Canvey Carriage Company on Toyota HQ move

At Canvey Carriage Company we have lots of Toyotas available, but news has come in today that Toyota plan to move their HQ from Southern California to Dallas, Texas.

After a rumours have been circulating for some time, Canvey Carriage Company can now report that the move will go ahead with an expected move in date to be around early 2017.

Toyota Prius available from Canvey Carriage Company

The Japanese car giant are relocating from Torrance, just outside of Los Angeles, and the move will bring

much of the manufactures operations under one roof. This includes Toyota’s sales, marketing, servicing, advertising and quality control. As well as this some manufacturing operations will be moved to Texas, which currently operates in Kentucky.

The move by Toyota will be staggered, and begin to take place at the end of 2016. Toyota set up in California in 1957, beginning in a shop at a former rambler dealership in Hollywood.

Torrance mayor has described the move as “sad news”. Adding that "Toyota has been an integral part of the city."

Toyota’s move means that all three major Japanese car manufactures, which account for a large proportion of the US auto market share, will have left the state where they first moved in the beginning of their US operations.

Nissan moved most of its operations from Gardena, California, to Franklin, Tennessee, outside Nashville in 2006. Just last year, Honda decided to move a number of executives from Torrance to Columbus, Ohio.

Speaking to employees, Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz said: "Currently, we’re operating as multiple affiliates in a connected-but-independent way. In other words, we still have silos, and that’s slowing our decision-making processes. Our goal is to become not a group of dedicated affiliates, but one company -- One Toyota."

Lentz added: "Many roles will transfer, unchanged, to the new locations. Some new roles will be created, while others may evolve to meet the changing needs of the new organization."

It’s a bold move for Toyota, but one that they must believe will benefit the company going forward.

Canvey Carriage Company on Eco-Friendly Cars

At Canvey Carriage Company we understand that fuel economy is an important topic. Potential buyers want to make sure they’re buying a car that will go easy on the bank balance throughout their relationship with it. Car firms are responding to this by producing ever-more fuel efficient cars. It is now common to see new cars returning more than 80 miles per gallon. Low CO2 emissions are also important, and if you purchase an eco-friendly car, you pay lower tax on it. The team at CanveyCarriage Company have compiled a guide to some of the most efficient and cheapest new cars money can buy.

Vauxhall Ampera/Chevrolet Volt - 27g/km

The Chevrolet and the Vauxhall combine an electric-drive and petrol-powered electricity generator for when the circa-40 mile range is exhausted, giving EV motoring without the range restrictions, and a staggering official combined economy figure of 235.4mpg. Pretty impressive!

Toyota Prius Plug-in - 49g/km

This is a regular Toyota Prius with the addition of batteries that can be charged from your mains electricity supply. Because they can store more electricity, they allow an all-electric range of up to 15 miles before the petrol engine kicks in. Thanks to this, the official combined consumption figure shoots up, to 134.5mpg.

Toyota Yaris Hybrid – 79g/km, 80.7mpg

The Yaris Hybrid is a combination of a 1.5 litre engine and electric motor drivetrain from the Prius and Auris with the lighter, more compact Yaris body. This lightness makes it even more fuel-efficient than it’s bigger siblings. It averages up to 81mpg and emitting just 79g/km CO2 - Toyota's lowest-ever figure. This car can travel for up to a mile on electric power alone.

Renault Clio 1.5 dCi 90 ECO – 83g/km, 88.3mpg

This car has a 1.5-litre diesel engine that’s capable of 88.3mpg and emits just 83g/km CO2. This is a stylish option for budget-conscious buyers. And when it comes to green credentials, it trumps the VW Polo BlueMotion and Ford Fiesta ECOnetic.

Hyundai i20 1.1 CRDi Blue – 84g/km, 88.3mpg

Hyundai have given their i20 supermini a facelift recently and these revisions include the new super-efficient diesel model, using the firm's excellent 1.1-litre three-cylinder engine. This car emits just 84g/km and averages an impressive 88.3mpg. Hyundai offer a great deal here with the greenest regular-engine road car, for one of the best-value prices on the road.

Canvey Carriage Company on Toyota Recall

Canvey Carriage Company read today that Toyota is to recall of 1.9 million Prius hybrid cars due to a fault with speed control. Toyota, the world's biggest car maker said cars may suddenly slow down due to a problem with software. In some cases, they said, the car may even come to a full halt while being driven.

They also said, however, that the fault may simply activate the warning light and cause the car to enter “failsafe mode”. While the cars would still operate, they would do so at a reduced output. If the car was to stop, it would not do so suddenly, instead making a gradual slow before coming to a stop.

The issue centres around the boost converter in the Intelligent Power Module. The boost converter is required when for example you accelerate hard from a standstill. The problem was identified through Toyota’s stringent quality reporting system.

Toyota confirmed it had identified at least 400 faulty vehicles, three-quarters of those were discovered in Japan. The recall will now affect 30,790 Prius cars in the UK and 700,000 in the US. There have been no reports so far of any accidents or injuries relating to this issue, though it is a recurring problem.

All the vehicles that are affected by the software problem will be recalled for a system update. Registered owners will be contacted by Toyota over the next few weeks by post or telephone. They will be invited to take their car to their nearest Toyota garage where a full update will be carried out.

Toyota and other Japanese car firms have suffered a series of high profile recalls in recent years, which has undermined their reputation for quality control. In the US a recall has also been issued on 260,000 2012 RAV4s, Tacomas and Lexus RX 350s over an unconnected potential braking issue. They have also recently announced an end to production in Australia. Read more on that here.