The 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid Under Review

Camry seems set to make a comeback with its all-new and improved 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid. As a family-size sedan, the first Camry had set an impressive benchmark for mileage.

Features of the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid

Available in two trim levels, the LE and XLE trim, the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid has several features that have been revamped to produce a top performance vehicle. These features include:

1. A 200 horsepower capability made possible by the revamped Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain that has a slightly larger 2.5 liter Atkinson-cycle four cylinder engine. The engine also has a 105 kilowatt electric motor and these features combine to give the vehicle 13 hp more than it had last year. The Atkinson-cycle engine yields a little less power output and compensates by being more fuel efficient and giving off less emmissions. Overall, the vehicle has a fuel efficiency rating of 43/39 mpg EPA delivering a combined average of 41 mpg.

2. The 2012 Toyota can be operated on either electric or gasoline or both. The vehicle is equipped with a new EV-mode button that allows the driver to operate the hybrid in pure electric mode as long as the speed does not excel 25 miles per hour. Toyota gives the maximum battery-only range as 1.6 miles.

3. The 2012 Camry Hybrid is fuel-efficient with the XLE, which is rated a bit lower than the LE, yielding an efficiency of 40 miles per gallon during a mixed drive. Overall, the 2012 vehicle has a fuel efficiency rating of 43/39 mpg EPA, delivering a combined average of 41 mpg.

The energy impact score for the vehicle stands at a consumption of 8.3 barrels of oil per year, while the carbon footprint stands only at an annual emission of 4.6 tons of CO2.

One of the major factors that cause a vehicle to use a lot of fuel is its weight. The weight of the 2012 Toyota has been cut by 250 pounds. The size and weight of the battery by itself was trimmed as a part of the weight reduction.

4. Camry's Hybrid sports 17-inch low rolling resistance tires that grip the pavement to yield efficiency.

5. The Car is also equipped with Toyota's Entune infotainment system, which relies on a smartphone data connection for certain apps to operate on the large touch screen. The data connection runs apps such as Bing and Pandora on the touch screen. Entune is free for three years, then it becomes available at a monthly cost of $5. It will eventually run other programs such as OpenTable and MovieTickets.com.

The Driving Experience

The 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid gives a smooth, quiet drive as it moves seamlesly, neither seen nor heard, unless it comes upon speed traps. When the vehicle comes upon a bump in the road, the gasoline engine kicks in, and this is the only disruption to the seamless ride. The 2012 hybrid drives pretty much like the brand new gas powered 2012 Camry.

Vehicle Transportation Services - Questions and Answers

 

When it comes transporting a vehicle with help of vehicle transport company, some experienced people may not but most customers would always want to know answer of all their questions. Customers ask these questions to know process involved in shipping cars as well as reliability of the auto transporter. Here are some of the common and frequent questions being asked by customers while dealing with vehicle transportation companies:

How long will it take to ship my car?

The time it takes to ship your car usually depends on destined area as well as number of vehicles being transported at a time. In addition, it may be delayed in case of any mishap or crisis scenarios i.e. bad weather, traffic jams and other roadside dangers.

How can I know that my car transporter is legitimate?

No company is allowed to operate without permission of US Department of Transportation and Federal Moving Carrier and Safety Administration. Therefore, to determine legitimacy and reliability of your auto transport company, you should check it with these federal agencies. It will enable you to know whether is registered or not. In addition, by this verification, you will be able to check safety record, which will help you to make right decision.

How much does it cost to ship a car?

The auto shipping rates vary company to company. However, basic factors such as car carriers, car delivery services, vehicle shipping insurance, and vehicle tracking system play an important role in determining the cost of vehicle shipping services. However, one must not worry about it much as car transport services often cost less than transporting vehicle on your own, when it is required to move to a far location.

Do I always need separate insurance for vehicle shipping?

The answer to this question depends on your own vehicle shipping insurance. If it covers your car for auto transportation, no need for paying extra. However, if it does not, you should get a car shipping insurance to ensure your vehicle is transported safely during transport process.

What do I need to follow for preparing vehicle for transportation process?

It includes numerous things to consider but making sure the vehicle is in perfect running order is important. In case, you want to ship an out of order vehicle, you should inform the auto transporter before so that it can arrange safety measures accordingly. Moreover, you should not ship personal belongings along with car as if they are stolen or misplaced, you cannot claim because your car shipping insurance does not cover these things.

What is the best method for transporting vehicle?

For interstate auto moving, open and enclosed car transportation methods are used. Both are best for transporting vehicles across country. It depends on your vehicle shipping requirements especially on type of vehicle required to move and your budget. Being a frequent and traditional way of transportation, open car transportation is used frequently. However, for transporting a classic car, enclosed car carriers should be preferred.

Tales - Strange Wrappings

Read as you go?

You might be surprised at how often people shipping personal effects, sometimes including items that are both fragile and valuable, are handed over to the driver packed in nothing but newspaper. Of course, many professionals in the courier industry wouldn't dream of accepting anything so inappropriately packed, but some might be tempted by the thought of having some additional reading material to pass the time while munching that sandwich. Trouble is, you inevitably find the paper is at least two years old.

TARDIS in reverse

One motorcycle courier was asked to collect a small package and upon arrival was greeted with a huge wooden crate that although being very light was never going to go onto his bike. Anyone with experience of two wheel or light van work will have been here many times before - sadly it's not an unusual situation. What made this one odd though was that the customer, showing great flexibility, simply open up the crate and removed the relatively sturdy internal box that contained the item. The size of the internal box? You guessed it - about that of a shoebox. The shipper has to be given 10/10 for security of packing if perhaps 1/10 for practicality!

Taking care seriously

One haulier stopped to collect a relatively small if heavy carton. To his surprise it was wrapped in what appeared to be a Union Jack. When questioned, the consignor's response was: "the contents are fragile and I know that if it's wrapped in the flag people will handle it with more respect". Well, it's an interesting theory!

Packaging going cheap

Another courier consignment was stated as being 75 kilos and of dimensions similar to a large suitcase. The driver was, therefore, surprised to see that the object had been completed wrapped in crushed egg cartons held together with tape. These were falling off even before the object had been loaded! The consignor said they were heavily into re-cycling, though what they said when the driver refused to accept it isn't recorded.

Pump up the pressure

As a final piece of audacity mixed with optimism, one driver arrived with his van to collect a small 30-kilo water pump. To his dismay, he discovered upon arrival that this was entirely unpacked and the consignor seemed amazed that this was an issue. Fortunately, he was a lateral thinker and simply asked the driver: "don't you have a carrier bag or something I can put it in?"

Many courier organisations have clearly stated packing requirements that are stipulated as part of taking on the job. Clearly the message doesn't always get through!

Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day courier work in the express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading jobs and capacity in a safe 'wholesale' environment.

Nissan to Build More Rogues for the US Market in South Korea

Nissan has currently come up with a unique decision to boost the production of Nissan Rogues that they would be selling in the United States and in some of its market in South Korea. Based on the reports, Nissan has finalized its plan of using Renault-Samsung's underutilized assembling plant located in Busan province in South Korea to produce more US and South Korean bound Rogues.

To realize this move, Nissan would be investing a total of $160 million into the assembling plant in Busan province through a contract with the Korean conglomerate Samsung. By investing this amount, Samsung agreed to handle the annual production of about 80,000 units of Nissan Rogues. A large percentage of these vehicles will then be exported to boost Nissan's supply of this crossover in the United States while the remaining ones will be marketed in South Korea.

Nissan has decided to implement this policy since all of the Nissan Rogues that are currently sold in the US imported from Japan and the strengthening of the value of the Japanese yen in the global market has increased the production cost of the each vehicle thereby reducing the amount of profits that the company would possibly earn from these.

But aside from its production in South Korea, Nissan will also start producing about 100,000 to 120,000 units of the Rogue in the company's facility in Smyrna, Tennessee next year. Due to this, a lot of car experts believe that the Nissan Rogues produced by the company's South Korean and US-based plants will be enough to meet the sales target that Nissan has set for this crossover.

Many car experts also believe that Nissan's move to increase the number of Nissan Rogue produced by splitting its production between the Busan and the Smyrna plant was triggered by the increase in demand for this crossover. Nissan might have realized that more and more car buyers are starting to consider the Rogue as one of their top vehicle options and this trend could possibly led to scarcity in supply of the crossover when handled inappropriately.

Since the company's plans were already finalized, its Smyrna plant will start building the Nissan Rogue early next year while the Renault-Samsung factory in Busan, South Korea will start its production in 2014. As soon as the Tennessee and the South Korean plant would be able to ram up their production of the Rogue Nissan will then cease its production of this crossover in Japan.

Marty Bay is an Automotive Journalist providing helpful tips and advice which powers the Car Finder at the Car Finder Service website.

Visit our site to get a free price quote, and read our 2012 Nissan Rogue Review.

2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible Will Debut in November's LA Auto Show

Volkswagen has finally confirmed that the company will be unveiling the 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show this November. Unfortunately, Volkswagen has not yet provided the public with the images of the upcoming drop top version of the 2013 Beetle.  Due to this, a lot of speculations as to how the convertible would look like started to circulate.

Instead of providing the public with the images of the upcoming convertible, Volkswagen group of America has also confirmed that this vehicle will be offered with three types of engine which includes the 2.5-liter 5-cylinder engine, 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder, and the 2.0-liter TDI clean diesel engine.

Aside from the announcement made, Volkswagen has also provided the public with the powertrain list. The list has confirmed that the release of the convertible version of the Beetle should not be taken as a sign that the rumored electric Beetle will soon be released on the market. This is because the list does not include nor mentioned anything about the "E-Bugster".

The E-Bugster is considered as the electric Beetle concept. This concept car was shown at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show and the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. Since the vehicle has appeared on the two popular and prestigious auto shows, a lot of car buyers started to believe that this concept car will hit the company's production line and make it to the dealerships this year. Unfortunately, their beliefs were wrong. Due to this, most of those who are expecting for the release of the electric version of the Beetle were left with no options but to wait.

Since Volkswagen failed to release even a single image of the upcoming 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible, many car experts and even buyers assumed that the this version would most likely be lowered than the 2012 version of the Beetle. In addition to this, they also believed that the convertible would probably have a chopped windshield and a folding soft top. But aside from these unique characteristics, these individuals also believe that the convertible's shape would still be similar to what the other Volkswagen Beetle models have.

As soon as the convertible hits the automobile market, the vehicle  is expected to create a strong impact in its segment since a lot of buyers are very much interested with the upcoming version of the Beetle. Due to this, Volkswagen's engineers and vehicle developers are doing their best to equip the Beetle with all of the best features that they could to ensure that the potential buyers will not be disappointed with the convertible's overall characteristics.