Suzuki, Mazda and Yamaha state incorrect emissions data reported was unintentional; assure preventive measures.

As we had reported earlier, Suzuki Motor Corp, Mazda Motor and Yamaha Motor were pulled up by the Japanese ministry of transport for reporting incorrect data for fuel economy and emissions tests on their vehicles. The vehicle manufacturers have now apologised in a press conference held in Tokyo, Japan, and claimed that the improper calculations were unintentional, according to Japanese newswire Kyodo.

Toshihiro Suzuki, president Suzuki Motor Corp, said "There were no data alterations but it's a big problem that we have dealt with such a large number of vehicles wrongfully. I take it very seriously." He said that he will spearhead the compilation of preventive measures. According to the newswire, for Suzuki, data on almost half of its nearly 13,000 units manufactured between June 2012 and last month at its three plants in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan were improper. This is the second setback for the small car manufacturer, which, in 2016, admitted to using fuel-economy testing methods that did not conform to Japanese regulations.

According to the report, Suzuki said that insufficient training of the staff and the absence of onsite supervision by senior workers led to the lax inspection.

Katsuaki Watanabe, executive vice-president, Yamaha Motor said that the motorcycle manufacturer's management and the inspection staff were unaware that the levels of deviation from the speed requirements in its fuel efficiency tests required retests. "We had no notion that we were doing something wrong," Watanabe said at a press conference while apologising for failing to implement procedures required by law.

The transport ministry made the results public, based on reports by 20 vehicle makers collected as of Wednesday. According to Kyodo, the Japanese transport minister, Keiichi Ishii, in a released statement, said, "It is extremely regrettable. The ministry will strictly instruct the (manufacturers) to make sure thorough preventive measures are taken."

The report says that, of the 1,875 Mazda cars subjected to sampling inspection, improper inspections were found in nearly 4 percent since November 2014. For Yamaha Motor, around 2 percent of 335 units chosen for sampling inspection did not go through appropriate testing since January 2016, according to the ministry.

Suzuki, Mazda and Yamaha have said they will take preventive steps, such as changing inspection devices so that staff cannot rewrite data. The transport ministry said it will instruct vehicle makers to save records of inspections and implement measures to detect or prevent data falsifications.

Courtesy : - AUTOCAR

The top-spec Chieftain will feature a bespoke paintjob and be limited to 350 units worldwide.

ndian Motorcycle is about to launch its limited-edition, top-of-the-line Chieftain model on August 12. Called the Chieftain Elite, the bike features a bespoke paint-job that the company claim takes 25 hours to complete. The bike also gets additional equipment like a premium sound system, custom leather seats and more.

To begin with, the new paint on the bike is called Black Hills Silver and features marble accenting. The company claims that no two Chieftain Elites will look the same, thanks to the unique marbling process that goes into this paint. Aside from this unique paint scheme, the bike also features Indian’s Ride Command infotainment system set up with Bluetooth, navigation, and 200W premium audio (the standard Chieftain gets ‘just’ 100W). Other additional equipment includes leather seats with custom stitching and aluminium floorboards.

The Elite also features what the company calls an ‘open fender’. It has a large 19-inch wheel up front – a size seen on every other 2018 Chieftain variant, except the Classic; and has a wheel design similar only to the Chieftain Limited. The Chieftain Elite is powered by the same 1,811cc Thunderstroke 111 V-twin engine seen on many other Indian offerings, but it puts out 161.6Nm at 3,000rpm – 11.6Nm over any other Chieftain model. For braking, the bike uses the same twin 300mm discs at the front and a single 300mm disc at the rear. The suspension and chassis are also the same as other Chieftain variants. This limited model weighs-in with a kerb weight of a massive 388kg.

We believe this model will be considerably more expensive than the standard Chieftain (Rs 32.01 lakh, all prices ex-showroom, India). However, the difference will not be as huge as the Rs 8 lakh gap between the standard Roadmaster (Rs 39.99 lakh) and Roadmaster Elite (Rs 48 lakh) – which is due to the Roadmaster Elite's even more special gold-flake paintjob.

Courtesy : - AUTOCAR

Following a spate of car fires in South Korea, BMW has issued an apology and recalled diesel cars in the country due to defects in the exhaust gas recirculation system. According to a media report the German company has also issued a recall for 324,000 diesel cars in Europe for the same reason.

South Korean authorities estimate that 27 BMW cars caught fire between January and July 2018. This prompted the German carmaker to issue a public apology and a recall for 106,000 diesel cars beginning August 20, 2018. Meanwhile, apartment complexes and parking lots have issued bans against BMW cars due to the fire hazard. It was also revealed that BMW had known about this issue back in 2016, but the root cause of the problem was only identified last month.

Out of the 324,000 cars that are recalled in the EU, 96,300 are from Germany. As of now, BMW has not announced a recall for the same issue in India.

Courtesy : - TEAM-BHP