"Actions Speak Louder Than Words" begitulah Agya Club Indonesia (ACI) terbentuk. Penuh perjuangan dan kebersamaan serta harapan untuk ACI dari para pengguna Toyota Agya di seluruh Indonesia. Mari kita bersama2 bergabung ikut serta dalam membangun komunitas ini. Untuk informasi dan keterangan dapat menghubungi pin BB 7D47 BEA1. Terima Kasih. Salam sobat Agya!!
In a meeting with President Donald Trump, Ford CEO Mark Fields said that 1 million jobs could be in jeopardy if new fuel economy rules don’t take into account consumer demand.
Trump met with the CEOs of Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler last week in an effort to encourage automakers to build new plants in the U.S. The three executives didn’t ask Trump to get rid of the standards, Fields later said, but instead focused the discussion on balancing regulations with market realities.
“We think having one national standard on fuel economy is really important,” Fields said at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in New Orleans, reports Bloomberg. He also said jobs “could be at risk if we’re not given some level of flexibility on that—aligning it to market reality. So that really resonated.”
Automakers have long been at odds with regulators over fuel economy standards. After the most recent election, a group of major car companies in the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers asked Trump to roll back the rules, citing costs as a major concern. Just one week before former President Barack Obama left office, the Environmental Protection Agency locked in fuel economy standards for 2025.
“Our fundamental priority remains striking the right balance to continue fuel economy gains and carbon reduction without compromising consumer affordability and vital auto-sector jobs,” Gloria Bergquist, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said about the EPA’s decision at the time. The Alliance includes General Motors, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, and a number of other automakers.
Originally, regulators wanted automakers to achieve an average fuel economy of 54.5 mpg by the year 2025. It said the move would save drivers $1.7 trillion in fuel costs over the course of their vehicles’ lifetime. Due to booming sales of SUVs and trucks, the EPA relaxed that target to between 50.8 mpg and 52.6 mpg last year.
In a meeting with President Donald Trump, Ford CEO Mark Fields said that 1 million jobs could be in jeopardy if new fuel economy rules don’t take into account consumer demand.
Trump met with the CEOs of Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler last week in an effort to encourage automakers to build new plants in the U.S. The three executives didn’t ask Trump to get rid of the standards, Fields later said, but instead focused the discussion on balancing regulations with market realities.
“We think having one national standard on fuel economy is really important,” Fields said at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in New Orleans, reports Bloomberg. He also said jobs “could be at risk if we’re not given some level of flexibility on that—aligning it to market reality. So that really resonated.”
Automakers have long been at odds with regulators over fuel economy standards. After the most recent election, a group of major car companies in the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers asked Trump to roll back the rules, citing costs as a major concern. Just one week before former President Barack Obama left office, the Environmental Protection Agency locked in fuel economy standards for 2025.
“Our fundamental priority remains striking the right balance to continue fuel economy gains and carbon reduction without compromising consumer affordability and vital auto-sector jobs,” Gloria Bergquist, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said about the EPA’s decision at the time. The Alliance includes General Motors, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, and a number of other automakers.
Originally, regulators wanted automakers to achieve an average fuel economy of 54.5 mpg by the year 2025. It said the move would save drivers $1.7 trillion in fuel costs over the course of their vehicles’ lifetime. Due to booming sales of SUVs and trucks, the EPA relaxed that target to between 50.8 mpg and 52.6 mpg last year.
Despite its ongoing diesel woes, Volkswagen beat out Toyota to become the world’s largest automaker last year.
Toyota announced on Sunday that it sold 10.18 million vehicles worldwide, up 0.2 percent. Volkswagen, meanwhile, sold 10.31 million vehicles, an increase of 3.8 percent from the prior year.
VW’s biggest success came from China. As the largest seller of new vehicles in that market, the automaker moved 3.98 million vehicles off dealer lots last year, up 12.2 percent. In fact, sales are so strong that China could surpass Europe to become VW’s biggest market by the end of this year. In the U.S., however, sales slid 2.6 percent and the automaker sold just 591,100 units.
Several years ago, VW set a goal to become the world’s largest automaker by 2018. But after the company admitted to installing cheat devices on its diesel vehicles, VW said it would stop focusing so closely on volume targets.
VW’s win is a big upset, given Toyota had been the world’s largest automaker for seven of the last eight years. General Motors, which last won the sales crown in 2011, hasn’t yet reported its numbers for 2016 but is expected to slot below VW and Toyota on the totem pole. Last year, it came in third place.
Despite its ongoing diesel woes, Volkswagen beat out Toyota to become the world’s largest automaker last year.
Toyota announced on Sunday that it sold 10.18 million vehicles worldwide, up 0.2 percent. Volkswagen, meanwhile, sold 10.31 million vehicles, an increase of 3.8 percent from the prior year.
VW’s biggest success came from China. As the largest seller of new vehicles in that market, the automaker moved 3.98 million vehicles off dealer lots last year, up 12.2 percent. In fact, sales are so strong that China could surpass Europe to become VW’s biggest market by the end of this year. In the U.S., however, sales slid 2.6 percent and the automaker sold just 591,100 units.
Several years ago, VW set a goal to become the world’s largest automaker by 2018. But after the company admitted to installing cheat devices on its diesel vehicles, VW said it would stop focusing so closely on volume targets.
VW’s win is a big upset, given Toyota had been the world’s largest automaker for seven of the last eight years. General Motors, which last won the sales crown in 2011, hasn’t yet reported its numbers for 2016 but is expected to slot below VW and Toyota on the totem pole. Last year, it came in third place.
General Motors and Honda have formed a joint venture to produce next-generation fuel cell systems at a GM battery pack plant near Detroit that will be used by both companies to create future electric vehicles that rely on hydrogen for power and emit nothing but water from the tailpipe.
The two automakers today announced the formation of Fuel Cell System Manufacturing which will mass produce advanced hydrogen fuel cell systems starting around 2020. The venture will create 100 jobs within GM’s battery pack manufacturing site in Brownstown, Michigan. GM and Honda are splitting the $85 million investment of the joint venture.
It was back in July 2013 that the two automakers announced an agreement to work on a new and affordable fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technologies that can be mass produced to reduce cost. They would pool their resources as leaders in fuel cell technology and use common parts in an effort to make it more commercially viable.
“Over the past three years, engineers from Honda and GM have been working as one team with each company providing know-how from its unique expertise to create a compact and low-cost next-generation fuel cell system,” said Toshiaki Mikoshiba, president of Honda North America. “This foundation of outstanding teamwork will now take us to the stage of joint mass production of a fuel cell system that will help each company create new value for our customers in fuel cell vehicles of the future.” He said Michigan was chosen for the production site because the U.S. is the largest market for fuel cell vehicles.
Honda began delivery of its all-new Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle to U.S. customers in December following a spring 2016 launch in Japan. The Clarity Fuel Cell offers an EPA-estimated range of 366 miles and fuel economy rating that is the equivalent of 68 mpg. It is a low-volume vehicle for lease at this point. Expect Honda to move faster in using the technology in retail vehicles while GM pursues other applications.
GM’s Charlie Freese said the next-generation fuel cell system represents a “dramatic step toward lower cost, higher-volume fuel cell systems.” Precious metals have been reduced dramatically and a fully cross-functional team is developing advanced manufacturing processes simultaneously with advances in the design, said the executive director of Global Fuel Cell Business. “The result is a lower-cost system that is a fraction of the size and mass.” He said the plant will scale capacity to meet demand as it grows with manufacturing modules that can handle high volumes in the future. The cost of a fuel cell stack will still be higher than a gasoline engine in 2020 but the building blocks will be in place to start to close the cost gap and the technology will use less platinum and other expensive materials, he said.
GM has been testing the technology in a number of applications as work continues to bring fuel cells closer to becoming a mainstream powertrain, said Mark Reuss, GM’s head of Global Product Development. Their use in passenger vehicles “will create more differentiated and environmentally friendly transportation options for consumers.”
But Reuss said GM is not limiting its thinking to passenger vehicles–although that is part of the plan eventually, especially for fleet vehicles. Expect a lot of work in areas such as military and aerospace. GM has an ongoing partnership with the U.S. Army, including the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center. Since 2013 GM and TARDEC have worked to develop better designs and materials for fuel cell system components. GM and the U.S. Army developed the Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel cell vehicle which is being field tested this year. It also has an Exportable Power Take-Off unit that can power equipment in remote areas. GM is also working with the U.S. Navy on systems to power unmanned underwater vehicles.
Working together should speed development of an affordable system, said Takashi Sekiguchi, chief operating officer of Honda’s Automotive Operations.
GM and Honda have more than 2,220 patents between them, according to the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index.
The joint venture will be run by a board of directors with three executives from each company. It will also involve a rotating chairperson and the appointment of a president to rotate between each company.
The two companies will also work with governments and others to promote a wider infrastructure of hydrogen stations for the new fuel cell vehicles under development. Fuel cell vehicles can operate on hydrogen made from renewable sources such as wind and biomass. There are about 30 hydrogen stations in California today with plans to increase to 100 by 2020.
Toyota has long been a proponent of fuel cell vehicles and started selling the Mirai FCV last year. But Toyota’s chairman said recently that the technology could take longer to catch on because of the limited infrastructure—there are not many pumps and most are in California. Hyundai offers a Tucson FCV for lease in California and is working on a next-generation vehicle.
There are also concerns about whether the initiatives will gain as much traction under the Trump Administration.
Past GM-Honda collaborations include the use of a Honda V-6 engine in the Saturn Vue back in 1999, and Honda has used diesels from GM’s Isuzu affiliate.
General Motors and Honda have formed a joint venture to produce next-generation fuel cell systems at a GM battery pack plant near Detroit that will be used by both companies to create future electric vehicles that rely on hydrogen for power and emit nothing but water from the tailpipe.
The two automakers today announced the formation of Fuel Cell System Manufacturing which will mass produce advanced hydrogen fuel cell systems starting around 2020. The venture will create 100 jobs within GM’s battery pack manufacturing site in Brownstown, Michigan. GM and Honda are splitting the $85 million investment of the joint venture.
It was back in July 2013 that the two automakers announced an agreement to work on a new and affordable fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technologies that can be mass produced to reduce cost. They would pool their resources as leaders in fuel cell technology and use common parts in an effort to make it more commercially viable.
“Over the past three years, engineers from Honda and GM have been working as one team with each company providing know-how from its unique expertise to create a compact and low-cost next-generation fuel cell system,” said Toshiaki Mikoshiba, president of Honda North America. “This foundation of outstanding teamwork will now take us to the stage of joint mass production of a fuel cell system that will help each company create new value for our customers in fuel cell vehicles of the future.”
Honda began delivery of its all-new Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle to U.S. customers in December following a spring 2016 launch in Japan. The Clarity Fuel Cell offers an EPA-estimated range of 366 miles and fuel economy rating that is the equivalent of 68 mpg.
GM’s Charlie Freese said the next-generation fuel cell system represents a “dramatic step toward lower cost, higher-volume fuel cell systems.” Precious metals have been reduced dramatically and a fully cross-functional team is developing advanced manufacturing processes simultaneously with advances in the design, said the executive director of Global Fuel Cell Business. “The result is a lower-cost system that is a fraction of the size and mass.”
GM has been testing the technology in a number of applications as work continues to bring fuel cells closer to becoming a mainstream powertrain, said Mark Reuss, GM’s head of Global Product Development. Their use in passenger vehicles “will create more differentiated and environmentally friendly transportation options for consumers.”
Working together should speed development of an affordable system, said Takashi Sekiguchi, chief operating officer of Honda’s Automotive Operations.
GM and Honda have more than 2,220 patents between them, according to the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index.
The joint venture will be run by a board of directors with three executives from each company. It will also involve a rotating chairperson and the appointment of a president to rotate between each company.
The two companies will also work with governments and others to promote a wider infrastructure of hydrogen stations for the new fuel cell vehicles under development. Fuel cell vehicles can operate on hydrogen made from renewable sources such as wind and biomass.
Toyota has long been a proponent of fuel cell vehicles and started selling the Mirai FCV last year. But Toyota’s chairman said recently that the technology could take longer to catch on because of the limited infrastructure—there are not many pumps and most are in California. Hyundai offers a Tucson FCV for lease in California and is working on a next-generation vehicle.
There are also concerns about whether the initiatives will gain as much traction under the Trump Administration.
Past GM-Honda collaborations include the use of a Honda V-6 engine in the Saturn Vue back in 1999, and Honda has used diesels from GM’s Isuzu affiliate.
In 1953 newly elected President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated GM CEO Charles “Engine Charlie” Wilson as secretary of defense. When asked during his confirmation hearings whether he could ever make a decision that would adversely affect his old employer, Wilson said he could but added he could not conceive of such a situation “because for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa.”
Back in 1953, the auto industry marched lockstep with the national interest, and not just in the U.S. A homegrown auto industry was de rigueur for any country wanting to join the wealthy nations club. No more. In the 64 years since Engine Charlie’s controversial confirmation hearings (his reluctance to sell his GM stock, worth $22.6 million in today’s dollars, alarmed senators), the auto industry has gone global.
GM now makes and sells more Buicks in China than it does in the U.S. Toyotas are made in Texas, Hondas in Ohio, Mercedes-Benzes in Alabama, BMWs in South Carolina, and Volkswagens in Tennessee. And everyone is flocking to Mexico. An international web of suppliers makes components for them. Ford Motor Company became the most vertically integrated automaker on the planet by making every single piece of its cars in giant factories such as the legendary River Rouge plant near Detroit. It now has more than 100,000 different parts made by 1,200 major suppliers in 60 countries.
Chevy’s Bow Tie might still make America’s heart beat a little faster, and Germans might still regard Audi’s Vorsprung durch Technik more a statement of fact than an advertising tagline, but behind the softly echoing nationalism of badge and brand is a business model that spans the planet. This makes the anti-globalization sentiment that helped put Donald Trump in the White House a major headache for industry leaders.
Back in ’53, the industry marched lockstep with national interest.
The issue is not ideology. Make no mistake, automakers are run by pragmatic, hard-nosed business leaders who understand the need to work with politicians of all persuasions. No, what everyone from GM boss Mary Barra to Daimler’s Dieter Zetsche to Toyota scion Akio Toyoda is trying to figure out is how to convince President Trump that their globalized businesses are not a threat to America’s national interests.
Read about how Trump wants to tax imports from Mexico 20 percent to fund a wall on the U.S.’ southern border HERE.
Trump’s twitchy Twitter fingers have already called out Ford, GM, and Toyota for building cars in Mexico and then selling them in the U.S., implying it costs jobs in America. Ford’s Mark Fields subsequently announced that plans for a $1.6 billion investment in a new plant in Mexico to expand Focus production had been shelved in favor of a $700 million makeover of Flat Rock, Michigan, where he said the company would build a new generation of hybrid, electric, and autonomous vehicles. But Japan’s finance minister, Taro Aso, bluntly defended Toyota’s Mexico strategy. “It’s questionable whether the new U.S. president has a grasp of how many vehicles Toyota builds in the U.S.,” he told a reporter for Britain’s Financial Times.
Aso-san might have a point. Last year, Toyota built more than 1.3 million vehicles in the U.S., spread across 10 model lines and 14 manufacturing plants. It buys components made in 15 states, and, according to American Automobile Labeling Act figures, the Camry built in Georgetown, Kentucky, has more U.S.-made parts than a Ford F-150. True, the profits from Toyota’s U.S. operations go back to Japan. But Toyota says it has invested almost $22 billion in the U.S. over the past 59 years, has created 365,000 jobs, and plans to spend another $10 billion here in the next five years. And complaining about where the profits go is nonsense when GM shareholders are making a buck on Buicks built and sold in China.
One senior U.S. auto industry executive, speaking off the record at the Detroit auto show, said he believes once President Trump understands the complexity of today’s globalized auto industry and its real value to the U.S economy, the populist Twitter trash talk will go away. “We actually have more in common than differences,” he said, referencing Trump’s oft-stated desire to have a strong U.S. economy with less regulation and lower taxes—all stuff automakers love to hear from politicians.
In 1953 newly elected President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated GM CEO Charles “Engine Charlie” Wilson as secretary of defense. When asked during his confirmation hearings whether he could ever make a decision that would adversely affect his old employer, Wilson said he could but added he could not conceive of such a situation “because for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa.”
Back in 1953, the auto industry marched lockstep with the national interest, and not just in the U.S. A homegrown auto industry was de rigueur for any country wanting to join the wealthy nations club. No more. In the 64 years since Engine Charlie’s controversial confirmation hearings (his reluctance to sell his GM stock, worth $22.6 million in today’s dollars, alarmed senators), the auto industry has gone global.
GM now makes and sells more Buicks in China than it does in the U.S. Toyotas are made in Texas, Hondas in Ohio, Mercedes-Benzes in Alabama, BMWs in South Carolina, and Volkswagens in Tennessee. And everyone is flocking to Mexico. An international web of suppliers makes components for them. Ford Motor Company became the most vertically integrated automaker on the planet by making every single piece of its cars in giant factories such as the legendary River Rouge plant near Detroit. It now has more than 100,000 different parts made by 1,200 major suppliers in 60 countries.
Chevy’s Bow Tie might still make America’s heart beat a little faster, and Germans might still regard Audi’s Vorsprung durch Technik more a statement of fact than an advertising tagline, but behind the softly echoing nationalism of badge and brand is a business model that spans the planet. This makes the anti-globalization sentiment that helped put Donald Trump in the White House a major headache for industry leaders.
Back in ’53, the industry marched lockstep with national interest.
The issue is not ideology. Make no mistake, automakers are run by pragmatic, hard-nosed business leaders who understand the need to work with politicians of all persuasions. No, what everyone from GM boss Mary Barra to Daimler’s Dieter Zetsche to Toyota scion Akio Toyoda is trying to figure out is how to convince President Trump that their globalized businesses are not a threat to America’s national interests.
Read about how Trump wants to tax imports from Mexico 20 percent to fund a wall on the U.S.’ southern border HERE.
Trump’s twitchy Twitter fingers have already called out Ford, GM, and Toyota for building cars in Mexico and then selling them in the U.S., implying it costs jobs in America. Ford’s Mark Fields subsequently announced that plans for a $1.6 billion investment in a new plant in Mexico to expand Focus production had been shelved in favor of a $700 million makeover of Flat Rock, Michigan, where he said the company would build a new generation of hybrid, electric, and autonomous vehicles. But Japan’s finance minister, Taro Aso, bluntly defended Toyota’s Mexico strategy. “It’s questionable whether the new U.S. president has a grasp of how many vehicles Toyota builds in the U.S.,” he told a reporter for Britain’s Financial Times.
Aso-san might have a point. Last year, Toyota built more than 1.3 million vehicles in the U.S., spread across 10 model lines and 14 manufacturing plants. It buys components made in 15 states, and, according to American Automobile Labeling Act figures, the Camry built in Georgetown, Kentucky, has more U.S.-made parts than a Ford F-150. True, the profits from Toyota’s U.S. operations go back to Japan. But Toyota says it has invested almost $22 billion in the U.S. over the past 59 years, has created 365,000 jobs, and plans to spend another $10 billion here in the next five years. And complaining about where the profits go is nonsense when GM shareholders are making a buck on Buicks built and sold in China.
One senior U.S. auto industry executive, speaking off the record at the Detroit auto show, said he believes once President Trump understands the complexity of today’s globalized auto industry and its real value to the U.S economy, the populist Twitter trash talk will go away. “We actually have more in common than differences,” he said, referencing Trump’s oft-stated desire to have a strong U.S. economy with less regulation and lower taxes—all stuff automakers love to hear from politicians.
No one buys a minivan for the way it looks, but a compelling design can make one entry stand out from the rest of the crowd. The 2018 Honda Odyssey, which debuted at the recent Detroit auto show, will compete with the Chrysler Pacifica, Toyota Sienna, Kia Sedona, and buyers will soon have the opportunity to decide whether the model’s fresh sheetmetal can help it become America’s best-selling minivan. Before you decide whether the new Odyssey is refreshing or revolting, let’s take a closer look at its new design.
Up front, you may notice Honda changed up the hood. Also, a new grille features a solid silver bar connecting the Honda emblem to the headlights. This new grille mimics the design of other new Honda products, including the 2017 Civic.
Even before the redesign, the Odyssey was known as one of the most unconventional-looking minivans on the market, thanks to its signature “lightning bolt” beltine. Honda kept this design quirk for the 2018 model year, but softened it just slightly for a more mature look. The door handles have been positioned farther apart compared to the old model, and the new floating D-pillar adds some extra visual interest.
Again taking cues from the Civic, the 2018 Odyssey receives C-shaped taillights. No longer are the taillights connected together, but instead, a horizontal silver bar runs through the back of the van. Like before, a subtle spoiler sits on top of the rear window. A hands-free power liftgate with foot activation is a newly available feature for 2018.
Inside, the Odyssey features a new 7–inch digital instrument cluster. The confusing dual-screen infotainment setup is gone, and now there’s a single screen that sits atop the dash. The electronic gear selector is new, replacing a traditional lever.
Do you think the 2018 Honda Odyssey is refreshing or revolting? Let us know in the comments section below.
In last week’s Refreshing or Revolting, we looked at another big debut to come out of the Detroit auto show: the 2018 Toyota Camry. As we expected, there were some pretty strong reactions on both sides of the table.
“This looks like Toyota working too hard to dislodge it’s ‘appliance’ image,” said Intrigued_One.
“The XLE Hybrid is refreshing, even Lexus like,” said ThrottleBlip.
“Toyota knows how to make reliable cars but has no clue in the design department,” lamented TeeBaby.
