. All three Mitsubishi plants based in Japan came away unscathed by the disaster, however some of its major suppliers were affected, halting plant operations until mid week.

Before the earthquake, Japan was making 37,000 cars and trucks each day. It exported more than half of them. Fourteen percent of the 7.2 core vehicles produced worldwide last year were made in Japan.

Most of the Japanese carmakers are based in the south of Tokyo, which was able to evade the calamity. However, senior importers have reported that the damage to the overall infrastructure in the country could cause a more lasting impact.

A shortage of parts shipped from Japan has already triggered a slowdown of production at the North American plants of Toyota, Subaru and General Motors in an attempt to conserve parts stockpiles. These problems will soon have further repercussions abroad. Japan is the world's second-largest car exporter (after Germany) and more than one in every ten cars produced in the world comes from Japan. In 2010, the export market (including cars and parts) was worth 130 billion dollars.

According to the carmaker, 60 percent of the cars sold in Europe are manufactured in Japan, but it can take about six weeks for Toyota vehicles to travel from Japan to Europe. This means that over the next five weeks, European dealers will still be receiving cars - or car parts - manufactured before the earthquake and the tsunami. Any disruptions in European or American plants would only begin to occur by the middle of April.


article source : http://www.articlecity.com

Used Rolls Royce - Who Owns One?

Used Rolls Royce - Who Owns One? 

Rolls-Royce are renown the worldwide for providing luxury cars to the wealthy and the famous. Eddie Murphy, Puff Daddy, David Beckham and ‘Lord of the Dance’ Michael Flatley amongst others are well known owners of these prestigious cars. Lennon has his Rolls painted in psychedelic whirls and the Sultan of Brunei had some of his 5,000 Rolls-Royces covered in golden bodywork. All of these are surely pleasing names for the famous car company to be linked with, be it their modern coupes or their vintage used Roll-Royce models from the 60s and 70s.

However, there is one name that I’m sure Rolls-Royce do not cherish as much as the others. That is the name of Robert Mugabe the Zimbabwean President. He is regularly seen parading in front of his starving nation in his vintage models, decked out in the highest luxury. Of course, we are all aware that Rolls-Royce are the pinnacle of motoring comfort and style – and their excellence is always admired and revered. Those who dream of fame and wealth, also dream of owning the best cars available. However, leading a nation in economic collapse and with a population starving, driving about in a glimmering Rolls-Royce perhaps isn’t the best example to set.

I am not saying that for a second Mugabe’s biggest crime is flaunting his automotive taste and wealth. We all know that he is far worse than that. I just wonder how Rolls-Royce address such a scenario: being linked to one of the most despised men on the planet. It is like Hitler and his Mercedes-Benz – a very tricky personality to distance yourself from. ‘Drive the new Mercedes-Benz M Class – the car for every psychotic dictator. Admire your genocide in style!’

Another infamous face that could threaten Rolls-Royce’s reputation, and ruin their credibility is that of Jason Kay. Not familiar? Remember that band Jamiroquai who had such songs as ‘Cosmic Girl’ and ‘Virtual Insanity’? Well their lead singer, the one with the long hear and obsession with hats that look like stalactites, is Jason Kay. He is a self confessed petrol-head and leader of the Top Gear ‘Star in a Reasonably Priced Car’ and a full scale nit. I think one of his annoying traits is that I begrudge any man who has written such awful songs the luxury of a Rolls-Royce.

I guess my point is that for every worthy celebrity spotted in a Roll-Royce there is another not so worthy keeping the balance. And it is these people holding Rolls-Royce back from their old status as the car you can only dream about. They used to be a car for the elite, the ultimate. Part of that mystic and charm has faded, when you see Alan Sugar, a man who invented the world’s worst computers, in one. It seems that all I have to do to get my hands on one is commit terrible human rights violations like Mr Mugabe. Or flog dodgy computers. Or pen possibly the most diabolic pop songs on this earth.

About The Author:
Pete J Ridgard is a writer and a car enthusiast. He currently writes for the automotive industry. Here he discusses Used Rolls Royce cars. http://www.sytner.co.uk/rolls-royce/used-cars.aspx

article source :  http://ezinearticles.com   

The Important Role of Disk Brakes

The Important Role of Disk Brakes

Disc brakes perform the most important task on your vehicle that is it ensures that you can stop when you want to. You may have a two wheeler, a four wheeler or even a massive heavy vehicle, but the fact remains that in all of these, you will probably find a disc brake for sure. There are two main types of brakes that are used in vehicles, the disc brakes and the drum brakes, but the disc brakes are way more popular due to its superior efficiency and powerful braking especially during the wet conditions.

To state in a very easy way, a disc brake consists of two pads that clasps a rotor, which is actually nothing but a rotating disc, connected to the wheels of the vehicle through an axle. When we press on the brakes, we are actually controlling the clasping power of the clamp. On pressing the brakes, the pads or clamps come together to stop the rotor from spinning and that in turn slows down and stops the vehicle ultimately.

Pull up on the emergency brake or just press on the brake pedal to use the disc brakes for stopping your car, but if you are riding a motorbike, then it may not be so easy. You would be required to press the right hand lever and the rear left foot lever together in a motorbike in order to stop it with more efficiency and also to prolong the life of the brakes due to less strain.

As with any other motor parts, you will need to maintain brakes as well, and mind you, the brakes are the most important part of your car that you should maintain well and check up on regularly. Check to make sure that the brake pads are thick enough as bare pads will cause the disc brake damage and you do not want that. Check to see if the brake fluid is up to its rim in the reservoir, if it is not then refill it to the rim as that will not only help your brake’s efficiency, but also increase the life of your brakes.

With the first signs of cracking or scarring, you should see a qualified professional for maintenance of your disc brakes because if you do not, and the disc brakes crack up, then they can not be repaired and must be totally replaced. Maintain them well and regularly to prolong the lives of your vehicle’s disc brakes.

Disc brakes were earlier made totally out of steel, but with the modern days upon us, there are disc brakes these days that have strategic hallowed out areas which allow the extra heat that is generated, to escape through them. This is actually a great innovation that has reduced the chances of warping of the brakes due to excessive heat generation and therefore increased the disc brake’s service period. As days pass, newer designs are arriving and will keep arriving, they will be targeting to get the brakes work more efficiently and also, last longer in the process.

About The Author:
Sam Otoner is an author writing about automotive related topics, and you are invited to visit his website covering number of aspects about disk brakes. http://www.autopartblog.com/

article source :  http://ezinearticles.com 

You Will Find an Auto Part Dealer Whenever You Need One

You Will Find an Auto Part Dealer Whenever You Need One

All car users know how to drive but few know something more than that. What I mean is that among the car owners, the number of people who know about the auto parts of their cars is very limited. If you fall among that majority, it is therefore imperative to hire a professional then. Of course if you have a friend or a relative living nearby, who knows about auto parts, then you can go to him for advice regarding what needs fixing and what needs replacing. But, not always is that the case unfortunately and if you are one of those unlucky car owners who neither has an expert at disposal nor the skills personally, here is how you deal with the situation.

Before you buy your new auto part from a shop about which you have no idea, check out the auto part dealer’s history first before the purchase. A Crude but effective tool to rely upon, while inspecting your local auto parts store is to rely on your instincts. If you are unsure about the legitimacy of the shop and the price tags of the auto parts that the shopkeeper is asking from you, then take someone experienced in the field to determine the matter. The process is simple actually once you know a little about the market, you may not even need a friend if you do.

The choice may be vaster but the internet does not allow you to go inside a shop to check it out, the online dealers are therefore harder to decide on. Most are not, but some online dealers are actually scammers who just want to sell off their cheap and inferior products through the internet and you need to be careful of these sellers if you are planning to shop online. Even the legitimate websites sometime deceives through exaggeration of its product’s features. Use the help desk of the website in order to email your queries to their customer professionals for getting the acute information. The tone of the customer care professionals and the way in which they answer your questions will display the legitimacy of their website. If you find the tone to be confusing and the promises and features unrealistic, as well as the answers hazy, avoid the website. A genuine website will not only enlist an email id for you to question them about their products before or after the purchase, but it will also enlist the professional phone numbers for you to contact them.

You can always depend on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to tell you if the website is legitimate or not. The good thing is that all the websites that are registered with Better Business Bureau are legitimate for sure, but that is not all. The Better Business Bureau has a rating system to rate the most popular and best websites registered under them; therefore you can depend on BBB to find the right website to buy all your auto parts from.

About The Author:
Sam Otoner is an author writing about automotive related topics, and you are invited to visit his website covering number of aspects about auto parts. http://www.autopartblog.com/

article source :  http://ezinearticles.com 

Porsche Car Covers: Best Protection

Porsche Car Covers: Best Protection

 
The Porsche Boxster is indeed a statement in class, elegance, engineering, velocity and dependability. These are all attributes of a Porsche Boxster, but perhaps the best attribute of Porsche Boxtster is the perfect harmony that Porsche has created through the appropriate pricing of the sports car. All said and done, the Boxster is still an expensive buy at more than sixty thousand dollars! It is also a valuable investment that you must protect from all harm. The first thing that you need to protect any car is of course, a cover, and for a Porsche Boxster, what can be more fitting than a custom fit car cover to do the job?

There are many reasons as to why the car needs a car cover, especially a car as expensive and as classy as a Porsche Boxster. Not that it would matter to someone who has spent so many dollars on his car, but still you should know that a custom fit car cover for your Porsche can at best cost you a few hundred dollars and that is a small amount indeed when considering what the cover is protecting.

It is quite possible that you leave your car in the sun for long, the incident can be unintentional or unconscious, but the damage that will be done is something that will hurt you for sure. The damage from sunlight is visible on your Boxster’s finishing.

Bird droppings are something that you just can not avoid wherever you park it and although you may consider that to be something that you can just wash it off, sunlight and bird droppings together can seriously damage your car’s paint job if left unclean for a significant amount of time.

It is not impossible that a nearby jealous human being will try to damage your brand new Boxster by putting scratches on your car, it is infuriating but once done, you will rue the fact that you did not get a custom fit cover for your new car.

Acid rain, hail, snow, sleet and even excess moisture can damage your new Boxster significantly.

Minor impacts can lead to minor damages also on your car’s body, so with a protective and fitting cover, you will protect your car against the smaller impacts effectively.

If you allow insects to have access to your car by leaving it unprotected, then they may be frequent visitors and will probably nest too! Covering it up well will not give the insects any such chance.

Pets like cats and dogs can damage or at least make your car very dirty in your absence as they have the tendency to jump up on cars and run around leaving dirty footprints behind.

The final and the most common reason why people cover up their objects in the first place is dust. Even if it is a Porsche Boxster, it does not look anything like itself if it is not clean.

Just make sure that your car cover is guaranteed and also check if it is a high quality four layer cover. Mirror pockets on the sides promise a better fit for your car, so try to get a custom fit car cover with side mirror pockets from a reputed company, like Covercraft for example.

About The Author:
Sam Otoner is an author writing about automotive related topics, and you are invited to visit his website covering number of aspects about car covers. http://www.autopartblog.com/

article source :  http://ezinearticles.com 

Get the Perfect Thor Quadrant 2010 Chest Protector Black LRG

Get the Perfect Thor Quadrant 2010 Chest Protector Black LRG

When playing motocross or dirt biking, you might sustain wounds caused by falls or stimulating hit by fast-flying rocks, branches, or other vehement stuffs that get locomoted by your tires or those by your contenders. Most likely these accidental injuries might strike your chest, back, and collarbone. Expending a few hundred dollars on a chest defender is creditable it, unless you need to uncover yourself to the phenomenal danger of disability or severer, death due to chest wounds. You must remember that your chest is where your heart and lungs are. Thor Force Chest Shielder would be the splendid appurtenance that would grant you maximal protective cover and safety, which would guide to bigger self-confidence in your races. For tested, with grander assurance and shelter, it is merely a count of time that you would rule the circuits and races of your life. Thor-like Armor Merely like Thor who systematically fortified gods and humans from worthless, the Thor Force Chest Protectors are coherent and certain when it derives to your level best upper torso shelter. The Thor Force Chest Protectors will set advantageously with the searching form of your body because they sustain adaptable panels, both at the front and the back of the suit. You could relax or tighten up these panels as you like and to a spot that would be to the highest degree sufficient for you and which could guarantee you that you are substantially-covered. The inmost contours of the Thor Force Chest Protectors are planned by dealing into considerateness the human shape such as: # The positioning of the vital organs such as the heart and lugs # Areas of the human upper torso that are smaller shielded such as the Spheres where the pancreas and stomach are They feature three layers of security that would altogether protect your chest and back in cases of fall and being hit because their frames are prepared of: # Polycarbonate plastic that is very easy, flexible, and does not shatter or smash easily # Polypropylene, which is a plastic polymer that has very low level of brittleness Entire Quilt with terrible Fashion Thor Force Chest Defenders will provide you with Full Ease because of their capable and efficacious ventilation arrangement that will assist your body serene and at the same time forbid excessively much perspiration. At your hope, you may take away or direct the arm guards and shoulder caps. Their shoulder straps may be oriented to heighten or turn down the panels of your suit to generate you the accord that befits you. Their blockage scheme is essentially stimulated up of ratchet buckles that are very soothing and accessible to utilize and are lacking of tangles. Their color compounding of blue and white, red and black, and silver and black are very pleasing and would for sure gain the admiration and envy of your friends and colleagues. They affect utilize of outstanding paint application serves for the immaculate polish and luster. Their titles are simple yet sophisticated. If you are waiting for the dirt bike armor for motocross, then you should should log on to Bob's Cycle Supply. About The Author: Thor Force Chest Shielder: Your Motocross and Dirt Biking Armor visit at http://www.bobscycle.com article source :  http://ezinearticles.com