Each award given to a vehicle is a feather in its cap. And that is something that they would be proud of through the years.

This should probably be what Toyota is feeling at present for the Toyota Land Cruiser V8 has just taken home an accolade during the British Insurance Car Awards. See, this vehicle has been chosen as the top vehicle in its category – the large 4×4. This awards event is part of a move that is aimed at making consumers more aware of the best vehicles that offer the best security. This has been running for four years already and this year, it was held in Thatcham Berkshire’s Motor Insurance Repair Research Center.

Peter Roberts is the head of Thatcham’s research center and he mentioned, “Manufacturers are continuing to keep ahead of the criminal fraternity – committing resources to the development of highly sophisticated systems to keep cars secure. Many car thieves are just having to give up – thanks to the industry’s continued quest to drive down car crime.”

Kudos to you Toyota!

It was recently reported that Asian car maker Nissan Motor Company would soon be launching the Nissan X-Trail’s diesel version. This vehicle would be unveiled in Japan and it would still be coming as a sport utility vehicle, except for the fact that it could now run using diesel. The event is set to happen on September this year.

According to the car maker, the Nissan X-Trail has been given a diesel engine because it has been found out that the recent developments with diesel engines have made vehicles bearing such to be more efficient with fuel. Also, they would have less CO2 emissions compared to those which run on gasoline. Nissan also did disclose that they have used new technologies with the diesel engine so that the exhaust gases would be cleaned and would be less harmful when emitted. The technologies does include the use of catalysts.

There have been no announcements though as per the price of the diesel-powered Nissan X-Trail.

The Ford Motor Company sure is going to be reaping in more bucks as part of an agreement that it has took part in. This is possibly one of the largest agreements on export that the car maker has ever been in. According to a report, Ford would be exporting products that would amount to around $800 million. The lot of exported products would include auto products as well as transmission parts. These would be sent over to the Asian country of China.

Aside from the mentioned products, Ford would also be sending over 30,000 vehicles to China. These vehicles would be built in North America and then shipped to the mentioned country. All of these would be coming true by next year. Alan Mulally is the chief head for Ford and he said, “This historic export agreement with China is another step in our commitment to accelerate the development of new products that customers want and value and leverage Ford’s global assets.“

In a recent announcement from Toyota Motor Corporation, the company has disclosed that they would be producing the Toyota Camry Hybrid in its plant in Thailand. Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd. would be the company’s arm which would be responsible for creating this ride. The company did continue to share that such a decision has been part of their efforts to be able to make hybrid vehicles more popular compared to what they are now.

Mitsuhiro Sonoda is the president of Toyota’s Thailand arm and he said, “Thailand is the first ASEAN country to build hybrid vehicles. As the Camry has received a warm welcome from Thai customers, we are sure these customers will be satisfied not only with the product but also with its environmental performance.”

Although hybrids are already popular nowadays, it surely would not hurt to see more people recognizing just what hybrids can do to help the environment.

In a recent announcement from the Nissan Motor Company, Ltd., the company has disclosed that by 2010, they would be selling a new compact car and this vehicle would be manufactured in its Sunderland facility which is located in the United Kingdom. The compact car would be all-new.

The company did continue to disclose that such a decision to sell a new compact car is actually after they had seen the success that the Qashqai has experienced. It would be just right to continue the trend and build on it with the new compact car. Nissan does want to continue its strong presence in the market and it wants to be known as a manufacturer of products and vehicles that are of high value.

The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, mentioned, “Nissan is a global manufacturer with strong roots in Britain and I’m pleased to welcome Nissan’s new investment in the UK. Today’s announcement that a brand new car is to be designed and built in the UK is another important boost to our manufacturing industry, and builds upon Nissan’s recent commitments to increase investment and jobs at its record breaking Sunderland plant.”