Toyota embarks on flying car project in Japan

One of the most popular Japanese carmaker, Toyota has announced plans in manufacturing flying cars after declaring its support to a set of engineers who are in the process of making it real, though they are at the development stage.

The group of engineers that operates outside the Toyota city in Central Japan, also called the Cartivator group will get about 40 million yen (£274, 000) to make the project flow.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Toyota and its group companies have come together in principle to back the project.

The flying vehicle called Skydrive car uses the drone technology with four rotors and three wheels and has so far received payment for the development via crowdfunding.

Reports says, there are plans by Uber to test the on-demand flying cars network by 2020. It measures 9.5ft (2.9m) by 4.3ft (1.3m), Skydrive is said to be the smallest car in the world.

It is expected to have a top flight speed of 100km/h (62mph), while flying just 10m above the ground.

It appears science fiction is gradually turning to reality as some firms Japan, Germany, Netherlands, China and United States are sleeplessly working on the technology.

The developer of the Skydrive car which consist of a team of 30 volunteers plans to uses its prototype to light the Olympic flame in Tokyo 2020.

SOURCE: BBC

Read More»

Hyundai and Kia recalls 240,000 vehicles over safety defects

240,000 vehicles has been recalled by Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors over safety defects as directed by South Korea government.

A whistleblower from the Hyundai Motors reported these defects, revealing about 5 different flaws associated with 12 models so far. He said those flaws were intentionally covered up by the companies.

In reaction to the burst, Hyundai and Kia insisted that the mentioned problems presents no threat to driving safety.

The whistleblower, Kim Gwang-Ho, who works as an engineer with Hyundai for almost 26 had earlier reported about 32 problems to the local regulators. However, the recalls was only based on 5 of out the 32 problems reported.

The same Kim travelled to the United States to report few safety lapses, which led to the recall of over 1.5 million vehicles in North America nation and South Korea over a defect that liable to stop the engine from working on motion.

A security auto analyst from Samsung, Eim Eun-young commented, saying:

“What the whistleblower said turned out to be true. This is negative for Hyundai’s brand image after the hit from the recall over engine issues last month. But then, its reputation is already seen at the rock bottom in South Korea, so I’m not sure whether there is room for a further fall.”

Read More»

Mercedes to recall about 308,000 cars across the US due to fire hazard.

Mercedes is said to recall about 308,000 cars in the United States because of potential fire accident.

According to CNN, more than 300,000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles across the United States will soon be due to a potential fire hazard.

The company confirmed that the problem has been linked to 35 car fires in the US. Mercedes claimed that Daimler AG (DMLRY) which is its parent company, determined that there's an issue with an engine part that can lead to an electrical fire.

The recall operation is to include certain C- and E-Class vehicles, as well as GLA, CLAand GLC vehicles.

The Mercedes spokesman said: "This situation typically occurs in the rare situation where a vehicle is stranded in a significant amount of standing water and the engine stalls and cannot be restarted on the first try."

Out of million vehicles on recall list, 307,629 are reported to be from the United States. The company could not immediately have a breakdown of locations where vehicles will be recalled outside of the United States.

Read More»