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How do you like the idea of talking to your cars? An idiotic idea? It isn’t.

You may call it an unnerving prospect. You may also call it almost impossible. But then again, it isn’t.

At the 40th Tokyo Motor Show, Japanese automakers flaunt their version of cars that really make sense. The fast-rising Japanese automakers wanted to prove more and they chose their home soil as their avenue to showcase their cream-of-the-crop cars.

Meet Nissan Motor Corp.’s Pivo2…

The concept car comes with a "robot agent" that can monitor a driver's emotions or physical condition through their facial expressions.

"For example, if the driver is surprised by another car cutting in, the robot agent can tell you, 'Don't worry, you're all right'," said Ken Mitamura, manager of the mobility laboratory at Nissan's research centre. "When you are sleepy, the robotic interface can detect it by monitoring a very slow pace of eye blinking and say, 'It's time to have a rest'.”

Nissan's researchers have worked on the development of the function for about a decade to make cars that are easier and less tiring to drive, Mitamura told the AFP.

Improving auto technology is the automakers’ way of boosting safety, parking and navigation systems. This is also their effort of driving away sales doldrums.

Never wanting to be upstaged, rival Toyota Motor Corp., which has developed similar technology, showcased a concept car with a focus on increased comfort thanks to seats that promises to help maintain good posture. Toyota RiN also has functions such as heated seats and an oxygen-level conditioner, as well as a heart monitoring system in the steering wheel, developed by affiliate Denso Corp.

When the driver grips the steering wheel, the system measures the electrical activity of the person's heart through electrodes on the surface of the wheel. "Because 90% of traffic accidents are said to be caused by human factors, carmakers are now looking to human bodies to improve safety functions," said Takashi Koumura, a senior researcher at Denso. "Detecting actual physical conditions like fatigue, drowsiness and irritation is the real challenge for us. It will probably take us at least five years to develop that sort of technology.”

Omron, a leading electronics maker, showcased its system to detect hand and eye movements with cameras and alert drivers when they take their eyes off the road.

Daihatsu, a minicar manufacturer, is aiming to tickle every motorist's dream — to make collisions a thing of the past. You might ask: What are they smoking in there? No, the people behind the company are not having pot sessions. So they have sound mind, no question about that.

"It's all the more important for our customers to avoid collisions because it's particularly dangerous for small cars to have crashes," said Daihatsu engineer Toshio Ito. The company’s 2 wide-angle laser radars and LED lamps detect vehicles that are on course for a smash. All at once, 3-dimensional images pop up in front of the driver to show information about the direction of impending obstacles.

But analysts are skeptical about the latest safety technology. "It's tricky for carmakers to commercialize those advanced safety functions," said Atsushi Kawai, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities.

“Those functions cannot guarantee 100 percent safety in driving a car. That means that once an accident happens it could cause product liability issues for carmakers. I'm sure carmakers are well aware that safety functions should serve only to complement, not to substitute for, drivers' ability to detect danger,” he concluded.

The Honda Motor Corporation released the 2008 Infiniti EX35 and just before anyone had the chance to drive the new SUV, Mike Hanley and David Thomas where the first few individuals to experience what the new car brings. Kicking Tires posted their comments on their official site and I am giving you some of their comments.

Mike Hanley said:
“Like Dave, I found the EX35 and Infiniti G35 sport sedan similar in many ways. Both models share the same platform and have a sport-tuned ride and weighty steering that's conducive to performance driving. Each one also has a strong 3.5-liter V-6 engine and an upscale interior. Think of the EX35 as a hatchback version of the G35.”

David Thomas said:
“The weird thing about the EX35 is that it truly handles like a car, more specifically, it handles a lot like the Infiniti G35, right down to the roughness you would expect from a sports sedan, not an SUV. The Acura RDX has a similar ride, so you can’t really dock points there. The interior is really nice. Infiniti is going with an opulent look with lots of detail in the upholstery, which is unusual. Tech features like the Around View Monitor and Lane Departure Prevention worked the way you would want them to and were surprisingly natural to the driver.”

Hanley continued to say:
“Where the EX stands apart from the G is with its technology features, though they're likely to spread across the Infiniti lineup in the future. The Around View Monitor uses strategically positioned cameras to show what's happening on each side of the EX35, and Lane Departure Prevention gives the crossover a gentle tug to keep it in its lane if it begins drifting across the center line. LDP is an impressive technology achievement in and of itself, but more importantly it’s a safety feature with real potential to prevent head-on collisions.”

Thomas commented more saying:
“The real downside of the EX35 is the lack of SUV-ness. It doesn’t ride like an SUV and the cargo area is tiny and not too utilitarian, even when the rear seats are folded. I’m left thinking Infiniti built a nicer-equipped and finished G35, not a great small SUV.” 

We have heard Toyota announcing its plan to pursue their millions of car to be sold in 2009. This is because they are aiming to give every single car market with the quality cars they made. According to the Toyota Motor Corporation president and Chief Executive Officer, they will be delivering more budget cars on all car markets including China, European, Indian and many more. And the effort is now pushing thru.

FAW-Toyota is producing a huge amount of 400,000 vehicles next year which actually a 50% increase compared to its last year’s production rate. This fact was according to senior FAW-Toyota official.

The vice general manager of FAW-Toyota Wang Fachang, was quoted saying, "Starting October this year, FAW-Toyota began to implement double shifts on Toyota Corolla production, therefore FAW-Toyota's output capacity of Corolla has been greatly enhanced.”

At this point, the FAW-Toyota has already released a total of 270,000 units of cars and that is a huge 21% from one year earlier.

Wang also made a comment saying, "Next year, Corolla will become FAW-Toyota's most important car model and FAW-Toyota will not deliver new car models to Chinese market next year.”

Toyota have released several car models on the China Car Market and these models includes Land Cruiser, Prado, Crown, Corolla EX and Corolla which are the most popular cars in China and the FAW-Toyota will be making it more available by expanding their input capacity to produce these models according to Wang.

It is not a secret that Chrysler is losing money.  In fact, it was auctioned off by its German partner earlier this year.  But the company will not take this beating just by lying down.  Under new ownership, the company has snared Toyota's top man in the United States. In a move that can be likened to McLaren acquiring Alonso at the start of the season, the new Chrysler surprised the world by naming Jim Press as the co-vice chairman of the company.

With the help of the marketing genius, Chrysler is making headway in its turnaround plan.  Recently, theautochannel.com reported the company's third quarter scores.  Sales figures from July to September were reported.  Let us see how the new Chrysler is performing just months after it went under a new ownership.

According to the report, the company posted increased sales in Canada and Mexico.  Markets outside the United States are what's keeping Chrysler afloat it seems as the company is still losing ground in the United States auto market.

In Mexico, the automaker sold 5.5 percent more cars for the third quarter of the year compared to the number of vehicles they have sold last year. This is a clear indication that the company is making progress in other markets across the globe. In Canada, sales have increased by 2.8 percent year over year for the third quarter.  All in all, new vehicle sales outside of the United States totaled 149,800 vehicles.  That figure shows an increase of ten percent compared to last year's sale outside of the United States.

"The North American market will continue to be vital to the overall growth of Chrysler," said Steven Landry, Executive Vice President – North American Sales according to theautochannel.com. "Although the U.S. is our largest market, it is important to note the growing importance of regions like Canada and Mexico that are contributing more and more to this Company, as we expand our product portfolio to meet the needs of our global customer base."

Michael Manley, the executive vice president of International Sales, Marketing and Business Development for Chrysler, said:  "The Company is now experiencing the strength of our International product offensive. Though we have achieved approximately 20 percent growth this year, we recognize that we are working from a relatively low base, and continue to have opportunity to grow. We are however, pleased for our dealers who have worked hard and had the confidence to invest in us. As we move forward, we will continue to focus on them and satisfying our customers, as that is the key to our continued success."

Audi’s pride Allan McNish shares his views about Road Atlanta. The remarkable “factory” driver currently holds the track lap-record around the 4.088 kilometer circuit with a time of 1m 10.379s since the year 2000.

In an interview with Paddock Talk Allan unleashes what are to be unleashed…

Q: Will your track lap-record last another year?
A: "I’m afraid that my qualifying record will be broken this time. The circuit was completely resurfaced and the surface changes that existed have now disappeared. The circuit is now much flatter, less bumpy and more consistent and faster as a result."

Q: Where on the circuit is the new surface most noticeable?
A: "Previously, the worst place was over the crest in Turn 5. On turn-in you had plenty of grip and in the corner itself absolutely none whatsoever. The grip only improved on the exit of the corner. This made the section very tricky."

Q: What’s your general opinion of Road Atlanta?
A: "Road Atlanta is one of my favourite circuits in America. The circuit is technically challenging and from the layout naturally fast, which you particularly notice in the first off-camber corner. A key point is the right-hand corner that leads onto the back straight where you have to get the power down well under acceleration so as not to lose too much time on the following straight."

Q: Can you compare "Petit Le Mans" with Le Mans?
A:"The atmosphere around the circuit and the speeds are quite similar. Road Atlanta, however, is much more intensive for the driver than Le Mans. The circuit is physically and mentally very demanding. You have to be concentrated all the time and in contrast to Le Mans, there isn’t really a long enough straight on which you can relax and take a breather."

Q: Do you still remember your first race at Road Atlanta?
A: "Yes, that was in 1998 for the first-running of the Petit Le Mans event. I drove a Porsche GT1 together with Yannick Dalmas. We were leading when the car took off over the crest on the straight and rolled. Luckily Yannick escaped completely unharmed."

Q: Apart from this, you have quite a good record at Petit Le Mans…
A:"I won with Dindo Capello and Michele Alboreto when Audi competed in this race for the first time in 2000. Dindo and I were able to win again in 2006 with the R10 TDI. So, it’s a really good hunting ground for me. I like the track, Dindo likes the track and the Audi Sport team knows exactly what this race is all about."

Q: What are your chances of scoring another victory?
A: "Our Audi R10 TDI has a lot of torque and is fast on the straight, the LM P2 cars are more agile in the corners because of the lower weight allowed by the regulations. This will be particularly noticeable in the ‘S’ curves. There are both advantages and disadvantages. The fact is that you need experience to win such a long race and you must not take too many risks. It’ll be a hard fight over the entire distance."

As for me, with the excellent record of Audi performance parts there’s no denying it – McNish has a better edge!  

Some people will do anything for money! Several of these men are the masters of stealing – they can do just about everything to get what they want. There are experts in stealing wallets, jewelries, bags, etc. But the best of the best comes down to those who can steal cars. Just like the film starred by Nicholas Cage entitled “Gone in 60 Seconds”, they were the best in stealing cars… and those were not just ordinary cars – those were the best cars in the world. The movie was great but in real life, I guess you’ll feel very sad when your car is stolen, right? It hurts… so much! But there are ways on how you can secure your car from these smart thieves… check this out!

According to www.insurance.com, every 27 seconds, one vehicle is stolen. That’s quick! This year, over 1 million motor vehicles are expected to be stolen. We can’t safeguard our cars from the plans of a great auto thief. We’re just hoping none of us will soon be a victim of these crooks. So listen up and follow these tips provided by insurance.com!
 
1. Install an antitheft device.
2. Never leave your car running or leave the keys in the ignition when it is unattended.
3. Keep your car door locked at all times.
4. Park your car inside and lock the door if you have a garage.
5. Do not store packages or valuable stuffs in bare sight.
6. Park your car in a secure, bright, or well-traveled area during night time.
7. Get identification number (VIN) for your vehicle imprinted into the windows and main parts of your car to make your car harder to resell on the black market.
8. Turn your wheels in the direction of the curb when you park on the street, use your emergency brake, and make an effort to park between other cars (this will give thieves a hard time towing your car.)
9. Avoid parking your car in a long-term parking lot.
10. Get rid of any detachable electronic devices (e.g. CD player) when you leave your car.

You may feel like having peace of mind by purchasing an antitheft device although common sense strategies such as locking your car or leaving it in a well-lit area can definitely avoid auto thieves. Many kinds of devices are available, so it's going to be easy for you to find one that fits your budget and your needs.

Some of the more common antitheft devices include:

• Car alarms
• Steering wheel locks
• Immobilizers
• Glass sensors
• Ignition-kill switches
• Fuel-kill switches
• Radio receivers/transmitters

You'll want to make sure that it is installed properly whatever sort of antitheft gadget you pick. Otherwise, you may risk damaging the device or even your car's electrical system. It may be wise to enlist the services of an alarm installation professional to do the work for you.