plus 3, TAAP Data Capture Mobile Software Triumphs at MCN Show - Yahoo Finance

TAAP Data Capture Mobile Software Triumphs at MCN Show - Yahoo Finance
Toyota recall woes said to lie in cost-cutting - Peninsula
TVS posts 31 per cent growth in sales in February 2010 - New Kerala
Vehicle Wars.com Head-to-Head Competition Site Launched by Roadkill ... - PRLog (free press release)

TAAP Data Capture Mobile Software Triumphs at MCN Show - Yahoo Finance

Posted: 28 Feb 2010 11:58 PM PST

BOREHAMWOOD, England, March 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Triumph - the largest British automotive manufacturer, producing around 50,000 motorcycles a year - used TAAP's Data Capture mobile software on a rental basis to collect leads at the recent Motorcycle News (MCN) show. With a comprehensive network of professional dealerships, Triumph offers test rides throughout the UK.

The MCN show is the biggest annual motorcycle show in the London/South East area, with people travelling from outside the UK to attend. TAAP - a leading mobile software application provider with significant expertise in the automotive sector - provided Triumph with eight PDA devices (handheld mobile computers) for use at the show, held at the Excel centre from 4th - 7th February 2010.

TAAP's award-winning Data Capture application operates via Pocket PCs/PDAs to allow Triumph to collect customer data and view it in real-time on a secure website, completely eliminating paper forms. This makes remote event management and tracking much easier as information is immediately visible. Data is securely managed as it is encrypted on the device and when sent from it.

Emphasizing its flexible approach to software customisation, TAAP provided Triumph with a 'nearest dealer' feature. This ensured that when customers were contacted at a later date with regards to a test ride, this would be done by their nearest Triumph dealer. The application includes mandatory fields which ensure that all leads collected contain uniform information in a set format, and missing data is a thing of the past.

Triumph were pleased with the ease of use of the application and the quality of the lead data captured, and confirmed further use of the technology for the forthcoming Scottish MCN event organised by Live Promotions and held at the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh on 20th and 21st March 2010.

Triumph account manager at TAAP, Louise Lawson, said "We're delighted that Triumph found the Data Capture application a success and are planning to use it again for the Scottish show. Secure data collection through the TAAP mobile software means customers benefit from a more accurate and far quicker response."

About Data Capture

TAAP Data Capture enables secure collection of data whilst out of the office on a mobile device. Further details are available at: http://www.ontaap.com/TAAPDataCapture.aspx

About TAAP

TAAP is a leading provider of software solutions which allow organisations to mobilise their operations using hand held computers.

 Contact TAAP Tel: +44(0)845-230-9787 Email: angela.walker@ontaap.com Website: http://www.ontaap.com

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Toyota recall woes said to lie in cost-cutting - Peninsula

Posted: 01 Mar 2010 12:41 AM PST

Toyota recall woes said to lie in cost-cutting
Web posted at: 3/1/2010 11:29:21
Source ::: WP-Bloomberg

By Alan Ohnsman, Jeff Green and Kae Inoue

KKatsuaki Watanabe, Toyotas former president, did something at his first meeting with US investors out of character for a leader of Japans biggest carmaker: He boasted of what hed accomplished. On the job as Toyotas chief executive for less than three months, Watanabe told New Yorks financial community at the September 12, 2005, gathering that a cost-reduction programme he designed had wrung out more than $10bn of savings over six years. Called Construction of Cost Competitiveness in the 21st Century, the initiative was only a start, he said.

Under CCC21 activities, which I led, Toyota realised cost reductions of more than 200bn yen ($2.2bn) a year on a consolidated basis, Watanabe said. Next was an aggressive version of CCC21 Watanabe called Value Innovation that promised more savings by making the entire development process cheaper and further trimming parts and production costs.

The programmes, a steroid shot to Toyotas trademark kaizen approach of steady, gradual cost reduction, were blessed by its board and investors attracted after Toyota listed shares in New York and London in 1999. An obsession with cost reductions and rapid growth help explain how a company long revered for quality is under fire from US legislators and lawyers amid recalls of 8.5 million autos worldwide.

The root cause of their problems is that the company was hijacked, some years ago, by anti-(Toyoda) family, financially oriented pirates, said Jim Press, Toyotas former US chief and only American to hold a seat on the companys board.

Those executives, whom Press didnt identify, didnt have the character necessary to maintain a customer first focus, he said. Press left the company in 2007 after an unwanted job transfer. All automakers are focused on reducing cost, said Jim Wiseman, Toyotas vice president for North American corporate communications.

Its not true that by reducing cost you automatically reduce quality, Wiseman said. Every automaker has to stay competitive relative to price.

Watanabe, now a vice chairman for Toyota, declined to be interviewed for this story, Mieko Iwasaki, a company spokeswoman said.

The worlds largest carmaker has lost $32.6bn in market value since a January 21 recall to fix gas pedals that can stick. That followed a recall for accelerator pedals that can be trapped by floor mats and cause unwanted acceleration.

Its also adding braking software on millions of recalled and future vehicles to help stop unintended speed-ups and adjusting brake programming on the Prius and other hybrids.

The company also faces at least 84 class action lawsuits involving sudden acceleration and at least 25 individual cases filed in courts in the U.S. and Canada.

Toyota said in a regulatory filing this week it received subpoenas from a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York on February 8 and the Los Angeles office of the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 19 for documents related to potential product defects.

Watanabe, trained as an economist, not as an engineer, also said at the New York conference that the Japan-based company was able to slash time to bring models into production once a design was final to about 12 months, compared with an industry average of between 24 and 36 months.

The shorter production time enables us to develop a variety of vehicles that reflect market needs and demands while fulfilling the advanced development structure, Watanabe said.

Akio Toyoda, who succeeded Watanabe in June 2009, acknowledged this week that such changes may have contributed to product defects. I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick, Toyoda, whose grandfather founded the company in 1937, said on Wednesday at a congressional hearing in Washington. Priorities became confused, and we were not able to stop, think and make improvements as much as we were able to before.

Even before unintended acceleration leading to driver deaths cast an unwanted spotlight on the company, Toyoda told investors he had become concerned about the companys fixation with growth and boosting profit.

Last September, at a meeting with Toyota investors near the Tokyo Dome, home to the Yomiuri Giants professional baseball team, Toyoda said growth goals had hurt the company, according to an executive who was present.

Under Watanabe, Toyota had three consecutive record years, with net income rising from $15.3m in fiscal 2006, his first year as president, to $19.3m in fiscal 2008. In fiscal 2009, with collapsing sales brought on by a global financial crisis, Watanabe also oversaw a $49bn net loss, the worst in company history.

At a 2006 investor conference in London Watanabe and former Executive Vice President Kazuo Okamoto discussed plans to exceed the cost-reduction results achieved in CCC21 by eliminating vehicle parts and pushing suppliers to adopt lighter, cheaper materials.

While the programmes brought development advances, they may have inadvertently triggered quality glitches, said current and former company officials who asked not to be named because the information isnt public.

For models such as the Camry, that led to an expectation that each new part on the top-selling US passenger car be at least 10 percent cheaper and 10 percent lighter than the one it replaced, said an official at a supplier who asked not to be named as the person still works with Toyota.

Problems with Camry were evident during production of a redesigned model in February 2006, said a supplier executive who worked directly on the program who asked not to be named as the persons current employer still does business with Toyota.

The new vehicle had a flaw in the design of the headliner, the fabric and composite lining that covers the inside roof of the car, which led to almost a third of the parts being ruined during production, the executive said.

Sweeping cost-cutting programs arent unique to Toyota. Honda recently started the C8G3 program for motorcycle parts procurement, according to Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo.

The program, which doesnt have a concrete timeline, aims to consolidate global procurement to three suppliers for 80 percent of parts to reduce costs, Kondo said. Hondas auto segment may also employ a similar program, said spokeswoman Natsuno Asanuma.

Toyotas use of large-scale cost reduction programs didnt end after Watanabe stepped down last year, the company said.

The former chief executives Value Innovation plan has been succeeded by a program known internally as RRCI, said Hideaki Homma, a company spokesman. Toyota met with suppliers on December 21 to outline the initiative, Homma said.

While Akio Toyoda vowed to revamp Toyotas tarnished image and repair internal processes warped by mistakes of the past decade, actions of previous leaders echo a comment by his great- uncle Eiji Toyoda.

Water can be wrung even from a dry towel if you put your mind to it, said Eiji Toyoda, a former company president, when describing how Toyota slashed costs after the 1973 Oil Crisis.

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TVS posts 31 per cent growth in sales in February 2010 - New Kerala

Posted: 28 Feb 2010 11:22 PM PST

Mumbai, Mar 1 : Post an alround growth TVS Motor Company today reported a 31 per cent increase in its sales in February in the two wheeler segment at 140,544 units as against 107,301 sold in February 2009.

The Company in a release here said the growth for the year to date was 14 per cent at 1.37 million vehicles sold as against 1.20 million sold during the corresponding period of last fiscal.

TVS Motor in a release here said the three wheeler sales also posted sizeable growth over February 2009, generating highest ever sales.

Domestic sales posted growth of 34 per cent registering 121,403 units in February 2010 in comparison with 90,718 units in the February 2009.

The company's motorcycle registered a buoyant growth of 28 per cent in February 2010 with sales of 63,394 units in February 2010 when compared to 49,659 units in the same month of the previous year. During the month, scooters witnessed substantial growth of 38 per cent registering sales of 27,017 units when compared to 19,532 units in February 2009.

Exports continued to show an upward trend posting 15 per cent during the month of February with sales of 19,141 units against 16,583 units in February 2009.

The company recorded 2,132 units of three wheeler sales in February 2010 against 550 units in February 2009; cumulative sales for the period April 2009 to February 2010 thus adding up to 12,549 units.

During the month, 'TVS Jive', India's first auto clutch motorcycle was introduced in markets across Tamilnadu as well as Andhra Pradesh. The bike will be made available in phases across the country within the next month. The company will also launch its much awaited TVS Wego in phases across the country beginning this month.

--UNI

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Vehicle Wars.com Head-to-Head Competition Site Launched by Roadkill ... - PRLog (free press release)

Posted: 28 Feb 2010 09:21 PM PST

PR Log (Press Release) – Mar 01, 2010 – Roadkill Enterprises has launched a new website ( http://www.VehicleWars.com ) that pits cars, trucks, hot rods, motorcycles, race cars and many other vehicle types against each other in head-to-head competitions. Visitors can rate each vehicle in a head-to-head, side-by-side format on a scale of 1 to 10 and vote for their winner in each completion, or battle.

Registered members can upload photos of their vehicles to participate in the head-to-head battles that can span all categories, mixed categories, or specific vehicle types. Members can upload an unlimited number of vehicles and manage them and view battle statistics via My Vehicles web site interface.

Statistics are tracked for each member's individual vehicles, as well as each member's collective statistics. Overall statistics are also compiled so that members can see how they are doing across all of the vehicles on the site.

Registration for the site is free and we operate under a strict no-spam policy. Visit the site and register for a free membership at http://www.VehicleWars.com or stop by and rate and vote for the winners of your choice.

Future enhancements planned are a mobile version of the head-to-head competitions as well as photo upload from mobile devices.

Roadkill Enterprises, a well known name in delivering research and reference information as well as new, used and vintage automotive parts and accessories and other automotive ventures.

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