Recalls

In Tip #6 I told people to keep regular tabs on their car manufacturers.  Continuing that same line of thought, this post will be dedicated to spreading awareness of recent recalls and car issues.

TOYOTA Prius

The Office of Defects Investigation has received a few dozen reports of defective brake performance on the model, most dated within the past two months. An example of owner feedback is the report from an owner of a new 2010 Prius with 400 miles on the odometer who states, “When the car goes over an uneven or bumpy [surface,] the car accelerates or lurches forward….this has occurred at least four times.” Others report a “disturbing lag,” “jerky brakes” and “the brakes feel like they cut out for a brief (well under a second) period.”

One driver suggests that the car’s change-over from regenerative to friction braking could be the cause of the problem.

NHTSA has not yet opened an official investigation into the issue. The Detroit Bureau blog quoted a Toyota spokesperson as saying the company is “aware of the complaints filed with NHTSA” and that “We are investigating the issue based on internet traffic, customer comments to Toyota Customer Relations, and NHTSA complaints. It is too early to speculate the final conclusion(s) of our investigation and subsequent actions.”

Posted on December 28, 2009; Credited to Insideline

BMW Mini Cooper

BMW is recalling 205 2010 Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S vehicles because incorrect tire information could affect the durability of the tires and the stability of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“The affected vehicles were equipped with 17-inch wheels, but their label states that they were equipped with 16-inch wheels,” said NHTSA in its summary of the problem. “Also, the tire pressure stated on the label for the Cooper S is incorrect. Erroneous tire information could lead to improper tire fitment and inflation, which could affect the durability of the tire and the stability of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.”

BMW said it is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the issue in other documentation filed with the federal government.

“With the release of the 17-inch wheels for the 2010 Mini Cooper and Cooper S, a simultaneous release of the corresponding 17-inch tire pressure labels did not occur,” said BMW.

Dealers will mail consumers the corrected label or customers can have their dealer install the label. The recall is expected to begin sometime in December. Owners may contact BMW at 800-831-1117.

Posted on December 21, 2009; Credited to Insideline

SUBARU Impreza

Subaru is recalling 5,724 2002-’03 Impreza WRX vehicles sold in 16 cold-weather states because fuel leaks in the fuel delivery line, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The vehicles were originally sold in or are registered in South Dakota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Minnesota, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Colorado, Wisconsin, New York, Wyoming, Michigan, Alaska, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.

“During cold starts, typically under extremely cold temperatures, fuel leaks in the fuel delivery line could occur where the line connects with a rubber hose,” said NHTSA in its summary of the problem. “Fuel leaks, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire.”

Customers typically complained of a fuel odor connected with the problem. No fires, crashes, injuries or deaths attributed to this defect have been reported, Subaru said.

Subaru dealers will replace the fuel line for free. The recall is expected to begin sometime in December. Subaru owners can contact the company at 800-782-2783.

For owners in the other 34 states, Subaru will extend the warranty on this fuel line/hose to 12 years/unlimited mileage. Owners in these states who smell a fuel odor can take their vehicle to a Subaru dealer for a free fuel line update, the automaker said in other documentation filed with the federal government.

Posted on December 14, 2009; Credited to Insideline

AUDI Q5 SUV

On the heels of an announcement that Audi will offer a Q5 hybrid in 2011, the German automaker has issued a recall on the 2009 Q5 SUV.

The recall, which the model’s first, affects more than 6,000 SUVs produced between Nov. 25, 2008 and June 4, 2009. It concerns a defective pillar trim cover clip that can pose a danger during airbag deployment. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recall notice, the A-pillar trim could “become loose when the sideguard head protection airbags deploy during crash. If this happens, a loose trim piece could injure the front seat occupants of the vehicle.”

Beginning in January, Audi will inspect and replace the clips free of charge. Owners may contact Audi at 1-800-253-2834 or call NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236.

Posted December 30, 2090; Credited to U.S. News Rankings and Reviews

CHEVY Corvette

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and General Motors announced a recall of the certain Chevrolet Corvette models made between 2005 and 2007 last week for problems with the car’s roof system.

The report, specific to Corvette and Corvette Z06 models equipped with a removable roof, concerns the way the roofs panels attach to the frame. Under certain circumstances that adhesive can come apart and the roof can fall off the vehicle at speed.

NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) says the following:

“The adhesive between the roof panel and the frame may separate. If there is a partial separation, the driver may notice one or more symptoms, such as a snapping noise when driving over bumps, wind noise, poor roof panel fit, roof panel movement / bounce when a door or hate is closed, or a water leak in the headliner.”

The upside of the recall is that there is likely to be a gradual period where these symptoms can be detected. However, in a worst-case scenario, the roof may detach from the car altogether and could hit another vehicle or cause property damage.

Chevrolet has been hit with a few recalls in the last few weeks. NHTSA’s ODI also issued a recall of the Chevrolet Equinox for problems with the vehicle’s window defrosting system.

The roof recall is expected to begin in January of 2010. Owners of these vehicles can contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or at http://www.gmownercenter.com. NHTSA can be contacted at http://www.safercar.gov or via telephone at 1-888-327-4236.

Posted on December 29, 2009; Credited to AOL Autos

[Via http://helpcaraccident.wordpress.com]

This is a single-panel mock-up for a promotional minisite for the Toyota Venza. The site was to have been a simple javaScripted sliding tab on mouseover, loaded with moody photography.

Classically, just before it was to have gone into development, Toyota Canada decided instead to repurpose the American minisite for a Canadian audience.

[Via http://muckney.wordpress.com]

2010 Toyota Prius

There are reports emerging that claim issues with the Gen. 3 Prius, which is the 2010 model, has a faulty braking system. Prius’ are built to collect the kinetic energy produced during breaking and transfer and store that energy to be used to offset fuel consumpution. It appears that there may be a malfunction with the system in this coming years model. Complaints are being filed by customers. So if you own one be careful, if you don’t watch out for the ones on the road I guess…

[Via http://qova00.wordpress.com]

Toyota Kirloskar launches Prado Diesel

Toyota Prado

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) launched a new diesel version of the Land Cruiser Prado this week, priced at Rs 57.74 lakh (ex-showroom, Bangalore). Powered by a 3.0 litre diesel engine with a Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System for driving stability, the vehicle is expected to increase TKM’s market share in the SUV segment to 10 per cent. It is targeted at both car and SUV buyers. Mr Hiroshi Nakagawa, Managing Director of TKM, said that over 1.56 million units of the Prado have so far been sold in 170 countries, and that the customer response in India, too, has been beyond expectations.

The Prado Diesel boasts several interesting features such as 3 zone automatic climate control, multi-information display and DAC (Down-hill Assist Control) and VSC (Vehicle Stability Control). It will be available in pearl crystal shine, silver metallic, grey metallic, greyish blue metallic and black colours. TKM’s Deputy Managing Director, Mr Sandeep Singh, said that the vehicle’s target audience includes active businessmen, industrialists and socialites, in the 35-45 year age group, who want to make a style statement.

[Via http://gratiscarconnect.wordpress.com]

Intimidation

The art of intimidation comes in handy when trying to persuade people and these cars would easily scare the crap out of me.

Another bonkers JZA70 Supra for all you lovers out there.  Very clean car with a great stance and some awesome Panasports G7-C5C2.  I love these wheels and would kill for a set on the Z.  They look like a set of OG Work Meisters or SSR Professors.

Amazingly stanced Toyota Soarer.  The view from the rear looks incredible.

S30Z.  Black paint.  Inclement weather.  SLIDE SLIDE SLIDE!

Awesome B110 with the badass street style complete with the wide steelies.

[Via http://kyushakai.wordpress.com]

Toyota Targetkan Produksi 7,5 Juta Unit di 2010

Tokyo, 27 Desember 2009 - Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Jepang akan meningkatkan target produksinya pada 2010 mendatang yaitu 17 persen dari produksi 2009 atau menjadi 7,5 juta unit. Jumlah itu tidak termasuk produk hasil kerjasama antara Toyota dengan pabrikan lain seperti dengan Daihatsu dan Hino.

Demikian laporan beberapa media lokal Jepang termasuk harian bisnis Nikkei. Peningkatan target produksi itu dikarenakan Toyota telah melihat tanda-tanda pemulihan ekonomi di Jepang, Amerika Serikat dan Eropa yang merupakan pasar terbesar Toyota.

Angka produksi 2010 yang akan ditetapkan itu sama dengan angka produksiToyota pada 2005. Tetapi, angka itu masih dibawah angka produksi pada 2007 yang mencapai 8,5 juta unit.

Nikkei menambahkan, besaran produks 2010 sebesar itu kemungkinan besar bisa bertambah dengan adanya dampak perpanjangan kebijakan pemerintah Jepang dan di beberapa negara yang memberikan subsidi pembelian kendaraan yang ramah lingkungan hingga September 2010.

Namun, pengumuman resmi target produksi Toyota rencananya diumumkan pada Januari 2010 mendatang. Sebelumnya, berbagai kalangan menyebut dominasi Toyota di pasar otomotif global telah tergeser oleh pabrikan otomotif asal Jerman Volkswagen (VW).

Disebutkan, hingga September lalu VW telah memproduksi 4,4 juta unit. Sementara itu, Toyota tercatat memproduksi 4,0 juta. tetapi pada pertengahan November lalu, Toyota mengumumkan angka resmi produksinya secara global yang disebut mencapai 4,9 juta unit. Dengan demikian, angka produksi pabrikan ini masih diatas VW yang berjumlah 4,4 juta unit.

[Via http://rajufebrian.wordpress.com]

Carina

No not a girl, a Toyota. This one is Rockin Hoshino Impuls, an a nice stance.

Gimme those in 15×8 & 15×9.

[Via http://tailoutsx.wordpress.com]

Toyota Eyeing Supra HV-R GT Hybrid Le Mans Attack

Toyota is considering reviving the Supra HV-R GT hybrid race car in an attack on the Le Mans 24 Hours, according to reports in the European press today.

Powered by a 352kW V8 paired with front in-wheel electric motors and a 150kW rear-mounted electric motor, the Supra HV-R GT took out top honours at Japan’s Tokkachi 24 Hour race in 2007.

A report by British magazine Autocar today suggests that Toyota is considering updating the HV-R GT’s hybrid technology ahead of a possible 2012 Le Mans attack, by which time the Supra will be nearly 20 years old.

According to the report, Toyota’s exit from Formula 1 has lead the Japanese brand to begin exploring opportunities in other motorsport codes.

Whether Toyota would continue with the older SuperGT-based Supra body or instead utilise the newer LFA design is unclear.

[Via http://vehiclez.wordpress.com]

Top 10 cleantech stories of 2009

In no particular order, here are my top 10 cleantech stories of 2009. Any other interesting stories that you think should be on this list?

1. Copenhagen Accord: From Hopenhagen to Nopenhagen
The widely anticipated UN climate talks at Copenhagen in Dec 2009 ended with a whimper. After spending much time haggling about the main issues, world leaders could only come up with a kind of letter of intent. In fact, it was US President Barack Obama who brokered the final deal with China, India, South Africa and Brazil. Europe, which was left out, was apparently angered with this move. For now, the goalpost has been shifted to Mexico in 2010.

2. Global Cleantech Stimulus
Though we’re facing the toughest financial crisis yet, several governments around the world managed to announce multi-billion dollar stimulus packages for the cleantech sector, underscoring the importance of the sector to deal with climate change and energy supply issues. US, China, South Korea, Japan, EU, Germany, Australia and UK are among the biggest contributors.

3. A123 Systems IPO Soars
Lithium ion battery company A123 Systems was clearly the star of cleantech IPOs this year, with its shares soaring more than 50% on the first day of trading in Sep 2009. A123 Systems has not made any money, yet its stock price is still trading above its offering price with currently $2 billion market cap, even though Chrysler cancelled its electric vehicle plans which included A123 batteries. Doesn’t this remind you of the tech boom in the late 1990s? More IPOs are expected to come with Solyndra already filed for IPO in Dec 2009 while we’ll just have to keep guessing when Tesla Motors, Silver Spring Networks and Codexis will make their debut.

4. Khosla Ventures Raises $1.1 billion Cleantech Funds
Even as VC/PE cleantech investments slumps in 2009, Khosla Ventures raises the bar with its $1.1 billion funds raised in Sep 2009. It was the largest amount raised by a VC firm since 2007 and the largest first-time fund raised since 1999. This was also the first time Khosla Ventures has raised funds from outside investors which included the CalPERS. It was a rare feat to raise a fund of this size and Vinod Khosla has definitely proved it.

5. Cleantech Investments Shift from Solar to Energy Efficiency
Indeed 2009 proved to be tough on solar companies where declining orders, excess inventory and project financing problems were accompanied with massive layoffs. While Spain’s removal of government subsidies and the financial crisis contributed to the solar slump, China continues to provide state funding to the Chinese cleantech firms via low-interest loans from big state banks to fund their growth. It is no surprise that investment is seen shifting from capital-intensive cleantech such as solar and wind to less capital-intensive cleantech such as energy efficiency, storage, transportation and smart grid sector. Have you heard of the Jevons Paradox – the more efficient we become in our use of energy, the more we will use? Ironically, energy efficiency may lead to more energy consumption as the cost of energy resource reduces.

6. Electric Vehicles: Electric Dreams Come True
It’s no doubt that Obama’s stimulus package has jolted the US electric car industry into life. Anything from electric vehicles, fuel cells, battery technologies, hybrid vehicles to charging stations have turned into golden opportunity for investment. Even the Big Three, GM, Ford and Chrysler were pressured by the US government to make electric cars. The stakes are high here, as we look forward to reduce oil dependence. Yet this has caused another “gold” rush, i.e. rare metals which are important components in making the fuel cells and batteries and China is the main producer of rare metals. Meanwhile, expect the Japanese Toyota and Honda to continue to lead in the hybrid car sector.

7. Biofuel Flights Sizzle
With biofuels craze fizzling out this year, a good news from the industry appeared. Biofuel flights were tested successfully by 3 different airlines this year. In Jan 2009, Continental Airlines tested flight with 50% jet fuel, 47% jatropha, 3% algae in 1 engine (the first to use algae). In the same month, Japan Airlines tested flight with 50% jet fuel, 50% biofuel (of which 84% is camelina, 16% jatropha, less than 1% algae; the first to use camelina). In Nov 2009, KLM demonstrated the first passenger flight with 50% jet fuel, 50% camelina. Previously, Virgin Atlantic was the first to test flight with biofuel mix with 50% jet fuel, 20% mix of coconut and babassu oil in Feb 2008 (some people were mocking Richard Branson at that time!) while Air New Zealand tested flight in Dec 2008 with 50% jet fuel, 50% jatropha (the first to use jatropha). No doubt, we will see more of these biofuel flights realizing in the future.

8. Algae is Oil’s Best Friend
It seems like algae is the new biofuel. Exxon Mobil invested $600 million in Synthetic Genomics, a biotechnology company founded by none other than the genomics pioneer J. Craig Venter, in July 2009 to produce fuel from algae. BP, already an early investor in Synthetic Genomics, invested $10 million in Martek Biosciences in Aug 2009. Though it is applauding to see oil companies to look at alternative energy sources, Exxon Mobil’s latest $31 billion acquisition of XTO Energy, the largest natural gas producer in US, in Dec 2009 is a bet that alternative energy is not viable enough to meet US energy needs for the next few decades while hoping that the cleaner fossil fuel will reduce possible carbon tax in the future.

9. Smart Grid Gets Smarter
The smart grid has been hailed as the electricity Internet and it is such a big play that even the big IT players IBM (via its IBM Venture Capital Group) and Cisco are eyeing for a piece of it. In Obama’s stimulus plan, it calls for the creation of a smart grid and 40 million smart meters to be deployed in American homes. Smart grid may be the largest cloud (computing) and expensive but it will be lucrative for smart grid players. Silver Spring Networks, GridPoint, Trilliant, eMeter, Grid Net and SmartSynch are just some of the players that should benefit from the stimulus.

10. Water Splashes With Osmotic Power and Reverse Osmosis Desalination
In Nov 2009, Norway’s state-owned power company, Statkraft opened a prototype osmotic power plant which is the world’s first that generates energy by mixing fresh water with sea water. The idea of generating power from osmotic pressure gradients is actually an extension of reverse osmosis (RO) desalination. RO desal is used for water and wastewater purification, and such large plants are usually found in Middle East nearby power plants where they can easily get their electricity needs from oil. While the Middle Eastern plants consume oil to generate power for its desal process, Norway’s plant generates power from its desal process. I wish I could say much more for the water space but it is noteworthy that Kleiner Perkins has made its first water-related cleantech investment in APT. Hopefully we will see more VC investments in water-related cleantech next year.

[Via http://cleaninvest.wordpress.com]

Is Toyota going the way of GM?

I was intrigued by a couple of major media stories about Toyota. Today there is this story from US Today saying that Toyota’s reputation may need an overhaul following the latest hit–a major safety recall. It identifies a string of problems that the world’s largest automaker has experienced in the recent past. This follows last week’s cover story in the Economist in which the major challenges Toyota faces are examined in some detail. The story starts with the chairman and grandson of the founder revealing that he has been reading Jm Collins’ book “How The Mighty Fall.”

No doubt Chairman Toyoda has plenty to worry about. But, as I commented here a long time ago, his biggest worry from a reputation standpoint comes from his success. Strange thing about this time and culture–we like winners, but we don’t really like big, gigantic winners who keep on winning. Certainly part of that is our media pattern of following the rise of someone or some organization as they battle the giants, but as soon as they get to the top and topple the giants, the deconstruction begins. In some cases, like Tiger, the deconstruction is aided mightily by their own misdeeds. It is not just media, however. Our cultural values tend to distrust and dislike anything too big and powerful. We don’t like monop0lies or anyone that smells like one. We don’t like teams or companies or celebrities who simply dominate. I said here before that Microsoft finally emerged from under the cloud of its success when it became clear that its dominance was no longer assured with Google coming on strong. Now Google faces the very real problem of their famous corporate slogan turning on them and biting them on the backside. As they get increasingly powerful, more and more will see evil in every move they make.

Toyota has its problems, no doubt. They’ve made mistakes. But having a big safety recall over floormats that slip over accelerators and having the media conclude that this is a sign they need a reputation makeover identifies their real problem. They are the big dog. They’ve got a target on their back. They have tens of thousands of journalists, bloggers, and others beside competitors, who would love to help lower them a notch or two.

Communicators and executives at Toyota have a tough challenge. Above all they need to “walk humbly” while the company continues to innovate, put their kaizen strategies to work, and strive harder than ever to lead.

[Via http://crisisblogger.wordpress.com]

Fix me another and make it a double: an F1 fan's Christmas

We find ourselves at Christmas facing a long day of shopping in Union Squire, stores crowded with frenzied consumers and exhausted children.  Bells are ringing everywhere.  The gift list is long and the economy is tight.  Defeated without having started, we throw in the towel and instead seek fortitude in a strong Irish coffee.

From the stool at the end of the bar, we at OnTheLimit are prone to sit back and reflect on the year that was.  We were just at this bar a year ago; was it that long?  It always starts well around this time of year, with all of the new car launches, driver announcements and pre-season testing.   We stare out the window, shudder as another fog bank envelopes the bay, and stir the coffee one more time.  It warms us to read about some lucky buggers who are off testing in the Algarve, or Spain, maybe Florida.  We order another Irish coffee. 

But the truth is, if we think back to December 2008, we pretty much got it all wrong for 2009.  Nothing turned out as we had expected.

First, we did not expect a dead-in-the-water Honda team to re-emerge as Brawn, and proceed to win the 2009 driver and constructor titles.  We assumed, rightly, that Lewis Hamilton would again be dominant in the McLaren, with Raikkonen (the 2007 champion) close by in the Ferrari.  Honda had shown no signs of troubling the bigger fish.

But we were not sitting in the grandstands during testing while Brawn and a few other coy desigers figured out the double diffuser.  Even if we had sat in on the early Brawn tests, or those of Red Bull, we would not have noticed the tiny little change at the bottom of the back of the car that made such a difference come March.  The double diffuser was the single biggest influence in the outcome of the F1 title race, for it changed the balance of power in the sport in a rapid period of technological development (slicks and new wing packages being other key developments).

It is a credit to every member of the Brawn team for having the courage to continue pushing the limit, given the circumstances the team faced 12 months ago.  Mated with Jenson Button’s best-ever drive, Brawn stole a march on the entire paddock.  The season-ending acquisition by Mercedes seemed to justify Ross Brawn and Nick Fry’s efforts to revive the team from life support. 

In fact, we are thinking of re-naming this drink the double diffuser. Because having had a second, things are becoming diffuse.  This may explain the quality of our predictions last year as well.

We also failed to predict the depths to which the automotive industry would fall in 2009, setting the stage for Renault, BMW, Honda and Toyota to call time on F1.  The ripple effect of the global economy had not fully sunken in by January 2009.  Many have speculated that Honda’s depature gave cover to Toyota to wrap up its F1 experiment.  BMW duly followed suit, but the suspicion was that the board in Munich found a pretext to withdraw on the heels of a losing season.  We will never know.  Suffice to say, the company also reduced its commitment to touring cars.

And then, beh oui, there is Renault.  The battered French brand could not have fared worse, surviving a tempest in “Crashgate” to face a gradual sell-off announced just weeks ago.  Prior to the season, we thought Alonso’s return would mean a few more tenths of a second for Renault, but things had turned out differently.  At the end of 2008, the Renault looked much better in Fernando Alonso’s incredible hands, winning at Singapore and China after a largely mundane season.  

We could not have predicted that the result in Singapore was the result of a decision by team members to stage a crash by Nelson Piquet, Jr., in order to trigger a safety car that would favor Alonso’s light-fuel strategy.  When Piquet Jr. was released by the Renault team this year for yet more sub-par performances (and really, they were, let’s be honest), he went to the FIA and alleged that team princpal Flavio Briatore and engineer Pat Symonds had concocted a scheme to skew a race result.  Briatore and Symonds were handed bans from racing, and Piquet Jr. received immunity.  In theory, at least, his racing career survived.  Briatore and Symonds, who have accomplished more in F1 than Piquet can ever dream of, lost their reputations.

This was the ugly side of F1, the sausage-making side of the business that we’d prefer did not exist.  And yet, the events at Singapore, once revealed, tended to confirm our suspicions about how things really get done in F1.  No one with a serious interest in the sport can claim to be imbued with the same sense of dewy optimism as an olympic athlete.  But we would like to think that drivers are not out there crashing into walls in order to favor their teammates, if only becuase it seems such a collossally stupid thing to do at high speeds.

So the lesson we learned is that nothing is as it seems in F1.  Four new teams will take the grid in 2010, but Bernie Ecclestone has just said in an interview that two of these teams won’t make the grid.  A new ban on re-fuelling has been introduced, but we would prefer rules stability.  The world champion has joined a new team, as has the best driver of our day (Alonso).  Raikkonen is gone.  Michael is back (?).  Hamilton is facing an equal teammate.  Rosberg, Trulli, Glock and Kubica will be in new cars.  There will be two notable rookies (Senna and Hulkenberg).

All of this is subject to change.  Ask us over an Irish coffee next Christmas.

[Via http://onthelimit.wordpress.com]

Prosperity without Growth

Readers of this blog might recall the ’secret sauce’ proposed in The Mindset for talking about Agile with executives:

Success, however, depends on a certain kind of mindset of the executive you are talking to.  This mindset is nicely described in H. Thomas Johnson’s article Manage a Living System, Not a Ledger:

…a business organization cannot improve its long-run financial results by working to improve its financial results. But the only way to ensure satisfactory and stable long-term financial results is to work on improving the system from which those results emerge.

In a perceptive CQI  article on the recently reported problems at Toyota,  Johnson offers the following analysis:

Toyota avoided this fate until the last decade because it did not regard results as outcomes that a business achieves by requiring managers to drive people to meet financial targets. It saw that results emerge from a process in which people carefully nurture a web of relationships. These relationships, strikingly enough, emulate the behaviour in natural living systems.

The reversal of Toyota’s fortunes in the past decade suggests that many of its top managers lost the habit of thought that had previously shaped the company’s policies and actions. They lost the habit of thought that caused the company, perhaps unconsciously, to act like a living system. Toyota adopted the finance-oriented mechanistic thinking that had spawned the inferior management practices and the poor performance shown by most of its competitors after the 1970s. And because it abandoned living-system thinking for mechanistic thinking, Toyota began to embrace a virtual world of finance, not a concrete world of humans in cooperative relationships.

Johnson concludes his analysis with a broad warning:

Efforts of companies to reduce that waste by “going green” are not likely to be any more effective than efforts to improve performance by “going lean”. In neither case do these efforts change the thinking that produces excess growth. The efforts might reduce the rate of growth for a time, but they will never reverse it as long as companies adhere to the conventional wisdom from the virtual world of finance that says prosperity is not possible without growth. [Highlights by IG]

The hazards of the virtual world of finance have been conclusively demonstrated during the macro-economic crisis of 2008-2009. One must wonder what it would take to learn the applicable lessons at the micro level of individual companies.

[Via http://theagileexecutive.com]

Out Of The Comfort Zone

I had to drive home from university in the snow the other day. It was, in a word, terrifying. The look of absolute and unparalleled fear that was etched on my face on the long journey could be sense for miles around. And this was not just because I’d never really driven in deep snow before. It was also because I had no confidence whatsoever in the car I was driving, a 1.2 litre Ford Fiesta, that just happens to be ten years old. This I’m sure was the main contributing factor to my buttock-clenching horror. If I had some large, ungainly 4×4 with which to plough my way home, there would have been no problem. I saw endless amounts of the smug bastards on the way home, proudly wading through the ice and snow, pleased that they could finally offer a reason why they’d chosen such a daft vehicle. And then there was me, a lonely student, driving home in a car that has less power than a triple A battery. And that’s when conditions are good; think what it was like in three feet of snow. So I was, to say the least, a bit frightened. But here’s the thing. I didn’t have to go home that day, I could have easily waited until the snow had abated and the roads were clear. But I thought to myself “Hey, why not? How hard can it be?” In short, I decided to throw myself out of my comfort zone and try something new. Which, as always seems to be the way, can only end badly.

Take Aston Martin as an example. We all know they make some great supercars. The Vantage is a symphony of perfection, and the DBS has a permanent parking space reserved in my heart. Aston make some truly great supercars. So why then, are they now thinking of making this?

 Nope, you’re eyes aren’t playing tricks, that really is an Aston Martin city car. Now anyone even vaguely interested in cars has probably clapped eyes on this already. It’s called the Cygnet, and it’s essentially a Toyota IQ with a bit of bodywork on the front. Now believe it or not this is designed to look a bit like Aston’s most iconic car, the Vantage. Now, I’ll go ahead and give you a few minutes to try and find the resemblance……No? Couldn’t see it? Me neither.

So besides from the styling being a little odd, what else can we find out about the car? Well, not much as it happens, because Aston are keeping very quiet about all the details. They haven’t even released any information about engine sizes, although we can guess they’ll be similar if not identical to the current IQ range. What is interesting though is who Aston are aiming the car at. They could have gone down the route of pitching it as “my first Aston Martin” and having it as a sort of entry level Vantage. But no, in true Aston style and as a demonstration of how in tune with the times the company is, they’re marketing it as a “tender to a luxury yacht.” In short, they want current Vantage owners to fork out for the Cygnet, so that they’ll have something to pop to the shops in. Have they gone completely mad?

 Let’s not beat about the bush. The Cygnet is a city car, and this is a concept I’ve never really been able to get my head around. City cars are small, nasty, and only appeal to the sort of chap who orders gravy with chips. The sort of person who keeps car manuals for cars he no longer owns. I just don’t get them at all. I mean, I can see that the one possible advantage is that you can fit into a smaller parking space, but parking bays only come in one size, so what’s the point? You might as well just use a normal car and save yourself the embarrassment. Aston are making the point that the Cygnet has lower C02 emissions than any of its other cars. But the sort of person who’s already gallivanting around the countryside in an Aston Martin is hardly the sort of person to give a damn about the environment are they? That’d be like presenting Jeremy Clarkson with a Smart ForTwo, and expecting him to love it because you’ve painted a Lamborghini badge on the side.

Everybody I’ve spoken to about the Cygnet has failed to see the point in it. All they’ve been able to come up with so far is that it looks alright. One person commented that if it went like an Aston should, and had all the toys that other Aston’s have, then it’ll probably do quite well. But remember this is a small city car, so it probably won’t have room for the drinks minibar and the chilled cup holders, let alone the heated seats and satnav. I think this will end up simply being a normal IQ with some extra Aston Martin badging.

I should really applaud Aston for heading out of their comfort zone and daring to do something adventurous, but really I’m just left with a vague sense of bemusement at what they’ve managed to achieve. Let’s get this straight. This is not an Aston Martin, it’s a Toyota with an extra large grille on the front. So in the same way that I probably shouldn’t have driven home through the snow on Friday, Aston probably shouldn’t try to make things like this, and should go back to their comfort zone, making supercars. Leave the city stuff to Toyota, and go back to giving us the V12 Vantage. After all, it’s what you do best.

[Via http://mossonmotoring.wordpress.com]

Beef Basin Thanksgiving Weekend 2009

Thanksgiving weekend and beef. Not the usual combination, normally it’s turkey or tossing the pig skin (some sort of sports reference I’m sure). But Thanksgiving weekend 2009 was tied with Beef Basin.
We departed Salt Lake at 7:30 on Friday morning with the goal of making our camp by 3:00 that afternoon. Our caravan linked up along I-15 as we headed towards Spanish Fork canyon. Kurt and I in his Tacoma were quickly joined by Greg and his son Oakley in his awesome HZJ-75, Sully and Erica in their Tacoma and Cody caught up after hitting some Black Friday sales in his Grand Cherokee.
We made some excellent time on our way down to Moab, reaching our lunch stop at Smitty’s Golden Steak before noon. After indulging in the deliciousness of that greasy spoon we hit the road again.

After another hour or so on pavement we hit dirt on the turn off for Beef Basin. We stopped for a few minutes to air down.

The road out to Beef Basin was a typical BLM graded road, quite smooth and lended itself nicely to some high speeds. We hit some shady areas that still had a fair amount of snow from the last storm.

As we descended down towards Beef Basin we were greeted with the spectacular vista so common in South Eastern Utah. No matter how many times I’ve been there I don’t think I will ever tire of these scenes.

We hit camp up Beef Basin Wash around our target time of 3:00pm. As usual everyone spent the next little while finding that perfect spot to pitch your tent or park your vehicle. Greg and Kurt had the luxury of rooftop tents, Sully and Eric were smart enough to hole up in the shelled bed of their truck while Cody and I camped like real men in our tents.

Our campsite was nicely situated about halfway up the wash and right below the ruin of a cliff dwelling which we intended to hike up to the next morning.

The weather for Friday night was quite agreeable as well, clear, fairly warm for late November in southern Utah and not much wind. Contrary to most trips we had camp set before dark and had time to make dinner with plenty of light.

After a relaxing Friday night around the campfire Saturday dawned clear with a slight breeze but definitely a bit more of a chill in the air. Much to Kurt’s chagrin, our start to the day was a bit later than we had anticipated with most of us rolling out of our sleeping bags sometime after 9:00am.
The first order of the day was to cook up some breakfast, which Kurt and Cody did with gusto in Greg’s enviable camp kitchen setup.

Once we had eaten heartily (well aside from me and my oatmeal) we began our hike up to the cliff dwelling. One can quickly see why the Anasazi chose this location. There was no way to approach the dwelling without being seen from it. And once you got to it, there was only a narrow path to get to the entrance.

The ruin was remarkable. Still had some of the wood that formed the second floor and the stairs, the mortar holding the stone was still there and the view was incredible.

We hiked back down from the cliff dwelling, finished breaking camp and headed out. Our next destination was an area called Ruin Canyon. As the name suggests, there were several ruins up the canyon.

The most spectacular being about a quarter mile from an overgrown portion of the trail. We attempted to hack our way through, but decided it was just as easy to walk.

The ruin was a couple hundred feet up from the canyon floor on a fairly narrow shelf. We hiked up and poked around it for a bit. Its amazing that even though the elements have washed away all the mortar that held the stones in place it still stands.

As we looked around this ruin we found one up above us.

It is in remarkably good condition. Cody managed to climb up to it and found that it was very small, probably just a grainery. But the condition was just incredible.
We hiked back to our vehicles for lunch and pondered the rest of the day. The plan was to head out into an area called Ruin Park. We knew that there was the potential of a storm that afternoon, so high on our list was also finding a good camp spot as well.
We exited Ruin Canyon and got back onto the Beef Basin loop road. Now, since the area is called Beef Basin, there are a number of corrals. These can make for some fun pictures.

After our impromptu photo shoot, we headed into Ruin Park and found what is probably one of the coolest ruins I have ever seen. It is called Tower Ruin, and it’s awesome. A two story ruin that has a near perfect right angle. Very neat. There is some speculation that there may have been a number of these towers to be used for signaling each other and perhaps the inhabitants of the previous ruins we visited.

Greg and Oakley decided that they would head out and try to make it back to Salt Lake that night, so we parted ways with them. The rest of us could see the storm coming in and split up to find a good, concealed camp spot. Ultimately we found one up Butler Wash and we hurriedly began setting up before the pending rain…
…Which didn’t come. No the storm split right over us and aside from a strong breeze, we didn’t get anything. So we sat around the campfire to stay warm and argued the merits of cast iron versus aluminum for camp cooking. The final verdict being that cast iron is the only way to go.

Sunday dawned windy, cold and with a slight dusting of snow. I woke up early and hiked out a ways from our camp to a beautiful overlook of Needles. Unfortunately I only brought my medium format camera and have no pictures to share. I will tell you that it was spectacular in the crisp morning air.
As everyone else woke we stoked up the fire and made some breakfast sandwiches and indulged in Sully’s delicious peach/pineapple cobbler from the night before. With breakfast complete and camp broke, we headed out. Our route took us down Bobby’s Hole and into the Needles District.

Cody decided to take a quick detour and run Impossible Hill.

We headed towards Needles on a narrow two track and were greeted by spectacular view over every hill.

Through what remains of SOB Hill.

We finally made it to Elephant Hill. It’s been years since I was last on Elephant Hill, but it is much easier to make those tight switchbacks in a Samurai than it is in a Tacoma! But up we went.

And then back down.

And that was it. We had made it to the parking lot of Elephant Hill and pavement. We jetted out to the Needles Outpost for some fuel (fortunately without incident this time!) and then made a quick stop at Newspaper Rock.

The day ended with Kurt, Cody and I stopping at The Moab Brewery for Beer Cheese Soup and a cold one before trekking north and home. Aside from the cold, and even that wasn’t that bad, it was a great trip.

All pictures courtesy of Stephen Nielson and Kurt Williams

[Via http://stephennielson.wordpress.com]